The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-25
HIS HEART
WAS ON THE
RIGHT SIDE
The Midnight Suicide
Did Not Know.
so HE FIRED FIVE SHOTS.
he WAS CLEoPHAs GREGoIRE, A
DERANGED MECHANIC.
Scientific Solution of a Mystery
Which Puzzled the Police Sur
geons-An Anatomical
Freak.
so HE FIRED FIVE SHOTS
BE WAS CLEOPHAs GREGoIRE. A
DERANGED MECHANIC.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,

front of the Tabor boarding house 533
Hobart street, late last night, was this
morning identified as that of Cleophas
Gregoire, a French aged 26
years. who until few days ago had been
employed at the Remillard Brick Com
pany's works at Pleasanton.
Last night, after what was supposed to
have been a thorough examination of the
wounds on the left breast directly where
the heart is located in the ordinary anat-
omy of man, DR.. NJ. NJ. Ennos gave it as
his opinion that the man had been muir
dered He contended that no man could
fire five bullets through the heart or
in such proximity as the wounds indi-
Gated, with suicidal intent.
The murder theory was, therefore, gen.
ton until this afternoon, when DR.. S. II.
Buteau had completed an autopsy.
The autopsy revealed a physical con-
dition that will prove of interest to sci
ence, and particularly to the medical
world, and according to DR.. Buteau's
analysis of the case totally removes the
1t was discovered that five bullets from
the 3S-caliber revolver found by the side
of the dead man last night had entered
where any one of them would, in the
ordinary anatomy, have pierced the heart.
or so close thereto that the wound in
ficted would have proved fatal.
side. He had miscalculated when he fired
the first four shots, and the last shot
alone touched the heart, the lobe of
center line from the right side of the
body.
Dr. Buteau had carefully noted tie
pierced the fourth rib about one inch to
the right of the nipple; another pierced
the fourth tntercostal space, one-half inch
to the right of the left nipple; two pierced
the fifth intercostal space on a line with
the same nipple; and one pierced the sixth
rib in line with the nipple at the lower
bullets had pierced the lower lobe of the
lung and near its inner margin, and one
of the other missiles just grazed the lower
border of the lung at its inner margin,
while two of them had pierced the dia-
phragm and entered the stomach.
But when DR.. Buteau went to direct his
attention to the heart he hesitated a mo-
ment and exclaimed:
well upon my word, here is one of the
strangest cases 1 have come. across:
Either the mans heart is SO small that l
cannot find 1t or 1t is not there
The most delicate care was exercised
by the surgeon, and finally the heart of
ordinary size was located on the right
side of the body, as stated above.
An examination of the heart showed
where but one bullet had touched 1t. The
apex of the organ, which. extended slight
ly over the center line, had been grazed
by one bullet, but the missile had not en-
tered the cavity.
goire had been born that way, but that
the dead man had been wholly uncon-
scious or ignorant of his hearts location
during his life. and that when he shot
himself he held the revolver where he
supposed the vital organ to be. None of
the wounds were considered necessarily
fatal except the one that grazed the lobe
of the heart.
The wounds moreover, clearly showed
powder burns, and two of the bullets had
pierced the body and lodged in the back
of the coat, which fact the surgeon and
Coroner Baldwin believed demonstrates
that deceased laid himself upon the lawn,
L. L.. .-l,t11 10,
volver in place against his breast, and
fired until the fatal bullet did it's deadly
work.
the dead man, had not been of sound
mind for some time past. He had been
discharged at, the Remilard Works In
Pleasanton few days ago ana ca, called at
ing Philip Remillard had received the
following letter day or so previous,
which is self-explanatory:
PLEASANTON, Sept o. 1898
Dear Philip: / had to discharge Gregoire. as
he is out of his head. He kept awake all
night couple Of days ago l cannot not trust
He will call at the office, as l gave him a
told him to go to Canada, and wish you
Be careful. because you cannot tell what he
might do. He carries a revolver. Your friend,
ELZEAR.
Gregoire had come down from Pleas
anton with e. Rcmillard last evening.
and intended to go to his former home
in Canada. The brass railroad checks
found on him were for his baggage, which
he intended taking with him
Mr.. Remillard says that on the trip
very queerly. On arriving in this city
he went to the company's office to draw
his pay and thereafter wandered Off The
management did not honor the 5000 draft
last night, but told Gregoire to call to-
day.
It developed to-day that the first per-
sons to discover the dead man were Rev.
F. B. Perkins and Miss Alice Monroe, the
former escorting the latter home. When
the body was inspected by Rev. Mr.. Per-
kins he found the vest of deceased open.
1t was Rev. Mr. Perkins who notified the
police.
The deceased had second cousin here,
Alfred Gregoire, teamster in the en-
ploy of the Remillards, who also identi-
fed the remains.
AT the inquest tonight George
by the side of the deceased as
Gregoire's. DR.. Buteau's testimony
brought out no new facts. John P. Ge-
linaS, secretary for the RemilardS, teSti-
fed that when deceased came into the
company's office last evening he had an
overcoat over his arm and that the 5000
draft was in one of the pockets. How
away all doubts when he testified that
afterward the deceased called at his room
and at that time had no overcoat The
jury returned a verdict of death caused
by five gunshot wounds, but failed to de-
termne whether these were inflicted by
deceased or by some unknown person.
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