Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1898-07-06
BY HIS OWN HAND.
Death Came to Edward Walls,
Who was Well Known Here.

The instrument Used was Double
Barreled Shot Gun--He had Been In
I'll Health for Some Time Had Been
Acting Strangely The Coroner's In
quest Rendered Verdict of Death
at his own Hands, The Affair Occur
ed at His House Between Four and
Eight O'clock ON Tuesday Afternoon.
The Members of the Jury.
Edward Walls is dead and all the
circumstances point to the eonclu-
sion that he came TO his death by an
act of his own volition The news
of the death reached town this
morning when physicians We're sent
for to come out and examine the
body Drs. Cox and Page Gibbons
went out. Shortly after they got to
where the tragedy happened they re
turned to town as the case did not
require very extensive investigation.
Their evidence was given TO the cor
oner's jury which was called togeth-
er by Squire Shoemaker.
The jury was composed Of Nj. j
Hagedorn, j. f. Kern, G. L. Sample,
A. l.. TORY, J. p. Burbridge. Bert
Holland, John Pool, Samuel Kelly,
Joseph Grub, Samuel Johnson, Fred
Gidley and Daniel Pool. They ex-
amined several witnesses among
them W. NJ Kennedy, Bub Johnson
and Frank johnson who had found
the dead mans body.
They had gone to look for him
after he had failed to come in for
supper and had found him just after
dark. He has been making his home
with Mr. Kennedy near the small
forty acre farm which he owns and
on which he killed himself. The
facts in connection with the death
were learned from the members of
the family with whom he had been
staying by representative of this
paper who visited the place this
morning.
The scene of the tragedy is about
three and a half miles from Morgan
town back of Marion Burners.
1t was learned that the dead man
had taken his gun and gone over to
the house on his place about four
O'Clock. saying that hawks had been
bothering his chickens and that he
intended to put a stop to them. He
did not come to supper and along
towards dark several persons started
to look for him.
When he was found he lay under
cherry tree few feet from the door
of his house. Mr.. Kennedy thought
that he was asleep and went up and
touched him to awake him. Then
the discovery was made that he was
dead
The gun lay at his feet. The
whole top Of his head was shot away
and the brain was all over the sur
rounding yard. Parts Of it had
been scattered on the tree and the
house. The right barrel was the one
that did the business. The other bar
rel was not loaded.
The cerebellum was left intact and
the rest of the brain above it was ta-
ken off as clean as IL surgeons knife
had done the job. No powder burns
were on the forehead showing that
the gun must have been held tight
against the head when it was dis
charged. Nothing was around on
which the trigger could have caught
and there is no evidence whatever to
show that the discharge could have
been due to accident.
The funeral will take place this
evening at seven o'clock and will be
under the auspices Of the Dellslow
lodge of Junior Mechanics, of which
Walls was member. The interment
will be at the Kennedy grave yard.
Every one speaks in the highest
terms of the young man who was
about twenty-seven years old. He
had splendid reputation and his
death will be deeply regretted. His
mother, Mrs. Nancy Wallace. lives in
Greenmont.