The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-08-31
SHOT IN TIE BREAST
ELIAS herman, THE JEWELER,
TAKES HIS LIFE
DEsP0NDENT OVER SICKNESS
He Was in Business With Plat When
the Latter Was Arrested Charged
With Swindling

Despondent with sickness, Elias Berman,
the well-known matchmaker and jeweler,
shot himself in the left breast yesterday
morning in his place of business, infiicting
a wound from which he soon died. There
were no witnesses of the act, although the
suicide took place at 236 South Spring
street, within a few yards Of hundreds Of
pedestrians and many employees in adjoin-
ling stores.
| Berman conducted place at 126 South
| Spring street, but had moved his stock
into the new building, with the intention
of taking more commodious quarters and
extending his business. The room extends
| to Mott alley ON the east and in the rear Is
mezzanine floor. Berman employed E.
Murray to watch the goods during the
night as the room has mot yet been COM
ted and there are no locks to the door,
At daylight Murray went away, and prob
ably about Z o'clock Berman entered the
place. For some months past he has been
sufferer from hemorrhage Of the stomach.
His heart had also been affected, and both
those maladies caused him 10 become very
melancholy at times.
A fit OF melancholia must have seized him.
| for he determined, whether suddenly or not
cannot be said, to end his life. Going up
| on the mezzanine floor and standing where
he was screened BY partition, Berman
placed the muzzle of 3S caliber revolver
| to his left breast in an attempt to find his
heart and fired. The report was Heard by
AL Nair, messenger No. s Of the Los An
geles District company, whose office is next
door. Nair also thought he detected the
noise of a falling body, followed by groan-
ling. He spoke to his companions about 1t,
and they went to the rear of the store
room and looked in, but saw no trace Of q
body or smoke, for the reason that Ber-
man was on the mezzanine floor when he
| fired the shot. The boys returned to the
| district office, and within twenty minutes
| after hearing the first shot three more
shots, evidently fired in Berman's store
room, were heard. Nair and Charles San
| chez, another messenger, ran into the room
| by the front entrance and going up to the
mezzanine floor discovered Berman lying
on the floor His head was propped by his
| left hand and the smoking revolver lay by
his right side. Blood flowed from the
wound in his left breast. Berman was
grooming in agony. The patrol wagon was
summoned and he was hurried to the re-
ceiving hospital, but he died before being
placed on the operating table. The body
was then removed to the undertaking
rooms of Dexter Samson.
Berman had three sons, daughter, Mrs.
w. A. Barker, and his former wife. Mrs.
Rosa w. A. Berman. all living. According
| to the statements of his relatives the cause
for his suicide could not have been due to
dependency over domestic troubles, al
though he and his wife had been divorced
| for h,,t !, 10 NJ bar In
duced by his own continued sickness. DR..
w. G. Cochran was his regular physician,
and from him 1t was learned that Berman
had been affected with heart trouble for
probably two years and his stomach had
also given him considerable trouble.
Berman came to this city from Farmer
City, ILL.,, and there are a number of his
former townsmen here. There would fire.
quently be times, DR.. Cochran said, when
Berman would experience fits of melan-
cholia and express the wish for death and
remark that he thought he would be better
off dead. Recently his friends had re-
marked this sentiment more than formerly,
and they were worried lest he commit some
rash act. Two weeks ago last Sunday night
he had a hemorrhage Of the stomach and
became so weak that he was unable to
leave his store and had to remain there
over night. A short time ago he stayed
over night with his son-in-law and the fol-
lowing morning stated that he had SUI
fered greatly during the night. He had re-
Trained from calling for assistance though.
To his relatives Berman expressed the SEN
timent that man was foolish to suffer on
this earth when little dose of poison or a
pistol would end it all so easily.
At the inquest held yesterday afternoon
the jury rendered verdict that he had
come 10 his death from a gunshot wound
self inflicted with suicidal intent, superin-
duced by dependency. From the state
ments of those acquainted with his affairs
business matters had no influence on his
act. He had money In bank. He had recently
purchased government bonds and was con-
templating a trip to San Francisco for the
purpose of increasing his present stock OF
goods and conducting a larger place.
The fact that four shots had been heard
and there was but one wound on Bermans
body, this being about two inches below the
heart, appeared at first peculiar. A search
Of the room, however, located the three
bullet holes, one in the opposite wall from
where Berman way found and the two 9TH
ers in the ceiling. Berman had evidently
shot himself and then experiencing pain
from the wound, fired the other shots to
try and attract the attention Of some one
An unfred cartridge was found in the pis-
toll.
Berman was a thirty-second degree Ma
son and was we'll liked in this city, where
he had resided since 1882. He was 81 years
of age, Of German parentage, although a
native of Poland. but came to this country
about thirty-five years ago. He settled
first In Illinois and then removed to Los
Angeles. He engaged In the jewelry
business with c. T. Platt, much against the
4 advice of friends, and they established their
place at the corner Of Spring and Court
streets. This was n 1888 The firm had
contracted large bill for diamonds and
various jewelry with a Chicago firm and
the latter began pressing them to settle.
Platt was always resourceful in finaccial
pinch and he conceived the brilliant idea OF
failing. This the firm did. and the result
was that for a time the Chicago firm stood
a good chance of seeing nothing but the
sparkle of those diamonds. Detective Al
Lawson went to work on the case, and
With ma short time ex-United States Mar.
shall George e. Gard, who was then dep.
uty under Sheriff A. T. Currier, arrested
Platt on charge Of attempting to swindle
the Chicago firm. When searched at the
county jail nearly 5000 worth Of unset dia-
monds were found hidden about the clothes