The San Francisco call., 1899-07-18
Attending Physician Refused to
Sign a Death Certificate.
Failure to Notify the Coroner Followed by faSty
Funeral Daughter Disputes Her Stepfather's
Claim to the Money.

I death certificate. AS Assistant City Ply
sician | am often called upon to do this
in cases where there is absolutely no
doubt about the cause of death and where
the parties are reliable. The man who
accompanied Gray'S man was the sexton
of the synagogue. l have forgotten his
name They presented me with a letter
from Mrs DIR. Mahoney. stating that the
deceased had died from natural causes.
This letter was addressed to the Coroner
According TO my usual custom, always
modify the death certificate when parties
call upon me to sign it in cases where
death occurs without a physician having
been in attendance within the time pre-
SCribed by law.
No matter how suddenly or from what
cause Mrs IrOOria died and notWtthStand-
ing the refusal of the attending physician
10 sign a certificate. a physician was
found who claims that right and who eX-
erciSed it. The body embalmed, in
the face of the fact that the Coroner
should have been notified and should have
had an opportunity to hold an autopsy
before all likelihood of determining the
real cause of death had been effaced by
the injection of embalming fluid into the
system.
tificate was not the only thing irregular
about it. The dead wOman's age was not
stated correctly by ten years. Her sister,
Mrs. l.. Samuels, who resides with her
husband at 1lU3 Howard street says that
Mrs. LOoria was so years of age-not II,
as noted in the certificate. This error, II
made designedly, could have been made
with no other purpose than TO deceive IN
vestigators into the belief that the wo-
man mad succumbed to old age more than
any other cause.
At any rate, it was one of the circum-
stances that made Mrs. Samuels suspi-
cious. and she protested to Loorta against
haste in burying his wife. She says she
told him she didn't like it
My sister died so suddenly she says
now, that l did not think she should be
buried without an investigation.
Mr.. Sdmuels also made objection TO the
burial on the heels OF death. He claims
now that Looria answered this objection
nv ta1lf lfrocT i'm n kaa +
ever | get, you get half
After the funeral. Samuels says he re
MINCED v6 6me q said m t6n bTother
in-law. that you said ! should get half?"
He said that Looria disclaimed having
made any such statement, but did finally
say. in the presence OF witnesses, that
he would give him $50, which other state
ment, Samuels now says, Looria also re-
There are two people who claim they
are entitled to benefit by Mrs, LooTla
Half of the money my wife, left is
mine" says Loorla. The other haf be-
longs to my wife's daughter She says II
doesn't. but l know better. Half of it is
some of the money, but they can't have
it They have nc. claim; they have no
The daughter, who still resides in the
house with her father. thinks differently.
She has said so TO his face:
It's all mine" she told him not long
ago in the presence of others. Mother
said It was for me, because l am sickly
girl
Notwithstanding this difference of opin-
ion concerning the dead wOman's money,
the two reside together. the girl. who Is
not particularly strong minded, being
generally silent concerning her claim in
the presence of her stepfather. who is be-
lieved TO exercise strong influence over
her.
Nobody so far has received a cent of the
dead woman's money. although among
Ot q a inn n {
uels son of l. Samuels. the dead wOman's
nephew. for whom she had often said she