The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-10
THEY DRINK OF A CUP
THAT KILLS
IwoYoung Men Disappointed
in Love End Their Lives
By Poison.
Especial to News and Observer J


Dover, N c., Sept. 9-Jealousy, the
| green-eyed monster on the one hand, and
disappointment in love on the other,
prompted Josephus Thigpen and J. o.
Griffin, two prominent young business
! men here to commit suicide. Thigpen
died at o'clock last night, Griffin at
o'clock this morning The drug taken
that sent the young men across the river
is not known but DR.. Pridgen, of Kin
ston,. who was called in says the symp-
toms were similar to those produced by
chloral. The young men themselves said
they had, on Sunday, drunk schiedam
schnapps.
DR.. Ray Pollock. the resident physi-
clan, called to see Thigpen yesterday
morning and found him suffering from
nausea. Later he was called to attend
Griffin and found him vomiting. He
treated both and left them to attend to
other patients, and on returning he talk
ed with Thigpen, who complained only of
desire to sleep, soon passing away.
| Dr. Pridgen was then sent for but the
| best efforts Of the two with Griffin were
| of no avail.
| Recently a young woman to whom
Griffin was engaged, married another.
A young woman having an engagement
with Thigpen took a trip to Morehead
! with rival of his The two young men
on the principle that misery loves COM
| pany, got together and dwelt upon their
burdens and formed a plan for the
! double suicide. On Sunday they were
/ boon companions.
Sunday night they took the schnapps
and spent the night together Yesterday
| they were taken with like symptoms.
/ Last night, APPARENTLY without pain, with
| in a few hours of each other they died.
Yesterday they were heard to say they
had failed in the first effort and hoped
/ TO succeed in the next. Griffin was heard
to saw that his life was not worth two
cents. and when advised that his love
/ had welded another, he remarked that
that signed his death warrant.
This evening a large escort accom-
panied the remains of both Thigpen and
Griffin to the burying ground just beyond
| the limits of Dover, where they were
| buried, one beside the other No autopsy
was held to determine the cause of death
Goldsboro, N. c., Sept "a double
suicide is reported from Dover, a town
on the Atlantic and North Carolina Rail
road about forty miles east of Colds
boro Two young mon who were disap-
pointed in love affairs have suddenly
ended their lives by taking poison. Joe
Thigpen and Odis Griffin were buried in
the same grave this afternoon, the for
mer having passed away at IL o'clock
last night and the latter dying at 2
o'clock this morning
The affair has cast gloom over the
entire town. Both young men were we'll
! known and much esteemed. Joe Thig-
pen had been a clerk in the store of Mat
thew Tydell for some years. The story
of his love affair is known we'll to the
people of the town. He was rejected
and decided to leave the scene of his
erstwhile happiness by a sad but sure
route
Ods Griffin, young man of twenty
| two, was a clerk in the store of Frank
Hawkins and had wooed without success
the hand of one of the most fascinating
maidens of the community. Life held
out no inducements since the marriage
Of his ideal about two weeks ago He
had been brooding over his misfortune
ever since.
On Sunday both of the young men, who
| had been inseparable friends for years
past. got together and recounted their
disappontments. They began drinking
and both decided to end their existence
by poison. The dose was too small to
do the work which they desired and yes
terday morning they tried again the
deadly drug and expired last night.