The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-13
R. H. TURNER A SUICIDE.
WELL KNOWN sAvANNAHIAN ENDS
LIFE IN ATLANTA.

Found Dead in Bed mt Jackson Hotel
Early Yesterday MOrning-Fwo
Morphine Bottles Near by Told the
StOry-DespOndenc Believed to
Have Been the Cause-Was For
merIy i'm the Cotton Business
Here. but Lately Had Been with
Selma, Ala, Firm-The Body
Will BE Brought Here.
Atlanta, Jan. 12.-R. H. Turner of
Savannah, a cotton buyer, and mem
Der of a Well-known South Georgia
family. committed suicide at the Jack
son Hotel in this city at an early hour
this morning. An empty vial of NOR
phine was found on a table within
reach of his hand. His body was cold
when found and he must have been
dead several hours before the remains
were discovered. An inquest was held
by Coroner Stamps this morning. the
verdict being that the deceased died by
his own hand with suicidal intent.
Turner came to Atlanta about a week
ago. He registered at the Jackson Ho-
tel on Jan. and gave his address as
Georgia" He appeared to be drink
ing, but acted in quiet and unobtru-
sivG manner. The body will be sent to
Savannah this morning in response to
kilograms from relatives.
Whether the man, while under the
influence of drink, took morphine to
produce sleep and took am overdose. or
whether ne deliberately committed sui
eide will never be known, but the coro-
ner's jury believed from the evidence
and the surroundings that he had TAX
en- his own life in a fit of dependency.
Turner evidently had come to Atlanta
on business trip and neglected the
business because he began to drink.
He had money with him when he ar
rived, but not a cent was found on
his person after death. He was last
seen alive about 6 o'clock Saturday af-
ternoon, when he went to his room
and laid down. All that afternoon and
Saturday night he remained in his
room with the door ajar. Yesterday
morning at 8 o'clock the chambermaid
entered the room thinking the inmate
had left and she saw Turner lying
upon the bed dressed and apparently
dead. She notified the hotel clerk and
he went to the room and saw that his
guest had probably been dead several
hours. No letter or note was found
to show that the act of suicide had
been premeditated, but on a table were
two walls of morphine, one containing
tablets and the other powders.
The chambermaid of the hotel was
examined and she stated she saw
Turner enter his room about O'Clock
Saturday afternoon. She did not see
him again until she saw him dead in
his room the next morning. No one
else about the hotel knew anything
about Turner's death The jury exam
ined the bottles of morphine found in
the room and ascertained that one of
them had contained 100 morphine tab
let's and only twenty were left.
The other bottle contained morphine
powders and some it had been taken
out.
Mr.. Turner was a native and long
resident of Savannah, though he had
not lived regularly in the city for the
past four or five years. While here
he was in the employ of Duckworth.
Turner & Co., cotton factors on the
Bay, of which firm his brother, Mr.
l.. T. Turner, was member until its
dissolution.
He was born in this city forty-two
years ago. He leaves two brothers,
Mr.. l.. T. Turner of Savannah, and
Mr. Fred Turner of Port Royal, and
two sisters, Mrs. Q. L. Tilton of Sa-
vannah, and Mrs. E. J. Newell of
Woodbury.. N. ].
The past cotton season Mr.. Turner
spent in Selma, Ala, where he had
been buying cotton for the firm of
Patton & Co. He was an expert in
cotton classification and highly es-
teemed for his business ability among
the cotton men of this city.
The body has been ordered sent from
Atlanta and will reach the city to-
morrow morning. The funeral will
take place from the residence of Mrs.
o. l.. Tilton, 210 Bolton street, east,
tomorrow afternoon. The exact hour
of the funeral will be announced in
the Morning News.