The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1903-12-29

His Father-in-Law, Adam Albright,
About Two Weeks Ago-lt Was
Claimed That He Was Oemented.
Excitement Among the Prisoners.
. Alvin Reininger. a prisoner in the
county Jail. who had been incarcerated
for shooting Adam Albright, his agod
father-in-law committed suicide Thurs
day evening by hanging himself in his
cell. using a sheet off his bunk iu-
stead of a rope.
The deed was committed between
and o'clock At $3.50 Reininger took
a bath. seeming desirous of making a
cleanly corpse Shortly after that he
went TO his cell. but that fact did not
excite any suspicion as he usually held
himself aloof from the other prison.
ers About o'clock. DR.. George
Kimber, who is awaiting sentence for
horse-stealing, went to Reiningers
cell to call him to supper. and found
the man hanging sspended by sheet
The doctor Immediately felt the mans
pulse and found that he was dead He
then called Turnkey Charles McKn-
y,
was hanging suspended from water
pipe that runs across the top OF the
cell One foot was hanging down the
opening of the closet in the cell, while
the other was within two inches OF the
floor The dead mans hands were
hanging at his side and his eyes were
wide open
Had he desired to do so, before he
strangled to death, Reininger could
have placed a foot upon his bunk, the
other upon the water closet. or drawn
himself up with his hands and saved
himself, but he was evidently deter
mined TO take his life and strangled
himself to death deliberately
There were ten other prisoners in the
Jail at the time and the suicide Gre
ated a great deal of excitement In the
absence of Coroner Schiltz from the
city, Justice J. A. Bowman was sent
for and DR.. w. s. Foulks called. When
they arrived the body was taken down.
While il was not entirely cold, it was
Thought that life had been extinct for
more than half an hour before DR..
Kimber made the discovery.
Reininger it is now thought, had
been planning for some time to kill
himself. He had for several evenings
taken his supper into his cell and eat
en- it there, doubtless to allay any sus-
picion If he should be absent at a time
when all the others were engaged. His
manner of fixing up the device was an
! Ingenious one. A few days before his
father had visited him in the Jail ard
brought him some apples in an ordin-
ary cloth meal sack. Reininger ate
part of the apples and divided the 9TH
ers with his fellow prisoners. He took
the sack into his cell and tied it
around the water pipe in the top of his
cell. 1t hung in rather roose loop.
Through this he run the sheet off his
bed and tied it tightly. He then made
a double Slip knot of the corner of the
sheet hanging down, and standing.
probably upon his bunk, stuck his
head into the loop and jumped of He
died of strangulatiOn. without appar-
emily making any effort to save him
self
Reininger's actions for some days
before the rash act showed that he con-
templated killing himself He remain
ed in his cell good part of the time
and read the Bible. He frequently
asked other prisoners IL they thought
he could get forgiveness for his sins,
and on one occasion when some ladies
went into the Jail and began to talk
religion to him he broke down and be-
aI faFia
became so pitiable that the turnkey
had to ask the woman to desist The
Jail Bible was found hidden in his bed
and In 1t was pamphlet left by some
of the persons who visit the Jail. with
the title Il Have No Fear of Death" /"
printed in large black letters The body
of the pamphlet contained religious
matter and nmber of Bible quotations
some of which follow:
Shall be in glory with Jesus sing
ing His praises, or shall be with the
damned in hell?" "And as 1t is ap-
pointed unto men once TO die, but af-
ter this the judgment" But Got
said unto him. Thou fool. this night
shall thy soul be required of thee"
} Where the Bible was marked was the
account of the preaching of Peter,
where in addressing the multitude in
Acts 3, he said "and desired murderer
TO be granted uDto you"
Alvin Relninger's crime was cold
blooded and unprovoked murder. He
and his wife were living In Jackson
township with Adam Albright. the aged
father OF Mrs Reininger. On the morn
ing of November 8 Reininger took a
loaded shot gun and going out into the
yard shot the old man twice. There
was no quarrel and so Oar as known mo
immediate provocatiolf for the deed,
although there hai been some family
f,,<s,tf,ln II "a lid that thai nld can