The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-09-16
C. H. Wagner Hangs Himself
to His Door Intel.
LEFT LETTER FOR FRIEND
Desired HIS Body to 60 to Hos
pltal-Was All Alone In the World
and Afflicted With Dis
ease.

4 . Z. 4
Charles Fl. wegner, piano tuner, OF No.
401 East Grace Street. made his will on
Monday and hanged himself yesterday
afternoon.
In this last will and testament the vel!
known man proposed the sale Of his body
to the Medical College OF Virginia
through Or. NJ. D. Hoge, Of the uniyer-
slty College OF Medicine, for the purpose
OF paying back rent on his room and to
have that body. or what was left OF It
after the students had finished cutting
it up. decently buried. The will was IN
the form OF a long letter to his friend,
Mr.. G.. G. Dietrich, No. 567 North Fifta
Street. and though dated on Monday. the
14th, was not mailed until 3 o'clock yes
terday afternoon. or less than two hours
before he was strangled to death at the
end Of a rope AS soon as Mr.. Dietrich
received the letter, which wa sabout $50
o clock. he ran to Fourth and Grace. en-
tered his friend 8 room and found him
dead, as he feared he would. The case
is one OF the most interesting and puz-
zling suicides that ever came to the at
tention Of the coroner In an experience OF
nearly thirty years.
HAVE DECENT BURIAL. 4
Dr. Hoge certainly had right to the
body II he wished It. 1t was abhorrent 10
the coroner for It to be dissected. and
he wanted to SEQ It decently buried. Or.
Hoge is not In the city to speak for him
self, and friends, members of the Ger
mania Aid Society, settled the matter by
having the remains taken to Bllleys
and prepared for burial to-day.
Mr.. Wegner had been living in room
T. A. -. ~ M a G.
Street for at least ten years. When in
good health he piled his calling Of piano
tuning and made a good living. But for
long time he has been sick. Ills stomach
had failed him utterly. His surroun dirfgs
were not conducive to bright spirits. Ills
room was dark, possibly damp as most
basement rooms are. Here he cooked, ate
and slept and spent his weary and change
less days alone. Doubtless many tlmeH
In recent m months he suffered actual huns
ger, for friends testify OF him that he
was ms proud as a prince. # hough he
belonged to two benevolent orders he
would let neither help him and turned
away with almost scorn the offer Of on-
to maintain him In the Virginia Hospital
until we'll. Once In old Prussia, before
the days OF the German Empire. he was
a well-to-do maker of pianos; he had
plenty, and his prospects were bright.
With a dsea sed body, and with all hope
taken out of the future he probably found
little difficulty in resolyng to end his life.
even by the cold blooded manner he
adopted.
THE LETTER HE LEFT. @
The letter was at least begun and prob.
ably wholly written on Monday. The
epistle Is written In German, and Is quite
lengthy. It states that he was born at
Danzig, Prussia. October Sd. 1887, and
died at Richmond, Va. September 18th
1908, singularly thus announcing the date
Of his own death. conversation witf
DR.. Hoge In 1901 Is recalled, In which the
writer offers his body to the doctor and
to the cause Of science.
II want" says he with a free transa-
tlon of the Germany, 'the students OF
the Medical College of Virginia to see
how a man with diseased stomach can
1--we for twenty years without dgesting
his food"
~ He adds that Dr. Hoge deu1urred. say.
ing that the coroner would have some
thing to say regarding the disposition Of
his body. He Informed the doctor that
he wanted the proceeds OF the sale nf
his body to be used In paying his rent
and the expenses Of his burial. He would
like his body to be solo 10 the col1ese
for those purposes.
considerable norton of the letter was
given 10 what Coroner Taylor calls
philosophical reflections on lifo and
HIS LAST APPEARANCE, 55s
Mr.. Wegner was seen to come out OF his
room about o:30 yesterday afternoon ant
feebly climb the stone steps. Tie doubt
less had the letter In his pocket then
and he was going out to mail IT, When
Mr.. Dietrich received It he noticed thn'
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