The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-03-06
NO HINT WAS GIVEN
OF HIS INTENTION
Baker Had Asked a Friend Who
Visited Him to Locate His
IA Heart. and Later Made a
3a Pretext for Asking the
Man To C,oTllcn
He Fired. /.

saloon on East Franklin Street, near
Fourteenth. and more recently OF the
Athletic Club. In The Same locality was
found dead In his bed at his home. No
107 North Nineteenth Street, shortly af-
ter $3.50 O'clock last night. with bullet
wound IN his heart. The room was filled
with smoke and his night shirt had taken
fire from tho proximity OF the muzzle q
tho Wea pom a g the shot was fired. II
All the circumstances point to deliberate
and carefully planned suicide with no
other motive or provocations than illness
and suffering incidentth The coroner
who viewed tho body. examined the cnvi-
ronments and questioned his family did nor
deem an inque necessary, regarding 1t
as bly Us ca sei'o 81 self siaue n
ter. 5 sst S5
III Baker had been II for a week Of pne,l-.
enonin, aud was prior to that time a
iconsumptve Yesterday afternoon he sug-
gesteti to his p'ifa That he wanted n res
Volvcr, as he had aalitta money in; the
house and they Dug BIT to have II weapon
10 Ii some kind Hc sent his nlne-year-oid
daughter out and procured revolver
which his wife sent mp to him Seeing It
was empty,8th e returned To her mes
sage asking her to send cartridges. as
the weapon was OF no value empty The
shells were semitic him, and nothing more
was thoughtSo the matter,
Wanted to Find His Heart.
Later In the afternoon or early In the
evening. friend named Coleman. called
to see Baker and according to the state
ment made, by him TO the police. Baker
asked him to place his hand on his
iBakers> heart and note its condition.
The discovery later that Baker had shot
himself through the heart explained his
inquiry as to the location of that organ.
Evidently he wanted to make no failure
Of his carefully planned suicide. Baker
suggested TO Coleman that he had better
50 as 1t was not pleasant to sit and see q
sick man suffer. Thereupon Coleman left
AS 1t turned out he had hardly had time
10 get further than the corner a few
yards from the house before Baker ended
the life which disease would in all prob
ability have ended in a few days.
Child Heard Fatal Shot.
Tho fatal shot was heard by a small
child OF the sick man. who told the
mother OF it. She, thinking the child was
mistaken. paid little heed to the story
summoned Or. Labenbcrg to see Mt.
Baker. Another physician had been at
tending him. but mo reason is known Tor
the change OF physicians. When Dr.
Labenberg responded TO tile call he went
3up to the sick mans room. accom- panied
by Mrs. Baker. AS soon as the door was
opened the room was found filled With
smoke, and 1T took scarce a nlomcrt to
comprehend the situation. Baker lay In
bed, where he had been III for several
days one arm thrown across his breast,
ana his night robp burning In circle
around the deadly wound which was
in tho loft breast near the ripple The
sleeve OF tho shirt where It reached the
vicinity Of tho wound had also iGnited.
All this showed how close the lnuzzle Of
the revolver must have been the body,
Weapon Under His Pillow.
Is Tho revolver was found under the pill
low and with an empty chamber. the
weapon still warm from the shot. AS
quick death must have resulted from the
wound. this was thought to DO IN mex
plicable circumstance. not wholly Cor
.sIstcnt with tho suicide theory. Inquiry
OF Coroner Taylor. however, elected the
statement thntfit was not only possible
for Il man with q deadly wound to be
conscious and capable of this much mus
cular exertion. but that 1t was freq uently
tho case that n man walked or ran some
distarce after receiving Just such n
wound, ~ ia
Baker was we'll known about town. and
had many fricrds. He had long been in
business on Franklin Street, and was
generally known in that vicinity. a man
or forty years OF age, he was married,
and left besides his wife. SIX children. all
young, The eldest was about urteell, e
Inquest Unnecessary,
Sergeant Werner and Coroner TAILOR
both won't to the scene and made exam