The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-01-10
THE EDWARDS SUICIDE.
FURTHER REMARKS BY CORD. NER CONCERNING THE CASE.

and How the Revolver and the Bot
 tie of Laudanum Were FOund-The
 Bullet Hole in the Jamb-Mr Ed
 wards Poor Health and Frequent
 Ailments-Pipe Dre ans.
 The report of the coroner in the case of Charles Edwards was the uppermost topic everywhere about town yesterday and was accepted as probably being the end of the case, although the theory of suicide was argued pro and con with as much vigor as ever. The coroner said yesterday that he had not yet re- ceived formal statement of the autop- sy. This was a matter which would require some time. The investigation of the stomach alone, with it's contents, occupied four days before determina- tion could be reached in that respect. The coroner added that the statement he gave out was not, in any sense, a verdict The investigation was still proceeding, and the verdict will not be rendered until it is over. As l said yesterday added the coroner, "all the facts obtained pointed to the suicide theory. Dr. Smith, dean of the Yale Medical school, states unhesitatingly that laudanum was found in the stom- ach. The bloodstain found on the shirt front came from the probing of the wound by Dr. Cheney.
 Tt is easy to suppose that Edwards, after the shooting, walked upstairs, his left hand plugging up the wound in his head by applying his handkerchief to l it, his right hand on the rail going up- stairs, and the blood slightly dropping till the flow was checked by the hand kerchief."
 l As to the finding of any motive for the suicide on the part of MT. Edwards, that was a question on which the coro- her would not talk at present. ' AS to the diary of the late Mrs. Hitler, that the coroner said, he has in his safe. It was in the possession of Ed wards and was sent to the coroner from New York city. It was not taken from the pockets of Mir. Edwards after the { shooting, for it was not brought here by him on his last visit here.
 There was no initial on the handker- chief which stopped the wound, but on the one found in the hall there was the initial "E.'
 As to the ownership of the revolver found in the backyard, that was sub 1 ject on which the investigation was still proceeding. It was sold twenty-slx years ago, and, the coroner said, there ought to be law requiring a record to be made as to the name of the individ- ual purchaser at every sale.
 Tt was Edwards practice, when the nights were coid'' said the coroner, Ito sleep with his stockings on. Both socks had blood and floor lint on them.
 "As to the bottle of laudanum found, it was half-pint flask and was la belled rock and rye Detective Don- nelly found it in the yard on Monday, The blood on the stairs was discovered by Detective Daley on Sunday. A strong electric light had to be used to reveal it.
 "The pistol was not found till Mon- day, and Detectives Daley, Donnelly and Ward were at work together when it was found, near where the bottle had been obtained. Thus two days elapsed between the finding of the bot tie and the revolver, or five days from the murder.
 As to the statement relative to morphine in the stomach, I wish to state that morphine is the poison in the laudanum, and the odor of the con tents of the stomach and other things in the examination of the conter ts of the stomach indicated that the mor- phine was taken in the form of lauda- mum.
 There was a bullet hole in the jamb of the back door, which leads into the I garden, indicating that two shots were fred Two chambers of the revolver were emptied.
 Tt is by all odds the most remarka- ble case ever saw. It makes convic- tions on eircumstantial evidence shaky proceedings. Here was motive and op- portunity. A man was found who ap- pclItillly IcQ lllG lliUl1NG anu uIpOllu nifty, and here was a history of events leading up to a case of unprecedented circumstantial strength. Yet the case was, it seems to me- clearly suicide" ' While Coroner Mix is silent on the question of Mir. Edwards possible mo- tive for committing suicide, it is known that more testimony was brought out on this point than has been made pub lie. The coroner is in possession of ev- idence that Edwards had recently suf- fered financial reverses. It is true that these had been temporarily tided over, but there was by no means no likeli- hood that they would not recur again within year. Mr. Edwards was also 8 sufferer from several other ail- ments. Only two days before his death he had a bad attack of heart trouble, which made him gasp and throw his hands to his heart and cause those present to be deeply concerned about his condition. The rheumatism from which he suffered at times subjected him to acute pain. He had also suffer- ed at times from acute gastric and bladder difficulties.
 One of the theories which may be ad- vanced with these facts known is that MT. Edwards took laudanum to ease his pain, and received an overdose. He may have gone downstairs to secure a drink of water and a breath of fresh air, and in a dazed condition, for which laudanum was responsible, have put a