Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-10-16
LIGHT ON SUTTON SUICIDE.
FIGHT LED TO TRAGEDY At
MARINE BARRACKS CAMP.
Dead Lieutenant Thought he Had Allied
Brother 0fficgr.


Brother Officer.
The tragedy Of early sunday morn
ing at the marine officers camp A.
the Naval Academy Marine Barracks.
continues TO be the all-abs0rbirg
topic OF conversation both IN town
and At the Naval Academy This j.
due. perhaps. mainly 10 the unusual
circumstances surrounding it. and
the fact that IL occurrGd III the dark
ness Of night and that no one bot
marine officers were Witnesses 20 IT,
The Board Of Inquest feels that after
its exhaustive investigation there -
no doubt but that Lieutenant Sutton
| took his life while temporarily un-
balanced and while apparently fright
/ ened AT the remark made that be had
killed one Of his fellow Officers
| It is generally agreed thar Lieutsn-
ant sutton had a mOTose disposition
and associated but little with the other
| students at the school. SGperinteu-
dent Badger has forw arded the report
/ Of the board Of investigation To the
i Navy Department at Washington for
| review. From the first il was believed
by many who knew the dead Iieuteu-
ant of marines that be killed himself
| because be believed ne had killed a
| feIlOw-Olicer. who was shot and
slightly injured in the chest, and
who fell to the ground, where he lay
motionless.
II developed last night that some
thing more than temporary alteration
Of the mind led up 20 the death Of See
Ond Lieutenant James y. sutton, JT-,
United States Marine Corps. who died
OF bullet wound in the brain at
about 100 O'Clock Sunday morning
IL was learned that previOus 10 the
fatal shooting .afiray, a quarrel fol-
lowed By a Gstic encounter took place
between Lieutenant sutton and one
OF his felIow-marine officers whose
name has been withheld for the pres
enf.
When asked last night as to the ma
ture Of the findings Of the Board II
Inquest which investigated the death
of the young Lieutenant, Capt. Charles
j. Badger, superintendent Of the Ma
val Academy, who appointed the
Board of Inquest and to whom the
report was referred, stated that young
Sutton's death was ..unquestionably
suicide"
Continuing, he said that the prepon-
deraDce Of evidence showed that Lieu
tenant Sutton was a young man Of
hasty action, and that tbe board.
after one 0f the most careful and ex
haustiye investigations that could
have been made, had placed before
him the report, the conclusions Of
which arc that: Lieutenant Sutton
came 10 his death at f.50 o'clock on
Sunday morning, October 13, from =
bullet wound fired into the Tibgt side
Of bis head BY weapon in his own
hands"
lie said that the board had examined
every person who IL was thought had
any knowledge Of the tragedy and
had left no stone uHturHed TO arrive
at n correct verdict. Asked whether
| the board brought ont in the festi-
mony anything tV show that personal
| feeling existed between Lieutenant
sutton aud any Of the officers. or
whether quarrel Of some sort led mp
/ TO the suicide, Captain Badger stated
| that there was. lie said that Sut-
/ ton, as well as a humber Of other ma
| rine officers, bad attended the mid
shipments hop ON Saturday and later
| went 10 a well known local hotel be-
| fore returning ~ their quarters at the
marine camp. He said that Lieutenant
Sutton quarreled with one Of the other
officers Just which one be did not
| mention) aud finally there Was a fight
| According to the evidence, he said
the fight occurred after the officers
had alfghted from the automobile At
the far end Of the bridge leading %
the marine barracks grounds, and
were walking up the road toward the
group Of tents. The quarrel he said,
was over very trivial matter, and in
the fight that ensued Lieutenant Sut-
4 90 he waH
Leaving the rest Of the officers Lieu
tenant sutton then hurried of toward
his tent with the remark that he would
s'shoot the whole crowd or words TO
that effect. The testimony shows
that he reappeared shortly afterward.
frfLg a revolver in an indfseriminate
manner.
Then, according 20 witnesses. sec
and LieuteuaDts X. r. Adams and I'd
ward +. ReIker, took hold Of Lieu
tenant sutton with the purpose of dis
arming him for fear he would shoot
himself or some Of the other officers,
Of whom there were several near BY
The officers, it is said, had paid little
attention TO Sutton's remark that he
would shoot to Kill them. but thought
that be would cool down and the in
cident would end.
Lieutenant Sutton was thrown to the
ground in the efforts TO disarm him
and during the melee the revolver
was discharged and Lieutenant adams
was struck on the finger by a bullet
and Lieutenant R0ekler received a
slight wound in the chest. One Of
the officers Of 10 the crowd, according
to the evidence, exclaimed: Ny
God, Rocker is dead.
| Two officers were still holding SuttOG
on the ground after they had taken bis
pistol. Sutton reached some here
in bis clothes, presumably his blouse,
and before those supposed TO Be pro
tectfng him were aware Of il. he bad
drawn another revolver and fred the
fatal bullet into his brain.
| officials Of the Academy were yester-
day informed that Mrs Rose Sutton
Parker, sister Of the dead Lieutenant,
bad left Portland, Oregon, for Annap-
oils to take charge OF the body. In
the meantime the body has been pre-
pared for burial BY j. 3 Taylor &
Son. undertakers, to be sent TO the
former home Of Lieutenant sutton at
Portland. II is expected Mrs. Parker
will accompany the body
| Work Done at Registration
Judges Of registration John a Rus