Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-11-11
SHOT BOY, KILLS SELF
Paul G. Thebaud's Son Is Dan- gerousIy Wounded by Valet.
SERVANT COMMITS SUICIDE.
Millionaire's Butler Steals to Young Mans Bedside and Sends a Bullet
 Through His Forehead--operation Is Performed, but There is Little Hope.

"du . pcuSIue ana SenQS a bulleL
 Through His Forehead-operation Is Performed, but There is Little Hope. Yonkers, N. r., Nov. 11.-Paul GIL bert Thebaud, Jr., the seventeen-year- old son of Paul Gilbert Thebaud, the multimillionaire whip" and society man of this city, was shot and proba- ply mortally wounded at Hillair, the palatial country home of the Thebauds near White Plains.
 The man who did the shooting was John Bjorlin, a confidential servant in the Thebaud household, combining the functions of butler and valet.
 An instant after Bjorlin had sent bullet into the very center of young Thebaud's forehead he turned the weapon upon himself, blowing out his brains and falling dead beside his young victim.
 Conflicting reports of the wounded youths condition were circulated. Ac- cording to the White Plains physician who assisted New York surgeons on the case, young Thebaud is out of danger. But from other sources 1t is learned that his life hangs by thread and that his physicians have practical ly abandoned hope.
 The Shooting a Mystery.
 This tragedy in the great limestone palace of the Thebauds, with its gor- geous setting of Italian gardens in Mamaroneck boulevard, is replete with mystery. No eye witnessed the shoot ing.
 It was done in young Thebaud's bed room, on the second floor of the man. sion, while every member of the house. hold slumbered, save Bjorlin and John Hickey, the night watchman.
 But there is no room for reasonable doubt that young Thebaud was asleep when his assailant tiptoed to his bed, pressed his revolver close to his fore head and pulled the trigger. So close was the weapon to the youths head that his eyebrows were scorched con- pletely off by the powder flash.
 It is equally certain that within one minute after the shot which sent a bullet of heavy caliber through the sleeper's forehead Bjorlin turned the weapon. on himself He was found outstretched and lifeless on the floor close to young Thebaud's bed.
 Can't Explain Crime.
 Tbn caonr1 chnt ho1 hoan oip,o1 with deadly accuracy at his own head. He had pressed the muzzle of his re- volver against the back of his head, close to the right ear, and sent the bullet literally through his brain.
 The motive is shrouded in mystery. It is said by some that BjSTin had been drinking to excess and that the madness of delirium tremens was up on him. Others assert that rage over favors enjoyed by other servants of the house which were denied him were the inspiration of the tragedy.
 But close friends of the family give facts which add to the mystery.
 It is known that Bjorlin has been
 
 that the bond between them was strangly close for master and servant.
 Bjorlin was middle aged Dane, good looking highly accomplished in the arts of the valet and devoted to young Thebaud, the elder of the two Thebaud boys. He had been in the employ of the family for three years and from the beginning of his service had displayed extreme affection for young Paul.
 Surgeons Offer Slight Hope.
 Just what happened between Bjorlin and his boy master may never be known. Young Thebaud was close to death. and from reliable sources it was learned that the eminent surgeons who are fighting for his life have little hope. Four hours after the shooting an operation was performed by DTS. Drake and Russell. As to the exact nature of this opera tion and the resulting condition of young Thebaud conflicting reports 1 were in circulation. At White Plains i 1t was said that a clot of blood had l been removed from the brain and that | the patients condition had improved so rapidly that his safety was assured. | From another source 1t was learned, l however. that the operating surgeons 1 had removed pieces of skull and some brain tissue and that only the faint | est hone for the hoY'S recoyerY Mas