The Detroit times., 1908-03-20
NEIGHBORs' GOSSIP
STARTS PROBING or.
GEO. RIGGS DEATH
CORONER SEXES BODY AS IT Is
BEING TAKEN FROM CITY FOR
BURIAL AND HAsTy PosT.MoR-
TEN IS HELD.

As result or netgnbornood~ gossip,
which reached the ears Of the police,
Coroner Parker and Precinct Detec.
tive Hogan. OF Trumbull station, ara
investigating the death early Thur
day morning of George A. Riggs. the
well-known boatman employed Ly
Capt. j. w. Westcott, marine reporter
A postmortem, attended by rather
dramatic circumstances. was held W
ex-County Physician Forbes, Friday
morning. and the stomach. liver and
kidneys of the deceased have been
sent to County Chemist Clark for an
alysis. The result will not be known
slow one. The body has been remov-
ed to Port Huron. Mr.. Riggs formec
home. for interment.
In fact. the body was on the way to
the depot. to be put aboard q train
for Port Huron when Coroner Parker
took possession OF II and ordered a
postmortem examination. An emhalm.
er named Haley, who mad been engas-
ed by Undertaken Thompson, of Port
Huron, to look after the removal OF
the body from the house to the station
had called at the coroner's Office TO
get the death certificate signed, leav-
ing his wagon. containing the corpse,
standing just outside the county
building on .Fort-st. east. Coroner
Parker ordered the body removed to
the county morgue forthwith. and
pressed into service, Or. Forbes, who
was close at hand.
In an Incredibly snort time the or
kaA rAx rH
in less than 10 minutes the interrupt
ed journey to the depot was resumed.
The train had not yet gone and the
remains were placed aboard without
further delay.
1t was understood, Thursday, that
Mr.. Riggs had died of heart disease,
though he had been In apparently
perfect health. In his haste DR..
Forbes did not take the time to ex-
anime the mans heart to determine
whether there were any indications
OF disease, nor was ne asked to do Sc
by the coroner. Everything depends
now on the report OF County Chemist
Clark.
For the past two months, Riggs and
his wife had roomed at No. $50 Sixth.
ST.. where they did light housekeep-
ing. About 5:45 o'clock Thursday
morning. Mrs. Riggs Fan down the
stairs to the frT hoor and called 10
the landlady:
Please come up.- she said. II
think George Is dead"
The landlady went to the room ami
found the body lying still and cold
in bed. Riggs apparently had died as
he slept
Mrs. Riggs Finds Husband Dead.
Mrs. Riggs said she had called to
her husband when. the alarm clock
rang about $50, and he had merely
grunted Then she arose aud after
dressing, called to him again. She
got no response and going close to the
bed saw that he was dead.
Mrs. Riggs at once visited the un-
establishment OF ]. G.
Longworth at Michiganave. and Sixth
st.. and he prepared the body for bu-
rial and notified the coroner. When
the Port Huron relatives of Mr.. Riggs
learned OF his death they engaged an
Of their own, and Mr..
Iongworth turned the body over to
the Port Huron undertaken Thursday
night.
In the meantime, neighbors who had
seen Mr.. Riggs about the streets, APP
parently In perfect health, the day
before. began TO wonder. Then they
began to- talk and In time the gossip
reached the Trumbullsave. police sta
ton, which Is not many blocks away.
After looking into the affair, Detective
Hogan talked with Coroner Parker
and the hasty postmortem examination
was the outcome.
The gossip OF the neighbors had to
dc with alleged frequent Quarrels be-
tween Mr.. and Mrs. Riggs. About two
weeks ago Mrs. Riggs left the house
after hot words with Mr. Riggs, tho
landlady says. and remained with
friends on Michigan-ave. until Mr..
Riggs brought her back week ago
Tuesday. There bad been no further
trouble since then, as far as known.
Coroner's Clerk Tilton, woh answer
ed the call for Coroner Parker. was
told that Riggs had complained or
pain In his side OF late, and this. to-
gether with the circumstances sur
rounding his death. was the basis
for the report that death was due to
heart disease.