Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1908-04-04
CORONER HOLDS INQUEST
Jury Renders Verdict IN Turner
Suicide Case.
He WAS TEMPORARILY INSANE
Man Deliberately Planned suicide
Friday Closely Following hat
Of His Wife.

VI tbs wire.
Coroner w Fl. Kline arrived al the
scene of Ran Turner'S suicide Friday
evening at four O'Clock
The coroner at once lmpanelled the
following Jury Of inquest: sheriff E.
D. Gardner. D. w Kline. David Cole
man, R. j. Gordon, John Heating ana
G. W. Kline.
The first witness called was Or.
McSherry who testified that Turner'S
neck was broken BIZ the drop 81 sew
eral feet at the end Of the rope with
which he hung himself.
| Mrs. Edward Hines, who nved n
the same house with the Turner'S. tes-
tilted that she saw Turner pass
through the house and 90 to the out
building shortly after three o'clock;
that as he did not return IN a reason
able time she told Turner's little
daughter, Annie Ga girl about ten
years old). to go to the smokehouse
and see what had become of her
father; but suddenly recalling to mind
the threat that Turner had previously
made that he would kill his daughter
and himself too, she called the child
back; that about $3.50 she went. her
self to the smokehouse where she
found Turner hanging by a rope fas-
tened to the rafters above and his feet
dangling about three feet from the
floor and that she at once gave the
alarm.
Mr. Hines testified TO the mentat
condition of Turner previous to his
suicide and that of his wife. He said
that his mind was evidently unbal-
anced which especially manifested IT
self when intoxicated, which was of
frequent occurrence. and that at such
times he was very abusive and cruel
to his wife
Mrs. P. w. Ambrose. a neighbor OF
the Turner's, was the only other wit
ness called. Her testimony was prac-
tically along the same line as that of
Mr.. Hines.
Verdict of the Jury.
The jury then returned the verdict
that NJ. r. Turner came TO his death
by his own hand hanging himself by
rope in an outbuilding on his prem
Uses, while temporarily insane.
Whether Turner swallowed dose
of carbolic acid before he hung him
self is not clarly evident, though the
odor of the poison was plainly detect
ed about his dead body 1t is known
now, however, that he tried to pur-
chase a bottle of carbolic acid at a
local drug store, and failing there, got
it at another drug store. This was
early Friday afternoon, and Turner
had evidently planned to take his own
life before that time.
1t is said that Turner arose early
Wednesday morning in one of his ugly
humors and commenced to quarrel
with his wife and abuse her which
he had so often done before. After
this scene in the kitchen where she
was preparing breakfast, the poor
woman, crushed in spirits went UP
stairs to her bedroom and ended her
unhappy life by taking carbolic acid
in the presence of her little daugh-
ter, Annie then still in bed and who
recalls that her mother smiled when
she looked at her for the last time.
Turner, it seems, soon followed his
wife ND stairs, but was too late to pre-
vent her act of seIf-destruction, even
had it been his intention to do so. His
story afterwards was that as he was
leaving the house to go to work he
heard his wife scream and then he
went up to the bedroom to see what
was the matter.
Little Daughter VIII Have Home.
Little Annie Turner, now left IN or
phan under such sad and unusual cir
cumstances. and being the only child
of her parents, win probably be taken
to raise by her uncle, Mr.. William S.
Powell, a prosperous contractor and
builder in Johnstown p. He Will
leave here Sunday morning and wants
to take Annie with him and give her
good home and be q playmate to
his little daughter Of about the same
age