Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1911-08-04
1t. BRILLIANT A SUICIDE
Navy Officer Sends Bullet Through
Head In Hotel Room AT The
''Astor" New York.
LEFT LETTER FOR WIFE.
She Knows Of No Motive Dead
Officer Overstayed Leave OF
Absence.

Lieut.. Charles Edgar Brilliant u.
). N, graduate of the Naval Acad-
emy stationed at Washington, COM
mitted suicide yesterday in a room he
had occupied since Monday at the Ho-
tel Astor, New York. When found he
was sitting in a chair in the room
with bullet hole through his temple
| and revolver clenched in his hand.
After Coroner Feinberg had spent
| an hour in the room with detectives
and hotel officials he announced that
he was convinced that it was a sui
eide, but could throw no light on the
cause. An explanation, he thought,
might be found in letter which was
found on table in the room addressed
to Lieutenant Brillhart's wife, who is
in Washington, but as the letter was
stamped and sealed the Coroner re-
fused to open il, and himself put it in
the mail.
Lieutenant Brilliant registered at
the Astor last Monday morning. He
carried no hand baggage with him nor
did he bring trunk. He was assign
ed to a room on the second floor, fac
ing Broadway, and after his arrival
the clerks in the hotel,paid no particu-
lar attention to him.
Yesterday morning a hotel maid
knocked several times on the door
when she found that it was bolted on
the inside. and that she could not enter
with her pass key. She got no re-
sponse, but did not suspect that any,
thing was wrong until about o'clock
in the afternoon, when she notified the
desk that she could not get in. The
room was then broke into on the or
ders of Mr.. Muschenheim, the proprie-
tor of the hotel.
Seated in the centre of the room.
fully dressed except for his coat and
hat, with his feet thrust across an
other chair, was Lieutenant Brilliant.
The revolver, still gripped in his
hand, proclaimed the manner of his
death and the bullet had passed
through his right temple. 1t was
found on the floor against the wall by
the Coroner.
Coroner Feinberg spent an hour in
the room. On table he found a let
ter stamped and sealed and addressed
to Mrs. Charles f. Brilliant, the
Cairo, Sixteenth and Second streets,
N. w, Washington, d. C. This, he
said, he had no authority to open.
Coroner Feinberg said Lieutenant
Brilliant had been dead probably since
the morning. He found nothing to
shed light on the motive for the act.
The only possessions of the dead man
he found in the room besides some
personal trinkets and toilet articles
were few papers. One was a bill
from a livery stable in Washington,
another was telephone bill from the
Capital.
There was a card showing Lieutennt
Brilliant was licensed to operate an
automobile in Maryland, a gold watch
and chain, a seal ring, stick pin, a
pin of fraternal order, So bill and
about So in silver. There was also a
check book on the Union Trust Com
pany of Washington and bank book
on the same bank which, balanced on
July 1, showed credit of 1902. The
check book showed but one check
drawn against this, which was for 50.
The only other things found in the
room were the revolver, evidently a
new one, and box containing forty
five cartridges. Five more cartridges
were found in the revolver, of which
one had been exploded.
f. Mr.. Muschenheim wired to Mrs.
Brilliant in Washington that serious
accident had happened to her husband.
Coroner Feinberg ordered the body
sent to the morgue, but afterward, on
a request from the Brooklyn navy
yard, allowed the yard to take charge
of it. A search of the hotel telephone
calls since Monday showed that Lieu
tenant Brilliant had not called any
Washington numbers since he regis
tered.
The wife of the dead officer did not
go to New York last night Her faith
er, however, left Washington for New
York on z o'clock train. The for
NAL identification of Lieutenant Brill
hart's body was made by Lieut.. E. j.
Marquart, friend of the late officer,
who lives at the Lambs.
Nobody in Washington seems to
know definitely the motive for Lieu
tenant Brillhart's suicide. His wife.
who is at her apartments at the Cairo,
said she was as much in the dark as
any one else. Brilliant had beer
missing for two days, and his dis
appearance was reported late yester.
day afternoon to the Navy Department
by Capt. Frank Beatty, commandant
of the Washington navy yard, where
Brilliant was on duty as an assistant
| Inspector of ordnance
Brilliant was appointed to the ma.
val service on October 8, 1889, from
Pennsylvania. He was graduated
with the class of 1903. He was pro
NOTED to the grade of ensign on Feb
ruary 8, 1905, and served on the arm,
ored cruiser Maryland tof the Paeifi,
fleet and later at the Mare Island nav,
yard. He had been lieutenant since
February 8, 1908.
Mrs. Brilliant last night received ,
telegram from the New York polio,
informing her of her husbands suicid,
and saying that he left a letter ad