Arizona republican., 1912-08-28
MESA
ENDED HIS LIFE
 BY BULLET IN BRAIN
John Bockman Miller, a We'll Known Hanchman of the Mesa Section. committed Suicide Yesterday.
 Morning.

1. b. Miller, living on his 90 acre ranch just east of the Consolidated canal about three miles from Mesa ended his life at sometime near one o'clock August 27th, by placing the hluzzle Of 22 caliber Remington rifle III ms mouth and pulling the trigger
 IHe ball entered the roof of the mouth pretty well back, ranging slightly to .ie rlght and passing into the brain immediately in the rear of the eve. Death apparently was instantaneous. The tragedy occurred at his home on the ranch a small frame structure, and the only parties present beside himself were Mrs. Augusta Miller, his wife, and Leo, Jorgensen, step son. The wife and son were asleep at the time, the former in the bed which had also been occupied by Miller a few minutes be- lore the act, and the latter on the floor between the bed and the door. The body lay near the house slightly to the left Of the door. with face to the sky, right arm across the breast and the left at his side, the rifle lying partially across the lower limbs.
 W VI by the shot and the former sprang from her bed and rushed to the door. Her first thought was that her hus- band was shooting at coyotes or some night prowling animal. She was hor- rified to find her husbands dead body, dressed only in the underwear in which he had been sleeping. The boy also ran out in response to his moth CTS cry and then hastily pulled on a pair of Overalls and shoes and hurried to the residence of Sam T Babbitt, about three hundred yards distant MT Rabbit at once went to the Miller res idence, saw the corpse and called up Coroner Irwin. The latter secured Un- dertaker Burton and Wade HempellN with a car from the Mesa garage. Ben Blanchard was also taken along as as- | sistant in case there was need.
 The coroner found the body as above described and an examination of the rifle resulted in finding an exploded
 shell in the barrel, and nine others in the magazine. The corpse had been bleeding from the mouth and the right eye looked as though the shot had been 1 fired into the head from that point. The eye was swollen and black but there was no blood coming from it. Later the wound in the mouth was 1 found and the range of the bullet ac . | counted for the condition of the eye. 1 There was but a slight bruise on one of the shoulders, which was perhaps
 caused by the fall of the body if Mil | Ter was standing when the shot was ] fired. This could not be accurately de- 1 termined, some believing that the man 1 was lying down when he fired the shot. The body was placed in a casket bv | the undertaken and brought to town.
 At 10 o'clock yesterday an inquest was ! held, at the undertaking parIors. the 1 jury consisting of Isaac Dana, foreman, l George Radell, John w Connolly,
 Wade Hemperly. Ben Blanchard, pr. Tom Young. After hearing the evil
 dence, the jury found that Miller came to his death by a gunshot wound, the gun being fired by himself for the pur-
 pose of committing suicide. The evil
 dence developed the fact that Miller
 owned the ranch which he purchased | from Mrs. A. Hunsaker last spring;
 that the family came here from Cali I fornia a few months ago, that MT. Mill i Ter had always been engaged in the 1 creamery business, this being his first
 experienc on a farm; that there was | some money due on the purchase price
 but no one had pushed him for pay
 ment. It was also shown that Miller
 had occasional periods of despondencY l but had never talked of suicide A | week prior to three days before ms
 death, Miller had been quite despon- 1 dent, but for two days previous to tEe 27th, and on the day before his death
 has been very cheerful, as though ht
 had no particular care in the Worid
 Mrs. Miller had been previously mar | ried to MT. JorgenSen in Sattord, re- | marrying after his death. She was T 1 member of the Mormon faith rom l childhood, and it was stated that rec | ently MT. Miller had been admitted to | the church. She has number ol | friends in this section. Miller IS hlgn- ly spoken of by all who knew him. The funeral was held yesterday afternoon Bishop Horne of the Mesa Ward, ottl- 1 ciating.