Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1913-04-03
SHOT SELF AS BODY
FELL INTO THE CREEK
Robert KenchingtOD, Young Man Of
City, Ends His Life.
LETTERS TOLD OF PLANS.
Suicide Bound and Weighted Legs and
Fired Bullet Into MOu,h-BOdy
Recovered Today.

I
ton, Jr.. % years olh, son of MIR. RobA
ert ". Kenchington, retired boats
| vain Of the Navy, and a printer and
| monotype operator, had committed
suicide was substantiated this morning,
! when his body was recovered near the
| railroad bridge across Spa creek, IN
about nine feet of water The young
man committed the act some time late
Tuesday night or early Wednesday
| morning. as he was last seen about 8
O'Clock Tuesday evening.
Plans, measured by the greatest de-
| liberation. and certainty, that he would
| end his life were made by the young
| man. He had shot himself with re-
| volVer, which he had secured by a shoe
string tied in buttonhole of his coat,
| the string having been taken from one
! Of his shoes, and his legs were bound
| securely with rope to which was at
tached about fifty pounds Of stones.
| The revolver, apparently a new one,
was of the 81 calibre. One chamber
was empty and the bullet had entered
! the side of the young mans mouth.
The general supposition is that
young Kenchington, after arranging
the weapon, and binding his legs with
| the weights, stood on cross arm of
the bridge, fred the shot and his body
naturally pitched into the creek. The
body was found few feet this side of
the draw of the structure.
Early yesterday afternoon the belief
prevailed generally that Kenchington
had committed suicide. His mother
and cousin Mr.. Harry S. Kenchington,
of this city, received letters from the
young man, in which he told of his IN
tention to end his life. To his cousin
he wrote:
Have shuffled off the mortal coil /;
no use for me TO live; can't get any
"ROBT.
The note written by the suicide to
his mother was somewhat longer than
the above. In it he said that he in
tended to end his life that he had we'll
planned the act, and that his body
would be found near the Spa Creek
railroad bridge.
The overcoat and hat belonging to
the young man were found yesterday
afternoon on the bridge trestle by MIR.
Harry Ellenhausen, who lives nearby.
A label on the inside of the coat bore
the initials "R. w. K. and in one of
the pockets was found his Printers
Union card, bearing KenchihgtOn's
name
The finding of these articles only
served to increase the belief that
Kenchington had either shot or drown
ed himself in the creek, as stated in his
letters. A searching party of men and
local Boy Scouts, last night dragged
the waters near the bridge, and also
searched in the woods nearabout, but
without success.
This morning, shortly before 8
o'clock, however, the body was recov-
cred by means of a graphing, iron and
was brought to Annapolis and removed
to the undertaking establishment of
James S. Taylor & Sons. The funeral
| will take place tomorrow afternoon at
2 o'clock
General dependency, brought on by
constant worry incident 20 bad health
and inability to get regular employ
ment, is ascribed as the cause for the
; unfortunate ending of young Kench-
| ngton. For number of years Kench-
ington had been employed as a printer
in Annapolis, Baltimore and elsewhere.
Though he was a competent printer in
many ways, deformity of his left
| hand proved serious handicap in his
trade.
Kenchington, until a few years ago,
worked at a case in The Capital office.
Subsequently he left Annapolis, secured
employment in Baltimore, where he
worked for some time. Later he be-
came pupil operator of monotype ma
chimes at a Philadelphia school, and his
most recent employment was in Union
town, Pa, as operator in newspaper
Office.
A few days ago the parents of young
| kenchington wrote to their son to
come home and spend some time with
| them. This he consented to do. He
arrived in the city on Tuesday, but did
not go to the home of his parents on
| Conduit street. Instead. he left his
suitcase. containing all OF his personal
belongings in charge of friend to be
delivered at his home.
That was at o'clock. He was not
again seen. The letters written to his
mother and uncle was postmarked
noon yesterday at Annap oils postoffiee.
The body of young Kenchington was
/ viewed by Police Justice James d.
| Feldmeyer. acting as coroner, and was
examined by DR.. Louis b. Henkel, Jr.
| A jury of inquest was held with Lewis
| Martin foreman, and death was
pronoun ,ed as the result of suicide.
There has been a number Of suicides
/ in Annapolis in recent years and the
remark often expressed today was how
the unfortunates had sought the waters
to do away with themselves. Among
! the suicides recalled we're those of Mrs.
William Wigley, who threw herself in
| TO Severn river from the draw of the
county bridge several years ago; Col
Edmund L. Moodside, a Baltimorean,
former aide on the staff of former Gov
erDor War6eld, who drowned himsel'
| in the Severn, jumping, il is supposed
! from the sea wall; Mrs. Annie Bono
who went to Eastport bridge early one
winter morning and jumped into the
harbor, and Mrs. Caroline Murphy whC
| in March of last year, left her home OF
Maryland Avenue some time between
and O'Clock in the morning, anC
drowned herself in the harbor near tn,
| Rochester Steamboat Company's pie
at the foot of Prince George street.