The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-04-22
Thurman Mitchell Drains
Bottle-Walks Into House
and Drops Unconscious
Without Word.
ACT FOLLOWS THREAT
When Miss Eadler Delays
Marriage a Week Deceas-
ed Prophesied She Would
Regret 1t.

Thurman Mitchell, 3OS North Nine
teenth street, shortly after o'clock
last night, while standing in front Of
the home of his sweetheart, Miss Ida
Eadler, 736 North Fourteenth street.
whom he was to marry next Satur-
day, drank the contents of three
ounce bottle of carbolic acid, walked
into the house. took q drink Of water
in the kitchen, then returned to the
front room, removed his coat, collar
and necktie and fell to the floor in
a dying condition. A half hour later.
without having received the attention
of physician, he was removed to
Reid Memorial hospital in the city
ambulance. He died there seven min
utes after his arrival. He never spoke
after taking the acid, and became I'M
conscious within five minutes after
taking it.
Thurman Mitchell is the son of Mr..
and Mrs. A. D. Mitchell. He was 81
years old. Miss Eadler, who is about
10 years old and strikingly pretty
girl Of the brunette type, lives with
her mother. Mrs. Mary Parker. She
was at the home Of q neighhor next
door, when Mitchell drank the acid.
and was awaiting his arrival to accom-
pany her uptown to theatre.
Dependent Some Time.
Neither Miss Eadler, her mother nor
the young woman's aunts, Miss Cora
King and Mrs. Lottie Davis, could as
sign any cause for the young mans
rash act, except that for some time he
had been Respondent He would never
ten them. however, they said, the cause
of his dependency, despite their fire.
quent questioning.
Mr.. Mitchell, the father said this
morning that neither he nor the other
members of the family had noticed
evidences Of dependency on the part
of Thurman. They said he was always
in cheerful mood, and yesterday
while working with his father in a
West Richmond sawmill, appeared to
be in the best Of spirits. Mr.. Mitchell
appeared to be reluctant to give his
opinion as to what might have been the
motive Of his son in killing himself.
The Mitchell family learned from re-
porters for the first time today that
Thurman Mitchell and Miss Eadler
were to have been married next Satur-
day, and that they would have been
married last Saturday but for Mrs.
Parker's objections. She thought they
should wait little longer.
81 don't understand why some one
did not summon a doctor right after
Thurman drank the acid said his
sister, Mrs. Pearl Plat.
Officer Wenger said the ambulance
was summoned about twenty-five or
thirty minutes after Mitchell made
his suicidal attempt. He gave him a
pound of epson salts, which rallied
him little and kept him alive until
hn hn TO to thn hnC fol
Threatens Suicide.
Thurman had been acting strange
of late" said Miss Eadler. "He ap-
peared to be very nervous and de-
spondent. and every once in a while
he threatened to kill himself but we
thought he was joking. and never gave
these threats any consideration. Late
ly when he would call on me he would
frequently begin to cry. When I
would ask him what was the matter,
he would say he had lot of trouble,
and that would be all l could get out
of him"
She then told about Thurman call.
ing last evening about o'clock and
asking her to go to theatre with
him, which she agreed to do. He told
her he would go home and dress and
would come back later. While he was
gone she and her aunt, Miss King
visited a neighbor, but when they re-
turned Mitchell had not called so they
went next door to have some ice
cream While there Mitchell arrived
with a friend, Albert Hahn, 412 North
Thirteenth street. Mrs. Davis greeted
them and Hahn remarked that he was
going to Anderson to work and was
going to take Mitchell with him. mo
you are not" Mitchell retorted. This
is what l am going to take. He took
a bottle of carbolic acid from his poe.
ket and drank it. Then he hurried to
the kitchen and back to the front
room. Mrs. Parker followed him from
the kitchen to the front room, begging
him to tell her what he had done. He
clutched at her and then fell to the
floor.
A Letter Lost.
When Miss Eadler was summoned
her mother would not allow her to
go to the side of her dying sweetheart,
fearing she would be Frustrated.
81 wish you reporters could find
what he did with the letter he wrote to
his mother last Sunday while he was
here" the girl said. Mr. Mitchell in
formed the newspaper men that his
WIG ldo ASfSA iSSCANCu thAo lStlCi
All his clothes were searchd for it,
but in vain.
Miss Eadler says that after Thur
man wrote the letter he began to cry.
She asked him to let her read it, but
he refused, saying, You will have the
chance to read it soon enough"
Thurman Mitchell was a fine boy,
and just like one of the family" said
Mrs. Parker. HE had been keeping
company with my daughter for over
three years. l think he must have been
mentally deranged."
When Thurman wanted me to mar
ry him last Saturday and mother OBJ
jected he got mad and said we would
regret what we had done the rest of
our lives" interrupted Miss Eadler
He got over this angry spell, however
and seemed to be mighty pleased when
mother consented to us getting mar
married next Saturday. Oh, l don t
know why he did this. Something
was wrong with him. He might have
brooded because he had not been work
ing steadily of late. Last week he
worked at a feed store, but this week
he was working with his father
On April s, Mitchell was one of
three young men who appeared as
prosecuting witnesses against Frank
Simmons, convicted of selling liquor