New Britain herald., 1915-07-01
INSANE Man TAKES
own LIFE in BARN.
William K. Schmidt Of Hartford
Found Dead at N. N, Dunham'S
SUICIDE BY STANDARDIZATION
Dead Man Was Released From Mid
dletown Insane Asylum Only Two
Days Ago-Mrs. Durham Is Half
Sister of Victim

DayS aSo-hfS. DuHnam Is half
Sister of Victim.
Sitting upright at the top of the
barn stairs with heavy rope around
his neck which had produced strangu-
alton, the dead body of william X.
schmidt (Smith) of 5Lenox street,
Hartford, was found in william ".
Dunham's barn in the rear of his
house house on Shuttle Meadow ave-
nue. early this morning. Mr.. Dun
bans wife is the dead mans half sis
ter and he committed suicide while in
q mt of insanity to which he was sub
Ject. having been released from the
Middletown insane asylum only two
days ago.
Well Known i'm Hartford.
Mr. schmidt was fifty-seven years of
age and was well known in Hartford.
where he had been successful bust
ness man and real estate dealer. A
number of years ago he conducted a
successful grocery business on North
Main street in Hartford, but for the
past seven or eight years he had been
engaged IN the real estate business in
~ .Is Il :
Released From Middletown.
L<teIy he began to exhibit signs OF
insanity and although he was never
violet, his family thought it best to
send him away About four or FIVE
weeks ago he was sent to the Middle
town asylum. where he was under
careful observation for month. The
doctors there failed to find any alarm
Ing symptoms about him and did not
think his case was serious enough to
warrant his further detention Accord
ip&ly, the authorities at the asylum
released him on Tuesday and he re-
turned TO his home, where his wife
was still living He seemed to be In
good mental condition and she did not
feel at all alarmed about him.
left Home at O'Clock.
Mrs. Schmidt stated this morning
that last evening her husband was
about the house in his smoking Jacket.
He did not appear unusually excited
or morbid. she said. At o'clock last
evening Mr.. schmidt put on his hat,
said his wife, and strolled out of doors.
AS he did not change his smoking
jacket for a coat she did not think he
was going far AS the hours passed,
however, and he did not return she
became Apprehensive and tried in vain
to locate him.. Finally. this morning
as q last resort, she telephoned to Mr..
Dunhans in this city, asking If her
husband had by chance come out mere
to visit his half sister.
Until he found Mr.. Schmidt,s dead
body this morning Mr.. Durham had
not seen him In a number of weeks
and it wa4 4 terrible shock to him to
stumble acfoss his body, especially
under the existing conditions 1t was
It $50 O'Clock this morning that Mr..
Durham went into his barn and dis
covered the suicide. The barn is a
two story affair with a fight of stairs
leading to the second floor At the
top of this stairway is a trap door
which, when closed down, completely
cl77' I'd thn opening in the floor and
CT prevents anything from
falling down the stairway from above
or any one entering from below. This
trap door is opened and closed by
heavy rope and pulley. When Mr..
Durham closed his barn last night the
trl.p uoor was open.
Body Sitting on Stairs.
Wien the dead body of Mr. Schmidt
=, -ound this morning it was sitting
hit at the top of the stairs with
the heavy rope attached to the trap
door twisted tightly around his neck.
Medical Examiner T. 6. Wright gave
the cause of death as strangulation
and oppressed the opinion that the
man had not committed suicide until
some time after midnight. Rigor
l-orl.s had not set in and the clothes
on the body were drenched with
water, showing that he had been out
in last nights heavy downpour OF
Schmidt's body showed no
other signs of violence and his hat
was resting on his head in a natural
manner. indicating that he had met
his -s-1.--- ,Iltn an insane calmness and
hat !. = thrashed about in paroxysms
of pain as would be the natural case
if a sane man should be strangled to
death.
While it is possible that the insane
man walked all the way from his
home in Hartford, arriving at the
Shuttle Meadow farm about midnight,
the supposition is that he may have
taken a train or trolley and upon ar
irving in this city late last night
walked to his half-sister's place and
entered the barn where he calmly
took his own life.
Leaves Several Relatives.
The dead man is survived by his
wife and one sister, Mrs. Willard
Thompson, widow OF the Willard A.
Thompson of 5S6 Corbin avenue, who
died onIy a few weeks ago, Another
half sister is Mrs. Amelia Burton of
Shelton
Although Schmidt is the correct
name of the deceased he was known
by the name of Smith and he was
registered in tho Hartford directory