The Washington times., 1920-07-20
PARSONS SLEW.
SELF FORL0VE
Coroner Says No Other Factor
Could Explain Psychology
il. OF Tragedy.

NEW YORK, July 20.--Love for
girl, unknown to his relatives, in
= innate friends and associates. inn
PEELED Henry Humphrey Parsons
wealthy young law student, TO take
~Nis life at the Summer home OF hss
aunt, Mrs. JEFFERSON Hogan, I'm the
residential colony at Purchase, n. Y 4,
on June II last.
This was the conclusion reached
yesterday by DR.. John stella. coro-
ner OF Westchester County, after con
sidering every theory presented as a
motive for the suicide Of the former
army lieutenant who was found dea
In a bathtub flled with water with
a gunshot wound through his head.
The night before his death Parsons
I had spent with William Crocker. now
in California During the evening
the young lieutenant telephoned to
the home of young woman TO make
an engagement with her, but found
, she was out. Crocker knows the
name OF the young woman. but in his
' position to the coroner before the in
| quest was held he gave assurance
that she was in no way connected
with Parsons suicide
FOUR HOURS REMAIN BLANK.
At 80 o'clock on the morning Of
! June IT Crocker parted with Parsons
III, 'front.' Oh tnc 1dle CluD, anu 80 ldi
| as is known was the last person to
see him until $3.50 when the law
student drove UP to his aunts home.
| He was cut and bruised under the
right eye. his dress shirt was smeared
with blood. In his decision Coroner
Stella said
After due consideration OF the
/ testimony adduced at the inquest, l
fnd it impossible to ascribe any def
q at iua fnr iIiH n
Humphrey Parsons.
''The whole case is mystery
which probably never will be solved.
Although a careful and diligent in
! Vestigation was carried out by the
[ local police and others, no clue or
any kind was discovered. The only
thing we are certain of is that death
was suicidal and not homicidal.
I'm the absence of any evidence
that might. lead to the solution of
this obscure case, any conclusion as
to the possible cause of the suicide
is more or less matter of specula-
tion and deduction by exclusion of
other determining factors.
THEORIES DISCARDED.
''In this case we can well disre-
gard i'll health or actual insanity, as
: deceased was in the best of health,
proved by his splendid physique and
his clear, bright and well-poised
mind. We can exclude financial
stress, as he was wealthy, had an in
come of about 100000 a year. besides
his professional earnings, and was
known to be rather conservative and
to live within his means. We can
safely eliminate domestic troubles,
as he apparently had none. His fam
lily relations were of the best.
THE only plausible cause. then, is
sudden moral affliction and possibly
love, This theory is .corroRsrated BY
the visible signs of an aRerGatiop
which he probably had within the
hours of | 80 a. m. and J.3O a. m. on
Thursday, June II, as evinced by his
coming home at an unusual hour, by
his confused wound under his right
eye, and by his general peturbed ap-
pearance between 80 "A M. and J:3O
a. m. something happened, ] am
almost certain, which acted an
incentive and a direct cause of his
suicide.
LATENT MONOMANIA.
previous to that time ] do not be-
lieve there was any premeditation.
Something happened in those few
hours that completely upset his mind.
probably lighting up an old latent
form of monomania, subtle hcredi-
tary suicide tendency, the same ten
dency which possibly caused his sister
to take her life in the year 1908 in
moment of dependency over the
death Of the one she loved.
"Laboring under the pressure of dc
lusions, he probably began to lose
himself; his reason tottered and be-
gan to vanish until subconsciOusly he
armed his own hand to end it all. But
what happened to cause such dis
astrous change?
Life is full of mysteries. The
sions and sentiments arc so complca-
ted and varied as to BATTLE the great
est scientists and psychologists. Who
can tell the exact motive that caused
this young man, eKuberant in health
and riches, with a splendid career and
future before him. to change in a.
few brief hours the entire course of
his life to lose all hope, ambition and
ideals. to rcnounCc all the comforts,
pleasures and luNurics of life, to shat
ter and destroy with his own hand his
very existence?
"It surely was not A material loss.
What then was it if not spiritual
loss. a broken heart a wounded soul
n strong fear, deep emotion, an in
tepse anguish which tortured. cNas-
perated his mind until dispair, Confu-
sion, alteration, and, possibly, an
atavistic impulse of sclfdcstruCtion
supervencd, throwing him down. as a
tempest into the abyss of death?
AT the bottom. Of tho deep mys-
terry that surrounds tho premature
grave of thus unfortunate and brit
liant young man Wc can look to but
ono factor; tho eternal love force. No
other human force could explain tho
psychology or tho tragedy"
IIRCCS POLICE ARREST