The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-06-06
Gilyard q Suicide Declares Coroner h
 His Official Finding
Took Life as Escape From Embarrassing Financial Dif'
 faculties, COrrigan Ayers

the selectmans office and find that it was locked at the time Wierdo arrived. Deceased's coat and vest hung upon a hook just inside the door. A partition on the northerly side of the room is divided into q storeroom and the lavatory.
 1T find that there were three shots fired from the .22 calibre revolver from the direction of the front door directly towards a rear window, one of them penetrating a pane of glass and lodging in beam in the garage, one of them imbedding itself in the sash, while a third ricochetted off the lower baseboard of the room and was hidden under the linoleum with which the floor was covered.
 Upon deceaseds person were found two letters written in lead pencil in a forced backhand, the first one dated March End. 1881 reading, II understand that you are responsible for getting those colored boys so look out as We will get you' The second one dated May 9th. read We missed you the other night bu, next time we will get you so be ready to go". I find that before his death deceased had shown these let ters to a few intimate friends and officials The colored boys to whom the letters purported to refer were not arrested until March 23rd, some 21 days after the postmark of the first letter. There were no misspell- ings in the letters and the envelopes were punctuated carefully and cor rectly. There was a bullet mark in the right door of the deceased's car which he claimed to friends was made by an as3ailant from ambush as he drove along the east bank or the river from Ansonia to his home in Seymour on the night of May 5th. It is assumed that this is the missed" to which the second letter refers The road on the east bank of the river is but IS feet wide and there are bushes and shrubbery growing down to the edge of it. It is questionable whether it would be possible for a person standing off the road to recognize an automobile or its driver as they approached at night with burning headlights.
 1T find that there was no blood between the desk of deceased, upon which the telephone usually rested. ard the point where the body lay, distance of more than six feet.
 Examination of tEe fatal shot by ballistic experts disclosed that it was fired from the .45 calibre Colt auto matic which belonged to deceased and which he always kept in his roll-top desk, which was situated on the southwesterly corner of the room, the opposite side from the lavatory. The pistol itself appeared to be freshly oiled, but its chamber was quite rusty. There was ragged, bursting tear in the front of the de- ceased's shirt at the entrance of the bullet. Both the shirt and the body were burned and discolored by pow der smoke at the site of the wound. indicating that the firearm was held against the clothing. Aside from this tear caused by the bullet wound, there was no other tear in the clothing and it was in good order, the shirt being clean and neatly laundered. None of the furniture in the room yrs at all disturbed and there was not the slightest evidence of struggle.
 Deceased was a very robust man. weighing 220 pounds and known for his muscular strength. 1t Is eX- tremely unlikely that person whom deceased might suspect Of in- tending to attack him could have gotten the muZzle of the gun against deceased's body. If the .22 calibre bullets had been fired by an assaii- ant or assailants, it is obvious that deceased would have been upon his guard and have prevented his at tackers from placing the gun against his chest. Again, if deceased had come out of washroom and been at tackled by n person holding the ,22 calibre revolver near the front door, the large table In the middle of the room would have caused him 10 pass very close io his assailant in order to reach the corner Of the room in which his desk and gun were located ana near which his body Iay. Al 20 short range it seems impossible that he could have heen missed three times, had the g? cnlibre revolver been fired a. him, lie could not have been slot by th0 ,ih cnlibre Colt Aa ha emerged from thu wahhroOn', for in that cAsn the blood would have burst from inc wound, staining tho lower part of hIa clothing and tho floor from thnt point to the point W here hia body lay,
 "OniRide of ihH bullet hole made hp ihe ib eailbre shot, tho only other mark upon decrhae1"h body was A slight abrasion Of the left chin There was no confusion hpah Inc hend Ra would he expected, had deeeAAed fallen mOnnils wounded and ktplIuk hlH head against ihe leg nf ina slank Ah hefOia dnRuFlhnd, The