page_title: John C. Handy
section_title: Shooting and death
hierarchical_section_title: John C. Handy / Shooting and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Francis J. Heney was an attorney in Tucson, Arizona Territory. He was attacked by a client's husband and killed him in self defense.
context_page_description: John Charles Handy was a prominent physician who attacked his wife's divorce attorney and was killed. He practiced medicine from 1871 to 1891 in Tucson, Arizona Territory. He was first a contract surgeon for the U.S. Army at Camp Thomas and married an Apache woman. He became known for a fiery temper and during a disagreement with the post trader killed him, but was acquitted of all charges. Handy moved to Tucson in 1871 and remarried. He was selected in November 1886 as the first Chancellor of the University of Arizona and was a well-regarded physician. He founded the Pima County Medical Society in 1879 and helped set high standards for medical care. In 1884, he was among 58 Tucson pioneers who formed the Society of Arizona Pioneers.
  He severely abused his wife Mary Page, chaining her to a bed in their home for days and may have administered morphine to her until she was addicted. Two years later he was having an affair with a married woman and filed for divorce, accusing her of being "a morphine fiend and a common slut." Handy publicly stated that any lawyer who defended her "would be sorry", and repeatedly threatened to kill her attorney Francis J. Heney.
context_section_description: At noon on Thursday, September 24, 1891, Francis Heney's brother Ben, who had been helping guard Francis, was in San Francisco attending to family business. Francis Heney left his office for lunch. His secretary Lautaro Roca was to join him momentarily. Handy waited outside the courthouse, and a half-block away at Pennington St. and Church Ave., as Heney walked past Handy, Handy suddenly shouted and grabbed the smaller man from behind, whirled him around, seized Heney by the throat and pushed him against a wall, choking him with all his might. Handy then let go and hit Heney in the face, saying, "Take that you son of a bitch." Heney broke away and ran, pulling a pistol from his pocket. The noon-time crowd around the courthouse saw the fracas. Some shouted, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"  Handy grabbed the pistol and tried to take the weapon from Heney. The two men struggled for control of it when it discharged, striking Handy in the lower abdomen. Handy, although wounded, lifted the smaller Heney off the ground and then both men fell to the street, still grappling for the revolver. But Heney refused to release his grip on the pistol while Handy still struggled for it. Deputy Sheriff John Wiegle and several other people finally removed the gun from Heney's grip and Handy's fingers from Heney's hands.
  Handy was supported as he walked to his own office a block away where he inspected his own wound.  The bullet had nearly penetrated his body. Doctors Michael Spencer and Hiram Fenner removed the bullet from near the base of his spine. Handy was then taken to his home. Handy insisted that his friend Dr. George E. Goodfellow in Tombstone, widely known for his expertise in treating gunshot wounds, be summoned to repair the internal damage. While Handy waited, he dictated a statement in which he accused Heney of attacking him, and he also dictated his will. Heney immediately surrendered at the court house and his bond was set at $6,000. Three friends immediately posted his bail. A hearing was set for Saturday.
  After Goodfellow received a phone call with news of Handy's shooting, he rode 24 miles (39 km) by horseback to the nearest railhead in Benson, Arizona, where he boarded a railroad engine and caboose set aside just for him, and set out for Tucson. In an effort to get to Tucson faster, he took over the locomotive from the engineer and drove the train at high speed, and covered the 46 miles (74 km) in record time, arriving at 8:15 pm. Goodfellow began operating at about 10:00 pm, and he found 18 perforations in Handy's intestines, which he immediately set about cleaning and closing. But Goodfellow was too late and Handy died at 1:15 a.m., before Goodfellow could complete the surgery.
  Two days after the shooting, Heney was represented by Selim M. Franklin at the inquest into Handy's death. Cameron, the court clerk, testified that Handy had repeatedly threatened to kill Heney. Witnesses testified that on more than one occasion, as the lawyer walked along the street, Handy had intentionally attempted to run Heney over with his buggy. Witnesses and Heney told the court that Handy had attacked Heney. Many prominent witnesses affirmed that Heney acted in self-defense. Although Handy had a revolver,  he had not removed it from his pocket. The judge found that Heney had acted in self-defense and exonerated Heney from any charges.
  Handy was honored with Masonic funeral rites in Tucson which were followed by a procession up Court Street including "a thousand Mexican women, wearing black rebozos" who had benefited from his services.  His body was then transported by rail to Oakland, California, where he was buried in a family plot near his father.
caption: Francis J. Heney represented Handy's abused wife in their divorce trial and eviction proceeding despite repeated death threats from Handy. When Handy attacked him, Heney killed him in self-defense.
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