1922

 

We typically think of abuse prescription drug as a recent problem; however, this is not the case.  In 1922, a man intentionally overdosed on morphine capsules recently prescribed to him.  His coroner file included a suicide note, the prescription for the morphine, and a morphine capsule picked up at the scene of the suicide.  The capsule had been crushed due to 85 years of handling and packaging, making the loose powder even more dangerous to myself because the drug could have accidentally been inhaled.  After some investigation, we discovered that the morphine was just as potent today as it was when it was made and the campus police had to be notified to dispose of the remaining morphine.  Other instances of drug misuse are present in the files, though none of the others have given us as much to talk about. 

 

ZB 11 Sept 2007

 

1925

 

A 42-year-old widower shot himself in the head.  A witness said that the man could not stop worrying about his kids and his unfortunate financial situation.  I do not think there were any notes.  There is nothing too interesting about this certain case I only mention it because cases with similar stories came up when the cause of death was a suicide. 

 

CL 09 Sept 2007

 

In 1925 I found at least three cases of women who committed suicide by Lysol poisoning.  Most of the women were homemakers who were described as acting "queer."  I think that they were probably bored and depressed by their lives.  I did not realize that Lysol has been around for so long. Research revealed that it was introduced in America in 1918 to kill flu germs.  Some women used it to kill themselves instead of the flu. 

 

AL 13 Sept 2007

 

An unusual "suicide" occurred in 1925 where a woman was supposed to have shot a man (her lover) twice in the back and then shot herself thrice in the heart and lungs.  The man lived and his testimony in the files says the woman was angry because he refused to stop seeing a second woman.  However it is strange she managed to shoot herself three times in the chest -- possibly the other woman shot both of them and the man was covering for her. 192502_210

 

BB 13 Sept 2007

 

Although I have not found any suicide notes I run into a good amount of suicides.  My most recent one involved a woman who killed herself at some kind of party she had. The witnesses said she ran upstairs to her room where they heard a shot and then a thud when she fell to the floor.  The guests gave no reasons why she shot herself except they heard her say that life was too hard and she did not want to live anymore. 

 

CL 21 Sept 2007

 

 

1929

 

As stated earlier there was a large spike in suicides right after the Great Depression hit. I also found deaths from exposure to the cold, which may have been related to the Great Depression as well. I found that about one in every six deaths was a suicide in the month right after the Depression. The most frequent form of suicide seems to be hanging, although I did not find a great number of suicide notes. I thought I would find a lot more notes blaming money problems for the person's suicide.  

 

AS 03 Oct 2007

 

 

1930

 

The year was 1930 where I found a premeditated suicide with the insurance company doing their own investigation into the death.  They found reports where a man's wife said she did not care if he died and she made sure that he was dead before she cut him down from the tree.  They were holding her insurance money from her and wanted the police to file charges against her. 

 

CL 03 Oct 2007

 

I also had two other suicides that included notes with them, and I believe both suicides were hangings. Both of the notes were a little incoherent and much of what that person had to say was repeated over and over.  Both of the notes were similar in nature and came in an envelope where one of the notes was addressed to the person they wanted it read by.  The addressed note was to the lady's sister saying that she was too much of a burden and that she would be better off without her.  The woman was sick for some time.  The other note was from a man who injured his leg and could not work; he basically said that his wife would be better off without him. 

 

CL 03 Oct 2007

 

In January of 1930 there was an incident in which a father of two committed suicide.  In his suicide note the man stated that he killed himself because his daughter committed suicide before him.  Included in his file was a copy of his daughter's suicide note in which she blames her mother for not letting her become a nun.  She was only 15.  The father also blamed his wife, who he called “Mama,” for the death of their daughter as well as his own. 

 

ZB 03 Oct 2007

 

A woman committed suicide by taking strychnine tablets.  She left a suicide note in which she states that killed herself because her husband and his children mistreated her.  Also in her suicide note she tells her children not to let her husband or his children touch her body.  She also tells her sons to take care of her daughters.  What is strange and a bit sad is that the woman's son reported that his mother was surrounded by loving people.  The left over strychnine tablets were left in the report.  193008_142

 

As we suspected, everyone is in agreement that there has been a jump in suicide deaths since the beginning of the Depression.  While we were hoping for instances of people jumping off the buildings downtown, this has not been the case.  I had a murder suicide in which a man killed his wife before shooting himself. 193009_54

 

MG 03 Oct 2007

 

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1932

 

Several suicides were of note during the month of May. There was one case in which all of the official papers in the file had the cause of death as something to the affect of complications from a gunshot wound to the spinal cord. The inquest, testimonials, etc. all ruled this case as accidental but on a ripped half sheet of paper there was a note scribbled that read "This is NOT an accidental death... Look at the time of death, relationship of victim to shooter, it's not accidental."

 

Many suicides at this point (male suicides more specifically) were executed by means of gunshot wounds and hangings. I have not seen many cases of ingestion of various poisons, intentional drownings, or intentional knife wounds. Most gunshot wounds were afflicted to the temple or mouth, with scattered abdominal injuries. In this respect the nature of male suicides have continued to be more violent than female ones, and have not changed drastically in method.  However the increasing availability of handguns and revolvers over the period of the 1900s-1920s creates a downfall in the use of shotguns.

 

LEG 12 Oct 2007

 

During the Depression, we tend to think of suicide as an escape for the unemployed and poor, but we forget about the suicides typically found in the coroner files.  One instance involved a garage owner in Homestead.  He typed his suicide note on his garage's letterhead and within the note he names a friend to be executor of his estate and new owner of the garage.  Clearly he had money, property, and possessions to be passed down.  We can also tell that he was of a clear mind while writing his suicide note because he specifically states that one man and his family were not welcome at his funeral. 

 

ZB 18 Oct 2007

 

 

1933

 

Case file 193301_75 documented an instance of suicide by creolin poisoning.  I had not found many instances of creolin causing death so I did a moderate amount of research on the substance. I discovered that creolin poisoning, while not unheard of, was a rather rare occurrence.  Creolin is a powerful disinfectant that is relatively harmless to humans in reasonable doses.  It has been known to serve as a deodorizer, disinfectant, and household cleaner.  Interestingly enough creolin is often associated with carbolic acid, one of the primarily methods of female suicides from 1900-1915.  Carbolic acid, however, is known to typically have a stronger odor and is thus less agreeable.  It is also more detrimental to the gastrointestinal system if ingested.

 

With the increasing use of creolin by public access, carbolic acid was sold less and less as a disinfectant as it is known to be harmful to humans.  With the discovery of creolin many tests were performed to see the effects of it on the human system.  It was proven to be relatively safe in moderately low amounts. This case file was interesting because it shows the progression of modern disinfectants as well as the increasing difficulty to get a hold of harmful 'pharmaceuticals'.  For a more thorough look at creolin please read The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.

 

 

1938

 

An Austrian man's suicide note was copied and typed in one of the files I had.  It said that he was sorry and that he had many sleepless nights because he was too worried about his family back in Austria.  This makes sense because at that time Hitler was starting to consolidate what he thought was the true German state. 

 

CL 19 Oct 2007

 

A 45-year-old man was sentenced to Allegheny County Workhouse for about two weeks. While he was there he committed suicide by lashing a shoelace to a spoon and strangling himself to death. His brother said he sees no other reason for his brother’s death but that he was sentences to the workhouse.

 

AS 24 Oct 2007

 

A 60 year-old man commit suicide by drowning himself in the Youghiogheny River, near Port Vue. He left behind a wife and 6 children. According to his wife's testimony, he had been unemployed for 3 years, despondent, and had threatened to burn the house down several times. He had been working briefly for the WPA and was injured on the job. He was supposed to receive compensation but never did, as he hadn't reported the injury the day it occurred. He became deeply depressed and threatened suicide after being refused help at the relief office. 193807_053.

 

2008 May 26 RLM

 

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1940

 

I came across a suicide with a note that was different than some of the other suicides I have had so far.  The usual suicide note states things such as finances or painful illnesses or even family problems as reasons to why he/she committed suicide.  But the suicide that I came across said that the guy who was in his 30s at the time killed himself because his wife died.  The case file did not mention how his wife died. 

 

CL 26 Oct 2007

 

A 31 year old man committed suicide by shooting himself through the right temple. However, what makes this file worth mentioning is the note that he left to his wife. While it is very sad, the note is also very sweet. He tells her that she was the best wife that a man could have and that he wants to be buried somewhere that he can be close to her. However, the note also shows that he was a classic depressive. He was just unhappy and could not function in the working world. 194001-299

 

AFS May 23, 2008

 

 

1941

 

A 38-year-old man committed suicide while in custody of Taremtum Police Station for a minor crime. The man threatened that he would take his own life, so the guards took anything that could be of harm away from him. When the guard left, the man in custody took off his fake leg and strangled himself with the rawhide strap from his prostheses. 194112_180

 

AS 01 Nov 2007

 

 

1942

 

I have noticed an increase in suicides where the cause of death is decapitation but the decapitation was caused by a train.  The person would have had to lie his head on the railroad track when the train came. 

 

CL 02 Nov 2007

 

 

1953

 

One of twelve suicides to take place in August of 1953 was a man who suffocated himself on natural gas fumes from his stove. What was interesting about this suicide was the note left behind on the back of about ten stapled together envelopes in which the man question where a number of historical figures are (presumably now that they are dead. The questioned asked "Where is Hitler?" "Where is Stalin?" "Where is FDR?" and continued in this fashion. 195308_135

 

I found another interesting suicide found in August of 1953. A man cut his jugular vein and jumped out the four story window of a hotel. The man left behind a bloody suicide note on the top half of an old pin-up poster. In the note, he stated that he was not eating, his diet consisted primarily of water and he was becoming ill as a result, he had lost his job and had little money, he refused to become a charity case, beg or go on welfare, and did not want a funeral. His daughter elaborated in the Proof of Identity that he lost his job three years prior to his death and had become depressed and increased his drinking She went on to say that this incident was not his first suicide attempt; eight months before he attempted suicide and failed. 195308_187

 

AP 21 Jan 2008

 

 

1956

 

In the beginning of the year there were 15 suicides.  Out of these, there was one man who hung himself in his jail cell with his belt on his 50th birthday. 195601_221

 

A 65-year-old man jumped from his third story window after he had slit both his wrists and his throat. 195601_253

 

The most interesting of the 15 suicides was a 61-year-old male who jumped off the Schenley Park Bridge behind the Carnegie Library.  He landed on his feet, which caused his legs to push up into his internal organs.  He was found on the tracks and identified by his two son-in-laws who had been looking for him because his wife thought something was wrong when he left for work much earlier than he normally did. 195602_93

 

NM 19 Jan 2008

 

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1957

 

A man was unemployed, despondent over debts, and he and his family were about to be evicted from their home. His wife made him scrambled eggs and bacon for lunch, so he ate that. Then he reached into a kitchen cabinet, pulled out a hunting knife, and stabbed himself in the groin. He asked his wife to call the doctor, and later died in the hospital. 195712_109

 

LB 25 Jan 2008

 

 

1958

 

Recently I have noticed more people are leaving behind notes about why they killed themselves.  One of the more interesting notes was from a 76-year-old man who jumped from the Panther Hollow Bridge.  He left a four page note in Slovak, and they had to translate it into English in the file.  The note was all about his cheating wife and how he could not bear to go on that way. 195807_29

 

NM 03 Feb 2008

 

A 14-year-old boy killed himself after his girlfriend broke up with him.  He shot himself in the head and was found by his 13-year-old brother.  He left a note for his mom that talked about the love he and his girlfriend had and how much he could not bear the thought of not having her.  The most interesting part of the note was when he stated, "I don't [know] how many times I have prayed that we were living back in the times when money wasn't God." 195607_143

 

NM 03 Feb 2008

 

A 25-year-old man shot himself in the head. The body was found in a cellar days later with a strong odor of decay and maggots in the wound. This man had been in charge of his father's business affairs; he was also gambler, a possible reason why he killed himself. 195809_74

 

AP 08 Feb 2008

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

1959

 

I came across the joint suicide of a couple in their early 40s. The wife had multiple sclerosis for the past seven years. The disease had progressed to the point that she was nearly a quadriplegic (fully paralyzed). She had tried to kill herself two weeks earlier, and had only just been released from the hospital. The couple was found in bed together, dead from an unknown poison, although there were many pills in the house. They left a note that said:

 

"Please try to understand and forgive us it was the only way for us."

 

I think the wife convinced her husband that her life was no longer worth living, and he was so distraught over the possibility of losing her that he wanted to die too. So they agreed to die together. 195901_43-195901_44

 

LB 01 Feb 2008

 

The verdict of 195902_78 was classified as a suicide but the circumstances are very suspicious. A man went out to his backyard to shoot rats near his shed and to trim trees. The report says that he supposedly shot himself three times: twice in the chest and once in the head. When the body was found, the gun was eleven feet from his body, and he had his pruning equipment with him. Because the man was in good health and was shot three times by a gun that was found eleven feet from the body, I would like to think that this was either an accident or a murder.

 

BF 05 Feb 2008

 

A 33-year-old doctor at Mayview State Hospital shot himself in the head. He was mentally ill for some time and under the treatment of a University of Pittsburgh psychiatrist. He was described as up beat and no one expected this of him. 195905_136

 

AP 08 Feb 2008

 

A man hanged himself from a shower fixture with a belt. He managed a furniture store and was seldom home. He got into an argument with his wife one Sunday over the fact that he wanted to go play golf with his friends and she wanted him to stay home. Following the argument he went upstairs and hanged himself. He was also being treated for a nervous condition at the time. 195906_98

 

AP 15 Feb 2008

 

This is the case of a 55-year-old woman who managed to intentionally kill herself with a plastic bag. It is very common to see women in this age group kill themselves, especially housewives. Most of this group overdoses or poisons themselves, or hang themselves in their basements with clothesline. This is the first time I have even heard of a person killing themselves with a plastic bag.  It seems like a particularly prolonged and horrible way to die (not to mention all the effort). I wonder if this person felt the need to punish herself for something. The life of an aging housewife must be very hard at times. 195908_44

 

RB 05 Feb 2008

 

Case 195909_38 was the suicide of Pitt philosophy professor.  The man had tried to kill himself three times previously, and had been committed to Western Psych. He was released for the day so he could run some errands with his wife, one of which was to pick up some if his books from his office on the 13th floor of the Cathedral of Learning. His wife said that he kept going back for items as she was trying to get him to leave. Finally he thought he had left the light in his office on, and went back while she waited at the elevator. A few minutes later she went to see what was taking him so long. He had his office window open and had one leg out of the window. She grabbed the other leg and yelled for help. A geography professor, whose office was next door, ran into the room and grabbed the philosophy professor's other leg. They held on for several minutes, and finally let go when they could not hold on any longer.

 

LB 8 Feb 2008

 

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1960

 

A 44-year-old man killed himself by jumping off the Bloomfield Bridge.  He was a bowler in a bowling league; he had his league shirt on, as well as, many other layers of clothing. His brother said he was depressed over a divorce and a lack of steady work. 196004_219

 

AP 15 Feb 2008

 

A 30-year-old man hanged himself in his cellar with a rope.  He had been overweight and took "reducing tablets" (over the counter) to lose weight. He successfully shed most of the weight, but became very irritable and threatened suicide many times. He went as far as setting up the noose to scare his wife. This time he told his wife he was going downstairs to kill himself. She did not believe him, he went to the basement, she heard a gurgling noise and went to check on him only to find him dead. 196005_76

 

AP 15 Feb 2008

 

A 49-year-old white woman committed suicide by closing herself in a refrigerator and suffocating. She had been mentally ill for the last two years, a patient at St. Francis Hospital five times, and was home only two months this time. She had a history of being found in iceboxes throughout life by her husband or sister. No note. 196008_108

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 80-year-old white man hanged himself in a barn with a rope. he left no note. 196008_128

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

47-year-old white man committed suicide by overdosing on an unknown amount of drugs (barbiturate poisoning.) He had at least five other drugs around his room. His brother told police that the deceased had a severe nervous condition and attempted suicide four times in the last five years. No note. 196008_139

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 49-year-old white man slashed his throat. He had become depressed after his wife left him and his company had merged with another company. He would have had to take a worse job following the merger. He was also under the watch of a psychiatrist, who was away at the time of death. He had attempted suicide twice before. No note. 196008_148

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 76-year-old white man committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope attached to a closet door. He had been operated on recently for a prostate problem. He was also under treatment for a nervous condition and had become increasingly despondent recently. No note. 196008_149

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 75-year-old white man shot himself in the head. He had been suffering from asthma. No note. 196008_150

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 47-year-old white woman committed suicide by overdosing on about 20 Nembutal capsules (barbiturate poisoning.) Her neighbor said she had a bad nervous condition and had been hospitalized for a time. Her husband said she had the nervous condition since menopause. She left a note to her husband saying it was better this way. 196009_06

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 49-year-old white woman committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from an automobile. She had been going through menopause and had a nervous condition. She had snapped at her husband the last time he saw her. She apparently killed herself over a relationship she was having with another man that had ended recently. Her note stated, "Chuck you and your lies," this "Chuck" being the other man. His photo was on the seat next to her. (*amusing side note: the suicide note was written on the back of a sign that was attached to the visor that said, "This car driven from left front seat ONLY!" "Anyone who don't like the way this car is operated, please observe the mistletoe on driver's coat tail.") 196009_15

 

AP 22 Feb 2008

 

A 51-year-old white woman committed suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning from inhaling automobile exhaust. She had been suffering from a nervous condition the past four years (menopause related?) and was taking medicine from a doctor. She had not seen her doctor recently around the time of the suicide. In her note she said, "You have asked for this. I still want you to leave me alone. Don't visit me ever." 196009_116

 

AP 25 Feb 2008

 

A 36-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the abdomen. He shot himself following an argument he had with the woman who owned the trailer he was renting a room in. No note. 196009_108

 

AP 25 Feb 2008

 

A 59-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The family agreed with this assessment, but the coroner did not at this time. He listed the cause of death as "Gunshot wound to the Right Temple (Undetermined)." No note. 196009_109

 

AP 25 Feb 2008

 

A 77-year-old white man committed suicide by taking rat poison (phosphorus poisoning). He had been despondent for some time over the lose of an eye. No note. 196009_144

 

AP 25 Feb 2008

 

A 38-year-old white woman committed suicide by drinking hydrochloric acid. Her husband came home late and they argued. She handed him the baby and told him to feed it. While he was heating up a bottle, she went down the cellar, took a bottle of acid and drank it in front of him. She told him, she hoped he was satisfied. When he found that she had taken acid, he immediately went to a neighbor for help. She had been under severe mental stress over a recent family problem. No note. 196009_150

 

AP 25 Feb 2008

 

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1961

 

A 39-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting off the upper half of his head with a shotgun. He was at his sister's house at the time. He had a nervous condition, a heart condition, and was a deeply religious man. In his note, he left behind two Bible passages regarding being embraced by the Lord. One of the officers who investigated the crime drew a very nice, detailed map of the room, what was in the room, and where the body was with proportion to the furniture in the room. 196104_35

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 36-year-old white woman committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills (Seconal) (barbiturate poisoning). She had two nervous breakdowns that required hospitalization. She was found on the toilet with her head slumped in the sink. No note. 196104_47

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 56-year-old white man committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from automobile exhaust. He was the former president of the Screw & Bolt Corporation of America. He had resigned from the position about a month before. He had been in poor health and despondent since his wife died about one year ago. No note. 196104_74

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 57-year-old white man committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from automobile exhaust. He had been unemployed for one year because he was in poor health. He had lung cancer surgery, was in constant pain, became despondent, but not obviously suicidal. No note. 196104_97

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 67-year-old white man was found drowned (Undetermined) XX. He was a sick man. He had five major operations and talked about killing himself. He said to a roommate if he was not home in a day or so he would commit suicide. He was found in the Harmer canal. No note. 196104_70

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 65-year-old white man committed suicide by jumping from a bridge on Beaver Road over Big Sewickley Creek, falling 30 feet into the shallow creek bed below. He had back pain, was not working and had just lost his pension. No note. 196104_140

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 42-year-old white man committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from automobile exhaust. He had a nervous condition, he was an alcoholic and he had lost his job because of it. His suicide note on a loose piece of cardboard read: "Sorry Pot/Jan / I AM NO GOOD / START OVER / MY OWN FAULT / GOD HELP US / L. BURKETT / NERVES / BOOZE / " 196104_154

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 34-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He had been in good condition until he was laid off from work. He had been brooding from that point on. 196104_163

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 46-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the neck with his rifle. He was a heavy drinker and he was unemployed for about a year. He was living with his sister at the time. After supper he went upstairs to get ready for a visit to see his father in the hospital. He was heard talking to himself by his sister moments before he pulled the trigger. 196104_180

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 54-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with his rifle. He said he was in terrible pain from arthritis in his legs. In four different notes on loose cardboard, he told his wife that he could not take the pain anymore and said goodbye. 196104_198

 

AP 29 Feb 2008

 

A 42-year-old man was not having the best marriage with his wife. Who knows what they argued about, but it pushed this man to the verge of suicide. He shot himself with a shotgun to the chest after he left a note that said: "I'm a horrible husband, and a poor father- find our girl a good father." Consequently left at the same time was a note by the couple's teenage son, which said: "I'm tired of this mom and dad, you shouldn't be together." Evidence found in this corner case file was a good indicator that there were problems between the couple- even unsigned divorce papers found in the case file. 196106.038

 

BG 22 Feb 2008

 

A CMU tech student from China fell madly in love with his married landlady and fawned over her constantly, causing his grades to fail. Her husband was made uncomfortable by the young man's attraction to his wife, and asked her to stop letting him hang around. Due to the student's poor performance in school and his inability to attain the woman he lovesd he sank into a deep depression. After a short while he went to his landlady, regardless of her wishes to be left alone. When she saw him approach, she reminded him that they could no longer be friends. He ingests some potassium cyanide crystals in front of her, abruptly ending his life. 196112_28

 

RB 11 Mar 2008

 

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1962

 

In January of this year a 51-year-old white male died of a self-inflicted stab wound to the abdomen.  The man's daughter and son-in-law witnessed the stabbing.  They said that the deceased had come home at about 1:00 a.m. that night, drunk and depressed over the recent death of his wife.  While they were talking to the man in the kitchen of the house, he got up, removed a butcher knife from the sink, stabbed himself in the stomach, and placed the knife back in the sink.  According to the initial report made by the police, the investigating officers had to, "go to the bathroom of the house...as the victim was in there and he was sitting on the toilet taking a crap."  As he was being removed, the man kept yelling, "I don't give a f--k, I want to die, I want to be with my wife, wherever she is."  196201_37

 

TG 27 Feb 2008

 

A 29-year-old British woman committed suicide in January of this year by drinking a liquid containing cyanide crystals.  She drank this liquid from a coffee cup immediately after being told by the man she was seeing that he was leaving her.  She went into convulsions after drinking the contents.  The couple had been arguing the previous night and the morning of the suicide, and the deceased had been exhibiting strange behavior in the time period leading up to her death.  The woman worked as a lab technician at the South Side Hospital, but police were unable to determine where she had acquired the cyanide. 196201_66

 

TG 27 Feb 2008

 

An 18-year-old white male committed suicide by shooting himself in the right temple. It was listed (While Temporarily Insane) Suicide.  He was a former high school honor student who was force to drop out of school following an illness acquired after a car accident. He had been seeing a psychiatrist for the last two years because of suicidal tendencies. He came home from work on the day of his suicide, appearing to be happy, but then went up to the bathroom and shot himself just before lunch. 196207_124

 

AP 24 March 08

 

 

 

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1963

 

A 37-year-old black male, employed as a lab assistant at the Westinghouse Air Brake Division, committed suicide by drinking a cyanide mixture from a glass beaker.  For unknown reasons, the deceased attacked a co-worker with a steel object and then drank cyanide he had likely mixed in a beaker as the other employees were trying to tend to the man he had attacked.  The report indicates that the deceased had become paranoid, believing that someone he worked with was out to get him and his family.  He apparently believed this of the man he struck with the steel object. 196306_80

 

TG 05 Mar 2008

 

 

A 30-year-old white female committed suicide in June of this year.  According to her husband, she was depressed from the death of their infant child a year before.  The woman set a 35 caliber rifle across the arms of a living room chair, set the barrel to her head, and used a plastic attachment from a vacuum cleaner to set the trigger off. 196306_100

 

TG 05 Mar 2008

 

 

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1964

 

A 13-year-old boy was being punished by his mother when a policeman came by the house and told her that the boy had been involved in an incident with a 9-year-old boy and a girl of undetermined age. The boy's friend had beat up the 9-year-old, and the boy himself had told the girl to take her clothes off. The mother hit him with a leather belt on the backside a few times and then put him to work washing windows in the basement. Later she called her son to run to the store for her. When he did not answer she send her older son to go down and get him. The older son found him hanging from a rafter by a piece of rope. The boy was cut down and they tried to revive him, but to no avail. Three of the four basement windows had been washed. 196407_69

 

LB 13 Mar 2008

 

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1965

 

A 15-year-old girl killed herself by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from a running car in her garage. She left a note saying that trouble went wherever she was. 196502_59

 

LB 13 Mar 2008

 

 

1966

 

In many of the suicide cases there were usually suicide notes left near the body that would explain why they did it, instructions for finances and to beg for forgiveness. There was one case in particular in which I discovered a bloody suicide note inside a clean envelope. The note I found to be very intriguing for the mere fact that he went on for a page and a half about how sorry he was to his three children; at the end of the page he simply wrote to his wife: “Don’t freak out.” 196608_75

 

Some of the most appealing cases were the files that included photos. There were photos of rooms where individuals had committed suicide, autopsy photos and simply photos of different areas for simple documentation of a site. One of the most interesting case files was that of a housewife that committed suicide. She had overdosed on pills and then shot herself. The most shocking part of the case, however, were the actual samples of her hair and scalp in her case file. 196611_52

 

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1969

 

December 9, 1969: A 28-year-old Polish man who worked as a metal inspector for the J&L Steel Co. commit suicide at the Mount Lebanon Police Station. He was found hanging by his undershirt from the bar of his cell and died from asphyxiation. He had been admitted earlier that day for stabbing and murdering his wife. 197002_224.

 

RLM 09 Jun 98

 

 

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1970

 

A 39-year-old man was described as "running around with a rifle threatening people." When the police showed up to control the situation, the man put the gun to his head and shot himself. 197009_159

 

A 35-year-old man was sitting in a parked car at a local Dairy Queen with two women and a young boy. The man pulled out a gun, shot teh two women, and then shot himself, leaving the little boy unscathed. No reason as to why the man would have done this was indicated in the files. There were graphic photographs of the entry and exit paths of the bullet included in this file. 197009_250

 

LB 24 Mar 2008

 

A 27-year-old black man committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in a men's' room stall. He had an argument with his girlfriend the night before and went down to her work place to rectify the situation. He made no threat of suicide when he talked to her. No note. 197011_60

 

AP 21 March 2008

 

A 20-year-old white man committed suicide by shooting himself in the stomach. He returned home from Vietnam two months before his death. He was supposed to marry a girl who had his baby two yearsearlier, but after he left for the war, she gave the baby up for adoption. Her parents were also against the marriage. His parents know that he saw her the day before he killed himself and believe they had a fight. In his note, he says he is sorry and asks to be buried with the two wedding rings and a picture of his former girlfriend and the baby. 197011_84

 

 

AP 21 March 2008

 

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1971

 

A 52-year-old black man committed suicide by shooting himself in the left side of his chest. He was very sick and depressed over the loss of his wife six months prior. He was a heavy drinker as well. 197101_18

 

 

 

AP 25 April 08

 

A 36-year-old white man committed suicide by overdosing on Carbutol and Seconal. (According to one of his suicide notes, he took 36 Carbutol and 30 Seconal.) Included is a copy of his will and six different suicide notes. He asks in his will foe his estate to go to his son and that his sister is appointed his guardian (likely the child will remain with his ex-wife). One note asks his ex-wife be notified of his death, leaves contact information. Another is to his ex-wife, he tells her he loves her and for her to take care of their son, asks that she not turn their son against him, mentions he has no money to help her with, and says that his suicide is her Christmas present so she can re-marry in the Church (Date of death 12/10/1970). Another note stated, "No Home, No Job, No Money, Mom & Lee & Eric I Love You." Another note stated, "Merry Christmas to All Goodbye." Another note asks his ex wife be notified of his death at work if possible, then he writes to his mother; says that he can not get over his break up with his ex-wife, thinking about his son only reminds him of her, asks for prays and forgiveness. On the second page he wants his ring and gold medal to go to his son, says that there is something wrong with him and that he does not want to go to prison, in a p.s. he tells his mother that if his ex-wife does not comply with his wishes, that his mother should threaten he with jail and to bury him as cheaply as possible. Last note, he details the drug he took "36 Carbutol and 30 Seconal capsules." 197101_153 

 

AP 21 March 2008

 

A 40-year-old white male committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a rifle.  After he and his wife put their children to bed he went downstairs to the basement, closed the door, and called the police saying that he needed help.  The emergency operator heard the gunshot over the phone.  The deceased had quit his job as a high school teacher a month earlier and had been depressed since that time.    197103_280

 

TG 24 Mar 2008

 

A 68-year-old Troy Hill man died in the hospital after he was rushed there following a suicide attempt.  After numerous attempts at diagnosing the man following his admission due to cardiac arrest and pulonary edema, and following his resuscitation, he told doctors that he tried to kill himself by ingesting creosol, a key ingredient of creosote, which is used for treating wood such as railroad ties.  Despite being revived however, he ultimately succumbed to peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the nerves and lining of the abdomen with a fairly high mortality rate for older persons such as himself.  197105_69

 

MWB 24 Mar 2008

 

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