LACK, Nellie 1876-1902

LACK

Posted By: Kathy Gerkins (email)
Date: 9/26/2013 at 16:32:12

Lack, Nellie

DEATH BY HER OWN HAND

Miss Nellie Lack, of Cedar Township,
Puts Bullet Through Her Brain

Deed Committed in This City
Where She Had Come For
Medical Treatment.

Poor Health Caused Despondency and Finally Ends in Self Destruction.

Last Monday afternoon, July 28, 1902, the people of this city were shocked to hear that Miss Nellie Lack, a young lady quite well known here, who resides with her mother, brother and sister about twelve miles north of this city, had taken her own life.

She had driven to town that afternoon with her sister, Miss Amy Lack, for the purpose of taking treatment from her physician, Dr. Geo. Sitzer. They stayed at the doctor's office about an hour and from there went to the home of J. W. Morrison where they had left their horse and were preparing to return home.

Miss Amy Lack went to the barn to get the horse. Miss Nellie complained of being fatigued and went to the outhouse on the place, and going in shut the door and seating herself on the floor, placed a revolver to her temple and blew out her brains.

Miss Amy heard the report and running to the outhouse discovered her sister in a sitting posture with a bullet hole through her head. She called for Mrs. Morrison, and thinking the girl dead did not remove her, but sent at once for Coroner E. G. Dennis, who, upon arrival, found life extinct. Death seems to have been instantaneous.

The body was at once removed to Hering & Co.'s undertaking establishment where Dr. Dennis made an examination of the wounds. The ball entered the right temple above the eye and passed clear through the head coming out above the left eye, making an opening about one inch in size. Both temporal bones and the frontal bone were shattered and part of the brain was gone.

The inquest over the remains was held in the office of Dr. E. G. Dennis Tuesday morning before a jury composed of A. E. Pooley. S. E. Green and T. F. LaVelle. The verdict rendered was that she came to her death by her own hand during a fit of temporary insanity.

The weapon which did the deadly work was in evidence. It was a Colt's revolver of 41 caliber and was identified by Dr. Sitzer as his property. He did not notice its absence until after the suicide, as he had not used it for years and had it put away among some papers in his desk, in his private apartments. How she got the weapon or where she kept it concealed will probably remain a mystery.

Dr. Sitzer testified that the dead girl came to him to receive treatment for nervous trouble and he considered her on the verge of insanity and had advised her people to have her taken away for treatment. She was at times hysterical and had often asked him to give her something to end her mystery.

W. H. Lack and sister, Miss Any lack, brother and sister of the deceased, testified that their sister had always been of a cheerful disposition until about a year ago when she was taken ill with malarial fever and had since been despondent and had often expressed a desire to die. She had never shown any violence and had no desire to injure anyone.

Deceased was born in Illinois and was about 26 years old. She had been a teacher in this county for about six years. She was a young lady who had many friends. The remains were taken to her home Tuesday afternoon where the funeral was held yesterday forenoon. The remains were interred in the Howardville Cemetery.

Newspaper clipping from the Floyd County Museum.

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