Coroner Askam
Named in 25 stories. Back to all names
- Jan 19, 1895A Miner's Last Spree: The Newcastle Suicide That Shocked a Coal TownAugust Sanders, a veteran Newcastle coal miner, shot himself after a drinking spree and the Coal Creek fire left him broke—an intimate glimpse of life and despair in Washington's coal country.Newcastle, WA
- Feb 17, 1895He Heard His Friend Cry for Help in the DarkJoseph Pfahl, a Lake Washington rancher, fell from a boat-house incline at the foot of Madison Street after a Druids meeting; his friend heard his cries but could not find him in time.Seattle, WA
- Feb 20, 1895He Raced the Streetcar—and Fell Beneath ItA boy running beside a Front Street line car slips at the Harrison Street crossing and is crushed before the gripman can stop; the inquest opens that afternoon.Seattle, WA
- Feb 21, 1895The Cable Car That Killed a Boy—and the Safety Rules That FollowedA coroner’s jury clears the gripman and conductor, then demands guards on the front of every dummy car and bells at crossings.Seattle, WA
- Feb 25, 1895The Tragic End of a Civil War VeteranA former soldier, recently discharged from the Soldiers' Home, is found dead in the bay at the foot of Pike Street.Seattle, WA
- Mar 6, 1895Caught Between Floors: A Fatal Elevator Ride in the Pioneer BuildingA former Kitsap postmaster tried to run an elevator he did not know how to operate. His neck caught in the door, and a terrified young witness had to release the car.Pioneer Building, Seattle, WA
- Mar 7, 1895A Fatal Elevator Ride in the Pioneer BlockAn inquest clears the operator but urges a new law after a man is crushed in a downtown elevator well.Seattle, WA
- Mar 7, 1895The Unknown Man of Lake WashingtonA decomposed body found near the Madison Street wharf is briefly linked to a notorious double drowning before being buried in potter's field.Seattle, WA
- Mar 14, 1895A Father's Vengeance: The Killing of the Muckleshoot Medicine ManWhen three of Jerry Domnick's children died under Jim Bouchitt's care, the grieving father took a rifle into the woods — and the healer was found buried under a log near Soos Creek.Soos Creek, Auburn, WA
- Mar 15, 1895A Medicine Man Is Buried, but the Jury Says 'Parties Unknown'Jerry Domnick confessed to killing the once-powerful medicine man Jim Bouchitt near Auburn — yet a coroner's jury refused to name him, leaving a murder with two answers.Auburn, WA
- Mar 17, 1895The Elevator Man Who Fell Through the TransomJoseph Albright had run the elevator in the Seattle National Bank building for barely a month when a half-second's slip crushed him between cage and door — and sent his body through the glass over the ground-floor entrance.Seattle, WA
- Mar 26, 1895The Drunk Constable and the Burglar Who Wouldn't RunCharles Williams, recaptured after a Seattle jail break, tells how his sleeping guard nearly let him escape; the body of his accomplice Blanck is buried after a curious autopsy.Seattle, WA
- Mar 27, 1895A Dog Led Seattle to a Dead Newborn—and a Woman in BlackA sugar-sack bundle hidden at Squire Avenue and Barclay Street held a newborn with a crushed skull; the mother vanished into the night.Seattle, WA
- Mar 28, 1895The Woman in Black and the Newborn Left for DeadA Seattle coroner concludes that an infant found at a street corner was killed at birth by a blow to the skull. Detectives have no suspect, only a frustrated clue about a woman in black.Seattle, WA
- Apr 6, 1895The Seattle Editor Who Worked Himself to Death in a BathroomGeorge H. Heilbron, editor-in-chief of the Post-Intelligencer, was only 38 when apoplexy killed him at his Cherry Street home. His doctor blamed years of nervous exhaustion from overwork.1107 Cherry Street, Seattle, WA
- Apr 14, 1895A Morphine Death at the Concord HouseAllan McDonald, a Toronto-born piano player struggling with morphine, was found dead in a Seattle rooming house with a jealous letter beside him and 85 cents in his pocket.Seattle, WA
- Apr 25, 1895He Loved Her Too Much to Marry HerAdam Gehm, a Bavarian logger working in Carbonado, shot himself in a Seattle lodging house after confessing to a friend that illness left him unable to provide for the woman he loved. He had tried once before.Seattle, WA
- May 18, 1895A Dugout, a Gunny-Sack Sail, and a Boy Lost on Lake WashingtonHarvey Wehn was 15 when his makeshift sail capsized near Taylor's mill. A 4-year-old was the only witness.Seattle, WA
- May 21, 1895A Bereaved Husband, a Faithful Dog, and a 25-Cent RoomDaniel Bauman took morphine in a downtown lodging house after his wife died at the county farm. His little black dog stayed beside the body and fought off anyone who came near.Seattle, WA
- Jun 20, 1895A Girl Died in a Magnetic Healer’s Home. Her Father Was Kept Outside.Vina Kelly, 14, died at her brother-in-law’s West Street practice. The coroner ordered an inquest after conflicting death reports and a father’s late-night grief.West Street, Seattle, WA
- Jun 22, 1895A Funeral with Flowers, a Minister—and No MournersVina Kelly's funeral became a public spectacle when her family failed to appear. Then the coroner's post-mortem answered a rumored pregnancy and found pneumonia.Seattle, WA
- Jun 22, 1895A Streetcar, a Dark Curve, and Four Feet of WaterA brewery worker fell from a Grant Street car into the Seattle tide flats. Rescuers reached him too late—even though the water was shallow.Seattle, WA
- Jun 29, 1895After the Franklin Mine Explosions, the Company Says the Worst Is OverTwo explosions tore through the Franklin coal mine on a Thursday afternoon, killing pit foreman Park Robinson and injuring nine. The company's manager insisted no more would die — and angrily denied rumors the blast was caused by boxing up a burning seam.Franklin, WA
- Jun 30, 1895Two Dead at Franklin: A Foreman's Heroic Death and a Verdict That Cleared the CompanyA King County coroner's jury blames three miners for the gas explosion that killed Charles Anderson and foreman Park Robinson — and explicitly exonerates the owners, praising Robinson for a rescue attempt he 'could have avoided.'Franklin, WA
- Jul 1, 1895Mysterious Death of Japanese Man Turns Body BlackAn autopsy on E. C. Kimoto, a Japanese laborer who died suddenly, reveals a puzzling blackening of the body and missing money, prompting a chemical analysis.Seattle, WA