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794 stories matching commit

  1. The Tragedy of the State Asylum

    A grim tally of patient deaths at the Washington State asylum sparks questions about the treatment of vulnerable populations committed from King County.

    Aug 1, 1899The Seattle StarSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

  2. Puyallup Man Re-committed to State Asylum Following Breakdown

    A young man who struggled after a wilderness ordeal is returned to Western State Hospital after his mother reports fear for her safety.

    Apr 9, 1904The Tacoma TimesPuyallup, Pierce County

  3. A Tragic End in the Seatco Penitentiary

    After her young son stood trial for a killing he committed, his mother took her own life in confinement.

    Sep 6, 1880Puget Sound DispatchBucoda, Thurston CountyTrue Crime

  4. Tragedy of a Man Committed for His Seizures

    A local man with epilepsy was ordered to the state asylum after a history of struggle with his health and suicidal ideation.

    Jul 13, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce County

  5. The Uncertain Fate of Tommy Santiago Howard

    Convicted of killing Kite Arquette years ago, Howard faces the penitentiary despite lingering doubts about his guilt and a potential pardon effort.

    Mar 30, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  6. The Unauthorized Preacher

    A man committed to the state asylum after an erratic attempt to seize a local pulpit is sent back to care.

    Jun 28, 1904The Tacoma TimesWestern State Hospital, Steilacoom, Pierce CountyLocal Legends

  7. A Final Request for Mercy

    A desperate railroad worker took his own life in a Second Street hotel, leaving behind a note confessing he was struggling to suppress a violent urge to kill.

    Nov 28, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSecond Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

  8. The Tragic Cost of a Frontier Head Injury

    A young man near Seattle is committed to the state hospital after a workplace accident leaves him with permanent brain trauma.

    May 15, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerIssaquah, King CountyWork & Pay

  9. The Burglar Who Walked Into Tacoma From Everett

    A single suspect arrested in Everett for robbing a hired girl at gunpoint is now being investigated by Tacoma police as the prime suspect behind a string of local burglaries that have plagued the city for months.

    Dec 21, 1903The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  10. The Burglar Who Stole From Himself

    A clever thief in Seattle pulls off a double deception: stealing from a store and then framing a Chinese employee for the crime.

    Apr 24, 1877The Daily IntelligencerThird Street, Seattle, King CountyExclusion & Resistance · True Crime

  11. The Thief Who Stole a Coat Under the Nose of the Law

    A bold pickpocket makes the mistake of committing his crime right under the watchful gaze of a city official.

    Sep 3, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCommercial Street, Seattle, King County

  12. Judge Bell’s Hard Line on City Crime

    A Seattle judge hands down stiff prison sentences for robbery to deter the criminal element in the city.

    Oct 13, 1903The Evening StatesmanSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · True Crime

  13. The Nine Men Who Refused to Work: Seattle’s First Labor Standoff

    In December 1876, nine coal miners at the Seattle bunkers defied orders on the ship *War Hawk*, leading Commissioner Smith to commit them to jail until the vessel sailed.

    Dec 16, 1876Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

  14. Tragedy at Steilacoom Hospital

    An inquest finds no negligence after a patient at the hospital for the insane takes his own life.

    Oct 26, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSteilacoom, Pierce County

  15. A Mental Health Crisis on the Waterfront

    Judge Humes committed Charles W. Burton to the state insane asylum after he brandished an axe on the waterfront.

    Jul 21, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

  16. A Ghastly Discovery in Spokane

    An unidentified man is found brutally murdered in a barn loft, sparking a grim investigation.

    Jul 6, 1898Adams County NewsSpokane, Spokane CountyTrue Crime

  17. The Tragic Confinement of Madia Joy

    A ten-year-old girl is committed to an insane asylum after suffering from a paranoid delusion that her own family was trying to kill her.

    Jun 22, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerAuburn, King County

  18. Tragedy in Marysville

    A mother is committed to the state asylum after an attempted murder-suicide in a woodshed.

    Apr 8, 1890Fairhaven HeraldMarysville, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

  19. The Vicious Old Man of the Jail

    After a history of petty crime and violence, a troubled elderly man is committed to the state asylum due to worsening mental illness caused by years of dissipation.

    Jun 14, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

  20. The Neighborhood Terror of Kitsap County

    A man’s year-long campaign of property destruction and violent threats against his own family members lands him in a King County jail cell.

    May 25, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKitsap CountyScandal

  21. The Tragedy of the Lord Family

    Neighbors push back on the asylum commitment of a mother, blaming poverty rather than mental illness.

    Jun 24, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce County

  22. The Millionaire in the Asylum: Thomas Keeler's Chinese Indemnity Delusion

    A Seattle man convinced the government owed him $1,000,000 was committed to Steilacoom after seeking payment at banks and law offices.

    Aug 6, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSuperior Court of Washington for King County, SeattleLocal Legends

  23. The City Engineer Who Jumped: Seattle’s Mental Health Crisis in 1889

    Ira Lockeard, the man who helped map the post-fire city, was committed to an asylum after leaping into Elliott Bay, revealing the hidden toll of labor and trauma on early civic leaders.

    Feb 20, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

  24. The Tragedy of a Lonely Laborer

    A Norwegian laborer, recently arrived in Port Townsend with a large sum of money, commits a desperate act of self-strangulation while in city jail.

    Feb 1, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPort Townsend, Jefferson CountyBoom & Bust

  25. The Sad Delusions of John Watson

    A trainman found living in squalor is committed to Steilacoom Asylum after declaring himself the owner of Victoria’s townsite.

    Apr 28, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyLocal Legends

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