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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1912 | 1 |
32 stories matching mortem
- A Chimney Sweep’s Fatal Fall—and the Hidden Injury That Killed Him
Joseph Bauer fell from Judge Henry’s roof while sweeping a chimney. He seemed merely bruised—until a ruptured liver killed him days later, prompting a rare post-mortem watched by Olympia’s doctors.
- The Hotel Oriental Arson Mystery
An inquest reveals that a fatal Seattle hotel fire was deliberately set with coal oil, as a grieving city searches for the culprit behind the death of Erie Johnson.
- The Discovery of an Abandoned Infant
A tragic mystery unfolds in Ellensburg as a newborn's remains are found in a discarded valise.
- The Jesuit Who Shot an Archbishop: A Murderer’s Cold Confession on the Way to Prison
Frank Fuller, convicted of killing Catholic Archbishop Seghers in the Alaskan wilderness, speaks to reporters as he is transported by steamship from Port Townsend to McNeil Island.
- An Elder Left to Suffer
A Native American elder, brutally assaulted at a local ranch, is left on an island without medical care by city and county officials.
- Fatal Debt: A Dispute Over Sewing Machine Collections Ends in Murder
A Seattle sewing machine manager, Arthur M. Peck, was fatally shot at his residence after a heated collection dispute with a client in Olympia escalated to lethal violence.
- A Spilled Bowl of Soup, a Fatal Shot at Camp Murray
A mess-tent quarrel between two young soldiers ended with Private Thomas Vandiver shot through the body and Private Frederick Stubbs in the county jail, claiming self-defense.
- Tragedy at the Gale Creek Coal Mine
An Austrian miner dies from gas inhalation after returning too early to a freshly blasted chute.
- A Blind Herb Doctor and the Death of a 14-Year-Old
An Olympia coroner’s jury found that Clara M. Linton died from the botanical treatments of Dr. William T. Campbell, a blind patent-medicine practitioner who promised her father a cure.
- The Brutal Killing of Mike Ivancovich
A grocery store owner in Anacortes is murdered in his home by a man known as 'Charley Sam,' sparking threats of vigilantism in the community.
- A Brother's Bullet: Deputy Marshal Dies, and the Accused Killer Asks Only for a Match
Shot by his own brother at Pioneer Place and James Street, Deputy U.S. Marshal Edward Minsch lingers a day and dies at Providence Hospital — while Frank Minsch, cool and indifferent in the city jail, shows no grief and admits only that he is 'subject to epileptic fits.'
- The Criminal Past of an Accused Hold-up Man
John Burke, arrested for the fatal shooting of a local druggist, revealed to have a history of brushes with the law across the state.
- The macabre post-mortem of a sideshow giant
After a circus performer died in Ellensburg, local authorities and doctors went to gruesome lengths to extract profit from his corpse.
- A Widow’s Armed Vigil at the Grave
After her husband’s suspicious death, a Seattle woman takes up arms to stop authorities from disturbing his remains.
- The Missing Penknife and the Body in Lake Washington
Coroner Horton ruled Michael D. Warren drowned himself at Madrona Park, but the cuts on his body and his vanished penknife kept the case uneasy.
- The Bitter Fight for Workers' Rights in the 1911 Legislature
A legislative post-mortem reveals how labor advocates clashed with corporate interests over the landmark Workmen's Compensation Act and the battle to end 'first aid' graft.
- The Tragedy on Howard Street
A household servant disappears after a toddler dies from arsenic poisoning.
- The Tragic End of a Kalispel Valley Love Triangle
A farmer takes his own life after murdering his neighbor in a crime born of betrayal and a hidden cache of letters.
- The Tragic Shooting of Edward Minach
Frank Minach is bound over for trial after shooting his brother in a local incident that stunned witnesses.
- A Confession Withdrawn, a Wife Dead: The Smokalem Mystery
Jack Smokalem pleads guilty, then takes it back, as his daughter and coroners give conflicting accounts of his wife's violent death.
- The Collapse of the Pacific Northwest League
A post-mortem on the professional baseball association in Tacoma and Seattle highlights the 'salary evil' that led to its ruin.
- A Ghastly Discovery in Tacoma
A railroad laborer found dead in a lodging house was subjected to post-mortem indignities, raising questions about his final hours.
- The Fatal Breakfast
A Seattle widow sues an insurance company for $10,000 after her husband died from a fish bone injury, triggering a grim post-mortem examination.
- The Tragedy in the Smokalem Shanty
A witness to a brutal murder on the Puyallup Reservation recounts the final moments of a woman killed by her husband, a man known to his own community as 'cultus.'
- The Tragic Passing of Nettie Dinsmore
A beloved Seattle teacher succumbs to typhoid fever, revealing a grim public health warning for the city.
Also about this, in other words
- The Untimely Death of a Spiritualist's Patient
A coroner investigates a woman's death after she was treated by a spiritualist practicing in the Kline & Rosenberg building.
- The Watches, Pipes and Toothbrushes of the Unclaimed Dead Go Up for Auction
Two years of the coroner's unclaimed effects — purses, cuff buttons, knives and one gold timekeeper — will be sold at the courthouse door on July 7. Their owners died violently, died poor, or were pulled from the bay and written down as 'unknown.'
- The Grave-Robbing Insurance Battle
A Seattle pioneer's body is exhumed to settle a high-stakes dispute over a fish-bone accident claim.
- An Embarrassing Resurrection
A logging partner walks into the coroner's office to find his own death certificate being prepared.
- A Marriage Cut Short by Tragedy
A young bride dies suddenly on her second wedding anniversary, triggering a callous rumor mill that the press quickly works to correct.
- The 'Corpse' Who Sat Up and Ran for the Bay
A wharf loafer mistaken for a corpse startled undertakers when he sat up in the receiving box, bolted for the water and fled uptown.
- The Last Breath in Walla Walla: A Mother’s Collapse as Her Son Faces the Gallows
In May 1888, John Ham was sentenced to death for murder in Washington Territory. His mother, Mrs. Pyle, broke down in court, while their co-conspirator fled the state, leaving the family to face the ultimate penalty.
- A Sudden Death at the Masonic Temple
A janitor who kept the furnaces running at the Second and Pike building dies quietly while at his post.