Tragedy on 14th Avenue
A quiet domestic life ends in despair as a Seattle man takes his own life following a long struggle with illness.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Tragedy occurred in Seattle at 7 o'clock this morning. The victim was K. F. Kehlier, 44, who had been lodging with his sister, Mrs. N. D. Tieback, at 1412 14th Avenue. A sudden shot in Kehlier's room attracted the attention of the house, who hurried to the room and were horrified to find her brother lying on the floor with a smoke-filled room and a bullet wound in his temple. Investigation by police revealed that the suicide had been in ill health for two years and suffered acutely from nervous trouble. It is believed that desperation caused him to seek death.
“A bullet wound in the temple told the story.”
Kehlier's death highlights the stark isolation often faced by those suffering from chronic illness in the late 19th century. Today's Seattle struggles with a similar crisis of care, as the city grapples with how to support residents facing mental health challenges and long-term disability amidst an unforgiving housing and economic climate.
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