A Death at the Asylum, a Doctor Under Suspicion, and a Report That Cleared Him
Commissioners investigating Accountant Shadle's death at the Western Washington insane asylum found no murder—and said the gossip had wronged Dr. Redpath.
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.
The report of the commissioners of the Western Washington insane asylum, in regard to the death of Accountant Shadle, should set at rest all doubts concerning the cause of the death of that gentleman. The commissioners have sought to learn everything connected with the case, and after long and patient investigation have come to the conclusion that the theory that Mr. Shadle was murdered is absolutely without ground. By reaching this conclusion they exonerate from all blame and relieve from all suspicion Dr. N. J. Redpath, whose name has been unpleasantly prominent in the talk aroused by Mr. Shadle's death. Dr. Redpath did all within his power to facilitate the investigation, and has at all times courted the closest scrutiny of his relations with the Shadle family. The report of the commission induces the belief that the gossip concerning Dr. Redpath has done him a great injustice.
“The theory that Mr. Shadle was murdered is absolutely without ground.”
When someone dies inside an institution, who is responsible and how the death is investigated is as live a question now as in 1894. The commissioners' report closed the case and cleared a doctor's name, but the 'talk' it mentions shows how quickly rumor outran the facts. Modern oversight of state psychiatric hospitals still wrestles with the same tension between transparency and reputation.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.