The Tragedy on Meridian Street
A double murder-suicide in Tacoma marks a violent end for a couple married just three months.
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.
Early this morning, pedestrians on Meridian Street, the most frequented thoroughfare of the city, were horrified at the sight of the apparently dead bodies of a man and woman lying in an alley a few feet distant from the walk, with their throats cut. A patrol wagon was called, and the unfortunates were removed as speedily as possible. They were found to be Hubert Phillips, a stationary engineer, and his wife. The husband had cut her throat and then his own, using a common case knife to do the deed. The wounds were frightful lacerations. The woman is dead. Phillips is still alive, but it is believed that he cannot recover. They had been married but three months. Jealousy was the cause of the deed.
“Early this morning, pedestrians on Meridian Street... were horrified at the sight of the apparently dead bodies of a man and woman lying in an alley... with their throats cut.”
Domestic violence tragedies like this one, reported in the curt, sensationalist style of the 1880s, remain a grim feature of local crime blotters today. While our understanding of 'jealousy' as a motive has evolved into a recognition of intimate partner violence, the vulnerability of those in transient or precarious situations—a common reality in the boomtown era of Tacoma—echoes in contemporary discussions about housing stability and safety.
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