Bloomington Daily Telephone 04/10/1939
With blood flowing from deep self-inflicted gashes in both wrists, Charles Babb, age 56, stood in a tool shed near his home in Clear Creek at dawn on Easter Sunday and twice plunged the thick seven-inch blade of his home-made hunting knife into his throat. Dr. Hugh S. Ramsey returned a verdict of suicide in connection with the case which was Monroe county's fifth violent death within nine days.
Worried about his poor health which recently had caused him to have all of his teeth extracted, the veteran Monon car repairman did not greatly miss decapitating himself. The two wounds in his throat extended from the ears to theh larynx and each severed the juglar [sic] vein.
Mrs. Chester Babb, of Lafayette, wife of one of the deceased's four sons, found the body of her father-in-law. The victim had left his bed at shortly before 5 o'clock, telling his wife, Mrs. Bessie Babb, that he was going out to feed the chickens.
Knowing that her husband was brooding over his failing health and realizing that he had not been acting normally during recent days, Mrs. Babb soon became anxious about her husband's absence. She called her son Chester and his wife who were week end guests and asked them to look for the elder Babb.
The body was found sprawled face down on the wooden floor of the tool shed located approximately fifty feet northeast of the house, at the side of and toward the rear of the dwelling. Dressed in overalls and an overall jacket, the body, hatless, was prostrate in a pool of blood more than yard wide. The fatal knife, which the deceased reportedly had made at the local Monon roundhouse, was still clutched tightly in the victim's hand. Member of the family said that the victim had owned the knife for many years and always kept it locked in his tool chest. Babb had been employed by the Monon for 22 years and is reported to have been on duty last Saturday.
Sheriff Earl Baxter who was called to the scene to investigate the tragedy was accompanied to the Babb home by Patrolman Bernard Jackson. The Babb home is located on the east side of the Rogers Street Pike on the north edge of Clear Creek.
The knife was not in the victim's hand when the officers arrived. Chester Babb, son of the deceased, explained to officers that he had impulsively wrenched the weapon from the hand of his dead father and had thrown it from the shed, near which officers found the knife.
Babb had first attempted to kill himself by gashing the outside of his wrists, baring the tendons but not striking the veins which are located near the surface of the inside of the wrists. This was not sufficient to cause death. Babb thereupon stabbed himself twice with great force in the throat considerable force being necessary to driven the fairly dull knife to fatal depth.
No note was found by officials.
Sherriff Earl Baxter returned to Bloomington and notified Coroner Ramsey who ordered the body removed to the Day Funeral home. It was not until the body had been brought here that the wounds in the throat were discovered by the officers. Mrs. Babb, out of kindness, ws not permitted to see the body of her husband at the scene of the suicide.
The victim had taken time to feed the chickens before killing himself. Large quantities of shelled corn were found scattered about the poultry house which is built onto the tool shed.
An indication of the disturbed mental condition of the victim is that he had agreed, Saturday evening, to accompany his son Chester Babb and the latter's wife back to Lafayette Sunday afternoon and to stay with them for a time to rest and attempt to regain his health. It was for the purpose of accompanying the elder Babb to Lafayette that Mr. and Mrs. Chester Babb had come to the Babb home at Clear Creek.
A strange coincidence noted by officers was the deceased Babb distinctly resembled the late Fred Flater, local Monon detective who shot himself to death a few months ago in the local yards of the Monon as a result of worrying about poor health.
Surviving the victim, in addition to the widow and the son Chester, are a daughter, Mrs. Viola East of Clear Creek; three other sons, Fred of Anderson, and Ernest and Gilbert at home; a brother, Gilbert of South Dakota; five sisters, Mrs. Jade Starr of Bedford, Mrs. Carl Cramer of Bedford, Mrs. Ogle Jackson of Owensburg, Ky., Mrs. Katherine Johnson of Vincennes, and Mrs. Delphia Danner of Cleveland, O. Also surviving is a grandson, Willard Alvin Babb.
Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Day Chapel, the Rev. Frank Messersmith, of the Clear Creek Christian church and Rev. Harry Bridwell, of Indianapolis, will be in charge of the rites, and the Limestone quartet will present several vocal selections. Interment will be in the Clear Creek cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Elmer Sullivan, Ernest Lehman, James Pauley, Ralph Clendenning, Thomas Chestnut, and Perry Cazee. Honorary pallbearers will be John Jackson, John Mathis, Thomas Duncan, Lawrence Reeves, Reed Harold, Sam Hunsacker, Joe Parrott and Ben Clark. Flower bearers are to be Oneta Bruce, Louise Bruce, Dora Cardwell, Waneta Eads and Teresa Duncan.
With blood flowing from deep self-inflicted gashes in both wrists, Charles Babb, age 56, stood in a tool shed near his home in Clear Creek at dawn on Easter Sunday and twice plunged the thick seven-inch blade of his home-made hunting knife into his throat. Dr. Hugh S. Ramsey returned a verdict of suicide in connection with the case which was Monroe county's fifth violent death within nine days.
Worried about his poor health which recently had caused him to have all of his teeth extracted, the veteran Monon car repairman did not greatly miss decapitating himself. The two wounds in his throat extended from the ears to theh larynx and each severed the juglar [sic] vein.
Mrs. Chester Babb, of Lafayette, wife of one of the deceased's four sons, found the body of her father-in-law. The victim had left his bed at shortly before 5 o'clock, telling his wife, Mrs. Bessie Babb, that he was going out to feed the chickens.
Knowing that her husband was brooding over his failing health and realizing that he had not been acting normally during recent days, Mrs. Babb soon became anxious about her husband's absence. She called her son Chester and his wife who were week end guests and asked them to look for the elder Babb.
The body was found sprawled face down on the wooden floor of the tool shed located approximately fifty feet northeast of the house, at the side of and toward the rear of the dwelling. Dressed in overalls and an overall jacket, the body, hatless, was prostrate in a pool of blood more than yard wide. The fatal knife, which the deceased reportedly had made at the local Monon roundhouse, was still clutched tightly in the victim's hand. Member of the family said that the victim had owned the knife for many years and always kept it locked in his tool chest. Babb had been employed by the Monon for 22 years and is reported to have been on duty last Saturday.
Sheriff Earl Baxter who was called to the scene to investigate the tragedy was accompanied to the Babb home by Patrolman Bernard Jackson. The Babb home is located on the east side of the Rogers Street Pike on the north edge of Clear Creek.
The knife was not in the victim's hand when the officers arrived. Chester Babb, son of the deceased, explained to officers that he had impulsively wrenched the weapon from the hand of his dead father and had thrown it from the shed, near which officers found the knife.
Babb had first attempted to kill himself by gashing the outside of his wrists, baring the tendons but not striking the veins which are located near the surface of the inside of the wrists. This was not sufficient to cause death. Babb thereupon stabbed himself twice with great force in the throat considerable force being necessary to driven the fairly dull knife to fatal depth.
No note was found by officials.
Sherriff Earl Baxter returned to Bloomington and notified Coroner Ramsey who ordered the body removed to the Day Funeral home. It was not until the body had been brought here that the wounds in the throat were discovered by the officers. Mrs. Babb, out of kindness, ws not permitted to see the body of her husband at the scene of the suicide.
The victim had taken time to feed the chickens before killing himself. Large quantities of shelled corn were found scattered about the poultry house which is built onto the tool shed.
An indication of the disturbed mental condition of the victim is that he had agreed, Saturday evening, to accompany his son Chester Babb and the latter's wife back to Lafayette Sunday afternoon and to stay with them for a time to rest and attempt to regain his health. It was for the purpose of accompanying the elder Babb to Lafayette that Mr. and Mrs. Chester Babb had come to the Babb home at Clear Creek.
A strange coincidence noted by officers was the deceased Babb distinctly resembled the late Fred Flater, local Monon detective who shot himself to death a few months ago in the local yards of the Monon as a result of worrying about poor health.
Surviving the victim, in addition to the widow and the son Chester, are a daughter, Mrs. Viola East of Clear Creek; three other sons, Fred of Anderson, and Ernest and Gilbert at home; a brother, Gilbert of South Dakota; five sisters, Mrs. Jade Starr of Bedford, Mrs. Carl Cramer of Bedford, Mrs. Ogle Jackson of Owensburg, Ky., Mrs. Katherine Johnson of Vincennes, and Mrs. Delphia Danner of Cleveland, O. Also surviving is a grandson, Willard Alvin Babb.
Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Day Chapel, the Rev. Frank Messersmith, of the Clear Creek Christian church and Rev. Harry Bridwell, of Indianapolis, will be in charge of the rites, and the Limestone quartet will present several vocal selections. Interment will be in the Clear Creek cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Elmer Sullivan, Ernest Lehman, James Pauley, Ralph Clendenning, Thomas Chestnut, and Perry Cazee. Honorary pallbearers will be John Jackson, John Mathis, Thomas Duncan, Lawrence Reeves, Reed Harold, Sam Hunsacker, Joe Parrott and Ben Clark. Flower bearers are to be Oneta Bruce, Louise Bruce, Dora Cardwell, Waneta Eads and Teresa Duncan.
Bloomington Daily Telephone 04/10/1939
With blood flowing from deep self-inflicted gashes in both wrists, Charles Babb, age 56, stood in a tool shed near his home in Clear Creek at dawn on Easter Sunday and twice plunged the thick seven-inch blade of his home-made hunting knife into his throat. Dr. Hugh S. Ramsey returned a verdict of suicide in connection with the case which was Monroe county's fifth violent death within nine days.
Worried about his poor health which recently had caused him to have all of his teeth extracted, the veteran Monon car repairman did not greatly miss decapitating himself. The two wounds in his throat extended from the ears to theh larynx and each severed the juglar [sic] vein.
Mrs. Chester Babb, of Lafayette, wife of one of the deceased's four sons, found the body of her father-in-law. The victim had left his bed at shortly before 5 o'clock, telling his wife, Mrs. Bessie Babb, that he was going out to feed the chickens.
Knowing that her husband was brooding over his failing health and realizing that he had not been acting normally during recent days, Mrs. Babb soon became anxious about her husband's absence. She called her son Chester and his wife who were week end guests and asked them to look for the elder Babb.
The body was found sprawled face down on the wooden floor of the tool shed located approximately fifty feet northeast of the house, at the side of and toward the rear of the dwelling. Dressed in overalls and an overall jacket, the body, hatless, was prostrate in a pool of blood more than yard wide. The fatal knife, which the deceased reportedly had made at the local Monon roundhouse, was still clutched tightly in the victim's hand. Member of the family said that the victim had owned the knife for many years and always kept it locked in his tool chest. Babb had been employed by the Monon for 22 years and is reported to have been on duty last Saturday.
Sheriff Earl Baxter who was called to the scene to investigate the tragedy was accompanied to the Babb home by Patrolman Bernard Jackson. The Babb home is located on the east side of the Rogers Street Pike on the north edge of Clear Creek.
The knife was not in the victim's hand when the officers arrived. Chester Babb, son of the deceased, explained to officers that he had impulsively wrenched the weapon from the hand of his dead father and had thrown it from the shed, near which officers found the knife.
Babb had first attempted to kill himself by gashing the outside of his wrists, baring the tendons but not striking the veins which are located near the surface of the inside of the wrists. This was not sufficient to cause death. Babb thereupon stabbed himself twice with great force in the throat considerable force being necessary to driven the fairly dull knife to fatal depth.
No note was found by officials.
Sherriff Earl Baxter returned to Bloomington and notified Coroner Ramsey who ordered the body removed to the Day Funeral home. It was not until the body had been brought here that the wounds in the throat were discovered by the officers. Mrs. Babb, out of kindness, ws not permitted to see the body of her husband at the scene of the suicide.
The victim had taken time to feed the chickens before killing himself. Large quantities of shelled corn were found scattered about the poultry house which is built onto the tool shed.
An indication of the disturbed mental condition of the victim is that he had agreed, Saturday evening, to accompany his son Chester Babb and the latter's wife back to Lafayette Sunday afternoon and to stay with them for a time to rest and attempt to regain his health. It was for the purpose of accompanying the elder Babb to Lafayette that Mr. and Mrs. Chester Babb had come to the Babb home at Clear Creek.
A strange coincidence noted by officers was the deceased Babb distinctly resembled the late Fred Flater, local Monon detective who shot himself to death a few months ago in the local yards of the Monon as a result of worrying about poor health.
Surviving the victim, in addition to the widow and the son Chester, are a daughter, Mrs. Viola East of Clear Creek; three other sons, Fred of Anderson, and Ernest and Gilbert at home; a brother, Gilbert of South Dakota; five sisters, Mrs. Jade Starr of Bedford, Mrs. Carl Cramer of Bedford, Mrs. Ogle Jackson of Owensburg, Ky., Mrs. Katherine Johnson of Vincennes, and Mrs. Delphia Danner of Cleveland, O. Also surviving is a grandson, Willard Alvin Babb.
Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Day Chapel, the Rev. Frank Messersmith, of the Clear Creek Christian church and Rev. Harry Bridwell, of Indianapolis, will be in charge of the rites, and the Limestone quartet will present several vocal selections. Interment will be in the Clear Creek cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Elmer Sullivan, Ernest Lehman, James Pauley, Ralph Clendenning, Thomas Chestnut, and Perry Cazee. Honorary pallbearers will be John Jackson, John Mathis, Thomas Duncan, Lawrence Reeves, Reed Harold, Sam Hunsacker, Joe Parrott and Ben Clark. Flower bearers are to be Oneta Bruce, Louise Bruce, Dora Cardwell, Waneta Eads and Teresa Duncan.
With blood flowing from deep self-inflicted gashes in both wrists, Charles Babb, age 56, stood in a tool shed near his home in Clear Creek at dawn on Easter Sunday and twice plunged the thick seven-inch blade of his home-made hunting knife into his throat. Dr. Hugh S. Ramsey returned a verdict of suicide in connection with the case which was Monroe county's fifth violent death within nine days.
Worried about his poor health which recently had caused him to have all of his teeth extracted, the veteran Monon car repairman did not greatly miss decapitating himself. The two wounds in his throat extended from the ears to theh larynx and each severed the juglar [sic] vein.
Mrs. Chester Babb, of Lafayette, wife of one of the deceased's four sons, found the body of her father-in-law. The victim had left his bed at shortly before 5 o'clock, telling his wife, Mrs. Bessie Babb, that he was going out to feed the chickens.
Knowing that her husband was brooding over his failing health and realizing that he had not been acting normally during recent days, Mrs. Babb soon became anxious about her husband's absence. She called her son Chester and his wife who were week end guests and asked them to look for the elder Babb.
The body was found sprawled face down on the wooden floor of the tool shed located approximately fifty feet northeast of the house, at the side of and toward the rear of the dwelling. Dressed in overalls and an overall jacket, the body, hatless, was prostrate in a pool of blood more than yard wide. The fatal knife, which the deceased reportedly had made at the local Monon roundhouse, was still clutched tightly in the victim's hand. Member of the family said that the victim had owned the knife for many years and always kept it locked in his tool chest. Babb had been employed by the Monon for 22 years and is reported to have been on duty last Saturday.
Sheriff Earl Baxter who was called to the scene to investigate the tragedy was accompanied to the Babb home by Patrolman Bernard Jackson. The Babb home is located on the east side of the Rogers Street Pike on the north edge of Clear Creek.
The knife was not in the victim's hand when the officers arrived. Chester Babb, son of the deceased, explained to officers that he had impulsively wrenched the weapon from the hand of his dead father and had thrown it from the shed, near which officers found the knife.
Babb had first attempted to kill himself by gashing the outside of his wrists, baring the tendons but not striking the veins which are located near the surface of the inside of the wrists. This was not sufficient to cause death. Babb thereupon stabbed himself twice with great force in the throat considerable force being necessary to driven the fairly dull knife to fatal depth.
No note was found by officials.
Sherriff Earl Baxter returned to Bloomington and notified Coroner Ramsey who ordered the body removed to the Day Funeral home. It was not until the body had been brought here that the wounds in the throat were discovered by the officers. Mrs. Babb, out of kindness, ws not permitted to see the body of her husband at the scene of the suicide.
The victim had taken time to feed the chickens before killing himself. Large quantities of shelled corn were found scattered about the poultry house which is built onto the tool shed.
An indication of the disturbed mental condition of the victim is that he had agreed, Saturday evening, to accompany his son Chester Babb and the latter's wife back to Lafayette Sunday afternoon and to stay with them for a time to rest and attempt to regain his health. It was for the purpose of accompanying the elder Babb to Lafayette that Mr. and Mrs. Chester Babb had come to the Babb home at Clear Creek.
A strange coincidence noted by officers was the deceased Babb distinctly resembled the late Fred Flater, local Monon detective who shot himself to death a few months ago in the local yards of the Monon as a result of worrying about poor health.
Surviving the victim, in addition to the widow and the son Chester, are a daughter, Mrs. Viola East of Clear Creek; three other sons, Fred of Anderson, and Ernest and Gilbert at home; a brother, Gilbert of South Dakota; five sisters, Mrs. Jade Starr of Bedford, Mrs. Carl Cramer of Bedford, Mrs. Ogle Jackson of Owensburg, Ky., Mrs. Katherine Johnson of Vincennes, and Mrs. Delphia Danner of Cleveland, O. Also surviving is a grandson, Willard Alvin Babb.
Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Day Chapel, the Rev. Frank Messersmith, of the Clear Creek Christian church and Rev. Harry Bridwell, of Indianapolis, will be in charge of the rites, and the Limestone quartet will present several vocal selections. Interment will be in the Clear Creek cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Elmer Sullivan, Ernest Lehman, James Pauley, Ralph Clendenning, Thomas Chestnut, and Perry Cazee. Honorary pallbearers will be John Jackson, John Mathis, Thomas Duncan, Lawrence Reeves, Reed Harold, Sam Hunsacker, Joe Parrott and Ben Clark. Flower bearers are to be Oneta Bruce, Louise Bruce, Dora Cardwell, Waneta Eads and Teresa Duncan.
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