The Salina Journal, 10 Feb 1936
ODOR OF ROAST LEADS TO TWO FATALLY SHOT
BODIES OF E. STODDARD AND MRS. BROCKSOME FOUND
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
CORONER SAYS IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Declaring Positively Man Slew Woman, Then Took Own Life, Will Call No Inquest -- Parrot Only Witness to the Tragedy
The odor of a burning roast led officers Sunday noon to an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street where they found the bodies of Mrs. Lillian Brocksome, 39, and Eugene Stoddard, about 52. Both had been fatally shot not long before. Both Chief of Police D. K. Fitch and Sheriff C. J. Anderson have expressed the belief that Stoddard, in a fit of jealous rage, first killed Mrs. Brocksome, to whom he had been attentive for nearly a year, and then committed suicide.
Both bodies were in the kitchen of Mrs. Brocksome's upstairs apartment with the door locked from the inside. The woman was curled up on her left side on the floor. She had been shot twice. One bullet pierced her chest somewhat to the right of the center, coursing back and upward in the direction of the right lung. The other entered the roof of her mouth and ranged upward through the brain. Such a shot produces instant death, officers way. They believe Stoddard thrust the barrel of the revolver into her mouth and pulled the trigger.
Gun Near Man's Body
Stoddard's body was crumpled against a small cot at the south side of the tiny kitchen as though he had shot himself and fallen face downward on the cot. The lower two-thirds of his body was on the floor and the officers found a small .32 caliber revolver lying on the floor a little to the right of the body. All five shells in the gun had been snapped, three of them discharging. The bullet struck Stoddard high on the right temple, coursing through his head and lodging on the left sided.
The room was a shambles.
Powder burns on the front of Mrs. Brockstone's dress and on the man's temple showed the shots were fired at close range, officers said. No on in the apartment heard any shots, officers say they were told.
Coroner Guy Ryan announced that there will be no inquest, expressing the opinion, "It's a plain case of murder and suicide. He did the shooting."
Son First Into Room
Mrs. Brocksome's 15 year old son, Milton, was the first to enter the locked room, crawling in through a window. "I didn't look," the boy said, "I just went on out."
Since July Mrs. Brocksome and her two sons, Milton and Harry, aged 18, have lived in the two rome apartment at the rooming house operated by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Mitchell, at 252 North Seventh street. Mrs. Brocksome has worked at the WPA sewing room and her two sons have carried papers. Shortly after the family moved to that location Stoddard took the room next to them in the southwest corner of the house.
Both Mrs. Brocksome and Mr. Stoddard had been divorced.
Shortly before 7 oclock Sunday morning, Harry and Milton Brocksome left home to sell their papers. Not long after 11 oclock the landlady, Mrs. Mitchell heard scuffling in Mrs. Brocksome's apartment, she told the police. "I don't remember just when it was," Mrs. Mitchell said, "but I thought it was the boys. I was going up to tell them not to wrestle, but I didn't. I was afraid they would think I was cranky. In about 20 minutes I went up and made Gene's bed. I called for him and no one answered."
A few moments later the odor of a burning roast became noticeable in the house. Mrs. Brocksome had been cooking dinner. Mrs. Mitchell says she called Charles W. Herndon, who was shaving in his apartment downstairs, and that he went upstairs and found the door to the apartment kitchen locked, by a screen door hook on the inside.
Harry Brocksome had returned home at 11:45, had found the door locked, and had gone downstairs to see if his mother was there. Then his brother came in. Milton Brocksome and Herndon went upstairs together.
Milton crawled through a window of the living room to the roof of a small lean-to and from this entered the kitchen window just as Herndon called the police station at 11:50.
Police officers reached the scenen of the double tragedy almost immediately and notified county officers.
Parrot Sole Witness
The only witness to the shooting, "Pat," a small red-headed parrot owned by Mrs. Brocksome, was pivoting in his cage in one corner of the kitchen. An alarm clock which had been placed on the window sill immediately over the cot had fallen against the dead man and was still running.
Police reports list those in the house at the time of the shooting as Charles W. Herndon, his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. W. Herndon, who all occupy a downstairs apartment; the landlady, Mrs. Alice Mitchell; her son, Roy Mitchell, Jr., aged 15 and her daughter, Mary Ellen, aged 11.
The dead woman's sister, Mrs. Viola Whelan, 502 South Phillips street, was apparently the last person with whom Mrs. Brocksome had talked. Between 9:45 and 10 oclock Sunday morning Mrs. Brocksome telephoned Mrs. Whelan. They held a brief conversation. Mrs. Brocksome did not mention Stoddard and seemed in good spirits, Mrs. Whelan says.
Stoddard Was Jealous?
Stoddard had "kept company' with Mrs. Brocksome for nearly a year, according to reports given officers by the dead woman's sons. Reports indicated he had shown jealousy on several occasions, though the sons said their mother had given him no reason for this since she did not go with any other man. Stoddard had objected, officers said, when Mrs. Brocksome wanted to go places without him.
Milton Brocksome told sheriff Anderson of one occasion when he had heard his mother and Stoddard quarreling. "I remember I was in bed one night and heard them having a little difference. He was kind of jealous anyway," the lad is quoted as saying.
Neither of the boys could remember having ever heard Stoddard threaten their mother.
Harry Brocksome expressed the theory that Stoddard may have asked his mother to marry him and that she refused. "Everytime she went to a show or anywhere else without him being along he questioned her," Harry said.
Stoddard was a quiet type, according to his associated, and had little to say about his affairs. He drank occasionally, though not to excess. Harry Brocksome told Sheriff Anderson of finding Stoddard in his room apparently under the influence of liquor on one occasion about four months ago. No one knew Stoddard had a gun, bu the two boys told Chief Fitch and other officers that the gun found beside the man's body did not belong to them. In the drawer of Stoddard's dresser officers found a box containing 12 shells which fit the revolver.
Stoddard had worked for Earl Stagg at Mack's cafe, 111 East Ash street, the past five years. He worked from 4 oclock Saturday afternoon until 1 oclock Sunday morning. Stagg told officers he had heard Stoddard mention once or twice about being jealous and that he apparently wanted to marry Mrs. Brocksome.
When Stoddard failed to appear for work at 11 oclock Sunday morning Stagg sent Jesse Sharp after him. This was shortly before noon. Sharpe found no one in Stoddard's room and got no response when he called. This was apparently before the murder and suicide were discovered, officers said. Sharpe called there twice but could find no trace of Stoddard.
W. C. Shumaker, 204 South Phillips street, told Sheriff Anderson, "I know that things had not been going just right between him and Mrs. Brocksome." A woman employed at the sewing room told officers that Mrs. Brocksome, in discussing Stoddard with her, told her Stoddard was too old.
Both Were Divorced
Stoddard was divorced by his former wife, Mrs. Clara Belle Stoddard, Wakefield, April 5, 1926. There is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina about 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome had been divorced for several years, coming to Salina from Herington about three years ago. There whereabouts of her former husband are unknown.
In addition to his children, Stoddard is survived by two brothers, Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, and George Stoddard, Manhattan, and by a sister, also living at Manhattan.
Funeral Not Arranged.
The bodies were taken to the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary and were being held there this afternoon awaiting the arrival of relatives. Funeral arrangements have not been made.
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The Salina Journal 11 Feb 1936
ONE FUNERAL SET
Rites for Mrs. Brocksome Wednesday, Stoddard's Funeral Not Decided
Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome, slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard, who then took his own life. The body will lie in state at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary until the funeral, which will be held there Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 oclock with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Interment will be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Mrs. Brocksome was born April 28, 1897 at Elmo and had lived in Salina with her two sons, Harry and Milton Brocksome, about three years, coming here from Herington. Her mother, Mrs. S. F. Friedly, lives in Chicago, and others surviving include Mrs. Brocksome's divorced husband, Timothy Brocksome, whose address is not known here. Mrs. Brocksome was a member of the German Baptist church at Herington.
The body of Eugene Stoddard remains at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary pending funeral arrangements which had not yet been completed today. He was born May 21, 1883 in Clay county and was 52 years old. Surviving in addition to his divorced wife, Mrs. Clara Stoddard, of Wakefield, is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome and her sons made their home in a two room upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard had a room in the same house. The bodies were discovered shortly before noon Sunday in Mrs. Brocksome's small kitchen, the man and woman having been fatally shot a short time before. A small .32 caliber revolver was lying beside Stoddard's body. Officers attributed the double slaying to the man and his motive to jealousy.
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The Salina Journal 12 Feb 1936
BROCKSOME FUNERAL
Last Rites For Woman, Stoddard Funeral Undecided
Final rites for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome who was slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard who then took his own life, were being held at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary at 3:30 this afternoon with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Burial was to be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Meanwhile the body of Stoddard remained at the mortuary today as officials there awaited a decision on final arrangements. Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, a brother of the deceased, called here and plans are to bury Stoddard either in Salina or at St. George. It was thought a decision will be made this evening.
Mrs. Brocksome, with her two sons, Harry and Milton, made her home in an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard lived in an adjoining room. As officers reconstructed the tragedy, Stoddard, impelled by jealousy, first shot Mrs. Brocksome and then ended his own life.
ODOR OF ROAST LEADS TO TWO FATALLY SHOT
BODIES OF E. STODDARD AND MRS. BROCKSOME FOUND
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
CORONER SAYS IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Declaring Positively Man Slew Woman, Then Took Own Life, Will Call No Inquest -- Parrot Only Witness to the Tragedy
The odor of a burning roast led officers Sunday noon to an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street where they found the bodies of Mrs. Lillian Brocksome, 39, and Eugene Stoddard, about 52. Both had been fatally shot not long before. Both Chief of Police D. K. Fitch and Sheriff C. J. Anderson have expressed the belief that Stoddard, in a fit of jealous rage, first killed Mrs. Brocksome, to whom he had been attentive for nearly a year, and then committed suicide.
Both bodies were in the kitchen of Mrs. Brocksome's upstairs apartment with the door locked from the inside. The woman was curled up on her left side on the floor. She had been shot twice. One bullet pierced her chest somewhat to the right of the center, coursing back and upward in the direction of the right lung. The other entered the roof of her mouth and ranged upward through the brain. Such a shot produces instant death, officers way. They believe Stoddard thrust the barrel of the revolver into her mouth and pulled the trigger.
Gun Near Man's Body
Stoddard's body was crumpled against a small cot at the south side of the tiny kitchen as though he had shot himself and fallen face downward on the cot. The lower two-thirds of his body was on the floor and the officers found a small .32 caliber revolver lying on the floor a little to the right of the body. All five shells in the gun had been snapped, three of them discharging. The bullet struck Stoddard high on the right temple, coursing through his head and lodging on the left sided.
The room was a shambles.
Powder burns on the front of Mrs. Brockstone's dress and on the man's temple showed the shots were fired at close range, officers said. No on in the apartment heard any shots, officers say they were told.
Coroner Guy Ryan announced that there will be no inquest, expressing the opinion, "It's a plain case of murder and suicide. He did the shooting."
Son First Into Room
Mrs. Brocksome's 15 year old son, Milton, was the first to enter the locked room, crawling in through a window. "I didn't look," the boy said, "I just went on out."
Since July Mrs. Brocksome and her two sons, Milton and Harry, aged 18, have lived in the two rome apartment at the rooming house operated by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Mitchell, at 252 North Seventh street. Mrs. Brocksome has worked at the WPA sewing room and her two sons have carried papers. Shortly after the family moved to that location Stoddard took the room next to them in the southwest corner of the house.
Both Mrs. Brocksome and Mr. Stoddard had been divorced.
Shortly before 7 oclock Sunday morning, Harry and Milton Brocksome left home to sell their papers. Not long after 11 oclock the landlady, Mrs. Mitchell heard scuffling in Mrs. Brocksome's apartment, she told the police. "I don't remember just when it was," Mrs. Mitchell said, "but I thought it was the boys. I was going up to tell them not to wrestle, but I didn't. I was afraid they would think I was cranky. In about 20 minutes I went up and made Gene's bed. I called for him and no one answered."
A few moments later the odor of a burning roast became noticeable in the house. Mrs. Brocksome had been cooking dinner. Mrs. Mitchell says she called Charles W. Herndon, who was shaving in his apartment downstairs, and that he went upstairs and found the door to the apartment kitchen locked, by a screen door hook on the inside.
Harry Brocksome had returned home at 11:45, had found the door locked, and had gone downstairs to see if his mother was there. Then his brother came in. Milton Brocksome and Herndon went upstairs together.
Milton crawled through a window of the living room to the roof of a small lean-to and from this entered the kitchen window just as Herndon called the police station at 11:50.
Police officers reached the scenen of the double tragedy almost immediately and notified county officers.
Parrot Sole Witness
The only witness to the shooting, "Pat," a small red-headed parrot owned by Mrs. Brocksome, was pivoting in his cage in one corner of the kitchen. An alarm clock which had been placed on the window sill immediately over the cot had fallen against the dead man and was still running.
Police reports list those in the house at the time of the shooting as Charles W. Herndon, his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. W. Herndon, who all occupy a downstairs apartment; the landlady, Mrs. Alice Mitchell; her son, Roy Mitchell, Jr., aged 15 and her daughter, Mary Ellen, aged 11.
The dead woman's sister, Mrs. Viola Whelan, 502 South Phillips street, was apparently the last person with whom Mrs. Brocksome had talked. Between 9:45 and 10 oclock Sunday morning Mrs. Brocksome telephoned Mrs. Whelan. They held a brief conversation. Mrs. Brocksome did not mention Stoddard and seemed in good spirits, Mrs. Whelan says.
Stoddard Was Jealous?
Stoddard had "kept company' with Mrs. Brocksome for nearly a year, according to reports given officers by the dead woman's sons. Reports indicated he had shown jealousy on several occasions, though the sons said their mother had given him no reason for this since she did not go with any other man. Stoddard had objected, officers said, when Mrs. Brocksome wanted to go places without him.
Milton Brocksome told sheriff Anderson of one occasion when he had heard his mother and Stoddard quarreling. "I remember I was in bed one night and heard them having a little difference. He was kind of jealous anyway," the lad is quoted as saying.
Neither of the boys could remember having ever heard Stoddard threaten their mother.
Harry Brocksome expressed the theory that Stoddard may have asked his mother to marry him and that she refused. "Everytime she went to a show or anywhere else without him being along he questioned her," Harry said.
Stoddard was a quiet type, according to his associated, and had little to say about his affairs. He drank occasionally, though not to excess. Harry Brocksome told Sheriff Anderson of finding Stoddard in his room apparently under the influence of liquor on one occasion about four months ago. No one knew Stoddard had a gun, bu the two boys told Chief Fitch and other officers that the gun found beside the man's body did not belong to them. In the drawer of Stoddard's dresser officers found a box containing 12 shells which fit the revolver.
Stoddard had worked for Earl Stagg at Mack's cafe, 111 East Ash street, the past five years. He worked from 4 oclock Saturday afternoon until 1 oclock Sunday morning. Stagg told officers he had heard Stoddard mention once or twice about being jealous and that he apparently wanted to marry Mrs. Brocksome.
When Stoddard failed to appear for work at 11 oclock Sunday morning Stagg sent Jesse Sharp after him. This was shortly before noon. Sharpe found no one in Stoddard's room and got no response when he called. This was apparently before the murder and suicide were discovered, officers said. Sharpe called there twice but could find no trace of Stoddard.
W. C. Shumaker, 204 South Phillips street, told Sheriff Anderson, "I know that things had not been going just right between him and Mrs. Brocksome." A woman employed at the sewing room told officers that Mrs. Brocksome, in discussing Stoddard with her, told her Stoddard was too old.
Both Were Divorced
Stoddard was divorced by his former wife, Mrs. Clara Belle Stoddard, Wakefield, April 5, 1926. There is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina about 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome had been divorced for several years, coming to Salina from Herington about three years ago. There whereabouts of her former husband are unknown.
In addition to his children, Stoddard is survived by two brothers, Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, and George Stoddard, Manhattan, and by a sister, also living at Manhattan.
Funeral Not Arranged.
The bodies were taken to the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary and were being held there this afternoon awaiting the arrival of relatives. Funeral arrangements have not been made.
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The Salina Journal 11 Feb 1936
ONE FUNERAL SET
Rites for Mrs. Brocksome Wednesday, Stoddard's Funeral Not Decided
Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome, slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard, who then took his own life. The body will lie in state at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary until the funeral, which will be held there Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 oclock with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Interment will be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Mrs. Brocksome was born April 28, 1897 at Elmo and had lived in Salina with her two sons, Harry and Milton Brocksome, about three years, coming here from Herington. Her mother, Mrs. S. F. Friedly, lives in Chicago, and others surviving include Mrs. Brocksome's divorced husband, Timothy Brocksome, whose address is not known here. Mrs. Brocksome was a member of the German Baptist church at Herington.
The body of Eugene Stoddard remains at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary pending funeral arrangements which had not yet been completed today. He was born May 21, 1883 in Clay county and was 52 years old. Surviving in addition to his divorced wife, Mrs. Clara Stoddard, of Wakefield, is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome and her sons made their home in a two room upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard had a room in the same house. The bodies were discovered shortly before noon Sunday in Mrs. Brocksome's small kitchen, the man and woman having been fatally shot a short time before. A small .32 caliber revolver was lying beside Stoddard's body. Officers attributed the double slaying to the man and his motive to jealousy.
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The Salina Journal 12 Feb 1936
BROCKSOME FUNERAL
Last Rites For Woman, Stoddard Funeral Undecided
Final rites for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome who was slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard who then took his own life, were being held at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary at 3:30 this afternoon with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Burial was to be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Meanwhile the body of Stoddard remained at the mortuary today as officials there awaited a decision on final arrangements. Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, a brother of the deceased, called here and plans are to bury Stoddard either in Salina or at St. George. It was thought a decision will be made this evening.
Mrs. Brocksome, with her two sons, Harry and Milton, made her home in an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard lived in an adjoining room. As officers reconstructed the tragedy, Stoddard, impelled by jealousy, first shot Mrs. Brocksome and then ended his own life.
The Salina Journal, 10 Feb 1936
ODOR OF ROAST LEADS TO TWO FATALLY SHOT
BODIES OF E. STODDARD AND MRS. BROCKSOME FOUND
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
CORONER SAYS IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Declaring Positively Man Slew Woman, Then Took Own Life, Will Call No Inquest -- Parrot Only Witness to the Tragedy
The odor of a burning roast led officers Sunday noon to an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street where they found the bodies of Mrs. Lillian Brocksome, 39, and Eugene Stoddard, about 52. Both had been fatally shot not long before. Both Chief of Police D. K. Fitch and Sheriff C. J. Anderson have expressed the belief that Stoddard, in a fit of jealous rage, first killed Mrs. Brocksome, to whom he had been attentive for nearly a year, and then committed suicide.
Both bodies were in the kitchen of Mrs. Brocksome's upstairs apartment with the door locked from the inside. The woman was curled up on her left side on the floor. She had been shot twice. One bullet pierced her chest somewhat to the right of the center, coursing back and upward in the direction of the right lung. The other entered the roof of her mouth and ranged upward through the brain. Such a shot produces instant death, officers way. They believe Stoddard thrust the barrel of the revolver into her mouth and pulled the trigger.
Gun Near Man's Body
Stoddard's body was crumpled against a small cot at the south side of the tiny kitchen as though he had shot himself and fallen face downward on the cot. The lower two-thirds of his body was on the floor and the officers found a small .32 caliber revolver lying on the floor a little to the right of the body. All five shells in the gun had been snapped, three of them discharging. The bullet struck Stoddard high on the right temple, coursing through his head and lodging on the left sided.
The room was a shambles.
Powder burns on the front of Mrs. Brockstone's dress and on the man's temple showed the shots were fired at close range, officers said. No on in the apartment heard any shots, officers say they were told.
Coroner Guy Ryan announced that there will be no inquest, expressing the opinion, "It's a plain case of murder and suicide. He did the shooting."
Son First Into Room
Mrs. Brocksome's 15 year old son, Milton, was the first to enter the locked room, crawling in through a window. "I didn't look," the boy said, "I just went on out."
Since July Mrs. Brocksome and her two sons, Milton and Harry, aged 18, have lived in the two rome apartment at the rooming house operated by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Mitchell, at 252 North Seventh street. Mrs. Brocksome has worked at the WPA sewing room and her two sons have carried papers. Shortly after the family moved to that location Stoddard took the room next to them in the southwest corner of the house.
Both Mrs. Brocksome and Mr. Stoddard had been divorced.
Shortly before 7 oclock Sunday morning, Harry and Milton Brocksome left home to sell their papers. Not long after 11 oclock the landlady, Mrs. Mitchell heard scuffling in Mrs. Brocksome's apartment, she told the police. "I don't remember just when it was," Mrs. Mitchell said, "but I thought it was the boys. I was going up to tell them not to wrestle, but I didn't. I was afraid they would think I was cranky. In about 20 minutes I went up and made Gene's bed. I called for him and no one answered."
A few moments later the odor of a burning roast became noticeable in the house. Mrs. Brocksome had been cooking dinner. Mrs. Mitchell says she called Charles W. Herndon, who was shaving in his apartment downstairs, and that he went upstairs and found the door to the apartment kitchen locked, by a screen door hook on the inside.
Harry Brocksome had returned home at 11:45, had found the door locked, and had gone downstairs to see if his mother was there. Then his brother came in. Milton Brocksome and Herndon went upstairs together.
Milton crawled through a window of the living room to the roof of a small lean-to and from this entered the kitchen window just as Herndon called the police station at 11:50.
Police officers reached the scenen of the double tragedy almost immediately and notified county officers.
Parrot Sole Witness
The only witness to the shooting, "Pat," a small red-headed parrot owned by Mrs. Brocksome, was pivoting in his cage in one corner of the kitchen. An alarm clock which had been placed on the window sill immediately over the cot had fallen against the dead man and was still running.
Police reports list those in the house at the time of the shooting as Charles W. Herndon, his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. W. Herndon, who all occupy a downstairs apartment; the landlady, Mrs. Alice Mitchell; her son, Roy Mitchell, Jr., aged 15 and her daughter, Mary Ellen, aged 11.
The dead woman's sister, Mrs. Viola Whelan, 502 South Phillips street, was apparently the last person with whom Mrs. Brocksome had talked. Between 9:45 and 10 oclock Sunday morning Mrs. Brocksome telephoned Mrs. Whelan. They held a brief conversation. Mrs. Brocksome did not mention Stoddard and seemed in good spirits, Mrs. Whelan says.
Stoddard Was Jealous?
Stoddard had "kept company' with Mrs. Brocksome for nearly a year, according to reports given officers by the dead woman's sons. Reports indicated he had shown jealousy on several occasions, though the sons said their mother had given him no reason for this since she did not go with any other man. Stoddard had objected, officers said, when Mrs. Brocksome wanted to go places without him.
Milton Brocksome told sheriff Anderson of one occasion when he had heard his mother and Stoddard quarreling. "I remember I was in bed one night and heard them having a little difference. He was kind of jealous anyway," the lad is quoted as saying.
Neither of the boys could remember having ever heard Stoddard threaten their mother.
Harry Brocksome expressed the theory that Stoddard may have asked his mother to marry him and that she refused. "Everytime she went to a show or anywhere else without him being along he questioned her," Harry said.
Stoddard was a quiet type, according to his associated, and had little to say about his affairs. He drank occasionally, though not to excess. Harry Brocksome told Sheriff Anderson of finding Stoddard in his room apparently under the influence of liquor on one occasion about four months ago. No one knew Stoddard had a gun, bu the two boys told Chief Fitch and other officers that the gun found beside the man's body did not belong to them. In the drawer of Stoddard's dresser officers found a box containing 12 shells which fit the revolver.
Stoddard had worked for Earl Stagg at Mack's cafe, 111 East Ash street, the past five years. He worked from 4 oclock Saturday afternoon until 1 oclock Sunday morning. Stagg told officers he had heard Stoddard mention once or twice about being jealous and that he apparently wanted to marry Mrs. Brocksome.
When Stoddard failed to appear for work at 11 oclock Sunday morning Stagg sent Jesse Sharp after him. This was shortly before noon. Sharpe found no one in Stoddard's room and got no response when he called. This was apparently before the murder and suicide were discovered, officers said. Sharpe called there twice but could find no trace of Stoddard.
W. C. Shumaker, 204 South Phillips street, told Sheriff Anderson, "I know that things had not been going just right between him and Mrs. Brocksome." A woman employed at the sewing room told officers that Mrs. Brocksome, in discussing Stoddard with her, told her Stoddard was too old.
Both Were Divorced
Stoddard was divorced by his former wife, Mrs. Clara Belle Stoddard, Wakefield, April 5, 1926. There is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina about 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome had been divorced for several years, coming to Salina from Herington about three years ago. There whereabouts of her former husband are unknown.
In addition to his children, Stoddard is survived by two brothers, Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, and George Stoddard, Manhattan, and by a sister, also living at Manhattan.
Funeral Not Arranged.
The bodies were taken to the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary and were being held there this afternoon awaiting the arrival of relatives. Funeral arrangements have not been made.
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The Salina Journal 11 Feb 1936
ONE FUNERAL SET
Rites for Mrs. Brocksome Wednesday, Stoddard's Funeral Not Decided
Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome, slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard, who then took his own life. The body will lie in state at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary until the funeral, which will be held there Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 oclock with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Interment will be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Mrs. Brocksome was born April 28, 1897 at Elmo and had lived in Salina with her two sons, Harry and Milton Brocksome, about three years, coming here from Herington. Her mother, Mrs. S. F. Friedly, lives in Chicago, and others surviving include Mrs. Brocksome's divorced husband, Timothy Brocksome, whose address is not known here. Mrs. Brocksome was a member of the German Baptist church at Herington.
The body of Eugene Stoddard remains at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary pending funeral arrangements which had not yet been completed today. He was born May 21, 1883 in Clay county and was 52 years old. Surviving in addition to his divorced wife, Mrs. Clara Stoddard, of Wakefield, is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome and her sons made their home in a two room upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard had a room in the same house. The bodies were discovered shortly before noon Sunday in Mrs. Brocksome's small kitchen, the man and woman having been fatally shot a short time before. A small .32 caliber revolver was lying beside Stoddard's body. Officers attributed the double slaying to the man and his motive to jealousy.
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The Salina Journal 12 Feb 1936
BROCKSOME FUNERAL
Last Rites For Woman, Stoddard Funeral Undecided
Final rites for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome who was slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard who then took his own life, were being held at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary at 3:30 this afternoon with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Burial was to be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Meanwhile the body of Stoddard remained at the mortuary today as officials there awaited a decision on final arrangements. Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, a brother of the deceased, called here and plans are to bury Stoddard either in Salina or at St. George. It was thought a decision will be made this evening.
Mrs. Brocksome, with her two sons, Harry and Milton, made her home in an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard lived in an adjoining room. As officers reconstructed the tragedy, Stoddard, impelled by jealousy, first shot Mrs. Brocksome and then ended his own life.
ODOR OF ROAST LEADS TO TWO FATALLY SHOT
BODIES OF E. STODDARD AND MRS. BROCKSOME FOUND
MURDER AND SUICIDE?
CORONER SAYS IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Declaring Positively Man Slew Woman, Then Took Own Life, Will Call No Inquest -- Parrot Only Witness to the Tragedy
The odor of a burning roast led officers Sunday noon to an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street where they found the bodies of Mrs. Lillian Brocksome, 39, and Eugene Stoddard, about 52. Both had been fatally shot not long before. Both Chief of Police D. K. Fitch and Sheriff C. J. Anderson have expressed the belief that Stoddard, in a fit of jealous rage, first killed Mrs. Brocksome, to whom he had been attentive for nearly a year, and then committed suicide.
Both bodies were in the kitchen of Mrs. Brocksome's upstairs apartment with the door locked from the inside. The woman was curled up on her left side on the floor. She had been shot twice. One bullet pierced her chest somewhat to the right of the center, coursing back and upward in the direction of the right lung. The other entered the roof of her mouth and ranged upward through the brain. Such a shot produces instant death, officers way. They believe Stoddard thrust the barrel of the revolver into her mouth and pulled the trigger.
Gun Near Man's Body
Stoddard's body was crumpled against a small cot at the south side of the tiny kitchen as though he had shot himself and fallen face downward on the cot. The lower two-thirds of his body was on the floor and the officers found a small .32 caliber revolver lying on the floor a little to the right of the body. All five shells in the gun had been snapped, three of them discharging. The bullet struck Stoddard high on the right temple, coursing through his head and lodging on the left sided.
The room was a shambles.
Powder burns on the front of Mrs. Brockstone's dress and on the man's temple showed the shots were fired at close range, officers said. No on in the apartment heard any shots, officers say they were told.
Coroner Guy Ryan announced that there will be no inquest, expressing the opinion, "It's a plain case of murder and suicide. He did the shooting."
Son First Into Room
Mrs. Brocksome's 15 year old son, Milton, was the first to enter the locked room, crawling in through a window. "I didn't look," the boy said, "I just went on out."
Since July Mrs. Brocksome and her two sons, Milton and Harry, aged 18, have lived in the two rome apartment at the rooming house operated by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Mitchell, at 252 North Seventh street. Mrs. Brocksome has worked at the WPA sewing room and her two sons have carried papers. Shortly after the family moved to that location Stoddard took the room next to them in the southwest corner of the house.
Both Mrs. Brocksome and Mr. Stoddard had been divorced.
Shortly before 7 oclock Sunday morning, Harry and Milton Brocksome left home to sell their papers. Not long after 11 oclock the landlady, Mrs. Mitchell heard scuffling in Mrs. Brocksome's apartment, she told the police. "I don't remember just when it was," Mrs. Mitchell said, "but I thought it was the boys. I was going up to tell them not to wrestle, but I didn't. I was afraid they would think I was cranky. In about 20 minutes I went up and made Gene's bed. I called for him and no one answered."
A few moments later the odor of a burning roast became noticeable in the house. Mrs. Brocksome had been cooking dinner. Mrs. Mitchell says she called Charles W. Herndon, who was shaving in his apartment downstairs, and that he went upstairs and found the door to the apartment kitchen locked, by a screen door hook on the inside.
Harry Brocksome had returned home at 11:45, had found the door locked, and had gone downstairs to see if his mother was there. Then his brother came in. Milton Brocksome and Herndon went upstairs together.
Milton crawled through a window of the living room to the roof of a small lean-to and from this entered the kitchen window just as Herndon called the police station at 11:50.
Police officers reached the scenen of the double tragedy almost immediately and notified county officers.
Parrot Sole Witness
The only witness to the shooting, "Pat," a small red-headed parrot owned by Mrs. Brocksome, was pivoting in his cage in one corner of the kitchen. An alarm clock which had been placed on the window sill immediately over the cot had fallen against the dead man and was still running.
Police reports list those in the house at the time of the shooting as Charles W. Herndon, his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. W. Herndon, who all occupy a downstairs apartment; the landlady, Mrs. Alice Mitchell; her son, Roy Mitchell, Jr., aged 15 and her daughter, Mary Ellen, aged 11.
The dead woman's sister, Mrs. Viola Whelan, 502 South Phillips street, was apparently the last person with whom Mrs. Brocksome had talked. Between 9:45 and 10 oclock Sunday morning Mrs. Brocksome telephoned Mrs. Whelan. They held a brief conversation. Mrs. Brocksome did not mention Stoddard and seemed in good spirits, Mrs. Whelan says.
Stoddard Was Jealous?
Stoddard had "kept company' with Mrs. Brocksome for nearly a year, according to reports given officers by the dead woman's sons. Reports indicated he had shown jealousy on several occasions, though the sons said their mother had given him no reason for this since she did not go with any other man. Stoddard had objected, officers said, when Mrs. Brocksome wanted to go places without him.
Milton Brocksome told sheriff Anderson of one occasion when he had heard his mother and Stoddard quarreling. "I remember I was in bed one night and heard them having a little difference. He was kind of jealous anyway," the lad is quoted as saying.
Neither of the boys could remember having ever heard Stoddard threaten their mother.
Harry Brocksome expressed the theory that Stoddard may have asked his mother to marry him and that she refused. "Everytime she went to a show or anywhere else without him being along he questioned her," Harry said.
Stoddard was a quiet type, according to his associated, and had little to say about his affairs. He drank occasionally, though not to excess. Harry Brocksome told Sheriff Anderson of finding Stoddard in his room apparently under the influence of liquor on one occasion about four months ago. No one knew Stoddard had a gun, bu the two boys told Chief Fitch and other officers that the gun found beside the man's body did not belong to them. In the drawer of Stoddard's dresser officers found a box containing 12 shells which fit the revolver.
Stoddard had worked for Earl Stagg at Mack's cafe, 111 East Ash street, the past five years. He worked from 4 oclock Saturday afternoon until 1 oclock Sunday morning. Stagg told officers he had heard Stoddard mention once or twice about being jealous and that he apparently wanted to marry Mrs. Brocksome.
When Stoddard failed to appear for work at 11 oclock Sunday morning Stagg sent Jesse Sharp after him. This was shortly before noon. Sharpe found no one in Stoddard's room and got no response when he called. This was apparently before the murder and suicide were discovered, officers said. Sharpe called there twice but could find no trace of Stoddard.
W. C. Shumaker, 204 South Phillips street, told Sheriff Anderson, "I know that things had not been going just right between him and Mrs. Brocksome." A woman employed at the sewing room told officers that Mrs. Brocksome, in discussing Stoddard with her, told her Stoddard was too old.
Both Were Divorced
Stoddard was divorced by his former wife, Mrs. Clara Belle Stoddard, Wakefield, April 5, 1926. There is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina about 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome had been divorced for several years, coming to Salina from Herington about three years ago. There whereabouts of her former husband are unknown.
In addition to his children, Stoddard is survived by two brothers, Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, and George Stoddard, Manhattan, and by a sister, also living at Manhattan.
Funeral Not Arranged.
The bodies were taken to the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary and were being held there this afternoon awaiting the arrival of relatives. Funeral arrangements have not been made.
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The Salina Journal 11 Feb 1936
ONE FUNERAL SET
Rites for Mrs. Brocksome Wednesday, Stoddard's Funeral Not Decided
Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome, slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard, who then took his own life. The body will lie in state at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary until the funeral, which will be held there Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 oclock with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Interment will be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Mrs. Brocksome was born April 28, 1897 at Elmo and had lived in Salina with her two sons, Harry and Milton Brocksome, about three years, coming here from Herington. Her mother, Mrs. S. F. Friedly, lives in Chicago, and others surviving include Mrs. Brocksome's divorced husband, Timothy Brocksome, whose address is not known here. Mrs. Brocksome was a member of the German Baptist church at Herington.
The body of Eugene Stoddard remains at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary pending funeral arrangements which had not yet been completed today. He was born May 21, 1883 in Clay county and was 52 years old. Surviving in addition to his divorced wife, Mrs. Clara Stoddard, of Wakefield, is a son, Wesley H. Stoddard, Kansas City, Mo., and two daughters, Mary, living at Wakefield and Mrs. Andy Bohnert, Washington, D. C. Stoddard had lived in Salina 10 years.
Mrs. Brocksome and her sons made their home in a two room upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard had a room in the same house. The bodies were discovered shortly before noon Sunday in Mrs. Brocksome's small kitchen, the man and woman having been fatally shot a short time before. A small .32 caliber revolver was lying beside Stoddard's body. Officers attributed the double slaying to the man and his motive to jealousy.
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The Salina Journal 12 Feb 1936
BROCKSOME FUNERAL
Last Rites For Woman, Stoddard Funeral Undecided
Final rites for Mrs. Lillian May Brocksome who was slain shortly before noon Sunday, officers believe, by Eugene Stoddard who then took his own life, were being held at the Ryan-Sullivan Mortuary at 3:30 this afternoon with Rev. B. R. Lantz in charge. Burial was to be in Gypsum Hill cemetery.
Meanwhile the body of Stoddard remained at the mortuary today as officials there awaited a decision on final arrangements. Ed Stoddard, Clay Center, a brother of the deceased, called here and plans are to bury Stoddard either in Salina or at St. George. It was thought a decision will be made this evening.
Mrs. Brocksome, with her two sons, Harry and Milton, made her home in an upstairs apartment at 252 North Seventh street and Stoddard lived in an adjoining room. As officers reconstructed the tragedy, Stoddard, impelled by jealousy, first shot Mrs. Brocksome and then ended his own life.
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