The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Friday February 10, 1899

FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD JOE KELSEY KILLS HIMSELF WITH MORPHINE

Coroner Stamps Slated Last Night That He Was Notified Yesterday Morning the Boy Was in a Dying Condition.

BUT A DOCTOR WAS WITH HIM

At 2 O'clock In the Afternoon an Undertaker Was Called.

INVESTIGATION LIKELY TO FOLLOW

Young Kelsey Asked How Much Morphine It Would Take To Kill Him. Wanted a Married Man To Leave the House - The Details.

In a little frame house at No. 103 Larkin street the dead body of a boy is awaiting burial, and perhaps, an investigation by the coroner.

The death of the boy there involves a tragic story of a young life rudely ended by the act of a suicide. In this story there seems to be something that is hidden and which those interested wish to bury in the grave which hides the coffin from mortal eye.

Two nights ago the poison was self-administered, and yesterday morning the fight which was made to cheat death of its fast approaching victory was in vain. Early yesterday the suicide of the youth became a sensation in the neighborhood where he lived, though the story as to the hour of his death conflicts. The affair was reported to the coroner early yesterday morning, when the boy was dying. The coroner has not so far held an inquest, although those acquainted with the suicide and the probable cause of it believe an investigation should be held.

When asked why the boy killed himself, those gathered about his bier replied:

"He said he was tired of life."

Men and women who have tasted of years of life, mixed with suffering and disappointment, have grown tired of life; wasted years and lost opportunities have made men and women desperate and they have sought the grave to hid it all; those who have been made to face great griefs or wrongs have leaped into eternity by the hands of a suicide.

But that a boy, strong and hearty and with a bright mind, who should not as yet have tasted any of the sorrows or deeper griefs of life, should have committed the act of self-destruction, demands a closer scrutiny into the reasons for the rash act.

Was Plotting Self Destruction.

The dead youth is William Joel Kelsey, aged fourteen, the son of William Kelsey, who runs a pool room on Peters street. Some days ago the boy became despondent - how long this despondency had existed or what caused it, makes the underplot in the story which official investigation may bring out. He spoke of poison to his mother and showed a poison to his playmates, saying that it was morphine. He had asked about the effects of the poison and about how much of it it would take to end one's life. In his pocket he had a nickel, and when the other children would have been planning to buy sweet meats or toys with the money, this lad was plotting the purchase of a poison to end his young life. His mother - strange fatality, the one who had brought him the life he was to take - had told him in reply to a question that 5 cents worth of morphine would kill him.

While lying in his bed Tuesday night, alone, he swallowed the powder the nickel had purchased. Later he was found in a dying condition, and all through the rest of the night and the next day a fight was made to save him, Dr. A. H. Baskins, attending him. He rallied once and talked a little, but the nickel's worth of morphine was taking him from earth. The money he had saved, a little pocket change, was proving enough to bring him the death for which his young soul so strangely longed.

The father and mother, or ration the mother, for she tells the whole story, does not speak of the cause of the suicide. It may be because she does not wish to say it all in the presence of the dead.

Last night a reporter of The Constitution called at the Kelsey home. In a little room that was crowded with two beds, the dead boy rested by a window under a white winding sheet. A crowd of women and two men and a boy huddled about the fireplace. In one of the beds a babe was sleeping. Upon the other bed a woman was lying covered with quilts. It was Mrs. Kelsey.

Mr. Kelsey was asked for, and he first stepped upon the steep, long stairway that lead from the sidewalk to the front door. Then, as the cold wind swept down the street, he shivered and invited the reporter inside.

Tells of the Son's Suicide

"You wish to hear about the death of my little boy?" he asked. "Well," he continues, "my wife over there can tell you everything."

Mrs. Kelsey showed her face from under the quilts and gave the following account of how her boy committed suicide:
Two night ago Joel was sitting in this room with me, and he asked how much morphine would it take to kill a person. I said I didn't exactly know. He asked me if a nickle's worth would do it, and I replied that it certainly would, and that I would hate to have that much morphine inside of me.
Tuesday morning he went off to work in his father's poolroom and about 12 o'clock he came back and said he was tired. That afternoon he went out to play with some friends. Last night he went to bed about 7 o'clock, after I had given him some molasses and bread.
"Homer, he is a friend of ours, was in the room and bye and bye Joel waked up and began to talk queerlike. He asked Homer if he didn't have a wife, and when Homes said yes he wanted to know why he didn't stay at home with her.
Then he asked me for a duck, and I got up and gave him a cigarette and a box of matches. About an hour later he was breathing kind of funny, and I went to him, and there he was with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and the box of matches in one hand. He had struck several matches trying to light the cigarette, but didn't do it. He was awful cold and I thought he was dying, and I sent for his father and for a doctor. We worked on him all night and today, and we thought once that he was all right.

As Mrs. Kelsey ceased speaking and drew her head under the quilts again the reporter stepped away from the bed.

"Now, don't you publish any lies in that paper," she called out, in a muffled voice from beneath the quilts.

What the Father Said About It.

Mr. Kelsey said that once during the early morning hours the boy recovered sufficiently to talk, and when asked what he had taken, replied, "nothing." he was asked why he wished to kill himself, and he said: "Because I was just tired of living, that was all." Mr. Kelsey said the boy never told what he had taken, but they found the papers on the floor marked "morphine."

"He bought the morphine from Curtis's drug story," said Mr. Kelsey, "and when I told Joel that I intended to prosecute the person who sold him the poison he spoke up quick and said: 'You wouldn't prosecute a poor little boy, would you?" Joel was as bright as he could be and he was quite an artist. We took him away from the Walker street school to please him, as he said the books he studied were too heavy for him."

Mr. Kelsey produced some of the boy's drawings, and among the pencil sketches was a large portrait of Otis Skinner, which displayed most remarkable talent.

A Little Boy's Story

"I saw the powders yesterday," came from the little boy who was with the group huddled about the fire. He was told by one of the women to tell what he knew.

"Joel showed me and the other boys the powders," continued the boys, "and he said it was morphine and was a nickle's worth and enough to kill anybody quick. He said he bet if they beat him at home any more they would never do it again."

The boy suddenly eased speaking as if somebody had stopped him.

"Why, Joel never got a whipping since ever so long," said Mrs. Kelsey from under the quilts.

"He was too good a boy to need a whipping," put in the father.

Mr. Kelsey said the funeral would not take place until Saturday morning or afternoon.

The coroner was notified yesterday morning that the boy was dying, and he made a partial investigation. He said last night that he believed an inquest would be unnecessary, because the deceased had been under a physician's treatment prior to his death.

This raises an important question. Under ordinary circumstances a person who dies a suspicious death and is attended by a physician is not subject to an inquest by the coroner, but there are cases, and this seems to be one of them, when the physician is called in at the late hour and who can only certify tht death was the result of poison and yet gives no facts bearing upon the administering of the poison. In this way a person can be poisoned by another person, and the fact that a physician was with the patient just prior to death would not relieve the necessity of an inquest.

It is very probable that the coroner will hold an inquest sometime today.

It is said by some of the neighbors of the Kelseys that husband and wife have not been living together. They have a blind girl at a school in Macon and the only other children were the boy and the baby. Mr. Kelsey, it is said supports his family, sending what is needed to the house where his wife lives.

Whatever else there is in the way of a "skeleton in the closet" is only whispered among those who know of Mrs. Kelsey, and what is was that made the bor tired of a life he had scarcely begun to fantom is only a matter of conjecture. It may all come out if an inquest is held by the coroner.

What Was Told the Undertaker.

The body will be interred by Hilburn & Bowden, funeral directors. Mr. Hilburn called at the house yesterday. He said he was called in at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. He was told by persons present that the boy had asked about how much morphine it would take to kill him, and later showed the powder to some playmates. During the night, so he was informed. it was thought that the child might be saved, but yesterday morning about 7 o'clock he began to sink and died a few hours later.

The little boys in the neighborhood of the Kelsey home say that Joel was a good boy. He was bright, and a favorite at school with his playmates. Lately at times he was moody and abstracted and would not take any interest in his pastimes as formerly.

The father says the boy seemed to be pleased since put to work in the poolroom.

So the question is asked by the neighbors and by those who know the boy and liked him: Why did a lad of such young years take a step that is only resorted to by those of mature years and with the weight of sorrows and troubles resting upon them?

Died About 1:15 O'Clock

Dr. A. H. Baskin, who resides at No.39 Walker street and who attended young Kelsey from 9 o'clock Wednesday night until a few moments prior to his death, about 1:15 o'clock yesterday afternoon, was seen last night, and absolutely refused to make any statement in regard to the suicide, his refusal being prompted by ethical reasons, but the following information was obtained from him:
That he has been acquainted with both Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey for about five years, during which time they have lived apart, Mrs. Kelsey at 103 Larkin street, and Mr. Kelsey, Dr. Baskin was inclined to believe, over Wilson's bar on Peters street, which is only a few doors from Kelsey's poolroom.

That Dr. Baskin was called to the residence of Mrs. Kelsey about 9 o'clock Wednesday night and found young Joel Kelsey suffering from what was evidently an overdose of morphine. At that time he was taking not more than one breath each minute. It was thought then the boy could live only a short time.

That Mr. Kelsey arrived at the residence of Mrs. Kelsey about the same time as Dr. Baskin, and remained with the boy through the night. Dr. Baskin was not sure whether Mr. Kelsey was present at the time of his boy's death, the physician himself being absent. He left before the boy died, and when he returned a few moments after his death Mr. Kelsey was absent.

He Was Tired of Living

That when Dr. Baskin arrived at the Kelsey residence he found the boy had evidently taken poison of some kind before. The boy had offered no explanation for his actions. He had recovered consciousness about 1 o'clock yesterday morning and remained in possession of his faculties until 5 o'clock yesterday morning. During this time the boy's father was with him.

Dr. Baskin was sure that the boy had given no reason for his attempt at suicide during his consciousness, but did not appear to be sorry. The boy had told his father, so Dr. Baskin had heard, that he was tired of living. He did not say why he was tired of living. Dr. Baskin was positive that he had offered no other explanation than this.

Dr. Baskin had made out the certificate of death to the board of health, but had put in as the cause of death "morphine poisoning," saying nothing of the suicide feature. He had not put in suicide because he thought it was not imperative that the board of health should know that the death resulted from suicide. He had not notified the coroner. He supposed the board of health would notify the coroner that the boy had committed suicide. He supposed that the coroner would hold an inquest, as it is customary in such cases, and he was not sure but that it was his duty to notify the coroner of the suicide.

Dr. Baskin knew very little of the case, and refused to make any statement whatsoever.

The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Saturday February 11, 1899

POLICE WILL TODAY INVESTIGATE THE DEATH OF KELSEY, THE BOY SUICIDE

The Secret, However, May Be Hidden in His Grave Since the Coroner Thinks an Inquest Is Unnecessary

WHAT CHIEF MANLY SAYS

He Supposed All the Facts Would Be Brought Out at an Inquest

INVESTIGATION SAID TO BE DUE FAMILY

Rumors, if They Are False, Should Be Disproved - Reasons of the Coroner for Not Holding Inquest. The Boy Will Be Buried Today.

Today Joel Kelsey, the fourteen-year-old boy who died from poison at his home, 103 Larkin street, Thursday morning will be laid in the grave, and if there is an untold secret behind the strange and tragic ending of the young life, it will never be known, as the coroner has decided not to hold an inquest, unless the police force an investigation.

The chief of police said last night that he thought the coroner intended to hold an inquest, and that all the facts in regard to the death of the boy would in that way be brought out.

"As the coroner has decided that it is not within the line of his duties to hold an inquest," Chief manly said, "I will have the death of the boy investigated today. I will do this as much for the sake of the boy's family as for any other reason. If there are any rumors of unkind treatment or anything else in connection with the case and these are untrue, then the authorities owe it to the people to have these false rumors set aside."

It is claimed that the boy committed suicide. If he did, it must have been pride that drove him to it - pride that was stung to the quick - at either humiliation or injury, and the boy, with a bright mind and talents for music and art, doubtless had the making of a good man in him. But he boarded the pitiful sum of 5 cents for self-destruction. Somebody, at some time, gave the little fellow a nickel, and it was thought he would quickly spend it for candy or cake or some toy pleasing to the mind of a child; yet he kept it all the while, thinking of a deed that befitted the mind of a person weighted down with years of suffering or sorrow.

Under the winding sheet that covered his dead body in the humble little house on Larkin street, some story of a life blighted, ere it had fairly dawned, is hidden, and it may go down into the grave to be buried forever beneath the eaves of rain-washed clay.

Why the Coroner Will Not Act

The coroner seems to think that an inquest is unnecessary, and he gives as his reasons that a reputable physician has certified as to the cause of death, and that he does not wish to wound the feelings of the family. Under the same ruling a murderer could go free who took a notion to get a child out of the way. He could make the child buy the poison, give the poison, and then, when the child was at the point of death, send for a "reputable physician" and get a certificate as to the "cause of death," which would satisfy the coroner and prevent an investigation. The murderer could tell anything he wished that would bear out the theory of suicide.

The question is being asked why the coroner did not hold an inquest over the Kelsey boy, and there are many who think an inquest should have been held for the sake of the child's family as much as anything else. If there are suspicions of mistreatment of the boy, it is due the family that this fact, if it is untrue, be disproved. So far from hurting the feelings of the family, it ought to be the very thing they would want, it is claimed.

Young Kelsey was a musician. His mother and father played upon violins, and he had learned to play with them on the violincello, and is said to have had a good ear for music. He has also quite a talent for making sketches, and he drew a picture of Otis Skinner a few days before his death.

It Is Mrs. Kelsey's Story

Under the statement of Mrs. Kelsey, and that is the only evidence which can be obtained so far, the boy took the morphine while lying in bed Wednesday night about 8 o'clock, and he purchased it from a drug store two days before. he was found in an unconscious condition by herself and a man who was in the house at the time. Mr. Kelsey, who, it is said, is separated from his wife, was not at home, and he was sent for and a physician summoned.

The Kelsey home is a two-room affair and about as humble a looking building as one can live in with any degree of comfort. The occupants of the house are Mrs. Kelsey, her little boy, aged five, and her old mother.

While the verdict of the coroner's jury may have been suicide, yet there is much to the story of the death of the lad which justice to the community and to the family seems to have demanded to be investigated. The simple fact that a doctor says it was a case of poisoning does not establish legally who gave the poison or who was responsible for the suicide, if it was such.

It is said that the boy's grandfather, after whom he was named, committed suicide before him, being of a high-strung nature. If that was so, then the younger Joel inherited his grandfather's spirit - a spirit which some wrong, fancied or otherwise, broke, and which nothing but death could heal.

The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Sunday February 12, 1899

AN INQUEST IS TO BE HELD OVER THE BODY OF YOUNG JOEL KELSEY

Coroner Stamps Impaneled a Jury Yesterday Morning and the Boy's Body Was Examined.

POLICE CHIEF TOOK ACTION

Coroner Says He Will Make the Investigation a Thorough One

IMPORTANT FACTS MAY COME OUT

The Inquest Will Be Held This Morning at 10 O'Clock at No. 155 Peters Street - Securing of Witnesses Begun Yesterday.

This morning at 10 o'clock Coroner Stamps will hold an inquest over the body of William Joel Kelsey, the boy who died from the effects of poison, supposed to have been morphine taken at his mother's home, No. 103 Larkin street, last Wednesday night. The inquest will be held at No 155 Peters Street, where the boy's father resides.

Yesterday morning the coroner decided that an inquest was necessary and communicated with the chief of police in regard to the matter.

Chief manly concluded Friday last that unless the coroner took some steps to investigate the cause of the boy's death, he would have the affair looked into himself. Yesterday morning the first thing the chief did on reaching his office was to instruct the detective department to investigate the death of the Kelsey boy, and Detective Sergeant Harvey Bedford was detailed to work on the case.

In the meantime the coroner had decided that he would hold an inquest and he secured a jury and went to the house on Larkin Street, where the body of the boy was awaiting burial. There with Dr. A. H. Baskin, who attended the boy when he died, the coroner's jury examined the body and adjourned for the purpose of taking testimony this morning.

Coroner Talks of the Inquest

The Coroner said last night that after he had looked into the case more closely he decided that justice to all parties concerned made it right and necessary that an inquest be held.

"I have been very busy for the past two or three days," said Coroner Stamps, "and I ascertained that the Kelsey boy would not be buried until Saturday afternoon and that I would have time after investigating other cases to make further inquiries about the death of the boy on Larkin Street. There have been some reports circulated which, if untrue, should be so proven. I intend to make the inquest very thorough and I will bring out all the facts that can be brought to light. Dr. Baskin will assist me, as the county physician is not in the city. We have examined the body and the jury will be ready this morning at 10 o'clock to carefully examine all the witnesses."

Work of Securing Witnesses.

Detective Sergeant Bedford and Patrolmen Chiles, Blackstone, Key and Kilpatrick have looked into the affair and will assist the coroner in securing witnesses. the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey do not live together and that the boy's home was not what it ought to have been will be brought out in order to throw light upon the cause of the suicide, if it was a case of self-destruction. The officers have been told that Mrs. Kelsey uses morphine herself and this will also be established, if it is true.

The coroner says he intends to have the man before him who was in the house with Mrs. Kelsey when Joel is alleged to have taken the morphine. Mrs. Kelsey has stated that the boy waked up and asked a man, whom he called Homer, why he wasn't at home with his wife. It is this man the coroner wants. Mr. Kelsey, Mrs. Kelsey, some of Joel's playmates, Mrs. Kelsey's mother and Dr. Baskin will be among the important witnesses. Police officers will probably be summoned to prove the character of Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey.

Reports Heard by Police

The police have reported that Kelsey is living with a woman named nannie Lewis and that the fact that they are living as man and wife is notorious in the neighborhood of their place of residence.

Officers say also that it is commonly reported that Mrs. Kelsey receives the attention of men. Little boys have told stories of how Joel hung around his home at night, very late, and when it was cold afraid to enter the house until his mother bade him do so.

As the coroner has declared he will make the inquest one of the most thorough he has ever held, there will doubtless be a number of witnesses before the jury this morning.

The outcome of the inquest will be watched with some interest by those who have kept up with the incidents connected with the death of the youth, who was only fourteen of age, as it is believed some important fact will be brought out.

The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Monday February 13, 1899

Jury Says Joel Kelsey Ended His Life With Poison
There Was an Unwritten Verdict of the Desperation That Was Born of a Son's Humiliation
He Shielded His Mother
Witnesses Tell of the Boy's Suicide with Morphine
Druggist Relates Interesting Story
Coroner Hold an Inquest in a Room Over Storeroom on Peters Street. Father and Mother on Witness Stand - Testimony in the Case.

EXTRACTS FROM THE TESTIMONY AT KELSEY INQUEST HELD YESTERDAY
Mrs. Kelsey said:
"Wednesday evening Joel went to bed about 8 o'clock. A young man was in the house and Joel talked to him foolishly. He wanted a cigarette and was given one. An hour later he was found unconscious."

Mr. Kelsey said:
"He (Joel) started to tell me more when his mother stopped him by telling me to wait and question the boy some other time. I believe he would have told all when he regained consciousness if he had not been stopped."

Dr. Curtis said: "I sold Mrs Kelsey morphine for four or five years and received noted from her by Joel. I sold Joel 5 cents worth of morphine on last Wednesday, he stating that it was for his mother. I let him have four grains."



While the drifting snow wrapped in its cold, white winding sheet the grave of Joel Kelsey in a quiet country churchyard, the coroner and his jury were gathered yesterday morning in a little room over a store on Peters street trying to fathom the mystery of a boy seeking death and the dread eternity to end a life he had tired of ere he had learned to know it.

The verdict of the jury was; "Suicide;" but there was an unwritten verdict that no human court of justice demanded to be made - a verdict that, perhaps some pitying angel has inscribed upon the tablets of a court beyond the ken of man.

When murder is out, the cause of the crime becomes of paramount importance official investigating, but when death is the result of self-destruction, no scrutiny is to be made by the cold arbiter of law unto the reason that prompted the self-destroying hand to still its own fevered pulse. Yet, the story of Joel Kelsey's suicide came out of the coroner’s inquest like a subtle underplot to some pathetic tragedy.

Why should a young boy, just past the age of childhood, when life ought to have held forth its dearest charms and brightest dreams, let such dark shadows lurk within his soul as to drive him to the desperate act of one who was pursued by fateful years of tortured endurance? This natural inquiry was what made the coroner decide that an inquest was necessary. And the answer to that question came with the incidental testimony that developed.

Shielded His Erring Mother.

While upon the witness stand the boy's father said:
"I believe the boy would have told it all when he regained consciousness if his mother had not stopped him. He tried to hide his mother's faults and never spoke to me about her otherwise than kindly."

When the father uttered these words there were tears in his eyes, and it was a difficult matter for him to keep down the sob that arose in his throat. Whatever his life was, some memory of the dark past was awakened by the death of the boy, and the lifting of the veil well-nigh unnerved him.

Added to the reference to the boy's shielding his mother's name, were these words from the father:
"Thirteen months ago Joel's mother and myself separated and we do not live together now. The boy loved me, and I believe he loved his mother. He was bright far beyond one of his age and I know not what unspoken thoughts may have passed through his mind. His secret, so far as I know died with him.

At 10 o'clock yesterday morning Coroner Stamps assembled his jury in a room at No. 155 Peters street, over which William J. Kelsey resides. The jury was as follows: J. P. Martin, N. T. Johnson, G. N. Hurtel, J. S. Karr, J. M. Jordan and Dr. A. H. Baskin.

Kelsey met all the jurors and witnesses at the door of his room and carefully brushed the snow from their shoes. On the floor of his apartment was a bright new carpet He is a small man with reddish hair and a mustaches of the same color. He talked pleasantly and frankly. In a small box in a corner of the room was a black terrier with four pups. Kelsey was profuse in his complimentary allusions to the dogs.

"Ah me," the man sighed once, "I opened that poolroom down stairs just to give Joel a business start in life, and now he is gone. I cannot take any more interest in the place."

The Father on the Stand.

Kelsey was the first witness examined. He said he was at his poolroom on last Wednesday night when the was sent for by his wife, who said Joel was dying. He went to the house, at No. 103 Larkin street, as quickly as possible and carried Dr. Baskin with him. They found the boy unconscious and they went to work to save his life. Once the boys was able to walk and talk.

"I asked Joel," said Kelsey, "why he had taken the poison and he said he was just tired of life and wanted to die. He started to tell me more when his mother stopped him by telling me to wait and question the boy some other time. I believe the boy would have told it all when he regained consciousness if he had not been stopped. He never spoke to me of his mother's faults and I don't know what he knew about her. I feel certain he took the morphine himself."

The Mother Tells Her Story

Mrs. Elisabeth Kelsey told her story to the jury. She stated that Joel quit school a week or two before his death to work with his father. Last Wednesday evening about 7 o'clock he came home and ate bread and sirup. He went to bed about 8 o'clock. A young man was in the house and Joel talked to him foolishly, asking him if he was married to a gnat. He wanted a cigarette and was given one. An hour later he was heard breathing heavily and was found unconscious. His father was sent for and the boy was at one time over the effects of the morphine, but died the next day at 1 o'clock.

Mrs. Kelsey admitted that she used morphine at times and had sent Joel after it several times. She found the morphine paper in the boy's trousers pocket.

The Druggist Makes a Statement.

Dr. W. M. Curtis, at whose drug store the morphine had been purchased said:
"I have known Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey for fifteen years and knew Joel ever since he was born. I sold Mrs. Kelsey morphine for four or five years, and received noted from her by Joel. Her husband also bought it for her.

"I sold Joel 5 cents worth of morphine last Wednesday, he stating that it was for his mother. I let him have four grains. A fourth of a grain is an ordinary dose. I marked the powder 'Morphine-Poison.' One grain was enough to cause death."

Dr. Curtis produced, one of the notes which had been sent to him by Mrs. Kelsey, asking for 5 cents' worth or morphine.

At the request of the jury, Mr. Kelsey again took the witness stand and he stated that he and his wife had separated over a year ago. The cause was a family skeleton, which he would not drag out unless it was insisted upon. He did not know how much of the trouble Joel knew. The lad was high strung and proud, but he never discussed his mother.

Written and Unwritten Verdict.

This was all of the important testimony and the jury retired to make up the verdict. In the jury room the fact came out and was discussed that the trouble with the boy had been the acts of his mother. His father lived with another woman, and his mother received attention from other men. One of the jurors said he had heard that the reason the boy quit school was because some of his thoughtless comrades had twitted him about the troubles at his home.

The written verdict of the coroner's jury was as follows:
"We, the jury chosen and sworn by J. R. Stamps, coroner, to inquire into the death of Joel Kelsey, after hearing the evidence in the case, find that he came to his death by taking an overdose of morphine with suicidal intent."

The unwritten verdict of desperation born of a son's humiliation was hidden in the new-made grave in the county church yard under the pure white, but cold and pitiless snow.