The recent death at the sanitarium was ruled a suicide, but the reason was still only speculation.
From the Arizona Daily Star, Friday, July 28, 1916:
Heart Torn to Bits By Two Revolver Shots
Whether “Baron” Was Name or Title Not Shown at Eckels’ Inquest
Whether “Baron” was the first name of the youth, Baron Barnes Wadsworth Eckels, who, according to the verdict of a coroner’s jury yesterday, committed suicide Wednesday evening at a local sanitarium, or a “title” taken to enhance the adventure of a trip to South Sea Islands, was not brought out at the inquest yesterday.
the jury returned a verdict of suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the facts related by witnesses being substantially the same as published in The Star yesterday morning.
The letter found among Eckels effects, directed to a sister at St. Mary’s hospital, which it was thought might throw some light upon the cause of the young man’s self destruction, was merely a communication regarding forwarding his mail, written June 14 after he had left St. Mary’s and gone to Oracle.
Eckel’s heart was practically torn to pieces by the two 38-caliber bullets, according to the testimony of the physician. The two bullets struck the wall of the bath room in which the young man died, about 18 inches apart.
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Several bootleggers saw the writing on the wall and changed their pleas to guilty.
Henry Meyer Changes Plea; Admits Guilt
Juan Matos Also Changes Plea to Guilty; ‘Knothole Case’ Today
Henry Meyer, former sergeant of the Tucson police force, plead guilty in the superior court yesterday to the charge of violating the prohibition law, and will be sentenced Saturday morning. Meyer was one of those arrested during the recent raid on soft drink establishments in the city. He at first entered a plea of not guilty but yesterday he changed his plea to guilty.
Juan Matos, of Silverbell, charged with violating the prohibition law, also changed his plea to guilty yesterday and will be sentenced Saturday, which will be sentence day for a number of convicted bootleggers, including Joe Mendibles, an order setting his time for sentence on Saturday having been entered yesterday.
The case of John Doe Richmond, the defendant in the “knothole case” will be called this morning when court convenes.
A student and employee of the University of Arizona had been electrocuted more than a year earlier. His father sued the university for negligence.
FATHER OF LEO CLOUD SUES U.A. FOR $50,000
Alleged Young Athlete’s Death Was Due to Negligence of Employers
Charging the University of Arizona and the board of regents of the university with negligence in permitting non-insulated wires to be used in connection with the light and power system on the campus, Joseph L. Cloud, father of Leo Cloud, the young tennis player and all-round athlete who was electrocuted while employed on the campus March 7, 1915, yesterday brought suit in the superior court for damages in the sum of $50,000.
Leo Cloud was one of the best known University students during his attendance at the institution, and was as efficient in his studies as he was in athletics. His death as the result of coming in contact with a live wire while painting a water tank, shocked the entire community at the time.
The complaint filed in the superior court yesterday comprises a recital of the facts, as alleged, and a request for damages in the sum of $50,000. It is alleged that the university and board of regents, by whom Cloud was employed, were negligent in permitting the use of a power wire from which the insulation had been torn away by weather and exposed for a space of from six inches to a foot at the place above which Cloud was working.
When the platform on which he was standing was lowered by the foreman of the job, it is alleged, Cloud was brought into contact with the live wire, carrying a voltage of 2400. Cloud was 22 years old at that time and damages sought are based on an earning capacity of $100 per month.
Lastly, lightning killed a woman as she sat inside her home amidst her family. No one else was injured, but the incident surely made people feel that life — and death — were fickle.
Sahuarita Woman Is Killed by Lightning
Bolt Finds Mrs. Teresa Martinez as She Sits in Her Home
The body of Mrs. Teresa Martinez, who was killed by lightning at Sahuarita Wednesday afternoon, was brought to the city yesterday and is being held at the Tucson Undertaking company until the facts regarding the woman’s death can be established. It is reported that the lightning bolt found the woman as she sat in her home in the midst of her family.
The body was viewed yesterday by Coroner Comstock and the evidences on her body that her death had been caused by being struck by lightning made it unlikely that an inquest will be held. The bolt struck the woman just above the right eye and the air was singed from the woman’s head. Profuse bleeding from the ears was another indication of death by lightning stroke.
Up to late yesterday afternoon the justice of the peace at Sahuarita had failed to report the circumstances attending the woman’s death and a deputy sheriff will go to Sahuarita this morning to make an investigation.
The body was brought in on an improvised stretcher fixed onto a Ford automobile. The woman’s husband did not accompany the body but sent word that he would come in last evening.
