John Wesley Phillips
Obituaries
Unknown - November 14, 1921
JOHN PHILLIPS, 76, BEATS WIFE SEVERELY WITH REVOLVER AND KILLS SELF AS SHERIFF CALLED. Phillips has lived here a Year, Conducting Community Store on Mystic Avenue; Tragedy Occurs at 3 a.m.
John PHILLIPS, aged about 76, and a pioneer resident of Colorado, committed suicide at 614 Mystic avenue about 3 o'clock this morning by shooting himself in the right temple with a 38-calibre revolver. PHILLIPS quarreled with his wife before killing himself and beat her very severely about the head and chest with the butt of the revolver, besides trying to choke her.
His finger prints were discernable on her throat for several hours after the assault and there appears to be little doubt in the minds of the neighbors that he would have murdered her if she had not escaped from the house and aroused the neighborhood by her cries.
The impression of people in the vicinity is that PHILIPS was insane when he committed the rash act, in fact most of them are of the opinion that he had been suffering from a mild form of dementia for some time. PHILLIPS and his wife had not gotten along well together for many months and the former brooded over it to such an extent as to allow it to burden his mind. Nearly every customer that came into his store was told the story of the infelicity of the PHILLIPS' household, frequently to the annoyance of the visitor.
Sunday evening Mrs. PHILLIPS went to the Christian church revival with a number of other women in the neighborhood, leaving her husband at home. Her leaving the house is supposed to have angered PHILLIPS and on her return he upbraided her for it. Later in the night he went into an adjoining room where his wife was sleeping and renewed the quarrel, beating her about the head and shoulders as described during the altercation. She managed to break away and get out of the house. Her cries of "he is murdering me," aroused the neighbors and several of them went to her assistance.
Mr. and Mrs. H. W. HAMMOND who live at 610 Mystic avenue were among those who got out of bed to see what was taking place. Mrs. HAMMOND went over to where PHILLIPS was standing and told him that he must behave himself or she would summon the police. In the meantime, Mrs. PHILLIPS had been taken to the house of a neighbor a few doors down the street, where she was given protection and made as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. It was not until after daylight that the real seriousness of her injuries were ascertained. It was not until about 8 o'clock that a physician was called to attend her.
To end the turmoil and excitement Mrs. HAMMOND went across the street to the house of Mr. and Mrs. KANE and asked them to telephone the sheriff and ask him to put an end to the trouble. Whether PHILLIPS overheard the request that the police be sent for is not known but it is thot probably that he did. Before the arrival of Undersheriff Harry TRIPLETT and City Marshal C. F. SKINNER, who responded to the request, PHILLIPS went into his store, turned the lights out and killed himself. Only a few of the neighbors heard the shot and it was not until some time afterwards that his suicide became known.
The officers found PHILLIPS lying on his back in the middle of the room, in a pool of blood, with the revolver resting on his breast. The body was taken to Wilson's undertaking rooms to be prepared for burial.
PHILLIPS is understood to have been an old-timer in Colorado and is said to have been a miner in early days. He is reputed to have been a prospector in California Gulch and the Leadville district for a long period and to have known all of the more prominent men in that section forty years and more ago.
Mr. and Mrs. PHILLIPS came to Canon City a little more than 12 months ago from southern California where they were married some years previously. Mrs. PHILLIPS is a California woman and was married somewhere about Los Angeles. It was the third marriage for each of them but only the husband has any surviving children. Neither of them had any family relatives in Canon City. J. M. PHILLIPS of Minturn, Colo., a son of the dead man by one of his former marriages, has been telegraphed of the suicide and death of his father and is expected to arrive here tonight to make arrangements for the funeral, the date of which has not yet been announced. Mrs. PHILLIPS is nearly 70 years of age.
