Keller - Joe
Source: Crawfordsville Review Feb 7, 1913 p 1
One case in the circuit court will never be brought to trial for the very positive reason that the defendant has committed suicide. The man who took his life was Joe Keller, the individual arrested two weeks ago by Sheriff Wren on a charge of larcency. Keller was found dead in bed by a brother, David Keller who had gone to the suicide's home, six miles south of Hillsboro to get some fodder. Keller was very deliberate about killing himself, judging from all the evidence connected with the death. Two firearms, a shotgun and a rifle were found near the body, the rifle, a .22 calibre, empty. Keller comes from a respected family and the effect his trouble would have upon his people in case of a conviction in the circuit court is thought to be the principal cause of his taking his life. Recently Keller had shown that he was suffering from mental depression, but none of his relatives ever suspected that he was contemplating suicide. Keller was out on a $500 bond and the man who were on his bail were notified yesterday of his act. A blanket was the property that Keller was charged with stealing. It disappeared from the site of one of the "abandoned oil wells in Ripley Township which was drilled by Keller's late father several years ago after the latter had been informed by a spiritualist medium that there was oil in the land in the vicinity of Waynetown. The blanket was recovered but the authorities were convinced that it had been stolen and the evidence pointed toward Keller. - transcribed by kbz