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Sim A. Luper Obituaries and news regarding his death S.A. Luper, 78 year old employee of the Johnson Canning factory at Johnson, five miles northwest of here, was found dead in his shack on the factory grounds early today, with two bullets from his own gun fired into the back of his head. An inquest will be held at about 6 o'clock this evening, but officers and County Coroner Glenn Riggs said that he apparently was murdered. While there was some possibility of suicide, Mr. Riggs said the angle of the bullets indicated that Luper could not have fired them. No motive for either suicide or murder could be established today. Luper had not been robbed of the $20 in cash he had on him and his watch, and so far as is known, he had no enemies, officers said. Luper who works at the canning factory during the canning season and serves as caretaker the yearround was found lying on the floor of his shack near the office, by his granddaughter, who came to investigate when he failed to appear on the factory grounds as usual and who fainted when she found the body. Luper had not been feeling well last night, relatives said, and at about 3 o'clock this morning went to his son's home for a clean shirt and a suitcase. He was in good spirits at the time, it was reported. The night watchman at the canning factory talked to him at about 2 o'clock and he also said he was in good spirits, officers said. The engineer who came to work at the factory at about 5 o'clock said he noticed a light in Luper's house and before he arrived at the factory he heard two shots fired. He did not see anyone leave the house and did not go to Luper's shack since he did not know the shots were fired from there. Officers went to Johnson early this morning to investigate the death, but had few clues in which to work. The gun had been handled before the officers arrived, eliminating any change of fingerprints. Luper's granddaughter, who discovered his death, collapsed at the house before the officers arrived. ------------ Tom Williamson Is Released When Officers are Convinced He Has Good Alibi Mysterious death of S.A. Luper, 78 year old canning factory employee early yesterday, today remain unsolved by local officers. Tom Williamson was released today after a questioning last night had convinced officers that he knew nothing of the murder. Sheriff Hailey Gover and Coroner Glenn Riggs questioned Williamson at the county jail following the inquest it (sic) which a verdict of "death at the hands of an unknown person" was returned. Wife Testifies Williamson was taken into custody yesterday after officers had learned that Luper had been attentive to Williamsons estranged wife. At the inquest, Mrs. Williamson testified that while she had been going with Luper for the past two years she had been separated from her husband four years, and said as far as she knew he had no objection to her going with Luper. Suicide Theory Discredit Theory of suicide was discredited by a physician who testified at the inquest that while the first shot, which went through the back of Luper's head probably died not kill him, it almost certainly stunned him so that he would have been unable to fire the second shot, which penetrated his brain. W.C. Divens, owner of the factory where Luper worked, said that at a recent conversation with him, Luper had stated that "a person who takes his own life is a coward or crazy." Shots Heard at 5 O'Clock No clue as to who committed the murder early yesterday morning was held by officers. Time of the murder was estimated as about 5 o'clock from testimony of the fireman, who heard the shots as he was on his way to work. Special thanks to Cindy Dickinson, [email protected] for submitting this file! Source of file: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/obits/washington/washobi1.txt
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