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Author: smiley73070
Surnames: Cantwell, Tulk
Classification: death
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.cantwell/352/mb.ashx
Message Board Post:
The Oklahoman
04-24-1939
p.1
SHOT CRASHES THROUGH DOOR, KILLS WOMAN
Britton Mother of 3 Dies Quickly
BOY IS HELD, FREED
Size of Bullet Clears Suspect
A mystery bullet ripped throught the door of a garage home at
Britton a few minutes after noon Sunday and killed Mrs L.E. Cantwell,
26 years old, as she helped her 3-year-old son, LeRoy, wash his
hands for dinner.
Mrs Cantwell died within a few minutes. The bullet entered her
chest, severed the air passage and an artery, punctured her right
lung and ranged downward into her back.
The bullet was apparently shot by a passerby from a side road
75 feet in front of the home, Fred Smith, deputy sheriff in charge
of the criminal division said. Neighbors questioned by officers
said they did not see anyone pass at the time the fatal shot was
fired, nor did they hear the shot.
Youth Is Detained
"About our only hope is to find a witness who saw someone passing
the home at about that time," Smith said. He added that he believed
the person who fired the shot did not know the garage was occupied.
Bucil L. Davis, 19 years old, Britton, was held in county jail
for investigation after officers learned he was shooting at a target
with a .22 caliber pistol at his home two blocks away Smith said.
But when an autoposy was performed at the Britton funeral home
attendants found the fatal pellet was a .45 caliber steel jacket
bullet and Davis was released soon after.
Husband Hears Shot
Mrs Cantwell
s husband, 43 years old, and their 6-year-old daughter, Ruby, were
sitting at the table preparing to eat when the shot was fired. A
1-year-old son, Thomas, was asleep on a bed.
"Mamie (Mrs Cantwell) had just returned thanks and was helping
LeRoy wash his hands when I heard the shot," Cantwell said.
"I caught her as she staggered around the table and carried her
to the door."
Doctor Called from Church
Roy Cantwell, a brother, who lives in ahouse on the front of the
lot, drove to a drugstore in Britton in search of a doctor. There
he learned Dr. L.E. Crick was attending services at the Methodist
church.
Bursting into church in the midst of the closing prayer, Cantwell
summoned Doctor Crick to the aid of his sister-in-law. Mrs Cantwell
was dead when he arrived.
Charles Bell, justice of the peace, called a coroner's jury. They
withheld verdict pending further investigation.
C.L. Goughler, city marshal, who was the first officer on the scene,
said he had been unable to learn of anyone passing the home when the
shot was fired."
Shot Sounds Close
Roy Cantwell said he was working in the back yard and heard the
shot, but thought it sounded as though the shot was fired in the
garage. A bullet hole through the closed wooden door showed that
the shot came from the outside.
Mrs Roy Cantwell was in the bedroom of her home and her mother,
Mrs E.B. Tulk, was working in a chicken pen at the back, but
neither heard the shot. They were first aware something was wrong
when Mrs L.E. Cantwell's husband carried her to the door of their
home.
The L.E. Cantwell family lived at Oaks, 70 miles east of Tulsa,
until they moved to Britton a week ago. At that time Roy Cantwell
converted the garage into a home for his brother's family.
***posted for genealogical purposes only; no relation***
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