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Show Steals Box of Candy, Boy Commits Suicide Rather Than Disgrace Mother by Being Be-ing Sent to Jail, He Takes His Own ."Life. COUNCIL BLUFFS. Icu, Nov. 23. Driven frantic by fear of arrest for stealing a box- of candy Leroy Mcssncr, a twelve-year-old boy, committed suicide sui-cide by drinking carbolic acid rather than disgrace his mother by being sent to Jail. Just losing consciousness the child .murmured to his agonized mother as she bent over him: "Mamma, I Prefer to Die." "Mamma, I would rather die than bring disgrace on you. I did not think' what I was doing." A freight car was broken into and several sev-eral boxes of candy taken therefrom. Detectives located the stolen articles In the possession of several boys attending a neighboring school, and three of the boys were arrested. "Word was brought to young Messner that the olllcers were looking for him and would sqpn be at his home to arrest him. Hysterical With Fright. The boy became hysterical with fright' and talked incoherently to his parents, trying to tell them what he had done. Rushing from the presence of his mother moth-er he found a bottle of carbolic acid In the pantry and drank its contents. He died half an hour later. It Is said that the boy was led In trouble trou-ble by the older boys, and that he did not enter the car, but was given one of the stolen boxes by one of the real thieves. |