30 Oct 1912 – 16 Aug 1934
Great-Granddaughter of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Granddaughter of Jean Paul Cardon and Magdalene Beus
Daughter of Ernest William Cardon and Annie Marshall
DEATHS
MERRILL – May Cardon Merrill, 21, 578 Third avenue, accidental gunshot wound, August 16.
-Published in The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, August 19, 1934, Page B11 (23)
MERRILL – Funeral services for May Cardon Merrill will be conducted Sunday at 3 p.m. in the rose room, 36 East 7th South, Bishop Harold G. Reynolds of the 21st ward will officiate. Friends may call at the French room in the mortuary. Interment will be in City Cemetery, under direction of Deseret mortuary.
-Published in The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, August 19, 1934, Page B11 (23)
ACCIDENT
Three-year-old Douglas Merrill several months ago had been given a toy pistol, which pleased him mightily. But the pistol he picked from the bed of his mother, Mrs. Clarence L. Merrill, was no toy. While playing with it, it accidentally discharged, fatally wounded Mrs. Merrill as she was holding a 10-day-old daughter in her arms.
The weapon had lain unnoticed on the bed, was owned by Mr. Merrill, a special police officer. The excitement of the mother’s homecoming with her infant child caused attendants to forget the pistol, fail to remove it to a safer place.
-Published in The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, August 19, 1934, Page C7 (31)
MOTHER
KILLED
BY SHOT
Boy of Three Accidentally Discharges Pistol
A loaded 44 caliber revolver in the hands of three-year-old Douglas Merrill, brought death to his mother, Mrs. Clarence L. Merrill, 21, late yesterday, in the Merrill home, 578 Third avenue.
Mrs. Merrill had just returned to her home from a hospital where a baby girl was born Aug. 6. The young mother had been placed in bed in a half reclining position with pillows piled behind her back. The revolver, owned by Mr. Merrill, a special officer, had been left lying on the bed in the excitement of Mrs. Merrill’s homecoming.
Unnoticed the boy picked up the weapon and was toying with it when it was accidentally discharged. The heavy bullet struck Mrs. Merrill under the right shoulder, coursed through the plural cavity and emerged under the left shoulder, causing sever shock to the spinal column.
Operation Performed
The shooting occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Mrs. Merrill was attended by Dr. J. J. Galligan who was summoned by neighbors from his home across the street. She was given first aid and then rushed to the county general hospital where an emergency operation was performed, but she died at 7:45.
Audrey Cardon, 12, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Cardon, 221 M street, and sister of Mrs. Merrill, was standing almost in the line of fire when the weapon was discharged. She took the newly born baby from the stricken mother’s arms, placed her in a crib and ran to the home of her parents.
Had Toy Pistol
The boy’s grandfather, F. F. Merrill, was in an adjoining room and ran in when the shot was fired. Neighbors gathered and the police ambulance was sent for. Meanwhile, Douglas, not comprehending what it was all about, looked innocently on.
Members of the family told Detective J. D Brown and F. C. Anderson that several months ago the boy had been given a toy pistol and that he played with it constantly.
Surviving Mrs. Merrill are her parents, her husband, two children, Douglas, and Louise Merrill, 11 days old; and eight brothers and sisters. Paul, Allen, Roy, Roland, Joyce, Zella, Audrey and Melba. She was born in Logan, Oct 21, 1912.
Funeral services will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Deseret mortuary.
-Published in the Deseret News, Friday, August 17, 1934, Page 1
S. L. Boy, 3, Shoots Mother as She Lies
In Bed Holding New-Born Baby Girl
“Mama: Where’s mama?”
Three-year-old Douglas Merrill’s question went unanswered Friday – Neither police, neighbors, relatives, not even the lad’s father, could summon the courage to explain that Douglas would never see “Mama” again.
Douglas doesn’t know his mother is dead–that a heavy bullet from the revolver he grasped in his chubby hand Thursday night went his mother away forever, only a few hours after she returned from a hospital with his baby sister.
If Douglas could read police records, he would know. They told a story Friday of stark tragedy descending on a Salt Lake City home to still the laughter of children, to rob a husband of his most cherished possession, to leave two children, one an infant, motherless.
Principals in the tragedy were Mrs. May Magdalene Merrill, 23, wife of Clarence L. Merrill, a special patrolman: their 3-year-old son Douglas, his baby sister Louise and Audrey Cardon, 12, Mrs. Merrill’s sister.
The scene was the modest Merrill home at 578 Third avenue. The time, 5:15 p.m. Kerosene lamps lit the small bedroom where Mrs. Merrill rested with her infant daughter born 11 days before. The mother had just returned from the hospital. It was a happy family reunion.
Beside the bed stood Douglas, his rapt gaze fixed on his new sister. On the opposite side Audrey laughed with the mother at the antics of the squirming precious bundle in Mrs. Merrill’s arms.
In the kitchen adjoining, Mr. Merrill hummed softly as he prepared the evening meal.
Beneath Mrs. Merrill’s pillow was a loaded .45-caliber revolver. It was Mr. Merrill’s gun and in the excitement of the young mother’s homecoming, he had forgotten to remove it. The steel shone dully in the lamplight. It caught Douglas’ eye. Many times, in the past the lad had snapped the trigger on the gun. It was fun. His little hand stretched out.
There was a roaring explosion. The concussion echoed through the house. Douglas stood by frozen with fright as he saw the smoke curling up from under the pillow.
Mrs. Merrill closed her eyes. Her mouth sagged. Her arms went limp. Audrey, standing near, caught the infant slipping from the bed. Mr. Merrill rushed into the room, followed by neighbors.
“If I die,” pleaded Mrs. Merrill through pain-tortured lips, “take care of the babies.”
From his home across the street, Dr. John J. Galligan was summoned. He administered an opiate, called an ambulance and in a few minutes began a race with death to the hospital where a few short days before Mrs. Merrill had brought forth life.
Hurried preparations were made for a blood transfusion after an emergency operation at the Salt Lake General hospital. It was not needed. The young mother died at 7:45 p.m.
Physicians said the bullet entered Mrs. Merrill’s body just under the right shoulder near the back. The heavy ball tore through the pleural cavity and emerged under the left shoulder.
“I can’t die, because I have my baby–I must get well,” Mrs. Merrill told hospital attendants a few minutes before death came.
“Poor little Douglas,” were her last words.
Unaware of the tragedy, Douglas played quietly with his toy automobile, occasionally asking for “Mama;” while his heartbroken father explained how the revolver came to be under the pillow.
Explains Tragedy
“I always kept it there,” he said. “It was handy, and I never knew when I would be called to duty. I forgot to move it during the excitement and happiness of May’s return from the hospital.
“Douglas often had played with the gun while I cleaned it. He could hardly lift it, but he enjoyed pulling the trigger on the empty gun.”
How Douglas pulled the trigger of the weapon probably never will be known. Audrey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Cardon, 221 M street, said Douglas’ hand “just wandered” under the pillow.
Frightened by the explosion, Audrey kept her head and seized the baby as Mrs. Merrill fell back upon the pillow.
“She gasped and went limp,” Audrey related. “I was afraid the baby would fall, and I took Louise from her arms. I put the baby in the crib and a lot of people ran in. Later I gave the baby to a neighbor woman and ran home to tell my daddy.”
Mrs. Mary Killingsworth, 574 Third avenue, a friend of the Merrills, had just left Mrs. Merrill’s side.
Warned by Neighbor
“I saw the gun pointing right at Mrs. Merrill’s back and told her she ought to move it from under the pillow,” Mrs. Killingsworth said. “I guess she didn’t hear me, as the children were asking questions about the new baby.”
Police said a near miracle saved the infant Louise and Audrey from death or injury. If the gun had been tilted slightly both would have been in the path of the bullet, investigating officers declared.
The talk about guns at the Merrill home since the tragedy intrigues Douglas.
“I like to play with guns,” he told one questioner.
Funeral services for Mrs. Merrill will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Deseret mortuary, 36 East Seventh South street. Bishop D. G. Emery of the Emerson L. D. S. ward will officiate. Interment will be in city cemetery. Friends may call at the mortuary Saturday and prior to services Sunday. No inquest will be held.
Mrs. Merrill was born in Logan on October 31, 1912. Besides her husband and the two children she is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Cardon: four brothers, Paul, Allen, Roy and Roland Cardon, and four sisters, Joyce, Zella, Audrey ad Melba Cardon, all of Salt Lake City.
May Cardon Merrill gunshot accident
Article from Aug 17, 1934, Pages 1 and 2, Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, Plot: S_24_2_2E
