John Elliott Kills Self at Winfall, June 9, 1922

Despondency Causes Suicide at Winfall. . . John Elliott Formerly of This City Ends Life Under Freight Train

John Elliott of Winfall killed himself Saturday night by throwing himself under a freight train in the presence of a number of onlookers. He lived about two hours, after the train had passed over him, crushing his head and breaking both arms, but he never regained consciousness.

Mr. Elliott was about 45 years old and unmarried. He was a step brother of W.E. Hendricks of Fearing Street, this city. He had lived here, until recently when he removed to a farm at Winfall, where he and his mother lived with an aunt.

The suicide had not been himself for some time. He was a man who worried a great deal over everything that went wrong and he made an attempt two or three years ago to drown himself over some little misdemeanor he was involved in. There was apparently no reason for the suicide, other than some words with some member of the family a short time before, which had worried him. He was not a drinking man.

From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, June 9, 1922