Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [205]
DIAGNOSIS: Gunshot wound with fracture of skull and laceration of brain.
Hubbard’s injuries were also found to have afforded him a quick death. It was confirmed that Hubbard had died hours after Coy and Cretzer, but it was somewhat puzzling that there were no firearms within his reach when he was found, and he was armed with only the butcher knife that he had carried with him from the kitchen. Investigators were bewildered to find that he appeared to have waited out his death. Like the others, Hubbard had taken two fatal bullet wounds to the head. Medical Examiner Kerhulas allowed reporters to view the deceased convicts and to photograph them. The sound of camera shutters flickering and blinding flashes of light saturated the room, which smelled of formaldehyde.
Medical Examiner Dr. Gus T. Kerhulas invited the press to photograph the deceased inmates, and openly discussed his autopsy findings.
The Coroner documented in his report:
External Appearance: The body is that of a well developed, well nourished adult young white male revealing evidence of gunshot wounds of the head with a wound of entrance in the left temporal region having smooth margins and measuring approximately 1 cm in diameter, and a wound of exit at the right temporal parietal region with evidence of extensive compound fracture of the right temporal, frontal and parietal region bones at this point. In addition there is a wound of entrance at the inner corner the left eye with exit in the right occipital region of the skull. There are abrasions of the right temporal posterior auricular region.
Officer William A. Miller was mourned in a small service at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church on the morning of Monday, May 6th. The service was attended mostly by the wives and children of his fellow officers. Miller’s widow Josephine would hold a larger family service when his body arrived in Pennsylvania. His body was prepared at the Halstead Funeral Parlor in San Francisco, and then following a small open casket service, his remains were placed in a hearse and driven to the train depot for the final ride home. His wife and two young children accompanied him on the train.
Attorney General Thomas Clark (seen with his arm around Stites’ son) and Warden Johnston gave a brief testimonial for Harold Stites during a ceremony held at Alcatraz.
Officer Harold Stites’ services were held on Tuesday, May 7th at the Maneely Chapel in San Francisco. The services were heavily attended by the press, and James Bennett and Warden Johnston both sat in the front pews, giving support to his widow Bessie and his four children. Following the ceremony, there was a large funeral procession led by the San Francisco Police to the Golden Gate National Cemetery, where a graveside service was held before Stites’ final burial. Chaplain Lieutenant Rodney Shaw presided, while the family sat in solemn silence on a bench placed next to his grave.
Bernie Coy’s body was released from the San Francisco Morgue after eleven days, as no family member had claimed his remains. He was buried in a plain pinewood coffin in an unmarked gravesite at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Daly City, just south of SanFrancisco. Officials had attempted to contact Coy’s ex-wife, but all their telegrams were returned undelivered. On May 16, 1946 Coy’s sister Anna Long wrote a short letter to Warden Johnston, asking him to send all of Bernie’s belongings back to her in Kentucky. Johnston replied that Coy had only $6.16 in his account, and a small cloth container filled with what appeared to be family photos. Anna’s letter simply stated, “I was told by his attorney that it was best not to bring him back here.”
Marvin Hubbard’s body had been taken to the Godeau Funeral Home, as his wife had made arrangements for his remains to be transferred back to Oklahoma. Hubbard