If you don’t check your mail often, let this be a lesson to you because the contents of your Post Office box might be very important.
On April 13, a man from Placerville, Calif., delivered an obituary to the Mountain Democrat newspaper. He then hanged himself from a local bridge.
The newspaper opened the obituary approximately 30 minutes after the man, 64-year-old Allan Leo Peters II, committed suicide.
To the surprise of the newspaper staff, Peters had delivered his own obituary complete with a suicide note.
According to the story in the Sacramento Bee, the note from Peters said, “An explanation might be in order. Yes, I have hanged myself (At least I hope I did). … I have had emphysema for the past few years, and lately it has been really hard to struggle to even catch a breath. I really cannot convey to you how very hard it was even to try to take a very deep breath. … My life has been drastically altered in the past few years, and I believe in euthanasia.”
Peters’ body was found at approximately 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. He had delivered the obit the evening of April 13, but it wasn’t opened until around 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The report said Peters “left information at the scene directing coroner’s officials on how to notify his next of kin.”
“The envelope included a picture, apparently of Peters, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth,” the Mountain Democrat reported. “He is wearing a baseball cap with ‘True Value’ written on it. There also was a money order for $90, the exact amount for an obituary with a picture included.”
