Placerville man delivers obituary, then commits suicide

By Carlos Alcalá
Published: Thursday, Apr. 15, 2010 - 12:00

A Placerville man apparently wrote and delivered his own obituary to the Mountain Democrat newspaper on Tuesday – then hanged himself from a local bridge.

"An explanation might be in order," Allan Leo Peters II wrote in a suicide note that was posted, in part, on the newspaper's Web site Wednesday.

"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 shortly after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, hanging from the end of a yellow rope tied to an old concrete bridge on Forni Road, said Lt. Bryan Golmitz of the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.

Peters, 64, left information at the scene directing coroner's officials on how to notify his next of kin, Golmitz said.

An envelope containing Peters' obituary and his suicide note appeared at the Mountain Democrat on Tuesday night but went unopened until about 8 a.m. Wednesday, "about a half-hour too late," said Ken Paglia, the newspaper's reporter covering the story.

"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."

When newspaper employees saw the contents of the envelope, they called 911, Paglia said.

The note also included thanks to El Dorado County and several local businesses, including the True Value Hardware store Peters frequented for his work.

"He was in here constantly," said Jeff Gutierrez, operations manager for the story.

"He just loved to talk. He loved telling jokes."

Peters' note also thanked Green Valley Community Church. Church representatives declined to comment for this story.

According to Paglia's story, the note also thanked "people I didn't mention, probably due to dementia."

Peters was not married, and his three children from an early marriage could not be reached.

From: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/15/2679920/placerville-man-delivers-obituary.html#storylink=omni_popular