The end of Joco Udmanić
Petar was most pleased to have Joco behind bars, and lost no time attempting to seize command of the band and plunder everything in sight, the poor included. The haiduks wavered, having grown too accustomed to seeing themselves as a kind of folk heroes; they had no wish to be regarded once more as common criminals. Ivo Štimac proposed that they go their separate ways until spring, to which Petar replied that he would carry on raiding regardless, that whoever wished to join him was welcome to do so, and that those who did should know he was now in charge. Anka challenged him on this, whereupon Petar shouted at her to be quiet and struck her across the face. Todor immediately stepped forward and shoved Petar away, and Petar drew his knife. The other haiduks rushed in, disarmed him and knocked him to the ground. For two days after the incident they brooded and wandered near the cave, their footprints plainly visible in the snow, while manhunts were already under way — the constables were convinced they could take at least one haiduk or accomplice. It was clear that going their separate ways until spring was the wisest course. Even Petar calmed down, realising he could do nothing alone. They doused the fire and each went his own way.
In prison, Joco proved himself a model inmate — quiet, composed and scrupulously obedient to the guards, to the point where he became one of the very few prisoners to earn that distinction. He managed to postpone his interrogations by feigning illness; on one bitter cold night he stripped off his clothes, doused himself with water and lay uncovered until morning, when he developed a high fever. He was promptly moved to a better cell and given improved rations. Once he had recovered, he resumed his performance as a penitent prisoner who deeply regretted his misdeeds. By the time spring came round, Joco had struck up a friendship with Joža, a constable from Zagreb who even brought him cakes baked by his wife at home.
One day, when the constable Joža brought him his supper, Joco pretended to be downcast and said in a mournful voice that he had no appetite, since he was bound for the gallows, and at the same time begged Joža to help him buy the tools to make himself a tamburica, handing over the sixty forints he had managed to conceal. Constable Joža took pity on him and procured the necessary tools, with no inkling of what Joco actually needed them for. And so, while by day he worked on making the tamburica, by night he began prising out bricks from beneath his bed, one by one, until the hole was large enough to squeeze through. And so it was that on 7 May 1866, during a stormy night, Joco bade farewell to the tamburica he had just finished, and also to the prison cell on what is now Ilica Street, where he had spent nearly seven months, and set out for freedom towards his beloved Moslavina.
Along the way Joco met a former accomplice of his, who drove him in his cart as far as Moslavačka Gora. On the way out of the forest they spotted an armed gendarme, so Joco took the mattock he had brought from the prison to strike off his chains and struck the gendarme, who fell unconscious from the blow. Joco put on the gendarme's uniform and took his weapons, and they continued on their way. When they reached Moslavačka Gora, the accomplice turned back home, while Joco continued on foot through the forest to the outlaws' hideout. The whole band was there, save for Petar; they were all surprised and overjoyed that Joco had managed to escape, and they drank merrily and sang their favourite outlaw song.
Later, while embracing the haiduk woman Anka, Joco learnt from her that his beloved Mara was planning to marry the miller Janko. The news enraged him so utterly that he set off at once at a run towards the village of Potok. Arriving at Janko's house, he rapped on the window, and when the miller opened it Joco hauled him out bodily. He demanded to know about Mara, and when Janko's answer failed to satisfy him, Joco struck him and warned that he would kill him if he went anywhere near her. He also ordered Janko to take sixty forints to the widow Julka and tell her the money was sent by Joco Udmanić.
He then made his way to Mara's house, and when he gave the agreed whistle, a pretty face framed by dishevelled fair hair appeared at the window. On seeing him, Mara came out and threw herself into his arms. They spent the night together until daybreak; Joco told her how he had escaped from prison and said he wished to find some way of repaying Constable Joža, with whom he had grown friendly. He also asked about Janko, and Mara told him that Anka had one day come to her uncle's house disguised as a Romani woman and told her that Joco was already dead. After this, Joco dressed in a grim mood and went to the cave, and the moment he arrived he summoned Anka and told her she was expelled from the band. None of the haiduks raised any objection, though Todor, as they made their way towards Bregi — where a fair was being held to mark the opening of a newly built school and where they intended to carry out a raid — told him it was unwise to cast Anka out, since she might, out of spite, tell everything she knew, and they would all end up on the gallows.
After robbing the parish priest in Bregi of a considerable sum, they returned to the cave on Garić, where Anka met them in tears, begging Joco not to cast her out, as she had nowhere to go. Todor told him to kill her, but Joco decided that Anka should remain among them after all, which lifted the outlaws' spirits. After that, Joco went with one of his men to Popovača, to a poor family, and gave them money from his own stock, because the tax collectors had seized a large part of their property. On the way back to the cave they saw Anka running towards them. She informed them that Petar, with another outlaw, had gone to rob a poor family — something Joco had expressly forbidden. Joco summoned Todor and they headed towards that house. When Petar came out of the house, Joco was waiting for him and ordered him to return what he had taken. Petar drew his knife and threw it at Joco, striking him in the shoulder, whereupon Todor drew his pistol and shot Petar, who died on the spot. The other outlaw who had gone on the raid with Petar was ordered to carry him back to the hideout.
When they arrived and Anka caught sight of Petar's body, she fainted. Once she had come round, they buried Petar in the forest without any marker on the grave. Joco said that he himself had killed Petar, but Todor told the truth. Joco reminded them once more that he would not tolerate any attack on the poor and the defenceless. By this time the bounty on Joco's head had grown to a substantial one thousand forints, but so too had the legend of the Moslavina haiduk who took from the rich and gave to the poor.
After that the band continued with its activities, and no one was permitted to mention Petar again; only Anka was sometimes sad. When they found themselves in the vicinity of Zelina, more precisely in Glibok Jarak near Popovec, they ambushed and stopped a carriage in which district judge Domjanić was travelling towards Zagreb with his wife and children. This was most probably the father of the poet Dragutin Domjanić. They demanded money from Domjanić, but he had only sixty-five forints in his wallet, which struck Joco as suspicious — that a man should set out on a journey with so little. Joco then ordered everyone to get out of the carriage, as he intended to take it, and when Domjanić asked how he was now supposed to walk with his wife and children, Joco gave him some money with the words: "hire another carriage in the nearest village so the children don't have to walk," and Joco and the band headed off towards Moslavačka Gora. When they drew near, Joco sent Todor to hand the carriage and horses over to an accomplice to sell, which he did, and when he brought the money he reported that Judge Pajanović, together with Sergeant Pražek and several constables, would be passing through the forest on their way to his vineyard.
Joco decided to play a trick on the constables and Judge Pajanović, so they set off towards the path along which the group would have to pass. As there was a heap of charcoal on the path left by some charcoal-burner, Joco began smearing himself with the coal until Todor stared at him in bewilderment. Joco told Todor to stand back, but to watch carefully what happened, and Joco remained by the charcoal, turning it over with a shovel, when the group of constables arrived with Judge Pajanović. After they had exchanged greetings, the judge asked the new "charcoal-burner" whether he had seen Joco Udmanić, to which Joco replied that he had not. The judge then invited the whole group, along with Joco disguised as the charcoal-burner, for a drink in his wine-cellar. After they had drunk quite a good deal, Judge Pajanović told Sergeant Pražek and the constables that they could go — all was safe and there was no sign of Joco Udmanić.
When they were left alone and the judge had begun to doze off, Joco called Todor out of the nearby bushes, and together they roused the tipsy, drowsy Judge Pajanović. When the judge saw Joco and Todor with pistols in their hands, he could not believe what was happening, and Joco said to him: "I am your faithful Joco — thank you for your hospitality." After that, the judge was obliged to clink glasses with Joco once more and drank that glass with considerable difficulty. Joco demanded that he hand over some money and leave the wine-cellar open for his outlaw band, then sent him off to follow the constables. Insulted and humiliated, and well aware that the whole of Moslavina would soon be buzzing with the story, Judge Pajanović ordered Sergeant Pražek that they should immediately go and arrest Mara, Joco's sweetheart, on suspicion that she was his accomplice. Once arrested, she was taken to prison in Zagreb.
An hour after the arrest, Joco heard the news. For hours, no one in the cave dared utter a word. They glanced over at Joco, who sat slumped in the corner of the dark cave, smoking one cigarette after another and drinking rakija. Anka sat across from him, watching him with jealousy, for only now did she understand that Joco was truly in love with Mara, given how deeply he was suffering over her imprisonment. Joco resolved to free Mara from gaol entirely on his own, and so he took his leave of his hajduks, greeting and kissing each one in turn. He put his arms around Anka and said to her: "do not weep, my dear hajduk girl, and forgive foolish Joco all his sins". He ordered them to sing their hajduk song as he departed through the forest.
He knew he was risking his life, but that mattered little to him, for he had no wish to live without Mara. His plan was to free her and take her across the border, where they might live in peace. When he reached Zagreb, he made his way to Lašćina and found an abandoned vineyard cottage there, which he made his base. For two days he prowled the narrow little street in the Upper Town where the courthouse stood and where his beloved Mara was being held. Once he had carefully studied the layout and the changing of the guard, he decided to make his move on the third night.
That night, one guard was walking back and forth in front of the building while two more were posted in the prison cellar. The moment the guard turned his back, Joco moved in and struck him on the back of the head with the butt of his pistol. He dragged the unconscious man into the guardhouse. The door to the building was locked, so Joco took the cap from the fallen guard and put it on his own head. Pretending to be a guard, he rang the bell and told the man on the other side of the door that he was thirsty and asked to be relieved for a moment. When the man opened the door, he found Joco standing before him, who immediately struck him with the pistol and knocked him out. Joco then went back for the first guard, dragged him inside as well, bound both men, locked the door, and made his way down the stairs. He entered a lit room and, levelling his pistol at the guard there, ordered him to raise his hands. Once he had bound this man too and stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth, he asked him where Mara Klasić was being held. The guard indicated with his head toward a table on which lay a list of prisoners. Mara was in cell number 8.
When he unlocked the cell door, Mara was so astonished that she could not move for the shock. They kissed and made their way out of the cell. When they reached the entrance, Joco asked Mara to help him drag the unconscious guards into the cell. She thought they were dead, but Joco told her: "no, my girl, they are only sleeping a while and counting the stars". They dragged them into cell number 8, and he brought the third guard there too — the one who had not been rendered unconscious. Once he had locked them all in the cell, he went to the guardroom, took a sheet of paper, dipped a quill in ink, and began to write a message he had already composed in his mind:
"Most illustrious court! Let it be known once and for all that I shall permit neither myself nor my beloved to be imprisoned. The two of us cannot live without freedom. Since you have nonetheless seen fit to arrest my Mara without my knowledge and lock her in your dungeon, I have come to fetch her. Do not be angered, but I cannot conceive of life without her. I have freed her from gaol, and her three keepers — those noble gaolers — I have locked in her former cell, number 8. The gaolers are innocent. I have freed no one else, for I am of the view that the others languishing here are common thieves, unlike honest souls such as myself and my Mara. My greatest wish, however, would be for the Mayor of Zagreb and the gentlemen judges to take the place of those innocent guards in the cell — they would at least then have time enough to arrive at the conclusion that Joco Udmanić will not be easily caught. I wish you all contentment and happiness! My Mara sends her warmest regards to you all! Your devoted Joco Udmanić."
By the very next morning, as Joco and Mara were making their way towards Moslavačka Gora, news of Joco's audacious raid and Mara's liberation had spread throughout Zagreb, and one of the largest manhunts yet was set in motion. The entire gendarmerie was put on alert, and the bounty on Joco's head was raised to one thousand five hundred forints. The legend of the bold, fearless Moslavina outlaw Joco Udmanić spread far and wide, and songs were sung in praise of the celebrated harambasha.
Since Joco did not dare take Mara back to Potok — for she was now a wanted woman herself — she became part of his hajduk band. This did not please her rival Anka, who had expected Joco to break things off with Mara; but when that did not happen, and Joco barely even glanced at Anka any more, she withdrew into herself and was consumed by jealousy. She even began to consider walking away from it all and going somewhere far off, but she feared the hajduks' retribution. A palpable tension over Joco and his two lovers hung over the band. The net around their hideout was drawing ever tighter, as the jataks reported increasingly frequent manhunts and two of them had been arrested — leaving Joco afraid they might be forced to betray him. When Todor reproached him for carrying on with two lovers and declared that this was no life for a hajduk, Joco replied that he had taken the point and that by tomorrow they would all see what kind of man Joco Udmanić really was — and then he took Mara to one of his jataks.
Angered at Todor and his hajduks, he set off for Ludina, taking along one of his jataks, whose task it was to carry a sack and stay close. When they arrived in Ludina, Joco invited his jatak Francek into the tavern for a drink. Francek tried to put him off, since there were seven constables inside. Francek went in first, and Joco followed with two pistols cocked; the moment he entered, he fired into the air. He ordered everyone to stay still and added that a dozen of his hajduks were waiting outside. He commanded the constables to keep their hands in the air and told Francek to collect all their weapons and stuff them into the sack. He then told the innkeeper to lock the door and pull the curtains across the windows. He told a man standing at the bar to pour drinks for the constables, "for their lips have gone dry with fear of Joco Udmanić". The constables raised their glasses and drank, and this went on several times; then Joco told the innkeeper to open the door for him, while he was to keep pouring for the others. Joco enjoyed taunting the authorities, so it was little wonder they were ever more determined to catch him and kept raising the reward. That night Joco slept with Mara in the cottage, and the following morning he appeared at the cave before his hajduks and tipped out all the weapons in front of them.
The next day they set out on another venture, for Joco had learnt that a wealthy merchant by the name of Weisswürst would be returning from Zagreb with a considerable sum of money and would be passing by Rovišće. When the carriage came into sight, Joco stepped into the road and fired into the air to signal the merchant to halt. He addressed him thus: "Good day to you, noble Mr Weisswürst. I am Joco Udmanić, and these men around you are my hajduks — poor folk, as it happens, and in need of funds." At this, Weisswürst leapt from the carriage and bolted for the forest, but one of the hajduks caught up with him; Joco came over and said: "Do not be afraid, we mean you no harm, and please do not run again, for we have no wish to chase anyone — simply hand over the money." The merchant thereupon produced a purse containing a mere five forints, but a second hajduk found another purse hidden beneath the seat of the carriage containing 500 forints. Joco sent Weisswürst on his way on foot, while he and his band climbed into the carriage and continued on their way.
Wishing to prove to Todor that he could be both outlaw and lover, he set out with his band that very same evening to rob the Moslavina landowner Kuković. When they reached his manor, Kuković was sitting in the park with his supper laid out on the table before him and a servant attending him. Once the outlaws had taken up their positions, Joco walked towards Kuković. "Good evening, noble sir. I am Joco Udmanić — I happened to be passing and thought, why not stop in for a drink." Kuković stared at him in horror. Joco asked him to pour a glass of wine for him as well, and gave Todor the signal to appear. He told Kuković to go with Todor into the manor and count out a certain sum, which Kuković duly did, and when they returned Joco asked to dine together with the landowner. On their way back to the hideout, Todor suggested to Joco that he consider leaving Moslavina and giving up the outlaw life altogether, since the pursuit was drawing ever closer and the bounty had been raised to two thousand forints — enough to tempt someone to turn him in. Joco agreed it was not a bad idea, but neither of them knew that Anka had been listening from the undergrowth, and this enraged her, for she knew that Joco would leave with Mara, not with her.
Joco went to Mara and spoke with her about his wish to leave Moslavina for somewhere far away, telling her he had already obtained two forged identity papers. He mentioned in passing that she should be ready in two days and take only whatever mementos meant most to her. After spending the night together, a jatak brought them breakfast, and Joco and Mara ate together before making their way to Potok. He left Mara at the home of her uncle Marko and then headed to the cave. Outside it he was met by Anka, her expression dark, but Joco did not even glance at her; he went into the cave and woke Todor. The two of them went out together, with Anka secretly trailing behind. They discussed Todor's idea of giving up the hajduk life and leaving Moslavačka gora, and Joco said he would slip away the next day without a word, letting the hajduks know through a jatak — since he had in any case divided the money fairly into equal shares and owed nothing to anyone. The arrangement was settled, but neither man had any inkling that Anka had heard every word, and that out of jealousy she had resolved to take her revenge on Joco Udmanić.
That evening, Joco and Todor visited a poor family, to whom Joco gave a certain sum of money. On their return, all the hajduks feasted together on roast suckling pig and wine and broke into their hajduk song — all except Anka, who sat sullen and silent. Later, Joco went to Mara's house and told Todor he would spend the night there, instructing him to come in the morning so they could be on their way. Late that night, while everyone slept, Anka slipped out of the cave and made her way to Popovača to report to the gendarmes the whereabouts of Joco Udmanić. The gendarmes could hardly believe what they were hearing as Anka spoke, and asked her to repeat herself several times. They told her to return later to collect a bounty of 2,000 forints, should they capture Joco.
A general alarm was raised in Popovača. Every gendarme and constable was roused, and the pursuit set off towards Potok. As the posse entered the village of Potok, the brigand Anka was sitting on a hillock above the village, weeping. Armed to the teeth, they surrounded the house where Joco Udmanić lay sleeping with his Mara. Once everyone had taken up their positions, Sergeant Pražek, who was commanding the operation, fired his pistol into the air. At the shot, Joco leapt from his bed and, seeing that they were surrounded, woke Mara and pulled on his trousers. The sergeant, sheltering behind a tree, called out: "Joco Udmanić, in the name of the law, surrender!" Joco answered: "Come and take me if your life means nothing to you — I will not surrender." After Sergeant Pražek had repeated the demand three times, Joco lost his temper and opened fire on them, a bullet whistling past the sergeant's head. The gunfire woke the entire village.
Sergeant Pražek ordered his men to return fire, and Mara's uncle and aunt hid themselves under the bed. Joco shot a gendarme in the leg as he ran across the yard, while the sergeant hit the window behind which Joco was sheltering. Mara was swiftly reloading the weapons and handing them to Joco, when she saw him tie a white rag to the handle of a broom. When Sergeant Pražek saw the white flag, he ordered a ceasefire. Joco called out to him: "Listen carefully, Sergeant. Joco does not surrender! Let the innocent people leave the house — Marko, Bara, and my Mara." Sergeant Pražek was afraid that Joco was setting some kind of trap for him, since Joco had led him a merry dance on more than one occasion; even so, he gave him three minutes and promised not to fire. Mara refused to go: she stayed, and when the sergeant asked where Mara was, she shouted herself that she was not coming out, and then opened fire with a pistol, to which the gendarmes replied in kind.
All this while, Anka stood on the hillock above the village with tears in her eyes, trembling with fear and racked with remorse for having betrayed her lover. On the far side of the hill, Todor was making his way down, for he had agreed to leave with Joco. He heard the gunfire coming from Potok, but it was too late to go back for the brigands, so he ran towards Potok intending to send one of the supporters from there to fetch the outlaw band. Pražek then ordered Marko and Bara to begin stacking hay around the house. Joco watched them and could not work out what they were doing until they brought large armfuls of hay — at that point he understood that they meant to burn the house down. Sergeant Pražek handed Marko some matches and ordered him to set fire to the hay, but Marko refused, for it was, after all, his own house. Only after the sergeant pressed a pistol to his head did Marko comply and put the hay to the torch.
As the two sides traded fire once more, a bullet struck Mara in the right shoulder. Joco quickly bound the wound — which was quite serious — with a cloth. The flames had already taken hold of the room, so they retreated up to the attic. From the attic window, Joco shot Pražek in the thigh. Both Joco and Mara were by now badly overcome by smoke when Joco urged Mara to jump, though she stubbornly refused. He somehow managed to persuade her, and after they had kissed one last time, she leapt through the window. The gendarmes, caught off guard, did not fire at her, but seized her when she began to run. All of this was witnessed by Todor, who was powerless to act alone, while the hajduks for whom he had sent a sympathiser had not yet arrived. Joco was choking ever more badly in the smoke and his strength was nearly spent. He knew his only way out was to jump, but escape was hopeless.
Marko wailed helplessly as his house burned, while his wife Bara stood rooted to the spot in shock. One gendarme kept his rifle trained on Mara, and she was shouting at them to stop shooting and calling on Joco to give himself up. Pražek ordered a ceasefire, and in the silence that followed only the crackling of the flames and the sound of the house collapsing could be heard. When the ceiling had already begun to cave in, Joco threw out all the rifles and ammunition and burst outside with pistols in his hands. He immediately shot and killed the gendarme who was closest to him. As he ran towards the forest, he caught his foot on a stump and fell, and a second gendarme was on him at once — a fierce struggle broke out. Joco was a man of exceptional strength, and he would almost certainly have overpowered the gendarme had the wounded Pražek not rushed over and shot him in the head.
"It is over — Joco Udmanić is dead," cried Sergeant Pražek, and on hearing this Mara made her way towards her dead lover, but collapsed unconscious after a few steps. Sergeant Pražek told one of the gendarmes to inform Judge Pajanović that Joco Udmanić was dead, and later that same day, on 27 February 1867, Judge Pajanović sent a telegram to Zagreb: "Udmanić, having fought with the gendarmes, has fallen. One gendarme is dead and one has received a wound."
While the house was still burning, Anka sat on the hillock watching, sobbing hysterically and crying out to Joco that she had betrayed him and that he should run and save himself. As he approached, Todor heard her. He wanted to kill her on the spot, but held back, waiting for the other hajduks to arrive in the belief that they might still reach Joco in time. When it was all over, Todor went up to Anka; knowing what awaited her, she screamed at him not to shoot and turned to flee, with Todor following close behind, pistol in hand. She reached the edge of a ravine and stopped there, and when Todor came within a few metres of her, she begged him not to kill her, offering herself as his mistress. Todor silently took aim at her, and she instinctively began to back away. Suddenly she lost her balance and fell into the ravine. Todor stood for a while looking down at the motionless body of the young hajduk girl Anka, then turned and walked back towards the cave.
Later that same day, towards evening, the bell-ringer of Zagreb Cathedral received the order to ring, and the bells of the other churches followed. With this signal, the mayor announced the beginning of celebrations marking the great victory over the hajduks in Moslavina. While the gendarmerie celebrated, grief spread throughout Moslavina. All those oppressed and impoverished people whom Joco had so often helped were heartbroken, mourning the death of their protector. It was then that the legend of the most celebrated hajduk of Moslavina — who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, dispensing his own rough justice — blazed brighter than ever. In vain did the gendarmes pursue anyone caught singing songs about Udmanić; and the hajduk song that Joco Udmanić had composed himself lived on: "A hajduk's life is ours, the forest is our refuge, the green grass our bed, and the sky our blanket."
A few days after the death of Joco Udmanić, the newspaper Pozor published the contents of a letter found on his person, which included, among other things, the following: "With a grieving heart I ponder, pencil in my right hand, sitting on a rotting log, my wretched life, and thus I set it down on paper. I hear not the voice of mother or father, of brother or sister, who might gladden my sorrowful heart. My poor companions cannot give even themselves any comfort, for they curse the days and months in which they were reared, only making my heart sicker still. I hear the thunder of guns that merry villagers fire in their circle-dances, yet I, poor wretch, banished, must lurk like a wild beast in the distant forest. This is such a feast day as shall not come again till another year. I know not whether I shall carry my head on my shoulders till then, and now I am beset by sorrow and my heart is filled with unrest; yet, thanks be to God, food, drink, and clothing enough have not yet failed me, but all of that is in vain, for everything turns bitter when I recall my terrible life and my unhappy family, who walk among the people with faces darkened by shame. My unhappy father died in prison on account of my crime; my poor brother groans in a heavy gaol to this day in my place; and my remaining brothers and wretched mother are harassed every single day, and in the end she too will be forced to flee, as I have fled. For my own part, God knows, when I was imprisoned the first time I was not guilty of anything, but from hunger and heavy beatings I was forced to run, and having done so, what else could I have become but a criminal, for I dared not go among people. To the glory and honour of the Lord God and dear Saviour, and above all, for as long as I live and pass this way from time to time, so that I may call to mind the suffering and persecution of Jesus and more easily and patiently cool my brigand's heart until that hour when I breathe my last in sorrow — and so that I may not do to those who persecute me and do me wrong what a brigand brother should by rights have done."
The final resting place of Joco Udmanić remains unknown, as several different accounts exist. According to one version, the gendarmes buried him on the spot where he fell, and a wooden post was erected bearing a tin plate inscribed "Grave of the Moslavac outlaw Josip Udmanić." This post reportedly stood for a number of years before it rotted and collapsed. It is also recorded that in 1925, during the celebrations marking the thousandth anniversary of the Croatian kingdom, a hunting society planted a memorial linden tree on the grave. People called it "Udmanić's linden," and it was felled during the Second World War. A second version holds that Joco Udmanić was buried in Potok, between two bridges, at a site where criminals were interred at that time. There is yet another story that he was buried in the cemetery at Osekovo, beneath the gendarme he had killed, and that his body was brought there several days after his death by the woman he loved. In any case, the truth has never been established.
