Legacy MattersColumbian man kills nephew while trying to scare the hiccups out of him.
When Galvan began to get the hiccups, Vargas apparently decided to try out a commonly held notion that one can be cured of the hiccups if properly frightened. Based on witness accounts, police believe Vargas sneaked up behind his nephew, pulled his gun out and pointed it at Galvan's neck.
The gun accidentally went off, Valderrama said, killing Galvan.
Luz Marina Prieto, a neighbour, told local RCN television that Vargas "told me beforehand that he was going to scare (Galvan) with his gun." Prieto said she heard a gunshot and ran to the door of the house, where she saw Vargas standing over the body of Galvan.
Vargas then ran out of the house and down the street a few metres before stopping and shooting himself in the head, Prieto said.
Who remembers that Pope Pius XII suffered hiccups that brought him to the brink of death in 1954?
Some people swear by a couple of teaspoons of sugar while I sip an entire glass of water very slowly. It works every time.
Posted by Jill Fallon at January 25, 2006 8:54 AM | Permalink