Christmas Day of Lomack's Suicide

Christmas Day of Lomack's Suicide marks the death of professional gambler Zebediah Lomack and the discovery that transformed a private death into a local mystery: thousands of photographs of the moon covered his home. The account distinguishes the date of the suicide from the Christmas-night police response that brought the obsession to light.

The Date and the Discovery

Lomack died by suicide on Christmas Day. On Christmas night, police went to his house at 1420 Wass Valley Road after a neighbor reported shotgun fire. They found his body in the garbage-strewn kitchen; further investigation revealed moon photographs decorating the walls, ceilings, and furniture.

Aftermath and Significance

The discovery made Lomack’s death the key to a story that had become a local sensation over the preceding two weeks. His sister, Eleanor Wolsey, acting as executrix, filed probate documents showing an estate worth more than $500,000, but the news of his death drew attention as much for the moon images found in his modest house as for his wealth. Christmas Day therefore anchors both the death and the unsettling revelation that followed: an ordinary calendar date became inseparable from the evidence of Lomack’s extraordinary fixation.