Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1867-07-12
a Monster,

TIE columns of late papers from Germany
are flied with the particulars Of most hor~
rible tragedy, scarseiv to he PARALLEL in ERIN
nal history. A son kills his father and moth
er his sister ani four brothers. aud a servant
burns the house and barn whore he slew them
and for fully nine months succeeds by the
most astonishing dissimulation, in evading
all suspicion against himself The massacre
was committed in Gross Campen large farm
in the neighborhood of Itzehoe, in Holstein,
according the Hamburg Refsrm from which
is translated the following terrible ,ale
THE farm was owned by Mr.. John Thode.
"a wealthy peasant OF ffty-s years Of age,
his wife Margaret was about the same age.
and his ehillren, Anna, Martin, John, Kniers
and Timm were all over twenty. A fifth son
Reimer was only fourteen years old. They
were all robust healthy people. Besides the
family there was hired girl in the house
Tin excepted, all the members of the family
had the reputation of upright industrious,
thrifty people. The neigllbors spoke less fa>
yorably Of TiInm. He was often away from
home, and in latter years he worked in a -four
mill at Brunmendek. The mill burned down
he returned home, but could never agree with
his family Old Thode, at the time of the
catastrophe, had some ten thousand marks in
cash, the contents Of the savings box of the
younger children. The tightening, only few
weeks previous to his death, had struck the
house and the very chair in which the old
gentleman sat though without hurting him.
The next neighbor, Mr.. Jacob Schwartzkopi,
lived in house about one hundred yards dis
tant from Thoic' 5 dwelling.
con the night of the 7th of August. 1866
that neighbor was awakened by the repeated
cry Of IRE and murder, When he aud his son
left the house to assist their neishbors they
found Tinm lying in front of their window in
perfect state of insensibiity. At his side
lay small box with some silver ware, and
the above named stocks and little money
They first carried the young man into the
house, called the servants TO attend him. and
then ran to the burning house of their neigh
bor. All was silent at The house. and they
thought the inmates were engaged at the burn
ing barn. But there, also they did not find
living soul. They then returned TO the dwell
ing, and, received no answer inside, they broke
the windows out and entered room where the
father, the mother the daugeter and the yeung
est son slept. They found bundle of straw
on tue floor, and the bed slowly burning, and
all the occupants Of the room murdered. The
house AMI barn burned down, yet the brave
neighber at the risk of his life brought the
corpse Of those four victims out of the house.
The second of the sons was discovered dead in
his bed, his head hanging over the edge. The
bodies of the two others were found in the
barn. The hired girl was burned to crispe
but was evidently murdered before she was
burned. The two boys in The barn had been
killed with one stroke OF heavy spoke; the
father the mother, the youngest son and the
servant by blows given by an AK while sleeps
ing in their beds. The daughter girl of
seventeen years, must have had fearful
struggle with her murderer, for one Of her
arms was cut off, her skull was fractured, and
she had thirty-four wounds on her body.
s'The Mortified population of the neighbor-
hood, and with them the judicial officers, in
vain looked for the murderer. Timm was the
only surviving member of the family he, alone
mi ght, perhaps, know something Of the perpe-
traitors. But, for fully two days, he laid in
state Of finsensibility, raving at times, and ut
tering incoherent phrases. When he finally
awoke he felt very sick, and complained that
his parents did not come to see him, wonders
ing why he was not in his own house, but at
his neighbors.
.sSufice to say that he playcl his part SO
ingcniously well that he duped the members
of the judicial committee of inquiry 50 PER- |
fectly that be was not arrested, and no suspi- |