The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-07-05
AN AWFUL CRIME.
A Man in. Germany Kills his Father,
Mother, Sister, Four Brothers and
Servant, besides Burning the Family
Residence.

many are filed with the particulars of a
most horrible tragedy, scarcely to be par
aleled in criminal history. 1t reminds us
of the murder, Of almost equal horror, by
Probst last year in Pennsylvania. But he
was not son, and brother, and the eight
whom he killed were hotof his own flesh
and blood. -
A son kills his father and mother his
sister and four brothers and a servant,
burns the house and barn where he slew
them. and for fully nine months succeeds,
by the most astonishing discrimination, in
evading all suspicion against himself. The
massacre was committed in Gross Camper,
large farm in the neighborhood of Itzehoe
in Holdtein, according to the Hamburg Re
form, from which the following terrible
tale has been ranslated
'The farm vas owned by Mr. John
Thole, wealthy peasant OF ffty-slx years
of age His wife Margaret was about the
same age, and his children. Anna, John,
Martin, Kniers, and Timm, were all over
twenty. A fifth son, Keimer, was only
fourteen years, OIu. kIHey N6Ie al IODuSt,
healthy people. Besides the family, there
cepted, all the members Of the family had
the reputation of upright, Industrious,
thrifty people The neighbors spoke less
favorabiy of Timm. He was often away
from home, and in latter years he worked
in -four mill at Krummerdick. The mill
burnt 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 stocks in the house,
and about four hundred marks in cash
the contents of the savings box Of the
younger children. The lightning, only a
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
Schwartzkoff, lived ina house about thirty
yards distant from Thodes dwelling.
On the night of the 7th Of August, 1866,
that neighbor was awakened by the repeat
ed cry of fire and murder |" When
he and his son left the house to assist their
neighbors they found Timm lying in front
of their window in a perfect state of insen-
sibilty. At his side lay q small box con-
tanning some slverware, the above named
stocks and little money They first car
ried the young man into the house, called
the servants to attend him, and then ran TO
the burning house of their neighbors. All
the INN ates were engaged at the burning
barn. But there, also, they did not find a
living soul. They then returned to the
dwelling and receiving no answer from the
inside they broke the windows III and en-
tered room where the father, mother,
daughter and youngest son slept They
found a bundle Of straw on the floor and
the bed slowly burning, and all the occu-
pants of the room murdered. The house
and barn burned down, yet the brave
neighbor at the risk Of his life, brought
the bodies OF these four victims out of the
house The second of the sons was discov-
cred dead in his bed, his head hanging
over the the edge. The bodies Of the two
others were found in the barn. The hired
girl was burned to crisp, but evidently
murdered before she was burned, The two
boys in the barn had been killed with one
blow of a heavy spoke the others by blows
given with an axe, whilst sleeping in their
beds. The daughter, a girl of seventeen,
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 upon her body.
The Mortified population of the neigh
borhood and with them the judicial Off :
GERS in vain looked out for the murderer.
Timm was the only surviving member OF
his family he alone might perhaps know
something of the perpetrators. But, for
fully two days, he lay IN state OF lnsensl-
biity, raving at times, and utterlng lnco-
herent phrases. When he finally awOke he
felt very sick, and complained that his pa
rents did not come to see him, wondering
why he was not at his own house, but at
his neighbor's.
Suffice to say, that he played his part
SO vigorously well that he duped the mem
bors of the judicial commission of inquiry
so perfectly that he was not arrested, and
no suspicion even was entertained against
him il their councils The government
freely offered a reward Of 800 thaers for
the discovery of the assassins. Timm him
self promised | 300 thalers to the discover
er; but when, after eight months, not the
least trace could be found Of the murderer,
the judges of inquiry dropped the case
Timm, in the meanwhile, prepared himself
for emigration to the United States He
sold his fathers farm. and was ready to
start, when the higher Court at Cucks-
burg ordered new investigation, and
commenced it with Timm's confinement
in solitary prison. He at once felt that
he was lost, and on the third or fourth day
after his arrest, made a full confession :
In order to come into the possession of his
fathers estate, he had murdered a whole
family of eight persons, in less than two
hours, and then set fire to the house and
the barn, destroying thereby as he thought
all traces Of his crime which possibly might
be used as proof against him. But the
| barn commenced to burn first, while the
fire at the house made so slow progress that
the corpses of most of his victims, with
the marks Of bloody murder upon them,
could be removed When he foresaw the
result he commenced to play insensibility,
SO that he might hear what the bystand-
ers had to say and according to what
he heard he expected to shapes his own
explanations.
During his late confinement, which took
place at the end Of May last, and after he
had made full confession, he again COM
menced the old game Of Stimulating fits of
insensibility A few buckets of ice water
thrown over his head very soon brought
| him TO his senses and now the monster