Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-07-04
A Monster.

MANY are filled with the particulars of q
most horrible tragedy, scarcely to be par
alleled in criminal history. A son kills
his father and mother, his sister and foul
brothers, and servant, burns the house
and barn where he slew them, and fol
fully nine months succeeds by the most
astonishing assimilation, in evading al
suspicion against himself The massacre
was committed in Gross Camper large
farm in the neighborhood of Itzehoe, in
Holstein, according to the Hamburg Re
form from which we translate the follow
! ing terrible tale:
"The farm was owned by Mr.. John
Thode, wealthy peasant of tifty-six years
of age, his wife Margaret was about the
same age, and his children, Anna, Martin
John, Kniers and Timm, were all over
twenty A fifth son, Reimer was only
healthy people, Besides the family there
was hired girl in the house. Timm ex-
cepted, all the members of the family had
the reputation of upright, industrious,
thrifty people. The neighbors spoke less
favorable of Timm. He was often away
from home, and in latter years he worked
in flour mill at Brummendiek. The mill
burned down; he returned home, but could
uSNCI dSICC WILL ldlllllys OIQ
at the time of the catastrophe, had some
ten thousand marks in cash, the contents
of the savings box of the younger children.
! The lightning, 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 Schwartzkopf, lived
in house about one hundred yards dis
tant from Thode's dwelling. az'g9 .lna
: son the night of the 18th of August. 1866,
| that neighbOr was awakened by the re-
| peated cry Of fire and murder When he
and his SON left the house to assist their
neighbours they found Timm lying in front
of their window in a perfect state of in
sensibility. 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
| burning barn But there, also, they did
not find living soul. They then returned
! to the dwelling, and, receiving no answer
inside, the broke the windows out and en-
| tered room where the father, the mother,
the daughter and the youngest son slept.
| They found bundle of straw on the floor,
and the bed slowly burning, and all the
occupants of the room murdered. The
house and barn burned down, yet the
brave neighbor at the risk of his life
brought the corpses of these four victims
out of the house. The second of his sons
was discovered dead in his bed, his mead
hanging over the edge. The bodies of the
two others were found in the barn. The
hired girl was burned to crisp, but evi-
IDENTIFY was murdered beforeshe 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 sleeping 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.
".The Mortified population of the neigh
borhood, and with them the judicial Off
GERS, in vain looked for the murderer
Timm was the only surviving member of
the family he, alone might, perhaps, know
something of the perpetrators. But, for
fully two days, he laid in state of insen-
sibility, ravlng at times, and uttering in
cob erent phrases. When he finally awoke
he felt very sick, and complained that his
parents did not come to see him, wonder
ing why he was not in his own house, but
at his neighbors.~
Suffice to say that he played his part
so ingeniously well that he duped the mem
bers of the judicial committee of inquiry
SO perfectly that he was not arrested, and
no suspicion even WAS entertained against
him in their councils. The Government
offered reward of 1000 thalers for the
discovery of the assassin. Timm himself
promised 1, 800 thalers to the discoverer
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 meantime prepared himself for emf
grafton to the United States. He sold his
fathers farm, and was ready to start, when
the higher court of Clucksburg ordered
new investigation and commenced it with
Timm's confinement in a solitary prison.
He at once felt that he was lost, and ON the
third or fourth day after his arrest made
full confession In order to come into the
possession Of his fathers estate he had
murdered Whole family of eight persons
in less than two hours, and then set fire to
the house and barn, destroying thereby, as
he thought, all traces of his crime, which
pOSSlUly ullSnb NC uSeu DIS lJIOOl dSdlHSG
him. But the barn commenced to burn
first, whilst the fire at tile house made so
slow progl ess that the corpses of most of
his victims, with the marks of bloody muir
der upon them, could be removed. When
he fOresaw that result he commenced to
playiinsensibility, so that he might hear
what the bystanders had to say and &C
.cordipg to what he heard, he expeetedoto
shape his own explanations. J 10 sab9J
}9t" During his. late. confinement, which
took place at the end of May last, and after
he had made a full confession, he again
commenced the Ole game of Stimulating, fits
of insensibility A few buckets of ice
water thrown upon his head very soon
brought him to his senses, and now, the
monster, fully aware of the fate that awaits
him, shows degree of hardened indiffer-
ence as revolving as the deed itself. Even
among assassins and murderers there is a
graduation. On the lowest step, where hell |
approaches the threshold of the human |
family, stands the monster, who invites
with smiling lips one of his brothers to |
take his supper, and who kills him with |
one stroke from behind; who then entiees |
a second brother to come to the stable, and |
kills him at its entrance who then seizes |
an ak, and murders his sleeping father and |
mother and a young brother of IA years |
who, after struggle of half an hour, kills |
his sister, whilst she constantly cries for |
mercy; who then hurries to the bed of the |
female servant and assassinates her then |
washes himself, arrays himself with all the |
leisure OF perfect tranquility in another |
IL 4l,o- AoIx< q