The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-04-26
A Son Kills bis Father and Burns the
Body in a Brush Heap.


/ Ga Wednesday forenoon, the Sd inst, in
/ the town of Watertown, about six miles
+ from this city, parricidal and savage muir
der was committed, which, in heartless and
brutal atrocity, exceeds any crime ever be-
/ fore known in Jefferson county, if any reli-
ance can be placed on the combination Of
facts and the train of circumstances that
lead to the certain conclusion that such an
| unnatural and revolving deed has been done.
| Mr.. Charles Schnepf was farmer resid
| ing IN the south western portion of the
/ town of WATERFOWL, with wife, two sons
and two daughters. On the morning men
toned above, the father and the oldest son,
Joseph Schnepf, left their house and went
into some clearings, about eighty rods dis
has been seen of the old man, as the boy
called to them, and after second call,
Joseph came back alone When asked by
his mother where his father was, he replied
that his father ''Had taken sudden notion
to go to town to see about some seed wheat,
plaster lime and 70 get some tobacco - and
when she expressed astonishment that be
should go the city without his coat, the son
assured her that his father said he could
borrow coat on the way, if he wanted one
This did not seem to excite any appreheE-
sion, as he had beer in the habit of occa-
sionally starting off in that negligent man.
ner though he usually spoke of it before
/ going and once in while staying away
! from home all night
As soon as dinner was over, that after
noon, joseph harnessed up the horses, and
with his little brother and younger sister
a girl about fourteen years of age-went to
the ground where the two had previously
been at work, and spent two or three hours
in collecting scattering brush and gathering
decayed wood into heap A very large
and high pile was made, consisting of limbs
and chunks of timber About 4 o'clock,
Joseph returned to the house taking with
him load of stove wood, and also his
fathers vest and neck tie, which were left
| together on log or stump near BY
Though it raiEed slightly, he insisted on
setting fire to the brush heap Immediately,
as 1t would not be so apt to spread. When
his mother demonstrated, he persisted, say
ing his fat her told him to do 80, and if he
did not, there would be a fuss. He kinded
so great and hot fire, and kept it burning
so long, that it attracted the attention of a
few Of the nearest neighbors, who happened
to be up later than customary, and who
now distinctly remember to have seen the
form of a man walking around it in the
shaaowy and Pickering light of the blaze,
apparently attending it and throwing on
more fuel
Nothing having been seen or heard of
Charles Schnepf, who was we'll known, dur
| ing the next four days, and the members Of
the family taking no steps to find out where
he was or what had become of him, his
singular disappearance and continued alb
sence began to awaken curiosity and alarm
| in the vicinity The neighbors made
inquiries, talked the matter over among
! themselves and visited his house, but moth
! ing could be learned concerning him
Neither his wife or children seemed to care
much about it, while Joseph appeared far
more anxious to dispose of team and a
reaper belonging to his father, than to look
! for his lost parent, which was something
unaccountably singular, under the circum-
stances. After several consultations among
the neighbors, it was arranged to make a
general and thorough search, and three
| days were passed in examining where he
vas at all likely to be found, but no trace of
| him could be discovered. It was observed
that Joseph took particular care to keep all
away from the locality where he and his
! father had been to work together-suggest-
! ing remote, out of the way and least proha-
bic places for exploration, and went along
with parties very reluctantly. One Of the
| witnesses who accompanied Joseph, testi-
( fed that the son said to him, that IF the
( old man was such cussed fool as to go off
| in the woods and hang himself he might
stay there and be damned for all of him."
| After repeated efforts to find the missing
man had failed, the strange and visible
want of interest and solicitude displayed by
| the family began to arouse in the minds of
| the neighbors suspicious of foul play, and
it was whispered around that all was not
| right-there must be something wrong
and they determined to inspect the ground
where the elder Schnepf was last known to
| have been, though the son insisted it vas
of no use. This was accordingly done. A
! huge pile of ashes was the first object that
attracted notice, and on one side of it, as
| the party approached, was found bone,
which had all the appearance of being
human. 1t was closely scrutinized, and
those present resolved to leave everything
just as it was, while two of their number
should hasten to the city and procure the
assistance of officers This was on We'd
nesday the 10th inst, one week after the
| bloody event occurred, Sheriff Giles,
| NlarSfal OH ana Dr. w. y. opaululDg
Immediately started for the scene of the
supposed murder They arrived at the
spot and found the ash heap undisturbed.
The examination was commenced, and soon
the ashes were ascertained to be full of
burnt and charred pieces of bone, which
were Enthusiastically human, and believed to
be those Of the elder Schnepf, and if SO the
whole mystery was revealed. At one end
Of the ash bed were found portions of the
skull, and part of the lower jaw, with one
tooth still in, and ten or twelve teeth lying
around loose further on, near the middle
of the pile, were picked up fragments of
the back bone and ribs. several buttons
and buckles, evidently belonging to the
shirt, suspenders and pantaloons of the
owner near the opposite end, from five to
six feet from where the head lay, lot of
large boot nails were collected, which
doubtless came from the heavy boots the
missing man wore and had on when he went
out The body was almost entirely con-
sumed There was hardly whole bone,
however small in the mass of particles and
fragments. Some pieces of the skull and
! tb;obc t1roro bIook q nod opd coorohod oround