Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1868-03-14
: Terrible Affair.

onst Of last year, in Gross Campen in Schles-
WIG. Holstein. Timm Thode, peasants son,
twcntv.three years Of age, murdered, with un-
eou,lled barbarily, his whole household, viz
fIis parents, his four brothers, his sister and a
maid servant. Timm Thode's confession,
made without sign of repentance, gives iull
exclamation of the motive for and mode OF,
carving into execution the crime. The accus-.
ea related he had been on an unfriendy footing,
with his brothers, Reimers Johann, Martin
and Cornils; his relations, also, with his father
had not been Of the best kind. As regarded
the rest of the family, he thought they were
"middEng." In the spring Of 1866 he took the
resolution to kill his family in order to put an
end to the continued disppting, then to sell the
farm, which would come to him after their
death, and thus to come into the sole posses
sion of considerable fortune. The thought
Of accomplishing the deed occurred to him re-
peatedly; he busted himself, therefore, not
exclusively with the plan of action, but thought
only now and then of its possibility. The
plan Of killing them all one alter another In
their beds he gave up, as he was afraid the
noise resulting from it might awaken the rest,
ana ne WOuiu llot iltiFc ae 'hc "i""Soioi ~
suit. ~ .t@ .,s,..:a
On the 9Th of August he had already laid
ready to hand i've feet long handspike to
kill his brothers with. 'I would decoy them
one attcranother into the barn and strike them
dead there said hc This intention was not
carried into execution rs he did not succeed in
executing the plan In the way related. On
Tuesday, the 7th of August, his parents left
home with neighbor, Schwarzkopf, in Or
der to pay a visit to some acqualntances
Iirnm Thode easily managed to go behind
his brothers, Martin, Cornils and Reimers, one
at time, as they were at work, and then
struck the brothers one after the other from
behind with the fve-feet handspike, which
was thick at the lower end. Martin falls first
by his brother murderous hand, then Reimcrs
and Cornis. He strikes Johann over the
head This one staggers to and fro, and cries
to his brothers. The murderer brandishcs
the handspke anew, and then strikes him
dead: Now the father must be disposed OF.
Timm, by telling him the oxen have broken
loose, gets him to come out before the front
door, and strikes him down in front of the
tarm-yard. He brings the remains of his father
back in a cart, and removes the stains of blood
by digging up the earth, which he throws into
the cart as well-Two watchful dogs arc in the
courtyard OF Jonathan Thode. These might
prove dangerous to the murderer; therefore he
must dispose of them. The dogs are attached
to him. He entices them to him, places knot
around the throat of the first, and hangs him
up. Thereupon he calls the other dog; the
animal obeys his call. With his razor he at
tempts to cut its throat. He does not quite
succeed but howling, the dog cxtricates himself
from the hands of the murderer. The mother
appears with lighted candle at the door, and
asked the reason of the noise. IS nothing
maintained Tilpm.
Now follows the account Of the terrible COM
bat in the small room between sister and broth
er. The mother lies on the floor, stunned bya
blow from the hatchct The sister springs out
Of bed to save the mother. He strikes out at
the sister with knife, and then strikes her
dead with a hatchet The mother still groans;
he strikes her dead also. Finally he runs to
the servant girls room, feels about in the dark
ness for the head end of the bed, strikes upon
it twice with the hatchct, and the last murder
is accomplished. The girl dies without a
sound. "I have them all dead!" are his only
words. He then set fire to the barn to conceal
the deed, and placed the corpses in such a way
that they must be destroyed at the breaking
out of the fire. The conflagatlon was never
thelcss discovered too early, and led, besides
other facts, to so many grounds OF suspicion
against Thodc that he himself, in the examlna-
ton, was driven to confess.
Timm Thode, lately brought to trial, was
condemned to death. The condemned man
left the court with indescribable placidity.