Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-01-07
From The Cincinnati Commercial.
HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.
! eHEURDER AND SUICIDE.
A Man Kills His Wife and Blows
out His Own Brains.

=
ing the agonizing shrieks ola wo-.
man in distress rang out upon the
heavy night air, cheering the blood
of dull, wearied watchers, and start
ling into activity. a whole neighbor-
hood of peaceful slumberers. The
piercing cry reached the ears of
two policemen, patroling their beat
on Central Avenue, from Everett to
Wade streets, and, quickening their
gait, they started in the direction
from which the sound proceeded.
The screams continued for several
seconds, and then died away to half
suppressed meanings and gaspings,
low and labored, but still loud and
distinct enough to indicate to the
watchmen their proper course Raps
for help were given, and answered
by policemen on the street. and, in a
short time after the7dread alarm had
first been heard, lit G group ofex
cited persons had gathered around n
little frame shop on Central =avenuea
Ne. $40. The policemen halted a,
the fastened door, to learn the cause
OF the outcry, and while they were
waiting and listening, the air was
shaken by the discharge Of gun.
The windows of all the dwellings
around the house were up, and men
and women, shivering with cold and
alright, were eagerly leaning out of
them. The policemen shouted to
the people in the house adjoining.
and questioned them concerning
their neigebors. One woman re
piled that the occupants of the little
frame honse had been quarrelling
for the last half hour, and that she
feared old Mr.. Asbach had killed
his wife. She was told to bring
down hight, and did so. Amen
,srencr into me mousse through the
front door beng impossible. the
men forced their way into the cellar
through its insecure covering, and
passed into the rear yard. They
found the back door unlocked, and
made their way through it into the
house. ea ~
All was quiet within. They pass
ed into the front rooms, and found
nothing irregular. The back ro oms
were dark and deserted. But on as
cending to the second floor, and
looking into the front room, scene
met their gaze that made them shrink
back in horror. The room was in
Wild disorder. Rumpled and torn
bed-clothes were scattered over the
hoor; garments, male and female,
were strewn from wall t. wall: q
war. lrabe. ne irly emp.ie fits con
tents, was toppling over; small ar
tlcles of glass ware lay broken on
the hearth the cheap prints on the
wall were all awry; the appearance
of the room gave evidence that
desperate death struggle h:,d taken
place; and in the midst of this con
fusion, lay stretched on the floor
William Asbaeh, an old man of sixty
seven, and Josephene, his wife a
g woman of fifty seven. Both were
dead. The body of the man lay on
it's back with the head toward the
front wall, and between a sofa and a
marble topped table. His head seem
ed shattered to pieces. The right
side of his skull, from the Jaw to
the middle Of the head, was gone.
and With the brain fully revealed
and the remnant of the tongue hang
ing out, a lideous spectacle was pre-
sented. A long wide pool of blood
from the siclening wound extended
from the head to the wall. and large
clots Of brain and gray hair were
spattered on the sofa, table, and all
surrounding objects. By his side
lay a discharged Springfield rife.
and on its trigger, the great toe of
his right foot was pressed-pressed
SO forciblv that it was with great
difficulty that the toe was disengag-
ed from the lock. This, then, was
the result of the shot that had been
heard, He had killed his wife, and
then, oyer come by remorse or fear
Of the consequences that would sure
ly attend his fearful crime, had blown
his own brains out. The charge
had entered his mouth, but the muz
zle had not, evidently, been placed
between his teeth, for a portion of
the lower lip had been shot away
Asbach had on brown wooden shirt.
gray woolen darwers and black
silk neckerchief. A sock was on his
left foot, and its fellow lay few feet
from the body. The charge from
the gun had passed through his
head, and fourteen or fifteen buck
shot were lodged in the ceiling di5
rectly over the corpse NrF
Mrs Asbach lay beside her hus-
band, on her right side. Her head
was frigbtfully gashed and sunken.
as if it had beed first cut with the
sharp edge OF a hatchet and then
beaten with some blunt and very
heavy instrument. This was with
out doubt the case, as a bloody
hatchet was found few feet from
her head. Another wound-a NOR
tai stab in the breast, was apparent.
and the blood was flowing from it.
and the gashes in the head, in two
great, copious streams that satura-.
ted the carpet all aronnd her.. This
last stab, which was about four
inches deep lis supposed to have
caused instant death The weapon
with which this had been administer
ed-a butcher knife-was found law
ing on the table. The wound in the
head would have allowed her to live
perhaps, an hour. The visage of the
poor woman had undergone the
most frightful contortions. The
brows were compressed and the