Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-07-12
AN IOWA HORROR.
A Terrible Ending to Long Career
OF Domestic Inildelity and Infclioity.

From the Burlington Hawk-Eye, 4th.
From an interview with two or
three residents of West Point, we
learn full particulars of the murder
of Mrs. Wahrer, the wife Of DR..
Wahrer, of that place, together with
some account of the previous history
of the family.
DR.. Wahrer came from Germany
and settled at West Point, Lee
county, nearly q quarter Of CEN
fury ago, bringing with him the
woman who as the victim of Sun
days tragedy. She was not then
his wife, but was, in fact, the wife of
another III Germany, whom she had
forsaken to follow the fortunes of
DR.. Wahrer. Though living to-
gether as man and wife, and having
several children, they were not
formally married until they had
been here for quite Il number of
years. AS might haze been ex-
pec:ed, their co-partnership begin
ming in crime, was never a happy
one. Mrs. Wehrcr was a large and
vigorous woman, of decided tenn
per, and ready to take her own part.
DR.. Wahrer is quick tempered,
passionate, and given to strong
drink. Family broils were of fire.
quent occurrence. Sometimes, it is
said, the wife was terribly beaten;
and again, he would drag her
through the yard by the hair Of her
head.
This state of rtfairs, of course,
could not last always. The two
older children, who are girls, took
their mothers part, and they, several
years ago, were sent away from
home. The boys, of whom there
are three, were taught by the father
to believe that all the fault was on
the mothers side, and to regard her
with aversion. Several temporary
separations have taken place
between the Doctor and his wife,
and for some time past he has been
trying to get divorce, but to this
Mrs. w. would not consent unless
he would give her the property of
which they had considerable
amount. He would not do this,
and she would not permit him to
have divorce without. Sometime
last fall or winter he brought another
woman into his family, Miss or
Mrs. King, recently from Germany,
and installed her as his housekecper
Mrs. w. having accepted employ
ment ut the State Reform School,
which is situated only few miles
from West Point.
A week ago Monday, it is said,
the Doctor gave it out that he was
going to New York, and, apparently
at least, left home. Towards the
latter part Of the week the boys
went over to the Reform school and
persuaded their mother to come
over and visit them during their
fathers absence. She went, and
was about to return on Saturday,
when the boys coaxed her to remain
until the next day when they would
take her home. She was pleased
with the unusual kindness of the
boys and consented to do so. The
Oldest of the boys is about sixteen
years old, and small Of his age. The
other two are still younger.
Sunday evening the Inhabitants
Of the village Of West Point were
startled with the report Of Mrs.
Wahrcr's murder. Her body was
found in the barn covered with q
horse banket. 1t bore the marks of
five severe stabs or cuts. The right
and left jugular veins were both cut.
There was also in the back of the
neck, apparently aimed at and did
reach the spinal cord. There was
still another in the left breast, GO
ing into or near the heart And
still another in the right breast
five in all, any one of which it is
thought would have produced
death.
The boys first told of the tragedy,
and the younger of the two oldest,
now under arrest went to TT. Madi
son and telegraphed to his father at
keokuk to come home, that one of
the children was sick. The boys
have told various stories about the
death of their mother. The first
one was that they had killed her in
self-defensc; that she wanted the
keys to the wardrobe and the money
drawer, and threatened Cat five
o'clock Sunday morning) to kill
them with y butcher knife if they
did not give them to her, and there
upon they ran into their fathers
Office and got some of his surgical
knives, and following their mother,
stabbed her to death. Afterwards
they told a different story. They
said their mother had to be killed,
and that they thought they had bet
ter do it than that their father
should. That they were so young
they would not be punished much,
even if they were found out. 1t was
evident the boys were telling a
fixed up story, and very little con-
fidencc was put in what they said.
On Monday evening Pr. w; came
home. The first thing he did was
to order everybody out of the house
and yard. Some neighboring
women who were there, were frigh-
tened away. The men not going
| quite so quickly as the Doctor wish
ed, he fell upon one of them with
his cane. The man thus attacked
knocked the Doctor down, giving
him a pretty severe blow with a
brickbat. Later in the evening,
some two hundred persons gathered
in the village, apd lynching was
freely talked of. But better counsel
prevailed, and DR.. w. was placed
under arrest, Us were also the two
older boys.
At the time the DR.. was driving
everybody off the place, tho house
keeper manifested so much interest
in his welfare that she began to be
suspected Of being a party to the
plot. She at first denied all knowl-
edge ofthc murder, but subsequently
said that she saw tho boys kill their