Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-03-20
THE HOUTyET HORROR.

Details OF the Butohery On Amutty
Knrrcn Crissenson Hacked lo Dealn.
Portsmouth, n: H., (March y Correspondence OF
the New York Herald
The terrible double Tragedy upon
Smutty Nose Island, the night before
last, and the prompt apprehension of
the fiendish murderer, are still subjects
of excited comment. Tho particulars
of the horrible affair. as they have been
developed to-day, show that tho only
motive for this slaughter of innocent
women was to gain possession of pal.
try few hundred dollars which the un-
fortunate victims were supposed to
possess. The occupants of the only
house upon Smutty Nose Island were
John Hontvet andwife, Ivan Orissen-
son, Annethe lawson, and Miss Karen
Crissenson. The women were left alone
Wednesday night while the men were
in Portsmouth batting their trolls for
the morrow's fishing.
p Louis Wagner, the murderer, was in:
the employ of Houtvet; land during .
portion Of Wednesday evening assisted
the latter in the task of tro11-baitina:
He disappeared, however, about s
o'clock in the evening, and it is stated
that he was seen on one Of the wharves
OF Portsmouth, with an az in his haad.
1t is conjectured that he shortly after
left for the Shoals, a. one of the crew
ofthe fishing boat Iris missed dory
from her about 10 O'Clock, and, az It
aftsrward proved, this was the one
used BY the murderer in which to reach
the scene of his brutal work. On
Thursday morning, about Z o'clock.
Houtvet went ont to the Shoals to set
his trolls, and was hailed by some wo-
men from an island adjoining that on
which tho murder. was, committed
They informed him of the murder,
although the extent of it was not i'm
agined by them. >->- .'~~.~-= -
Houtvet, in company with two men,
went to the house and found Annnethe,
sLawson lying ,adead in hef night
clothes, with her head badly bruised
and mangled, apparently with an axe.
From appearances, it. 10, probable that
she endeavored to escape, but was over!
taken and killed outside; the house, and
the body dragged into the kitchen.
She had three wounds in the vicinity Of
the right ear, one under the right eye,
one on:the frontal bone over: the 3nRht
eye one under the. left eye, one on the
left ear, one on the left temple, and one
back of the left .ear,--all with the
sharp edge of the axe. The brain
could be seen through the wounds at
the right ear: ,.,::, ~, ,.,.,.l =.
The men looked further and saw the
body Of Karen lying on the bedroom
floor, in . semi-nude state, in pool
Of blood. She was clothed only in a
chemise. The feet were Strengthened
out, as if she had bsen in great agony.
A white handkerchief was tied tightly
around the neck, the ,k1ot being at
the back of the head, probably
to strangle her after he had hidden un-
der the bed. Outside was q pool of
blood, and marks of struggle in the
snow, and there were finger marks
of blood on the doorway. She had five
wounds on the back of the head, ono
breaking her skull, two on the left
temple, two on the forehead over the
right eye, one left Of the righteye.
Her tongue was protruding. The
wounds were not sufficient to cause
death, which must have ensued from
strangulstion. - :. =
Karen was Is years of age and un.
married, and Annette, two years her
junior, was married. !"
Before the Coroner's Jury Mr.. Hout.
vet testified that she had gone to bed
on Wednesday night, and her sister
Annethe slept with her, while Karen
slept on the lounge in the kitchen; in
the night Karen cried out, :" John
scared me-" thinking the man in tho
house was John Houtvet; ST heard
some one pounding her the door of
tho bedroom was fastened by some one
on the Kitchen side with q stick. ID
shouted, the stick came out ofthe door
and I opened it, reached out and got
Karen by the arm, and was struck
with . chair: pulled Karen into the
bedroom with .Annethe and mo: told
Annette to jump ont of the window
and she did so; told her to run, but
she was 80 frightened that she could
only get to tho corner of the house; II
was holding the door of the bedroom,
and the person in the kitchen WAS try.
ing to force his way in; when he could |
not get ip he went out around the
house and i heard Annette shout;
"Louis, Louis !" he went back; to the |
door and got the AZ and came through
the window; 7 saw him strike her
three times; I could not see the face,
but could see the figure Of the man, and
I knew linn to be Louis Wcgner. I |
jumped through the window, taking |
my skirt, and ran down by the hen |
house; tried to get Karen to come too
but she said she was too tired / ran
to the dock, but could find, no dory
there; I then went out on tho island
and hid behind the rocks; We went to
bed! about 10 r. NJ, and when hid. be-
mind the rocks the moon was Just set-
ting II stayed there until after the sun
rose, fearing Louis Wagner: was still on
the island; ! went: down to the north
side. and !swung my skirt as al
signal for help; I came up on the
point and shouted, and Mr. ;Ingle-
bretzen heard me and came over from
Appledore, and took me to his house,
where I arrived at 8 o'clock a., m. We |
were all good friends Wagner never !
made any advances to me or to others |
that T know of: the ~onlystime 1 saw
WAS when was looking through |
the window when he struck Annette; |
I saw her lying on the ground when i |
Jumped cut of the:window;! when TMas |
running away I heard Karen shouting,
the voice sounding out of door; I. did |
not hno,p W>nt ~ u.r<>G OF ol1tN;. ::