The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-19
NI.GpERlNG HIS TWO SONS.
,rfpIDLU I3fffr 'EhCLDI N
AEW JEISLr UtDLET.
y0I XLllL.-K0. A..

n r.ftsr trnYod Wnu RW.r shooting ~"
g.s4 rrd then tIir'sri' 'Fhn Shochtfg
.t,r,I,i, thnt ~ rjoi!,rr Bchcld on Lcch,rg /
Th.ar.h iht window ci ter Home.
qY,,.,,lid Of The Coroner Jury which
,t,o Iiackottai'wn, n. j, yttci ay moining'
r,ru u rcmeirs Of the chldrcn, John and !
pe. p0f. who were titled on saturday last.
.,.r.t tlIe, met death at the hands Of their |
ro,r. ionn nutct, b, "wilful and feluuious
,t,idcr." Thc tcs imony upon which this vcr-
,p.t,s. rendered wis given by seven or eight
.,ttte .,- the most imp, rtant Cf whom were !
Hr. Nit..r r he wife OF the accuse man ana
Or. crane and Cook, who examined tho wounds
VI tl.c rl iloier tefoIe and after thev died. Ac-
r0tdire to the testimony OF his wife. John III
i.,r w.t., i,a German house painter. had been
=, ihout employment for six weeks. ~
u, rcr.od OF idicncss Heightened be
,ocau-c a spondert, took TO drinking heavily
end wa nuiosc when al"uc and abusive whcr
,ih hrr. On saturday morning he arose ~ >
,.rl,,k md husled himself about the house,
firStinr the kitchen FIRE and drinking mean-
willis ycr, equently from bottle he had
,roncht into the house on the day before. Az
tor the nfe WINS started Mrs Ritter dressed her
.,lf ,pd rrcparcd brc, kfast she called her hus-
hand when tho mel was ready and lac
responded by cursing her smashing the
the ire. Aware trat her presence mad,
dcncd him, she ned from the house and
crossed tho road TO- a ncisienss % o. dotdsse' dsee'
with their fathor. Shortly after this, AT about
half pa.t o'clock. Elijah Siduer. resident OF
uackettstOwn. who was passing littei a house,
heard two or three pistol shots. and a moment
afterward saw the door OF the house thrown
0pon, aud heard another similar report. Mir.
hdner was too Heightened to enter the house,
but Mrs. Ritter, VINO had seen the door OF her
house upen and had heard tho I'm shot hur-
tnI hagk Rd a U
VIEWING MURDERED HOUSEHOLD.
Upon the floor Ritter sat, holding the limp
and eppai emily ifeless body OF otto, the Young.
est child. ana In corner, living on his face, as II
no had fallen from the ch ir behind him, was
the other boy. Tho three were red with olood.
Hood ran from their f,ces over the clothes OF
the father aud the. child BY mis- side, and ihe
head OF the eldest boy was stepped In n pool of
blood that had oozed from his wounds As the
terror-siricken wife looked into the room,
she saw her husband iona'e aS S The 'i,ue hIm
calling to II tenderly. Alarmed for the chill
dren, yet not daring TO enter the house Mrs.
Ritter n screaming to u foundry near by. lhe
workmen returned with her. and entered the
house Ritter was still fcndlng the little boy.
whose life blood mingled with his own-ior he
had shot himselt-cOurseu unwn hls clothlne,
and spread out on the hoor; Tue men SPOKE p, 70
hne5 'Ssm oS fo STR Stmseif and ns only words
were, On, my child my ohildV
Staring at them from the wall, the men saw
written In lack upon the plas er, thess words
% Meiu wcib ist schud all mir una meineT kindel
tode. Smil sein weib ist auch schuld" This wal
in Rit,er's anuwrting, and, being translated
meant ." My wife and the wife OF Smil are to
plane for the desth OF my children and myself.
In a former qLarrel Ritter mad threatened tC
kill his wife. and r.. Snil, who Is neighbor
bad complained % hin to a aJustce.
while some OF the men VINO bad en
from his fathers gra-p, and did whit coul'
be done tow rd restoring al three 10 conscious
and "A coroner. Drs Cook aud Crane hastene,
10 tho mouse and examined the wounds. IN.
fatbur had shot himself in the back Of the bead
mt the ullet did not penetrate the skull. an.
was plain til { he could recover. Boti
having Joen shot through the head beaind III
Jeff ear, ana the youngest had received AN ad
ditonal bullet in the centre Of his forehead
THE DEATH or THE CHILpPFN.
At II O'Clock the little one ceased to breathe
THE Oldest old not ole until u o'clock " IN
evening. Aftcr jury bad been imptneied am
bad viewed the bo@y OF the Youngest chld' an
The aim ost rfcies- body Of the otner tho tnFe
victims were washed, the children we're lad %
abed. aud Ritter was left upon the ho"rc we're
with clothing. He recovered cousc. onsncss b
degree, and rallied about MS WIFE nj one M
gnent and cred for his children at another. II
Ipoke entirely in German, and 10 a fellow
country man, who asked Liin why he haG con
sntted such crime, he said the cause vi
rIu and the Womnu."
In the afternoon a constable took him befor
Ju-ticc Car, In the village, ANA nas enpoweTe
10 commit him To the county jail at Belvider
Mrs Hitter rem5ined with her children unt
late IA tne evening. and was then iaken 10
neighhors house. but she returned early D
sunday morning aud + maincd all day, weepin
and iOcaiug beside the bed IN which tue llttl
bodies lay.
SeanWbie the town had become worked u
% an unparalleled degree OF excitement, an
hundreds Of the curious and the symoathet
visited tHr scene II the tragedy.
The children were bured Ia Union Cemeter
ne.r II rkctt>town, yesterday afternoon ! 4
hutial -crylce was rnDou ced Ia the Me noui
Church cdi0ce, 10y the Rev. G. +. Little. and !
ore rhti au earnest toupcrA cc setmon. ~
edHce wa thronged Mrs. Ritter, accompani,
Dy hrf trutner, followed thc heaIsc TO u
.hur,h door moaning aud wrlnging her hand
FhcI. the cnfllus were taken in tAc church d W
.he -hri' Neu aud screamed ~ spssms.