The daily Argus., 1876-01-28
MURDER IN RAPIDS CITY !!
A Woman Deliberately Kills
Her Husband with an Axe
while he is Asleep
HER ARREST AND LoDGMENT IN
ROCK ISLAND JAIL.
SHE MAKES A FULL CONFESSION
AND swEARs TO TT.


About 9 o'clock, this friday morning,
Sheriff Huesing received the following
telegram from Rapids City. The name of
the party sending it is withheld, tor pru-
Dental reasons:
RAPIDS CITY, H., Jan. %, 1876,
Come to Rapids City immediate
ly. A murder was committed here last night
Bring necessary papers with you.
The sheriff Immediately procured a
buggy and two horses, and sent Deputy
Sheriffs Silvis and Herkert to that place.
"A three o'clock this afternoon three Of
fcers arrived in this city, with the guilty
person, who proved to be woman. Her
name is Brita Nielsen. She is a Swede,
and formerly lived with City Marshal
Wells, Of Moline. Last night she murder
ed her husband, Peter Nielsen, with a
small short handled axe. The parties
lived in small house at Gil
christ & Cewe's coal mines, about three
quarters of mile from Rapids City, and
Nielsen worked in the mines there. The
body of Nielsen was found, this morning
in the road near their house A large
and deep hole was found in his right tenn
pie, which looked as if done with miner
pick; also terrible cash from bis right
ear to the mouth, and his throat was cut
o1, fro,,, oor 10 COW
There was great excitement at the mines
when the body was found. In the
absence of the coroner, Justice of
the Peace II. S. Shurtliff called the fol
lowing jury: John Cewe, foreman, Philip
Gill, Sam'l. Sport, Chas. Mix, VIM.
Owens, August Clebe, Henry Bailey, John
Millet, James Bell, Geo. Nokes, VIM.
Meener, Frank Jones.
Mrs. Nielsen, the wife of the murdered
man. was first examined. She made the
following:
CONFESSION.
RAPIDS CITY. Jan. 2s, 1876.
Question-Is your name Mrs. Nielsen
Answer-lt is.
Q.-Is this your husband? A.-Yes.
Q.-When did you see him last? A
[ saw him at 3 o'clock.
Q.-Undcr what circumstances did you
see him ?-alive or dead? Ale wa
out in the road. The last l time | saw
him alive was at two o'clock He wa
asleep in bed. | struck him in the heat
with the axe, on the right side Of the head
The cause was he was so cross and angr,
lately that did not care what | did.
carried the body out myself and left hin
in the road. He struggled after | frs
struck him. The last act done was t
cut his throat. l had no person to hell
me in the deed, l done it when he was il
bed in the bedroom His clothes wer
partly on and | put part of them on afte
he was dead. | carried him out of tn
back door.
BRIrA NIELSEN.
Signed and acknowledged before me thi
2sth day of January, A. D., 1876.
Ii. 5. SHURTLEFF, j. Z.
The jury brought in verdict in accol
dance with this confession.
1t is said that when this woman worke
for Marshal Wells (about years agt
+ some man seduced her. and she gave birt
to child. Shortly after this she was maj
ried to Peter Nielsen, the man she has no
murdered. He was about 43 years of ag
She said she never liked her husband, b1
:. only married him to get nome away fro
n Moline, where every one was talking abo1
= her and her child. Nielsen had alwa,
y been cross and abusive to her, but hs
y been even worse during the past &c
= weeks. Her child died last summer, b
n she is about to become mother again.
y On the road to this city she talked
y great deal about the murder. She sa
~ after she struck the first blow she did n
i know what followed or how many tim
~ she struck her husband after that un
after the body was in the road, when 81
cut his throat with the axe.
Until after the officers had started f
'r this city the woman appeared perfect
y calm, and did not seem to even reali
|, that she had murdered her husband
d cold blood, but after leaving Rapids Ci
a she would get excited, then call
IS then weep, or attempt to wee
!. call her husband by name, al
Je end by saying she didn't: know wh
Y. made her commit the deed. She W
ze thought to be insane, but, when questio
in ed, would answer everything in ration
W manner.
,e She is now locked up in our JAIL
rt At Moline. on the way up, Depu
r. Sheriff Lincoln, of Whiteside county. join
ID Deputy Silvis and Deupty Herkert rema
ed at Moline to attend to some other pre-
ing business.