The daily gazette., 1877-11-30
A SUNDAY MURDER.
A HUNCHBACKED KNIFE GRINDER
SLAIN BY A BOY.

OdSOu DLoooObh was q hiilC-StluuCI Ill J
New York, and was hunchback, so i
greatlydeformed that he was bugbear to |
The children of the east side, who named |
him "the Goblin" Nothing OF the hunch-
backs private life was known to the pub
lie, of course, till the tragedy of Sunday
revealed it. Then this curious, ugly old
man came forth from his obscurity, when
death had ended his career, in the role of
q lover Strange as it may appear, Mas
soth for the last seven years has been the
favored lover of woman who has borne
six children, and whose husbands death
four years ago was fastened by bis sus-
picion of her passion for the hunch-
backed kpifegrinder. 10 some few
these facts were known, but l. was
only yesterday afternoon. when Captain
Mccullough and Patrolman Flynn burst
through crowd in front of No. 517 East
Thirteenth street, and guided by womens
shrieks, found in the basementthe hum
chback welteripg IN his blood, that these
disclosure found their way into the glare
of publicity. A murder had been done,
| and that, too by young man Of seven
teen, who stood in the room there, with
his mother and sister, and it was when
his motive was inquired into that the
truth appeared
| The person who stands before the law
| Amenable for the death Of Jacob Hassoth
10 named George Dell. He is the oldest
Of the six children Of Katrina Dell, q
| German woman forty -four years old, who
seventeen years ago came to this country
from her native place, village in Hesse
l Darmstadt. In her younger days, when
4 anita n child in fa or oha hanoua the nh
| lect of the affections Of man twenty
er's unattractive person failed to win
favor in her eyes then or not does not ap-
pear, but certain it is that when Jaco b
Massoth came to New York seven years
ago, man of fifty-eight. TO no degree,
improved in appearance, Katrina Dell
forgot her position of wife and mother,
and began an intimacy with him which
has lasted ever since. Katrina herself, a
dark stoutsh. low-sized woman, is by no
means Venus, but Jacob was unremit-
ting in his attentions, and wooed the OBJ
ject of his alteration with all the ardor oi
| a young Lothario. Wherever she lived
The made his place of lssidence. If she
located in garret he occupied a lower
floor; if be was in a front house he had
lodgings in the rear and as soon as sus.
ipiclon of the Dell family's moving was
heard OF Jacob began TO pack up his
movabIes at once. This could not pass
unnoticed. The local gossips, of course
uttered shrewd suspicious, ,prying neigh
bors kept up constant surveillance, anC
the loves of Jacob and Katrina became 6
J topic of interest wherever they appeared
Mr.. Dell in time heard of this, and hi.
. knowledge of his inability to put an enc
J to it embittered the last days of his life
r This obstruction removed, Jacob Massotl
observed less secrecy in paving his atten
? tions to Mrs. DELL. He came to live il
! the same house with the family, he oc
/ cupying the front of the basement il
/ Thirteenth street, while they occupied
the rear. To this arrangement George
, the Oldest of the family, has all along OBJ
Q ljected.
His mothers infamy he could not doub
: and he urged her to end it, If in no othe
a way by lawfully marrying Massoth. Hi
T mother has pleaded that they had no
: money enough to have wedding, an,
. although he las rendered her his owl
2 earnings the nuptials have always beel
indefinitely postponed. The poor you'll
: has more than once been taunted by hi
), companions and heard his tamily's sham
y spoken of before his face. This has mad
: dened him and he and the hunchbacl
i have kept up an incessant series of qual
| rels.
Yesterday afternoon George was stand
O ing before the kitchen looking-glas
d shaving himself, when his little brothe
! Adam jostled against him. He turne
7 to reprimand the youngster, but the littl
\ fellow, knowing that George was no fl
q vorite with Massoth and his mother, be
t gan taunting him, at which the eide
e brother turned him out of the room. A
s tracted by Georges angry words Ma
Y soth appeared i'll the bedroom door q
g this moment.
q "What are you doing to that boy ?" b
e asked.
"What have you to do with il? ?" rt
IS turned George, going on with his sha'
II ing.
n up plate to throw.
The young man laughed at him.
9. "If you don't mind whose house you
IS H." said he, "you1l get chucked out {
it,"
N Massoth was IN fury at once. ii
ss hurled the plate at the others head, an
"a as it passedand broketo pieceson the, wa
% he reached back into the bedroom an
| closed the door behind him. George Ia
IL turned about angrily as the missile viii
ed by him, but when he saw his assailar
d retreat he uttered derisive laugh an
20 resumedl his shaving. Only for IN
u u ment however, for the door was suddel
IT ly flung open and hunchback appeare
lr with hatchet in one haI
and a milestone in the ether. He Wi
c. livid with rage, and rushing upon IL
RS Young man dealt him a blow upon I'll
le head with the stone just as Mrs. Dell ar
II her her fou, teen-year-old daughter A
ME aung themselves between then
er George was standing holding the raz'
in his light hand, with the blade turnt
back. Massoth's first blow staggered hin
ee and two Others delive ed IN quick su
10 cessloncut open lis headand sentthebloC
NJ spurtingover his face and neck The W
ar men screamed and tired to shield hin
as but the hunchback was In frenzy al
could not be appeased. Elbowing the
n aside he raised the hatchet to cleave I'll
at young mans head, but George, reused
II, his danger, caught the uplifted arm al
:" forced it back An Instant MaSsoth tri,
m to wrench himself away, and then, wi
by d fendish determination to finish L
ly work, he aimed at the other a furio
he blow with the whetstone.
~ The whole force of his deformed bot
hs was thrown into the stroke, and the ba