Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-04-17
An Awful Deed.

New YORK, April ia horrible
crime was committed last night by
Launcelot Fogarty, who murdered
his wife and then committed suicide,
besides attempting the lives Of his
three children. The troubles of the
family began in 1868. The wife was
an educated woman, and Fogarty was
worth E13,00O in 1860 when he mar
ricd her in Australia. Drink brought
him down. He ruined his wife's bus
mess after deserving her twice, once
going to Chicago and squAndering
81, 500 there. Wednesday morning
the parties appeared in the Police
court, but no case was allowed
Then Fogarty planned his revenge.
Fogarty went home in the evening
and quarreled with his wife. He
left, and returned about o'clock in
the morning. He had key to the
kitchen. His children were sleeping
in the room next to the grocery, and
his wife was asleep in the room be-
tween that and the kitchen. He had
book binders knife, with . long,
keen blade, also q phial of laudanum,
and one of nitric acid. He lit the
lamp, removed his coat and collar,
rolled up his sleeves, and took of his
shoes. He then poured the liquids
into small glasses and went through
his wife's room toward the children.
She awoke and he seized her. He
had both the laudunum aud acid, and
it is thought he intended to use the
laudanum on the children to keep
them asleep. Holding the woman
when she opened her mouth to scream
he poured the nitric acid down her
throat. 1t went to her stomach, eat.
ing through her internal organs and
tearing her intestines into threads
The little she forced out of her mouth
ran trickling down her cheek and
back, burning of the flesh all along
its course, and eating holes through
the pillow into the mattress. The
woman in fearful agony threw thu
murderer from her. He ran to thu
kitchen and brought in the knife
Seeing his wife standing in the mid
die Of the floor he went up and plung
ed the long, thin, keen blade into hc1
left breast up to the handle, the blad,
penetrating the lung. At this thu
children awoke and ran into tn,
street, shrieking. Fogarty, satisfyin{
himself his wife was dead, laid he
ON the floor, put pillow under he1
head, and went into the kitchen. Go
ing up to the small mirror on tn
wall, he stretched his neck and plung
ed the bloody knife into it on tn,
: right side. The knife went through
toward the front. coming out through
the windpipc. He made q simila
wound on the left side of his neck, tn
knife coming out without severini
the artery. He then staggered to tn
table on the opposite side of the room
and fell to the floor. Fogarty wa
found lying on his face in q pool o
blood, dead. His wife was dead, ly
ing with her body in her bedroom
and her head ON the pillow just acros
: tho kitchen doorsill. The kitche
floor was covered with tracks O
blood. Underneath the mirror wa
q large pool Of blood. Mrs. Foga,
TVS body was covered with blood
which could not be accounted for b
the presence of the wounds on tn
I body. Her flesh was charred on tn
: right cheek, and down her neck an
back. Her right eye was burned on
s the right ear burned almost oil, an
part of her clothes and part Of tn
bed clothes burned to powder. F6
4 garty left letter in which he signe
himself "a broken hearted man."