The Morning herald., 1878-06-10
TELECRAMS.
HORRIBLE MURDER!

IL u NJ. s.,. .
MOTHER MURDERS HER CHILDREN AND
KILLS HERsELF-sUP POSED SUICIDE OF
THE HUSBAND AND FATHER.
10 Ph'ladelphia, on the east side OF Tenth
street, lived Prussian shoemakersnsmed
Geistlich. about IS years old. having wife,
Annie Geis'lich, and two cbildten, Ann, 9
years, aud Charles, years old.
For some weeks he has been complaining
OF dull times, having scarcely enough to
keep himself and the other menbers of the
family from starving.
on Thursdsy last he disappr ared, and on
the same day the Pastor OF St. John's
re- d " letter from G. istlic,, 10 hich he
d, tailed at considerable length his troubles,
ami anuounced his d. dttsrmiustion to put an
end tn hi, If He said that he had been
so ur; tnn,t u. businees and suffered so
mucl. tn he coi,ld not live any longer.
There = IT,, doubt that he Carried out
bis d clsr.i pu pose. us the body of the
drown, ms now vt TIVE Norsue, answers
the DE- scriptin OF the Prussisn shoemaker.
His wife made ito lirits on Thursday for
Charles, ", d asked q ntighoor where she
should 90 to hunt him, aod seem ri nu' b
distrfss ut bis shserce. On Friday tn, ir
house was observed to be closed. No ooe,
hox:v.r, during Friday, veutured to force
al entrance. Saturday came, and no change
was visible.
A ueighborirg tavern keeper climbed upon
fence ii the rear, got upon shed on Sat
urday afternoon, and entered second
story window. A strong smell of chloro>
form was observed. On bed lay the two
children dead, with cloths which had been
saturated with chloroform stuffed In their
mouths The mother was lying dead In
another room With cloth over her mouth.
She had died In the same manner. letter
was found st her side, writ'en by her, in
which she said she had become weary ol
life, and had resolved to end her miseries.
From all the circumstances they came to
the conclusion that the mother had mur-
dered her children and then committed
suicide. 1t was possible for the father to
have returned and used the chloroform on
upon the sleeping people, but that idea :he
police do not entertain. All the facts and
circumstances seem to point to the mother
as the slayer OF her children, unnatural as
it may seem. Mrs. GeIslich was about 45
years old, and an American. She is said to
have been the second wife Of Charles.
They have BEEN living in the house on
Tenth street near Reed, In which the bodies
were found yesterday, only six mouths or
so, having come from the upper portion OF
the city. There Is no doubt that besides
being In want of the common necesssries of
life, Charles was in arrears OF rent, and
that he dreaded what was coming. Coroner
Gilbert visited the house Saturday evening
and gave directions to have the bodies re-
moved to the Morgue.
He had ne doubt that the body of the
drowned man referred to was the missing
husband. An inquest, If properly conduct>
ed, may throw mach light upon the terrible
affair. All that is possible to be developed
by the examinatsen of witnesses should be
brought out. Some revelations msy be
made which will tend to show the terrible
sufferings of at least one family through
poverty, and may furnish hint of the dis
tress and mental and physical anguish of
many similarly situated.