The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-07-01
Gha gttelLiaeneen:.
A NrnANGE C0NkrIENCE.
InteryieW with the Han who KIlIs,
IIIs three ChlIdFeO.


Interview with the Han who KIIIe
His 1hree Children.
Kcmmler, who shot his three children
at Holyoke, Mass, and is now in Jail a
Springfield, shows not the least emotion
and tells his story over and over to hi
visitors, Of which he has great many
When not talking he passes 4Tis time read
Ing English books from the jail library an,
German Testament, in which lie seem
to find much delight. lie still clings I,
the belief that he was justified in killinI
his children so that they would be bette
of. He says that while he was at IN agri
cultural college he wrote a devotiona
book containing a prayer and hymn fol
every day in the year, that the book was
printed at Stuttgart, and thousands Of
copies were sold. lie wrote also for q
humorous paper, aud ut n wedding al
Florence in 1870 he read an original poem.
A reporter for the Boston Herald held
Rn interview with Kemmler tho other day,
in the course OF which the following re.
marks pissed between them:
lIeporter-Thev say you have shot your
children. Is this possible?
Prisoner with omphasis)-Yes, of course
| have. | shot them all, aud they died
right oil, and went to Heaven.
R.-Why didn't you shoot yourself?
P.-Why, that wouldn't he right. /
should so TO h II II should shoot nv.
self.
R-But how could you shoot those lit.
tic innocent children?
P.-llOw could 1? How could l see
them grow up and come OH the town, and
by aud by see them going of into bad
houses? thought that, ii l killed them
now, they would be all right; they would
die and 90 straight TO Heaven.
R.-But they would not need to come
on the town; you are not an old man, aud
could support them well enough.
P.-l am about 43 years old. am too
old to work, and it makes no difference
what becomes Of me; and now my wife
won't have the children to take care of,
she can do washing and other work, and
earn enough to live on. 1t is better for
her than to have the children.
Rid ycu love your children?
P.-Why, Of course | did, and that was
why shot them. They didn't feel il. /
put the pistol up close to their heads, and
they died right of, and went to Heaven.
R.-But Anna didn't; she is alive now,
and has suffered terribly.
P.-ls that SO? No, it can't be; you are
tooling me. can't understand. | thought
! killed them all. meant to; and, Il |
had supposed that Anna was not dead, |
would have given her another shot, ]
had plenty more cartridges, and il YOU
will let me ont will go right down there
now and finish her.
k.-Tell me Just how you shot them.
p Well, you see ray little Emma was
lying on the bed, and my eldest little girl
was taking care OF her. The little one Iell
of the bed the other day and it hurt her
very much, and felt sorry for her. al.
ways loved my children. and could not
bear to see them take any hurt, so | told
the oldest to take care OF her when she
was on the bed, and see she didn't fall
again. So she was standing by the bed.
and | called my little Anna in the other
bedroom and told her had got something
TO show her with fendish laugti). Then
pulled my revolver out of my coat pock-
Ut, and when she was looking at it she
said, "Oh, how pretty?" and put it up to
her temple and shot her, and she fell
right down. Then went to the bedroom
where the others were, and my little one
lay right on the pillow, and thought |
could shoot her too, SO she would die
right off and never feel it.
rand then you shot the eldest, didn't
you?
-p.-Yes; it was the day they had got to
die, and | thought might as well kill her
then, and SO shot her, too, and she fell
right down on the floor.
Rid you bring Anna into the bed.
room and lay her on the bed?
P.-ies; picked her up off the floor
and carried her in where the others were,
and laid her on tho bed just rs nice as
could.
R.-But you left the eldest lying in the
blood on the floor. Why didn't you pick
up her body too?
P.-She bled so much that thought
the blood would get all over the bed, and
it could be cleaned of from the floor much
more easily than from the bed.
R.-what do you suppose will be done
with you?
P.-I don't know. Perhaps they will
shut me up in jail. It makes no differ
ence. am just as well Off there at any
where.
R-But they will hang you for this.
P-Well, | don't care. They may do
what they please. don't make the laws
| had got to do it; those children
couldn't live 10 come on the town and 60
to bad houses. wouldn't have it. III
wasn't a Christian, l might.
R.-Ihen you are Christian, are you?
P.-Yes; am good Protestant Chris.
tian.. | never have had time to 90 to
church in HolYoke, because always had
to work Sundays; but l used to so when |