The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-10
CRUEL KEMMLER.
Tho Massachusetts, Father Who Shot His
Three Children After Attempting TO Pol.
son Them.

Nothing since the holocaust at th
French Catholic church, three or fou
years ago, has caused so much excite
ment in this section rs horrible TRACED,
at Hoiyoke this afternoon. John KEN
mler, q German at South Holyoke, il
tho absence of his wife this afternoon
shot his three little girls, aged respec
lively fifteen months, four and six years
The details of the crime are too sicken
ing TO seem possible, and even compass,
in horror tie recent Pocasset tragedy
All three were shot through the head
Ludmilla, the eldest, and Emma, the
instantly, while Anna, the little
four-year-oid, was breathing at last &C
counts though unconscious and with nc
possible chance of recovery, her brains
protrudcd from both sides of the head
Every one who has not seen Kemmler
says he must be insane, but "If this be
madness, then there's method int"
The murderer is All intelligent, we'll
Informed German, who has lived in Hol-
yoke about seven years. During this
time he has always been employed at
some of the mills, and last worked at the
Germania woollen mill. He has ALWAYS
ONNh o'scSA anu AHQuSlIlOuS, anu luOuHn
he has at times acted very queerly, he
was never considered otherwise than an
odd genius" Before he came TO Holy.
oke he worked in Northampton at the
Bay State cutlery works, and later at the
Bay State paper mill, and, till within a
few months, has had money in the saw
ings banks, both at Northampton and
Holyoke. He has at different times
1rQyr nI,f'hto M or,l tall g
ing farm, and then would aftcrward
deposit it again. About the first of March
he drew out all the money he had in
both saving banks, and, after paving
what debts he owed, had about $llO left.
with which he started for the D,aosk
Hills. About three weeks ago he came
back, and since that time has done moth
ing. He has not, SO far Is known, tried
to obtain employment, and has been DOS.
sessed with the idea that he could not
work any more, and was unable to sup
port his family, and he had had con-
stant impression that his little S;r!s
would grow up "and go to the bad" rs
he expressed it. Acting on this Thought.
he resolved some time ago, before he re-
turned from the Black Hills, he says, to
kill his three children as tic only way
to save their souls. His wife has been
afraid of him, and has feared that he
would carry out some of the threats he
has made against her and the children,
but seems to have been taken off her
guard. He says that he had fixed upon
to-day as the day when the children must
die, and two or three days ago bought
some cyanide of potassium to poison
them. He apparently watched his cp-
portunity to have the children alone, and
this afternoon sent his wife up town to
buy hat for the youngest. After she
had gone he called the children in from
the street, where they were playing, tell
ing them that they were to be washed
and dressed, and then he would take
them up street and get them some can
dy. After getting them in the house
he attempted to admister the poison to
them, but as they would not take it be
deliberately shot them in cold blood.
He then wrote letter in German to one
of his neighbors, telling what he had
done, and limiting at suicide, and closed
by saying that his wife kne:, nothing
about it. Carrying the bleeding body OF
little ANNA into the room where the 9th
ers were murdered he laid it on the bed
beside the baby, leaving the eldest on the
floor in pool Of blood.
He then went out, locking the door
and entered Blaise Borlin's lager beer
saloon, near by, where he told what he
had done and asked for q glass of beer.
Deputy Sheriff Kingsbury happened to
be in that part of the city, and followed
Kemmler up the street, and found him
in Martin Smiths saloon. He was at
once taken to the station house and put
,,p1ar ri
| crowd had gathered at the scene of the
effected an entrance to the house. When
they had done SO what sight to be-
hold! The tenement was small one OF
thing spoke of poverty, but the rooms
poor mother had done her best to make
first room entered was evidently used f1s
q sort of living room, and on a clothes.
line hung the dresses and aprons of the
little vic1ims, washed and ironed ready
for the Sabbath. Scattered here and
there ON the floor were tho plnythings
they had last used. On the table stood
the bottle of cyanide of potassium, and
near it tea cup, which smelled Of the
poison, showing that the unnatural fa.
ther had tried to feed it to the children be-
fore shooting them. In the cupboard
was half loaf of bread and the rem.
nants of tho n0onday meal. OPENING
out of this was the bedroom where iay
the bodies Of Anna and Emma, with q
bullet-hole through the head OF each
The former was just breathing, while the
latter lay as if shot while asleep. One
little hand was raised to its cheek, and
all blackened, as was the face, with
powder. The bullet that did the deadly
| work was found in the pillow, having
passed completely through the head
Ludmilia, the eldest, had evidently stood
be"ide the bed when shot, and fell over
on the floor. where her body was found
in pool of blood. All three bullet:
were found by Sheriff Kingsbury. They
were 80 caliber, and the pistol, wheI
taken from the murderer, had four cham
bers discharged, showing that one sho
had been fired that did not take effect
Medical Examiner DIR. l.. NJ. Tuttlt
made an examination Of the bodies pre-
paratory TO an inquest, after which they
were hunded over to the undertaken. A
the stationh house Kemmler VS. PLACED
in cell, whero he ia watcheu constant,
lest he should devise some way to com
nit suicide
| INTERVIEW WITH THE MURDERER.
The HeraM reporter secured an inter
view with him there, and learned from
his own lips the details of his crime
His utter"- ces were strongly Teutonic
but tbs accent will not be ATTEMPTED
here.