The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-10
CRUEL KEMNILER.
Three Children After Attempting to Poi-
son Them.

Tho Massachusetts Father Who Shot Hi
Three Children After Attempting to Poi
son Them.
Nothing since the holocaust at til,
French Catholic church, three or fou
years ago, has caused so much excite
ment in this section as horrible tragedy
at Hoiyoke this afternoon. John KEN
mler, German at South Holyoke, il
the 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 the recent Pocasset tragedy
All three were shot through the head
Ludmilla, the eldest, and Emma, the
youngest, being apparntley killed
Instantly, while Anna, the little
four-year-old, was breathing at last ac.
counts though unconscious and with nc
possible chance of recovery, her brains
protruded 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 al 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
been sober and industrious, and though
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 q
few months, has had money in the saw
ings banks, both at Northampton and
Holyoke. He has at different times
drawn out.his money and talked of buy
ing farm, and then would afterward
deposit it again. About the first of March
he drew out all the money he had in
both saving banks, and, after paying
what debts lie owed, had about S110 left,
with which he started for the Black
Hills. About three weeks ago he came
back, and since that time has done moth
ing. He has not, so far as known, tried
to obtain employment, and has been pos
sessed with the idea that he could not
work any more, and was unable to sup
port his family, and he had had q con-
stant impression that his little girls
would grow up "and 60 to the bad," as
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 the only way
to save their souls. His wife has been
afraid of him, and has feared that be
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 ildrea must
die, and two or three days ago bought
some cyanide Of potassium to poison
them. He apparently watched his op-
portunity to have the children alone, aud
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 we're 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 he
deliberately shot them in cold blood.
He then wrote letter in German to one
OF his neighbors, telling what he had
done, and limiting ut suicide, and closed
BY saying that his wife knew nothing
about it. Carrying the bleeding body of
little Annia 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
mad 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
under guard. Meanwhile so great a
crowd had gathered at the scene of the
murder that the officers with difficulty
effected an entrance to the house. When
they had done so what sight to be-.
hold! The tenement was small one of
four rooms on the third floor. Every
thing spoke of poverty, but the rooms
were neat and clean, showing that the
poor mother had done her best to make
her home pleasant and cheerful. The
first room entered was evidently used for
a sort of living room, and on a clothes
line hung the dresses and aprons of the
little victims, washed and ironed ready
for the Sabbath. Scattered here and
there on the floor were the playthings
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 ia
ther had tried to feed it to the children be-
fore shooting them. In the cupboard
was half q loaf Of bread and the rem
nants of the MONDAY meal. Opening
out of this was the bedroom where lay
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.
Ludmilla, the eldest, had evidently stood
beside the bed when shot, and fell over
on the floor, where her body was found
in a pool of blood. All three bullets
we're found by Sheriff Kingsbury; They
were .32 caliber, and the pistol, when
taken from the murderer, had four cham
bers discharged, showing that one shot
had been fired that did not take effect.
Medical Examiner DR.. l.. NJ. Tuttle
made an examination of the bodies pre-
paratory to an inquest, after which they
we're handed over to the undertaken. AT
the station.house Kemmler was placed
in cell, where he is watched constantly
lest he should devise some way to COM
nit suicide
INTERVIEW WITH THE MURDERER.
The Herald reporter secured an inter.