Arizona weekly citizen., 1880-12-25
THE INSANE MURDERER
Details of the Triple Tragedy-KilIed
 While kneeling in Prayer.

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 CHICAGo, December 10.-Full de- tails have been received of the triple tragedy in Chester, Illinois. The
 Times has the following account from that place: Last Friday Lotus Took stein, man 26 years old, farmer liv. Ing about a mile east of this city, showed signs of insanity and was brought to town and placed in iail Tor safe keeping. Sunday his brother took him home. In the afternoon. when left unguarded, he forced his sisters out into the yard, making them kneel down and pray, but was sur prlsed by the return of his brother. After getting into the house he be- came violent and had to be tied down. Monday he was delivered Co the Sher- lit, tried by the court, and ordered committed to the insane asylum at Anna. He had to be held until Tues day noon for transportation. The Sheriff placed him in charge of James Waters and his brother in the St. Charles Hotel, on the ground floor. The prisoner was very quiet through out the night and was awakened to wash for breakfast. He got up pleas antly and started to wash, when sud- denly he threw the water into Ger lach's face and jumped for the win dow. Waters caught hold of his coat, but did not succeed in holding him. He aud Gerlach pursued him, but the maniac bounded over fences and ditches like deer and was soon out of sight. He Ian west, down a long, slOping hill At the foot of the hill, on little plat of ground, stood the house of Thomas Ryan, a small, One story, whitewsshed house, about one hundred yards from any neighbors. The occupants on Tuesday morning were Thomas Ryan, an old man, weak and feeble, between 70 and so years of age; his daughter, Mrs. Smith, about 8 years of age; Mrs. Smith daughter Sarah, aged 12, and Arthur Bardoff, 10 years old The maniac stopped on the hillside and took off his boots. Then he jumped a raIl fence and plunged bodily through the window, smashing the glass and sash. Overturning the table, he rushed into the bed room of old man Ryan and commenced to pull him out of bed. The boy, who slept with his grand father, woke up and crawled over the foot of the bed, and ran outdoors and passed his aunt and cousin at the cor ner of the house, his aunt holding an axe in her hand. He kept running and gave the alarm to the neighbOrs, who hastened to the scene, but too late. Ryan, the woman and the little girl were weltering in their blood, great streams flowing from their heads and throats. The head of the little girl was cut entirely off, leaving the chin attached to the body, the head being earned away by the murderer. The neighbors were mortified and stood stunned upon viewing the remains while the maniac bounded over the hills, swinging the breeding head in defiance. Gaining the woods, he dis appeared from view, tearing the cloth ing from his body and scattering the pieces as he ran. He cleared the woods and came out at the back part of Dr. Gordon's premises. Leaping the fence he rushed into the kitchen stark naked, the child's head still in his hands. The hired girl, Mary Hightcome, had just built the fire, when TOckstein struck her with the head, knocking her down. He then rushed into the bed room Of Mrs. Ed ward Gordon, pulled her out of bed, and would have murdered her, but the screams of both women brought the hired man, Louis HOrnbeck, to their assistance, who, after a desper- ate struggle, succeeded in downing Tockstein. Dr. Gorden and Horn beck tied him securely with ropes. The mailman struggled desperately to get the head of little Sarah, saying il was his sisters head and he wanted it. He was again remanded to the care of the Sheriff. The facts of the case have shown great neglect on the part of all the officials connected with It in not confining this madman in the jail. The Times reporter visited the scene soon after the murder and viewed the bodies and the premises. Ryan's body lay about ten feet from the cor ner of the house. To the right lay the body of Mrs Smith. About five feet on the other side of her lay little Sar- ah Smith, the head having been re turned to the body. The sight was horrible. Great pools of blood satur- ated the ground in heaps of human gore. The gory axe, on which the hairs of the old, gray headed man were still sticking, was there between the bodies, and the gold dental plate knocked from the mouth of Mrs. Smith, with her two teeth still al tached. The axe showed of the vel low clay on the outside of the house. There were no signs of any struggle. They were killed on the spot where they undoubtedly knelt 10 pray. The maniac, standing there with drawn axe. told them 10 make their peace with Almighty God and waited with bated breath for them to say amen, striking the man, woman and child almost simultaneously. The blows of the axe were heard by the neighbors, like the dull thud of one hammerlng leather.
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