Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-03-09
A MOTHERS MURDER

Weeks Mills, China, a beautiful little
village twelve miles from Augusta For
cold-blooded wickedne and apathetic in
difference the murderer will rank along
side criminals whose foul deeds have made
man shudder.
A mile north of the village of Weeks
Mills is a story-and-a-half house, with a
long, low 'L'' attached Around it stand
trees and evergreens, which were put
there to protect the cellar from the fierce
frosts of winter A little above the house
are two substantiallooking barns, built
at right angles with each other. By one
of these barns is large pile of manure.
The farm house was the residence Of two
families. In one side lived Mrs. Deborah
Merrill, "a years of age, and her son
Charles, nearly % years old. The other
side of the house was occupied by Mrs
MerrilPs daughter, q Mrs George Lilly
Mrs MerrilI's husband has been away all
winter at work in the woods around
Moosehead Lake. Mrs. Lilly's husband
is employed at the Insane Hospital IN
Augusta as an engineer. Although
mother and daughter lived under the
same roof, they had very little to do with
one another and a strong feeling of an
tipathy sexisted between the two. So
high ran this feeling that last fall, when
Mrs Lilly was confined to her bed by
childbirth, her mother did not visit her.
The son Charles, who has lived with his
mother this winter, doing the chores, ETC.,
is very bad boy and is generally dislik-
ed in the community. He is an incorri-
gible thief and has been arrested several
times for stealing. Last fall he voted the
Greenback ticket, and his mother, who
was an ardent Republican, turned him
out of doors and told him in the future
he must earn his own living He left
town in quest Of employment, but did
not succeed very well in finding work
Finally, after his father went into the
woods, his mother told him he might
come home and remain through the win
ter.
The 1st OF February he returned. The
sting of being turned out Of doors in the
fall still ranked in his heart, and he
nursed his vengeance. Mrs Lilly heard
frequent alterations between the two,
who spent considerable time in bicker-
ings The mother would demonstrate
with him for his misdeeds and he would
return a sullen answer. On Saturday af-
ternoon, Feb. 19, the daughter saw her
mother and brother drive off in the di-
rection Of the mills. They returned
about o'clock. Charles drove around
to the barn and left his mother, standing
in the yard-that was the last Mrs. Lilly
ever saw of her mother alive. The next
morning Sunday she had occasion to go
to the kitchen in the other part of the
house. She noticed that the windows
and doors were open and detected stencil
of burning flesh. One of the stove doors
was slightly broken and she saw through
the chinks something that looked like a
piece of meat sizzling on the GOALS Her
brother was down cellar picking over
potatoes. Mrs. Ii ly called OUT "Charle
what is that which smells so;' replied
that he was cleaning out the stove She
knew that he was accustomed during his
mothers absence to throw all the cold
meat into the fire, as he disliked warmed
over meat fooG, and she thought no more
of the occurrence. The next morning
she asked her brother what had become
of her mother, and he replied that he
guessed she had gone to visit several sick
families who lived in remote parts of the
town, as she had put on her best clothes
and left home the day before
Thessister's anxiety was thus dispelled
and she supposed that everything was all
right. Monday the young man came to
Augusta with a load of potatoes. He
returned home at nightfall 1t was
storming outside, and the wind whirled
the sleet against the window-panes and
shook the house furiously. That night
Charles built roaring fire in the fire
place in the sitting-room of his mothers
apartment. His sister heard the blaze
cracking in the chimney, and feared
that the house might catch fire. She
went to the room to demonstrate with her
brother. The kerosene-can stood on the
floor. There was tremendous fire in
fireplace, and Mrs. Lilly saw something
resembling chunk Of meat partly cover
ed with wood. She asked her brother
what is was, and he said it was pitch
knot. No suspicion had entered her
mind up to this time that her brother was
capable Of committing matricide. She
feared that he had stolen some meat
from a neighbor, and taken this method
of disposing of it.
Several days passed. A horrible fore
boding that everything was not all right
seized upon her. She questioned her
brother more closely about her mothers
whereabouts, but could elicit nothing sat-
isfactory. A neighbor dropped in and
Mrs. Lilly communicated her terrible su-
spicions that foul play had been commit
ted. This lady at once notified Deputy
Sheriff Frank Percival, of Vienna, who
visited the house and conversed with Mrs.
Lilly. This was Friday. By this time.
whispers and intimations began to float
through the neighborhood that Mrs. Mer-
rill had been foully murdered. The fin
ger of suspicion pointed toward Charlie,
whose nonchalance and apparent indif-
ference at his mothers non-appearance
was certainly peculiar. Saturday morn
ing little groups of men gathered around
the house. These talked together first in
whispers and then boldly charged that
Charles Merrill was a murderer About
noon a squad of men under the direction