The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-11-10
a TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.

Mrs. Seguin, Wife Of the Celebrated New
York Physician. Blindfolds and Pinlops
Her Three CHILDREN, and Shoots Them
Alternately-she Then Puts . Bullet
Through Her Own Brain-The Husband
and Father Almost Insane from Grief
and Despair.
NEW YORK, October 81.
Mrs. Seguin. aged thirty-six. wife Of DIR. Ed
ward C. Seguin, the noted specialist on
diseases of this brain, killed her three
young children this afternoon and then
killed herself at No. Al West Twer-
tieth street There Is no other cause
known for the horrible tragedy than the In
sanity of the mother. The children were Ed
ward D., aged six years; John Van Duyo,
aged five years, and Jeanette, four years.
They were ell shot through the head and in
stantly killed. The mothers death was rs
sudden as theirs. The frighiful feature of the
sragedy is the manner of the murder. Mrs.
Seguin took the children TO an empty spare
room at the top of a tive-story house, in the
absence of her husband, and while the SER
wants were engaged in the basement, and
locked herself in with them. The servants
believed they had gone out for walk.
What happened in the room wild never be
known, but when DR.. Amidon, Mrs. Seguin's
brother, called at five o'clock, and, with his
suspicious aroused by the long absence of the
family, made a search of the house, the
mother and children were found dead, all shot
through the head. The children's ands were
tied behind their backs with whip-cord. They
were blindfolded with handkerchiefs, and,
from all appearances, they must have been
shot while playing blndman's buff with their
executioner. They had been dead for at least
an hour and a half, and were quite cold when
discovered Three pistols were found in the
room, all OK heavy calber and all had been
used.
Mrs. Seguin had BEEN Respondent from
physical causes for some time, but she had
shown no evidence of insanity. She was a
small. slim woman Of nervous temperament.
Her domestic life was very happy, and there
was no family trouble.
DIR. Seguin returned home about seven
o'clock, and upon hearing the dreadful news
was utterly FRUSTRATED. He is in state of
mental distress, and under the care of ply
sicians.
Dr. Seguin is a noted specialist in cases of
insanity. His father was equally so. His
wife was the daughter of a Massachusetts,
farmer. The couple moved in the best society.
The family lived in a five-story brown-stone
front English basement house, elegantly fur
nished. The room in which the tragedy took
place is on the fifth floor, and is scarcely ever
used by the family.
The three servants in the house noticed DUR
ing the day that Mrs. Seguin wns i'm the moody
condition she had been in for several weeks.
and which her brother. DIR. Amidon, termed
1.-The blues" About eleven O'Clock he called
upon her, and she said she did not feel well
and had written to DIR. Henry Draper, who had
been invited to dine with the family, to defer
his visit. This note she asked her brother to
send. He took IL, jokingly, and told her they
would all enjoy themselves.
H.. Avr,fH N., llnl l,fa Cfc at Ntrao
o'clock. and was told she had gone out for a
walk. He returned at five O'Clock, but Mrs.
Seguin had not yet returned. The hall-boy in
cidentally mentioned that the door of the spare
room was locked and the key gone. A sudden
suspicion seized the doctor that Mrs. Seguin
had gone to the Central Park and drowned
herself and the children. He could not ex-
plain why he thought this. He Immediately
went up stairs and burst the door of the room
open. A horrible sight met his eyes. Almost
in the middle of the floor lay the dead boiy of
the eldest boy. Edward, in pool of bloo1.
Partly in a closet lay Mrs. Segl!n, Rrasping in
her right hand big pearEhanlled revolver.
Inside the closet lay the boy John ard the girl
Jeannette. There could be no doabt that the
mother had taken the children into the
room on the pretense of playing blindman's
buff. She had led the two youngest into the
closet, and locked them in while she murdered
the Oldest boy. The pistol with which he was
shot was targetpr practice weapon. with a bar
rel eleven inches long. 1t lay beside him. and
the bullet lay on the floor. 1t had passed
through his head. The maniac mother then
proceeded to the closet and with n heavy thr-
ty-two-caliber revolver, with which she after.
ward b,ew out her own brains, shot the other
two children.
DIR. Am;donCllt the strings that bound tho
chldren's hands and laid them on the bed.
The police and Coroner were notified at once.
Nothing was found in the room to explain the
motive for the terrible crime.
The maniac had held the weapon close to her
victims heIds, for thu handkerchiefS on their
faces had been burned. The face of the little
girl wore a look of innocent surprise that cut
more d aeeply than any other feature of the
dreadful deed. On the table laid box of
cartridges and third pistol.
DIR. Scgu!n. when he returned. was taken to
his Office and physicians summoned He acted
as though his faculties We're gone. He caught
sight If the picture of his children on the wall
and broke into n horrible, waiting cry that
wrIng the hearts OF the listeners. The physi-
clans fear he will lose his reason. None of the
servants heard any noise
Sudden insanity is the only motive known
for the deed. Mrs. Seguin was neatly dressed.
The children were lovely little things, and
al the family she had.