Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-01-27
D0uBtE TRAGEDY.
Sent 60 Their Last Account witt
all Their ImperfectiOns
on Their Heads.

The remains Of the miserable wretch,
Washington Roberts, who murdered his
wife and himself yesterday, were buried
in the pauper's ground to-day by the
public undertaken. The man had made
himself so repulsive in life that no friends
were left behind who cared to spend a
dime upon his worthless carcass, to giyeit
Christian burial.
On the other hand. the wife so ruthlesslv
sent to her last account by the hand which
so often received her bounty, had re-
spectacle interment at Elmwood near noon
to-day, number Of friends attending the
last sad rites, and her children Ia son of
seventeen anda daughter offourteen years)
taking from the little store of her savings
to pay the necessary undertakers ex-
penses. The murdered lady had many
sympathizing friends, her industrious and
frugal habits having won the respect of all
who knew her. =
The sensational tragedy occurred yes
terday afternoon about three o'clock in the
third story Of the house on the northeast
corner of fernando and Beal streets. Mr..
and Mrs. Roberts resided there, and she
toiled to earn respectable living for her
selfand worthless husband by sewing and
washing. AT the same time she OCCASION
ally provided the man with means to APP
pease his appetite for drink and to waste
in other ways.
Mrs. Roberts was a German woman,
formerly Mrs. Hooher, and her two chill
dren are of that name. A couple of years
since she married the man Roberts, who
yesterday killed her and himself. The
wretched fellow made an effort to murder
his wife some time ago, and only missed
doing it because his finger at the
time being moist slipped from the
pistols trigger rs he tried to fire it. She
struggled with, and managed to wrest the
weapon from him, before he could train
ii on her again. Such an unnatural and
despicable man could hardly live peace
ably with any one long, and so bitter
quarrels resulted, especially when the
poor wife failed to supply the fellow with
means to satisfy his depraved appetite.
He once, it is said, drove a street car.
Labor of that sort being too respectable
he quit, and lounged around his brothers
saloon near the foot of Beal street. Last
summer he went West and worked as a
brakeman ogthe railway, losing his arm
by getting IL crushed while coupling cars.
1t was amputated at Sedalia, Missouri.
Then heremoved and came here on money
sent to him by the abused wife. Three
months ago his brother who kept the An
Choir Line saloon, died and was buried by
undertaken Hoist. The succession was
managed by Wash Roberts and he handled
enough money to provide himself with
mean whisky for a period. Yesterday,
for no other known reason than because
Mrs. Roberts would not give him money to
squander, he took Smith e. Wesson 80
caliber five barreled pistol out of pawn,
by paying two dollars, obtained from his
wife for the purpose, went into her room,
shot her through the head and then killed
himself in the same way. The pistol had
but three loads in it. and the bullet of the
one not fired protruded from the muzzle
Of the cylinder so that it would not
have revolved, had the first shot missed.
In that case the man might have ended
his career at the end of hangman's rope.
1t was a good thing for Roberts that the
pistol ball sped through his coward BRAIN
and it was the best thing he ever did.
The jury which viewed the remains of
the murdered woman and the self-mur-
dered man, said that both came to their
death by pistol shots fred by Wash Rob-
erts, and Esquire Spellman who otficiated,
thanked them in terse, but eloquent strains
for the impartial and able manner in which
they performed theunplcasant duty which
devolyed upon them