Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-01-24
A MOTHERS CRIME.
she KILLS HER LITTLE CHILDREN.
A Poor Bohemian Woman Horribly Muti-
iates Her Little Girls and Tries to


A Poor Bohemian Woman Horribly Muri-
iates Her Little Girls and Tries to
strangle herself.
The most horrible tragedy of it's kind |
ever enacted in Milwaukee was the muir |
der Tuesday morning of three bright little |
children by their insane mother. Shortly |
before noon the police were notified OF
the murder, and half an hour after had
the pitiable looking object that committed
the deed at the station. The woman is Il
Bohemian, about twenty eight years OF
age, and lived with her husband on the
West Side. The scene of the murder is
at 46O Sixth street. With a carpenters
drawing knife and two butcher knives
with blades about six inches long the
three pretty children were killed. Passing
! through an alley from Sixth street and
entering into basement room in the rear
Of the building flooded with water could
be seen besmeared with blood the three
bodies. No mora shocking sight could be
| imagined.
Women who forced themselves into the
room upon some urgent pretext, but really
| to view the scene, upon the fist look sud
denly turned away and fled. The names
of the children are Anna, Clara and
Helena Cepirek. TIE eldest lay on the
bed stark naked, with three stabs through
the heart, made with a knife, and the body
unsight'y with blood and bruises. The
next lay little distance from the other
with the lower part of the body horribly
cut. Masses of flesh were cut from the
hips and abdomen and this body, too. lay
ill cintted blood. The youngest child,
aged four months, lay at the back of the
bed. IL was sweet child, as were the
other two. From this child both arms and
legs were cut from the body. The eldest
murdered girl was five years old, the
second one three years.
Mrs. krOddick, a woman who lives in
the yard back Of the house says that
she happened to go into the house where the
murders were committed. There she not
only saw three murdered children on the
bed, but the woman herself hanging t.
the knob of d door, eudeavoriny to stran-
gle herself with piece of cotton cloth
The visitor CUT her down and asked her
Why she had committed the crime, to
which she replied that people who live in
the world have great trouble always,
but when dead their troubles are ended.
The knob oi the ;iOnr to which she was
r hanging is only about three feet from the
floor. 1t seems that after committing the
, Unnatural crime she dashed ievelal pals
of water over the floor to wash Off the
blood marks. She evidently had 10 de.
sire 10 hide the deed, but simply to have
the place look less ghasty after it was
! dCne.
AT the station the woman, whose name
is Cepilek, after she had been warmed
; she was nearly chilled 10 death by the ride
having scarcely any clothing on-tolu hei
story in broken English. The children
, she said, cried but little, as she made
! quick work of the butchery. AS she said
this she smiled with evident satisfaction
With t!:e drawing knife she shaved the
q flesh off the children's bodies and with the
, butcher knife Ste stabbed and olson
a boweled them. While their bodies Were
shockinSly mutiIated the heads were IN
- touched. When asked what had causeC
!. her do SO fearful a deed she replied ''
t read it a a book Her insanity is of the
b religious form aud she thinks she has
n made a great sacrifice She sept smooth
: ing back her hair with her bloody hands
y and looked az tho crimson stains anc
smiled. Her eyes had a wild look
T The sight was SO terrible that the off
- Gers turne,; away sick at heart. Her bus
;, band was notified OF the terrible deed by
>. the polIcs. He did not appear to realizs
the situation until driven To the Centra
station, where he was surrounded bi
0 policemen and reporters. lie gave hi:
t name as John and his :ge az :'2 years. Ii,
, is about medium height, with Il very
' dark, scrubby beard. When questioned
. lie began to trembls and then burso intt
b tears. He said that he and his wife go
S up about O'Clock Tuesday morning. SLt
u; acted rather queer. She began to get The
+ break fast and then took two prayer books
- and went up stairs and commenced tt
II pray. He asked her to hurry up tlt
/ breakfast. She said she could not unit
Y she had finished reading the prayer book
q He ate his breakfast and left the house
Cor the shop at about ESQ. The ch!dre,
> were all in bed and asleep when he left
t He stated that he married his wife il
o Bohemia and came to this country abou
- three years ago. Ever since his arrival il
:, This country they have had trouble, a:
= there has been considerable sickness
among the children
In answer to a question as to whether o
not his wife had ever shown any signs OF
9 insanity previous to that morn,r, he re
L pied that she had not bat then recnllecte,l
that about Christmas time she read some
thing in paper that seemed to have haC
4 grear effect on her. In the German par
, of the city, where the deed was committed
V the greatest eXcitment Prevailed. The
woman was placed ID q cell, where she can
r be watched to prevent her committing
! suicide. Tuesday evening the husband
who seems to be crazed by the awful deed
was placed under police surveillance to
pesvent him from taking bis own life as he
has threatened to do.
DROWNED LIKE RATS IN n HOLE
| An 4 Australssisn Mine FIooded-S,xfy Hour.
IN the Water-iwenty-twO Dead.
, The Sydney (New South Wales) Herald
has the following details of the disaster at
| the AustralaSian mine Oh December 12
4 The accident occurred at $50 a. m, in
the drift from No. 2 shaft, which unex-
pectedly broke into the old workings of
S No. 1 shaft. The water rushed in with
/ great force and in a few minutes the lower
levels were flooded and the water had
risen thirty feet insthe shaft. The men
f employed at this point fed for their lives
along the drift to the station, where
l twelve reached the cage and We're hoisted
to the surface. Twenty seven men in
another part OF tho new workings wore
unable to reach the shaft and their only
hope was that they might be able to reach
and ascend distant wiuzes leading to the
upper level.
The scene at the top of the shaft was
pltifui, mothers, wives, children aud
friends being gathered there, waiting
almost without hope for news from below.
The pumps. throwing A, 900 gallons of
| water per hour, were at once started and