Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-09
MURDER BY WHOLESALE.
Five Persons Killed by Jealous Love
who Then Commits Suicide.

| Five Persons hliteu Dg 4 y ea1Ous
who Then Commits Suicide.
Meagre details reached here to-day,
saws an Omaha (Neb.) special of Dec. 6,
of one of the most diabolical Wholesale
| butcheries ever committed in the State
the killing of five persons by one man,
followed by the suicide of the murderer.
The scene Of the slaughter is the town Of
| Walworth, Custer county. locality without
| telegraphlc facilities, which fact accounts for
| the time taken for the story to reach the out
side world. Although the crime was COM
mitted Wednesday night the news did not
| reach here until tonight, and even now the
facts are not all known. The victims of the
horrible affair were John Finley. z widOwer,
about 90 years old; Mary Finley, his daughter,
aged 10: Fannie Finley. Mary's sister, aged
IS; John Williams, a sutton for Mary's hand,
and Charles Watkins, Fannie Finley's lover.
THE MURDERER.
The perpetrator was Thomas or Timothy
Furquin, who was a rejected sutton of one Of
the Young ladies, it Is not known which. All
parties were residents of the town where the
tragedy occurred. The motive for this hOr-
ribe butchery was Jealousy. The two young
ladies' have for some time been receiving the
attentions of Watkins and Williams, and it
was generally supposed that there was to be
dOuble wedding out Christmas time. Young
Furquin has always been considered an eX-
ceediuclv quiet, industrious and inofensive
Young fellow, and though it was an open
secret that he had Deen an aumlrer or aud
sutton for one Of the Finley girls and had been
rejected. no one ever thought that he was
capable of such a crime. lie has for some
time been giving tokens OF his unfriendly
successful in winning the favor OF the girls.
but no one seems to have ever heard him
make an open threat.
THEIR LAST DANCE.
On Wednesday night the two Finley rls,
in company with their lovers watkins and
lodi a IN
had asked one of the girls to go with him, but
she declined on the score. 1t IS be leved OF
previous engagement. This seems to nave
been the acme of his bitterness over his unre-
Quilted love and 10 have driven him into
murdCrOus frenzy. He did not 60 TO the
dance, but laid IN wait for the party, nursing
his hatred ana planning revenge. When the
party drove up t. the gate Of the Finley
homestead after their night OF pleasure
Furquin was there with a double barreled
shotgun. loaded with ''blue whistlers." The
enough to comfortably carry the four. The
Jealous man was hidden.
THE TRAGEDY.
Unseen by his victims he leveled his gun
and fred both barrels in quick succession at
them. The contents of the gun literally rid
died the bodies of an four. killing them almost
instantly. Hearing the shooting aud the
death screams Of his daughters Mr. Finley
rushed from the house to his own death. The
murderer struck the old man blow over the
head with the butt of the gun, and repeated
the blow until his brains were beaten out.
The murderer then completed his horrible
work by blowing out his own brains with
revolver. Such is the story OF the horrible
affair as obtained from a number of sources
and reports, all Of them more or less in their
character contradictory, but all agreeing in
their general features. One report says that
the murderer burned the house after COM
hitting the crime, while another says that his
body was found on the river bank some dis
lance from the others, indicating that he had
some idea Of escaping from the slaughter, but
changed his mind.