Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-08
THE SHEPHERDS MURDERER.
Suicide of Farm Hand After His Dread
Secret had been Discovered
Haloley lPd.l Special to Y. Y. Sun.

Harley tPd.) Special to ". Y. Sun.
Last September a German, aged about
40 years, and a stranger in the vicinity,
applied for work to Baptist Deutzer. a
farmer living in Palmyra township, i've
miles from this village. He said his name
was John, but refused to give a surname.
DeutZer was in need of a hired man, and
gave the stranger employment. He
proved to be an excellent farm hand, and
DeutZer was willing to put up
with annoying eccentricities that charac-
teriZed the man rather than lose his SER
vices. The stranger made no acquaInt-
ances outside of the family of his en-
ployer, and seldom spoke to any of them.
He seemed to be constantly brOoding over
something, and would sit by the hour
with his head bowed in his hands. Some
times he would start up suddenly, look
wildly about him, and then sink wearily
back in his chair and resume his faVOrite
position. All efforts to ascertain from
him the cause of his singular actions
were unsuccessful, the only reply ne
would return to inquiries being, 81 have
had great sorrow" He was frequently
heard walking to and fro in his room late
at night, and to cry out in terror and
moan as if in pain while asleep.
On Wednesday last Farmer Deutzer
sent John on an errand to Ludwig Keuthe,
a farmer who lived a mile or so away.
When the man knocked at this neighbours
kitchen door it was opened by Mrs.
Keuthe. The man entered. Mrs. Keuthe
threw up her hands, and, staggering back
into u chair, exclaimed in German:
MY GOdl the man who killed the shep-
herd!''
The hired man stepped quickly back
toward the door, but instantly regained
his compOsure, transacted with Farmer
Keuthe the business on which he was
and xyallraI KNhar, ha
back to his employer the family was sur
prised to see the great change in his
demeanOr. For the first time since he
appeared at the farm he was cheerful.
talkatiye, and in good spirits. At supper
he Joined freely in the family cOnYersa-
tion, and they could scarcely believe that
he was the mOrOse, silent man Of few
hours before. When he retired. about
o'clock, he bid the family good night one
by one, whereas before he had shuffled
away to bed without saying a word to
any one.
On Thursday John did not make his ap-
pearance at the usual time, and Farmer
DeutZeT went to his room to see what de.
tanned him. His bed had not been dis
turbed. Behind closet door the farmer
found the body Of the man hanging from a
beam in the corner. He had secured one
end of whip lash to a spike in the beam.
and. tying the other end about his neck,
had stepped from a chair and hanged him.
self. Almost Immediately after this dis
covery Mr.. and Mrs. Keuthe arrived at
the farm house to make knoTn the discov-
cry the latter had made in regard to the
hired man.
Mrs. Keuthe left Germany for this coun-
try about five years ago. A year or so be-
fore a young shepherd who worked on a
farm near her native village had been
murdered while tending his sheep, and
robbed of a small sum Of money. A man
who worked on the same farm disappear
ed and the crime was traced directly to
him, but he could not be found. Mrs.
Keuthe had seen this man frequently, and
his face and appearance had never been
effaced from her memory, although his
name had been forgotten. She had never
seen Deutzer's hired man close by, but
when she met him face to face in her
kitchen, she Immediately recognized in
him the murderer of the shepherd.
The singular conduct Of the man was
explained by this revelation. He had
doubtless been tor years the victim Of bit
ter remorse. The sudden change in his
| demeanOr after the meeting with Mrs.
Keuthe is explained by the theory that the
keeping of his dread secret had become an
almost unbearable burden, Of which its
discovery had relieved him. He doubtless
believed that, now that it was known, he
would be taken back to Germany and
executed for the crime, and he anticipated
justice by becoming his own eXecutioner.