The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-09-14
An Insane Man Murders His Wife
and Daughter and Then
Shoots Himself.
The Awful Deed Seemingly Unpremedi
tated and the Result Of the Daugh-
ter's Nervous Fears.
Details of the SlaughteI-Eccentricities o
the Principle Actor-The Result
Of Sunsuoke,

BooNToN, N. j., September l3.-The
house of Vim. w. Messer, formerly
Superintendent of the Boonton Paper
Mills, was the scene of terrible trag'
edy this morning. The first persons
who heard the screams and pistol
shots, rushed to the house, and there
saw the body of Miss Mary Messer,
who lay stretched out on the floor of
the silting-room. She was alive and
conscious, but was terribly wounded.
In the adjoining parlor Mrs. Messer
sat on chair in q corner, also des.
perately hurt, In the dining-room Mr..
Messer was found lying dead In q pool
Of blood. A 32-calibre revolver
four barrels of which had been dis
charged, lay beside him. According to
the ante-mortem statement OF Miss Mes
ser, she and her mother had sat down TO
breakfast In the dining-room shortly be.
fore eight O'Clock. Presently Messer en-
revolver with which he had shot dog
last Sunday. Alarmed at the sight OF
the weapon Miss hesser said; "Fsther,
put up that pistol Il don't like to see 1t, and
If you don't put 1t away shall leave the
room" AS Mr.. Nesser did not comply
with her request, she arose and walked
past him toward the sitting-room. She
had just got past him when
HE FIRED AT HER.
the ball striking her In the back. She
Wa ked few steps further into the front
al hnp falI h. he -
quently f.und. Mrs. Afesser, in terror,
tried to follow her daughter, but as she
neared her husband he fred
two shots, one bullet struck her
in the breast and the other below
She to:tereo few steps further
and laid herself down by her wounded
daughter. While mother and daughter
thus lay side by side they heard a fourth
pistol-sho. In the dining-room. Alter
shooting his wife and daughter, Messer
then shot himself through the head.
Neither the mother or daughter can re-
cover. The cause of the shooting, as the
lury's verdict declares, was insanity.
Messer had sunstroke early in August,
and his brain was sensibly affected. Be-
fore his sunstroke he had the reputation
OF being eccentric. He ate but one meal
q day, like G9the, aud that at four
O'Clock in the afternoon.
HE SMOKED NECESSARILY,
sometimes almost continuously for az.
teen hours at time. He spent his nights
IN reading and slept in the day time Be-
fore last February, however, he kept
more regular hours, as he was obliged
to do, being until then Superintendent of
the Boonton Paper Mil. Previous to
going to Boonton, four years ago, he
was interested In gold mines In Col
orado. Previous to that he was In the
sugar business in Boston where he
had Warren Fisher, the father OF
Blaine's friend, Warren Fisher, Jr., for
partner, and also had q brother-in-
law Of Blaine for another partner.
Balne himself Is said to have been
book-keeper for the firm. During the
war Messer was carrier of secret dis
patches between this country and
England. Messer's age is seventy
two, Miss Messer Is thirty-fve. There
Is son about forty In California, and
the youngest of the family, Arthur J.
Messer, is in the paper business in New
York.