The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-04-02
A MOTHERS SECRET.
The Mystery of an Ohio Murder Cleared
Up by n Dying Confession.
dayton (o.) Speclal.l


dayton (oJ speclall
A murder mystery of seventeen years
ago has been cleared up to-day by the
dying confession of Mrs. Charles Kett.
January IL, 1867, Christina Kett, beau.
tiful young lady, eighteen years old, was
found at home, on Oak street, lying at the
entrance to the cellar with the brain
oozing from a CHASTITY wound in her
head. She was dead and no clew was
left to the murderer. The affair created
a profound sensation at the time, but
the case bafiled every effort of the de-
tectives. 1t was evident that her head had
been crushed by blunt instrument, but
powder marks remained on her face, and
by her side lay her brothers. pistol, giving
the theory of suicide some plausibility.
Her brother was arrested and dis
charged. Buck Hughes, a noted charac-
ter, was held, but released for want of
evidence. Thomas Goetz, her lover, was
also taken into custody, but subsequently
released. All efforts to discover the MUIR
mystery up to to-day. A neighbor has
suspected her mother of the crime, but no
evidence could be found against her.
The house where the crime was COM
mitted was given to the son and the
mother removed. For time she went
West, stopping at St. Paul and other
western cities, but seemed to have no
peace. Last winter, in freak Of appar-
ent arrangement, she struck wildly
at her son, saying that there had
been blood on her hands once, and there
might as well be again. She had told one
or two that before her death she was going
TO tell something to her son, and that she
wanted no one else near. Three weeks ago
she took to her bed with inflammation of
the bowels and stubbornly refused to have
a doctor. Growing worse, and apprehend.
ing death, she called her son to her side,
ordered every one else out, handed him a
deed for her property, and then told the
agonized man the story of the murder The
morning of the fatal day the mother was
washing and told he' daughter, who went
away with a young lady friend, that she
should not stay long, The daughter did
not return, however, until four o'clock,
when she was called to account for her
absence, and the mother, who was woman
of violent temper, became enraged and
struck her with an AK handle. AS she ap-
preached, the frightened girl fed toward
the cellarway, and was about to descend
when struck. The blow was fatal, and hor-
rifed at what she had done, the murderess
thought to conceal the crime by hunting up
the sons pistol and placing it beside the
body, and then TO give some evidence of
its use by placing the girls finger in the
powder.hask and burning powder near her
face. 1t was considered suspicious cir
cumstance by Doctors Steele, of Denver,
and Weis, of this city, who examined the
body, that no bullet or shot was to be
found in the skull. The mother then went
on to tell how she wandered around the
city after the crime was committed, and
finally returned to find the house full of
people. She acted coolly until told Of the
murder, and then went into paroxysms of
grief No one seemed to suspect her at the
time but Isaac Hale, the City Marshal, and
he gave her look that almost made her
scream out in confession. The dying
woman then spoke of the unrest OF her soul
for the last eighteen years. Since that
awful night she has constantly seen before
her the frightened face of her poor daugter.
The murderess was sixty-four years old,
and was four times married. All her hus,
bands are now dead.