Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-11-04
A Kiendish Father.

SUsQUEHANNA, Pa, Oct, 27.-The
crime of John Howell, in numbering
his four children and then irfiicting
fatal injuries upon himself, proves
more horrible in its full details than
the brief announcement indicated and
accident alone prevented the list Of
victims being swelled to eight. For
hours the solitary farm house was a
death-trap, where murderer kept
watch beside his four victims, ready
to kill any who approached Howell
Is q prosperous English farmer, forty
years old. His farm lies in Preston
township, about three miles from this
place. Howell was known as an in
dustrious, well-conducted man OF ex-
cellent judgement and pleasant tenn
per. For a year, however, he has
been under treatment for Brigbt's s
disease, and the melancholy so fire.
quently attendant upon that affection
unsettled his mind. His mania took
murderous and suicidal form, and it
is now learned !hat for some time he
had been planning to destroy the
whole family.
His opportunity came when his
wife and eldest daughter were about
making purchases for the household
Howell was left in the house with
his other four children, ranging in age
from three to twelve years. The
scheme that the brain of the wretch
ed man conceived was to murder the
four children in the absence of
the other members of the family, slay
his wife and daughter on their return,
and then end his own life. By means
not fully known he induced the four
children TO take arsenic In sufficient
quantities to cause death, and when
they had fallen into a stupor, by way
of making his work doubly sure he
successfully placed a pistol to the
forehead of each and speeded a bullet
into the brain. The murderous work
was completed before noon, and How
ell seated himself, cooked revolver in
hand, to await the coming of his wife
and daughter. About l o'clock he
saw his brother-in-law approaching
the house, but the latter turned aside
while still at distance and thus say
ed his life. Disappointed of his prey,
Howell again took up his watch be
side the murdered babes.
Shortly before 4 clock he conclud-
ed that his wife and daughter had de-
termined to stay in town over night
and he shot himself twice and fell un
conscious beside the murdered inno-
cents. A few minutes afterwards the
wife and daughter reached home.
Entering the house, they found the
four little ones and their father side
by side, all apparently dead. Poison
was the first idea that flashed across
the minds of the horror stricken moth
er and daughter, and Fastening to a
neighbor's they gave the alarm and
called a physician. When the doctor
arrived he pronounced all dead save
Howell and declared the father 8
injuries fatal The house was in
perfect order and the murderer ap-
peared to have done his awful work
with great carefulness.
Howell recovered consciousness
and was able at the coroners inquest
to tell the story as it is told above
He confessed that he had locked the
door as soon as his wife and daugh
ter drove away, and that he called
his children from their play to be
murdered. One of them, little girl
of six. was not fully under the in
duence of the drug when be shot her
and she made fight for life, but he
stilIed her cries and sent the fata
bullet crashing into her brain Nc
one holds the wretehed man respon
sible. as his insanity is generally con-
ceded. 1t is thought he cannot re
cover.