The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-06
MURDERED WITH A RAZOR
Terrible Ending of Domestic Quarrel
Between an Aged German Couple.
The Husband Cuts His Wife's Throat from
Ear to Ear, and Makes q Futile At
tempt to Take His Own life.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Cured yesterday, four miles west of Edwards
port. this county, which, for atrocity and cold
blooded heartlessness, exceeds any crime ever
recorded Frederick Grotegruth and wife, an
old German couple, have lived together on their
10O-acre farm, in Widner township this county,
for over thirty years. Occasionally they would
have their quarrels, but passed their lives in
apparent harmony. Yesterday, at about
the dinner hour, the couple became
involved in dispute. and Grote-
guth grew angry, grabbed his wife,
and either pushed her or knocked her down,
hurting her severely. He then took razor, and
cut her throat from ear to ear The crime was
committed out in the yard, next to the summer
kitchen, under an ample tree. When the muir
derer saw what he had done he took hold of his
wife's lifeless body, and dragged it into wing
of the house. and placed it on the floor upon a
mattress He then laid down by the side of the
dead body, az remained there for two or three
hours as he |, to keep away the rats and
other anima .ch he feared would disturb it.
Toward ing he went to shed, and
taking piece of rope, tried to hang himself. In
this he did not succeed. His dinner had been
prepared for him by his wife, and was still
sitting on the table, out under the apple trees.
The old man took the razor he had used with
such deadly effect upon his wife. and went to
the west side of the house, laid down on the
grass under the caves, and commenced the cut
ting process upon his own throat, but
succeeded only in making a cash or two.
not of serious nature, when he ceased, evil
Gently because the cutting hurt him.
~ Al 49, ~Cl
noon, and there were no witnesses to the horrible
tragedy but toward dusk one of the daughters,
Lizzie Groteguth. came home alone from a dis
tant point, where she was employed She no.
ticed that everything Was still and quiet about
the house. and, becoming frightened, ran to the
nearest neighbors and brought them back with
her, when the horrible discovery was made.
and the lifeless remains of the aged woman
found on the floor, weltering in a pool Of blood,
on the grass at the side of the house. with a
razor in his hand and his throat covered with
blood. The neghborhood was soon aroused, and
Groteguth was taken in the house and put to
bed. When the doctor arrived his wounds were
pronounced not dangerous
The murder was committed six hours before il
was discovered, and news Of the crime did not
reach this city until this morning. To-day your
correspondent visited the scene of the crime, and
being the first on the ground secured an intelli
gent interpreter and drew out the following
statement from the old man:
He said his name was Fred Groteguth, and he
was sixty-six years of age. He married his wife
Wilhelmina thirty-six years ago in Germany.
She was fifty three years old, and both had lived
on that farm for thirty years. He and his wife
had quarrel in the summer kitchen,
just as they were about to eat dim
ner She accused him of letting pig
and some chickens enter the garden, and they
quarreled over 1t. She got afraid of him and
started to go out of the Kitchen when she made
misstep and fell on her head. He took hold of
her; he had razor in his hand, and she grabbed
his hand and pressed the rasor against her
throat He says she did the cutting herself,
and he does not think he is re-
sponsible. He feels awfully sorry about it,
When her throat was cut she asked him to cut
his throat too, SO that they could die together
and go to heaven; but he was afraid to do that.
although he tried, because the rats would eat
them up, and there was no one around to take
care of the bodies"
did you try to hang yourselfi7 was asked.
eyes" he replied, ''but could not make the
loop right"
He was asked what he would do, now that
hiswife was dead, and he replied that he would
work and 60 and plant corn.
It appears from what Groteguth said to some
German neighbors that he and his wife had some
trouble on Tuesday, and yesterday he made up
his mind that he would not be bosscd by his
wife any longer When he went to dinner he
found his wife had already eaten; this made him
angry, and they had fight, which resulted as
above. The scene was terrible picture
to behold. The victims clothes were
saturated with bload and her body
lay in deaths reposc in the same room wherein
rested the unnatural murderer. The Homestead
is pretty, picturesque farm-place. surrounded
with everything beautiful in nature. Groteguth
was in fair circumstances. He manifested the
utmost indifference in regard to his crime, and
when the sheriff asked him why he did it he
replied only that it was done, and kept stolid
silence He feigned that he was very sick, but
when told he must get up and
go to Jail he arose from bed and
went into another room and put on his clothes
without assistance He grabbed knife once,
but it was taken from him.
Groteguth was brought to Vincennes tonight
and put in Jail. He is sixty-six years old, stout
in stature, stoop shouldered slightly feeble, and
looks anything in the world but a brutal wife
murderer. The neighbors believe him perfectly
sane. They always regarded him as quiet
peaceable. ignorant and inoffensive German.
He has five children, all grown, two girls and
three boys They are terror stricken over the
dreadful tragedy. Groteguths story that his
wife wanted to cut her own throat, is not be-
lieved. Groteguth told German neighoor that
he killed his wife on purpose in quarrel he had
with her. and that he dragged her body into tho
house and laid down beside it. Mrs. Groteguth
was fifth three years old, and quite aged in her