Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-09-10
MURDER OF MRS. THIELE

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forenoon report was circulated that
Mrs. Carl Thiele, living about six
miles from Wausau, in the town of
Main, had been found with her throat
cut Excitement ran high, and the
husband of the woman being in town,
was arrested and placed in Jail
Thiele's statement Of the matter was
reduced to writing, which, in sub
stance, was that about quarter to five
O'Clock in the morning Mrs. Thiele got
up with the intention of going to
neighbours to assist in cooking for a
set Of threshers who were to be there
that day. That he told his wife before
starting that she had plenty of time,
and not to hurry, as she might fall
down and hurt herself; that at half
past five he got up, dressed himself.
fed his team. done the chores, and
started for the same place to get his
breakfast, as he was going to work
there also. He said that when he got
about eighty rods from the house, at
turn in the road, be saw his wife
lying on her face in and among some
sharp pointed rocks, that he told her
to get up, and receiving no answer,
turned her over and discovered that
she was dead, and also saw hole in
her forehead, from which the blood
had been running. He went to
neighbor and told him Of the finding,
and procuring his assistance, carried
the body home, washed the blood
away, and then came to town for a
coffin and a minister, when he was
arrested He said he cautioned lis
wife against falling down, because she
had been an invalid, suffering from
rheumatism, and he knew she was
subject to falling. He thought that
it was probably from an hour to an
hour and a half from the time his
wife left the house, until he found her
dead.
Sheriff Kickbusch, accompanied by
coroner Shuttle, district attorney Pink
and doctors Carey and Fleischer,
went to the scene of murder and made
examinations of the grounds and the
body of the woman. Their conclusions
vary considerably from the account
given by Thiele. Instead Of hole
in the forehead there was only wound
where the flesh seemed to have been
bruised and cut as with hoe or some
such blunt instrument. Marks were
found on the throat of the woman
Indicating that she had been strangled,
and marks of violence were also found
on one of her arms. The post norton
showed that the lungs were compressed
and indicated that stranguIation or
sufocation was the immediate cause of
death. The wound In the forehead
was not fatal one. The brains and
lungs were removed and brought to
this city for a more extended examina-
ton, which took place on Thursday
evening.
Ernst Kohl testified that he saw
Thiele with grubbing hoe at work
obliterating the marks of blood on the
road. Thiele was sworn and his state
ment was similar to the one above.
The physicians were the most impor-
tant witnesses, having made thorough
examination of the deceased. Their
testimony showed that instant death
to Mrs. Thiele could not have been
caused by the blow received on the
forehead, by coming in contact with
the rock, as related by Thiele, but
that it was caused by strangulation or
suffocation, which conclusion they
reached by marks on the throat, the
compressed condition of the windpipe,
the collapsed lungs and the coagulated
condition Of the brain.
There is no doubt of the fact that
Mrs Thiele was murdered, but the
difficulty seems to be to fix the guilt
upon Thiele While there are many
conjectures as to the object of the
murder, the principal one being that
the woman was twelve years the senior
of Thieles and an invalid, and that
Amelia Thiele, an adopted daughter,
twenty-four years of ace. strong and
healthy, who had been an inmate of
the family for ten years, might have
caused Thiele to wish to get rid of his
aged and dependent wife and adopt
Amelia in her stead; but as this is a
mere conjecture. The CENTRAL gives
it for what it is worth.