The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-07-19
THE HOBOKEN BUTCHERY.
DID GAUNT STEAL THE KNIFE TO
KILL HIS WEE?

kEntAcRn$ Hef 10 k1ts bedroom ana tnen
Plungfng q Butchers Knife Deep
Into Her Neck, severing an Artery.
Garden street, Hoboken, from Second to
near the corner of Third street, justifes its
name in its appearance. On both sides
are the attractive houses of well circum-
stanced people. But on the corner of Third
street the illusion is broken. Bryan Smith
has an ungainly looking shed, from which
he sells groceries on one corner. On the
opposite corner is q thr se-story tenement
house. 1t is of brick, painted white. The
cellar floor has been cut out, SO as to make
it available for store purposes, and haber-
dasher establishment is located there. On
the second floor are two neatly furnished
large reoms-with hall bedrooms adjoin-
ing each. 1t was in these rooms that John
Gaunt and his family of grown children
lived. Gaunt and his wife were both
English, but it Is thirty years since
they came to this country, and fifteen years
of that period they have spent in Hoboken.
He is medium-sized, broad-shouldered. He
is fifty-four years of age, and his hair and
full beard are tinged with gray. He has
not a bad-looking face, except for the
years his junior, a steady, attentive mother
to her five children. The oldest of these is
girl, Fanny, twenty -two years of age.
The next is q son, nineteen. Annie, the
next Oldest, is seventeen Mile is fifteen,
and Emma, named for her mother, the
youngest. is twelve years old. Gaunt had
been idle for many months up to month
ago, and his family had to furnish him with
food and shelter. He spent his time in the
saloons, and turned up late at night only to
disturb the household Mrs. Gaunt natu-
rally resented his untimely noise, and there
were quarrels. Finally he came home
boasting that he had found work as car
penter on the Bartholdi statue pedestal,
but he intended, he Dragged, to keep it all
for himself his family should see none of
it. These boasts only served to deepen the
feeling between himself and his wife, and
she finally refused to share his bed
with him. He slept on sort of bed
lounge in the dining-room.s She made
her bed with her oldest daughter. Friday
night he reached home after midnight. He
was drunk and quarrelsome His wife had
disrobed, and. had gone to her resting
place. He demanded that she come and
share his sofa bed with him. She would
not. There were words. Finally she got
up and went towards the room in which he
was whether to comply with his demands
or to continue the quarrel does not app ear.
As she stepped on the Threshold he
sprang upon her and threw her to the floor
Two of his little daughters rushed to learn
the cause of the commotion. They
shrieked when they saw keen-bladed
butcher knife held aloft in his hand. The
mother struggled in silence in vain
~ n, h foa bo III
the blade in her throat. Then he re-
leased her, and she ran from the room,
the blood squirting out in jets from the
terrible wound in her neck. At the foot
of the stairs she sank to the floor Her
nineteen.year old son rushed to her aid,
and was Just in time to raise her head to
his arm, and s0oth her as her llfe-bleod
flowed out. DR.. Rue was called One
glance convinced him that the woman was
beyond human help, and in an hour she
was dead.
The police were summoned and officer
Granelli responded Gaunt had been I'M
dressed at the time Of the stabbing. He
dressed himself after his wife's escape
from him, and was in readiness to go to
the station house when Granelh called.
He was remarkably cool and self possessed.
The excitement had sobered him temper
arily. He insisted that his wife had had
the knife with which the stabbing was DONE
She had thrown it at him, and he, in fit
of uncomfortable passion had used it on
her. He said that he had no idea of in
juring her SO severely, but when informed
that she was dead, observed, without
shadow of feeling, that he supposed he
would be hung. He was cautioned by the
Recorder to be careful as to what he
said, and when taken into Court at three
o'clock in the Afternoon, he said
merely that it had turned out good deal
worse than he expected, and refused to say
anything more. The Recorder committed
him to await the action of the coroner's
jury. The Police Sergeant who took him
to jail told the TATTLEB last night that he
shook like an aspen probably from drink
LIN court; and that when he stepped off
the car to be taken into the jail, he almost
fell to the street. He was suffering great
nervous prostration, and seemed to be on
the verge OF delirium tremens.
The post mortem examination showed
that the carotid artery had been severed,
ana that the woman had bled to death.
An inquest will be begun on Wednesday
night with Chairman Fitzsimmons, John
Brenning, Alderman Haskell, John Moore,
John O'Donnell, George Zimmermacher
among the jurymen.
Gaunt probably sought his home determ-
med upon the slaughter. The knife, with
which the deed was done, had never been
in the house before Both the knives
they used for carving and brad cutting
purposes were found by the children in
the usual place, without stain or mark on
them. The knife with which til Q slaughter
was done is covered with blood It's long
broad blade shows signs Of much grinding.
astraighi, short handle and appears to
be of the pattern of those used in butcher
shops and grocery stores. Gaunt took it
home with him, for the terrible use to
which he put 1t. The police are endeavor-
ing to find out where he got It, So far
they have not succeeded and they are ia
cIined to believe that he stole it, for temp
orary use, from butcher shop or grocery
store during the evening.
Gaunt at present occupies cell No. in
the County Jail, the quarters long used by
Cove Bennett, when he was on trial for the
murder of Officer Smith. A TATTLER saw
him at late hour last night, but he re-
fused TO discuss the topic uppermost on
his mind, saying that he would wait to
collect his thoughts before speaking His
remarks we're of rambling nature, like
those of man not yet sobered, and after
mutterir few sentences, he turned over
on his side, saying that he was COM
Portable.