The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-04-11
"A HORRIBLE AFFAIR.

| A Drunken Brute Scalds His Child to
Death and Is Killed by His Infuriated
Wife.
One of the most frightful occurrences
| that have ever resulted from drink took
! place in Brooklyn last week. William
George Fox, of 100 South First street,
Z. D., went home far advanced in in
tOXication and, after abusing his wife,
flung a tin of boiling rorridge on his
sleeping infant. Driven to madness by
her own and her children's danger. his
wife seized a Ratchet and struck him
several fearful blows on the head.
| fracturing his skull Both the child
and father are dead. In the hospital
Fox said that he could not blame his
wife for killing him. and that his ter
rib!e fate was entirely due to the curse
of drink
Before the Coroner Mrs. Fox told the
following horrible story:
My husband came home on the
night Of February q aud asked me for
ten cents, after he had abused me.
Il told him I did not have a cent,
and then he said:
i am going out to pawn some
books and You can say your prayers,
for | am coming home to murder YOU
| and the young ones
He went out and came in at 1890.
| had put both of my little children TO
bed. and laid q Ratchet down on the
foot of the bed for fear he would see
and use it. He told me to hurry up
and make some coffee, and | said
Certainly Then he said:
I'm let you live until the coffee is
made. 1t has got TO be done tonight.
| am going to throttle you and make
away with the little ones
81 put some oatmeal cruel on the
stove, and us l did my husband NUT
tered
Won't they look nice with their
necks wrung, and won't she look nice
with her face all blackened and her
eyes lying out on her cheeks
''He would not wait for the coffee
and suddenly seized the tin with the
boiling oatmeal in it and threw it at me.
1t must have struck my little George,
for he woke with a terrible scream.
Then he threw the iron kettle at me. 1t
was full of boiling water. Then he
seized and tried to choke me- | sue
Gee seeded in pushing him away and ran
cursed me, and ran into my bedroom,
where my children were lying, and took
the fire shovel with me- My little boy
was crying, and | said:
" Don't cry, darling, mamma is
here
" Come out! my husband shouted.
81 said no, and barrcaded ne door.
Then he said: III keep you in there
and roast you l heard him coming
toward the bedroom door and said:
keep out of here, William I'll
defend m Y own life and the lives of my
children at all hazards
He pushed the door in and seized me
by the throat, ! picked up what
thought was the tire-shovel, and then,
as | saw him lean over the crib to
choke the children, as / thought,
struck him, Lord knows how many
times" and the woman began to cry.
He fell on the floor bleeding, and then
ran out in the hall and cried out:
Mr. Cramer, 90 round for Dr. Van
Brake, for | have hurt him terribly.
KNOW. VII. OIilIncr Sdlu: ION nit nm,
Mrs. Fox | said: 1T is too late; |
have struck him with the axe | went
back upstairs, and found that my little
boy had crept over the bed to the front
of it, at the foot. and | lifted him over
his father, placing him in the rocking
chair in the outer room, thinking even
then that the child was only frightened.
The baby was still crying, and | brought
her crib out to the front room; when
Mrs. Cramer came up she took the child
George and carried him down stairs;
she then said: What's the matter with
George" and then we saw he had been
scalded, his skin being off his hand.
took the crib, with the baby in it, also
down stairs; after l came up Fox rose,
and | said TO him:
"'Keep away from me, for you have
a desperate woman to deal with now;
you have nearly killed one of the chill
dren.' The ambulance surgeon at
tended to my husband and deceased,
and they were both taken to the hos
pital '"-IriSb H'0rld.