The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1888-03-25
MOTHERS D%READFULDEED.
POISONING THREE CHILDREN AND
WATCHING CALMLY As THEY DIE

POISONING THREE CHILDREN AND
WATCHING CALMLY As THEY DIE
Mr.. A1,.ri. Lesk uech.er, Drive. By Few
erty saa Trouble, Seeks ts Make an End
or her Little Negative are Dead, mud
while the Tbird I.inrers sho Gees and
Tell. tho rsice " hnt shc Has Done. .,a
chat sso 10 Glad she Did 1.-THE Little
One's Lite May Nc savea-O.ce Before
she Walked late the River with 1--WE NJ
TheU. bat was Hescncd-sko Remain
Marve,isusiy Cecil. and snys She IL anno.
On Wednesday morning last HRS. M.nnis
Lebkuechner mixed Paris green In hcr tea and
gave the decoction in liberal doses to her three
children. Anton. Charles. and Christopher.
Charles died at 2 o'clock In the afternoon OF the
next day. Anton at 8 o'clock, and Christopher
is under treatment at the New York Hospital,
and may recover. Mrs. Lebkuechner is In a
coll at the Tombs awaiting examination by tho
Coroner. Tho circumstances OF her crime
make 1t one OF tho most extraordinary ever
known In this city.
About fifteen ysars ago the woman secured
employment a. . servant In the house
Of Jacob Lsbkuochper. . prosperous brewer.
His business establishment was ut 24S
West Twenty-eighth street. At that time
he was nearly fifty years old. His fami-
" consisted Of his vito End i've children.
four daughters and u son. The youngest of the
children was little younger than the new do
nestle. Ono OF tho daughters Is now the wife
Of Anton Huepfel. ono Of tho firm Of brewers
known as nuspfel Brothers, at Thirty-eighth
street and Second avenue. Another is mar
ried to Louis Munzlngor, a manufacturer OF
mineral water ON Forty-frst street Mrs. NJ.
Fleck. whose husband keeps q billiard saloon
ct 23l East Thirty-eighth street, and Mrs.
JaliA Hirsh arc the other daughters. The son.
Jacob, Is = bottlor, established ut 234 East
Thirty-ninths street.
Eleven years ago Mra. Lebkuechner died. and
shortly afterwnrd Mr.. Lebkuochnor married
his servant, Minnie. Ths children were dis
pleased. and 1t appears that most Of his rcla-
tives and friends shared their feeling. The
family was broken UP. aud little intercourse
was maintained between Its members.
Not long after tho marriage. however. Mr..
Lebkueohner's business became poor. The
expense OF the construction OF o great wing 10
his brewery proved too much for his resources,
me- bankruptcy followed.
He opened . small saloon on West Thirty
sighth street, and later had another on Ninth
avenue. Success did not attend his ventures.
and whom he died on Oct. 8, 1884. vt the age Of
GO. he left his family psnniless.
Three sons wore the issue Of the second mar
Sdass-Anton and Charles. aged 9 and z respec-
p6Sr, born Q short time previous to his fnthor's
dossh, He had been Q member OF tho Bloom
i 1scl:ssi ono Of eaS sems.s 8 H nls ist.r lesa ia shs 90:
Sssty. eWoq11ted t. 1,o9S; This Io4 Was ,ha. held II, IN
children obtained their share pronptly. but By
ths PrS,ision sh e shs ~ trq *. . :sshIa Sar, DO b .
r. .e ecSs ,i i1ioTn asiiM Mrs rs. IsStuechner That Il
81 sSs' sh "a g ast1 IL an 70 or ns'e h s.y i1Gs't Ills Il s' e:
mother would not hear OF. and she set to work
Her usbasd's children BY his first marriage
avss eans 70 her "a; From II ]sSeounts It
Fer children properly: She was scrHpplopsly
s siii.. " 81. o saa a:S1 ssr ! II sbS p e nosed :. and md
s sss r ssss out t p wo nias e. %9Fs q sv esy d lay Ina! asd
S SsasII, i xss: S1,.AtF aoa 1 1RP.. s.se ef S Ssa h Ts:
that . =. GiSa l1. s !. bet - s H}.s tS,m support th0m
.h sS ~. ; si now q III ~ sh :ns dis ssfsss y hs s!oP Pevs sas
s.sd ss ss6;!ss:s y 3 +: s ls:s %ssei.s 8 NJ WEE rs;
Wan H:s.s e; 70 e s:fs e. S snilaPss away sss!f from sna her En .ss
shsy had Ssa s SnsS:nSr 20 s IN si s, last Illness to In
One niEht, whom tho future seemed darker
S sisSss TIL /: Ts q IL. T aSSi. wont "a I'd s0E Eart %T Ni4si;
into the wstcr and pulled her Children along
WITH hSr: They wore rescued and sent nome
Then the officers of the Bloomincdals Aid
n eGs' ssylu una III Tsis 0 1sssri E9n brccks the e mothseITs
heart. but she kept ut her work. struggling
a ass3sFs ,h 10 ss ssiSss tho sn 4s, mak IL ,R RsF cniiSr.n sn to
Fourteen months ago she engaged tho rear
hank fAnarApf nj thu bNnSa at liza N6sI Twap-
ths present ! tin time n In A Fo2runbT cz, 1887 y she ihs W Gsye
Twenty-oighth street attended her. bu; with
the same unyielding. pertinacity that charao-
TO toll him the name OF the baby's father. 10
her nsiShborS sho explained that ao1essiGs
n 1sSsulS aHs s slsr her her 4 dSnl, lSSm hsF s h"sS %snt s o"s
with the child and returned empty, handed.
she said that It had been taken care Of by" her
and neat housekeeping led everybody to credit
Four months ago she persuaded tho authori-
tics Of the Juvenile AsylnIn, that she was able
to take care OF, ono OF her children. and Charles
later late IN rssponse to her IuinHteeasine ,entresties'
the .asylpm surrendered Anton. and stu later
CHRISTOPHER: For u time she left the Younger
went about her work. Unfortunately, she met
With hsr own reyerses. lost some OF her Wors
that she would not DO able to support her chill
drsn. and determined as q last resort to kill
tu0u 8luo lihh iOS thtlu 10 ~
Last Tuesday she received a ietter from tho
authorities of the asylum informing her that
good home had been found for tho boys In Tho
West. and that she must be prepared to lot
them 20 on Saturday.
That evening she sent Anton to Norbert
Frnnck's drug store. In Seventh avenue. to buy
aftsen cents worth Of %kough on Rats" That
story OF thu next three days. Wednesday
morning she mixed the greater part OF tho
fuls each Of the mixture. CHRISTOPHER refused
to drink the second cup, complaining that it
tasted bad. After this Mrs. l.ebkuechner com
few hours before all Of tho children foil III. and
grew rapidly worse. Deaths from poison by
Paris grcon usually occur twenty-four hours
after taking the dose. and tho greater part OF
this time Is Inevitably accompanied by excru-
ciatinG agony. In the case OF tho children the
dilution OF the poison served to delay its fatal
operation, but 1t did not lessen in the slightest
degree tho intense suffering Of the victims.
Mrs, Lobkuechner herself has told with extra;
Srdlnary trankness and minuteness OF detail
how tho boys cried and writhed in their agony.
and pleadod Tor wafer to drink, and beSought