Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-26
A WOMAN FIEND.
4 MOTHERS HORRIBLE CRIME.
She Deliberately POSOns Her Three
Children,

New YORK, March 2I.-Eirly this morn
ing a dispatch was received at police head
quarters stating thst Mrs. Minnie Leb-
kueChner, of No. 154, West Fifty.eightb
street, had given poison to her three chill
dren, Anothony, nine years old; Charles S ,
aged seven, and Christopher, four years
old.
Mrs, Lebksuehner is not insane. She is
q woman driven to her act by trOnble too
great to bear. She walked into the police
station, poorly dressed, pinched aud wan,
with q worn shawl thrown around her,
at two o'clock this morning. Steadying
herself against the desk, she said in 6 hard
voice that she hal killed two Of her chill,
dren and that the third was dying in the
house.
The SergeSnt called a officer to 90 with
the woman at :, and they started for
Twenty eightstreet together, On the way
the women told her story in a ~listless, me
chanieal way, as though it was :, worn out
theme that long since bad lost all interest
To ASr. Her husband was dead, she said,
bjoiied four years ago; she struggled TO
81, the children together, but failed.
, They were taken from her and sent to the
Juvenile Asylum. Olly recently she had
got them back with infinite trouble, op-
pOs,d by poverty on one side and the per
%secution OF her husbands friends on the
other, but she coald not keep them.
Work was failing; food getting scarce. She
io-eSaw that she must lose them soon
Rather than that she decided to Hill them.
She thought il over, and by Wednesday
had made up her mind fully. She sent
Anthony, tho eldest boy, to a drug store
Sirh q quarter to buy Rough ON Rats"
Ms Lsbkuechner tied i. mp. and, dividing
tie draueht into three equal parts, gave it
tOths boys 20 drink. This was on Wed
neday morning. Very soon afseyward all
thre were taken i'll.
Watching their snleriUgJ steadily, the
mother stayed with them all that day, 90
ing about the house without exciting the
attention of the tenants by unusua! con-
Germ or any sign OF alarm. Wednesday
night and all Thursday the little sufferers
lay in their dying agOnies, with the mother
lowering about, seeing their little lives
ebhing out slowly and surely. They
begged for water, and with the merciless
cruelty II a iend the mother gave them
whisky to drink. The two eldest drank
II aud cried that they we're IN fire. They
begged to be taken cut into the back yard
aud have the bydrant turned on them;
they were burning III. Bot their feeble
cries found 3 deaf ear with the mother, and
did not reach the outer world Unmoyed
she went about finishing her work.
At two o'clock Thursday afternoon
Charles died. Three hours later the eldest
brother breathed his last. Still the young
est, the baby of the three, Was left. With
the two victims Of her awful crime lying
dead, the mother held steadily to her fsnd-
ish purpose. Thursday night she sat by
her dying caild, and all of Friday, and not
until this morning, when the little ones
grin on life sill refused to yield. did she
weary Of wafing and went out TO tell the
police.
By this time the woman and officer had
had reached tn door of her house ard she
opened il TO IN officer. A glance inside
teId S@ mat hsr story was true. In The
bed lay the two boys, long dead, and D
Iittle one gasping fAipuy onvsese.A~ nc
o was meanly furnished, but clean.
rhs mother stood unmoved looking on.
The officer pat her under arrest, took her
hack to the station, and a hurried call was
sent for an ambulance. The little q Was
driven rapidly to the hospital and every
thing was done there TO save its life, but
this was deemed hopeless.
This morning the mother was takeo to
In Jefferson Market Police Court and
thence sent 10 the C~OrOner's office, where
she was committed to the TOmbs. Before
beipg taken to the prison she drew photo
Vapbs If her children from her pocket and
Ssked il she would he permitted to keep
them. When told that she could retain
tbem she shouted excitCdly: They want
ed 10 take my children from me, bat they
can't do it now.n
DIR. Conway, deputy coroner, eonversed
with Mrs. C~cibkuechner for some time
and expressed the opinion that she is
suffering from acute mania.