The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-04-11
A MOTHERS CRIME.
She POisOns Her Three Children
Because of Poverty.
Two of Them Die in Sight Of the
Pitiless Parent.

One Of the most shocking tragedies that
can startle any community was perpetrated
a few days ago in Twenty eighth street, New
York, the deliberate murder of little children
by their own mother. The woman is Mrs.
Minnie Liebkuechner, German. She ad-
ministered poison to her three children, An
thony, aged nine, Charles, aged seven, and the
other, four-year-old boy, named Chris
topher. -
At 2:SO O'Clock in the morning Mrs. Lieb-
kuechner walked into the station house. She
1vaa n,,,, and worn'looking, and evidently
suffering from want. on was very poorly
dressed, and pulled an old shawl ttgnu,y
about het iii d vain ehdeavor to keep out the
biting wind. Steady ing heI self against the
desk, she told the Sergeant in a dry.
hard voice that she had killed TWO OF
her children, and that the third was dying
in the house. 1t was not far away, she said.
Something in her set and hopeless face
stopped the questions that the sergeant Sas was
about to ask, and he ran for an ofhcer
to 20 with her at once. Rounds
man Albertson responded, and they
started for the woman'S home.
On the way the woman told her story.
Her husband had died four years ago, and
she made long but vain struggle to keep
her children with her. They were sent 70
only recently and with great difficulty. On
one side she had to fight poverty, and on the
other side the persecution of her husbands
relatives. Work was failing her, and again
she saw that she would be forced to part with
her little ones, as she could not get enough
food to nourish them. Driven to despair at
the prospect, she decided to kill them. her
determination was reached on Wednesday.
She sent Anthony. the oldest Of the boys, to
ytc 1,,1c G a
Quarter to buy rat poison. The child brought
back ten cents worth of Rough on Rats.
Mrs. Lebkuechner stirred it in tea and
dividing the draught into three equal parts
gave it to the boys to drink. This was on
Wednesday morning. Very soon afterward
all three were taken i'll. She watched
their sufferings all day, and Went
about the house to avert suSp;clon on
the part of other tenants The children lay
in agony in their little second-foor room in
tie rear tenement all day Thursday. When
they cried for water their murderous mother
gave them whisky. The two eldest drank
and cried that they were Oh fire; but their
means did not reach any one but the mother,
and she needed them not.
At two o'clock Thursday afternoon Charles
died, and three hours later his brother
breathed his last All that night Mrs. Lieb..
leuchner sat by her dying baby, and
ali of the next day. When at length
she saw that the end was
near, nes and nd she '' was nearly exhausted,
she went and told her terrible story to the
police. When the officer entered the mis-
cradle but clean rooms the two dead boys lay
upon the bed and the youngest was gaspins
family on the sofa. Upon this hor-
rible scene the mother looked un-
moved, but it was too much for the
officer. He alarmed the neighbors at once,
called an ambulance and went back to the
station house with his prisoner. The child
taken to the hospital will live. Mrs Lieb-
kuechner was later arraigned and committed
to await the action of the Coroner.
The murderess ia about thirty-four years
old. She wasa servant in the house OF jacob
Leibkuechner, then wealthy brewer in West
Twenty-eighth street. who was over fifty
years Of age and had family of grown
Children. He fell in love with her,
and, in defiance Of his chill
dpens wishes, married her. Subsequently
Liebkuechner failed in business, and this
widened the beach. He then opened small
saloon, and made living until taken Ill:
When he died his widow was penniless, and
get possession Of the children. Some
time ago, in her despair, she threw
herself one night into the river with her two
oldest boys but they were all rescued, and
the BOYS were sent to the asylum
She says she intended to take some OF the
poison herself, but it was spilled.
Anthony and Charles Leibkuechner were
buried in one grave at the Luthe-
ran Cemetery, on Long Island. 1t was 8
funeral without religious ceremony, and no
tears were shed over the grave. 1t was at the
wish of her who had poisoned them that tho
children were buried where they were