Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-01
STEINBLOCK COMMITS SUICIDE
The Accused Murderer of the Leavitt
Children Hangs Himself.
eREsHAM's LATEST SENSATION
The Dead Man Writes Letter As
serting His Innocence-Doings
Of the Crete and Beat
rice Chautauquas.
Suicided by Hanging.

GRESHAM, Neb., June 30.-lSpecial Tele-
gram to The BEE. IA second horror shook
Gresham and community this morning as the
news was spread that Mr.. Steinblock, the
neighbor of Mrs. Leavitt, whom she said she
suspicioned of numbering her children, had
committed suicide last night by hanging him
self. THE BEE representative went TO the
Steinblocl farm this morning ana from par
ties who reached the scene of the tragedy ut
IL o'clock last night learned the following
concerning the affair:
Steipb blocks wife and their only child, n
daughter of twelve years, were called to
Seward yesterday as witnesses in the Leavitt
murder investigation and were accompanied
on the trip by Dedreik Dey, young Ger
man of the neighborhood, while Mr.. Stein
block remained at home alone. On their re-
turn home. at about o'clock in the evening,
Dey and the girl took the horses into the
barn. The little girl was the first to see her
fathers form suspended and exclaime d :
"Look thereln
The young man soon discovered the cause
OF the girls outcry, and proceeded to inform
the neighbors and senda n messenger to Utica.
Deputy Sheriff Murphy and other parties ar
rived at II o'clock and cut the body down.
The indications show that the deed must
have been committed some time between 3
and 6 o'clock in the afternoon. The rope
was fastened by means of two large spikes
that were driven into a crosspiece between
the rafters, and the boards In the hay loft
were pushed aside to allow him to fall
through. He could not have dropped dis
tance of more than two or three feet, and his
feet did not reach the ground by about
eighteen inchea Near him was found let
ter, written in plain German hand. The
following is the letter, translated:
Gerd Steinblock is innocent of the murder
of the children. l have made a mistake in
my oath, but 1 had nothing wrong in my
thoughts. Lord be gracious to me. l have
told my wife and daughter that they should
tell the clean truth. A hundred times Mrs.
Leavitt called me bad names, but l only a
few times, but do not know whether my
| wife and daughter know anything about this
or not. l am innocent of the murder. l
have not been out of the house all day,
neither in the night. The Lord is my wit
ness. must die entirely innocent. Make
diligent search for the perpetrator The
Lord will grant that it viii be discovered 1
do not want to be dragged around town any
more. Again goodbye. am innocent of the
CRIME. My wife and daughter knows that
as we'll as |, for l dared to tell the truth, but
now it is too late, and therefore the crime is
laid to me, but am entirely innocent. My
dear wife and daughter, the Lord will grant
that we see each other again In eternity.
GERD STEINBLoCK."
The coroner arrived at about 10 o'clock
this morning and began the inquest, but up
to this hour no verdict has been reached.
Young Dey is a near neighbor of Mr.. Stein
block, and this morning said that he had
seemed very much worried. He knew that
Mrs. Leavtt accused him of the murder, and
somehow got the idea that he was censured
by others. He was very sensitive man, and
when he first heard of the connection of his
name with the murder, he said: "Now the
children will all keep away from me and be
afraid that will cut their throats." While
be was IN Seward as a witness in the Leavitt
murder case he heard some one read a news
paper account in which his name was men
toned, and he said: "What would my family
say if they saw name in the papers connected
with that murder"
He did not talk nor understand English
well, and after testifying before the special
grand jury at Seward he was afraid ne had
made some mistake that would tangle him up
and lay the crime upon him.
A great throng of people have gone to the
Steinblock place to-day, and the excitement
is almost as intense as 1t has been at any
time since the Leavitt murder took place.