The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-09-29
MURDER AND SUICIDE.
George Offer, of Union Hill, Shoots
His Wife and Himself.

George Offer shot himself dead and in
tlicted a mortal wound upon his wife,
Anna. at their home, No. 2S Palisade ave
nue., Union Hill, yesterday afternoon. He
was jonrneyman tailor, fifty years old,
and she was five years his senior.
They lived in three rooms on the sec.
ond floor of neat, uncovered cottage
the first floor of which is occupied by
Charles Horn and his wife.
Mrs. Offer is the sister of William Pc
tiers, the brewer, and the sister-in-law OF
ex-Freeholder Frech, and is also closely
related to Philip Hexamer, the proprie
tor of the Hoboken Riding Academy.
They were married five years ago She
was the widow of Gottfried Koch, well
to do baker, who lived on Avenue A,
near Tompkins Park, New York city,
and had five children, the Oldest girl OF
twenty.
The four others were boys and the
youngest was but six years old. Offer
was said to be widower
Yesterday, while Mrs. Horn was busy
scrubbing the lower hall, she heard Mrs.
Offer exclaim, ooh. my what is that?''
And then she heard sound as if some
one ran along the upper hall. Immedi-
ately afterward she heard Mr.. Offer
Shout, GOOD Bye"
PISTOL SHOTS.
This was instantly followed by three
pistol reports and the sound of two fall
ing bodies. Mrs. Horn ran out into the
yard screaming for help, and a number of
men came from the stables of Peters
brewery, two of whom were the sons of
Mrs. Offer.
The men FASTENED upstairs, and were
Mortified at what they saw. Mrs Offers
fol a1
near the head of the stairs apparently
dead, her head hanging over the top step.
Across her body was lying the dead body
of their stepfather.
DIR. ySchlemm, who lives near by, was
sent for, and he arrived in three minutes.
He at once pronounced Offer dead. He
said that Mrs. Offer was seriously
wounded, how badly he could not tell
them.
She was unconscious, but when she re-
vived little, she was asked by the doc
tor who did the deed. She family pointed
to her dead husband and said:-'He"
Then she relapsed into a comatose state,
and in that condition was removed to a
bed.
MURDERoUs WOUNDS.
A superficial examination showed the
physician that she had been shot through
the upper part of the left side of the nose,
and that the ball had passed through the
bone of the forehead and come out just
above the corner of the right eyebrow.
Later the ball was found on the floor. 1t
was fattened.
Offer had shot himself in the right tenn
pie, and death had been almost instanta-
neous. Word was sent to ex-Coroner
Gschwind, and he removed the body to
his morgue, and the policeman on
post was also told of the tragedy,
but he did not think it of enough impor-
lance to report to the station house, and
Sergeant Stamford knew nothing of
what had happened until told of it at six
o'clock by County Physician Converse,
who had been notified by ex-Coroner
Gschwind.
THEIR MARRIED LIFE.
Their married life had not been happy.
Mrs. Offer had considerable property
which her husband squandered, and lat
terly Mr.. Peters has practically supported
the family. Offer was incorrigibly lazy.
Mr.. Peters tried to make q man of him
by offering him help and incentives to
work, but 1t was no use. There is 81 story
that Offer used TO make his former wife
carry his gun when he went shooting.
On Friday he drank heavily and threat
ened the life of his step-son Charles. The
latter consulted with Mr.. Peters, and
they decided to have Offer arrested. He
probably heard of it and decided to cheat
the Jailor by the brutal crime and sui
eide.
Late in the evening DR.. Elder discov-
cred o second wound more serious than
that in Mrs. Offers head. 1t was discov-
cred that bullet had penetrated the
body cavity from behind. The physicians
did have any hope of saving the woman's
life after the second wound was found.
When she revived sufficiently she made
an ante-mortem statement in which she
said that her husband had shot her while
he was drunk.
County Physician Converse told Cor.
oner O'Hara that an inquest in the case
would be necessary.
Mrs Offers son Otto died in the peni-
serving an eight years sentence for kill
iner phili1 Hallar