Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1889-02-22
DEEDS.

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A Mother and frcr Two paGrstcrs Slain
Mt 6icnyiiie, hfiAn;, NJ a Brun,Il Ro-
iNtite, who Afterwards Ends, His Own
Life = A Michigan Man Murders Ills
VITO and Two Girls, and Fatally shoots
Himself h.H wet r.h FiN.a''.i .' t
dLENvuLE, Mimi. Feb. 1s.-Joseph Chem.
elccl: Friday night killed three persons and
then committed suicide by shooting himself
through the head The motive for the
triple murder is involved III doubt About
q o'clock Friday evening Ohemeledlt won't TO
tho residence of NJ L. Chemoleck his half
brother, TO spend the evening, About / 1
o'clock ho picked up his hat md went
ont OF doors. II was expected that ho
was going to return, but instead of coming
BACK he went to his fathers home and pro-
cured double -barrolod shot gun. He went
back to NJ l. Chomelecls's 8 and sccreted him
self in n grove near the house. About mid
night Mary Chomeleck aged6, and her sister
Rosc, nged Ii, stepped out of doors, and a
few minutes later two reports were
heard The father rushed to the door and
and as he opened II Mary and Rose stood on
the stops, the blood trickling down their
faces. I'VE have been shot by Joe Chcme-
lock " exclaimed Rose, MS she fell fainting
to the floor. A half-witted boy was sent
for help, and, not returning, the father
went in search OF aid. Az soon as he had
left tho house Joe Chcmelcck entered
and going upstairs shot down the
mother of the girls. Mary, who
was half dead from loss of blood, managed
to get out of the door, and, barefooted and
half Glad, made her why half mile through
tho snow TO neighbor's, where she fell to
the floor dead the murderer, after com
pleting his bloody work rushed out of the
house into the yard where voices from tho
road caused him to halt Seeing that es-
cape was impossible, he placed a revolver
to his temple and sent bullet through his
brain '
The girl Rose died shortly after midnight,
and the bodies of the two girls and their
mother were taken to an upper room to
await the action of the coroner. The muir
derer's body lay all day where he had killed
himself, and until Saturday evening, when
it was picked up and taken to his fathers
house.
AWFUL CRIME IN MICHIGAN.
TEcuMsEH, Mich, Feb. lS-One of the
most terrible crimes ever enacted In Michi-
gan took place Saturday night at this place.
Frank l.. Silvers, n prominent horse breeder
and wcll-known citizen, shot his wife, his
two daughters. aged 0 and II years, respect
lively, and ended the awful deed by shoot
ing himself vs. .-.t Oh.
The crime was not discovered until Sun
day morning. About 10 o'clock some of the
neighbors noticed that the curtains of the
Silvers house were closely drawn and that
there. was no sign of life about the place.
Their curiosity was excited, and after wait
iEg for an hour 1t was decided to investi-
gate. An axe was procured and the rear
door was forced open. .H.a foe r.
The kitchen was deserted. The dining
room door stood ajar, however, and, push
ing 1t open the party entered the parlor,
where n horrible sight met their gaze.
There upon the floor near the stove,
full-dressed and with her CLASSY eyes
staring at the ceiling, lay the body
of Mrs Silvers in n pool of blood But il
this was not calculated to terrify, more
terrible one was in store for the investigat-
ors After searching the lower part of the
house they wended their way up stairs En-
tering a small bed room, directly above tho
parlor, they found the bodies of the two
little girls only n few feet apart while at
the foot of the bed lay the form of Mr.. Sill
vers wetering in blood, and with life a
most extinct. The victims had all been shot
through the temple, and, with the exception
of Mr. Sllvers, all had died instantly,
The murder was carefully planned and
coolly and Systematically executed. Early
ware store and bought a 32-cnlibcr revolver
of the Smith 4 Wesson pattern and box of
cartridges. He betrayed no agitation, and IL
was supposed that he intended to use the
weapon in shooting rats He walked around
town awhile after making his purchase and
spoke with several of his friends in his Gus
tomary free hearted, easy manner He re-
turned home about s o'clock, and as the
bodies of his victims were cold when foundi it
is supposed that he shot them before retir-
ing and did not take his own life until sew |
eral hours later, This theory is strength
ened by the fact that the neighbors were
stirring very early in the morning and
would undoubtedly have heard the shots
had they been fired at that time.
Frank Silvers came lece about ten years |
ago, He belonged to highly respected |
family, and was raised on farm about four |
miles north of here He married a Miss |
Sheppard in Lynn, n. Y, and had been liv-
Ing In the house where the tragedy occurred
for nearly ten years. @'a.".H
Those who have known the family say |
that Mr.. and Mrs. Silvers were a seemingly
happy and affectionate pair They went
out together frequently and their
home seemed bright and cheerful al
ways The little girls were un-
commonly pretty and attractive, and,
taAen ui III uii, tne i'lHlliy seemed TO De
one of the happiest that could be found
any where. This being the case, no
cause can be ascribed for the crime.
note was found in Mr.. Silvcrs' pocket
his friends to break open
the safe and find directions for the disposal
Of his property and keepsakes. The note is
written in a bold, steady hand and in it the
writer declares that the reason for the
dreadful crime will never be known The
coroner Is Mt work on the case, but no clew
to the cause of the tragedy has been OBJ
aimed, and the crime bids fair to prove one
Of the most mysterious as it is one of the
most atrocious ever committed in Michigan