St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-18
The Assassin Her Worthless
Husband, Who Also Kills
Himself.
Nelson Colbept's Neck Le-
gally Broken for a Hor-
rible Crime,
Further Facts Regarding
The Cook County In
sane Asylum.

WASHINGTON, May 1.-THE little
girls attending the Third grade in the
Jefferson public school building in the
southern section of this city were stand
ing in the aisles of the school room at 8
O'Clock this afternoon, about to bid
school goodbye until tomorrow, when
their teacher, Mrs. Sarah E. Allen. was
fatally shot in their presence by her
worthless husband. who then killed
himself. Allen had been supported by
the earnings of his wife as a school
teacher until some time ago, when she
left him on account of his dissipated
habits and frequent abuse and violence.
He has annoyed and threatened
her several times since she re-
fused to have anything more to
do with him, and she had been warned
very recently to beware of him. This
afternoon Allen hired cab on Penn
sylvania avenue, and after stopping in
go to the Jefferson school buildings.
Arriving there he bade the driver wait
for hlm, and Immediately went to the
room where his wife taught, and taking
out his revolver, small-siZed British
bull dog Of 32-caliber. in the cloak room,
advanced towards his wife's desk. The
children were the first to notice him.
and when they showed how startled
they were at his appearance, he called
on them not to make any noise or he
would shoot. Mrs. Aliens attention
had meanwhile been attracted, and she
started to move, but her husband by
this time was upon her, and saying,
''Now I've got you where l want
you," then fired at close range,
the ball taking effect near the right
ear and passing through the head.
He then turned the pistol on himself
and inflicted a fatal wound, the bullet
entering the right temple and passing
and the suicide fell together on the
school room floor, his arm about her
neck and the revolver lying Oh her
cheek. The startled. terror-stricken
children almost created a panic, but
some Of the more collected of them ran
for other teachers. who succeeded in re-
storing order. Police and physicians
were summoned, who did everything
possible to make Mrs. Aliens last mo-
ments free from pain. She fingered
only Semi-conscious for some time and
then passed away. Her husband ex-
pired a few minutes after the arrival of
the police. Mrs. Aliens maiden name
was Johnson. Her father, r. w. john
son, is an old and well known resident
of this city. About thirteen years
ago, against the advice of her
family and friends, she mar
ried her husband, Oswald c.
Allen, who came from Charlottesville,
Va. He was known as worthless, in
dolent fellow with no trade or liveli-
hood, but the murdered woman seemed
to be infatuated with him. The mar
riage was all unhappy one, but Mrs.
Allen frequently said that the only
blessing resulting from it was the fact
that no children were born to them.
She was a good teacher and was re-
tanned in the public schools notwith-
standing her marriage and her hus-
bands drunken and vicious habits. She
supported her husband until his abuse
became intolerable, when she left him.
He has often been sent to the work.
house for vagrancy, and since he came
into the possession Of few hundred