The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-07-17
SHOT AN ENTIRE FAMILY.
a CRAZY MANS HORRIBLE WORK.
Murdered the Woman With Whom He
Lived, Killed Two OF Her Children and
shot n Third and Was Himself Killed
in Attempting to Escape.

Bosrox, July ia horrible tragedy
was enacted in Somerviile at an
early hour this morning. The victims are
Mrs Catharine Smith, aged forty-fve, her
son Thomas, aged fourteen, and the per-
petrator OF the terrible deed, August
Rosenburg, while two other children of
Mrs. Smith were injured and one viii die.
Rosenburg has been living with Mrs.
Smith as her husband, but it is the gen.
eral belief that they were not mar
ried. The cause of the tragedy is not
known, although it is stated that ROsen-
burg has bssnpmplaining about the way
he has beeN sted in money matters by
the womanDlt is supposed that recent
quarrel about their financial affairs was
the immediate cause.
The ground floor of the house is used as
a provision and grocery store; the business
having been carried on by Mrs. Smith,
through the disappearance OF her husband
(Charles Smith, who is supposed to have
committed suicide by jumping from the
Portland steamer about a year ago.
Near neighbors were aroused about l
o'clock By a number of pistol shots and
the police were promptly notified. On en-
tering the police encountered the dead
BODY of Thomas Smith, who had started
down stairs and succeeded in reaching the
lower landing before falling A bullet had
entered his forehead. He was the eldest
OF the children OF which there were Eve.
Mrs Smith was found in bed. The indi-
cations are that Mrs. Smith was shot
while she was asleep. Mrs. Smith and
Rosenburg slept together on the second
a. 81 II Il e., slw~ ha
third floor. The mother was shot through
the body The wound in all probability
will prove fatal. August was shot in the
mouth and physicians think it is fatal.
In all, five persons were shot, four OF
them showing the great deliberatiOn OF
the murderer. Rosenburg jumped from
the window after completing his deadly
work, and 1t was supposed had escaped,
until his dead body was found in the court
about FIVE hundred feet away. Rosenburg
was the husband of Charles Smiths sister,
who died several years ago. He had sew
eral children living in Bow-st. He went
10 live with Mrs. Smith shortly alter the
mysterious disappearance of her husband.
The couple were never married, so far as
any one knows. He was about forty-tive
years OF age.
In an interview with Medical Examiner
Durrell this morning in regard to the
affair, he said that the wounds on Willie
Smith show that the bullet entered his
back and penetrated the bowels, making
death only a question OF a few days.
August's injury is but a flesh wound and
he will recover. Both OF these children
are at the hospital. II is the doctors
opinion that Mrs. Smith was killed in
stantly. A bullet entered her temple,
and there is another wound in
the back of the head which can
not be explained except by another
bullet. Thomas, the fourteen-year-
old boy who was instantly killed,
was shot in the cheek, the bullet coming
out in the back OF the neck. Rosenburg
met his death in a most peculiar and un-
intentional manner while attempting to
escape from the scene of his fendish work.
In trying to scale a fence at the end of a
lane through which he ran, the doctor
thinks he fell on a pile of railroad sleep
ers lying beside the Fitchburg tracks and
struck his head on spike which fractured
his skull and instantly killed him. DR..
Durreli says there is no doubt that he was
crazy. The house where the murder oc-
CURED has been all day surrounded by a
crowd of curious people.