Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-05-13
A DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Murder and Suicide the Result
Of a Family Quarrel.
AN OLD MANS TERRIBLE ORDEAL
He Feared Arrest as an Accessory to the
Killing of His Son.

He Takes Poison Enough to XIII Three
Nen-Ths Son In jail TOR the Murder OF
His Brother Says He IL Ready to Die.
His Mother . Gibbsrish Idiot from
Abuse and Her Daughter Frustrated.
PrTsF1ELD, Mass, May 13.-The MUIR
der of Henry Hale by his brother Fred
erick, a week ago, is now followed by
the suicide Of the father, William D.
Hale, in the little town of Hinsdale.'
It was only nine days ago that Fred
erick Hale was arrested for killing his
brother Henry by pounding him over
the head with a whiffie tree, the details
of which have already been printed.
Frederick was arrested and taken to the
Pittsfeld Jail. He was to have been
tried yesterday. The father, an old man
of 20 years, was to have been the prin-
cipal witness. Rather than face the
ordeal he killed himself. He feared ar
rest as an accessory to the killing Of
his son.
Nervous and Depressed.
He was in Pittsfield on Saturday, ac-
companied by his daughter Alice, and
both of them testified at the inquest.
1t was observed that he was nervous
and greatly depressed, and he drove
TAplO1y uOIu0y d ulbLduC0 O1 zen ullk0S.
In the evening he found that the horse
he had driven to Pittsield was sick, and
he sent his daughter Alice two m lies to
Hinsdale village for medicine for it.
She returned within an hour with .
mixture of chloroform and laudanum.
Mr.. Hale had quantity of aconite In
the house, which he kept to give his
horses when they were sick. The horse
grew worse and veterinary surgeon
II ~
scribed for 1t. but it died before morn
ing.
There was considerable chloroform and
laudanum left in the bottle, and Mr..
Hale had q quantity of aconite left. It
appears, from tho autopsy which was
made by Medical Examiner Paddock of
Pittsheld, that Mr.. Hale had taken q
tremendous dose of the chloroform and
laudanum, also q quantity of aconite,
probably enough to kill three men:
Mr.. Hale told his daughter Alice to
be ready to start for Pitts6eld for the
trial of his son Frederick. The alarm
clock was set for 4 O'Clock in the morn
ing, and when it sounded Mr.. Hale got up
and did his work about the barn, while
his daughter Alice got breakfast. He
had backed out the carriage and pro-
pared to start on his journey. When
he went into tho house he spoke of
1eS11uB LII. nAs uhuSACoE asAeo 0An
what was the matter. He put his hand
an his stomach, and said: "Oh, some
thing terrible is going to happenl"
Then he began to have violent parox-
ysms of pain, and the daughter sent at
once to the village of Hinsdale for q
physician. He grew rapidly worse, and
when DR.. Collins arrived he was in the
greatest agony, and died at 10 o'clock.
His daughter heard him say:
cpd rather kill myself than to be
shut up in prison and have a rope put
round my neck and be strung up for
killing my son."
Tho NIothsr = GibberIng Idiot.
The mother and daughter are so pros
trated by the double tragedy that they
can hardly be considered in their right
minds. Mrs. Halo has been cruelty
treated by her husband for the last 80
years. The result 10 that she has for the
last 10 years been almost in q state of
insanity, and is now q gibbering idiot,
and has to be cared for by kind neigh
bors. The daughter, Alice, is suffering
from nervous prostration, from which
it is not expected she will ever fully re-
cover. Frederick, who Is in jail await
ing his trial, is the most wretched NOM
Der of the family. When 1t was an
nounced to him that his father had
committed suicide, he said:
"This is tough. I am ready to die.
My father and brother are dead
through my crime. I have nothing
to live for.''
The county is at fever heat over the
double tragedy, and the result of the
trial of Frederick is awaited with in
tense interest.