The record-union., 1891-11-05
FRIGHTFUL TRAGEDY.
TERRIBLE CRIME OF A GERMAN
AT SAN FRANCISCO.
Kills His Wife and Babe With q
Hatchet and Then Hangs
Himself.
Special TO the REcoRn-un1oN.

CpeCIdl 10 the ECECORD-UNION.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4.-One of the
most shocking murders on record in
California occurred opposite the Golden
City House, on the San Bruno road, last
night or early this morning.
Siegfried Gosch, a German, aged 35
brutally murdered his wife, Marie. and
his 21month-old son Willie with a
hatchet, then ended his life by putting a
rope around his neck and hanging HIM
self to tree in the chicken-yard back OF
the little kitchen of his house.
The first person to discover the muir
der and the bodies was old Mrs. Stern
ltzky, the murdered woman's mother.
She went to the Gosch home. a little
fhree-room % cottage adjoining her own
house, at $50 this morning, as had been
her custom for some weeks to take care
OF the babe while the father worked in q
tannery, and while Mrs. Gosch was at
tending her household duties.
Going through the little backyard she
thought she saw her son-in-law standing
as IT looking into the sky. She at once
sald, Good morning, Sieg, are you look
ing at the stars?''
Getting no reply she went closer. and
uttered shrek which brought her hus-
band and daughters to her side, for she
had discovered that her son-in-law was
dead. His coat was off and a sharp knife
was by his side with which he had cut
the clothes line in twain. A strong sec
ton of the line was tied firmly around
his neck and to the limb of a sturdy tree
not twenty feet from the kitchen door.
around which his murdered boy had
been playing last night while the mother
sang German songs and cooked supper.
Fearing that Gosch had done violence
to his family, the frightened Sternitzkies
rushed into the little cottage, to the small
bedroom in the front part of the house.
Inc scene at the moment of their entry
was the most horrible that the imagina-
ton can depict. Mrs. Gosch was dead.
and her body was lying across an old
fashioned German cradle, whence came
the muffied screams of her youngest
child, babe two months old.
In another crib, or German cradle
little Willie was breathing his last breath.
In his head the sharp hatchet which muir
dered him and his mother was deepIv
lmbedded, while the bed was covered
with blood and the furniture and bed
clothing were so arranged as to indicate
that the woman was probably not killed
by the first blow, or might even have
wakened before she was struck, and for a
moment had forseen her fate and strug-
gled IN desperation to avert it.
There can be little doubt that when the
mother foresaw her husbands murderous
intentions and knew that she could not
escape, she threw herself over the cradle
of her infant to save its life. The blow
from the hatchet which finally killed her
was probably dealt while she was bend
ing over her infant and pleading for
mercy.
The infuriated mailman, after being
satisfied of his wife's death, doubtless
dispatched his eldest son with the one
blow. Leaving the hatchet embedded in
the unfortunate boys head, he forgot the
existence of the babe, which was hidden
from view beneath its dying or dead
mother and rushed to the yard, where
with maniacal deliberatfon and ferocity,
he carefully removed his coat and ended
his own life by adjusting the clothes-line
around his neck, climbing the tree and
jumping therefrom. When found the feet
almost touched the ground.
Gosch had been here for eight wears
having come from Germany. He had
been married little over two years. and
been employed in the tannery of his
brothers-in-law, Sternitzky Bros, about
the same length of time.
OF late Gosch had had some differences
with his wife, which resulted in occa-
slonal quarrels. Gosch wanted to go to
Germany. while his wife and her family
tired to dissuade him from thinking of
emlgratlng, she preferring to remain
where all her relatives lived.