The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-07-21
A MOTHERS MAD ACT.
Deliberately Murders Her Three
Children and Shoots Herself.
A HUSBANDS AWFUL DISCOVERY
On Returning from Church Sunday
Observation-Disclosures that Mrs. LOch-
ridge CoolIy Set About Her Bloody
work---she Was Tired of Living and
Wanted to Take Her Little Ones to
Heaven With Her.

NASHVILLE, TENN, July 2O.-Mrs. Patti
Lochridge shot her three children and
herself about one o'clock yesterday ai-
ternoon at her home, three miles south
of Spring Hill.
Mrs. Lochridge was thirty years OF
age, her Oldest child four years old, the
second three years old and the third
four months. The awful decd was done
with a double barrelled shot gun.
After dinner Mr.. Lochridge went to
church, leaving his home in its usual
state of quietness. His wife had been
complaining for some time past, but on
that particular afternoon she was no
worse than during the past week. The
children were playing around as usual:
and there was not the slightest hint OF
the frightful tragedy SO soon to be en-
acted.
About three o'clock he returned to
the little home he had left and found
the front door locked. This seemed
strange to him, but concluding his wife
had gone on q visit he went around the
house, intending to enter by the back
door. This, to, was locked and he was
compelled to force q window sash in
order to gain an entrance. He had
never known his wife to so securely
fasten the house, and as he climbed
through the window a strange feeling OF
impending evil came over him. Not,
however, until he had gone into the
living room, the place where he had
spent 80 many pleasant hours, did the
full meaning OF the sealed doors and
windows burst upon him. There, upon
pallet, nicely arranged, lay his three
darlings, dead, and across the room
with her feet turned up to theirs, was
his wife, their mother, cold in the grasp
OF the grim destroyer. A double bar
relied breech loading shot gun lay be.
tween them. As near as can be learned
from the surroundings, Mrs. Lochridge
had drawn up her children's clothes,
one by one, placed the'gun against their
hearts and fred. Then she placed them
side by side on pallet which she ar
ranged and placed their dresses neatly
about them. Standing there and prob.
ably gazing at them the distracted
mother placed the muzzle Of the gun at
her own heart and sent her own soul to
follow her children.
After killing the first two she must
have reloaded the gun, and that she did
it shows that she was at least partly
calm. How she pulled the trigger when
the gun was against her own breast is
mystery, unless she did it with stick
held in her hand or with her foot.
1t is thought the woman poisoned or
chloroiormed both herself and the chill
dren before she used the gun. In the
letter, given in part below, she refers
to a pain in her side, and then It would
have been difficult to have killed the
little ones while wide awake, probably
too difficult for the iendish hand OF
child murderess.
The following letter was found in the
room with the murderess and suicide:
"JULY 10, 1891.
"DEAR ToM:-I know you will be
shocked when you get back and find
what have done. This is not my first
attempt. took forty drops OF
laudanum at one time and sixty. Mt
another before was married and failed
to accomplish my purpose, but think l
will succeed this time. If Eunice (the-
Oldest child had been at home last
Sunday evening this deed would have
been committed then, but she had gone
to church. / could not bear to leave
her behind. I do wish you could 90
with US. But for you l would gladly
give UP all and go home to heaven. l
sometimes feel that l am a terrible
sinner, but now | feel that the good
Lord is waiting with the door open to
welcome me and our little ones. You
have kept your marriage VOWS SO much
more perfect than l have, but you
know that my health is bad now. l
have been in a bad state Of mind for
some time. / feel that 1 am tired OF
life, and must 60"
In concluding her letter Mrs. Loch-
ridge gave instructions qs to how her
clothing and articles of iewelry should
hh diStrihntad