Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-02
NEAR STEUBENVILLE, 0.
Furious Over Sudden Discharge
he Kills His Employer,
SHOOTS DOWN TWO WEAK WOMEN
And Then Makes an End to Himself With
the Same Bloody Weapon.
ALL HAD BORNE GOOD REPUTATIONS
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH.

Ohio was committed in Cross Creek town.
ship last night, the facts of which we're not
known until this morning. John Skinner.
farm hand, killed his employer, George
Feitner, prosperous farmer, and shot down
Feitner's wife and her gray-haired mother.
They all lived together in a cozy little
farm house about four miles from Steuben-
vile, where Skinner was employed as
farm hand. The latter has always been
known as a man of good habits, and was
not of quarrelsome disposition, but dur
ing the latter part of this summer frequent
quarrels have taken place between Skinner
and his employer. Feitner himself has
been sick with typhoid fever for some time,
and during his sickness he was nursed by
| his WIFE She too was taken with the
disease, and DR.. Fisher, their family
| physician was called The doctor, as usual,
called at the house this morning to see his
| patient, and upon going in the yard was
surprised to see everything so quiet, but
| opening the door he entered
What the Doctor saw Inside.
Once inside, horrible sight met his gaze
| On the floor in front of him lay the bodies
of two men, both of which were covered
from head to foot with blood The carpet,
furniture and everything in the room
showed signs of terrible tragedy.
Thinking Immediately of his patient, ne
ran up stairs, and here, too, he witnessed
sight that he will never forget Stretched
out on bed lay Mrs. Feitner and her
mother, Mrs. Meiske, both with bullet holes
in their heads. Mrs Meiske was unconscious,
but Mrs. Feitner had barely enough strength
to tell the doctor what had happened.
DR.. Fisher hurriedly called in the neigh
bors, and sent word to this city at once, and
notified the Coroner, who with Deputy
Sheriff Worries and Marshal Teaff, went
back to the house. By this time the neigh
bors had given the two wounded women all
the attention possible under the circum-
stances, and kept the people from entering
the house, as the news spread rapidly.
Mrs Feitner, although in the care of
physician, displayed wonderful nerve and
presence of mind. After she had been shot
and, as she supposed, fatally, she dressed
her mothers wounds and her own, got her
mother upstairs in bed and then sat down
and wrote a statement, which was found all
covered with blood on the table in her
room. It read as follows:
Mrs. Feitner Writes Statement.
3lsT OF AUGUST
John Skinner came in this evening" about
o'clock; shot George first. and mother and
me- and then said, "What will do?" and
then got Georges revolver and shot him
self. Don't cuss anyone else.
ANNIE FEITNER.
Mrs Feitner to-day, after recovering her.
self enough to talk, told the story of the
murder. She said that yesterday was Skim
ner's last day to work on the farm, and he
had been informed that he would not be
needed any longer. This he did not like,
as he wanted to work several months
longer.
Yesterday afternoon he was given team
to haul his trunks to Fernwood, and re-
turned late last evening. Mrs. Meiske paid
him what was due him, about S1s, and left
Skinner and Mr.. Feitner talking in tine
front yard. The two men got into heated
discussion, and Mrs. Feitner called to her
husband to come upstairs and not to talk to
Skinner Feitner obeyed his wife and went
Immediately upstairs to the room over the
sitting room.
SINNERS anger being aroused, he fol-
lowed Feitner upstairs, where the argument
was continued tor some time, all taking q
hand trying to pacify the enraged man.
George Feitner sat on a chair near the head
of the stairs when Skinner, who was stand
ing near him, pulled q revolver from his
pocket and shot Feitner in the breast near
the heart. He staggered near the doorway
and fell down the stairs into the sitting
room, dead. Skinner, becoming bewildered,
exclaimed:
"My God, what have 1 done? What ]
will L do?"
He Shoots the Two Women Also.
Then, while bewailing his fate, he turned
the deadly revolver upon poor old Mrs.
Meiske and pulled the trigger, the ball
striking her back of the left ear. At that
instant Mrs. Feitner, seeing that the villain |
shot her mother, tried to stop him. Aim
ing the revolver at the wife, he fired, the |
bali taking effect under the left eye.
He waited a moment to see if the shot |
had killed her. He fred the second one,
this shot taking effect in her forehead. |
Seeing her fall he was apparently satisfied. |
Although both women were mortally |
wounded and dazed, they went downstairs,
and Skinner, whose revolver was empty |
now, went upstairs and got Feitner's re-
volver off nail where he knew it was kept |
and returned downstairs, followed by the
two women. He again exclaimed: envy
God, what have donep'
Mrs. Feitner was bending over her dead
husband when she was startled by four
shots in quick succession, followed by
heavy fall on the floor The murderer had
ended his own life by firing two bullets
into his breast on either side of the heart.
He next placed the revolver to his forehead,
fired two more shots and literally blew out
his brains. falling on the floor where his
body was. found this morning.
A Strange Conjecture Is Afost.
All Steubenville is talking about the
affair." and one of the stories going the
rounds is that Mrs. Feitner, hearing the
men quarreling, went downstairs. and
being i'll with the fever and being deranged,
as sometimes typhoid patients are, hunted
up her husbands revolver, and going down
stairs, began shooting where the men were
graphing together, shooting both in her
trenzied condition, and then, realizing her
awful crime, shot her mother and herself
This rumor has not been verified and moth
ing is thought of it.
Feitner was Sc years old, and has always
been known as peacable, law-abiding man,
although the same can be said of the mur-
derer. Skinner was 26 years of age and
came from West Virginia Some time ago
he told some of the boys in the neighbor-
hood that although he went by the name of
Skinner his real name was John Carman.
Hs was steady and excellent farm hand
and had been employed by Feitner for
three summers He has sisters living in
Toronto, and has another sister living in
Fernwood, to whose house it is supposed he
hauled the trunks