The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-04
WORSETHANDEEMING
a Chicago Man Butchers and
Mutilates His Aunt.
cRAzED Blythe SIGHT OF BLOOD
me Body 80 Horribly Cut ~ to Be I'm
observation-disclosures and Con-
fession Of the Murderer.

CHICAGO, May "a murder that rivals
for cruelty and horror the fate of the num-
rous victims in the London Whitechapel
district was committed between and
o'clock this evening in the home Of
Michael Walsh. at 344 Washburne avenue.
The victim was Mrs. Bridget Elizabeth
! Walsh. Walsh left home for work as usual
this morning, leaving his wife following
her customary occupation. Walsh returned
home few minutes after 6 O'Clock.
found the front door locked, and forced
!, an entrance to the house through the
kitchen. The fire was burning in the
stove and the evening meal partially pre-
pared. The appearance of the room at
tracted Walsh's attention as being pc
culiar, and he started in search of his wife.
he searched through the house, and, not
finding her, began to think some harm had
befallen her.
from the bedroom, he returned there and
made a more minute examination. The
room was partially darkened, as the win
dow curtains were lowered. He raised
them, and a pile of rags met his gaze.
The first piece of cloth he lifted was
stained with blood. He then threw the
pile aside.
There, on the blood-stained carpet, lay
the nude body of his wife, with sixty-five
gashes, varying in length from half an inch
to foot, which told the story. That death
came only after violent struggle was
shown by the disarrangement of the furni-
ture and the scattering of blood Not
satisfied with killing his victim. the slayer
90 horribly disfigured the corpse that even
Walsh could hardly realize that he was
gazing on the dead body of his own wife.
From the crown of the woman's head to
her feet there were cuts in every conceiva-
Bile direction. The wounds were most
numerous on the breast and lower limbs,
where the flesh was ripped and hacked in
places until the skin hung in shreds.
Along the upper right leg was
. cash over foot in length. Along either
side of this wound was a row of smaller
gashes made with uniform length and
evenly arranged, as if to give . horrible
artistic finish to the work. Over each eve
was deep cash, and another underneath
the right eye, another along the left
check and still another on the neck under
the chin.
In the left breast, Immediately over the
heart was a pair of long-bladed shears
that had been driven into the flesh. I'm
mediately under them was a small round
hole resembling bullet wound, but there
Is no trace of powder burns.
A broom that had evidently been carried
from the kitchen into the bedroom had
been broken, and the handle was thrust
through the entire length of the woman's
trunk from the lower portion to the throat.
Pieces of the vital organs were torn off
and carried along by the blunt wood, and
the mouth was filled with mass of blood
and flesh. The broom-handle had been
thrust up with terrible force, for the
woman's body was terribly torn, and por-
tons of the organs were left lying on the
floor. All the wounds were evidently IN
6icted by shears, the edges of the cuts
being rough and notched. At the lower
part of the trunk was this especially
manifest, the flesh being cut and torn.
For q moment the sight of his wife's
body so unnerved Walsh that he was un-
able to act. Recovering himself, he noti-
fed the police, who upon arriving exam
ined the room where the body was found,
and on the narrow bed found three pill
lows covered with blood. On the wall also
we're great splotches, and the bed-clothing
was stained. The rags which covered the
body, among which also were Mrs. WaIsh's
clothing, were saturated with blood. The
police made hasty examination of the
situation and started to search for the per-
petrator of the outrage.
Their efforts were rewarded, for within
four hours the self-confessed murderer was
arrested in the person of Thomas Walsh,
of l43 Washburn avenue, the dead wom-
ans nephew. When the prisoner was
taken to the station he acknowledged be-
ing the guilty party, and said he and Mrs.
Walsh had been drinking together and he
made an improper proposal to her, where
upon she slapped his face. He drew
knife and stabbed her. The sight of blood
suddenly drove him insane, with the result
that he mangled and tore the poor woman