The morning call., 1892-11-03
KILLED HER ONLY BOY.
Mother and Son Die in Grim
Despair.
4 MURDER AND 4 SUICIDE.
Most Horrible and Unhistorle Double
Tragedy-Wsnt and Desertion By
Husband the Cause.
1 MURDER AND A SUICIDE.
a mother shot her son and killed him.

A mother shot her son and killed him.
Then she turned another pistol on herself
and ended her life.
Tho tragedy happened at 1854 Twenty
fifth street. but exactly when no one seems
30 know.
The people were residing In q tene-
nent- house, and the odoT from the rooms
occupied by Mrs. Anna johnson and her
son, Gustav, attracted the attention of Mrs.
A. ID. Rodsrick, the lsndiady, who entered
the apartments about II o'clock yesterday
morning.
She had not seen the people since week
ago last Monday night and when the stencil
was reported she felt assured that something
was wrong.
The apartments of the Johnsons con-
sisted of four rooms, and when the landlady
entered she first peered into the room OF the
boy, who was lying on his stomach on his
cot.
The flies and insects confirmed the be-
lief that there was nothing living In the
house, and it was then that Mrs. Roderick
went to another bedroom, where she found
the mother Of the dead boy lying on her
back with 38-caliber pistol on her breast,
one cham Der Of which had been discharged.
The blood that flowed from the temples
VI TIE Uecu WOuHu pidiui5 ihOiScNSN
bullet had penetrated her brain. a later
investigation proved that this was true.
In 1T of hysteTia almost the landlady
rushed from the house and gave an alarm
that frightened the neighbOrhood.
Everybody IN that part OF the city was
aroused, and yet no one seemed TO know
Just what TO do.
Starvation was at the bottom of the trag-
edy. The officials from the Morgue re-
moved the bodies to the Dunbar alley
charnel-house, where the morbid gaZers on
the dead were driven back during the en-
tire day. without the aid Of the police.
The woman, as near as can be learned,
was native of Norway and was about 90
years Of age at the time Of her death.
The boy was between IA and Is years OF
age. and in consequence of his mental de-
feet had been made the butt OF many jokes
In the neighborhood by other boys.
This worried the mother to an extraor-
binary degree, as the boy had always been
personally affectionats to her and she loved
him with the devotion that any true mother
would feel for her offspring.
The father, John johnson, who was a
carpenter by trade, abandoned his wife and
boy last winter and went to New York. He
was to send for them, but he never did.
On Monday evening week ago, Mrs.
Roderick informed Mrs. johnson that she
was three months behind with her rent.
Tomorrow / will pay you, madam, =
said the poor woman, sorrowfully. land
Gus will help me, won't you, Gus?"
The unfortunate nodded his head in &C
quiescence and in q fit of abject terror threw
bis arms about the waist of his mother.
Then they disappeared and entered thelI
humble lodgings. There was no woodo, nc
coal to cook anything with, even IL there
bad been anything to cook.
The furniture had been sold, and. there
was nothing left save the cot and bed
From her scanty purse the mother pur-
chased quart OF milk. and this she fed to
her boy, who was known as Merry Legs.
When bis stomach was filed the unfortu
nate was happy. He did not have the
brains 10 look into the future, hence lee
slept well, and in the middle of the night
when his mother was dreaming of what
there was ia store for her, she arose. and
from the circumstantial evidence went tC
the bedside of her boy with lighted candle
in one hand and loaded revolver in I'll,
other.
caused the poor boy to writhe in pain anC
almost roll from the bed.
The moment his mother saw this she free
another shot into his body, aud as he raiset
his arms again, possibly TO call his mother
that same mother put third bullel into hl
person and ended all his earthly cares.
Then with the deliberation of a mac
woman she walked into her own room an,
with another revolver ended her own life b,
shooting herself through the head.
There were four shots fired according T.
the wounds found on the dead, yet there
not neighbor who heard one of them.
The woman was evidently quite proud O
her act, and that she intended to do wha
she did is sbundantly evinced by the fac
that she had compelled her son to take