The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-09-25
A FORGOTTEN MURDER.
BROUGHT ~ MIMI nj THE BORDEN
CAS- Nv FAIL RlrER.
"reminiscences offs busy Nswspapsr writer
Tho story OF q Thiers KevenEefHi Act
Questions that Drove q Judge to Death.

-Ino btOry OF q Ihlet'o Neven8euuI Act
Questions thnt Drove n Judge to Death.
PH1LADsIpHIA. Sept. 2i.-The Borden MUIR
der case at Fall River suggests to mo a MUIR
der case in this City OF Brotherly Love when I
was q child. say about 1854. In the heart Of
the old city. only two squares from Market
street. In Fourth. . husband and wife wore
found stabbed. the woman to death and the
man not so badly that he could not recover.
The family wns named Radsmacher. Mrs.
lsademacher was stabbed fendishly. every
blow seeming to GO almost through her. Her
blood was spattsrod over the walls OF the
small bedroom. The bed sheets and the floor
were covered with blood. Tremendous wounds
seemed to tell the story Of from endous hatred.
Who could have inflicted those wounds but
the husband He only was In that little
room with her. 1t was trne that no was
stabbed also. but the stabs were not so bad.
He might have cut himself to be saved from
the Callows.
AS In the majority OF families. perhaps. the
wife and the husband had not always been in
consonance. Servants had hoard Mr.. Rade-
macher soy fierce things to his wife. He might
have been Jealous. Little intimations OF this
sort, first arising In tho popular mind. might
have overwhelmed the unfortunate husband.
already sorely wounded with worse than
humiliation. He seemed pointed out In the
"a tHluk IL IcVpl0
as the murderer Of his wife. Nobody stopped
to think what he had lost-the society Of the
woman he had Wooded. the even course and
security OF marital existence. The fact that
his wife had been stabbed tho worst and he
stabbed tho least made every little clrcum.
stance benr againstthe husband. Rademacher
had been lifted to the gallows tree by tons Of
thousands Of willing hands on mere suspicion.
when the law. which is not SO wicked as the
multitude. discovered another solution.
There was no motive whatever for anybody
to kill Mrs. Rademacher. She had no enomies:
she was n commonplace. rather pretty woman
Of tho old German stock. Nothing had hap
pened in her life OF any significance. No man
was in sight who could have inflicted those
wounds but her husband. The police detec-
tives. such rs they were in that day. concluded
to 60 around to the psnitentiaries and inquire
whether any criminal had been recently dis
charged who might have done the murder.
say In the line Of burglary or houssbreaking.
1t was learned that not long before . man By
the name OF Langieldt. . German. or Slav. or
Pole. who had been put in prison for robbing
miscellaneously. had been discharged from
the Cherry Hill or Eastern Penitentiary.
Among other robberies he had entered an
old Lutheran or German Reformed church in
Fourth street. The rear OF the church came
to the house OF the Rademacher couple. Mrs.
Radenacher had seen the man in tho act Of
escaping from tho back Of the church. lie had
stolen the velvet cushion for the Bible and
some other altar articles. When Langfeldt
had been brought to bay and was under e1-
examination. the police produced Mrs. Rade
macher. who identified him as the man she
had seen escaping from that church. Her
Identification led to tho mans conviction. and
he was sentenced for a regular term In the
penitentiary for burglary.
forget whether his term was four years.
six years. or eight years. or even moro. Time
enough had elapsed. however. for the circum-
stance to be forgotten. and 1t was not thought
OF oven by tho husband OF the woman when he
was so much suspected. Revenge does not
seem to be so chronic in this country as in
som OF the European Countries. where the
poor deter each other from informing on crime
by An oppression worse than tyranny. The
police. however. not living upon suspicious.
but on established methods OF evidence. RI
thor thought that this Langfeldt might have
come out OF prison and murdered the woman
who testified against him and inflicted upon
him the proper need OF his crimeA. In the
course OF their inquiries they learned that
Langfeldr had muttered that whom he got out
of prison he would get even with the woman.
The wretch had gone through his term In
prison with only one fixed idea. and that was
to murder Mrs. Rademacher. whose solitary
offence was that she had observed him In tho
act OF theft. and under tho law had to tss-
tify and identify.
The police set out to find LanEfeldt He was
found by clues the police understood. and no
affected the greatest surprise and indignation
at tho suspicious Of the officers. Thu police.
however. arrested a follow Of his to whom he
had related. In the delight OF . murderer who
murdered for revenge. that he had got even
with that woman and had sent her to the other
world. With that testimony the whole mys-
terry fell out. Every man and woman who had
been weaving a rope to hang Mr.. Rndemacher
with turned about and said to tho next per-
son. Did YOU ever hear Of such atroclous
suspicious Of that poor man Rademacher. who
%niicent hypocrisy zach man who had intended
to hang Matchmaker vented to find the per-
them imprisoned for lander.
When the trial came on the chain Of evidencs
t Tns iG9mp WitS tna aaa1 .sisn q g %n ont FIT sh g. DS n1t:
never removed from that little o;story. house.
like the bricks In the church. were burned ola
black color. as II they might have come from
sity. f ahsin s9 spotie tp t the e Toman q Il oss Of tei
her house. say from the church yard. The
bedroom. where she may have slept with her
window open. The murderer armed himself.
shnrpened his knife: went to the pl9ee. and.
+ 5iGIWs MItI Witch hs stabbed her all The fury
When the husband awakened he, too, was
struck with the knife. but not with tho same
deadly intent. The husband. therefore. not
knowing with whom he was dealing. avoided
his murderer. while the poor woman had her
he ss siinnsa out S%t t 1h;SSs fhs tGs w ThS %u td tSs
low sStenslon Of tho house. and, making his
told upon him he mMttered. All. Andrew. YOU
swear away my llfeI" Those who saw him ut
that moment said that they could soc another
murder resolved upon in his mind II he should
carried to tho ga!lows, and hanged like a wolf.
NoRMILE's SUICIDE. 10
Mention Of criminal things leads me- to re-
yire, the suicide Of Judge j. c. Normile Of 81.
Louis. / became acquainted with Normile
about 1874 at Saratoga. lilo was a tall. tine-
looking man, Of q gay nature. rather more
French tRan Irish. and WAS = practising law
Inaintapcs among the men who wont about
t,nlifiaa Ia nayav ~ rrinI nIfhntrb ha &,a