The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-06-15
A MANIAC MOTHER
Ends the Lives. of Four OF Her
Young Children
AND THE 0LDERNARROWLY ESCAPE,
sho browns Herself in a well-The
Awful Deed of Mrs Philip Kcrch,
ofPleasant Hill, Wood County, West
Virglnia-A Tragedy That Shocked
the Neighborhood for Miles Around,
How the Woman Accomplished
Her Terrible Work.
speofal pt,paleh % he InleIl.qeneer.

Special DiIpaich to he IRtcIlweEesr
PAREERsBURG, W. Va, June 14.-One
OF tho worst tragedies that ever &C.
Cured in West Virginia startled the
citizens OF Pleasant Hill, this county,
yesterday.
A woman, the wife OF a well-to-do
farmer, killed herself and four children
and tried to kill the rest of the family,
Pleasant Hill is on the Northwestern
pike, sixteen miles from this city
Philip Kerch, prosperous German
farmer, his wife, Katherine, and eight
children, the oldest OF whom is named
Molie and is about seventeen years OF
age, lived about one.halt mile from the
pike
Mr., and Mrs. Kerch had lived there
for about fifteen years and had moved
there from Ohio. They had a farm OF
100 acres with horses and COWS and
plenty OF everything to live on,
For some time Mrs. KerCh has been
very melancholy, and frequently said
that she was afraid she would die and
leave her children. She seemed to be
in good health, however, except that
she sometimes complained OF trouble
in her side, but was frequently very
melancholy. Yesterday Mr.. Kerch was
away from home attending a house.
raising At home MolIie, the oldest
child. was engaged in washing, and mt
the dinner hour no regular dinner was
served, but tho children were all given
milk and "pieces." This was about
1890 O'clock When tho children had
finished eating Mrs. Kerch went to
Molie anu quietly said TO her. II
have given Johnnie and Freddie poison,
and We will all jump into the we'll.
Mollie, remembering that bottle OF
strychinne had been in the house for
some time, ran to tho place where it
had been kept 1t was gone, but she
found it in another place and threw it
down over the hill.
She got back to the front OF the house
Just in time to see her mother pick up
the baby, ten months old, and throw it
into the we'll which stood thirty feet
from house and was q feet deep with
eight feet OF water in 1t. Before Mollie
could prevent her, Mrs. Kerch had
thrown the baby into the well aud had
grabbed up another child, little three
year.old, and had also thrown 1t into
the we'll
Then the crazed woman grabbed an.
other OF her children, II boy s or 0yearS
old, but Mollie helped the boy make
his escape.
Then Mrs. Kerch tried to throw Mol.
lie into the well, but after desperate
struggle the girl succeeded in escaping.
BY this timethe two children that had
been thrown into the well we're dead,
the two boys Johnnie and Freddie) to
whom she had given poison, were lying
on the floor dying, and tho other child.
rem with the exception of Mollie, the
oldest daughter, had run to their Uncle
Dan Korch's to tell what had hap
pened,
Then Mrs. Kerch, seeing that she
could destroy no more of her children,
jumped into the well herself
Mollie grabbed her and exerted hor
utmost strength to save her. She held
her by her clothing over the edge Of the
well and tried to pull her back, but at
last the desperate woman freed herself
from her daughters hands and fell to
tho bottom of tho well. Then Mollie
ran to her uncle. Dan Kerch, and met
some OF the folks coming The alarm
was soon spread, and directly largo
number Of the noighbors arrived. Word
was sent hastily to the husband and
father, and he came home as soon as
possible.
Ono OF the first Of the neighbors to ar.
rive was Charles Baker, who lives near
by. He got there at 1880 o'clock, and
when he arrived the mother and two
children were in the well, dead. Freddie,
who had boon given poison, was lying
dead on the floor, and Johnnie, who had
also been poisoned, died in a very few
minutes afterwRrd
When the husband reached home an
awful sight met his eyes. Mollie and
the other children had been sent away
to neighbours, and there was nobody
to explain to the distracted man how it
all had happened. The sight was an
awful one.
Very soon a great crowd collected,
ana Jno OOules were tukcn OUT Oh tue
well, and the mother and her four chill :
dren were laid side by side.
There had been eight children, and it
was her intention to kill them all. She
had succeeded in accomplis hing half OF
her awful work and had then taken her
own life,
Great excitement was created in tho
neighborhood. and to-day there was a
great crowd at the scene OF the awful
tragedy.
Charles Baker camo to the city this
morning and got three collins at Dare
4 Carnoy'B, ono for Mrs. Korch and tho
| two smallest ehildrena and one each for
Freddie and Johnnie This afternoon
at 4 o'clock tho mother and hcr four
children were all buried in one grave at
Skidmore's graveyard.
Mrs. Kerch, who committed this tor.
rible deed, was between thirty.fvo and
forty years OF age and was well likod by
har noighbors. She had become tom.
pOrarily insane and while crazy do.
stroyod herself and children.
A Wonderful Machine.
rrkono Ia an dn,,ht that man ts n nN n