The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-06-15
MANIAC MOTHERS crime.
She Makes Way With Four Of
Her Little Ones.
A Daughters Heroic struggle 80 Prevent
tho Tragedy Enaed ~ thv woa,aa TEX
ing Her Own Life Her Othcr chill
drcn An Rnn For 1hetr lives

the Tragedy Eaasd III tk~ won,aa TEX
inE Her own Life Her 0thor chill
drcn An Hun Fos 1hetr lives.
PARKFHaRURa, ". Va, June is.--Mrs
| Philip Kereh. the wife ~ well-to-do
farmer near Pleasant Hill. ktiied herr
self and four children ard trieA hi kill
the rest III the fnnily Pleasant IliltH
Is On the Northwestern pike. sixteen
miles from this city On this road lived
Kerch, prosperous German farmer,
his wife Katherine, and eight children,
the oldest 81 whom. Moiiie. was II.
Mir and Mrs. kcroh hnd livsa there
for about sixtenn years, anl masssl
thore frnsa Ohio They hal i fsrin u
one hundred acres, with horses and
cows and plenty of everything % Hive
an, For some time Mrs. kerch Inns heons
very melancholy, and frequently said
| that she WINS afraid she would die and
| leave her children. She seemed ID be-
in good health, however, except that
she sometimes complained uf trpuhle
| In her side.
Tuesday Mr.. Kerch was away from
the honse attending a house raising,
Az home Mollie, the oldest child, WIS
washing. and al the dinner hour ma
lregnlar dinner was served, lint the ehil
ircn were all given milk and pieces
fhis was about 1880, and when tile
children hid finished eating Mrs
kerch went to Mollie and quietly said
Il have given Johnny and freddy poi
son. md we will all jump into the
we'll
Mallie, remembering TINT q bottle 1T
stryGhnine had been III thu hnuae fin
some time, ran ta the place where Il
Ind been kept II was gone, but sshe
found il III another place and threw II
down the hill She rot buck d The
| front 81 the house justin time IL acc
her mother pick M the io-months-old
| baby md throw II into the we'll which
stood 20 feet from the house, and which
was twenty fonr feet deep, with eight
feet Of water HI II.
Before Mollic could prevent her, Mrs
Kcrch had thrown the baby into the
we'll and picked up d .i-yeur-o old
| child and threw II into the veil
Then the crazy woman took another Of
her children, q hoy ! 81 ayenrs old
bnt Mollir rescued him from the
| mothers grasp Then Mrs. kercil
tried ~ throw Mpllie into the we'll.
bnt after n desperate struggle the girl
succeeded hi escaping. by this time the
two children who were IN the we'll
were dead
| The two boysJohnny and Freddy
to whom she had given poison. Gyere
Lying on the floor, dying, md the other
children, with The exception u Mollie,
the eldest daughter. had run 10 the
uncle, Dan Kcrch. 70 tell the awful
news.
| Then Mrs, kerch seeing that SHE
eanld destroy no more Of her children.
| iua,ped into the well herself
| Mollic seized her and exerted her ut
naost strength to save her mother
| Mollie held her nv her clothing over
the edge Of the we'll, and tried 10 pull
her back hut Mt last the desperate
woman freed herself from her dnugh-
trr's hands and plunged 10 her death
| Then Mollie run toward her Uncle
Dams anam met some 81 tho folks com
ing The alarm was soon spread. and
4 large number % the neighbors ar
rived Word was sent 10 the husband
and fnther, and he came home aH soon
as possible.
Ono ii the first 81 the neighbors to-
arrive was Chns. Baker, who lives near
| by. He got there at l:g0 o'clock. and he
| found the mother and two children Iii
/ tho well dead Freddy, who had been
given poison, was lying dead on the
iioor. and Johnny. who had also been
poisoned, died In very few minutes
afterwnrd
When the husband reached home an
awfnstjfsht mot his eyes Mollie and
the OTHER children had been sent away
70 d ncighhor'a, and there was nobody
to explain To the distracted man how II
all had happened a crowd collected
| land the bodies were taken ont Of the.
well, and the mother and her fonr chill
dren laid side BY side.
1 There had been eight children, and ii
was her intention to kill them all. She
\ had succeeded in accomplishing half Of
her awful work and had then taken her
| own life. Wednesday there was a
great crowd at the scene Of the awful
| tragedy.
Charles Baker came TO this city We'd
nestay morning and got three collins
one for Mrs. Kerch and the two small
est children, and one each for Freddy
| and Johnny. Wednesday afternoon at
| 4 o'clock the mothor and her four chill
dren were all buried In one grave at
Slsidmore's graveyard
Mrs Kerch, who committed this ter-
ribic deed, was between 80 and 10, and
was well liked BY her neighbors
q < - Fl