The sun., 1893-08-10
A WEALTHY BAKERS CRIME.
rrrF MURDER AND SUICIDE IN SOUTH
RRUOKLTN.


BRUOKLTN.
.p.r sb oo,,rr HI. sleeping wife. the. Mur-
80. t:I,mbered Over Roofs nnd Down
wall. to mn Adjoininn Yard, where He
shot HIMSELF and then Hanged Himself.
John II. Meister. BavarIan. arrived In this
country from Germany twenty-five years ago.
~ WAS then in his 20th year. Among his
,.I,ov yoyagers was n pretty 1S-year-old girl
,.mcd Meta from Berlin. The two became
lovers on the voyage, and two years after their
arrival in this country were married. Both had
.ett,ed in Brooklyn. Meister going to work. as
,oon as he stepped of the ship. in q bakery
in Williamsburgh, and his sweetheart getting
.mployment as servant. Meister learned his
trade rapidly and after their marriage. with
hi. earnings as o iourneyman baker. was able
To support his wife in comparative comfort.
In these early struggling days, and for many
years afterward. he was most devoted hus-
band, while his good-looking young wife was
model helpmate The couple saved money
during the nine years the husband worked as
n iourneyman. and sixteen years ago they
opened the Now England Bakery at 502 Henry
street Mcister was successful In the venture
from the start. His business steadily increased.
until he found himself the ownor of the three
story building in which his bakery was To-
Gated and OF two others around the corner in
SAckett street, anu Wortn NJ leHSt Soo,Ouo'
Prosperity worked marked change in tho
relations between Meister and his wifo. He
toined several German organizations and fell
into drinking habits. He became unkind to
his wife and five children. and for the past six
yenrs the family were disturbed from time to
time by quarrels more or less bitter. The
trouble between them was sometimes serious
enough to call for police Interference. Meister
seems to have been insanely jealous OF his
wife. and when drunk would accuse her. even
In the presence OF his children. OF being un-
faithful to him. These charges are pronounced
TO be utterly baseless
What proved to be final quarrel between
the couple began in the store on Tuesday af-
ternoon. Meister had becn out drinking In
one OF the neighboring saloons. and as soon
as he got back to the store began. to abuse his
wife before the customers and 1t Is said he
also threatened to shoot her. He manifested
such unusual ill-will that Mrs. Mester. before
retiring to her bedroom. which was In the
rear OF the store. called one OF the bakers and
willie. IL you hear a noise to night. run up
TO my room In q hurry
store when his wife made this remark. over
heard her. He did not go to sleep in his wiie's
room adjoining. The bakers at work in tho
basement heard no nois- overhead during the
night ana the lon Il tb shas ser ss auS fsI
Into drunken slumber, after determining. as
the event proved. to put an end to his wife and
twas the se custom ior one Of the bakers to
60 up and cali Meister at 3 o'clock each
promptly at that hour yesterday morning and
knocking on the dining room door. said:
The % response ). a % came m "a quickly. as If tho man
had already been awake:
About ten minutes afterward the bakers
heard q rapid succession OF pisto! shots; min
sled with loud and az . pisrclnE shrieks. There
was director by Meister at his helpless wife.
Directly after the shooting Meister was seen
BY one OF the startled neighbors. who ran to
windows. waking hurriedly through the store
and placing the empty revolver on one OF the
shelves. He then ran up stairs with the inten-
tion as Is supposed. OF numbering his children. |
who had loc ked their doors on hearing the
shooting. and were still screaming excitedly at
the m murderer reached the skylieht; which was
FIRMLY fastened with iron hooks Dashing his
gained, access to the root and ran, across the
roofs OF the two adjoining houses.which are Of |
'nS St US snd $40 there is big apartment
swingine from the rooi Of 506: Meister tried 10
binG hold Of the iron leader, 1t could not sus.
Meister tambled on the he Wooden @ n v extension in
With crash that could be hoard a BLOCK away;
Sot This % WAS 'dd Ss " Efe his
s4 ss had sssnE s1H5eS S,s IN T sh him from the
. The fuliet ne put in his own brain did not
take Immediate effect. He had strength
the fence. carry it half way across the yard,
tearias Of Of piece Of Clothes 1s line D Which Was
Dangling from another pole. he mounted the
tho eoe snf the Of oths,
around his neck and threw himself OF the
Through the gray light Of the morning. sew
eral persons In the adjoining houses witnessed
the Ehastly culmination Of the tragedy. but
Roberts and Tierney. who had been attracted
soon after the first shooting by the uproar.
Fhere was I no A sign a Of e death having i s0qs rs
quilted from the pistol wound in the right
.Meister must have been entirely conscious
alter no shot himself. for it was discovered
that he tested three different clothes lines be-
Smset directly after his is escape H M by the thhsr rrao
bis terrified children had rushed down stairs
murdered. She still lay on tho bed. and her
;night M dress and the bed clothing were scorched
5sSes Saa With the Showing that the
tSaI, bullet wounds were distributed thus: in the
lett ana sagh snss Eht left
An hour elapsed after the tragedy before
Metsters body was carried to the house and
put In an undertakeI's box alongside that CON
gaming his wife. Some candies wero found in
!n, ms pocket; and. as there is a suspicion they
may have been poisoned. an analysis will he
made. The children We're heartbroken with
Rrlei over the killing OF their mother. and had
net ne single kind word for their father. They
a. agreed that he had treated their mother
shamefuy: and the neiRhbors were equally
oqitspoke1 Ken IN depuncation Of him.
4 It's ~ Is said that Meister's hatred Of his wife
gAtss back to about six years ago. when she |
bad tS him arrested for assault. Whom taken 10
!hs police station Meister accused his wife OF |
infldelity. and swore that he would never for
E,Vo 3 nonet nsr, when her husband was arrniGned
e ehe explained to the Judge. for the sake OF
{he children. Meister was u m emher OF Fritz
Heuter Lodge; No z; 1873. Of the Knights OF
{ionor. the order OF Tonti, the order OF Chosen
FRIENDS. and the German Bakers Association.
THREE WHO WERE 1IRED Or 11rr
Ono Used Pistol. One the River, and the |
Third Inhaled Gas.