Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-07-29
A BRUTAL MURDERER
Revolving Triple Tragedy in q
Pittsburg Tenement.
WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN KILLED.
The Husband and Fa:her Broke In the
skulls of His Victims with Heavy
Hammer, and Then Tried to Hide His
Crime by Iuccndfarism.

The Husband and Fa.her Broke In the
skulls of His Victims with Heavy
Hammer, and Then Tried to Hide His
Crime by Incendiarism.
PIrTsBURG, July ga terrible triple
tragedy took place during the early hours
of the morning in a ramshackle brick ten
ement on Oak alley, near the head of
Knoxville incline plane, overlooking the
south side. Mrs. John Smaus, and her two
children, aged and . years respectively,
died, and the husband aud father is under
arrest
The family consisted of four children
and the parents A boy years old and
13-weeksold infant were uninjured by
their father, but were left in the building
after it had been set on fire. The family
has occupied the miserable quarters about
three years. Quarrels have been so fire.
quent that the neighbors gave them little
attention At IL o'clock at night the
usual quarrel was in progress, but no I'm
usual noise was heard until o'clock in
the morning George Smaus, the husband
and father, ran to a neighbours house, and
in the greatest excitement exclaimed that
something was wrong, as he could not get
into the upper ROOM The neighbor ran to
the house, stumbling over the body of
Mrs Smaus at the door. Just then smoke
and flames burst from the upper windows.
When the flremen arrived they picked up
the body of the woman. She was still
breathing, but died in few moments.
The firemen found blood spattered over
the floor, furniture and walls of the down
stairs room. In the room up stairs they
found blood marks everywhere The
feather bed was on fire, and they pulled it
from the Stats to throw it out of the win
dow, when they noticed something heavy
init. They reached into the slit and pulled
out the body of child. The body was
burned black and not a stitch of clothes
was OIL it. The body was taken down
stairs and the burning tick thrown out of
the window. The men were Mortified to
see the black and charred body OF another
child under the bed The baby was sound
asleep in its cradle. The flames were soon
extinguished.
On the floor were two hammers covered
with blood, broken lamp, and blood on
nearly every piece of furniture and every
foot of the floor The room was in terrible
disorder, showing that desperate battle
took place between the murderer and his
first victim, his wife. The surroundings
would indicate that the man and wife had
fought, and that he knocked her to the
floor with a house hammer weighing about
a pound. 1t is thought he used this until
the handle flew off and then procured a
heavy machinist hammer.
After the mother received her death blow
the father killed his daughters, aged and
9years respectively He had struck them
several blows over their heads with the
heavy hammer Every blow sank deep
into their brains, crushing their heads.
His next work was to place the lampunder
the bed so that the bed clothing readily
ign;ted, hoping thereby to conceal the ter
rible crime.
The S-year-old boy who escaped stated
that his father had killed his mother,