The Forrest City times., 1894-03-16
A SUNDAY TRAGEDY.


 Family Misunderstanding By Killing
 His Wife and Himself In the Presence
 of His Step Daughter on the Railway
 Platform at East Alton = The Direct
 Cause of the Tragedy Not Definitely
 Known.
 ALTON, H.. March 13.-The South western limited train of the Big Four railroad had as passengers to East Alton Sunday night, bound for their home at Alton, Mir. and Mrs. Marion T. Skaats, with Mrs. Skaats' daughter, Miss Cora Phillips. The daughter ar rived here at o'clock, accompanied by the dead bodies of her mother and step- father.
 The story of the tragedy. as told by Miss Phillips between her sobs, was brief but terrible. She and her moth- CT had gone to St. Louis at noon, for what was not stated, and had been fol- lowed by SlSaats on later train. As they returned on the limited and ar rived at East Alton they changed to the plug" train for Alton, and as they walked across the little plat form SlSaats, saying to his wife, We will settle this matter now, quickly shot her dead and then fired two shots into his own head and died almost instantly. The affair was soon over, taking but moment, and both were dead before the daughter or the bewildered spectators of the scene could realize what had happened.
 WARNED HER MOTHER.
 Miss Phillips says that when Slaats came in and sat down in the car behind herself and mother, he made some re- mark which caused her to look at him, and she at once said to her mother, Look out for tragedyr' but did not suppose he meant to kill her mother and himself as we'll.
 When the plug" train arrived at Alton the ambulance wagon was ready taken to the family home, her daugh- ter refusing to allow the body of the murderer and suicide to be taken to the house. When this task had been accomplished the wagon returned and Skaats' body was taken to the police station in the city hall.
 Skaats has a father, E. F. Skaats, of Wichita, Kas., and two little daugh- ters, who are with their grandfather son lives here.
 Mrs. Skaats. formerly Mrs. Celia Phillips, leaves four daughters and one son, the latter cripple, who are all distracted with grief. as they find themselves almost f-iendless orphans.
 SUCH A TRAGEDY PREDICTED.
 The history of the dead couple is pc culiar, and they have been for many years tho subject of much discussion, many having the foresight to predict just such tragic end as has come to them.
 On the 5th of last December the Skaats family had terrible row, he beating his wife and threatening to kill her, and making such a noise as to arouse the entire neighborhood. He was only quieted by the arrival of a de- tachment of police. As result of this quarrel Skaats and his wife separated, he taking his children and going to his fathers at Wichita. Mrs. Skaats at once applied for a divorce
 Some three or four weeks afterward. however, she received a conciliatory letter from him, and the trouble was patched up. He returned to her, leav- ing his children with his father. A more loving couple was never seen on the streets of Alton than the Skaats, and their regained happiness was the subject of general comment. This has continued without interruption until the present tragedy. at least so far as the public knows, and the awful end ing of the pair, while not altogether unexpected, came as violent shock to this community. and is the sole topic of discussion in this city of sensations