Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-02-16
STORY OF The BuTcAEav.
The Feind spares Neither Age, Sex Nor
Cnnti ton.

The Feind spares Neither Age, Sex Nor
Condition.
The crime for which Bud Stone. as he
was Familiarity known, was convicted was
committed near thc village of
Glendale, nine miles east If Wash
ington, Ind, on the night OF Sept,
is. 1893, and was the peculiarly
atrccious and bloody murder OF Mrs.
Elizabeth Wrattcis, her son benson Wrat-
ten, his wife and three children. All were
instantly killed with the exception of the
little girl Ethel who lived for several DAYS
Aiming himself with corn knife he went
To the home of his victims AT late boar
or the night Of the crime and Observing
that they were stiii awake benson Wr..t-
ten being confined ia his bed with typhoid
fever--tore knocked on the door and i,..-
ing answered 10y the younger Mrs. Nrat
ten asked her !og medicine Tor The tooth
ache.
A. she turned to get the remedy he
struck her q blow on the head with the
corn knife that rendered her Efeless
Jumping over the form Of the PROSTATE
woman he killed the children rs he came
to them, and going to the bed upon which
benson Wratten lay he dealt him blow
that ended his life. The elder Mrs Wrai.
ten slept in an nd ioining room. and finding
Ler door locked me kicked la the window
and entering the room finished his bloody
work. Stone confessed the crime TO his
wife and she being unable TO keep the
awful secret. when summoned before the
grand jury told all She knew.
The murders were not discovered until
next morning. when ncighbur wen;
in the home of Wraiirn to see how
he We. ernffs-r- al -. III -.
down with typhoid fevc- for two weeks.
y hen he entered the hcose he v&s
Mortified to seq five bodies living in
literal pools Of blood. Without waiting
to investigate he hurried back to
town and gave the alarm. A number
q! citizens accompanied him bacls to the
Wrattcn homestead. In the room to the
east Mrs. Wr;tten. 81 years-old and the
mother Of benson Wr1tfen. was fcrln 4
upon the floor. Her face and head were n
mutilatcd with gasncs that she could
hardly ne recognized. Her right hand was
severed from the arm and the fingers on
her lef: hand were broken in seyera. places.
showing that she had experienced afuriou-
encounter with the murderer.
Ia ;he next room benson Wrntten v-as
found. His corpse was living across the
bed There were three deep gashes in the
bed Mt the side Of IL. Three blows had
ended his life and he had evidently died
without struggle. The next room was
the kitchen, and across the doorstep lead.
ing 20 the porch wcis the body OF Ada
Wratten. Dcnson's wife There were sev.
eral wounds about her head aud BODY 4
few feet away was the body of her Swear
old hahc IL had been taken from the bed.
struck twice, causing deep rashes above
each eye. and then thrown to the floor.
Near by was little Stella Wratten 81 years
old, with deep cut 4across the forehead
Appearances indicated that she must have
struggled with the assassin. as the blood
was splashed over the bnreau and the bed
close by.
y little further to the southwest, in the
corner of the room, was the sixth member
of the family a daughter II years old She
was still alive. In the middle of her fore
head was deep indentation. 1t was a,
once assumed that robbery was the motive
of the tragedy. as the old lady was in re-
ceipt of pension, her husband having
been killed at Chattanooga during the war
She had prejudice against banks and
was supposed to have several thousand
dollars ia currency in the house
The butcher was taken TO Jeffersouville
prison Immediately upon his arrest in or
der to avoid lynching. but was returned
to Washington for trial. He entered n
plea Of guilty and within three hours time
had been tried, convicted and sentenced &c
he hanged. A short time ago he added
another horror 10 his crime by stating to
his aged father who visited him in prison
that he had smothcrcd the little girl Ethel
with an apron at neighbours house,
where she had been received in dying
condition, while the folks were ut dinner.
~ he feared that il she recovered her evi.
dencc might convict him.
stones was probably the most brutal
and Gcndish murder ever committed in the
state Of Indiana. 1t was undoubtedly
planned for robbcry, but becoming flight