Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-05-24

NEW YORK, May 17.-Charles Salms-
muller and his aged mother were found
dead, With their throats cut, at their
rooms on the second floor Of no. Gal
East Twelfth street, yesterday.
The people were barely known to
their neighbors. II was with difficulty
that Officer Mulholiand, who made the
preliminary investigation, learned that
the man bore the name Of Charles
Salmsmuller, that he was about so years
Of age, that he was by profession de.
signer Of wall paper and fresco patterns,
that be had hesn out of work for long
time and was very poor. The old lady
was his mother Her name was Lena,
and she was IS years of age. Although
very feeble and rarely able To leave the
one room in which she and her son ex-
listed, she made pretense of doing the
homework
They moved into the wretched little
rooms about two months ago. They
made no acquaintance among their
neighbors and were on barely more than
speaking terms with Mrs. Mary Bolen,
caretaker OF the premises. The man
spent a great deal Of time about the
house and seemed much devoted to his
feeble old mother. Ee was not given
TO drink. In fact, he was too poor to
indulge the appetite if he had IL.
The Salmsmullers were last seen be.
fore dark on Tuesday evening. No signs
of life were visible about the room yes
terday. Shortly before s o'clock Mrs.
Bolen suspected something wrong, and
after repeated knocks at the door she
climbed up the fire escape, entered the
kitchen and passed into the front room
A moment later she ran screaming out
of the apartments. The excited neigh
bors ran to the scene and crowded into
the rooms. Some one brought light
and CHASTITY scene was revealed.
Lying en- her back in bed in one
corner of the room, with the bed clothes
partially covering the body, lay the old
lady. A terrible cash extended across
her throat, literally from ear TO ear.
The shabby little pillow was drenched
with blood, and the red stream had run
off on either side from the bed to the
floor.
Across bed in opposite corner lay
the body Of the son. He had evidently
stood up by the bed side with his back
to 1t, drawn the keen edge across his
throat from left to right, severing the
carotid artery and windpipe. He had
fallen back on 10 the couch, with the razor
clasped in his right hand. His feet
were on the floor. Death had been pain
less, because his hand was firm and he
had cut to kill. He had bed enormously,
and the bed was drenched with his gore.
Some one touched the bodies. They
were cold. The blood stains on the
beds and carpet were examined more
closely under the lamplight. The life
fluid had long since coagulated. The
two lives had been shifted out many
hours before. A lamp on the nantel
had buried out. This argued that the
bloody work had been done ON Tuesday
night, and that the Redeemed corpses
had lain in the darkness and twilight of
the room for nearly "a hours.
A search was made for letters. None
was found that would throw any light
upon the tragedy. No money or yalu-
ables upon which money could have
been realized were discovered, and the
little cupboard was bare.
To the suggestion of murder Mrs.
Bolen replied that when she entered the
chamber OF death she ran to the door to
escape and found it locked and bolted.
An excited crowd remained about the
place until late hour. The coroner did
not appear, and the officer stood watch
over the bodies.
There is but one theory: The man
had given up the struggle for existence.
He could not bear the idea of allowing
his aged mother to starve among strang.
ers, so he took her with him on his jour.
ney into the dark.