St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-12
MURDERMOST FOUL
Nicholas Bodvin, Seventeen
Years Of Age, Shoots
His Father.
THE OLD MAN WAS DRUNK
And Attacked His Son With
a Great Big Butcher
Knife.
NICHOLAS STORY DOUBTED
Neighbors Say He Had Fro
quentIy Threatened His
Parents Life.


son Nicholas.
The aged father was shot twice
through the head, and his death
| was instantaneous.
Young BodVin at once surrendered
himself to the authorities at the CEN
trail station.
The terrible crime was the result
| of bitter family quarrel of long
standing Old man Bodvin was
drinking man, and when under the
| influence of liquor terroriZed the
| household His wife was in con-
slant fear of her life at such times,
and had often fed to the neighbors
for safety.
Yesterday morning young Nicholas
started for his work, but his mother
| implored him not to leave her, as
| his father was intoxicated, and she
| feared for her life. Nicholas took
his mother to a neighbours and then
returned to his home. There he met
his father, and according to the
| boys story, the old man, Infatuated
! because his wife had left the house,
seized a butcher knife and assaulted
him. The boy drew a revolver and
fired two shots, both of which took
effect in lis fathers head. He then
ran out and gave himself up to
Patrolman Won Hickey.
| The officer, accompanied by Patrol
| man Brown, went to the scene of the
murder and found the father lying
dead on the kitchen floor. Near him
lay big butcher knife, which the
boy says his father held in his hand
when he shot him.
The coroner was summoned and
made a careful examination of the
dead mans wounds. The shots took
effect in the back of the head, MAX
ing two CHASTITY holes, from which
the brains were oozing. The face of
| the murdered man was frightfully
| distorted, which is a remarkable
circumstance in the case of death by
a gunshot wound.
The body was taken to the county
! morgue, where an inquest will be
held.
There are details in connection
with the tragedy which seem to dis
credit the boys story. In the left
| hand of the dead man was clutched
a pipe, showing that he had been
smoking when the trouble began.
| One chair in the room was over
turned, but a can of milk sitting
on the table near by and the dishes
and other articles in the room were
| in perfect order. A stove was with
| in few feet of where the body was
found, and it is thought if there had
been struggle, some of these things
must have been disturbed.
Appearances indicate that the shots
were fired from the rear, and it is
| hard to reconcile this condition of
things with Nicholas story that he
fired as his father rushed upon him,
butcher knife in hand. However,
! young Bodvin's story must be taken
| for what it is worth, as there were
no other witnesses to the fatal quar-
rel.
The young me- n is seventeen years
of age, and does not look like a
murderous character. He is heavy
and dull in his movements, but has
! pleasant face. He exhibits no hes
| itancy in speaking of his crime, and
manifests no feeling whatever. He
appears like a man who knows well
the position he is in, and is ready
| to face the consequences.
| In speaking of the matter to re-
porters yesterday, he said:
81 got up about $50, and told my
mother that l was going to the shop.
She made signs to me to stay home,
but in such a way that father would
not see it or there would have been
trouble. ] stayed around, split some
wood, and came back and said I
must go or 1 wouldn't get the job.
She went out in the hall, and 1 told
| her to go to Dustrane's house, and
I would tell father that she was
out lookinfig for a. house. I took
her and the children over there, and
walked around for a while with
some of my friends. Then I went
to the house, and when 1 told father
that mother had gone he flew at me,
and we clinched. 1 had a brush,
and warded off his blows, and then
| lOOh d MILF I1C SlI uCh cto lllC
several times, but struck my hand
with the wrist and caught one blow
on the knife. He Rugged me closer,
and tried to bite me in the neck. The
fight was growing stronger, and then
1 pulled the gun; with my hand
around him, I fired into the back
of his head three times; one shot
missed fire.
He never said a word; but at the
second shot fell down on the floor
l went over and told my mother
what I had done, and then gave my
self up to Officer Van Rickley."
The Bodvin family reside at 2200
! Monroe street northeast in a two
story frame house. They live up
stairs, where they had two rooms.
The back room was used as a kitch-
en-, and it was there the tragedy oc-
Cured. The room is 10x12, and con-
tains few articles of furniture
Next door to the Bodvins is fam
lily of the name of Carlson. The
Carlsons say young Bodvin had
often threatened his fathers life,
and had been carrying a revolver
for that purpose. Mrs. Carlson says
the father and son had fight last
Saturday, in which the son was
thrown down stairs. At that time he
swore vengeance.
The mother sticks up for her son,
whose life, she says, was constantly
! threatened by her husband.
Peter Bodvin was fifty-fve years
old, and the father of eleven chill
| dren. s.
Two Shots Were Fired.
George Gahring, engineer at the