The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-07-06
MURDERED FAMILY.
Father, Mother and -Four Children
Found Dead in Their Home.
EVIDENTLY A MADMANs WORK.

Tho Murderer and Suicide Was q Prosper
Gus Contractor. and No Possible Motive
Il Known for the Crime-The Whole
Family Aspbyxiated.
CHICAGO, July 8-Frederick Heilman,
a well TO do mason contractor, murdered
his wife and four children Thursday night
and then killed himself It was at first
supposed that the deaths were accidental,
but 1t developed at the coroner's inquest
that the whole murder was calmly
planned, and that the man intended TO
kill himself and end the existence Of the
members Of his family. Tho dead man
and his victims are; Frederick Hellman,
aged 81; Mrs. Ida Holman, aged 30;
Fred Hellman, Jr., aged II; Ida Hellman,
aged 10; William B. Hellman, aged 2, and
Hedwig Holman, a 3yearold daughter
The tragedy toek place in q little brick
cottage at the corner of Cornelia and
Wood streets. The motive of the crime
may never be known, but 1t Is supposed
the act was that Of a mailman, as He'll
man ten years ago had a sunstroke, from
which he never recovered completely. Sus-
picion was first aroused yesterday morn
ing by the fact that the house in which
tho Hellmans lived was tightly closed long
after the usual hour for the family to be
astir. The mother and married sister OF
Hellman, who lived next door, attempted
to break into the house, but were unable
to do so. They finally managed to force
an entrance through window that had
been left unfastened, and made their way
to one Of the bedrooms, where the dead
bodies of all the family were found.
Ths.h N,.n . a. . Az
women were nearly overcome, and it was
only after 1t had been opened up that 1t
was found possible to turn off the gas
which was streaming from an open Jet
The relatives and all the neighbors at
once concluded that the deaths had been
the result Of an accident, and the police
when they came, adhered to the Same
opinion. The open gas jet was just over
the bad in which the mother and one Of
tho children lay, and 1t was supposed that
one of them had, during the night, aoci-
IDENTIFY hit the stop cock and knocked ii
open.
At the inquest, however, an entirely diff
ferent complexion was given to the affair
by Charles, brother of Hellman, who
produced letter written by tho murderer
and suicide late on the previous evening,
in which he clearly stated his purpose of
killing himself, although he gave no init
nation of tho fact that he was meditating
the deaths Of his family.
Ho spoke Of the window through which
the women had crawled as the only way
In which his brother could gain admission
to the house. and said that he had left 1t
open for that purpose. The brother had
not received the letter until after noon,
and came directly to the inquest.
Othar nj M n cac xx-apt 10 chow tho
deliberate intentions of the man. The gas
pipes were only placed in the house two
weeks ago. 1t Is now the belief that they
were put there for the purpose Of carrying
out the decd SO successfully accomplished
The position of the bodies at the time
they were found indicated that the two
boys and older girl fought desperately to
leave the room after the father had turned
on the gas. The mother and baby were
lying on the inside of the bed, as II in
peaceful slumber, but the two boys and
Oldest girl were in different attitudes, and
the expressions of their faces were those
of persons who had struggled hard. The
fathers hand was firmly placed across the
mouth Of the older boy, and there is an
abrasion of the throat of the other lad, as
though he had been strangled.
Charles Hellman said that he could see
no reason for his brothers action save in
sanity. He was devoted to his family
aud his business was in flourlshlng con-
ditiOD he not owing a dollar