St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-28
GEO. BAXTER KILLS HIS WIFE
WITH HAMMER, THEN ATTEMPTS
TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY CASH
ING HIS THROAT.
Claims to Have Been Goaded to It
He May Live for the
Trial.


ton avenue south, yesterday morning
| beat his wife's brains out with ham,
mer and then tried to put an end to
his own miserable existence by cutting
his throat The body of the woman
is now at the county morgue, but the
murderer is confined at the city hos
pital, and has an even chance to live
until he can be tried in court. He
intended to make a complete job of it,
but while he inflicted some bad cuts in
his throat he severed no large arteries,
and unless he has lost too much blood,
it is expected that he may recover.
The frightful tragedy was enacted
during the early hours of the morning
in kitchen ia the rear Of the second
floor at the number mentioned. There
was no eyewitness, but there is no
question about the nature of the crime,
and Baxter himself has been conscious
enough to admit he murdered the COM
panion of his life, and is glad of It,
In her case he did his work only too
thoroughly, fol the unfortunate woman
lived about an hour after the terrible
announcement was made to the police
that murder had been committed.
There seems to be no room to doubt
the claim that jealousy is at the bot
tom of the terrible crime.
The police were notified of the crime
about o'clock yesterday morning.
Patrolman Powers was the first to
hear that anything was wrong He
was summoned to the scene by How
ard Baxter, a siXteen-year-old. son. who
ran out Of the building in a very ex-
cited ard frightened condition. He led
the officer up the stairs and back to
one Of the three rooms which the Bax-
tiers occupied and then it took him
but a moment to understand all that
had happened. Both parents were ly-
ing on the kitchen floor in great pools
Of blood. The woman was uncon-
scious, but was moaning piteously,
while her life-blood was
FAST EBBING AWAY.
Baxter was conscious, but hardly able
to talk. The hammer which he had
used lay on a chair. Near the mans
right hand was keen razor, with
which he had attempted to take his
own life.
Patrolman Powers summoned the
coroner and an ambulance and in the
meantime Patrolman Burli had
reached the place. He directed his at
tention to the murderer, asking him
who had committed the crime. AL
though weak from loss of blood, BaX-
ter managed to stammer out:
Il did it, and L am glad of it. If
had had a revolver L could have made
better job of it."
There was no sign of sorrow or re-
gret in his voice, and the man seemed
to be disappointed because he had not
done more complete job on himself.
Coroner kistler took but few mo-
ments in examining the murderer and
his victim The body of the woman
he ordered to the morgue, and turned
his attention to an effort to save the
life of the would-be suicide, who was
remoVd to the city hospital
The BaXters were family of whom
their neighbors knew little. From all
that can be learned, they came to this
city from Faribault, Mimi, about six
months ago Baxter for years has been
something of an odd-job man He
had no special occupation at Fart
bault, and does not appear to have
been very successful in obtaining
work in this city. Recently he had
been working for a Central market
commission firm. Baxter had a repu-
tation for being sullen and morose,
and insanely jealous Of his wife which
Jealousy eliminated in the murder
Mrs. Baxter is given a better name
than her husband She has worked
in several laundries. At the time of
her death she was working at 253
Third avenue south.
1t was some time after the removal
of the wounded man to the city hos
pltal before he regafned consciousness.
He gaSped his ignorance of the muir
der and said he thought he had
wounded the woman, but not fatally
He was unable to control his emotions
and from that time until late last
night tears flowed generously. He re-
GREETED his work, deplored his insane
rage He became communicative and
told the story of the affair.
MURDERER'S STORY.
MY wife, said he, was unfaithful
to her VOWS. She told me a few min
utes before the occurrence that she
spent Saturday night in house of dis
repute, and boosted of the money she
earned without my assistance. She
said she did not have to ask me for
any as she was capable of earning 1t
herself. But this is the way it came
about: She dressed herself Saturday
night and left the house. I did not
know where she was going and she
did not tell me. She came home about
10 o'clock Sunday morning Nothing
was said about her absence during the
day and we did not have any spat to
speak of. We retired Sunday night
and this morning while in bed I asked
her where she had been the previous
night. She would not tell me at first.
but finally she told me the house she
had been in, and said it was good
way of earning money. Naturally I
was angry, and some words followed
Then we withdrew to the outer room.
There the quarrel was renewed [
I 6nylff Nfv,l- -
though. ] asked her for some money
and she told me to go and earn it as
she did. She said she did not have to
ask me for any, and I might get mine
the same way. I know I snatched the
hammer. I did not intend to strike
| her, but was goaded to It, She dared
me and called me the worst names 7
hit her on the head and she fell to
the floor. She struggled to her feet in
a minute and began to call me names
again. I struck her again and again
until I must have killed her.
The story of the son does not differ
in details with that Of the father re-
garding the occurrence. He is a bright
looking lad Of sixteen years. and was
reluctant to talk of the affair. 1t was
drawn from him piecemeal. and
summed up as follows: "The two peo-
pie in the tragedy wers my parents.
They have been quarreling frequently
of late, and in fact nearly every day
Father was in a bad frame of mind
yesterday, and scolded mother a good
deal She did not take his abuse very
well, and talked back to him about
as strong as she got When I went to
bed last night they were talking mad,
and they We're the same when T woke
this morning I dropped to sleep. and
their voices awolSe me again. They
were IN the outer room. Then T heard