Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-11-04
MURDEROUS REVENGE.
Farm Hand at North Bend Kills His
Employers Daugh-
ter.

ter.
Galesville, Wis, Oct 2S-TSpecial.1-
Filled with a desire to revenge himself
on his employer for some slight griev-
ance, George II. Palmer, a farmland,
enticed the 3-year-old daughter of Oscar
| Marshall, q farmer at North Bend into
the barn last night and killed her with an
AK. Palmer is Is years old and had
| been adopted by Marshall from the state
school for dependent children. North
Bend is hamlet with about seventy
| five population, is thirteen miles east
of here and is in Jackson county. Ex-
element runs high and it is feared that
| the youth will be lynched before the of
icers can get him in jail at the county
seat IN Black River Falls.
! Marshall is a Well-knoWn and highly
respected resident Of the southern part
Of Jackson county. He and his wife are
both young and Hazel, the victim of
last nights tragedy, was their only child.
1t is two years since Marshall adopted
young Palmer. The boy was bright and
on the whole well-behaved, though he
was always rather headstrong. Mr.. Mar
| shall was away last evening and Mrs.
Marshall and the child were alone in
the house, while Palmer was doing the
chores around the barn
During the day Mr. Marshall had oc-
casion to reprimand the boy, and at
the time the latter showed some resent
ment, but it was thought the matter
would end there. But it seems that
Palmer was consumed win q desire for
revenge, and as the afternoon hours wore
away he began making plans for a muir
! derous attack on the family. 1t is be-
| Iieyed that it was his intention to kill
Mrs. Marshall and the child and then
waylay and kill Mr. Marshall when he
returned in the evening.
Hazel was DlavinQ in the ward and IT
was an easy matter for Palmer to coax
! her into the barn. Then he seized an
nx and dealt her several blows on the
head, any one of which would have been
enough to cause heath. From the barn
Palmer went toward the house, carrying
the ak. He intended to kill Mrs. Mar
shall, but as he neared the house his cour-
age failed him and he turned back, drop
ping the bloody ak on the steps.
! Thoughts of the consequences of his
crime then frightened him and he conclud-
ed to try to secure compassion by pretend
ing to commit suicide. He smeared his
lips with carbolic acid and went out to
the icehOuse to await the discovery Of
! his crime.
1t was quite late when Mrs. Marshall
missed the child and made a search
| which ended in finding the body lying in
a pool of blood on the barn floor The
child was still breathing, but died
en- and the farmyard was soon filed with
neighbors, who began to search for
Palmer, on whom suspicion fell at once.
His suicide ruse and feigned unconscious
ness failed and he was roughly dragged
from his hiding place in the ice-house
Then he was bound and held to await
the arrival of the sheriff or some of
his deputies.
Palmer finally made a complete con-
fession, relating the details as given
above. He said that he had been read
ing stories of murders and admitted that
he got his idea of securing revenge from
one of these tales. Numerous threats
of lynching were made, but better coun-
sci prevailed and the officers were per-
mitted to start with him from the county
Jail at Black River Falls.
Galesyllle, Wis, Oct 29.-LSpecial. i
George Palmer. the murderer of little
Hazel Marshall at North Bend escaped
lynching only by the quick action of
Constable John Haag III removing him
to the county Jail at Black River Falls.
The constable quickly got the prisoner
away at 3 O'Clock in the morning and he
is now behind the bars at the county
seat. Palmer had but little TO say re-
garding the awful crime. he had not
the slightest proyocation, nor did be
strike the blows on the impulse Of the
moment. lie enticed the child to the
BAN and coolly Drained her with an AK.
Palmers mother lives at Wausau and
his father is an inmate of the state hos
pital for the insane at Oshkosh, and has
been for over five years. The boy is
about II years of age, but does not look
over IA The funeral of his victim was
held today.
Black River Falls. Wis, Oct. %
Young Palmer is suffering from the eff
fects of the carbolic acid mixture which
he took with suicidal intent after the
murder, and has been very weak. 1t ].
feared that inflammation of the bowe,
Will set in. The common belief is th;.
the boy is insane.