New-York tribune., 1896-12-27
HORRIBLE DOUBLE TRAGEDY
MOVED BY AN INSANE SUSPICION,
REcKER KILLS HIMSELF AND WIFE.


JUST OUT OF AN ASYLUM. HE rMAGINEs SHE HAD
BEEN rNFArTHFU1-THErR sEvEN-YEAR-
OLD BOY IN BED WITH SCARLET
FEVER WHEN THE FATAL
SHOT WAS FIRED.
In sudden fit Of delirum actuated by In
sane Jealousy. for which there is no apparent
reason, Max Becker. waiter. thirty years old',
living with his WIFE Emma, thirty years oid'
and their son. Fritz, seven years old, IN three
rooms on the fourth floor OF the fve-story tene-
ment-house at Eghty-fourth-st. and second
ave. shot and killed his wife and then shot
and killed himself at $50 o'clock yesterday ar
ternoon.
Becker was a maniac About year dso "o
was committed to the insane asylum at STAN
ford Conn: as a dangerous lunatic, having AZ
tempted several times to Kill his wife Becker
was discharged as cured about six weeks ago.
and went home His wife, learning that ne was
home went to live with him again, as he ap-
peared to be perfectly sane.
Becker worked for a time as waiter lot
Roster & Bal, but recently he had done ht-
tie. except the dinner service at restaurants
He belonged to several societies. and while AT
the asylum he had been in receipt OF heneiits
aggregating 50 week Since his return from
the asylum Becker had been morose ana had
frequently charged his wife with unfaithfui-
ness but he did not appear to be violently IN
clined.
THEIR BOY STRICKEN WITH FEVER
Several DAYS ago the boy Fritz had an erup-
tion upon his body. and yesterday morning
Becker called in Or. F. NJ. Bauer of No 20
East Eighty-sixth-st. The doctor said the boy
had scarlet fever. and that he must be put 10
he'd at once At noon Mrs. Becker put the ooS
TO bed giving him at stated times the medlcihe
prescribed for him Becker than left the mousse
but returned at o'clock. He met the janitor'
John Saucka in the hall as he passed UPSTAIRS
and was apparently in good humor. HAN an
bour later little Fritz Becker ran dowpstairs'
screaming AZ the top Of his voice that his father
had shot his mother and then killed himsef.
The child's nightdress was saturated with
blood and there was blood on his race ana iiPs.
He begged some one to go upstairs Win hln' ana
tho ioritor went When Saucka opened the door
Of Becker's apartments a terrible signt me, MS
oavo on the floor Of the Kitchen lying on his
hack Law Becker. with a bullet wound IN MS ieI'
hreast from which blood oozing. On the
floor beside him lay a six-chambered revolver
rho'nan was dead. The bullet had pierced his
heart. ,.,.,,>.,. c1ct1r
7, tho hedroom adjoining the kitchen. lying on
tho ho1 and fully dressed, lay the dead pody OF
Mrs Rocker in a pool Of blood. Two CHASTITY
bullet wounds one at the corner OF the lelt ia"
and another behind the left ear. showed how sne
had met her death. The flesh about the nullet
wounds was burned with powder. and at the TOP
of the skull where the bullets had lett the hedu'
the bones were apparently torn to fragments.
tIorr,eed at the sight, Saucka rushed down.
stairs and into the street and calling ro'iceiiien
Connolly and Weiss. told them what nad nap
nened The policemen fastened TO becker
rooms. where they found little Fritz lying oeside
his dead mother kissing her face ana caiiihs
upon her to speak TO him.
Policeman Connolly at once sent call 10 'i'e
rroshvterian Hospital for an ambulance anu
Dr NcWilliams. the surgeon VINO respo"ueu,
made an examination Of the bodies and decided
,ha, death had been instantaneous in each case
THE CHILD CLINGS TO HIS DEAD MolhTn'
1t,la Fritz Becker. who clung to the body OF
,.,. aaad mother but refused even to look at the
oornse Of his father was with difficulty taken
frorn the rooms into the apartments OF d hels"-
bor DR. McWilliams directed that Woro DE sei''
a. once TO the Willard Parker Hospital III Vi
dor that the boy. who is suffering from cum
,agious disease might be isolated ana properly
cared for. ,,ia. ras AT once
~, 20 ,ba coroners office. and Coroner Hoeper
c,os tba house ar about q o'clock. lie gave
a hermit for the care OF the pouleS anu s an
noilnced that the inquest would De helu !" d IL"
days .. .ho ,raeadv occurred
PAL R;dlingmeyer who is the secretary vi
Waiters' Union No. /. the headquarters OF Wrtth ie
are al Union Hall the bowsfy; sse oe'Hee Ne lives at
%n 40 East Eighty -third-st. and when ne
roocbed home yesterday afternoon he found
letter there from Becker, dated yesterday
Rockers CRUEL LETTER.
r.o ,ottar declared that on Friday night
.,.or,s uifo had been guilty Of improper con-
, ,,h . postofice employe who lived on
49,. .,,,, eoor with them and that on this ac-
,,,. ba had decided to Kill both himself and
,,s uife He spoke Of his sick boy, and asked
,,,,,,,a,,evar TO care for Fritz temporarily and
,o,er - send him to his Becker's) sister oiga
plaschke No 81 Huben-st. Breslau. dermany'
Rocker mentions the several societies 10 which
ho holonged and requests that the humanity see
,hat his hody is cremated The letter directs
,hat his property he divided between his son
and sister. and bequeaths 70 Bidlinsmeyer sew
eral small articles Of JeWeiry ..,.
,arcarrier referred 20 is James Mcneil. who is
attached to Station or the New orh foSt-
oeice AT Eighty-sixth-st. and Third-aVe
THE IDEA OF AN INSANE MIND.
Mcneil. It was found. worked on Friday from
e.1i o'clock in the afternoon cntil ?2I O'Clock
in the evening and returned to work at lo:''
o.cock and worked until midnight The IN
,orn,jssion of one hour and twenty-eight MIN
utes in the evening was spent by him at MS
sumner at home. His sisters with whom ne
lives. say that 1t was impossible for him to be IN
Mrs Becker's company on Friday evening The
neople in the house say that there was no IN
,,,acv between Mcneil and Mrs. Becker and