Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1896-04-16
Murdered Five and SuiCided,
A MICHIGAN MAN KILLS HIS EN-
TIRE FAMILY AFTER ASSAS-
SINATING A LUMBER
DEALER.
His Home at Pentwater Literally Con-
verted Into Human Slaugh-
ter House He Was an
Embezzler.

CraZed by financial difficulties, S. B.
Minshall, prominent insurance man,
formerly of Chicago, last night assas-
sinated William 3. o. Sands, a wealthy
lumber dealer. Then he went to his
home and killed his wife and three
children, and after that, as fitting
climax, blew out his brains.
Mr.. Sands, who was president of
the Sands & Maxwell Lumber Com
pany, was detained at his office late
last night on business. He started to
his home about $3.50 o'clock. AS he
neared a dark corner a man armed
with rifle sprang into view. The un-
known commanded Sands to halt, at
the same time throwing the rifle to his
shoulder.
Sands, although an old man, was
plucky. He sprang at his assailant,
intending to disarm him. The fellow
fred and the bullet struck Sands in
the right arm near the shoulder.
| Sands then ran toward his home,
which was but few rods distant, and
tried to open the front door. Finding
| it locked he started to run around the
house, closely followed by the man
with the gun. He was shot at four
times more, three of the balls taking
effect. Sands finally got the rear door
of his house open and fell to the floor
unconscious. Physicians were sum-
moned, and it was decided to ampu-
tate the arm, which was badly shat
tered near the shoulder. Sands at the
time did not know who the would-be
murderer was. He died at O'Clock
| tonight.
| Soon after the shooting cartridge
was found which druggist identified
as belonging to rifle which he had
loaned Minshall few days previous.
Minshall told him he wanted it to
shoot crows. This Immediately put
Minshall under suspicion, and several
of Mr.. Sands friends started for Min
shalPs house to get him to give an ac-
count of himself. They found lights
burning there, but were unable to get
anyone to respond to their knocking.
Bh>,, left tho ke.sso but returned two
hours later. This time the front door
was forced open.
The party saw sight which nearly
| froze their blood. Mrs. Minshall was
| found lying on her right side, with
her back to the door and her head near
the piano. A tiny hole in the forehead,
| 81, ho1 frinty in1
her face, indicated that a bullet had
caused her death.
In corner of the room, and in her
night dress, which had been partly
consumed by fire, which evidently had
been quenched by her own blood, lay
Ruby, the 16-year- old daughter. Evil
IDENTIFY hearing the first shot she had
!. come downstairs, only to meet the
fate of her mother.
; In one corner, at the foot of the
stairs, laying on his back, with one
3 leg bent under him, as he had fallen.
lay dead s. B. Minshall, the husband
} and father.
In the bedroom off the parior were
, found the two boy babies, George and
: Frank, aged and years, respective
| ly, their little bodies pierced by the
( deadly bullets as they slept. The bed
ding was saturated with their blood
. In numbering his family and himself
t Minshall had used q revolver, leaving
{ the rifle in the woodshed as he came
= in.
q At the time of the murders and sui
Q eide in Pentwater, Mich, Samuel B
Minshall was short in his accounts
with several insurance agencies of thii
city. Two weeks ago he came to Chi
cago and confessed to A. Williams
:. manager of the Western department
: of the Connecticut Insurance Com
: pany, that he had embezzled the funds
: of that company to the extedt of $16l
He also admitted that he was short il
his accounts with several other com
;, panies which he represented at Pent
water.
The man is described by Mr.. viii
liams as having been in n mood of des
pondency bordering on insanity. HI
was urged to go home and try Il
straighten out his affairs with the ait
of his bondsmen, and no notice woult