The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-02
FAMILY KILLED BY GAS.
THE MOTHER AND HER FOUR CHILL
DREy ASPHTXIATED.

NutuNNE WV
s,,.,,o or V,. Their Death Due to Accident
vhetber the death Of a mother and her four
children at The West Shore Hotel. at Eleventh
,vepue md Forty.second street, on Thursday
NIGHT was due to accident or was q case OF muir
dor and suicide will probably never be certainly
known. The victims comprised the family OF
Robert Rovinius. n United States soldier at
w.s, Point; his wife Karoline, 40 years old,
and their childrcn-Laura, Is years old; VIII.
liam. 10 years old; Albert, 10 years old, and
Elizabeth, 3 years old. All were found
Yesterday morning asphyxiated by gas.
The probabilities are that the mother pur-
posely turned on the gas after the children
were asleep and then lay down to die. for two
Ras Jets, one in each room. were found turned
on and all the doors and windows were .closed.
On the other hand. the fact that the woman had
bought return tickets to West Point, and had
been shopping in the afternoon showed that the
determination to kill herself and her children
must have been made since she left her home
on Thursday morning.
The family arrived at the hotel at 8 o'clock on
Thursday evening with no baggage, except q
small hand satchel and some paper parcels.
Night Clerk Brick gave the newcomers rooms
81 and 30 on the Eleventh avenue side Of the
second floor, for which Mrs. Ravinius paid s 1850.
They went to the rooms Immediately, and when
an attendant passed there at 1890 o'clock no
saw no light from the rooms. A man who
lodges on that floor says that as he was going to
his room after midnight he heard the faint
sound Of a baby crying. but paid no at
tention to 1t. Nobody suspected that
there was anything wrong until half
past S yesterday morning, when Alexander
Schlichting, a night bell boy. on his way to bed
smelled gas in the hall. and traced it to the
door of 81. lie ran downstairs and reported to
na,- Tf,rt C,na.-,,a .UhN .-A-t bail ,,,tl Ill.,
and tried the doors Of rooms 81 and 35. Both
were locked. Schlichting climbed out upon the
fire escape and looked in at the window of "a.
There are two boys in the bed" he shouted
to Sprague. and both the windows are closed
up"
Try and see il you can't wake them.'' said
SpraGue.
The boy knocked at the window repeatedly.
and shouted. but there was no answer or move
ment.
mo use." he said. Something's the matter"
At this the day clerk burst in the door. He
recoiled as q flood Of choking gas poured out
into the hall. Taking a deep breath he plunged
into the room, threw open tho window, ran out
again. ana sent a boy out to get a policeman to
call an ambulance. Returning to the room,
which was now somewhat cleared OF gas by the
draught, he examined the gas fixture and found
itturned on. After turning 1t off one look at the
two boys on the bed was enough to convince
him that they were dead. The door into the
adjoining room was open. and gas was pouring
from it. Entering, he threw the window open,
unlocked and opened the door, and returned for
the bed he saw aS a Woman, a E FRI. and and 'eI little 2e
child. Not only, had the window and door in
air shaft also. Apparently both rooms had been
closed with a view 10 rendering the action Of tho
gas as rapid as possible.
In u short time an ambulance from Bellevue
Hospital arrived, and the surgeon worked over
the body OF the girl, in which he thought no
discerned traces Of life, but. unayailingly. All
tho others were dead. he said. How long they
had been dead he could not say. An examina-
tion OF the rooms threw no light on the matter.
All the bodies were clad in under, lothinR only.
On a stand near the bed in No. IS. where the
parcels with the mark OF an Eighth avenue dry
goods store on them. They contained nothing
but some newly purchased unbleached linen.
was written the name Mary Kayser," and the
Knyser is Mrs. Raviniusis sister.
Word was sent to her. and she went to the
much agitatcd. and could give no reason for her
Sisters deed. .., 80. -, ,u.. ,..
Kayser told Police Captain Brown Of the West
TIL rty.seventh street police station. who was on
the ground personally Investigating the case,
or three months; l don't know who the doctor
is or what was the matter with her. 1t wasn't
her do a thing like this. She always came to
SEQ me when she was in town. II she WAS hero
since yesterday morning | don't know why she
didn't come to see me during the day"
A telegram was ent 10 the dead woman's hus-
band, and a reply soon came saying that he
would come on the first train. Capt. Brown
carefully examined the rooms for anything fur.
n lesf mat T TRe st e5e5sin t on ,6e sas n 5a1 leuR ba
found hard TO turn. They were securely stopped
On each side. and this, in COMMISSION with the
almost enough proof in itself that it had been
Purposeiy turned on. On the other hand. the
IAHf hnt the Wnulnn had hAnn hnrrfrr
and had purchased return tickets showed
that the intention Of destruction must
but two return tickets, Capt. Brown explained
BY saying that the railroads do not sell half,
and daughter required ~full,fare tickets. What
happened during the day spent in this city to
OF her childreni This is the mystery to which
no clue has yet been found.
Robert H"vinigs, the HUSBAND, could not fur
confused condition, accompanied by DR.. William
Sanders, the dentist OF the post, They were
bad recovered rom The first shock OF seeing the
bodies he told What be could. HIS wife and The
return on The 8 O'clock train. Mrs. RavlnIns
sister. Mary Rayser. she frequently made trip.
OF this, kind. and sometimes took the children
to thee So far as he knew there WAS no reason
whatsoever for her suicide and the murder OF
the children. She was in her usual, spirits when
always got along Well t together. When she
failed to return Thursday night he did moi
worry, suppOsing that she WAS spending the
night with friends here. She was familiar with
the use of gas. he said, and he did not see how Il
could have been an accident, and yet IL was
equally b ,rd for him 10 believe that tho killing
was intentional.
"Karoline would have left Some note, some
thing u she had meant to do thiS.' ne cried.
DR.. Sanders said that. so far as he had heard
the home life OF the Rayiniuscs had been q
happy one, None OF Ravinius's fellows knew OF
any quarrel. Later on when the soldier haC
collected himself somewhat Police Captain
Brown asked him u his wife had been despond
eht on account OF illness.
"Sho wasn't Ill" said Ravinius.
Your sister says she was being treated by 9
doctor here, said Capt. Brown.
didn't know II II she was. Maybe sht
didn't tell me for fear Of worrying me. Sh,
used 70 be sort OF sickly. but lately she was wei
p you have gas in your quartersf'
NO; hut my wife was familiar with gas
one knew about II before she ever left Ger
gas out"
The Raviniuses had been married seventeen
years, itavinius Is SO years old, has been thirty
years In the service. and next yeBr will retire OF
three;quaTters pay. He is in the printing shop a
the West Point post. No autopsy was performed
nuOn any OF the hOliaS Thai xviu ~ 49,. :,