Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-10-05
WHOLE FAMILY killed.
Awful Crime of a Farmer in West
ern Iowa. ."
MOTIVE CAN NOT BE TOLD,
John Blocker Kills His Wife and Five
Children and Fatally Wounds Another
Child and Himself-His Brother Dis
covers the Tragedy.

Carroll, Iowa, Sept. 29.-John Boeck-
err, aged A years, attended services at
the church in Breda, Carroll county,
Sunday afternoon with his eldest
daughter, spent the evening brooding
over some financial affairs, although
he was wealthy farmer, as farm
wealth goes, and some time in the
night shot and killed his wife, his six
little children and himself. The slaugh-
ter of human beings sums UP as fol-
lows:
JOHN BOECKER, dying.
MRS. Blocker, dead
CAROLINE Blocker, aged IL,
dead.
CHRISTINA Blocker, aged 3,
dead
HENRY Blocker, aged 8, dying
LIZZIE BOECKER, aged 6, dead.
JOHN Blocker, aged 3, dead.
-- Blocker, infant, dead.
Blocker was to have helped neigh
Dor thrash Monday morning, and when
he did not put in appearance about 8
o'clock his brother Henry, who lives
with the old folks about twenty rods
away, went to learn the reason. The
doors were locked and there were no
signs of life. He tried to get in the
house, but met no response, and finally
kicked in the door.
Blocker with his wife and boy, slept
in back room, and the three corpses
lay on one bed. The wife had been shot
in the neck with a shotgun which stood
in the corner the baby had been shot
and its head crushed with the butt of
revolver. The man, still breathing,
had bullet hole high up on the fore
head, and by his side was a Smith &
Wesson six-shooter, two chambers
empty.
1t is story and half frame house,
and upstairs Henry, aged s, and Lizzie,
aged 6, lay on a bed with bullet holes
in the forehead, the latter dead, the
boy still breathing, and in the opposite
( corner of the same room Caroline,
| aged IA, Christine, aged 9, and John, 8,
| were dead, each with a bullet hole in
| the forehead, though Caroline had two.
| 1t is looked upon as a case of murder
and suicide. The indications are that
Blocker first dispatched his wife with a
! shotgun, then used the revolver on the
baby, first shooting, then knocking out
| its brains. He then went upstairs where
the five children were sleeping. He
| must have used light, for his aim was
! effective, each victim being shot in the
| forehead. All but two children met
with instant death. for the blood clots
| were under their heads, and two lay as
calmly reposed as if in sleep. All ex-
+; cept Henry, who is not yet dead, were
| attired in night robes.
| The murderer had reloaded the weap-
| on while upstairs, and evidently sent
the second bullet into the oldest girls
brain just before leaving the room.
! Going downstairs he stretched himself
| beside the corpse of his wife and shot
| himself. His right hand was burned by
the powder, showing much use of the
! revolver.
The revolver was borrowed by
| Becker from his brother Henry last
| Thursday. He said that he wanted it
/ to kill rats in the cellar. 1t is now re-
| called that he had since practiced tar
| get-shooting with it.
Blocker was A years old, and for
| over twenty years lived in the same
| neighborhood; in fact, on the same
farm. He had been regarded as pros
| porous farmer, and only recently
| bought a 200-acre farm a few miles
from the old homestead. Members of
his fathers family say he had no fam
lily troubles, his financial affairs were
in good shape, and they can assign no
| motive for the terrible crime. On the
other hand, it is limited that he and his
brother Henry had trouble about the
home place, which John was urged TO
vacate for Henry.