The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-20
FIENDISH DOUBLE MURDER
EDWARD 4. DUFF SHOOTS HIS WIFE
 AND MOTHER-IN-LdW.

Domestic Unhappiness Was the Cause of the Terrible Act-Murderer Arrested by Officers at the Peril of Their Lives Attempted to Take Third Life-Twelve Year old Girl the Witness of Her Fathers Criine-Crowd Kept at Bay by a Revolver Weapon Used Was 44-Calibre-Duff Drove His Wife From Him by Drunken ness and Cruelty and Shot Her Because She Would Not Return.
 terrible tragedy, which occurred about O clock last evening at 45 Greene street, added two more to the long list of murders which, during the last year and a half, have mortified the state of Connecticut, and resulted in the death, at the hands of Edward A. Duff, of his wife, Nellie Duff, and his mother-in- law, Mrs. Mary Maher. The affair was the outcome of family troubles, which had been going on for the past eight years between Duff and his wife who, during that time, had persistently refus- ed to live with him on account of his drunkenness and cruelty. Many times during that period Duff had endeavored to induce his wife to live with him, and on several occasions had threatened her life, and twice at least, was only pre- z
 vented from killing her by the interfer- ence of neighbors and friends.
 Last nights shooting was the result of Duff's last endeavor to get his wife to live with him. He had been working in Hartford at his trade, that of tool maker, and yesterday came to New Ha- ven to see his wife. He went to the house about o'clock and began talk ing to Mrs. Duff in the Kitchen. He asked her to go to Hartford with him and she, refused, her mother, Mrs. Naher, also telling him that her daugh- ter should not live with him. Finally he became greatly excited and started towards his wife, who, to escape him,ran out the back door leading from the < kitchen and around the east side of the house, Duff following close behind. Somewhere between the side of the house and the front gate he fired a shot at her, which took effect in her head. She staggered through the gate and down the sidewalk about twelve feet below the gate, going diag- onally across the sidewalk. Near the curb she fell forward on her face, her head hanging over the edge of the curbing. Duff then rushed up to her and fired another shot into her head. Then he turned back into the house and started for Mrs. Maher, who had @ been eating supper alone in the dining room, which was at the rear end ofsthe hall leading in from the front door. When the shooting began, the old lady, terrified started up from the table, and when Duff entered the room after shooting his wife, she was standing in the middle of the room near the table. John Reilly, who boarded in the house and who had been preparing to shave in his room when the shooting began, had come into the dining room about the same time that Duff re-entered the house. When Duff started toward Mrs Maher. Reilly stepped in front of him to protect the old lady. Duff had his revolver in his hand and as Reilly at tempted to block his way, he raised the revolver and fired point blank at him. The bullet just grazed Reilly's neck, breaking slightly the skin, and lodged in the wall back of small stove in the dining room. Reilly then retreated to the kitchen. Mrs. Maher started to go into bed room opening out of the din- ing room, and had taken few steps only in that direction when Duff fired at her. The bullet struck her in the chin and emerging at the back of the neck and going through the door leading in- to the kitchen lodged in the casing of a cupboard door, just behind the kitchen range, narrowly missing Duff's twelve year-old daughter, Florence, who was crouching, terrified, on a couch in the kitchen. Mrs. Maher, after she had been shot the first time, staggered on through the bedroom door and sat down on the edge of the bed. Duff followed her up and placing the revolver close to her left shoulder fired a second shot, which passed through the shoulder and came out of the left breast. The fiend then fired a third shot, which struck her in the right elbow, shattering the bone.
 Duff then walked out into the street plenty of room being given to him by a large crowd of neighbors and passers- by who had been attracted by the shooting. Still flourishing his revolver which at that time must have beer empty, he kept the crowd back Walk ing up the street to the,corner of Ham. ilton street, about 200 feet away, he coolly stopped under the electric light on the corner in front of Graf & Me Rays meat market and proceeded tc load up the revolver with which he had done his murderous work Just ther Joseph E. Condren, lieutenant of steam CT No. 4, who lives at 72 Hamilton street, came down Greene street on his way, back to the engine house from supper. Seeing the large crowd he in quired what was the matter. He was told that the man standing there under the light had just killed his wife "Why don't you catch him?" said Condren starting towards Duff. At once a hun dred voices in the crowd yelled, Look out,' ..He has a gun!" He will shooti'
 Condren kept on towards Duff ant had arrived within about fifteen fee h;r,, ..,to,, D,,ff ,1xIIaJ ,,y1 ibic rat,oI,,