The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-10-08
A DOUBLE TRAGEDY.
a Young Woman, Demented by the Death
of Her Father, Kills Her Moth.
err and Herself.

Pittsburgh, Pa, Oct. 3.-Bertha
Bielstein killed her mother yesterday
and later put four bullets into her
own body from the effects of which
she cannot recover. The only explain
alton the girl has given for her terri
pie deed were these words:
Was Tired of Life.
81 was tired of life. 1t held no pleas
ure for me. l wanted TO die and did
not want my mother to live and fret
over my death. For that eason I
killed her."
What the Son and Brother Saw.
The crime, which was committed
some time early in the morning, was
not discovered until late in the day,
when a sol of the murdered oma
came to the house to see his mother.
He went to her room and found her
body cold in death. 4 bullet wound
at the right side of the nose told the
story. The bed was covered with
blood and there was every Indication
that death had ensued some hours be-
fore.
In a room adjoining that of the
mother the Sol found the body of his
sister. She was lying in 4 pool of blood
and in her right hand vas clutched a
revolver, the implement of destruc-
ton.
Shot Three Times.
An examination of Mrs. Bielstein
showed that she had been shot three
times with a 4S-caliber revolver. On.
shot had entered at the right side OF
the ose and had taken a downward
course through the neck and had cut
the seventh cervicle vertebrae. This,
the physicians say, must have caused
instant death. Another shot had en-.
tered the right breast and the third
had passed through the right groin.
A Question of Only a Short Time.
An examination of the daughters
wounds convinced the physicians thai
her death was a question of only q
short time. A bullet from a 4S-calibcI
had torn its way through the righ,
temple and had passed out at the TOP
of the head. From both the entrance
and exit of the wound the brains Were
Oozing. a bullet from the same sized
revolver had been fired into her left
breast near the heart, and she haG
also shot herself twice in the stomach
with a revolver of 80 caliber.
Why sne Killed Her Mother.
To one of her brothers during a pc,
Rod of consciousness the girl told OF
the shooting of her mother. She sale
she went into the room with the re.
yolver in her hand. She had decided
to kill herself and knew that the
shock of her death would break heI
mothers heart, and concluded death
would be preferable to her suffering,
on earth. Her mother, she said, wa:
sleeping when she went to the room
She placed the revolver close to hel
breast and fired. On the report o,
the pistol the mother sat up in bee
and said to her, 'Birdie, what are yor
doing" The answer was another
shot, which, she says, was fired at heI
mothers face. This was evidently the
shot which entered Mrs. Bielstein's
face and resulted in her instant
death. One more wound was inflicted
atterward.
Peart-Broken Over the Death OF HeI
Father.
Frederick Beilstein, the father OF
the family, was one of the best known
residents OF Allegheny. He died sud
denly in December last from apopleXy
and since then Birdie, who was 81
years old, is said to have lost all hel
youthful beauty. From the light
hearted, happy girl, she became e
quiet, depressed, respondent woman
Hence the friends of tie family think
she was temporarily Insane when shs
committed the awful crime.