Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-08-19
CORBETT BEREAVED.
Aged Mother of the pugilist Slain
by His Father.
MURDERER THEN KILLS HIMSELF,

insanity OF the Perpetrators. OF the
Deed Given as the Cause-Young
Man mt Rockford, Ill, Kills HIS
Sister and Himself.
San Francisco, Aug. fitzpatrick j..
Corbett, father of James j. Corbett,
| the pugilist, shot and killed his wife
at an early hour Tuesday morning. He
then turned the revolver upon himself
and committed suicide. The hypoth-
esis accepted by the family and by
the intimate acquaintances and friends
of the household is that Mr.. Corbett
was laboring under the effects of tenn
porary insanity.
The shooting occurred at the resi-
dence of the Corbett family, $50 Hayes
street. Shortly before five o'clock
Tuesday morning Mr.. King, son-in-
law of Corbett, who was living in the
house, heard two shots in his father-in-
laws room. Hurrying to the room, he
was Mortified to find Mrs. Corbett living.
in the bed covered with blood, while
his father-in-law lay on the floor with
blood pouring from his mouth. Mrs.
Corbett was in her night attire, while
her husband was fully dressed. Death
must have been instantaneous. There
was wound in Mrs. Corbett's temple,
and Corbett had killed himself by turn
| ing the muzzle of the revolver in his
mouth. From the appearance of the
bodies it is believed that Corbett arose
early in the morning, dressed himself
and shot his aged wife while she slept.
She had evidently died instantly, for
she lay in a perfectly natural position.
| So far as can be ascertained. there
was not the slightest reason WHY the
husband should have sought to wreal
such awful vengeance upon his wifa
as LOT nearly half a century the couple
nave lived happily and in perfect con.
| tentment together Indeed, dnring
Monday evening they had cbatted
pleasantly together about their f;res isa
with two OF their daughters, and al
| an early hour retired without the
| sile h1est indication having been eivan
OF what was to follow within the next
lew hours. With Mr.. and Mrs. Corbe+t
| resided their two unmarried danub.
tiers, Catherine and Esther, and = m
RED daughter, Mrs. Charles A. KING
| with her husband. y
When Mr. corbett purchased the pis-
toi . no one seems to know. Apparently
as ne was never known to keep a weap-
on IN the house before, he had mr..
chased this one with an object
Whether during his temporary smell ~
insanity he had contemplated the deed
no one can tell.
| Undoubtedly Insane.
There is little doubt but what Ar,
Corbett was temporarily insane when
ne committed his horrible deed, and he
inherited the mania from his ances-
tors. His sister, Margaret Griffin. ia
now an inmate of the Napa insane
asylum, having been confined there six
4 years. Like in the case of her brother
her Insanity was periodical. Both the
old people were natives of Ireland. Mr..
corbett being Sc years OF age, and his
wife four years younger. The funeral
ceremonies will not be delayed until
Jim arrives from the east, but the
bodies will be placed in vaults.
Corbett Is Shocked.
New York, Aug. Thames j. Cor
| bett was much shocked when he
learned Of the death of his parents. At
first he refused to believe II, but when
the news was confirmed he broke
down and wept like child.
Family Relations Pleasant.
Corbett, after consultation with
some of his friends, had some thing fur
| Their to say about the tragedy in San
Francisco. He said that his parents
were each about SO years of age and
I that the family relations were always
pleasant. He received letters on Sat
urday informing him that his fathers
mind had become unbalanced, and he
| therefore thinks that while suffering
mentally his father committed the
double crime. Corbett said he had tel
| egraphed to San Francisco and that
/ he would leave for the coast at once
II the bodies are held until he can ar
rive. He says he will send his brother
Joseph home anyway. At present he
could not say what will be done about
his fight with Mccoy. He declared
i SaoS ~ ~ was fACSCSSuly AS WOulQ
felt the $500 he had up. He would
not fight again, he declared, had it
not been for the fact that he was the
chief support of the family. He says
that what he makes hereafter will go
to help support his brothers and sis
ters, just as he gave funds heretofore.
He therefore says that it might be nee
essary for him to fight Mccoy in order
to obtain money to support the family.
Killed Sister and Self.
Rockford, ILL.,, Aug. l7.-George En-.
nett, while in temporary fit of in
sanity Tuesday afternoon, shot and
instantly killed his sister Anna, aged
35, and then shot himself, blowing his
own head off. The sister was washing
at the time her life was taken with
out warning. Another sister and a
washwomap in the room with her es,
capped. Emmett, after shooting her
went to an adjoining room, took off his
shoes and stockings, placed the stock
OF the gun at his right foot and pulled
the trigger with his big toe. Thomas
Emmett, father of the victims, is a