The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-03-24
A KANSAS BUTCHERY
Five Children Said to Have Been
Murdered by Their Father,
TIE HOUSE IS THEN SET ON FIRE.
The Evidence of Physicians at the Inquest
The Alleged Murderer Acts IN an
Indifferent Manner aud Is
Taken to Jail

Hutchinson, Kan, March GA
fiendish crime, similar to the recent
Gilbert murder in Clay county, oc.
Cured here yesterday morning. Five
children were murdered by their
father while sleeping and the house
afterward burned over them. The
children were: Carl Moore, aged IL;
Mary, aged ten; Pearl, aged eight;
Charlie, aged seven, and Lee, aged
three years, all the children of John
A. Moore Yesterday evening, after
the close of a coroner's inquest Moore
was arrested upon the charge of MUIR
dering the children and is now in Jail.
At two o'clock yesterday morning the
house on East Tenth street, where
/ Moore and his family lived, was partly
destroyed by fire When the fire was
gotten under control and the tiremen
entered Moore's five children were
found dead upon bed on the floor
| Their bodies lay side by side, just as
they would be when sleeping. The
lower parts of their bodies were badly
burned.
During the day the belief spread
that the children had been murdered
before the house was burned. At first
the only evidence of this was the fact
that the children had not moved in
their bed and the presence of blood
upon parts of the bed. An inquest
was held in the afternoon which de-
veloped the fact almost beyond doubt
that the children were murdered by
the father Before the inquest physi-
clans made an examination of the
bodies. In the skull of each was found
fracture made by heavy blow by
some blunt instrument With one eX.
ception, each child also had "A cut in
the neck, evidently made by knife.
This evidence was produced by the
physicians at the inquest
The fathers story told before the
coroner was that he slept in the next
room to the children. He accounted
for the fire by saying he left lamp
burning in the children's room anc
that it had exploded. Moore talkec
indifferently about the affair. II,
said he was awakened by the smolS,
aud rushed outdoors. lie was abou
10 minutes recovering from the effecu
of the smoke and gas. lie then awak
ened a neighbor who lived about q
feet west on the next lot. lie did no
try to get the children out, AS the fir,
had too much start. When others ar
rived he could not tell where the chill
dren were sleeping. No one else wa
at the house, the mother having gon'
out to nurse sick woman.
Moore's testimony was given befor,
he had an intimation that it wa
known that the children had beer
murdered. He said that when he saw
the children could not be saved h,
went to his wife's fathers and staye'
until morning. When the doctors ties
titled that the children had been muir
dered, Moore gave close attention, bu
his countenance did not change. One
or twice he sneered at the evidence
Although not under arrest, he wa
closely watched during the trial. IL
made no attempt to get away. Whe
the verdict of the coroner's jury wa
brought in, charging him with tn
crime, he acted as Indifferent as be
fore. He refused to talk after tn
trial. lie was taken to the Rem
county Jail for the night and will b
tried at the district court here mex
e month.
9 John Moore has no relatives in Kan
= sas and his native state is not known
l lie is medium-sized, dark-complel
toned man. Those who know him sa
E he is man who talks very little, an
4 that his main ambition has Away
e been to educate his children, havin
: had little or no education himself. II
1 came here from Emporia three week
t ago and has brooded much over bein
4 out of work. lie spent last summC
= farming in Oklahoma, but formerl
lived at Emporia and returned thei
e last fall. lie has no appearance {
p being insane and has never shown an
b such symptoms SO far as can
4 learned. The affair has raised greet
e Indignation here and the Jail will
c kept under a heavy guard, though
+ is believed that there will be no a
e tempt at lynching.
I