The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-03
A BARBAROUS
FATHER APES
BRANDES' ACTS
Charles H. Fay Lands
in Jail.
ENRAGED AT A PETTY THEFT
THRASHED HIS DAUGHTER
BLACh AND BLUE.
The Merciless Man in His Rage Bare
ly Spared the Life of His Thir-
teen kear-old Child,
Laura.

BERKELEY, April 1.-The university
town has hardly rid itself of one in
human child-beater before another has
come upon the scene. Yesterday morning
Brandes, the notorious, was convicted OF
murder in the second degree for beating
his child to death. Hardly had the news
of the jurys verdict spread to West
Berkeley ere there was enacted in a
small cottage back of the Hoffburg
brewery a crime of similar nature, a most
aggravated and fendish thrashing of a
helpless young girl. Save for the fact
that the outcome did not amount to act
ual murder the main particulars of the
revolving incident resemble almost detail
for detail the shocking treatment meted
out TO the unfortunate Lillian Brandes.
The perpetratOr of the crime is Charles
H. Fay. He is now behind the bars of the
Alameda County Jail.
Fay's house stands opposite Curtis
street in West Berkeley, between Univer-
sity avenue and Addison street. He is
said to be a shiftless character, unwilling
to work, and forcing the entire support
neighbors he is known as a heavy drink
er and his family suffers frequently from
his whisky--inf1amed anger.
1t was during one of these drunken
RACES that he returned home yesterday
evening. His daughter, Laura, bright,
Intelligent girl of l3, was in the house
Without prOVOcation apparently he &C
cused her of having stolen a piece of
cake. She pleaded innocence. Making
violent threats of killing her the father
took what must have been heavy trunk
strap, old and hard. With this, doubled
and knotted, he dealt blow after blow
upon the helpless child till she fell to the
ground, daZed with the shock and pain.
The beating covered all parts of the body,
from the head and shoulders down to the
instep. Not an inch was spared upon
which the cruel strap did not fall. Again
and again the instrument of torture came
down upon the unfortunate victim till
the insatiate parent became weary of his
efforts.
Picking up the body he flung it into
an unoccupied room, vowing to carry out
his murderous threat later. The girl, left
to herself upon the floor, revived slowly
her way by degrees to the window
through which She managed to escape.
Fortunately neither of her parents dis
covered her absence and as fast as the
bruised condition of her body would al
low made her way to friends house in
South Berkeley.
Lloyd. who kept the girl at his house over
night. The full extent of the brutal beat
ing was not seen until this morning.
when she complained Of severe pains in
Several bruises on the skull first at
tracted the attention of the police. Fur
Their examination revealed the whole
story.
The body of Lillian Brandes, maltreat-
ed almost beyond recognition, was not
worse than that of Laura Fay. From
the flesh was a mass of blue and purple
ridges.
Marshal Lloyd, in company with Dep
uty Marshal Rawson, at once decided to
place the father under arrest. They
found him in an intoxicated state search
ing for the child. When questioned by
the Marshal as to his treatment of the
girl he repeated the charge of her hav-
ing stolen the cake. His wife told the
same story.
She admitted later, however, that her
husband nf
herself and the girl continually.
Marshal Lloyd took the inhuman man
to the County Jail this afternoon. He
cruelty to children. Laura Fay is known
among her friends as bright, intelli-
gent girl, modest and we'll behaved