The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-20
MARTIN BERGEN's CRIME.
Killed His Wife, Two Children and
Himself


NORTH BROOKFIELD, Mass, Jan. 10.
Martin Bergen, catcher of the Boston
baseball team. of the National league,
killed his wife and two children and COM
mitted suicide at his home here today.
Bergen killed one child and his wife with
an axe. and then. with a razor. cut the
| throat of his other child and his own.
| 1t Is thought the action was due to in
sanity. 1t has been suspected for some
| time that Bergen was victim of mental
| arrangement. In fact, some of his act
| ions In connection with his baseball man
ager last season led to the supposition at
| that time
| The affair was discovered by the neigh
| borS, who found the body of Bergen and
| the girl lying on the kitchen floor. Fur
Their investigation showed that Mrs. Ber-
| gen and the little boy also had been
Killed. Their bodies lay on a bed IN the
| chamber. Bergen was twenty-nine years
| Of age. His wife was of about the same
| age; the little girl was eight or nine, and
| the boy a little younger.
| 1t was about 1890 o'clock this afternoon
| When the bodies were found, but 1t is
| thought that the crime was committed
| early this morning. Bergen was in his
| stocking feet. and the kitchen fire had
| been made ready for lighting 1t is
thought that he had risen and started
| to perform the usual early morning
duties when the mania seized him, and
| he went back to the chamber where his
wife and children were still in bed, and
| killed Mrs. Bergen and the boy. Whether
| the little girl, awakened by the action,
| jumped from her cot beside the bed of
her father and mother, and fed into the
kitchen, or was first killed there, Is a
matter of surmise. From the position
| of Bergen's body it is believed that he
stood in front Of looking glass and ap-
piled the razor with fatal effect, laying it
on the table before he fell. Death must
| have been almost instantaneous in each
case.
| Bergen's home is about two miles from
this place. He had a prosperous farm,
and considerable livestock. His father,
Michael Bergen, lives not far away.
Bergen began playing ball with the
| Wiikesbarre club, in 1898, and later played
| with Pittsburg, Kansas City and Boston.
| He was of an erratic disposition, and sew
eral times last summer disappeared from
| the team without notifying the manager
| or the other players. Once he went to
| his home in North Brookfield, and refused
| to play, alleging that he had not been
| treated we'll by his fellow players and
| his manager. Much persuasion was re-
| quired to induce him to rejoin his club.
| President Soden, of the Bostons this
afternoon, said:
"While Bergen was with the team we
were always fearful lest he commit some
rash act. L have personally been of the
opinion for some time that he was not OF
sound mind. He acted queerly when at
home, and when on the road he was
worse. He was Respondent and at times
would stay away from his fellow mem
bers of the team"
Mr.. Soden said Bergen's connection
with the team expired last October.
Nothing had been said 70 him about next
season, Mr. Soden said, and added that
he did not think Bergen would have been
found on the team next season.