The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-06-17
WANTED TODD MURDER
Mrs. GPOeschner Wished to
Kill Her Children.
WAS ANXIOUS TO DIE
her STORY OF DESTITUTIoN DE-
MED By HUSBAND.

In fit of nervous prostratiOn or tenn
pOrary alteration Mrs. II. r. Groeseh-
ner started out TO kill her two chill
dren and herself late Thursday evening
at the family home, So East St cOnd
North street. and that she failed was
due to the fact that just at the mo-
ment when she intended to send bull
let into the brains OF the little ones,
she was seized with a violent fit and
fell to the floor writhing in agony. The
children, a bright little boy and girl of
10 and 8 years Of age, had been called
into the mothers room and told that
she was going to kill them. When the
little ones saw the pistol they began to
scream for help ans& ran out OF the
house and over to Mrs. Nyberg's, next
door
Christian Nyberg, one of the Western
Union messenger boys, ran into the
house and found Mrs. GToeschner in a
semi-consciOus condition on the floor,
with a 3S-calibTe revolver lying near.
He secured the weapon and called IN
some of the neighbOrs who cared for
Mrs. Groeschner until she recovered.
Occurrence flushed Up.
The occurrence was hushed up, as
the opinion prevailed that the story told
by the children was the result of their
excited imagination, and had it not
been for the sequel which developed
yesterday morning nothing would have
ever been heard about it.
About breakfast time the neighbOrs
We're again aroused by screams coming
from the Groeschner home and rushing
in they found the unfortunate woman
lying on the floor and crying cut that
she had taken poison. Doctors were
summoned and in a short time Drs.
Belle and Giesey arrived on the scene.
No symptoms of poisoning were dis
cernible in the woman and no poison
could be found in the house, so they
reached the conclusion that she was
only suffering from a severe attack of
hysteria. They accordingly prescribed
for her and departed.
Whether the woman has gone insane
or not it is yet too early to determine,
but that she is suffering mentally and
that her nervous system has suffered a
verY severe shock is undeniable the
immediate cause being made known by
the woman herself during yesterday af
ternOOn, though last night she was in
no condition to talk.
She admitted that she had intended
to shoot her children. 4 have been suf-
ferfng for several years past" she said,
with a pain in ny head which drives
me almost crazy and Tor some time past
my children and I have been neglected
and mistreated by my husband, and
being unable to longer bear it 1 deter
mined to end our sufferings. I took
pistol we had in the house. and called
the children to me with the intention
of first killing them and then myself.
but before 1 could do so 1 fell to the
floor in a fit"
Told PItifuI Story.
Mrs. Groeschner told a Titiful story
of cruel treatment at the hands of her
husband, whom she declared had taken
ali the money she had in the house and
disposed of it. He left Wednesday
morning ostensibly to go to work at
Murray. but he could not be found
there. she said, either Friday night or
yesterday morning. She said she had a
dread of going insane, but declared that
she had not attempted suicide yester-
day morning, having simply taken six
grains of Quinine to relieve the pain IN
her head and to warm her up, as she
had felt cold all morning. Mr.. GrOesch-
ner returned home last night and when
seen at his home he declared that he
had done nothing to bring about such
a state Of mind on the part OF his wife.
Many years ago." said be, my wife
was thrown from a horse and sUs-
tanned "a severe wound in the head.
Since that time-eVery two or three
years-she has had these spells and 1
feel that they are becoming worse each
time they come on. The lest one was
some three years ago when she arose
some time in the night and went down
town IN her night gown. l was sleeping
in another part Of the house and did
not know of her absence till morning.
The police cared for her that night.
The story she tells of my taking all the
money and leaving her is nonsense.
Last Tuesday morning I got letter
from superintendent Tucker Of the
Germania smeIter advising me that he
could give me work. / went down to
see about il and returned that night
NV wife was then feeling as We'll as
she ever did. On Wednesday morning
7 left for work and told her that l
would return either Friday or Saturday
night. According to promise i came
home this evening ast"nished to find
that my wife was out of her head
again. When I left she had between
SIC 4lId S15 in the house and l felt no
alarm for her welfare. The pistol with
which she attempted the lives Of the
children I had left at hon e at her re-
quest, as she did not like to be alone
without a weapon about the premises.
He had been married. he said, for
eleven years and numerous business
men and others in this city could testi-
fy that he was not the kind Of man