The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-09
Body of Mrs. Lehnis. Who
Drowned Herself After Killing
Child, to BE Buried To-Day.
FORMERLY LIVED IN ST. LOUIS.
Husband Died Last April at Mem
phis. Tenn.-Widow Went TO
Cincinnati to WOrk-One
Son Remains Alive.

In little cemetery at ST Adams. W. Va.
will be enacted this afternoon the last scene
in one of the real tragedies Of everyday
life. An additional point Of interest TO ST.
Louisans lies In the fact that the principals
were until recently residents of this city.
Beside the newly made grave Of Charles
Lannis formerly young railroad man of
this CITY will be buried in one coffin the
bodies of his widow. who committed suicide
Thursday by jumping into the Ohio River
at Cincinnati and of his infant son. whom
she killed a few minutes before taking her
own life A futile attempt was made also
TO kill her older son.
Charles Iehnis was local contracting
agent Of the KanaHha Dispatch freight ii:ie
and lived at No. $50 Laclede avenue un-
I'll April l. when he was promoted for
his efficient services and sent to Memphis
Tenn. Wbi,e arranging his new home at
that place be contracted n cold. which de-
veloped into rapid pneumonia. from which
he died on April 6. Charles. years old. and
Thornton. an infant son. were left on Mrs
I.ehnis's hands After her husbands death
she grew more and more despcndert until
IL all illuminated In her desperate act of
Thursday
a note which she left as farewell mes
sage to her brother explains that since her
husband died TO one seemed To care for
her ard she found it impossible to get
along with relatives with whom she had
gone to live. While the note In the main
is quite practical 1t closes like one In
maniac spell. declaring that she is the
happiest person in the world. as she In
few hours would Join her dead husband
Mrs. L"hnis was obliged to earn n living
from the time she WAS Is years old. and
did not know what happiness WAS. as she
often said. until she was married.
At her husbands death Mrs. Iehnis was
left I'm straitened circumstances but
through the efforts of MIR. Stockweli Dull
ley. local agent for the Kama wha Dispatch
under whom Lehnis was formerly en-
ployed. she was given Il position in the
offices at Cincinnati. where she worked
UP 10 the day OF her death. She lived with
two aunts Of her husband in Norwood, a
suburb TO Cincinnati.
ON the Fourth of July Mrs. Lehnis. 1t
seems criticised one of her children and
there was family quarrel. the two aunts
taking the part of the child. The result
was that Mrs. Lehnis left the house with
her two children. She went To the house
OF friend in i.omb1rdy. but her friend
had moved out. Mrs David McNanus, the
owner OF the flats. was SO taken with Mrs.
Lehnis's story that she willingly agreed
to- take them in for the night and showed
them to her spare room.
II was then quite late in the afternoon.
After dinner the young widow and her two
children went into their room and were
seen no moro. Mrs. Lehnis put her children
10 bed and then sat down TO mediate upon
her lot. 1t was probably then that she de-
cided upon her horrible deed OF murder and
suicide. but the thoughts that crowded
through her mind can only he judged by the
facts as they were found by the police.
After writing her farewell message she
walked to the bedside where her two little
ones were sleeping and saturated the pill
low with chloroform which she had pur-
chased month previous. Some Of the
liquid was poured on little Thornton's face.
This done. she turned on the gas. closed the
O'Clock In the morning. She went to The
kanawhG Dispatch Office. where she found
the tanitor. She asked the best way to
COvington. He told her to go over the C.
and o. bridge She walked out on the
bridge. When she reached the center a SOL
itary pedestrian at the other end saw her
step out to the side. gather up her skirts
and plunge into the water.
100 feet below. she never arose. Two DAYS
later her body was found on the river bank
five miles away.
About two hours after Mrs Iehnis left the
house Mrs McManus heard a fall in the
spare room. She went into the hall where
she caught the odor of escaping gas She
guessed what had happened and opened the
door. Charles had managed TO get up from
the bed. but fell TO the floor. The fresh
air revived him. but the baby Thornton.
was long past relief. Charles. the only re-
manning member OF a happy young family
OF three months ago. viii probably be
adopted by his aunt In Rosebud, Mont.