Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1901-03-01
KILLED HER CHILDREN
|Demented Woman, at Union
town, Throws Them in
q Well.
HELD THEM UNDER w wATER
Until Life was Extinct - Mother
Claims the Children Wanted to
Join their Dead Father.

A terrible murder Of six helpless
children, by their crazed mother,
occurred at Uniontown, Wash, last
Saturday evening. Mrs. Rosa
Wurzer, widow, threw her six
children, two boys and four girls,
ranging in age from 4 to II years,
\ into we'll 30 feet deep, with but
+ two feet of water in the bottom,
| then jumped in the we'll, and, the
belief is, held their heads under
water until all were drowned.
Neighbors found Mrs. Wurzer in
the we'll, with her six murdered
children, and putting rope around
her body, drew her out. She is
violently insane and is restrained
with difficulty,
The dead children are Anna,
aged Z Rosa, aged IL; Louise, aged
10; George, aged 4;and Joseph and
Mary, twins, aged 8.
Talk With the Woman.
The representative of the Spokes-
man Review talked with the de-
mented creature and she gave him
incoherent reasons for Staying her
little ones. First she said she put
the children down the well because
she thought they were better dead
than alive. She went on to say
that she had read of the Chinese
war and the terrible atrocities com
mitted in the Orient, and hac
warning that the Chinese were
coming today to burn het house
and slay her children. She there
fore determined to cheat the Chin
ese of their intended victims, ant
herself drowned her little ones.
81 threw the four younger one
in first" she said to the reporter
as her mind took another change
then one of the older ones jumped
in when / asked her to, and Ros
came of her own accord"
In still another moment Of con
versation she said she had talked
to the children of their father, VIII
died year ago, and told them the,
would be better off if they were al
with them. She AYERS that the
were convinced that it would b
better to join papa and assented t
the easiest way out of the world,
Tried to Kill Herself,
On Mrs. Wurzer's neck was
mark of a rope, showing that afte
she had slain her children in tn
shallow water she had tried to han
herself. She admitted to the maj
shall that she had tried to kill hel
self, but was unable, in the crampe
quarters, to accomplish her pul
pose. 1t was evident she had eitht
stood by or reclined upon the dea
bodies of her children ali Nigh
and half the next day, until e.
hausted nature called for relief an
she hailed the marshal.
Mrs. Wurzer is about 35 years
age, of dark complexion, blaC
eyes, and weighs about l25 pound
being of medium height. She is
prepossessing appearance and nev
before gave evidence of insanit
The family lived in their own hon
substantial brick house of fol
rooms, Since the death of Il
father year ago friends in Il
country have been most kind al
have brought donations of food al
clothing. The county appropriate
$15 a month for their suppo
Mrs. Wurzer never wanted for an
thing necessary to decent e
istence.
The six innocent children are
their last sleep in little room
their old home. They have be
viewed by crowds of people. Near
everyone acquainted with the ne
came up to look at the house,
peer down the we'll and come il
the house and tiptoe to the b
where lay the dead. The childr
were favorites with their pls
mates, and their sudden and ter
ble taking off has created fesli
in the community akin to &
sternation.
1t is possible that Mrs Wur
will recover from the bodily
iuries suffered by standing In
cold water of the we'll for nearly
hours, Whether she will recu'