Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-07-28
|STRANGLES CHILDREN,
Insane Brooklyn Mother Murders Two
of Her Offspring.
She THEN ATTEMPTS SUICIDE
Richard Mead, an Express Employee,
Greeted by Terrible Sight When
He Returns Home Third
Daughter Barely Saved.

New York, July 2S.--When Richard
Mead, night Waterman employed by
| the Adams Express company at One
Hundred and Twentytifth street and
Lexington avenue. got off the Myrtle
avenue trolley car in Brooklyn that
was taking him to his home after his
nights work. he looked in vain for his
little daughters, who had always come
to meet him.
They were not in the street in front
Of the house at 80 Emerson place, in
the basement of which he lived, and
his apartments were strangely silent.
Hurrying through to the dining room,
where his wife had always had break
fast waiting for him, the night watch
| man found the table bare. He started
toward the kitchen and almost fell
over the form of his wife, who lay on
| the floor in a stupOr. He shook her
and called to her. but she made no re-
| spouse and seemed to be hardly breath
| ing.
| The night Waterman called to the
children, but there was no answer.
| He searched hurriedly through the
rooms and finally went into the bed
room. There on the bed the children
lay, two of them strangled to death
and third with bit of white ribbon
knotted tightly about her throat.
Found Two Stone Dead.
Startled by the hoarse screams of
the man as he rushed out of the house
and into the street, the neighbors hur
ried in from every direction. When
they found the children, they saw that
| Alice the eldest aged three and a half
years, and Mary. the baby thirteen
months old. were beyond help Alice
had been strangled by hands that
gripped her throat until the fingers had
been imbedded in the flesh. leaving
great black marks.
Mary, the baby. had been choked to
death with a white stock collar, and
about the slender neck of little Johan-
ma, two years old, had been tied a
white silk ribbon. The ribbon had not
been tied tightly enough to cut off the
| child's breathing. but it had choked the
| little one until she was unconscious
A woman snatched up Johanna and
carried her to her room upstairs, where
the ribbon was quickly cut and restor-
atives applied the child regainng con-
seriousness only after the neighbors had
worked over her some time
| Whisky Bottle at Mothers Side.
Meanwhile other neighbors had
turned their attention to the uncon-
scious mother on the dining room floor
| and to the father who was almost
crazed with grief. BY the mothers
side was found quart whisky bottle
empty.
A policeman had been called in from
| the Flushing avenue station. and an
ambulance was summoned from the
Homeopathic hospital in Cumberland
street. DR., Payne responded and at
once directed his attention to Mrs.
Mead. The physician said Mrs Mead
| appeared to be suffering from the eff
fects of whisky and possibly some sort
OF poison, under the influence of which
she had committed the dreadful crime.
She was removed to the hospital and
is now reported to be in dying condi-
ton.
The police after an inquiry said she
had been drinking and had been acting
strangely.
They said, however. that she had
never been known to drink before.
They thought she had probably be-
come demented from worry over fnan-
cial difficulties and had taken the
whisky while temporarily insane.