Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-24
A CRAzED MOTHER
Murders Her Four Little Chill
dren at FiskdaIe, Mass.
After Saturating Bodies With Oil,
Then Cuts Her Own Throat.
Fire Horribly Disfigures Remains-The
Husband Frustrated.

Sturbrdge Mass, March pa fren-
Zied mother in the little hamlet of
FiSkdale after cutting off every means
Of escape by fastening windows and
doors, crushed in the heads of her four
little children, today threw their bodies
into a closet. scattered oil over them
on fire. closed her awful work and her
own life by cutting her throat.
1t was Mrs. Peter Burke, the wife of
q hard working machinist in an auger
factor. who committed the fearful
deed and her victims We're: Lila.
years; William, years; Louise, IL
years, and Mae Rose, months old re-
SpectiVcly.
That the woman had previously
showed signs of mental arrangements
seems to be admitted, but that it
should have taken such a violent form,
was not even thought of by her hus-
band. row completely FRUSTRATED or
her own relatives. The family have
lived in Fiskdale about q year and a
half coming there from Worcester,
while Mrs. Burke is native of New
Hampshire, with relatives in Somers-
worth.
But for the accidental discovery of
the fire, the deed of the mother might
have been hidden forever from the
world by the destruction of the house.
TWO boys, Edward Parrio and Gus Will
liams. were passing the house when
they saw smoke coming from a Win
dow. They burst in the doors and tried
first to nut the fire out with buckets
of water but it gained on them so fast
that they were obliged to run out for
help. The combined efforts of the
neighbors had the effect of eXtinguish-
ing the flames so that they did not
reach above the ground floor.
Up to that time, no one knew of the
tragedy of which the fire had sought to
cover. But some one noticed that
closet door which seemed to be more
charred than the rest of the woodwork,
was open and CHANGING inside q black
ened mass was seen. Those who made
the discovery We're horri1ed to find the
body of Mrs Burke and beneath it
those of her four children.
Even then the fact that she had
killed them was not disclosed until one
by one they We're taken out and it was
seen that the head Of every one of the
little ones had been sDlit open. while
the immediate cause of the mothers
death was seen in the gaping wound in
her throat.
From the appearance of the room and
The position of the bodies. il would seem
as if Mrs BURKE had first cut off every
means OF escape Tor the little ones by nail
ing down the windows and locking all the
doors. The weapon with she one by one
crushed out the life of her offspring was
Il large axe. which was discovered in
corner of the room. Mrs. Burke must
have dragged all the children into the
clcset after she had killed thcm and Their
taken Il bottle of kerosene oil and poured
it upon their clothing. about the walls
and then upon herself.
'rhe fire had SO completely charrcd the
woodwork and the flooring that no blood
OF the children were burned almost he
yond recognition, but that of Louise tho
third child, was only Scorchcd. The body
of Mrs. Burke was also badly burned. but
it did not hide the fearful wound in heI
throat
AS soon as the fire was discovered II
his house, Mr.. Burke was notified and az
rived just as the bodies We're discovered
The shock was so great that the unfortu-
nate man lost consciousness and while he
reSained it some time afterwards, he has
since been in q more or les; dazed cond-
don and has been unable to give any facts
relative to his wife or her family. 1t wa-
learned. however. from some of the neigh
hors that Mrs. Burke had five brothers
ana two sisters. Three of the brothers
live in Somersworth, n. H. Two sisters
Mrs Sophie Bennett and Mrs. Helena
otto, reside in Worcester.
Mrs. Burke was 81 years old and was
married when she was 1G The family has
always been a happy one. Even yester-
day, when some of the ncighbors saw Mrs.
Purke she seemed to be in an ordinary
frame Of mind
The tragedy is ono Of the most fearful
that has ever taken place in this vicinity
and bears n close analogy to the triple
murder in the Bergen family and a similar
murder in the Newton family, both in tht
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