The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-10-02
To- 81 80 cRI1rE.
The Brothe IS Murdered Their Uncle,
Peter HalAen beck. in Cold Blood.

The Brothe Is Murdered Their Uncle,
Peter HalAen beck, in Cold Blood.
/ Dannemora. M Y, Oct. LIN almost
all respects the tragedy which closed
7 today at Clinton prison with the death
I on the electric shair Of the three Van
4 Mormer brothera% was unique I'm mod
7 ern criminal histoihy- Only once before
orothers have Zone to 49,
/ Sether for a mrfder fin witch 49, rs
/ Jointly concerned
On Christmas eve 1901. with their
/ cousin, Harvey Bruce, the three broth
+ ers drove from THEN home in Kinder
( hook some fourteen miles to the ham
I let OF Greendale. in Columbia county.
/ where lived Peter A. HaIenbeck. the
/ uncle or the Van WorTners on The
! way they stopped at the GreendaIe
church, where they stole three vehicles
/ or the farmers. number Of robes and
( whips.
Old Man Shot Down.
Thence they went on to the Hauen-
beck house. where Mr.. HaUenbeck. his
wife and aged mother were sitting ia
the lampliEht i'm their living room. R0th
I the women saw them drive past. A few
moments later there was knock III
the door and Mr.. Hallenbeck answered
it TO find masked men before him
armed with revolvers. Burton Ven
old man grappled. At once an four
began a fusilade Of pistol shots. which
Z talrly rlddled the body OF Mr.. Hauen-
Deck. Mrs HallenbeCk. the wife. ran
into the kitchen and the brothers shot
az ner put missed Her husband or
oered her 10 flee and she ran upstairs
whittier the Older woman had precads7-
her and the two barricaded themselyeq
ia the attic.
Mr.. Hallenbeck, although--lf6rtallv
wounded. broke away slr6m his aesaii-
ants and went to the landing on the
stairs where he kept a shotgun. The
assailants saWyhim get the arr e-5
died anna
Inc four young men were soon after
arrested betrayed by their footnrfnfe En-
the snow and because they were l-nov-7
70 nave harbored bitter feelings and to
nave made threats against their uncle
Iney were brought TO trial before. an
eAtfaofainary term of the sunror7e
court appointed by Governor Odeil and
presided over by Justice Alden Chester
Of Albany. on March so. 1902
Bruce Turned States Evidence.
Harvey Bruce turned states evidence.
and it is TO large extent upon his -es-
timony that the conviction Of the Van
Wormer brothers was secured. He
swore that on their way back from The
scene Of the crime each of the brothers
boosted of having shot the uncle.
On April AN three were found euiItv
and sentenced to be put to death iD ne
week ending May 90 1902. Their ,n-
peal TO the court of appeals acted a. a
stay and the case went over until The
present year
Judge O'Brien, on writing the miami
nous opihlon OF the higher court
against the appeal, pronounced fncrad-
IDLE the main plea Of defense. tbat the.
expedition Of the four 60 HaUanbaol--z
house was ia the nature Of = 4our.r
mems prank, the fatal outcome az
which had not been a part Of the Dlan.
Twice Respited.
The court fixed upon the weel, Of Tulv
for the carrying out Of the death sem
tence- but me Van WerWers have been
twice respited by Governor Caall
Harvey Bruce. their fellow in the
crime, for which they died today. was
tried alone and sentenced to fmprison-
ment for eighteen years.
Mrs Hallenbeck soon followed her
husband 10 the grave-as also did the
aged mother OF the murdered man. A
brother George Al HaHenbecE. e1r-
wives, but he is broken i'm health and
nervous by the awful tragedy enacted
almost within his hearing
Former Tragedy Recalled.
RAY ---P-- N---A--- "a ADAa4 otarl
to a total of seventy-three the list on
murderers who have died In the electric
chair. The simultaneous execution OF
three brothers is not unprecedented ina
the history of New York state. although
to find the parallel one must go back
70 June 3. 1926, when three brothers.
Nelson Israel. jr-. and Isaac Thayer 81
the town Of Boston. Erie county. were
hanged simultaneously on d triple sal-
lows erected on the west side ST tyi-
agara square in the city OF Bnwera
The crime Tor which t6e Thavers died
was the butchery OF q peddier named
JOAN Love.