The Minneapolis journal., 1903-10-01
BROTHERS 60
TO DEATH CHAIR
The Three Van Wormer Brothers
Are EIectrocuted for Murder
ing Their Uncle.
They Maintain Their Nerve Until
the Last Oldest Was Exc
cuted First.
Story Of the Brutal Crime for Which
They Paid the Death
Penalty.

Dannemora. N. Y, Oct. 1.-Without one
unforeseen incident to mar the dignihed ex-
ecuttonS Of the death penalty imposed by
the trial court sustained by the court
of appeals and not, interfered with by
Governor Odell, Willis, Frederick and Bur-
ton Van Wormer. were put to death in flf-
teen and one half minutes at Clinton pris-
on to-day for the murder Of their uncle
Peter A. Hallenbeck, at Greendale, CO.
| lumbia county, on Christmas eve, 1901.
There was not one sensational circum-
stance connected with the execution. The
men walked from the doors. Of their cells
in the care OF their priest and fanked on
either side by prison deputies, with calm
demeanor but extreme pallor.
Father Belanger, a picturesque white
haired figure, not in the robes o 5ff1is office.
but In the every day black frock coat Of
clerical cut, with a little purple stole about
his shoulders, walked along with each OF.
the condemned men in turn, saying words
Of consolation. s.
Priest Read Prayers
During the first execution Father Char
bonneau remained In the corridor between
the death cells, reading prayers and inyo-
| cations to the remaining Van Wormers.
Every precaution had been taken to pre-
! vent the remaining men from hearing
more than the departure Of their brother
i from the room. The doors had been.
padded and the interstices stuffed with
cotton so that the steps Of those who re-
moved the 1ifeless body from the death
chamber to the morgue could not he heard
Three applications Of the current and
four minutes time were required for the
execution Of Willis, but only two appiica-f
tions of the full current were deemedj
necessary in the case Of frederick and
two minutes from the time he crossed. the
Threshold of the room, the doctors pro-
nouneed him. dead. The bodies were car
ried out into the prison morgue and the
summons for the last brother, was taken
back by the guards.
Father Belanger went with them and
when Burton Van :Worner was brought
into the presence Of death he was accom-
panied by two priests Father Charbora-
neau having no further need to remain In
! the cellroon.
| Gazed Out upon Death.
Either Burton was taller than his BROTH
ers, or sat up straighter; In the chair, for
the strap Intended to cover the eyes did
not reach high enough to b1indfold him.
the current was switched ON he was
4 still looking over the upper edge of the
i s Yrap toward the PRIEST. He was Killed
I even more quickly than the other two
The current Was: turned on atzS11s4 s47:30.
Only one application was required, tho
! it was retained slightly longer. at full
pressure than in the other cases.
Doctors Ransom, Spitzka5 and McDon-
aid had carefully examined the other two
mems bodies, but in the case of Burton,
the last, other physicians who were among
the witnesses, were asked to examine the
body. as 1t remained in the chair, and so
the official pronouncement Of death was
delayed. ..
Took About Six Minutes
In the case of Willis, the current was
7 |on in the three contacts for sixty seconds;
in that Of Frederick, with two contacts
one minute and five seconds; in that Of
w nY1a for MT,
and thirteen seconds, so that the actual
time consumed in executing the three
men was five minutes and flfty-four Sec
onds. .-m.4- .-
4 I'm order to reduce to the smallest pos-
sible number the list of witnesses, the
warden counted as witnesses the prison
deputies and guards whose duty COM
4 PEELED them to be present. Neither the
district attorney nor the sheriff of Colu1n-
bia county, in which they were convicted,
nor the supreme court judge, was present.
Father Belanger said, after the execu-
tion, that the last hours of the men were
spent in exceeding quiet, with the strict
est attention o the spiritual interests which
were their sole consolation.
They Are Electrocuted.
Willis Van Wormer entered the death
chamber at 11:34:30, the current was
turned into his body one minute later and
at 1887 he was declared dead.
At 11:41:30 Frederick entered tho death
chamber, at 11:42 the current was turned
on, and he was declared dead at 11:43:s0.
Burton entered the death chamber at
11:47, the current was turned on at
11:47:3O and he was declared dead at
11:4S:3O.
The entire proceeding from the start Of
, the first man from his cell to the doc
tors declaration Of the death Of the LAST.
consumed but 151k minutes.
Il ktseed (Aia Rro+har.
No farewells were said, under Father
Belanger's advice, until the grating Of
the big steel doors which separated, them
!, from the corridor, was heard. Then as
Willis was led from his cell, he was al
lowed to step over to the cells of Burton
; and Fred. and thru the openings between
! the heavy bars Of the cages in which they
e were confined, pressed his face and IL,
/ turn kissed those Of his two brothers, at
the same time shaking hands and say
ing as he turned away: BE brave, boys %
AS soon as Willis had passed out into
the corridor leading to the death cham
Der, Father Charbonneau began to read
I the prayers of consolation to which brief
responses were necessary, thus occupy-
ing the minds of the others in the min
Il utes of suspense
= When it came Fredericks turn to go.
: as he left his cell, he stepped back a
s few PAGES to the front Of B,lrton's cage
ana STdSplnS MS DrOCnerS handS in both
r of his, kissed him repeatedly until the
: guard quietly urged him away.
s "Goodby, Mooney"
It Burtons departure from the. death
: house made the most pathetic scene OF
d ALL Besides the aged priest there was
% but one other person in the world to
whom he might say goodby. That was
IL Allen Mooney, the last occupant of the
y death cells, who sat in the corner of the
it front of his cell, sobbing like a child
+ AS Burton stepped from his cell. he
looked back toward Moneys cell which
: was out of his view, because of a grea,
I iron screen built for that purpose and
le called: "Goodby, Mooney; hope you
4 won't have to go like this and then he
S marched to the death chair.
Story Of the Crime.
!, : In almost all respects the tragedy which
Is closed to-day at Clinton prison with tn,
ID death in the electrical chair Of the three
n brothers Van Wormer was unique In mod
p ern criminal history. Only once befor
e in this state it is recalled that three broth