Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1903-09-17
MURDER MOST BRUTAL.
Awful Crime of George Brandt on a
Farm in Wyoming Township,
this county.
HIS SON IS THE ONLY WITNESS.
The Murderer Now in Jail at Dodqevill,
and Tell Of Self-Defense in Killing
His Wife and Mother-in- Law,

| Details of this hideous crime could
not be eceived in time for last week s
Tribune as was then stated. Tele-
graphic reports and interviews have
since brought ont conflicting ac-
counts. The first runs thus:
"As the sun was setting on the
night of Sept. Sth, Mrs. Mary Murphy
was setting peacefully on the
porch near the doorway of her farm
home reading her Bible, without a
word of warning, IS stealthily as a
redskin might have approached,
George Brandt, her SON in-law, crept
up behind and ut close range fired at
the woman, and with scarcely a
groan she fell from her chair lifeless.
Without noticing the l0-year- old boy,
the son of George and Mary Brandt,
who lived at the home of his grand
mother and who was inside of the
house, too frightened so move to
warn his mother, stealthily as a cat,
the man crept away from the house,
to the barn. Here, without the
slightest warning, he stole up behind
preoccupied woman, this time one
he had sworn to love ana cherish,
and remorselessly took her life. The
lad in the house, trembling With fear
hn oh hn 1isanUnrA6 n6
should share the fate of his mother
and grandmother, remained hidden
and in quiet. When it bad become
quite dark, and his father was no
longer in sight, he crept softly away
from the scene Of carnage, and start
ed toward the village. His tramp
was a long and hard one. Six miles
in the darkness of the night, almost
fainting with fear for his own safety.
and with the memory of the frightful
events which had robbed him at
once of his two dearest and only
friends through the agency Of his
unnatural father. On reaching the
village, he related his story but so
wild and improbable in details that
the people would scarcely believe it.
At last party was organized, and
the morning a posse went in search
of the man. On reaching the Murphy
farm, they found that the boys story
was only too true. The bodies were
found where they had fallen, reeking
in their own blood. Securing the
immediate neighborhood the men
were not long in finding Brandt in
Van Blarcom's barn on neighbor-
ing farm. Several slight flesh wounds
on the mans forehead and temple
indicate that he made abortive at
tempts at suicide, but failed in nerve
to polt the pistol straight at his
own h cad and succeeded only in in
flicting wounds that will quickly
heal
Another report, or rather inter
view, taken for the Dodgeville pa
pers the evening following, after he
had been lodged in jnil at that place.
is given thus:
George Brandt, the self-confessed
murderer of his divorced wife and
her mother, Mrs. Murphy, was lodged
in the county jail Wednesday after
noon, the 9th. Brandt has been work
ing near Ridgeway this summer and
says he went to his former wife's
home in the town OF Wyoming Sun
day to see their son. He says he was
ordered off the place Returning
Tuesday evening about 8 o'clock
armed with a 3S-calibre revolver, he
says Mrs. Murphy ordered him off
the place again. II says he fired two
shots at her, the last one taking fatal
effect, the bullet hitting her between
the eyes. His former wife heard the
shots and came in from the barn and
passed into the house, and out where
he was standing. He says hot words
=
away, he shooting her in the back.
He says he remained with her an
hour or more, and returned three
times before midnight to see if she
was dead The son says his mother
died about u O'Clock. Brandt says
he then went to the creek near the
scene of his awful crime and at
tempted to drown himself Failing
in this he fired three shots at his
head, inficting only scalp wounds.
After he recovered from the shock of
the wounds in his head, he went to a
farmers barn, and attempted to hang
himself. Failing in this fifth attempt
to take his life he lay down on the
hay and was found there by the
owner of the farm early Wednesday
morning. Brandt told him just what
ba had dpna and tho farmer after