The Mankato free press., 1904-01-15
Adrain Now Has a Mysterious Affair
on lis HanCs.
A. Krause, a Citizen, Is Found Dead
in His Bet.
Quarreled With Wife and Then Bar
recaded the Door.
Officers Summoned, But Stay Behind
the BreastWorks.
From Fridays Daily.

From Fridays Daily.
Adrian, Jan. S.-A. Krause was found
dead in bed at his home north of the rail-
road about 10 a. M, yesterday by Mar
shall Lands and Deputy Sheriff Faragher.
A shotgun lying across the dead mans
legs, great jagged hole behind his right
ear and bedding soaked with blood was
, ample evidence that death had not re-
, suited from natural causes.
The circumstances leading up to the
discovery of the body are set forth be-
low as fully and clearly as we are able
to do at the time this is written.
Shortly after eleven o'clock Wednes
day night, Mrs. Krause reused j. N.
Holbrock, who lives next door, and told
him that Mr.. Krause was insane, and
that she had fled to escape his violence.
She said they had quareled after they
had gone to bed, and that he had be-
! come so ugly that she got up and ran
down stairs, locking the stairdoor to
prevent him from following. She said
he had tried to force the door open but
not being able to do so had gone back
to his bedroom. Mrs. Krause also said
that her husband had shotgun in the
room and was plentifully supplied with
shells. And a crazy man with shot
gun and no lack of ammunition is not an
easy proposition to tackle.
Under the circumstances Mr.. Holbrock
thought it best to notify Marshal Land
is. When the marshal arrived he sized
up the situation and concluded that he
needed help. So he summoned Deputy
Sheriff Faragher, who arrived on the
scene about one o'clock.
But the officers not caring to make
| targets of themselves withdrew after
time to Holbrock's house, where they re-
manned until morning. Then they went
over to Krause's to investigate. Enter
| ing the kitchen, which is Immediately be-
| low the bedroom in which Krause was
supposed to have fortified himself, the
officers called him by name but received
no answer. Mrs. Krause also called but
there was no response. Thinking Krause
might be ready to shoot if they opened
the stair door, they finally decided to put
a ladder up to the bedroom window
and look in. Faragher climbed the ladder
but the bed was so situated that he
could see only part of the room. Break
ing in the glass to get a better view, he
saw blood stains on the wall and bed
clothes, but quilt hung over the foot
of the bed and he could not see anything
of Krause.
They then went into the kitchen, un-
locked the stair door and went upstairs.
They found the bedroom door locked,
but broke it open, and saw the stiffened
and bloody body of Krause on the bed.
With the exception of a sweater, the
body was nude and lay on the left side.
| The hands were folded, and the gun lay
across the legs, as has been already de-
scribed. There was no evidence that the
man had moved after the shot had been
fired and from the nature of the wound
death must have been instantaneous.
Coroner Manson was at once notified,
/, but did not arrive until AIS last even
| ing. He and Marshal Landis and Deputy
Sheriff Faragher went to the house at
once and made thorough examination.
The body was not moved and after the
examination the following jury was en-
paneled: DIR. G. G. May, M. E. Carrigan,
c. NJ. Thompson, William Faragher, Ev-
erett Reese and Samuel Jones.
The first work of the jury was to
make careful inspection of the body
upon which no marks of violence were
found except the gunshot wound back
/ of the right ear. A number of shot
was found, two of which passed clear
through the head, one coming out at
| the temple, the other on the cheek. Mrs.
Krause was the principal witness and
after hearing her testimony and consid-
ering the facts brought to light, the jury
was unable to form satisfactory con-
clusion in the case, and so adjourned un-
til nine o'clock this morning.
The positions in which the body and
gun were lying, blood soaked pillow
that was not under the dead mans head
and other things that might be mention
ed do not exactly tally with the suicide
theory, but investigation may explain
away these apparently suspicious cir
cumstances.
Mr.. Krause came to Adrian nine or
ten years ago and about four years ago
was badly hurt while working on the
Omaha road as section hand. He was
never considered mentally sound after he ,
was injured, and his vagaries and irras- /
chile temper led to many quarrels with
his wife. They had no children.
COMMITTED TO ASYLUM.