Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-14
MANIAC KILLS
DAUGHTER AND
SON WITH Ak
WOUNDS WIFE AND TRIES TO
COMMIT SUICIDE
HAD PLANNED AWFUL TRAGEDY
MOST DELIBERATELY
Bodies of the Victims Hacked and
Pounded RemorselessIy by Insane
Murderer Long After Life
Had Been Extinct
tcOntInued from rage onei

and knelt down there and prayed.
Then 1 got the ak and chopped his
head off
Il don't know how much later it
was that I reached my daughters
home. 1 loved my children and was
not angry with them"
The man was plainly in state of
nervous collapse. Trembling and
quivering in every muscle he strug-
gled and tossed on his cot and seemed
irving to get away from any reeollec-
ton of what he had accomplished.
His voice was husky and his tone was
hardly louder than whisper. The
mental agony he suffered was evident.
eff / could only die l would be con-
tented he said. "I have had hard
time of it and want to rest. Don't
ask me anything; 1 want to rest
Duffy was reticent on the subject
of religion.
did the Lord tell you 10 DO TINS
he was asked.
Moo" he replied, hesitatingly, and
beyond saying that he was good
Christian he would not discuss the
matter.
Had Been Acting QueerIy
Dufty's actions at religious meetings
seemed to indicate that he felt di-
vinely called to kill his children. He
was a regular attendant at the Temple
mission meetings at 1716 Temple street
and also at the Pencil mission on Main
street At one of the meetings few
months ago, neighbors say, he asked
for prayers for the souls of his chill
dren, saying that he feared that they
were not prepared for the hereafter.
A week or so ago he testified at one
OF the mission meetings that he felt
relieved as to the future life of his
children; that he believed their souls
were safe.
Duffy had appeared at the La Com
home a number of times with an ak.
Neighbors aver that he tried to in
duce his daughter, Mrs. Ferdinand La
Com, to eat a poisoned apple Wednes-
day morning.
While Duffy had been regarded as
rather queer his murderous intent had
not been suspected by his relatives.
He was known to be crank on re-
ligion and apparently had no friends
except those interested in religious
work.
burial plot near the center of
Evergreen cemetery was purchased by
Duffy June Is, and as quickly as pos
sible afterWard he had three granite
headstones carved with the names:
"ZAIDAH LA COM"
"HENRY j. DUFFY"
FIRED A. DUFFY"
. The headstones are placed in that
order on the plot, the daughters to
the left and the sons on the right of
the fathers heT monuments were pur-
chased from the w. Y. Teetzel monu-
ment works, and by considerable ne
gotiation with J. Bennett, manager of
the works, Duffy secured the markers
for SIS each, reduction of 81 on each
stone. Duffy is also said to have ne
gotiated for the purchase of three cof-
fins few weeks ago.
Duffy had accumulated considerable
property and owned number OF
houses in the vicinity of his home.
He had given the next house and lot
at PSI Mountain View street to his
son, Fred. A son, Clark A. Duffy, is
a railroad man, living in Montana.
In the matrons department of the
receiving hospital Mrs. Mary A. Duffy,
who narrowly escaped death at the
time her daughter Mrs. Zaidah La. Com,
was brutally killed by the frenzied
Henry j. Duffy, is being treated for
injuries received while fighting for the
possession of the ak in order to prevent
Duffy from killing her also. The wo-
man is In a serious condition and may
never recover her reason, dethroned by
the awful tragedy. At frequent inter-
walls she PAGES the floor of her room.
wrings her hands and means. At times
she is rational and freely relates the
story of the death of her daughter and
her fight for her own life. Late yes
terday afternoon, while in quiet
mood, Mrs. Duffy rehearsed the scene
of the tragedy at her daughters home.
Gives Detailed Account
Il was in the kitchen washing the
dishes,' said Mrs. Duffy, "and my
daughter was in the dining room clear
ing off the breakfast dishes. Then 1
heard the front door open and later
heard my husbands voice in the din
ing room. I could not hear what was
said, but in a few seconds heard the
sound of a blow, and, thinking that
my daughter had become enraged at
something he had said and slapped
him, I hurried into the room to see
what the trouble was about.
When entered the room was hor-
rified to see Mr. Duffy, with an ak in
his hand, trying to strike my daughter,
] rushed over to him and told him to