The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-05-05
GIRL OF FIVE SLAIN
IN RELIGIOUS FRENZY
Head Of Praying Band, While
Fighting Devil, Stays Niece.
MOTHER HELD AS ACCESSORY
Robert Bachman, Calling Himself
God" Said to Have Stamped
Babe to Death in Pennsylvania
Prompted by Revenge.


Babe to Death in Pennsylvania
Prompted by Revenge.
Easton, Pa. The mother of May
Irene Smith, murdered as sacrifice
by religious fanatic, was lodged in
the Northampton County Jail in this
city, charged with aiding and abetting
the killing of her own daughter.
She was arrested Immediately after
the funeral services at the grave, at
the Stone Church Cemetery, about
twenty-four miles from here. Mrs.
Rachman, the wife of Robert Bach
man, who has confessed to the Dis
trict Attorney and to World CORE
spondent tsat by the direction of God,
he strangled May Irene Smith to
death, was also arrested.
A new and startling phase in the
pitiful tragedy has cropped out.
When County Detective johnson took
Bachman's wife into custody, one of
the best known residents of Nazareth
called Johnson aside and said to him:
Are you sure that this religious
frenzy idea is all a fake? Do you
know that the killing of this child
was premeditated murder by Bach
man in revenge for the death of one
of his own children? He was the
father of little girl nineteen months
old, and it was taken to Smith s house
on the Cherry Hill road, where it con-
tracted pneumonia from May Irene,
the little girl who was murdered
Bachman got it into his head that the
Smiths were responsible for the death
of his baby daughter, and he began
exercising the marvellous hypnotic
power he possessed to bring Smith
and Mrs. Smith into the belief he had
adopted
His argument was that the Penn
sylvania Dutch, OF Northampton
County, no longer followed the teach
ings of Martin Luther, and that the
time had come for the formation of
new sect.
There is no question that he be-
lieved this himself and became a
fanatic on the subject, but at the
same time he used it to carry out his
scheme of revenge.
He conceived terrible hatred for
the five-year-old daughter of his
brotherin-law and displayed it so
openly that she became afraid of him,
and frequently so expressed herself.
She refused to go to the Bach
man house alone and it was only by
the greatest persuasion that she was
induced to visit there last Monday.
Her father and mother were then
| under the complete mental DONNA
ton of Bachman and did exactly as
he babe them
They ran from room to room, sing
Ing and praying. They smashed fur
niture and shattered mirrors to drive
! out devils and admit the Spirit of
| God. They tore bed sheets into strips
and knotted these strips around their
waists until the breath was almost
driven from their bodies. They
burned up all the books in the house
except the Bible, and small book
with vellum cover whose leaves
were entirely blank except the first,
on which was written, Colt ist Colt.
"Bachman proclaimed himself as
Gods brother, and then as God Him
self. Then by the exercise of the
strange power he possessed he COM
PEELED Smith to worship him, kneel-
ing at his fest. He commanded him
constantly to bring May Irene to the
house that she might be imbued by
| the Holy Spirit, and the child was
| taken there to her death.
/ "Bachman knew perfectly well
/ what he was doing. He believed that
| May Irene had communicated pneu-
monia to his nineteen-months-ol
| child and in his fanatical zeal he de-
termined that the Smith child should
atone for what he said was sin
| against the daughter of God, for he
believed himself to be God, so he cum
ningly set up the claim that he was
attempting to drive out the evil spirit
from May Irene and to do it he was
compelled to strangle her, and then
stamp and sit on her dead body.
That is the real story, Mr.. John
son. Bachman has confessed his
crime three times. Once to you, once
to the District Attorney, and once to
World correspondent, but he has
skillfully avoided revealing the real
motive for his crime II
I The county detective has had a
long and varied experience in Grim
inology, and this suggestion rather
staggered him, but he went to Mrs.
Bachman and questioned her before
| placing her under arrest. She ad-
mitted that one of her children had
died of pneumonia, that May Irene
/ Smith, while convalescing from the
same disease, had visited and played
with her child. That it was suspected
the disease had been communicated
! by this association But Mrs. Bach
man would not admit that her hus-
band conceived hatred. for May
Irene on this account The woman
had recovered in a measure from the
| religious frenzy which possessed her
while she was under the control of
her husband, and was inclined to be
cautious in her answers. She said
that Robert, her husband, never ex-
! pressed dislike for the child until he
became convinced she was controlled
by the devil, and then he deemed it