The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-03-12
Chris Rasmussen Arrested on q
Charge Of ScaIdlng His Wife
and Children Monday
NEIGHBoRS WAIT WITH GUNS
Pleasant Prairie Farmer Is Charged
With One of the Most Sensational
Crimes Ever Committed in This
Section of the State

One Of the most brutal crimes ever
known in this section of the state was
brought to light Monday night when
Sheriff Pfennig and his aids were called
to the home of Chris Rasmussen, a
farmer who resides on the Van Ingen
farm, just south of the city, for the
purpose Of arresting Rasmussen on a
charge Of assaulting his wife and child
rem. The charge against the man is of
a most sensational nature as it is al
legged that he deliberately heated ket-
| tie of water ard scalded his little
daughter nine years of age, his son four
years old and his wife. The two child
rem were fearfully burned by the in
human father and they are now in
charge Of DR.. P. P. M. Jorgensen.
While the burns are very serious, it is
not thought that they will result fatally.
Mrs. Rasmussen was badly scalded
about the legs. and the lower part of
her body, but her burns were not as
serious as those of the children. Ras-
mussen narrowly escaped being lynched
by the farmers who resided in the neigh
borhood who armed themselves with
shot guns and lay in wait for the man
until late this morning but he failed to
put in an appearance and early this
morning he was taken into custody by
Sheriff Pfennig and Turnkey Shields
and he will probably have & hearing late
this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
/ Tt is alleged that Rasmussen was drunk
when he scalded his wife and children,
but he insists that the whole thing was
an accident and that he had no intention
to harm them. The wife declares that
he deliberately threatened to scald them
and he heated the water for that pur-
pose.
Rasmussen according to reports has
been drinking for several days and
when he went to his home on Sunday
he began quarreling with his wife and
| it is alleged that at that time he as
saulted her, blacking her eye and badly
bruising her. The woman bore her in
j
husband was drunk. He went away
from home Monday afternoon and re-
turned 20 the house just after six
Q clock Monday evening and AGAIN be-
gan quarreling. Finally he went to the
kitchen stove and made fire and put
on the tea kettle The children fearing
injury fled to q room in the upper part
Of the house and armed with the kettle
Of water the inhuman father later went
TO the room where they were. It is al
legged that he deliberately poured the
water down the back of the little boy
and never needing the screams of the
wife and daughter he attacked the
| daughter The woman threw herself in
save the girl and he emptied the remain
der Of the boiling water over her The
wife rushed from the house and went
| to the home of her brother-in-law, while
the two little children suffering almost
inhuman pain managed to get into one
of the rooms and hid themselves in a
bed under the bed clothing. Rasmus-
sen started to leave the house after his
wife, but later returned and it was fear
ed that he was killing the children. In
the house Rasmussen had shot gun
and a revolver and it is alleged that he
threatened to shoot any one that at
terted to enter the house. Finally he
fed by a back door and came to Keno
sha. The Deighbors then went to the
house and rescued the children who
were suffering terribly and took them
to the home of neighbors and DIR. Jor-
gensen and the sheriff were Lurriedly
summoned. An examination showed
that the back of the little boy was a
mass of great blisters while the girl was
burned about the hands, breast and low
er limbs. Mrs. Rasmussen suffered
from nervous prostration as well as
from burns and last night her condition
was critical, but she is said to be out
Of danger this morning.
The report of the awful deed of Ras-
mussen spread over the neighborhood
| like wild fire and in half an hour a
band Of determined men were out look
ing for Rasmussen and had they found
him it is pretty certain that Kenosha
county would have had it's first lynch
ing. 1t was stated to these men that
Rasmussen was armed and for this rea-
son they were not going to take any
chances. It was thought that the man
would return to the house to make an
effort to renew the trouble and to stop
that three men armed with shot guns
hid themselves in The smoke house near
the Rasmussen home and others armed
with like weapoas were concealed about
the place. When Sheriff Pfennig and