The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-05-15
Lake Benton's Affair is Not Yet
Solved by Officers.
HE WAS STRUCK WITH AN Ak
Body Of John Lorenzen Found In q
Barn, His Face Was Laoerated;
Presented Horrible SIGHT.
. .Ii.ll..li

Lake Benton, May S.-The murder
of John Lorenzen is still unsolved.
The coronor's jury returned verdict
that he came to his death at the
hands of unknown parties.
John Lorenzen's lifeless body was
found at about $3.50 Wednesday
morning in the barn, located on the
alley, in the rear of Albert Kirschner's
butcher shop. The body was lying with
out on the barn floor, the feet being
about four feet from the west door,
which opens into the alley.
The nasal bone and left eye were
crushed into the head, and the right
eye and frontal bone were crushed
likewise, and the whole of this por-
ton of his face was encased in mass
of CONCEALED blood. From the wound
streams of blood had run over the face
to the ground and were evidently in
ficted with blunt sharp edged in
.strument-like the butt of an ak
welded with terrific force 1t is
doubtful if the victim ever realized
what hit him-death being, probably,
instantaneous.
One Blow Delivered.
One blow seems to have been de-
livered so that the butt of the ak
struck full force upon the left eye
and cheek bone-crushing the bone,
flesh and eyeball into a shapeless.
sunken chasm across his face. This
blow was so delivered that the nasal
bone was crushed by the handle, APP
parently The other blow landed across
the right eye, crushing gulley in the
frontal bone and sinking into the eye
so that the ball was crowded partially
were delivered with tremendous power
and the misshapen mass of flesh, blood
and bone that fills the sunken path
across his face, between his forehead
and cheek bones, is indescribably re-
pulsive.
A short distance away-perhaps six
or eight feet-in the southeast stall
lay an ordinary heavy chopping axe,
the butt or pole of which was smeared
with blood and patches of cuticle.
The axe lay as if it had been hastily
thrown out of the way, after it had
been used.
There were two horses in the stall,
north of where the body lay. The
body lay only about two feet back
of the horses. From this fact the
first impression was that he had been
killed by being kicked by one of the
horses. But this solution of the mys-
terry was dispelled when it was found
that the horses were barefOoted and
the blood stained axe was found.
Had Been Drinking.
Lorenzen was last seen alive about
eight o'clock He had left some gro
ceries at Ernest Osbeck's a little while
previous. He had been in the saloon
drinking for about an hour. He and
Martin Schwab were together in the
saloon, with others. Lorenzen had
some money in a common clasp purse
$40 or more, no one knows-and this
purse is missing. The purse found on
his BODY was one he used for small
sales at the mill. His watch and
other valuables, as far as known, were
not touched.
John Lorenzen was born in Germany
on June 4, 1864, being forty four years
of age the coming month. He came
to America in 1880, and was soon aft
erward married to the woman who
now mourns his tragic death. With
his family he moved to Lake Benton
about fourteen years ago, since which
time he was variously employed about
town. At the time of his death he
was employed as helper in the Lake
Benton Milling company's Touring
III