The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1909-01-20
KILLED BY
THEIR MOTHER
A HORRIBLE CRIME COMMITTED In CALHOUN
COUNTY.
KILLS CHILDREN WITH RIFLE
The Father Was Drinking and the Mother Be-
came Crazed and Shot Her Of
Springs.

Following is an account OF the
awful crime committed by Mrs. A. j.
Powell. near Lake City, last week. as
copied from the Rockwell City Advo-
cate.
A tragedy that shocked the people
of the entire county occurred Monday
noon at the A. j. Powell home in
Lake Creek township. nine miles
southwest CT Rockwell City. when
Mrs. Powell shot her three little boys
and then attempted suicide by shoot
ing herself. About ] O'Clock Monday
afternoon. Coroner A. C Norton was
notified of the deed and he, accom-
panied by County Attorney +. F.
Hunter and Sheriff Dawson went at
once to the scene Of the crime.
They found one child dead with
twenty two calbre rifle bullet through
his heart and the other two little
fellows in critical condition from
similar wounds through the lungs.
the mother who had committed the
awful deed was lying on The couch
with a gun shot wound through her
body in the region of her heart and
another flesh wound in her arm
Two of the iGnocent little victims Of
the frenzied woman lay on the floor
where the fatal shots had left them,
but the oldest one had been able to
move about and had been placed upon
the bed.
The evidence produced at the in
quest through witnesses examined and
through farewell letters written by
Mrs. Powell to relatives and friends
before she committed the deed,
brought out the fact that Mr.. and
Mrs. POWELL had not been congenial
to each other and had not lived happy
for several years. She was of
nervous, high strung temperament
and was inclined to worry and fret
over her husband short comings and
imagined them of a much greater and
more serious nature than what they
really were. She had discovered
that he took drink of whiskey &C.
casionally and although he never got
drunk and was always kind to his
family and was good provider. she
could not endure the thought Of his
touching the horrible stuff which had
ruined so many lives and which she
no doubt feared would get the best of
him sooner or laer. Mr.. Powell had
spent Sunday afternoon at the home
OF one of the neiRhbors and in some
manner his wife had learned that he
had been drinking. When he re-
turned home quarrel ensued and
they decided to separate, and she
prepared to take the children and 90
to the home of her mother in Illinois.
Mr.. Powell hitched up and took them
to Sherwood to take the train, which
failed to stop there, hence they were
compelled to return home. Monday
morning Mr.. Powell prepared to go to
a neighbors to help shell corn ard
wi en- he was ready to start his wife
told him he had better kiss the chill
dren goodbye. as she was going to
take them and go away. He did so
and left, thinking that the domestic
cloud would soon blow over as others
before had done About noon a
nelghbor woman stopped at the Pow
ell home and was met in the front
yard by the Oldest little boy who
announced, Mama is shooting us. -
She ran to another neigbhor's house
and phoned for Mr.. Powell. When
he arrived he found one child dead
and the other two seriously wounded,
and his wife on the couch with enc
bullet hole through her BODY and just
in the act of firing another one into
her heart. He seized the gun and in
place of the bullet passing through
her heart as she had intended. it en-
tered her lett arm near the shoulder.
The verdict of the jury was that
Derwin Powell came to his death by