Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-04-17
TRAGEDY ENACTED WHILE
FAMILY WAS At CHURCH
Aged Man, Suffering With Rl1suma.
tism, Commits Awful Crime While
craxsd With Pain-Lovs For Woman
May Have Caused Him to Plan Her
+ Death.


life.
1t is believed he became crazed with
pain from violent attack Of chronic
rheumatism, but there Is no direct evil
dence as to the double crime, as no.
body was in the house at the time,
but the victims.
Returning from church. at 1915. the
woman's aged husband, "A years old,
found his wife lying lifeless on the
kitchen floor. She had been shot thru
the head. single bullet passing thru
the brain. and out OF the opposite side
Of the skull, disappearing. Her head
was bathed in blood. and he supposed,
as the neighbors whom he summoned,
believed for an hour afterwards, that
his wife had died of q lung hemor-
rhage
Later. he went into Schwetfeger's
adjoining room-by means Of more
distant door, as the communicating
door was locked-and found the man,
dead. IN his chair. A bullet from the
same hve-chambered 32-caliber revolt
yer, had bored Its way thru his head
and had buried Itself in q pillow on
the nearby bed.
Deaths Were instantaneous.
The death Of each had been instan-
taneous, doubtless. In Schwetfeger's
right hand was clasped the weapon. In
his left, was q little handmirror, by
means Of which he had directed the
fatal revolver's barrel perfectly, shoot
ing himself Just above the right ear.
The bullet came out Of the left temple
Mrs. Lillicl was shot behind the
right ear, and the bullet came out Of
the left eye. shatter1ng her spectacle
lens. and scattering It. with her blood
over the tablecloth-for she was EVIL
IDENTIFY preparing the table for the mid
day meal, when the double crime was
committed.
Acted Thru Love.
It is quite probable that Schwet-
feger acted thru love, In staying his
landlady. He had lived with the Liz
ticks thirteen years. having paid them
$1,000 to care for him for life. and had
promised them $500 more to be paid
when he was dead. He had expressed
himself as tired Of life some weeks
ago. but this was attributed to his
brooding over his sufferings. when III.
He was CHEEKY and bright Easter
morning, when the family went to
church. No one saw him or Mrs. Lii
lick alive after 10 o'clock. She went
to the grocery store near her home at
that hour, and was probably killed on
her return. It is thought that Schwet-
.eger argued in his insane way that.
since he was about to escape from
suffering and care, 50 would his friend
and landlady. by the same means, be
freed.
He had been known, once. last month,
to discuss the relative power and
promptness Of arsenic and strychn1ne.
but of late. no such talk had been
heard, and at no time was he known
to have made suicidal threat, or a
murderous intimation.
The Lillick family surviving em-
braces the aged husband and father;
and two sons and three daughters-
Carl, an electrician OF Chicago: Mrs Ell
Dagenais, the wife Of another Chicago
electrician: Emil iowa city: Augusta
and Dorothy, Iowa City: Mrs. Ed OAR
by, Waterloo.
Schwetfeger was widower. One
adopted daughter survives, Mrs. JOS
eph Frauenholz. OF Coralville.
Coroner Charles X. Hurd has the
room in which the man committed sui
eide sealed. ana will keep 1t so, until
the inquest Is held. probably today.