Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1913-12-18
Hamlin Go. Farmer
Kills Wife and BABY

|HamlIn 20. Farmer
Kills Wife and Baby
Frenzied BY some unknown cause,
august Justunen, a Finlands who
'iiycs on rented farm eight miles
northwest OF Bryant killed his wife
lbeating her to death with household
furniture, and seizing his six months
lold baby by its feet, as it crawled
Ito the lifeless body of the mother on
1.-The floor, beat Its head to a pulp and
Threw the mangled body by the side
Of its mother. The crime was com
mitted in the presence of three Other
children, the Oldest OF which Is 4
years old, who can give no reason foI
the terrible act of their father. except
THAT the father and mother were quar-
reling. The double murder was com
United either late Saturday night OF
Iearly Sunday morning.
1t was first discovered by the hired
Imam who returned to the house Sun
day morning. after attending a dance
Ion Saturday He found the wife and
fshild Gead and the rest gone. He
notified the sheriff and coroner al
1once. and they traced Justunen TO the
home CT his father where he was
lfound with the three children He
jWas arrested and taken To BRYANT
ibut fearing a lynching the officers
have removed him to Watertown.
confesses Awful Deed.
Justunen confessed to the double
murder. He told the officers all the
"details. He beat his wife with the
furniture, using the teakettle5 witt
such force that it is badly dented. He
4 then SEN the little baby crawl to the
dead body and told the officers that he
seized it by the legs, and beat ite
lBrains out. He said that he had
/ killed the devil and that he killed
the baby because he had started te
&C to the devil The 6-gear-ol6
Ichild can give no coherent story ex
Ecept that her parents We're quarTeline
land that her father went into a rags
After the murder, the father took The
three remaining children in bed will
him, until daylight, then went intt
the yard and fired a shot gun to give
the alarm, and then went with his
children to the home of hiss fAther
/ three miles distant.
Justunen had not been drinking ant
was not known to be suffering from
mental trouble.
4 At his fathers house, the man salt
that he had been lighting the devi
all night but had saved three OF tn,
i children. Later, in admitting tht
Jcrime to officers he said he has
fought two hours before he succeeded
in killing his wife.
Preliminary Hearing at castieWoot
4 For fear Of lynching the prisoner
1.-THE officers OF Hamlin county brough
/, him to Watertown Sunday Tor saf'
keeping. The Ham1in county offfc
Iials called for him Tuesday and tool
him to CastJewood for preliminar,
Examination. He waived examin
3Iatipa and was returned to Watertowl
where he VIII be confined in the Cod
|ington county jail until the sprin,
term of the circuit court at Castle
wood.
/ Child an Eye Witness.
4 The little Six year old child of th,
prisoner was an eye witness to thu
double murder and told its story a
/ the preliminary hearing. The chilt
isaid. Papa and mamma fightet
and papa killed mamma and thu
baby
AS He Appears in JAIL
A reporter for the Saturday News
was permitted to take a peek at tht
prisoner when he was given his
breakfast Wednesday morning in tbs
Codingtoh county jail He is a mar
of medium heighIh with sandy hall
and about a two weeks growth q
beard on his face. He does not i'm
press one as being a dangerous man
until he speaks, when his voice be
trays something unnatural and brutal
about tine man.
He is very quiet and does not Seem
to care to talk about the murder or
anything else. He has a habit OF run;
mag his hands through his hair and
his hair stands out in all directions
like the quilts ON a porcupine
The other day he turned the city
water on in the closet Of the jail and
Hi was soon discovered that water
was leaking somewhere. The 5ailer
went tO his cell and found water all
over the floor and asked him What
| be meant by letting the water run all
over the floor. He answered by say
ing in an unconcerned way: oh. 4
mas just trying to drown the fellows
out down below
Sanity Is Questioned.
While the prisoner has not shown
any marked degree OF insanity since
being confined in the Codington conns
ty jail, yet the jail officers seem to