The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-01-11
StoeffeI's Remains
Buried In ReddIng
Some Incidents of the Crime
Which Made Him a Life
Convict Recalled
Especial to The Farmer)


Redding, Jan. 10-There was buried
in the Ridge cemetery Yesterday after
noon the remains of Andrew StoeIteI
who died on Wednesday in the STATE
about twenty-five years he mad been
serving a life sentence for the muir
der in June. 1889, of Andrew Peck:
The burial services were conducted by
Rev. A. J. Tongue of the center
Methodist church and former ne1gh-
bors of the deceased acted as pail
bearers Almost yearly since he went
to prison Stoeffel has made appdaca-
ton for release to the board of par
dons and always the petition was re-
jected. Insanity was the ground OF
most of these petitions. The man did
become mildly demented While IN Prls-
on and spent some months as pa
Insane but could not convince the
pardoning board that he was insane
at the time he killed Peck. His age
was IS and death resulted from heart
Peck and stoeffe1 were neighbors in
the Hattertown district of Newtown
to a long series of chickering's between
the pair. Peck was of loose mora Is
and an undesir tbke- citizen generally
while stoeffe1 Lad the name of be
dustrious habits. good nefghbor
those in the locality called and q man
when excited by drink. One OF the
methods employed by Peck to aEgra-
vate StoeffeI was to let down the bars
of the latter's pasture 50 that his cat
tie got upon the highway or became
trespassers upon private property.
These and other annoyances finally
wrought up Stoeffel to mood OF re-
Vengeful evaporation.
The day before the homicide Stoef-
fe1 went to Bridgeport and drank free
ly. To persons with whom he talked
on his way home he spolse bitterly
of the wrongs he had suffered from
Peck and of his determination to get
even. The next morning at about day
break he took his gun which he had
charged heavily with a load of shot
and slugs and going to Peck's prem
ises concealed himself behind a stone
wall in front of the 1atter's house.
When Peck opened his front door a
few moments later Stoeffe1 took care
full aim and shot him. the charge tear
ing a big hole in the victims chest.
like a, Hopping grasshopper as Stoef-
fel afterwards described it, and then
fell dead.
Stoeffel was arrested on suspicion
and tried for the murder. Judge Geo.
w. Wheeler, who was not then on the
bench, defending him. The State had
only ciroumstanttaI evidence to pre-
sent and the jury disagreed. The &C
cused was remanded to Jail to await
another trial. Some months later,
while still a prisoner, he struck up a
friendship with a German in an ad-
| joining cell who evinced towards him
a very friendly disposition. This man
was detective who had been placed
in jail by States Attorney for the pur-
pose of gaining Stoeffers confidence
| The plan worked so well that when
| the decoy left the Jail he went to
Stoeffel's farm the latter'S agent.
Using the information he had gained
from the accused murderer the agent
promptly located and dug up from
the place in the garden where StoeKfel
had buried it the weapon used in the
staying of Peck. The second trial of
the accused came seventeen months
AFTER the first one and resulted
conviction of second degree murder.
carrying a, hfe sentence. But for the
previous good character of Stoeffe1
ceived from his victim the verdict
would have been murder in the first
| degree.