Year: 1875

For some months past young Irish
man named James Lafferty, living in
Rockville, Allegany county, has tried to
induce the daughter of a farmer, George
Vannay, living a few miles from Rock
vile, to marry him. He was formerly in
the employ of the farmer. The young
woman, a beautiful girl of eighteen,
repeatedly repulsed him. The other day
he went to Vannay's and entered the
sitting-room, where the young woman
was at work. He renewed his proposal
of marriage, and was again refused. He
then took newspaper from his pocket,
and pointing to an article headed" Muir
dered for Love-" told her to read it. She
took the paper, and as she was looking at
it, Lafferty drew a revolver and, leveling
it at her, fired. The ball entered the
girls cheek, passed through and lodged in
the opposite side of her head. She started
screaming toward the kitchen door, when
her mother, alarmed at the report of the
pistol, came running into the room. Laf-
ferty Immediately shot the mother, the
ball entering near the right temple, and
passing downward, lodged behind the
ear. Both mother and daughter fell
to the floor, and Lafierty ran from the
house.


Mr.. Vannay, who was working in the
barn, hearing the shooting, reached the
house just as Lafferty came out with his
pistol still in his hand. Vannay ex-
claimed, "What in the name of God is
the matter p and ran toward Lafferty.
The latter fired at Vannay, but missed
him. He then placed the pistol to his
own head, and fired two shots, blowing
the whole side of his head off, and killing
himself almost instantly.


Vannay hurried into the house, and
found his wife and daughter lying on the
floor in great pools of blood. He sup.
posed they were dead, but they both
spoke to him. He placed them in bed,
and prepared to start for doctor. AS
he was running to the barn to saddle a
horse, Constable Cannon, of Rockville,
came riding up, and hailing Vannay,
asked if he had seen anything of Jim
Lafferty, and went on to say that old
Mrs. Lafferty, his grandmother, had been
murdered in her house at Rockville. A
sum of money it was known she had in
the house was gone, and it was supposed
that she had been killed by her grandson,
who had been seen lurking around her
house. Vannay ut once related the
tragedy that had occurred at his house,
and the officer rode on to summon q
physician and give the alarm. DIR. Young,
of Cuba, attended the case, and extracted
the ball from Mrs. Vannay's wound, but
could not reach the one which had pene
trated the daughters head. Both of the
victims are in critical condition, but
the doctor thinks they may both re-
cover.


DIR. Young is also the Coroner, and he
took charge of the body of the murderer,
and had it inferred in a field near the
scene of the tragedy.


Old Mrs. Lafferty was afterwards
found. There had been no stir about her
house, and it was visited by some neigh
bors, who supposed the old lady was
sick. The door was not locked, and Mrs.
Lafferty lay across the bed. Evidence of
struggle were visible in the room,
and her clothes were badly torn. Her
face was black ard blue, and around her
neck were dark blue marks, as though
made by the fingers of the person with
whom she had been struggling. An ex-
animation made by the Coroner showed
that death resulted from strangulation.
The old lady had something over one
hundred dollars that she had laid by to
pay her funeral expenses. The box in
which she kept it was broken open, and
the money gone. There is no doubt in
the minds Of any one in the neighbor-
hood that she was murdered and robbed
by her grandson.