HORRIBLE AFFAIR

New Albany Daily Ledger March 7, 1855


A correspondent of the Bloomington Newsletter gives an 
account of a murder and suicide which occurred at Lancaster,
Owen County, Indiana on the 23rd of last month. The writer says:

A man by the name of Keefofver who had his second wife, commenced
a quarrel with her about an apron of his first wife, that hung on 
the wall of the house. Immediately getting in a rage, he upbraided
her by saying "that child is not mine". But few words passed till he
said "now is my time" and run out for the axe. As he came in, his son
about eight or nine years of age attempted to run out and he struck at
him with the axe but missed him.
The next one he met was a little child about twenty months old, which 
he struck with the well of the axe giving it a mortal blow in the forehead;
as if this was not sufficient, he struck it again on the back on the head,
breaking the skull in both places, then drew the axe to fell his wife who 
was attempting to take the child when her daughter caught the axe, it 
proving too strong for her, he snatched it from her and sprung towards his
wife, burying the point three times in her head, striking her once on the 
collarbone and breaking it and once with the edge, cutting a deep gash in
her breast. In the meantime, his own heroic little daughter drew the child
from under its mother and sat with it on her knee in a corner till the fiend
had finished his infernal deed. 
Being now perfectly frantic, he flew to his gun, drew off one boot and attempted
to touch it off with his toe to blow out his brains, but it went off too soon
and he missed his object. He ran to his double barreled pistol cussing and 
putting three slugs of lead in it, placed it under his chin and blew off the
whole side of his head. So ended the tragedy. The son and daughter fled as soon
as he got the gun, and none witnessed it but the little girl. 

An inquest was held over the bodies. His body was thrown into a box and buried in
his own field, and her's in a graveyard. The child was living on Sunday, but no
hope of recovery. What is most remarkable, this deed was done with being under
the influence of liquor. The writer of this was in the neighborhood when the 
inquest was held and believes the above a plain statement of the facts in the case.

Submitted  by Kathy Bargerhuff