Coincidence

Chicago, ST (1896)

1/12/1896: Man “thought by the by police to have been insane, killed himself, wife, and five children.”  He turned on the illuminating gas and everyone died.  He had written letters detailing his plans to the police chief and a local newspaper.  The newspaper received the letter quickly enough to send out a reporter who interviewed him and reported that “he had no intention of killing anybody and who seemed to be in good spirits.”

Category: family

Suicide: yes

Cause: mental illness

Weapon: poison[1]

Chicago, Ill. (1896)

Jan. 12, 1896, Man “by turning on the gas, wiped out [his] family of wife and five children.”

Category: Family.

Suicide: Yes.

Cause: mental illness

Weapon: poison [2]

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[1] “Insane Man’s Crime,” [Maysville, Ky.] Evening Bulletin, Jan. 14, 1896, 1.

[2] “Family Blotted Out,” Indianapolis Journal, Feb. 6, 1896, 1.

Same day, city, method, number killed.