- Horrible Affair - Jealousy and Attempted Murder |
Our county has again been the scene of one of the most horrible crimes it has ever been our lot to record. A man named Charles O'Neil, living ten miles west of Lansing, on the Decorah road stabbed his wife and a man named Richard Weaver. It appears that O'Neil became jealous of his wife, supposing that too great an intimacy existed between her and Weaver, who has a store nearly opposite O"Neil's house. Weaver boarded with O'Neil and slept in the store. Early on Monday morning, O'Neil, according to his statement, saw from his chamber window, his wife going towards the store, and followed her, and found her in Weaver's bed. He immediately fell upon Weaver with a knife and stabbed him seven times in the back between the shoulders. Mrs. O'Neil escaped through an open window, was overtaken by her husband and stabbed in the back also, between the shoulders, inflicting two severe, and it was thought for a time, fatal wound; her face was also badly cut. The wounds were deep enough to reach the lungs, and respiration in both cases were through the wounds mainly. Dr. J.W. Flint, of Makee, was immediately sent for and through the skillful treatment of him and Dr. A.H. Houghton, of Lansing, who was afterwards called in, both are considered out of danger, though for two days life seemed to hang upon a single thread. In their depositions, taken while all hopes of life were despaired of, both declared their innocence of any wrong. Mrs. O'Neil states that she went to the store (the upper part of which is unfinished) to get some shavings to kindle a fire with; that she was in the store, saw her husband coming, and fearing violence from his hands, fled into the back room where Weaver was. Weaver corroborates her statement and accounts for his store being open while he was in bed by saying that he got up quite early to wait upon some teamsters traveling that road, and that he again went to bed leaving the door unlocked.-- Lansing Mirror.
- source: Burlington Weekly Hawkeye, Burlington, Iowa; October 21, 1857
- contributed by Cathy Labath