The Van Wert Daily Bulletin
Oct 24, 1929
Four Children Killed by Gas
Five Members of One Family Victims of Fumes
Hamilton. Oct. 24. (INS)- Their lives
claimed by gas, which, coroner
Edward C. Cook says had been turned on by
their father in a murder attempt, four little children are dead here
today
and their mother and another child are
fighting for their lives in a hospital, where, deoctors said, they will
probably die.
Charles King, Sr. aged 36, a barber, the
father and husband, is being
sought by police and the coroner said he
would be charged with murder when captured.
Authorities at Coldwater, Mercer county, whre
the family recently
resided, have been notified as it is believed
King may have fled to friends there for shelter from the far-reaching
arm of
the law.
The fo[u]r dead are Keith, aged 5; Paul, aged
10; Leon, aged 12; and
Robert aged 14. Mrs. Sarah King, the mother,
and a fifthe child, Charles, Jr., aged 6, are seriously ill in
the hospital
and will probably succumb.
The tragedy occurred in the family's rented
five-room modest frame
dwelling here. The bodies of the two victims
were found when a neighbor, Edward Osborne, detected the odor of gas and
broke into the house.
He found the mother and Charles, Jr., laying
of the floor in a
downstairs room. The bodies of the four children
were found in their beds upstairs.
Police were immediately summoned and they
found that the top of a gas
pipe had been taken off, allowing the fumes
to tilter through the entire dwelling. Coroner Cook declared that
the cap
on the pipe could not have fallen off or
been knocked off accidentally.
Authorities strenghtened their supposition of
murder when an unsigned
note, which was said to be in the
handwriting of the husband and father, was found. It read: "to
the law: I
did this because I had to. I was poor but
happy. Some want to part us. I have insurance to pay
expenses. Don't lok
for me. I leave you with Ethel and the
boys."
Ethel was the middle name of his wife.
The insurance which he alluded
to, were small policies he had taken out
last month.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Van Wert Daily Bulletin
Oct 24, 1929
Hamilton, Oct. 24. (INS)-While a pond here is
being dragged for the
body of Charles King, aged 36, a barber, who,
police said, turned on the gas in his home causing the lives of four of
his
children to be snuffed out. Mrs. Sarah
Ethel King, the wife and mother, died to-day from effects of inhaling
the
Ethel fumes bringing the "murder" toll to five.
Police believe the man committed suicide after
taking the cap from a
gas pipe in his home.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Times Recorder
(Zanesville, Ohio)
Oct 25, 1929
Will Drag Streams for Body of Murderer of His Wife and Children
Hamilton, O., Oct. 24-Prparations were made by
police tonight to drag
nearby streams, the Miami and Erie Canal and
a pond for the body of Charles King Sr., 36 barber, whose wife and four
children were asphyxiated at their home here
yesterday.
Police said they were not positive that King
had ended his life but
they had received a report he had drowned
himself and would drag the places in an effort to verify the
rumor. All
other attempts to locate King have been futile.
Neighbors forced an entrance into the King
home yesterday, after
smelling gas, and found the bodies of Robert, 14, Leon, 12 and Keith, 5.
Paul, 10 died at a hospital last night and
Mrs. King succumbed this
morning. Charles, Jr. the only other child,
is in a critical condition. Coroner Edward C. cook said death was
caused by
inhaling gas fumes and that a heavy gas
cap had been removed from a pipe, allowing fumes to filter through the
house.
Police also announced that William jamieson of
Fort Recovery, Ind.
brother of Mrs. King came here today and
informed them King was alleged to have been involved in check forgeries.
Police learned that King had received a letter
from the Peoples Banking company, Coldwater, O., demanding payment of a
$270
note dated Sept. 1, 1928. the letter said
there was a question about the signature of King's mother and asked
payment
before legal proceeding were started.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Van Wert Daily Bulletin
Dec. 5, 1930
Hamilton, O., Dec. 5 (INS)-Convicted of the
first-degree murder of his
son, Robert, aged 14, Charles King, 39-year -old Hamilton barber,
to-day awaited a sentence of death in the electric chair.
During his trial, however, King denied that
the knew his wife and
children had been aspyxiated. He contended that he was at the
home of his mother at Lima the night of their deaths.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima News
April 3, 1931
Death Stay Granted King
Execution of Barber is set for April 30
Attorneys Win Petition for Hearing Before Oho Supreme Court
Two Motions are Files
Former Lima Man Faces Chair for Murder of Family in Hamilton
Charles King, son of Mrs. Rose A. King. of 435
E. McKibben-st,
sentenced to die in the electric chair at Ohio
penitentiary next Tuesday night was granted a stay of execution until
april
30, by the state supreme court late
Thursday afternoon.
Attorneys for King filed a motion for the stay
in order to file a
petition in error. The high court granted the
petition and set April 17 as the date for hearing.
King was convicted of a muder charge
growing out of the death of his
son, who, together with King's wife and
three other children died when King entered the home in Hamilton while
the
family was asleep and removed a cap from a
gas jet. Only on member of the family, a son, escaped asphixiatin.
Following the tragedy, King left
Hamilton and came to Lima early the
following day but, after a brief visit with
friends, left the city.
A nation-wide search for him was started
and several months late he was
apprehended, while working in a barber
shop in a village near Painesville.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima News
April 23, 1931
Former Lima Man to Die in Chair April 30
Charles King, former Lima barber, Thursday
faced certain death in the
electric chair April 30 for the murder of
his wife and four children unless Gov. George White intervenes.
By overruling hs motion for leave to file a
petition in error, the Ohio
supreme court late Wednesday upheld the
verdict of Butler-co courts which found him guilty and sentenced him to
death.
King actually was convicted only of the murder
of his son, Robert,
altho his wife and three other children also
were found to have died from asphyxiation. It was charged that
King turned
on the gas, causing their death.
King, missing when the bodies were found, and
was not located until a
year later.
Before the supreme court, attorneys for King
argued that his wife was a
drug addict and she might have turned on
the gas.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima News
April 25, 1931
White Fails to Commute King Death Sentence
Former Lima Man Must Die For Slaying Son at Hamilton
Charles King, Hamilton barber, formerly of
Lima, Saturday had exhausted
his last weapn to escape the electric
chair next Thursday.
After the supree court had rejected his appeal
from the death sentence,
Gov. George White Friday refused to
commute his sentence to life imprisonment. Unless the governor
changes his
mind before the execution, King has no
other recourse.
King was sentenced to death for the slaying
almost two years ago of his
son. Altho he was treied and convicted
only on that one charge, he was accused of slaying his wife and three
other
children at the same time. Their bodies
were found at the King home, with gas jets in the house turned
on. They had
been asphyxiated.
Attorney Paul A. Budin of Hamilton, King's
attorney, said no motive was
established and contended Mrs. King might
have turned the gas on herself to fulfill threats she was alleged to
have
made on her own life and those of her
children.
Prosecuting Attorney Zelmer G. Morganthaler,
of Butler-co stressed a
not left in the house by King saying he could
not "stand it any longer." Budin said King's confession was made
to escape a "third degree." and
that he received an unfair trail due to public sentiment.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima News
April 29, 1931
Boyhood Chum Hopes to Save Charles King
Pleas for Commutation of Death Sentence Filed with Governor
TRIAL ERRORS CHARGED
Celina Attorney tells of Sucicde Threats Made by Mrs. King
Columbus, April 29-A boyhood friend
today came to the assistance of
Charles King, Hamilton barber, who is
scheduled to die in the electric chair at Ohio Penitentiary tomorrow
night
for the murder of his son, almost two years
ago.
Using all the legal ability at his command,
Burl A. Myers, Celina, Oho,
attorney, who was born not more than two
miles from Coldwater in Mercer-co where King was reared, appealed to
Governor George White for commutation of the death
sentence to life imprionment.
Myers declared that the death of King's wife
and four children from
aspyxiation might have been the fault of Mrs.
King. She had aften threatened to commit suicide and to tatke the
lived of
her children, he asserted.
ERRORS CHARGED
Myers also charged that the Butler-co trial in
which King was found
guilty of the murder of one son, Robert, was
not properly conducted and that testimony about alleged threats of
suicide
by Mrs. Kin was not allowed.
King' s fate, it appeared evident, rest upon
the result of the
eleventh-hour effort of his boyhood friend. Other
appeals to the governor, made last week by Hamilton attorneys, were
rejected.
Myer's assistance was offered
voluntarily, it was reported, after
other attorneys failed to obtain commutation or
further consideration of the case. King was charged with turning
on the gas
that caused the death of his son, but was
never tried for the death of others in the family. He disappeared
immediately after the bodies were discovered and was
not found for a year.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima News
Thursday, April 30, 1931
Fate Rests with Governor
Last Plea to Commute Death Penalty Put Before White; Execution set for
Thursday
156 Residents of Coldwater in Petition Ask Mercer for Barber
New Evidence Sited
"I am innocent." Statement of prisoner Awaiting End in Electric Chair.
Columbus, O., April 30 (AP)-Charles King, 39,
Hamilton barber, must die
in the electric chair tonight for the
slaying two years ago of his wife and four children, Governor White
decided
late today.
The chief executive refused to intercede after
hearing arguments of
Attorney Burl Myers, of Celina, a friend of
the famiy, who sought a reprieve of 60 days in which to make further
investigation of the deaths of the five members of
the family in a gas-filled house at hamilton.
----
The fate of Charles King, 39-year-old Hamilton
barber and former Lima
resident, doomed to die Thursday night in
the electric chair in Columbus for the slaying of his wife and four
children
nearly two year ago, was placed in the
hands of Governor George White Thursday morning in an eleventh hour
plea to
save the convicted killer.
The case was placed before the governor for a
second time today after
his secetary had heard the plae of Burl A.
Myers, Celina attorney and life-long friend of Kin, who asked
commutation of
the sentence to life imprisonment. PETITION TO GOVERNOR
Altho he declined to intervene last week after
the state supreme court
affirmed King's conviction, the governor consented to hear Myers' claim
that new evidence showed that Mrs. King might have killed the children
and committed suicide. A petition signed by
158 residents of Coldwater, O., King's former home, also was presented
to the governor. It said that King was "always kind to his family
and a good provider" who must have been mentally unbalanced, if he
committed the crime. The governor's final decision was expected
shortly after noon.
Meanwhile, King, in death row at Ohio
penitentiary, reiterated a
statement made at his trial, "I am innocent." Mrs. King and four
children were found aspyxiated in their home at
Hamilton, October 24, 1929. The state charged
that King opened gas jets in the house but he insisted he had come to
Lima,
Ohio, the night of the tragedy. Captured in Fairport Harbor, O.,
in October, 1930. King admited
knowledge of the death of his family but said he had remained in hiding
only because he became frightened when he learned he had been charged
with the slayings. His attorneys questioned the authenticity of
an alleged confession which the state said King left in the gas-filled
home. King was tried only for the killing of his son, Robert, 9.
Submitted by
Tina Hursh
The Lima Daily News
June 2, 1920
The marriage of Neal Fivehouse,
bookkeeper at the Tigner cigar factory, and Miss Helen Roof,
cigar-maker, took place in Toledo, on Decoration day. The couple went
to Toledo to spend the holiday. They returned to Lima, Tuesday night,
and will make this city their home.
The Lima Daily News
June 8, 1920
The condition of Henry Maisch, 335 w.
Kibby-st, who was painfully injured Sunday when he was struck by
the handle of a hand car, was reported to be little improved Tuesday.
The blow tore the ligaments in the back of his neck loose.
The Lima News
Jan. 8, 1930
Delphos
John Murray, Sr, died Wednesday
morning at his home on Cass-st. Funerals arrangements have not yet been
made.
Fred Bowsher, sign painter, who suffered
a broken leg Christmas Eve when he fell from a ladder while erecting a
sign, submitting to an operation at St. Rita's hospital Wednesday
afternoon.
Ed Kane, of Broadway-st, who underwent
an operation Monday at St. Rita's hospital is reported improving.
The Lima News
Jan. 4, 1929
Deaths
Kathleen Lucille Butler, 307 Park-av, 11
months-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Orville Butler, Complications,
Thursday
James E. Nelson, 71, R. F. D. 5,
complications, Friday.
Mrs. Melville Corall, 24, 811 E.
Third-st, pneumonia, Thursday, St. Rita's hospital.
Frank M. Groves, 47, 778 Atlantic-av,
complications, Thursday, residence.
Mrs. Leona Boyd, 617 N. Main-st, is
confined to her home suffering from severe scald on the shoulders and
arms when she upset a kettle of beans from a gas stove at 3 p.m.
Thursday. She was thrown against the stove, when the chair she was
standing on broke. A son, Roy, summoned Mrs. J. l. Holden, a trained
nurse, who applied first aid until the physician arrived.
The Lima News
Jan. 5, 1929
Deaths
Mrs. E. M. Hall, 29, 835 N.
Elizabeth-st, City hospital, uremic poisoning,Thursday.
Births
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Emmons, 728
Brice-av, boy, St. Rita's hospital.
The Lima News
Jan 5, 1937
Births
Mr. and Mrs. John Layton, 525 1/2 W.
Spring-st, in St. Rita's hospital Monday, boy.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bowers, 632 S.
Union-st, in St. Rita's hospital, Monday, girl
Mr. and Mrs, M. J. Evans, 811 N.
Cole-st, St. Rita's hospital Tuesday, girl.
The Lima News
Jan. 6, 1937
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bunke, 6 Terrace-ct in
St. Rita's hospital Tuesday, boy.
The Lima News
Jan. 9, 1937
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Schulte, Minster,
in St. Rita's hospital, Friday, girl.
The Lima News
Jan. 10, 1937
Mr. and Mrs. William Sellers, 756 W.
Elm-st, Memorial hospital, Saturday, girl.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lippincott, 228 N.
Jameson-av, Memorial hospital, Saturday, girl.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Schatz, of near Ada,
Saturday, Memorial hospital, boy
The Lima News
Jan. 13, 1937
Myrtle M. Drennan vs Walter J.
Drennan - divorce
Lillian Branigan vs Fred A. Branigan -
divorce
Colleen Liddie vs Donald L. Liddie
- divorce
Clarence F. Mines vs Miriam Mines -
divorce
The Lima News
Jan. 14, 1937
Lloyd S. Lora vs Mary M. Lora -
divorce
Raymond Veigel vs Martha Veigel
- annulment
The Lima News
Dec 22, 1912
Mrs. Harl Mann, died
at her home on Kibler street, Wednesday forenoon at (:30. Mrs. Mann was
formerly Florence Althaus. Mrs. Mann suffered with papalysis for about
three years. Mrs. Mann was 31 year, 2 months, and 2 days of age. Mrs.
Mann was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs Peter Althaus. She is survived by
husband, mother, sister and three brothers: Mrs. Ed Paul, of Lewisburg,
Amos Althaus, of Oregon and Henry and Wilbur Althaus of
Bluffton.Funeral services were held at the First Mennonite, Friday
afternoon at one o'clock; interment in Maple Grove cemetery.
Dorothy L. Agin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Agin, died
at the home of her parents on Jefferson street, Dec. 13, 1912. The
little one was suffering with whooping cough. Age 8 months, and 9 da.
Funeral services were held at the Reformed church Sunday afternoon,
Rev. Laher officiating; interment in Maple Grove cemetery.
Samuel T. Golden, 56, laborer and Mrs. Sarah A. Cook, 46,
nurse. The Rev. Mr. Stolzfus to officiate.
General News
Lima News, 1898
Edward Harper and Miss Lillie
Harper attended the funeral of their cousin, Mr. Eli
Garwood. Deceased was a well known engineer on the P.
F. W. & C. railroad.
Lima Times Democrat (Lima, Ohio)
Wednesday, August 12, 1903
Miss Carrie Schwilk went
to Lima Monday, where she joined Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schwilk
and daughter, Edna, and Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Harper and little daughter, all of that place, and left this
afternoon over the Pennsylvania road in company with them for San
Francisco, Ca. Miss Schwilk will return after a
several weeks' visit, but the other members of the party expect to
locate in the Golden Gate city -Wyandot Chief.
Submitted & Transcribed by Kathy Jones
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