Slain By Naked Maniac

Iowa, 1900

James Fitzsimmons Dead, Three Others Injured

Cedar Rapids dispatch: Charles Mefford, a maniac, at 5 o'clock a.m. killed James Fitzsimmons, fatally injured John Drake, seriously and possibly fatally injured Mrs. James Fitzsimmons and then ended his own life.

Mefford was 20 years old and had been insane for a number of years. Two years ago he was in the Independence asylum for a short time, but escaped and was never returned. He was not generally considered dangerous. Saturday night about ten o'clock, while clad in nothing but a shirt, he darted out of his home, a raving maniac. He was seen two or three times between then and midnight, but the police failed to find him.

Shortly before 5 o'clock Reginald Andrews, the janitor at the Old Ladies' Home was awakened by crashing glass. The next moment Mefford stood before him. stark naked, swinging a neck yoke. He warned Andrews that his time had come and swung the neck yoke in an effort to brain him. The latter dodged and grabbed the weapon, threw Mefford on the bed and choked him until he begged for mercy.

Then Andrews agreed to give him a bath, a suit of clothes and some breakfast, which apparently satisfied him. Rushing through the house, Andrews locked the twelve or fourteen old ladies in their rooms, notified the police by telephone, and then ran across the street, to the home of Joseph Drake for assistance.

Drake dressed, picked up a revolver, and they started out. As they did so Mefford, carrying an ax, was seen to plunge through a window in the home of James Fitzsimmons, about 150 yards away. As he entered the room Mrs. Fitzsimmons uttered a scream. Mefford swung the ax and brought it down toward her head. Her uplifted arm saved her life; the arm was broken in two places and she sustained a serious scalp wound. Mr. Fitzsimmons hurried to the aid of his wife and his skull was crushed with the ax, death resulting immediately.

The maniac then rushed into the room of Miss Katie, who escaped with a few scalp wounds. Starting down stairs he was met by Drake who snapped his revolver four times at the madman, each time upon an empty shell. Mefford grabbed the revolver, ran a few blocks and killed himself with the one load the revolver contained.

—Humeston New Era, Humeston, Iowa, July 4, 1900.

Price of a Life in London Slums

1907

Willing Murderers Plenty in the Slums of London

I am told that a ten pound note will buy a man's life in London — that any unsuspicious person can fall into the Thames on a dark night or break his neck going round a slippery dark corner or fall under a van if a little bit of crisp paper changes hands, says a London writer.

I know that a very distinguished playwright, wishing to work out the plot of a melodrama, went into a high class den of thieves, made friends with some of the leaders and unfolded to them as something he wished to put into execution the plan he had devised for his villain's action.

He told his listeners that there was a very important financier he wanted out of the way for forty-eight hours while he played the very dickens on the Stock Exchange with the stocks the financier controlled. He suggested to his listeners that an attractive lady and a yacht would be the simplest means of insuring this object.

His hearers concurred. They knew the very yacht for the purpose. A skipper and a crew could easily be produced, and concerning the lady there would be no difficulty whatever.

"Then, after the forty-eight hours, we will of course bring him back," said the dramatist brightly, thinking of his fourth act.

A cloud came over the faces of his audience: "Well, guv'ner, of course, if you wish it. But it would save such a lot of questions being asked if he just went quietly overboard," the spokesman suggested.