The Weekly North Iowa Times

Horrible Murder.
A most cold-blooded and atrocious murder rarely equalled, was committed in the central part of this village in the broad light of day on Monday afternoon, by a dissipated, drunken wretch named Dennis Tanner, upon the person of his wife, an old lady of 60 years, an industrious, frugal and temperate woman, and the mother of nine or ten children, by cutting her throat with a butcher-knife. As far as we have been able to learn, Tanner has had it in contemplation to murder his wife for some time.—On Saturday he packed up his clothes and bid his friends good by, stating that he was going to leave in a few days. A large butcher-knife, with which he committed the deed, was also noticed by his wife on his desk, and fears manifested to her by a neighbor alarmed her. Having, no doubt, his mind fully made up, he now seized on the most favorable opportunity to accomplish his purpose. On Monday afternoon, between 3 and 4 o'clock, (there being no one in the house but an old maiden lady of sixty named Hannah White, who lived on the second floor. Tanner and his wife occupying the rooms in the third story,) Miss White, hearing a suppressed cry of murder, went to the window, supposing the cry came from the street, but could see nothing—The cry still continuing, she ran to her door leading into the hall, and upon looking up saw Tanner and his wife in the upper hall just coming out of their room, he having one arm around her neck, and choking or stabbing her, (she was too much frightened to tell which,) with his right hand, his wife in the meantime struggling to get away from him. Miss White immediately ran up stairs, took hold of Tanner's arm and released his wife who ran down stairs to the head of the first flight of stairs pursued by Tanner, where he caught up with her, and finished up the horrible tragedy by brutally knocking her down stairs into the back yard, where death put an end to her sufferings. Tanner, having kicked his wife down stairs, ran up into his room and locked himself in. The rumor of the murder created great excitement, and collected around the house a large crowd who manifested a disposition to hang the murderer on the spot. A rush was made, headed by Sheriff Ackley, who upon arriving at the door of the room where Tanner had secreted himself, demanded admittance, and upon being refused admission, smashed in the door and arrested him, he still holding the fatal knife in his hand. When arrested and taken to view the mangled corpse of his wife he manifested the most hardened indifference and remarked that he felt happier now than he had for some time. He does not deny committing the murder, but pleads justification—His bedroom, where the fatal stabs were no doubt inflicted, presents a horrible spectacle. Large clots of blood stain the floor, and on the sides of the door leading to the hall finger marks are visible; indeed, the whole house from the top to the bottom is smeared with blood.
Coroner Rusk, of Stuyvesant, held an inquest in the evening, and rendered a verdict that the deceased came to her death by being stabbed in the neck by a knife in the hands of her husband, Dennis Tanner.
The prisoner is about 70 years old, and has led a dissipated life.