The Telegraph Courier

SAW BRUTAL MURDER

Fred Groff Claiming to be From Kenosha Tells Story to the Racine Police.

SUFFERING FROM DELUSIONS

Racine Officials Calm Deranged Man and Put Him on a Car For Kenosha and Later Make Investigation of the Story Which He Told Them.

Fred Groff, who claimed his residence as Kenosha, told a weird story of an alleged brutal murder which he claimed to have witnessed, to the members of the Racine police department on Tuesday night and the story was so unusual that the Racine officials after making an investigation, came to the conclusion that Groff was suffering from illusions and put him on a car for Kenosha. Groff has not as yet been located in Kenosha, but he is expected to appear at the police office here and tell a similar story. In his story to the Racine police he declared that he had been an eye witness to the brutal murder. Detective Schumacher of the Racine force heard the story of Groff and made it public this morning.

The story of the confession of the eye-witness to the murder is told by Detective Schumacher who was seated in the station when a man who gave his name as Fred Groff and his residence as Kenosha, came into the room quietly and hesitatingly. When asked what could be done for him he announced that he had a confession to make and that he had been forced to come to the station by his conscience which had not allowed him a single moment's rest in the past three weeks. He then unfolded his story.

Gads, How They Did Fight.

Groff, who has been working for the Fox Ice Company in Racine, for some time, stated that the murder was the result of a fight which had taken place between three men at one of the ice houses of the company. The weapon with which the crime had been committed was an ice pick, a tool carried by ice men. He said that he peered to the room one evening three weeks ago when he heard quarreling and that suddenly the lights in the place went out and he could see no more. There was scuffling after which everything quieted down and, hiding back of the building, he saw two of the men emerge and hasten away, he said.

Curious to know what had become of the third man in the party he crept on hands and knees to the open doorway and peered through into the darkened room. All was as still as a grave. An uncanny feeling crept over him, he said, and he could almost feel that he was in the presence of death. A further investigation revealed the body of the third man lying on the floor while a few feet away laid an ice pick covered with blood. Striking a match he made a closer examination of the prostrate man and found that a stab wound in the back had brought about the fatal ending.

At once he realized the other two men might return at any moment and as in the 'movies,' find him holding the bloody weapon, accuse him of the crime to shield themselves. Hurriedly leaving the ice house he crouched down back of a large packing box a few feet from the doorway and waited developments. He had but a short time to wait. Even while inside the ice house he could hear the creaking of a wagon coming down the narrow roadway leading to the scene of the crime. The wagon came closer and soon he was enabled to make out the forms of two men in the vehicle.

Here Comes a Beer Barrel

As the men jumped out of the wagon he noticed for the first time a large beer barrel which was dumped onto the ground and rolled into the ice house. The sound of a hammer on the top of the barrel could be easily heard for a few minutes after which all was quiet again.

From his position back of the box he could see the two men come to the open doorway, look about in all directions and then pass on into the darkened room again. The next development was the rolling out of the barrel, the loading process and a hurried trip to one of the steamboat landings where the cask and contents was taken aboard the steamer lying at the wharf ready to start on its trip to Milwaukee.

After the story had been told to Detective Schumacher and Sergeant Bose they plied Groff with questions and it became evident that he was laboring under a delusion. In order to quiet the man they humored him as best they could, let him understand that they took the greatest interest in what he had told them and notified him to leave the city at once for his home in Kenosha. They impressed upon him the importance of his remaining quiet concerning what he had told them and that he would be summoned as a witness as soon as they had closed in on the murderers.