A QUADRUPLE TRAGEDY.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1680, 7 July 1875, Page 4

A QUADRUPLE TRAGEDY.

TsaEß Victims to Avakice, Jealous and

E.EVE&GE.

[N Tew York Herald.] Cuba, N. V., April 23 —Oa Wednesday, ti.ward evening, this piace was thrown into greai excitement by a man from New Hudson dashing into town on hoiseback after a doctor, and announcing that James Lafferty, a fomewhat notorious character in this part of the county, had murdered his grandmother, an old lady with ■whom he lired, shot the wife and daughter of a farmer named lieorge V.-mnoy, aud theu killed himself. A physician and a number of fitizens accompanied the messt-nuer back to Vaunoy's, who lives abou tivr m les tr<>m Cuba, near the road le dmg tv Jbiockville. Ariivmg iht-re, a sick-

■ nig hi^hl whp e.-tnteil. la the d« oryard, near the uoiice, lay ilia dead body of a man about twenty years of age. His face was turned upwards, and from a wound on the side of the-head his brains were oozing out. This was the body of Lafferty. By his side and near his hand lay a revolver. In the house, on a bed, with blood pouring from wounds in their faces, lay Mrs. Vannoy, a fine-looking woman of about thirty-five or forty, and her daughter, a handsome girl of eighteen. They were both conscious, but very weak from loss of blood. The physician, Dr. Carper, examined the wounds and succeeded in extracting a pistol ball from Mrs. Vannoy. Ib had entered her head near the temple and lodged back of the ear. Miss Vannoy was shot in the right cheek, the ball passing through and lodging in the opposite side of her head. The surgeon was unable to extract the ball. Although in a very critical condition the young girl related the circumstances of the shooting.. Lafferty came to the hou3e in the afternoon. Mr Vannoy was in the barn at work, and Mrs Vannoy was in the kitchen. Lafferty entered the room and commenced talking with the young lady. He formerly worked for her father &nd had for a year professed to be in love with her, and wanted her to mirry him. She had invariably repulsed his offer, and had told him several times that he must not speak to her further in the matter. He had often talked of committing suicide, or of doing something else terrible, but she had always laughed at him. When he came in on Wednesday he again renewed his proposal, saying that his grandmother had given him a lot of money, and he would give it all to Miss Vannoy if she would marry him. She told him that she did not wish to have any associations with him, as his character was not what it should be. He said he would be a better man if she were his wife. She then rose to leave the room, when he handed her a newspaper and told her to read a paragraph he pointed out. It was headed, "Murdered for Love." She had turned her face away from him in looking at the paper, aad had jost glanced at the heading of the article, when he drew a revolver and Brad. She ran shrieking and bleeding toward the door, when her mother rushed into the room Lafferty then shot her and ran hurriedly out of the house. Mr. Vannoy, heamxy: the tiring, left the barn, and was hastening to the houae, when he saw Laffbity leaving with his pistol ia his hand and a wild look in his face. The farmer shouted to him and asked him, " What in the name of God is the matter?" Lafferty wheeled and fired at the farmer, but missed him. Without waiting to see the effect of his lass shot he placed the revolver against his own head and blew out his brains. Mr Vannoy entered the house and found his wife and daughter lying on the floor weltering in their blood. He lifted them to the bed, aad was about to dash on his horse to Cuba for a surgeon, vhen a man rode up to the house evidently in great excitement. " Have you seen anything of Jim Lafferty ?" he asked, as Vannoy started on a run to the barn. " His old grandmother has been found dead in her bed at Eockville, and has been strangled and beaten to death. The house has been ransacked, and as Jim has had plenty of money lately, the folks think he killed the old woman, and I'm looking for him with a warrant."—ln a very short space of time the officer was made acquainted with the details of the tragedy at the farm-house, and he galloped to Cuba, got a physician, and gave the alarm. At the inquest, held on the body of Mrs Lafferty, it was elicited that her grandson had been eeen lounging around her house on Saturday, and had not been there for some time before. He was seen to leave on Saturday night, which was the- last seen of him until he appeared at Vannoy's. The deceased old lady was known to have about §150 in her house, which she had saved from her earnings, and which she had laid by for her funeral expenses. None of this moDey could be found at the house ; but nothing which could be identified was discovered on the body of Janes Lafferty. Mrs Vannoy and daughter are quite comfortable, and the doctor thinks fty may both recover.' The family is a highly respectable one, and Lafferty, it Sv jms, had presumed upon their kindness and geneious treatment of him, while in their employ, in making his over-, tures to Mis 3 Vannoy, who ridiculed his pretensions. . . '