BRUTAL AND EXTRAORDINARY OUTRAGE NEAR AVOCA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1172, 1 May 1872, Page 2

BRUTAL AND EXTRAORDINARY OUTRAGE NEAR AVOCA.

'.•■? ~ ■ ■ ■ . A' few .days -agorji rumor was circulated to the effe^that a yonng woman residing , in the neignbornObd of Avoca had been < murdered by a man whom shehad refused to marry, but the report was not authen- !. ticated in any : way. 'It now turns out . that a savage, and murderous outrage was perpetrated j and that the chief victim of the ruffian's brutal 'viblence'has sustained ' very; severe if- not. ;fatai; injuries. The L brother-in-law "bf the unfortunate girl L reached .Ballarat on, Thursday night, and from him the ' GdilHe'r* has obtained the following.'- particulars : —^The murderous ruffian is named Osterchamp. He is a ■native of ' : GefManyf : ?abbut ! '3O years ; of age, and pwn3 and farms about 100 acres :of land ' at :. Doptor's : Creek, near Avoca. He i 3 reputed to be well off, and up to the committal of this outrage Jbore a good character amongst -his neighbors. His unfortunate victim (who is about 19 years of age) Js.|a: daughter of a farmer - named Farke^ns, Residing at Mountain Hut, the 'distarice^et ween the two farms being about; 15; - ; -miles.- ;Itsmeems that Osterchamp «about twelve mopths ago called at-Mr Farkens's iarm.pn business, and then saw for the first time Farkens's daughter, Ohridtina/ who -is described to oiSias^eing-a- v «ryJKandßome girl. Oster- , champ -appears- to -. haveu b^e_en^t_ojLcel_ inspired with an affection for her, since he soon afterwards- jrepeated^his visits, '■■'; and frequently called subsequently, assigning- frivolous pretexts for so often presenting himself at the farm. Afclength'. Good ; Friday came round, and Osterchamp, made his appearance on 'horseback., at ,the; ; farm-abputhMf-past 10 in * the morning; -"' Finding^ Mr^and Mrs Farkens were put, he stayed the whole day about the house, pressing his suit, and begging the girl to become 'his wife. This she persistently ref used'tp do, saying she could not bring herself fo love him, Towards' evening ■Mr Farkens returned, ■'■ and the unfortunate girl then walked outside the _.house to,..es.cape. Qs.terchamp's im^prtunitiea. A ief friendly • words passed- betwreeri- tKe -two farmers, when Osterchamp mbunted. his horse and rode off in. ;th,e directiottlof Avbca/ Nothing more was ken of him until last Thursday morning, at -about six o'clock, when he again presented himself at the farm, and • asked to be admitted. , Mr, Farkens opened the door and. let him in. The two sat down : in the - kitchen 'arid conversed together for. ; about. . three-quarters of .an hour. At ;the end of that time Osterchamp rose 'from his seat and said to Mr Farkens, "You're the c^u'se of my not getting your,. : daughter .'':,■- Tp which Mr Farkens f.repUedj.'fjNo, I have, nothing whatever .to do, with it; vßhe: can please herself." The moment Mr Farkeus hac^ made this statement Osterchamp 3 stooped down towards the fireplace, tookupapaiu of tongs, and knocked Mr Farkens down on the ground. The latter jumped to hut feet and : seized : his assailant. The two struggled together for a : few. "seconds, Oaterchamp repeating several tim.ea that he ; would s i^urder;Mm, and'fin^ fell through the kitchen' dpOrway v uito the yard. One bftheimejiippl the i%m, seeing the struggle, ran to Mr. FablMnsV assist* anCe, whereiipon .Osterchauip ; |eleaßed his. hold, and knwked the man soijaeless with, the Jtongs. A neighboring |armer, named * Schmidt, happened to be near the farm ; at the time, : and : he also 'ran to M? Farkens's assistance^ and got served ih the same manner; being for a short time rendered senselesSby the blow, which in his casewas givetrwitK;aii'axe which lay oniheiwoodheap, Farkens,. relieved of his assailant, 1 ran inside, and closed the door, whereupon iOste.rohampiJ'iyn round to i the f^nt door and.tried to bleak it. in with theaxe With ■which' he had knocked ' down MrtSohraidt." Failing in his eflEbrts here, he, returned to the back door, and [ not' taking any notice of^the two mon lying ■> on vthe ground,* he broke down the kitchen door," -thence chopped his way through the^parlpr door, and rnshed into the front part of the hpi^se. :. : Meanwhile, his family,- hearing tiie 'falling timber, . had escaped through, the • frotitMdodrway fntb 'thY .garden. Osterphamppassed, rapidly through,- and gava chase to Mr Farkens,' who ran.^toward*, the bushj but; seeing Christina and her sister, about i 4 years of age, makingtowards Mr, Schmidt's farm,^whioh stands. about^OO yards off, he turned away from the direction in which Mr Farkons was. running, and pursued the girls, yelling; most fearfully' as ; he ran towards thern^

The girls reached Mr Schmidt's farmhouse before Osterchamp could overtake them, and Christina entreated Mrs Schmidt,' who was sitting near the doorway with her baby in her arms, to save her from her ajaailani. Mrs Schmidt promptly closed the door, and Christina jumped into an empty box in the bedroom, and closed down the lid. Osterchamp demanded admittance, and Mrs Schmidt refusing it, he broke through the door with the axe which he had continued to carry all through the outrage. He then raised the axe over Mrs Schmidt's head, and threatened to kill her unless she disclosed where the girl was. Fearing that Mrs Schmidt woufd be murdered, the girl came forth from her hiding place, and the ruffian seeing her threw up bis hands and foamed at the mouth with rage. He then rushed at her with the uplifted axe. This the girl seized, and a struggle took place between them, ending in the axe falling on the ground, and the girl being thrown down on her face on a sofa in the room. Oaterchamp then, with sundry imprecations, seized her by the hair with one band, and struck her several times most brutally with the other. He also tried to gonge out her eyes, but did not succeed. He then raised her head and dashed it against the curve of the sofa, breaking her jawbone. This feat he followed up by attempting to drag the teeth oat of her head, saying at the same time, "I'll make a fine lady of you." The teeth, however, resisted bis efforts, and, then he dragged her off the sofa, and jumped on her four times. By this time

the poor girl was insensible, seeing which the rnfflan dug his spurs into several parts other s>ody, and kicked her under the tioth under the impression that; she was ctad. "Just at this time a little brother, aged about six years, came to the doorway and called <.nt, "Here conies the man with the gutf." Osterchamp looKed round, and seeing Mr Farkens 'and Mr Schmidt running towards the house, retnrned to the girl, and again kicked her with his spurs three or four times, and roared out, "Now I've murdered you, I'll murder your father." Witji this he rai towards Mr FarkonsV farm, but seeing some *nen comiug itpm tuat direction, he turned sharp off and plunged inio the bush. By this time? a dozen men had joined in the pursuit, their efforts being directed towards surrounding him so that he should not escape, but nearly two hourd elapsed before they could cover all the ground, to prevent his getting away. At this stage of the affair, a bullock-driver named Howard appeared on horseback, and ascertaining from the re en what had happened, rode towards the ruffian, and endeavared to arrert him. Osterchamp seized the bridle, and yelled out, "Now I'll murder you, as I finished the girl." Howard, however, held a piece of iron in his hand on the other side of the horse, and with thlahe felled the villain to the ground. One of the pursuers reached the spot at this moment, and seeing Osterohatnp regaining his feet, knocked him senseless with a billet of wood. The ruffian was then securely tied, and taken back to Mr Schmidt's farm, where the 'police, who had been sent for in the meantime, soon afterwards arrived, and conveyed the fellow to the lock-up at Amphitheatre. A messenger at once proceeded to Beaufort for medical advice, and returned with Dr Johnson, who, on examining the injnred girl, expressed doubts as to the possibility of her recovering, as she had sustained severe internal injuries. . We understand, however, from her brother-in-law (from whom, as we remark above, the above particulars are gathered), that when he left the farm on Wednesday night, ac 7 o'clock, she was slightly better, though still very dangerously ill. The prisoner .meanwhile has been remanded by the local Bench to Avoca Gaol pending the recovery or death of his unfortunate victim. An idea of the premeditation ymth; which this vile outrage waa carried out win be gathered from the fact that Oateruhamp rode the 15 miles between his farm and Mr Farkens's over night, and lay in a ditch fronting the latters house until the time when he presented himself to Mr Farkens on the, following morning." It has been reported to the BaUarat .Courier that Christina Farkens, who was so brutally assaulted the other day by the ruffian Oaterchamp near Avoca, is improving, and that the medical men attending her are of opinion that ah? will be able to get about again in am ith from the present time, ft seems her internal "njnriea .re conßned to a broken rib. Mr A. V. Smith, photographer, of StUrtstreet, bos informed the Cow\ *at she stayed with, his family once for a wholeyear in order to escape from the importunities of her maniacal admirer and brutal assailant.