Newspaper account of the murder of Samuel Breakwell, transcribed by Jan Mackie. The articles have been reproduced as printed, and contain some inaccuracies with regard to dates, places and spelling of names.

The Waukegan Daily Sun, Wednesday, August 17, 1898

MURDER

Highwood, Ill., Aug. 17 – (Special) Samuel Breakwell, Sr., was murdered this afternoon at two o’clock by Carl Pethke.

This quiet village is in commotion: citizens dumbfounded: gather in groups on corners to discuss the murder in awed tones and no one seems able to realize fully that one of their neighbors has been murdered by another.

A few minutes before this time, the men met each other half way between the railroad and the street railway. Breakwell, a Baptist minister, aged 63 years, who was accompanied by a Miss Fox of Chicago, was ahead of Pethke, who is 45 years old. Pethke suddenly whipped out a little pen knife and seemingly infuriated to desperation made a lunge at Breakwell. The latter staggered and fell with his jugular vein severed and was dead in five minutes. The murdered man’s companion is prostrated.

Marshall Gordon was on the scene in a few minutes and took the murder[er] into custody. Coroner Knight arrived at 3:30.

The cause of the murder was a dispute of long standing in the family which started when Pethke, who is a tailor, married Mr. Breakwell’s divorced wife. The murdered man, who had just returned from Wisconsin, was an old and highly respected citizen.

The murderer will be taken to the Waukegan jail for trial at the October term of court. A Sun representative tried to interview Pethke at 3 o’clock but he refused to talk. Already there are some to say he is demented.

Mrs. Breakwell has been summoned by telegram from Wisconsin. A son of the victim has a store here.