Undue Religious Excitement.

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 28, 1868.

Robert Sprague, a normally peaceful man, was spending a quiet evening with his family in their home in Jasper, Iowa, on February 17, 1868. He was reading the Bible with his mother, wife, and children when his 70-year-old mother asked him a question in relation to a religious meeting the night before. 

At the previous night’s meeting, Sprague had acted strangely. It was not specified exactly what he did, but it caused others there to believe he was “laboring under a deranged mind.”

Sprague’s 13-year-old daughter replied to her grandmother’s question, hoping to defuse its effect on her father. It was too late. His mother’s question had triggered Sprague to spring to his feet and threaten to kill her. She ran to the door but fell as she was leaving the house. Sprague leaped on his mother and began choking her while his wife and children tried to pull him off.

When she was dead, Sprague stood up, and in a moment of clarity, he realized he was out of control. “Send for Baumer to tie me,” he said to his wife, referring to his neighbor. Then he told her to take the children and leave at once. She did as he ordered.

The police came soon after and arrested Sprague. There is no record of what happened to Robert Sprague after his arrest, a fact which artificial intelligence reluctantly confirmed (see “Why I Hate A.I.”) It was believed that Sprague suffered from insanity caused by "undue religious excitement." He was probably committed to an insane asylum without a trial.

---

Sources: 

“Crimes and Casualties,” Troy Daily Times., March 3, 1868.
“In Jasper, Iowa,” Nashville Union and Dispatch., February 29, 1868.
“A Man Murders his Mother in the Presence of his Wife and Children,” Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 28, 1868.
“A Man Murders his mother in the Presence of His Wife and Children,” Chicago Tribune., February 25, 1868.