Thomas Ryan, aged 88, lived in Chester, Illinois, with his widowed daughter, Julia Smith, her 12-year-old daughter Sallie, and 8-year-old son Arthur. On December 7, 1880, their peaceful morning was shattered when an intruder burst into the house. It was a naked man wielding an axe who ordered them all to kneel and pray as they only had a few minutes to live.
The man was Louis Tochstein, who, the day before, had been in police custody and was declared insane. Tochstein was raised Catholic but had recently been attending meetings of other denominations. As his religious excitement grew, so did his madness. Tochstein was insane but not considered violent; his mania was limited to asking people to pray with him at inappropriate times and places. On Saturday, December 4, he made his two sisters kneel and pray with him in the street while he preached that the end of the world would come in a few days.
The police arrested Tochstein then, and on Monday, he was
adjudged insane and ordered to be sent to the asylum in Jacksonville, Illinois.
Before the trip, he was held in a hotel room guarded by two policemen. Tuesday
morning, they brought him a bowl of water to wash up. He dashed the water into their faces then
broke through the window of the room and ran away.
He randomly ran to the Ryan house, about a quarter mile
away. Along the way, he shed his clothing and acquired an axe. As most of the household obeyed his orders and fell to their knees, Arthur Ryan managed to
escape and alarm the neighborhood. The neighbors arrived too late. When they
reached the house, they found Thomas Ryan and his daughter with their skulls crushed. Sallie’s body
lay on the floor, and her head was completely severed.
Outside they saw Tochstein running to the next house, swinging
Sallie’s bloody head in the air. He found a servant girl who screamed when he
ordered her to kneel. Before he could harm her, the neighbors arrived and
overpowered him. The police secured Tochstein and took him away once more.
The story he told the police served to confirm his insanity.
He said he had to leave the hotel because people there were trying to rob him.
When he neared the Ryan house, he discovered that it was on fire. He rushed in
and saved all the inmates but the little boy, who perished in the flames. While
saving the Ryans, his own clothes were burned off him and he was badly scorched.
By now, the whole town had learned of the carnage, and there
was serious talk of lynching. To avoid the mob, the police took
Tochstein by wagon to a small way station, where they boarded a train to East
St. Louis on their way to the Jacksonville asylum.
Sources:
“Local News,” The Alton Telegraph, December 16, 1880.
“A Naked Man's Horrible Deeds,” Illustrated Police News, December 18, 1880.
“A Triple Murder,” The Boston Globe, December 8, 1860.
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