Another Connecticut Tragedy.

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 4.—Henry Hotchkiss, a musician, aged thirty-five, has for some time been in trouble with his wife, from whom he is supposed to have separated. They had two children. Yesterday afternoon at two o’clock they met on Market street. He drew a revolver and fired two shots at her, one of which took effect in her head and the other in her back. She died in a few minutes. Hotchkiss then fired one shot into his own head, but the wound inflected is thought to be but slight. He was taken to the hospital. The tragedy has caused great excitement.

Culled from the collection of The Comtesse DeSpair – 1886 Morbid Scrapbook

Follow-up: Mr. Hotchkiss did, indeed, survive (from the March 4, 1887 issue of The Meriden Journal):

STATE PRISON FOR LIFE.

The Sentence of Henry S. Hotchkiss for Murdering His Wife in Hartford.

At 4:30 yesterday afternoon Henry S. Hotchkiss was brought  before Judge Torrance in the Hartford Superior Court room.  S. F. Jones, counsel for Hotchkiss, repeated the story of the shooting of his wife Etta, by the prisoner, and made the plea that Hotchkiss was insane at the time of the shooting.  He claimed that insanity was caused by the unfaithfulness of the prisoner’s wife. He was ready to plead guilty of murder in the second degree. Judge Briscoe of counsel for the prisoner made a similar plea. State Attorney Hamersley said that it was questionable in his mind whether the jury would convict of murder in the first degree, but it would have no doubt of a verdict of murder in the second degree. As far as he was concerned he would accept the plea and leave it wholly with the court to decide as to the acceptance. The court agreed to accept the plea and Hotchkiss was put to the plea and pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree. Judge Torrance then pronounced sentence that he be confined to the Connecticut state prison during his natural life.

The crime for which Henry Hotchkiss is consigned to a living death was the murder of his wife, Etta Hotchkiss, on October 4, 1886.  On that day, while Mrs. Hotchkiss was walking on Market street in company with another woman, she was accosted by her husband, but refused to speak to him. Then the man pulled a small revolver from his pocket and fired two shots directly at the woman’s back. Both bullets struck her and she staggered into a store, fell to the floor and died instantly. As soon as Hotchkiss saw the result of his desperate work, he shot himself in the head, but only inflected a flesh wound. The cause of the murder was jealousy, aggravated by Mrs. Hotchkiss’ alleged improper behavior. Hotchkiss has two children, who at present are with friends at New Britain.