Domestic Violence and Attempted Murder in 1910

This story from St. Joseph appeared in the February 5, 1910 Ypsi Daily Press. After filing for divorce and getting a restraining order, Mrs. Riddle watched in fear as her enraged husband came across the fields with a gun, heading straight to the house where she and the children hid. Warning: violent material.

"Seeking the life of his wife, having vowed vengeance because she had instituted suit for divorce and secured an injunction restraining him from molesting her, Albert Riddle, a Royalton township farmer, all but accomplished his intentions when he secured a repeating rifle and attacked the house, which, by the court's order, he had been forbidden to enter.

"Mrs. Riddle and her four children, offsprings of a former husband, when they observed Riddle coming through the fields, barricaded the door and awaited his approach. Riddle opened fire on the house and finally chopped his way through a rear door with an ax. Mrs. Riddle and the children fled through a front door in time to save their lives, though the enraged husband sent several bullets after them.

"When neighbors surrounded and entered the house, Riddle was not found. Blood was scattered about the rooms, and the furniture had been partly destroyed. Thinking he would fool the officers, Riddle cut the house dog's throat and let the blood run out. When the dog's body was found, a search for Riddle was begun. He was finally located under a porch and [secured] at the point of guns. He is now in the county jail, charged with attempted murder."