Domestic Violence at the Gas Works
A husband is sentenced to the county jail after a brutal assault on his wife using a grindstone and a revolver.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In the So-Do district, a man who lives over near the gas works became displeased with his wife and assaulted her with a grindstone, and, it is stated, he also took a shot at her with a revolver. However, her screams attracted the attention of a policeman, who locked him up. Yesterday he was convicted of an assault and battery in Justice Hill's court, and sentenced to ninety days' imprisonment in jail, but it is stated that additional facts have since come to light showing that he had malice in his heart, and that he had attempted to kill his better half, and it is likely a more serious charge will be preferred against him before his present sentence expires.
“Her screams attracted the attention of a policeman, who locked him up.”
This 1887 report on domestic violence reflects the era's legal transition from treating spousal assault as a private, minor matter to a criminal one. While the reporting language is clipped and matter-of-fact by modern standards, the underlying struggle of women seeking protection from violence within the domestic sphere remains a stark and enduring issue in urban centers like Seattle.
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