Morrison-Otter Tail County MN Archives Obituaries.....Gollnik, William Rudolph August 13, 1908 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: alfred janske alfred_janske@sbcglobal.net October 30, 2010, 6:59 pm Little Falls Daily Transcript, August 13, 1908 Little Falls Daily Transcript, August 13, 1908, Thursday - WM. GOLLNIK MURDERED Well Known Swan River Resident Refuses To Endorse Certificates of Deposit and Burglars Become Angered and Club Him to Death William Rudolph Gollnik, a well known resident of Swan River, was murdered at an early hour this morning by two burglars who entered his home and demanded his money and endorsements to two certificates of deposit which he had given them. The above is the substance of another murder recorded in Morrison County. At 4 o'clock this morning a man arrived in the city from Swan River to get the sheriff and a doctor, stating that burglars had almost killed William Gollnik at his house early this morning. Dr. N. W. Chance, accompanied by C. W. Wulling and Sheriff Frank Long, immediately left for the scene of the crime. They found matters even worse than was pictured to them by the messenger. The victim was lying on the bed with the side of his head all pounded, as with a heavy club, and blood was scattered about the floor, walls and the bed. He was still alive, but unconscious, with little hope of his ever regaining his faculties. While the physician was dressing the wounds, Mrs. Gollnik, wife of the wounded man, gave the following account of the hold up to Mr. Wulling, talking in German. Two men entered the house at a very early hour, the exact time she did not know. They entered through the front door, it having always been unlocked. She stated that they entered the bedroom occupied by her and her husband and demanded his money. He stated that he had no money in the house as it was all in the banks, but had certificates of deposit, one amounting to $300 and the other to $100. They then asked for the certificates and were given them. She states that the men then wished Gollnik to endorse the certificate, which he refused to do. This angered them and they began striking him. When asked with what they struck the victim, Mrs. Gollnik said she did not know and that she fainted immediately after and did not come to until 2:30 o'clock. The men were gone and she found her husband in the condition above stated. She immediately called neighbors and sent for the officers and a doctor. An examination of the premises shows that after the robbers had pounded their victim into insensibility, they ransacked the house, supposedly for hidden money. Drawers of dressers and bureaus were pulled from their places and dumped on the floor and doors of cupboards were opened and the contents gone over. According to the story of Mrs. Gollnik, however, the murderers did not get any money, as all there was in the house was kept in the cellar and this was not visited. The woman says that one of the men was quite large while the other was small of stature. This is about all the description that could be given. She says that their faces were covered with masks, and that they carried dark lanterns . The victim was a man about fifty years of age and was well known to the citizens of Little Falls. He was known to be well to do, and owned 320 acres of land in Swan River town. It was also known to many that he had money deposited in the banks, and it is probable that the burglars surmised that a large amount of money was kept in the house. Mr. Gollnik was in the city Wednesday afternoon and it is said drank quite heavily. He arrived at about 6:30 o'clock in the evening and worked for a time on the binder . When found this morning he was dressed in his trousers. When asked concerning this the woman stated that he went to bed dressed as he was when the officers arrived, and that he retired about 7:30. The woman was so worked up over the affair that a clear statement of the facts of the burglary could not be contained. It is probable, however, that some arrests will be made before evening. Later--Drs. N. W. Chance and J.P. Chance left at noon for the scene of the crime, to administer further treatment to the man if he were still alive. He was found alive but still unconscious. The physicians stated that his pulse was much stronger than it was when the physicians visited the house early in the morning. Efforts were repeatedly made to get Gollnik to talk and many questions were asked of him, but they were of no avail. He lay all the afternoon with practically no change in his condition. It was finally decided to bring the man to the local hospital, where an operation will be performed late today and efforts made to revive him sufficiently to get some statement from him. In the examination made by the officers this afternoon, it was brought out that Wednesday when Gollnik was in town he had flashed a roll of bills in a local saloon in response to a query from a neighbor for a loan which they had talked over before. It is said that Gollnik took out some bills and said, "I can loan you $100 or $1,000." Others were in the saloon and the family of the injured man believe(s) that some one who heard and saw the act followed him home Wednesday night. This theory, they state is further strengthened by the fact that one of the robbers demanded $1,000 from Gollnik. At 3 o'clock this afternoon Sheriff Long and Chief of Police Gannon were still at the Gollnik home and are following whatever clues can be found. Additional Comments: Mrs. Gollnik was convicted of second degree murder and sent to Stillwater prison in 1908. She went insane and was sent to Fergus Falls State Hospital were she died in 1953. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/morrison/obits/g/gollnik15nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mnfiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb