Notes for SARAH BOXELL KIER:

Daughter of William Thomas and Rachel (Nelson) Boxell.
Born: 1877 in Middleville, Wright County, Minnesota.
Died: March 9, 1899 Middleville, Wright County, Minnesota.
Cause of Death: Shot by husband, Frederick.
Buried: Howard Lake Cemetery, Howard Lake, Wright County, Minnesota.
Married: Frederick Terrell Kier July 31, 1896 in Middleville, Wright County, Minnesota.

...One of the most revolting murders in the history of Wright county was the killing of Sarah Kier and her new-born baby by her husband, Frederick T Kier, in the town of Middleville. Kier had been released from an asylum, and for some time had terrorized his neighbors by promiscuous shooting. As to the events of March 9, 1899, no one will ever be fuly aware, but the trial showed that sometime during the night Kier had killed his wife and new-born baby, and had horribly mutilated at least one of the bodies. He was indicted for murder in the first degree, and pleaded guilty to murder in the third degree, and on June 19, 1897, was sentenced to the full term of thirty years in the state's prison. He is still confined, but spends a considerable part of his time in the asylum for the cirminal insane. His act was that of a frenzied mad man, and he was not responsible.
(Source: History of Wright County Minnesota by Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Volume II 1915. Pg. 32-33)