In 1866 Bruno Kirves immigrated from Prussia to the United States, seeking a new life. At first America must have seemed like paradise. He worked, got married, bought a house and had children. But, somewhere along the way, his dream slowly gave way to a nightmare.
     Bruno was a plasterer and very good at his trade. But during the idle winter months, he was prone to drink more than usual. Unfortunately, his habit had grown worse and lasted longer as he had gotten older. By the late 1890s, Bruno was a confirmed alcoholic.
     Desperate to end his addiction, Bruno turned to Dr. George H. Geiger for help. Dr. Geiger, a well-known Dayton physician, claimed to have perfected a cure for alcoholism. According to the good doctor, men with drinking problems had a disease that was produced by alcoholic poisoning of the nerve cells. The remedy consisted of a strict dietary regime, accompanied by regular injections of ‘bichloride of gold.’ The ‘Gold Cure’ was based closely on a treatment began by the Keely Institute of Dwight, Illinois a decade earlier. In both cases, the therapy lasted four weeks. During the first few days, patients were allowed to consume as much alcohol as they wanted, provided that they allowed themselves to be injected four times a day with the Gold Cure. It was claimed that patients who finished the treatment were cured over fifty percent of the time. Unfortunately, Bruno was not one of Dr. Geiger’s successes.
     By the winter of 1898 Bruno Kirves had been a nuisance to his wife Mary, their five children and the neighborhood in general for several years. A mean drunk, Bruno’s antics were worsened by the fact that he also suffered attacks of delirium tremens, or the DTs. In order to lessen Bruno’s tremors and hallucinations, his doctor began prescribing a solution of chloral hydrate mixed in alcohol, also known as a ‘Mickey Finn’. Unfortunately, Bruno soon became a slave to this habit as well.
     During the first week of November, 1898 Bruno went over to his brother John’s house to drink and play some cards. His wife Mary and his daughter Emma arrived soon after, and began nagging Bruno to come home with them. It was their intent, they said, to stop him from drinking, as he had been very abusive lately and alcohol made him even worse. A quarrel ensued between the parties and on the next day John had Mary and Emma arrested for disturbing the peace. Attorney Walter Hallanan was engaged to defend Mary, who was charged $5 and costs. The case against Emma was dismissed.
     Not satisfied with this outcome, John’s wife instituted legal proceedings against Mary for $10,000 in damages for alleged libel, claiming that the defendant had slandered her in some way.
     On November 16, 1898 Mary Kirves again turned to Attorney Hallanan for advice. She had been told by John that the case could be settled for $150. Although she had agreed to pay him later that day, she was beginning to have second thoughts. Bruno wanted her to pay the money, but her daughter Emma opposed the idea. Since her father could not be depended upon to bring in a steady income, Emma was forced to work in a cigar-rolling factory and her parents would have to borrow the money from her to pay the debt. Hallanan advised her not to pay yet, promising that he would contact John and try and settle the case for half the amount. They agreed to meet early the next day.
     When Mary told Bruno of her meeting with the attorney, he became very upset and began threatening to kill her and the children. His abuse grew to the point that Mary yelled back that she was going to divorce him. This angered him to such an extent that he left the house and did not return home that evening.
     Later that night Bruno’s sister, Augusta Helmig, was surprised when her brother burst into her home, stating that he was being followed by several men who were out to harm him. Although she tried to reassure him that everything was alright, Bruno crouched down into a chair in the corner of the room and refused to move. Thinking that he was probably suffering from the DTs, she left him alone. When Augusta went to bed around midnight, he was still in that position.
     The morning of November 17th dawned gray and cheerless over Dayton. There was a breath of winter in the air. Rising at around 6 am, Augusta offered her brother breakfast. He accepted a cup of coffee, but refused to eat. She noticed that the night had not helped her brother’s disposition, his actions and words that morning being unusually vicious, even for him. It was shortly thereafter that Bruno headed over to the Owl saloon, a favorite hangout of his, as it was less than two blocks from his home. He was still there, downing whiskey, when Charles Wharton and a friend entered at 9 am.
     The two men had been on a hunting expedition and had a double-barreled shotgun with them, which Wharton had borrowed for the day. When Bruno saw the gun leaning against the bar, he asked if he could borrow it. This was refused. After a time, Bruno walked over to where Wharton’s overcoat was hanging, reached into a pocket and took out three gun shells. Then he picked up the shotgun and, unobserved, made his way out of the saloon. After reaching the sidewalk Bruno ran through an alley off Clover street, which led to his house at 222 Pierce Street.
     Bruno entered through the back door and made his way to the living room. Emma was standing in the front doorway waiting for her mother to return from the lawyer’s office. As she started to turn slightly her father fired and the Emma fell to the floor, her body extending partly out of the doorway onto the front porch. The bullet had struck Emma in the right temple, leaving a two-inch hole in her skull. Bruno then ran up the stairs and fired another shot. Although Bruno would later claim that he could not remember what had happened, witnesses who saw his face blackened by gunpowder and chin covered with blood believed he had tried to commit suicide. Instead, due either to drunkenness or nervousness, Bruno had missed, the load going through the ceiling and roof instead.
     Nearby neighbors, upon hearing the gun shots, began to gather outside the home. They watched as Bruno ran out the front door, jumping over his daughter’s body. Realizing what had happened, some of the men began to follow Bruno. Hearing his pursuers, Bruno turned around and began waving the gun menacingly over his head. "Mein Gott," he yelled at them, "Don’t come near, or I’ll kill you all."
     When Bruno neared the Owl saloon, the customers were out in the alley, having heard the shots fired. At first he was able to fend them off by threatening to shoot, but the gun was finally taken away from him. When he was brought into the saloon, Bruno asked if he could have more shells so he could kill himself. Upon being refused, he said, "Well, I got her, anyway."
     "Got who?", Wharton asked.
     "Why, Emma, of course. I got her right here," said Bruno, pointing to his right temple. After this, he became incoherent and nothing more could be gotten out of him before the police came.
     The day after being taken to police headquarters, Bruno was brought before Superintendent Thomas J. Farell, where he made a full confession of the murder. He nervously told of how a plan had come together when he saw Wharton’s shotgun. He also stated that he was extremely sorry for what he had done and that he no longer cared what happened to him.
     That same night Bruno attempted suicide by banging his head against the bars, claiming he would continue to do so until he bashed his brains out. All he got for his trouble was a sorely bruised head. On another occasion he climbed onto a bench and dove head first to the floor. Thinking that the noise was the antics of another prisoner, it wasn’t until the guard had heard the thumps several times before he investigated. He found Bruno covered with scratches and abrasions about the face and head.
     When he was taken before Judge John Roehm on November 21, 1898, Bruno retracted his statement and pled not guilty. On November 26, 1898 Bruno withdrew his not guilty plea and waived an examination before the judge.
     On January 16, 1899 this plea was again changed by him to not guilty. Since Bruno was indigent, the court ordered that the law firm of Charles Finch, Conrad J. Mattern and W. W. K. Hamilton act as council to defend him. Charles H. Kumler stepped in as Prosecuting Attorney for the case.
     On February 13, 1899 jury selection was finished. It was agreed that the first order of business should be a visit to the scene of the crime. When asked if he would like to accompany the jury, Bruno expressed having no desire to view the place.
     Besides his own confession to the police, the most damaging testimony during the trial came from an eye-witness to the murder. Raymond Yohe, a deaf-mute, had been riding his pony down Pierce Street the morning the murder took place. On seeing Bruno enter the front yard of his house with a shotgun in his hand, Raymond decided to investigate. Hitching his pony to a tree, Raymond stepped to a side window. As he peered into the front room, he watched as Bruno pointed a gun at Emma and shot her in the head.
     Raymond’s testimony was taken through an interpreter. Bruno’s attorneys wanted the evidence thrown out, claiming that the boy was not intelligent enough to understand the oath he had taken. When asked what an oath was, Raymond replied that "an oath is a promise to God to tell the truth." Raymond’s definition, Prosecutor Kumler proclaimed, was better than could be found in any book of law. The boy’s statement was allowed.
     The case was given over to the jury for deliberation on February 22, 1898. They returned less than two hours later with a verdict of Murder in the First degree.
     Motion for a new trial was filed by Bruno’s attorneys three days later. This was refused by Judge Oren B. Brown in court on March 25th. As the Judge asked Bruno to stand to hear his sentence, the defense attorneys asked if they could introduce a letter into evidence.

     A short while later, Bruno was taken to Woodland Cemetery, where he was buried beside his daughter, Emma.

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