KRAMER FARMER BRUTALLY MURDERED

Wm. Abbetson, a Country Butcher, Arrested—Confesses to the Horrible Crime—Body Found in Hay Stack.

One of the most brutal murders ever committed in Bottineau county has just been unearthed at Kramer, when the body of F. W. Schroeder, one of the oldest and most prosperous farmers of Kramer, was found on top of a hay stack near his farm home by W. Abbetson and H. Geryets. The man had been beaten about the head with an axe, and there were several bullet holes thru {sp} the body. The track of a sleigh was seen leading to the hay stack, so the authorities concluded that the deed had been done by a local party or parties. After making a careful investigation, Abbetson was arrested, and he confessed to the crime. He declared that he had struck Schroeder over the head with an axe, afterwards shooting him several times with a rifle. He then placed the body in a sleigh and hauled it over a marsh to the hay stack. To avoid suspicion, he proposed hauling hay from the stack where the body was found a day or so after the murder was committed. Abbetson is in jail. He does not consider that he has done anything of a very serious nature, and thinks he will be out as soon as his farmer friends can arrange bail. The man is undoubtedly of a weak mind, and the defense will no doubt be insanity.

Abbetson's sleigh was covered in blood and Schroeder's watch and other effects were found on Abbetson's person.

Schroeder was a wealthy bachelor and lived alone on his far. Robbery may have been a motive for the crime.

Ward County Independent, 2/23/1911