Bio: Hagen, John & Anna (18 Oct. 1934)
Poster:  Crystal Wendt
Email:  crystalwendt@aol.com

Surname: Hagen, Longenecker, Spranger

Source: Neillsville Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) 18 Oct. 1934

SHOOTING OF BOY, SISTER IS MYSTERY

Hagens Think Suicide Followed Accidental Death of Child

Funeral services for John Hagen, 16 years old, and his sister, Anna, 8 years old, who were found shot to death early Sunday morning in the sitting room of their farm home north of the Neillsville mound, were held this afternoon from the Schiller Funeral Home, Rev. G. W. Longenecker officiating, with burial in the Town of Weston Cemetery.

Stunned by the tragedy, which struck with unexpected swiftness about 7 a.m. Sunday, Mr. and Mrs. Gust Hagen, the parents, and their only surviving child, Rosie, could only speculate upon the events that took place during the brief period they were away from the house.

While reports in several newspapers changed that Mrs. Hagen had hidden a box of .22 ammunition because John had said as he came down from his bedroom Sunday morning, “I feel like killing someone,” Mr. Hagen emphatically denied to the Press that any such statement had been made to any newspaper representative. Peter Spranger, a friend of the family, corroborated Mr. Hagen, declaring “I was present when Mr. Hagen was interviewed and nothing was said about hiding shells or that Mrs. Hagen feared John was contemplating any rash act.”

DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED

“Certainly,” said Mr. Hagen, “If we had thought John was going to kill someone we would have taken his gun away from him and not contented ourselves with hiding a box of ammunition. Frankly, we don’t known what happened while we were at the barn milking. We have tried to imagine how this thing happened, but we simply can’t explain it. John loved the girl. He wouldn’t have harmed her for the world. He took her to the Town of Weston School every day. If John did this thing he cannot be blamed. He was not himself. My belief is that hit must have been an accident. John bought a new .22 two weeks ago and got a lot of pleasure out of hunting. Only the day before he had been to the woods. Perhaps he had got the gun out to go hunting Sunday morning while his little sister sat on the lounge talking to him. It is possible that the gun was accidentally discharged and the bullet struck Anna. Seeing what he had done isn’t it likely he might have become panic stricken and ended his own life? We’ll never know what happened, but we don’t think John deliberately killed his little sister.”