August 13, 1937: Fueled by Guilt and Shame, William Edward Gotwals Kills His Children and Himself

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

August 13, 1937: William Edward Gotwals, a former Marine serving in World War I, whose mental disease prevented him from keeping a job, snuffed out lives of his two sleeping children as they lay in their bed, clad in their night clothes. Wielding a claw hammer, he struck his son John, age 10, by this right ear and landed a blow to his daughter, Mary Suzanna, age 6, on her neck and head.

After the double murder, Gotwals unsuccessfully attempted suicide by slashing his wrists and neck with a razor, leaving blood splatters all over this little house. He then ended his life by hanging himself with a thin washline from a tree limb ten feet from the ground.

Three weeks earlier, the American Legion Charles B. Yerger Post #471 of Boyertown had begun a very determined effort to get psychiatric help for Gotwals and made arrangements for him to be admitted to a government hospital for treatment. He refused it, insisting that the family would survive on its own. His wife Elsie, working at a hosiery mill in Boyertown, struggled to provide a meager existence for them. Apparently shamed by the tremendous burden he had placed upon her, his feelings of guilt led him to commit the tragic crime which shocked the entire community.

Mrs. Gotwals arrived home from work after 5:00 that evening to find the house closed up and door locked. Looking through a window, she saw her children lying in bed, covered in blood. The State Police were summoned. Neighbors found Gotwals’ body lying on the ground under the tree, where it had fallen after the washline broke. Deputy Coroner Daniel D. Kohler viewed the remains and issued certificates of murder and suicide.

Mrs. Gotwals was hysterical and Dr. L.Y. Lechner remained with her to give medical aid for many hours. The Legion Post immediately began soliciting financial support for the penniless widow with Emergency Relief Donation Boxes placed at 75 locations in and round Boyertown, and it was reported that they were rapidly being filled. Once again, the concerned citizens of Boyertown generously responded to a call for help. It has been named one of the most horrible murder-suicide cases in Berks County history.

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