“RED COUNT’S” CRIME

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8612, 24 December 1913, Page 5

“RED COUNT’S” CRIME

PREVIOUS EVENTS THE COUNTESS UNDER EVIL IN FEUENCES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyriehl BERLIN, December 22. Further details of the double murder at Grot/., where Count Meilczyuski shot his wife and nephew owing, to finding them in tho former’s room, state that Count Meilczynski in 1895 was a suitor for the hand of Count Potocki’s beautiful daughter. Ho shot himself in the breast because tho Count opposed the marriage, and never entirely recovered from tho effect of the wound. Moved by the incident Count Potocki yielded to {he. marriage and the couple for some time lived happily. Two daughters and a son were born. . Subsequently Meilczynski confided to friends that his wife was undor an undesirable influence. He subsequently sold his estate and took tho Countess and her family to Dresden. The Countess and the son quitted the now homo and stayed with relatives of the husband, whoso absorbing passions were politics and landscape painting. Ho divided his time between the Reichstag and his studio, living alone. His Berlin residence was a perfect museum of paintings and art objects collected in various countries. The wife, who received from her husband a regular income, succeeded! in 1912 to her brother’s large fortune, also Dakowymokae Castle, the scene of tho tragedy. Relatives, fearing she would fall under- the former -influences, effected a reconciliation, and the Count joined her at Dakowymokae. The renewed union was soon clouded. Tho Countess, then_ thirty-eight years of age, formed a friendship with twenty-four-year-old Count Alfred, whoso mother was her half-sister-The friendship became the talk of tho neighbourhood. LADY COMPANION’S EVIDENCE. “YOU’RE DRUNK! SLEEP IT OFF 1” (Received December 24, 0.55 a.m.) BERLIN, December 23. Countess Meilczynski’s lady companion states that the young Count came to tho castle for tho - purpose of borrowing money. Tho uncle knocked at the Countess’s door at 3 o’clock in the morning and asked her to order tho motor-car to enable him to leave. She said: “You are drunk. Sleep it off first.” Tlie young Count forced his way to tho room at the same moment, and the husband appeared and fired.