Charlotte Jolly
The Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 August 1900, page 5
A family disagreement, originating at Hamilton, Ohio, terminated
yesterday in Newport Ky. in one woman being shot to death, her sister mortally
wounded and their mother's life being also placed in jeopardy by the shock.
The principals were John W Jolly, until lately employed in the Harry Moore stove foundry at Hamilton, Ohio, his wife and her sister. The latter was killed while trying to serve as a shield for Jolly's wife, who was also fatally wounded. The tragedy occurred at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Klekamp, parents of Mrs. Jolly, on Ninth street, near Boone in Newport. According to the Klekamp family the marriage of their daughter to Jolly 18 years ago resulted in continuous domestic infelicity. Jolly, while perfectly sober, never touching liquor, had an aversion against hard work and this fault worried his wife and was the cause of frequent quarrels between them.
A month ago Mrs. Jolly, while her husband was at work in Hamilton, concluded to leave him and return to the family homestead in Newport, where her father assured her she could remain forever. Jolly followed and consulted Attorney L J Crawford, with a view toward suing his father-in-law for alienation of his wife's affections.
Attorney Crawford declined to file the suit and this caused Jolly to become morose and for several days was seen hanging about the Klekamp home, while her family made every precaution to protect her from threatened danger. Yesterday about noon he remarked to several persons in the vicinity of the Newport Courthouse that he was going over the river to get a revolver with which to kill his wife.
Jolly walked up the alley to the rear of the Klekamp residence. In the home at the time were the aged mother of Mrs. Jolly, her sisters, Emma and Minnie and Mrs. Jolly herself. They knew Jolly had been desperate to do something and had the back gate and screen doors locked from the inside. Jolly entered into Heyker's back yard next door, and passed through. He stepped into the side door of the Klekamp house, grabbed Emma, who told her sister to seek safety in flight.
Jolly pulled a revolver out of his pocket, grabbed his sister-in-law around the waist and pressing the muzzle of the gun against her right cheekbone, pulled the trigger. He saw his wife screaming through the kitchen and fired, the ball striking Mrs. Jolly in the shoulder blade and piercing the lung. She ran out the back yard to the Heyjker home crying for help.
In the meantime J W Jaap, George Ochs, William Gubser, a nephew of the two women, a man named Adams and Will Ford rushed into the kitchen. Jolly was still standing there, with the smoking revolver in his hand, gazing at the body of his sister-in-law. He was overpowered and Officers Hamilton, Creighton and Matthews taken to police headquarters.
Drs. Marxmiller and Herman give it as their opinion that Mrs. Jolly can survive but a few days at the most and death will ensue as soon as inflammation of the lung tissue sets in. Henry Klekamp, father of the murdered woman, is a well known contractor and house raiser of Newport, His son, William is now doing some work at the Frankfort Penitentiary and a telegram was sent to him to come home at once.
The Klekamps live in the aristocratic East End of Newport and have an elegant home of their own. The Klekamps are pioneer residents of Newport, have raised a large family, accumulated wealth and enjoy the respect of every citizen. Mrs. Jolly was 47 years of age and in constant fear of her life at his hands and her dead sister, 42.
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The Cincinnati Enquirer, 27 August 1900, page 2
There was a touching scene yesterday morning at the residence of Mrs. Gubser at Ninth and Boone streets, Newport, where Mrs. Jolly, the wife of John Jolly, the murderer has been ever since the shooting in which her sister, Emma Klekamp, was killed by Jolly. Owing to her condition Mrs. Jolly had not been informed that her sister was dead.
Yesterday her condition had improved so that Dr. Marxmiller decided to inform her of her sister's tragic fate. Mrs. Jolly was greatly agitated and said:
"My poor sister? I wish it had been me instead of you." She was allowed to give vent to her grief, being watched by the physicians to see that a reaction and collapse did not set in. She bore up well and later said that she hoped her husband would not escape just punishment, for if he did, she believed he would not feel satisfied until he had accomplished her death.
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The Cincinnati Enquirer, 23 November 1900, page 7
John Jolly, the Newport murderer who was convicted and sentenced to be hanged two weeks ago for the murder of his sister-in-law, Miss Emma Klekamp, at her residence at Ninth and Boone streets, Newport is now a double murderer, as his wife, Mrs. Charlotte Jolly, whom he fatally shot at the time he killed Miss Klekamp died at 11 o'clock last night.
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The Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 November 1900, page 8
The funeral of Mrs. Charlotte Jolly, wife of the condemned murderer, John Jolly will take place tomorrow afternoon from her residence, corner Ninth and Boone streets, Newport Ky. Rev Schaefer will conduct the services and the remains will be interred at Evergreen Cemetery.
Friends of the Klekamp family assert that the death of Mrs. Jolly was due in fact to a scene enacted at the fated home while Jolly was being tried for the murder of his sister-in-law. Mrs. Jolly, on that day, was sitting in the room of her mother's house, when looking at the window shouted: "Look out, there he is coming again."
It was not an apparition, as was first supposed, but was Jolly, who had been compelled by law to accompany the jury, that body having expressed a desire to visit the scene of the shooting. From that day, Mrs. Jolly grew steadily worse until death relieved her of all pain on Thursday.