On This Date in Minnesota History: November 9

November 9, 1905 – Mrs. Stella Brenna, accused of murdering three of her four stepchildren, was indicted today by the coroner’s jury of the murder of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Brennan, her oldest stepdaughter. For brevity’s sake, this inquest dealt only with Lizzie’s death, the first child to die of her wounds.

Tommy Brennan, the only surviving Brennan child, told the jury what he remembered from that night. His shattered jaw bandaged, he wore a new suit and shoes purchased for him by his stepmother the day before the murders.

Tommy Brennan¹

The boy repeated the story he told officers the day of the murder: how Mrs. Brennan stood beside the couch where he’d been sleeping and told him to look out the window for a man standing on the shed roof, and how he was shot through the jaw as soon as he did so.

Upon questioning by Assistant County Attorney Elmer Gray, Tommy admitted that his stepmother was “jealous of all of us, but not as much of me as the others.”

Captain George H. Smith of engine company No. 16, the first man to enter the rooms after the tragedy, told of the horrendous scene that confronted him. Lizzie lay dead in bed between Arthur and Alice, who were still alive but near death. Stella Brennan lay on the bed in the front room beside Tommy and was repeatedly praying “O, God, have mercy on me.”

Captain Smith also stated that when he entered the rooms, they were so full of powder smoke that the dimly burning oil lamp could barely be seen. The odor of the powder was suffocating.

W. G. Farmer, who lives with his wife on the first floor below the Brennans’ rooms, testified that he heard three shots in quick succession and then two more shortly thereafter.

When Detective Edward Helin arrived at the Brennans’ house shortly after the shooting, all the windows were down and locked and the shades were drawn.  The windows were sound and no shot had been fired through any of them.

Mrs. Brennan had told Helin that she looked from the kitchen window and saw a man sitting on the woodshed. However, the woodshed cannot be seen from the kitchen window.

When first questioned by Detective Helin, Mrs. Brennan said she thought it was Mr. Brennan who had done the shooting, but later corrected her statement, saying he would not stoop to such a thing. She next said it might have been Tommy, but again retracted her statement. Finally, she said she said she had seen a man standing at the end of her bed; he was small and had a sallow complexion, and it was he who shot her. She claimed to know nothing more about the case.

Stella Brennan²

At the conclusion of the testimony, the jury retired for five minutes and then returned with their decision to indict.

If her physicians find that Mrs. Brennan is well enough to stand the shock, the jury’s verdict will be communicated to her. The detectives did not tell her the results of the inquest when they took the wounded boy back to the hospital.

Mrs. Brennan’s aged father died last Monday night at the family home in Pullman, Mich., of paralysis. His daughter was not told of his death until Wednesday evening. She seemed to be broken-hearted at the news, and asked if she was well enough to go home to the funeral.

Mrs. Brennan’s mother and other relatives are besieging police headquarters with letters asking for the truth about the case.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Murder Charged to Mrs. Brennan. Coroner’s Jury Sifts Facts Regarding Shocking Tragedy on North Side. Surviving Boy Comes Bandaged to Inquest—What Prompted Verdict.”; Nov. 9, 1905; p. 1 & 2

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Blamed. Coroner’s Jury Brings in Verdict Charging Stella Brennan with Murder. Wounded Boy Tells Story Favoring Mother. Edward Helin Says Faces of Children Were Burned With the Powder.”; Nov. 9, 1905; p. 7.

¹Minneapolis Journal; Nov. 20, 1905.

²The Minneapolis Tribune; Dec. 31, 1905.


Murder of three Brennan children while they slept; oldest son and stepmother shot; see Nov. 4, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan indicted by Hennepin County grand jury for murder of her three stepchildren; see Nov. 21, 2015 blog
County Attorney outlines the state’s theory of the Stella Brennan murder case in his opening statement; see Dec. 19, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan spends Christmas in hospital room of the Hennepin County Jail; see Dec. 25, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan Found Guilty; sentenced to the State penitentiary for life; admits she is in a family way; see Dec. 30, 2015 blog
Daughter is born to Stella Brennan in Stillwater State Prison; see July 26,2016 blog

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