Worcester daily spy., 1858-04-03

HORRIBLE CoNFBsSIoN.-Ihe st. Louis
Republican publishes in full the confession of
George H. Lamb of Mendoza, Illinois, who
last December murdered his wife. Sarah S.
Stafford, by drowning her in the Mississippi
river, short distance below St. Louis. 1t
displays cold blooded cruelty on the part of
the murderer which is rarely equalled. and
fairly makes ones blood curde on reading it.
Lamb induced his wife to leave Hamilton.
Illinois, where she was staying with her faith
er, by telling her that he wished 10 take her
south to spend the winter They arrived at
st. Louis the last week in November, and
stopped at the Astor House. We COPY
Lambs narrative of what followed:
While there my wife was unwell | had
Drs. Christopher and Washington attending
her. Her sickness was caused by my giving
her poison The poison was strychnine. l
gave it to her at least twice, and may have
given it 10 her thrice, but cannot say positive
ly. gave it to her for the purpose of killing
her. She made SO much noise in the spasms
that It alarmed Mr.. Norp and wife, who
came to our room aud insisted that l should
send ior physician. That was the cause of
my sending at different times for the doctors
! wished to allay any suspicion of Norp and
wife as to what l had done Each Of the
physicians prescribed for her, at different
times, and l gave her the medicine.
she was confined to her bed for about two
weeks from the effects Of poison. On the
18th of December | told Josiah Mover of
what had done and meant to do, and he
agreed to help me. He took my baggage and
that of my wife from the Astor House to his
lodgings on Broadway. On the afternoon of
the same day l told my wife ] was going to
Carondelet, and she agreed to 90. We left
the Astor House in a'baggsge wagon. We
went to the lower ferry she sat in a room in
the wharf boat while | went to look for n skifF
which l had before purchased. | had en- =
gagged two boys whose names do not know.
to brn the skif to me from the dry dock. |
bought it for seven dollars We remained
about an hour at the landing. The BOYS then
came up with the skif. Josiah Mover was at
the landing to see us start, and was to have
gone with us, but he and l thought it would
not be necessary. My wife and got into the
skitf | rowed down the river and stopped
below the steamboats, about fifty rods, at the
foot of street built out into the river, and
then landed She asked me the reason.
told her it was to get a rock 10 ballast the
boat | did not tell her my real object.
which was to get a rock to sink her body IN
the river l called two boys who brought to
me two rocks, weighing from ten to twelve
pounds each. We then again started. We
vent by an island without trees, on the Mis-
souri, side. l did not see Carondelet. We
went down till we were about half-w past
the island on the east side, about forty. five
yards from the shore. [ then laid my oars in
the boat, seized hold of my wife by the back
of the neck with my right hand, and pushed
her head down under the water l held il
there about a minute or longer. Then l lift.
ed her partly out Of the water, and found she
was dead. took off her two shawls and
bonnet, and tied some twine two or three
times around a stone and attached the other
end to her neck. l then lifted the rock over
the skiH and let it down into the water, slip.
ping the cord through my hands till it was
all out. then threw the body into the river
and the weight Of the rock carried it down
| instantly"
The reason given by Lamb for thus making
way with his wife, is that he was sure he
could not live happily with her. On the 3Oth
of December he was again married to wo.
man whom he had been intimate with both
before and after marrying Miss Stafford, and
his connection with this woman was doubt.
less the motive OF his murderous deed.