Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-04-20
Ths Murder. d Lee. nIalus.

The Bangor Wing contains the confession Of
Marshall Potter, who murdered his aged mother
aud two brothers, and boy, his nephew, on
Wednesday night, last week, and then set tire
TO the house. II Is one ofthose horrible crimes
which from time to time occur in our quiet New
England towns, suTpssSing IN Atrocily any thing
we ever find In the cities among the worst por-
ton Of their heterogeneous population, The
villain is graduate Of the State Prison, and
has long been gn objeotO Of general aversion, and
distrusG Hiaobject IN committing these terrible
murders was to CRAFTY slight quarrel with his
mother, 80 years old, who thTestenad to deny
him further admissionto the house in eonse-
quenee Of his bad conduct, and also TO get pos.
session Of $500 which his brothers had by them,
aud Sl00 which his mother received few days
previous, her pension as the widow of a Tevolu.
tionary soldier. Ofhis own accord the wretched
man, Marshall Potter, made the following con
fession:-+ tH 3
81 am guilty came home about 10 o'clock
Wednesday night my mother was up; she told
me il was fne inns Of night to come home
One ofmy brothers told me had been over 10
Mr. Hanscoms and carried a bottle Of liquor
with me i told him thai l had not been there;
he told me that had; told him did not want
any more stuff from him, OF somelhing TO that
amount He told me then that II did not
keep still should 90 ont doors; ! told him
shouldn't 20 out / went out into the other
part Of the house and got a shingle maui, Ian
Instrument made Of hard wood, twelve inches
long and six in width and breadth, with a
handle about foot long in the end,) with
which took the lives OF them all. went in
and struck Alexander with the shihgle maui; l
| hit him in the face and on the head, and struck
him a number Of times. then struck Oliver
several times on the head and face; they neither
| Of them struggled afterI struek them; my moth
or came into the room aud got hold Of me-
swung round and struck her with the maui, aud
she fell she did not stTugglsi the candle was
setting on tho wood box by the aide Of the
stoye tipped Il of the box into the boz OF
shavings, the shaVinRs took FIRE, and ] did net
| try 70 pot tho fire out then left the house
and went out round H. 1 staid out round there
til it got pretty well afirei then went over 10
Mr. Hsnscom's called him up aud told him tne
house was burning up, aud ell there was IN IL,
he cot up, and he and went over; when we goa
there the house was pretty much burned
through; ] killed AloeTt, ,(his nephew, boy ten
years old); killed them all; / think didn't
strike Albert on the head; l struck him on the
side Of the face with the maui he didn't Strug.
gle then; heard him make noise aitsTWardsi
be was lying on tbs bed, but ] don't know "a be
was assspi don't know how the shavings
came in the box they were there before mother
was up and sitting by the stove when came
in; my two brothers were In bed; We had some
qusuelling before, but nothing but words,
The examination Of the mutilatod and ehaTTed
bodies confirms the account Of the manneT IA
which the murder was effected, even that Of th'
boy whose jaw and faceis horribly eraehsa.-
The murderer is as years Of age He shows M
particular signs Of feeling, but seems rather In
different than Otherwise,