Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1860-08-17


About fifty witnesses were successiycly
examined but as they were only corrobor-
atiye Of each other, all tenaiag to prove the
leading facts, and too voluminous for this
brief sketch, none but the principal testi-
mony will here be introduced
Thomas johnson, being sworp, said-I
was neighbor to the Boorns and Cclvin !;
in the early part of the month of May,
seven years ago last Spring, I saw one
morning Stephen Boorn, Jesse Bcorn, Rus
sell Colvin, picking up stones; they ap-
peared to be in quarrel; | bad full view
of them, although they could not see me !;
l have never seen Russell SINCE Stephen
said he Ras not in the field picking stones
at the time Celvin went off, but that he
went off at that time jesse, while in pris-
on, told me that he was assisting in shoeing
horse when ColYin went off; Stephen
said the woodehuck they had for dinner the
day Colyin went off was killed by him
when mending fence for Mr.. Hammond
Having purchased the land where this
quarrel took place, the children found and
brought home an old, moldy, rotten bat J;
knew it to be the hat of Russell Colvin !;
in the eellar-ho,e stood thrifty apple tree,
about three feet high, which was taken
away the season after noticed it.
Lewis CGlvin Ison of Russell Colvin)
said that at the time Colvin went off he
was picking stones with him and Stephen
and Jesse Boorn; that quarrel arose be-
tween Stephen and Colvin; and Colvin
struck Stephen first that Stephen knock
ed Colyin down with club, and that he
(the witness) ran away, and say no blood
that Stephen told him not to tell that he
struck Colyin; and that he has never seen
Colvin since.
4 Truman Hill stated that he had the key,
of the prison in which the Boorns were
imprisoned; that he exhorted Jesse to tel
the truth, and that if he told falsehood i
would increase his trouble that he con
fessed that he was afraid that Stephen haC
murdered Colyin, and that he believed h,
knew very near where the body was buried
that when the knife and the hat of Colvil
were shown him, he was much agitated
He said he urged jesse TO confess nothing
J but the truth.
|
I Sally Colgin, wife of Russell Colyin, an,
sister TO the Boorns, stated that about fou
years previous, Stephen said he knew tba
) Colyin was dead.
! Daniel d. Baldwin, and Mrs. Baldwi
: to the same effect, said that about thre
! years before Stephen told them that Colyi
: went off in a strange manner into tn
woods, at the time he {Jesse Colvin) an,
Lewis were picking up stones that Levi
: had gone for drink, and when he aske,
5 them where Colvin was gone, one answere,
"Gone to helr' the other "that they ha
put him where potatoes would not freeze
Numerous witnesses testified to that con
] Trajectory declaration of the Boorns in re
5 gard to the disappearance or death Of Col
$ vim; but the testimony of Silas Merrill, +
the confession of Jesse Boorn, was perhap
the most extraordinary feature of the triaI
He testified that as jesse was returned (
. prison from time to time from the Court Q
{ Inquiry, that he had been urged to confess
: that one night, in the prison, they got W
a and Jesse said that Stephen knocked Col
Y vim down twice, broke his SKULL and ih
e blood gushed out; that his father came u
there several times, and said ''d--n him.
@ that all three of them took the body an
!. put it into the old cellar, where father Gu
, his throat; that he knew the .iackDife to b
Colvin's; that Stephen wore Coivin's shoes
/ that about a year and a half after the
:. took the bones up, put them under bar
4 that was burned, then pounded them u
and 1urg them into the river; that fathc
: put some of them into an old stump, &c.
. Much evidence was introduced wlie
. was rejected by the Court as being irreve
$ liant. The case was given to the Jury, al
| ter short, judicious and impressive charg
a by his Honor, Judge Doolittle, which wa
# followed by lengthy and appropriate on
It by the Hon. Judge Chase. The Jury re
: tired, and within about one hour returned
' and in compliance with request of Nj
: Skinner they were seyerally inquired Q
A whether they had agreed upon verdict
/ and each agreed that they had found bot
of the prisoners guilty of the murde
0 charged against them. The verdict va
i then publicly read by the clerk. After
short recess, his Honor, Judge Chase, witt
the most tender and sympathetic emotion
which he was unable to suppress, pro
: nounced the awful sentence, that the crimi
nails be remanded back to prison, and tha
. on the 2Sth day of January, between tn
hours of 10 and o'clock. they should b.
hung by the neck till they were dead
Praying the Lord to have mercy on thei
/ souls.
None can express the confusion aud an
guish into which the prisoners were cas-
on hearing their doom. They requeste'
~