Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-31
QD65llo Statesuralr,
from the Cincinnati Gazette, Dec. 29,1
THE SHAM DEATH AT LEBANON

MayOI of Eaton the Dead Mau---At-
| tempt TO Realize $4,000 on Life I'm
surance-.Arrest of ali the Parties to
the Fraud. Jer
All the facts and incidents connected
with the reported sudden death of man
near Lebanon, Ohio, and his hasty burial at
Eaton, seem to have come to light, and we
present them below in detail. The whole
affair reveals long premeditated plot of
fraud, Oh the part of heretofore respectable
citizens Of both Eaton and the vicinity of
Lebanon; and although the parties impli-
Dated may not be convicted of crime, their
criminal Intentions seem very strikingly
| manifest, and no one will envy them the
reputation they have made for themselves
in this matter. h gI DlsaG
On Monday, the 24th inst, man, who
gave his name as W.T.. McFadden, rode out
from Cincinnati in the omnibus driven by
Abner L. Ross, and got out aJ Frank Rich
ardson's, near Lebanon, having complained
of being sick on the way out. In the even
ing Frank Richardson went into Lebanon,
reported that McFadden had died of cholera
within twenty minutes after stopping at
his house, telegraphed Mary McFadden,
care of B. NJ. Batchelder, Eaton, that her
husband was dead, and bought coffin
which he took home with him. The under
taker wished to go with him and encoffin
the corpse, but his services were persistent
ly declined. 1t has been ascertained also
that Mr.. Richardson purchased some chlor-
ide of lime and peppermint drops, when lie
was in town after the coffin, the use of
which will appear in the sequel. :f7o
On Tuesday morning, when everybody
was supposed to be absorbed in Chrlstmas
festivities, Mr.. Richardson called in a few
neighbors as they supposed, to lay out the
corpse, but they found the coffin closed,
and they were only asked to help lift it into
a spring wagon. On asking to see the
corpse, their attention was directed to the
offensive smell coming from the coffin, and
warned of the danger of catchingthe chol-
era, and the lid was not removed.
DR.. N. S. Richardson, brother of Frank
Richardson, formerly Surgeon of the 18th
Ohio Cavalry, and a practicing physician
OF Eaton, was the only person present dur
ing the reported death OF McFadden. In
reference to his part in the affair, 1t is said
that on Monday he left Eaton with the de-
clared intention of meeting McFadden at
Lebanon, to close a contract for the sale to
him of tract of land in the West.
On Tuesday, DR.. Richardson returned to
Eaton, and stated that he met McFadden
according to agreement, but that immedi-
ately after his arrival upon an omnibus at
Frank Richardson's, he was taken Violent
ly i'll with an attack of cholera and died.
DIR. Richardson then engaged an under
taker to go to Lebanon with bearSe, to
bring the coffin containing the remains to
Eaton for interment. He also visited
clergyman, and requested him to hold
brief burial service ut the Methodist Epis
copal Church in the evening, which, owing
to other engagements, the minister was un-
able to perform. The undertaken started
for Lebanon, and when four miles beyond
Middletown met Frank Richardson, with
the coffin said to contain the corpse, in
spring wagon. The coffin was transferred
to the hearse, which was driven rapidly to
Eaton, r. NJ. Batchelder, who accompanied
the undertaken, urging him to apply the
whip. The coffin arrived in the evening,
about G o'clock, and DR.. Richardson, secur-
ing the assistance of three or four citizens,
had the supposed remains conveyed imme
diately to the burial ground and inferred.
A woman personating Mrs. McFadden
was present when the corpse arrived, and
was loud in her passionate cries to see her
dead husband; but the stencil from the cof-
fin aud the danger of contagion were urged
upon her, and the qualification of her wish
es was denied. .nef ...
On account of the suddenness of the re-
ported death, and the secresy with which
the corpse was encOffined and removed,
suspicion was aroused in the minds of the
citizens of Lebanon that there was some-
thing wrong in the affair. They telegraph
ed to parties in Eaton, and officer Waum-
pier and an assistant started over to Eaton,
with warrants to arrest DR.. Richardson and
Batchelder. They arrived about Midnight,
and learning the circumstances of the in
thair 5nio acfra Infh
ed, and they made the arrests. Early on
Wednesday morning the undertaken was
sent to disinter the remains. Upon OPEN
ing the grave it was found that other par
ties had preceded them; the coffin had been
broken open and its contents removed dur
ing the night. Here was more mystery,
which was not solved till DIR. Richardson,
seeing the plot would all come to light
sooner or later, made confession the same
day, to the Prosecuting Attorney, that Nc
Fadden held life insurance policy in favor
of his wife for $4,000; that Batchelder,
who is an agent for q life insurance COM
pany, McFadden and himself, had entered
into plot to publish McFadden's death,
whilst McFadden should secrete himself,
and thus secure the $20,000 which was to
be divided among them; that the coffin
contained broomcorn seed, which they had
the insurance companies institute search,
this evidence of their guilt would not exist.
The story was confirmed by finding the
broomcorn seed where DIR. Richardson said
he had deposited it. t sg
Where was McFadden? The statements
Of DIR. Richardson and Batchelder in re-
gard to his whereabouts were not satisfac-
tory. But during the day Mr.. Ross, who
drove the omnibus In which Nc Fadden rode
to Lebanon, arrived in Eaton, and in one of
the little crowds he met about town, talk
ing over the strange affair, he espied the
missing McFadden, and who should he
prove to be but his Honor the Mayor of
Eaton, Mr. ABBOTT. When charged by Mr..
Ross with being his late sick passenger, he
stoutly denied it, but on being taken into
the presence of DR.. Richardson he had
to give up Whether he has been arrested
or not we donot know. Frank Richard
son, however, was arrested, and in the same
spring wagon in which he drove away the
full coffin, he was compelled on Thursday
to ride backiwith the empty coffin, beside
an officer. AS the wagon wasdriven along
the streets of Lebanon an immense crowd,
mostly of boys, followed, crying out,
'Where's your broomcorn seed ?" whats
the price of broomcorn seedg' He and his
brother, the Doctor, and Batchelder, are
now lying in the Jail at Lebanon, waiting
further developments.
The Dayton Journal, in its account of this
affair, says: ~ t@sa
1T appears that policies for $4,000 ,in-
surance in the Mutual Benefit Life Insur-
auce Company of Brooklyn of which B.
M. Batchelder, of Eaton, was agent for that