The Portland daily press., 1867-01-26

ARREST OF THE SUSPECTED MURDERER.


Itis believed that at last the murderer of
the unfortunate women III rest Auburn has
been discovered and arrested. The most i'm
portant facts in relation to the matter appear
to be as follows. On Thursday, Jan. 18th. at
about p. NJ, man supposed to be
Frenchman, called at house in West Minot,
about o miles from the point where the muir
der was committed, and begged for something
to eat. lady opened the door, to whom he
represented that he had travelled % miles,
and was faint with hunger Noticing blood
stains on wrists and wristbands, and
shocked at his brutal appearance, she
asked him to leave and declined to give
him food. He persisted, and was at length, adj
mitted to the house. He ate like a famished
man, everything that was put before him. anu
afterwards left and went on. He had come
from the direction of West Auburn. From
this point he proceeded on the road to Minot
Corner. and is next heard from at Mr.. Wat
sons a mile from where he took his lunch
Here he begged to stay all night and his re-
quest was granted. He was observed at one
time to turn his back toward a man who came
into the house as though he did not wish his face
to be seen The family wished him to 90 To
bed, but he refused, slept on a mattress on the
kitchen floor, and refused to remove his clothes
The blood stains were noticed here Also. Fri
day night he stopped at Cyrus Kings, some
two miles from the house where he spent
Thursday night. .s,.5.. lf.-t. L. .-.ts.
These facts becoming known posse of ofic-
GERS at once set out in pursuit. The particulars
OF the pursuit and capture we copy from the
Lewiston Journal
Deputy Keen of Mechanic Falls left this city
at 2P. NJ, Thursday and proceeded to West
Minot. On the way his horse ran away and
broke up the sleigh, but he got another sleigh
and pushed on, reaching Minot Corner in
about an hour. Here he obtained faint des-
cription OF the supposed murderer. re- az
Pushing to these points where he stopped
Thursday and Friday nights he obtained more
full details OF his appearance, tracked him,
night after night, to Mr.. Tobie's in New Glouces-
ter, IL miles from Kings Hence he tracked him
to Gloucester Corner where he was ably assisted
by the people of that section, till, at last, he
pounced upon man precisely answering the
description of the West Minot party. The
prisoner attempted to resist Deputy Keen's
arrest but was secured without much diff
Guilty, and at once brought to Auburn, and
at z IL o'clock was thrown into the first cell of
the lower tier in Auburn jail. He Was very
hungry and ate with avidity.
The prisoner is a foreigner and gives conflict
ing accounts of himself. He is most strange
and brutal man, in appearance. He is about
put together, weighing perhaps 100 pounds. u
He was clothed in rags when discovered, but
on reaching the Jail, the prisoner was imme di-
ately stripped and decent clothing put upon
him. He has a most beastly looking face, and
ford complexion. He has not been told any
thing concerning the crime. His eye is small
and dark, and rolls uncomfortably in its socket,
| it being seemingly impossible for him to fix it
| on any point. His hair is dark and curly and
| the top of lis head is bald His head is large
and his face is concealed among shaggy whis-
kers, and his mouth by dirty moustache. He
is evidently a powerful man, and has one of the
| most wicked eyes we have ever seen.
The prisoner talks mostly in negatives and
Alternatives, and hardly opens his mouth when
he speaks, so that it is not easy to understand
him.. But in somewhat prolonged interview
with him he stated the following:
came from Vergennes, France; am 40 years
old; speak French; lived six months in Mon.
treal: lived two years in New York; have been
have no friends in this country; my name ID
Charles Fretchie; have been in these parts two
weeks, looking for work: never been in Lewis
ton; work in one place or another; don't know
the place; don't know who i worked for in
Montreal; have travelled 25 or 30 miles in two
weeks; snow SO deep, hard walking; haven't
any money; man didn't pay me that worked
for; don't know what I'm arrested for; have
brothers and sisters and father and mother il
Switzerland; had letter from them a Ions
time ago when was at st. Victor, G. E.; dom,
know where they were in Switzerland Thi'
account was got out of him by a Ct ries of ques
sible. 80 80
we then began to hint darlrly at the murde,
| and here his uneasiness, excitement and want
of self-commaud were such as to be most mark.
ed. His answers and conversation were mere
mass of confessions and denials, but we give
| substantially the conversation as it passed:
"What did you strike that woman with the
chair for?" a.9sl .sa
"Didn't you see that other woman who saw
you strike herr?
mo; dikn't see the other one;" and he trem
bled SO violently that we asked him if he wa!
cold,
70, no, Tn not cold"
What made you strike the woman with thu
chair?" =
"Me no strike noting"
"Didn't you call at house where some wo
ms aHy were early one mornings"
"Was it before or after the snow?"
didn't you build up fire after you went in
to,the house where the women were? IA
mo, me no build any fire."
After you went in there what did you strike
the women with chair for?" t'' il
mo, me no do it," 3ift
Before you went to the house where the
women were, didntyou call at another house
and ask man to let you in, and didn't you try
to shove up the Window"
Yes, asked man to let me in-me don't
| know noting about it." 81
He was then piled with further questions as
| to why he struck the woman with the chair
when he got very excited and talked in an in
| coherent manner. Isl la
| "What did you do on the day of the storm ?''
walked on the road" Il FL
"Where?" fi. ID H
Don't know the place." .5-l!.. .gs-l.t
Here he commenced shaking again. but he
declined putting blanket over hun, and said
he was not cold He folded his arms and drew
them together, rolling himself up in wild and
painful manner His livid eyes wandered all
over the cell, wildly, and rolled in their SOCK
cts like balls of fire. A more terrible-looking
object in human shape we never saw before.
That this man was in the vicinity of the MUIR
der at the time of its preparation is certain,
his whole appearance is suspicious but the
condition of his clothing furnishes terrible evil
dence against him. 1t was mass of rags, and
the stains of blood upon it were unmistake cable.
1t will be remembered also that man tried to
get into Mr.. Libby's house early on the morn
| ing of the murder. This mans tracks in the
snow are about the size of the prisoners boot,
and what is important, they appeared to be
tracks of a boot which had no heels The pris-
oner's boots have no heels
is.3 Matters at the S.afe Capital. IFS
l Correspondence OF t. Q Prcss.l . DOL.