The Portland daily press., 1873-04-02
A Fearful Crime,

The Boston Journal gives the following ac-
count of the terrible crime which was briefly
noticed in the telegraph yesterday:
Daniel S. Marsh was arrested Monday after
noon in Cha rlegtown for the murder of his own
son. an fnTant of nine months, and after his in
carceration at the station house he confessed to
committing the deed aud the manner in which
it was accomplished.
1t appears that on the first of September.
1871, the body of male infant some nine
months old was found on the dumps in the real
of the State Prison The body was taken to the
police station and a coroner's inquest was held,
but the authorities did not succeed in findinn
out the parents of the infant. There were some
peculiar marks about the body and upon its
face which caused it to be distinctly remember
ed.
Time passed on, and the matter faded from
the minds of the officers. On Monday wo-
man visited the office of Chief of Police. and
informed Offer Knox that Mrs. Agnes Marsh.
who resided at No. 80 Princeton street, had
living with her about eighteen months ago an
infant. and that about that ii ne her husband
left her taking the child with him, to board out
as he said. The parties at that time were living
in Leverett street Boston. a.-,s
From the description which the woman gave
of the infant Officer Knox was convinced that
the one found upon the dumps was the one
which he had taken away at the time men ion
ed by the woman. He therefore visited the
Marsh woman, who now lives on Princeton
street in Charlestown, and from her obtained !,
description of her infant at the time il was
taken away by her husband, which Tailed ex-
actly with that of the wait found drowned
She also informed the officer that her husband
was living in Cambridge aud employed by the
Lowell Railroad Corporation. -
Chief of Police Ayers and Officer Knox pro.
ceeded to hunt up the man, and finally found
him at work at the freight station of the above
mentioned corporation in Boston. He was TAX
EN- into custody. AMI last evening, in the pres
ence OF the officers confessed to having done
the horrible deed and gave his motives for the
Inhuman act. Ha had been married to his wife
for few years and had experienced considera-
BILE trouble with her, she preferring to live with
her mother rather than with him. She and
her mother were in the habit of neglecting the
child, which was afterwards murdered, and
another which has since died, and on the even.
ing in which he took the infant away his moth
er-in-law told him to take the babe and pro-
vide for it some way. He took the unconscious
child from the house between nine and ten
o'clock, wrapped it in its little cloak and hat,
and proceeded to the Fitchburg railroad bridge
Here. he says, he remained some five minutes
as to what course he should pursue,
and finally made up his mind to drown his own
son, thinking, as he said last evening, that it
would be better off, He then removed the
oa9 pap outer clothing, and after tying the arms
threw it into the river, aud next dav the hodyy
was found as above stated '
A day or two later he took the cb;ld,s c1o.l
and bat back to the mother, informing her that
he had found good place for it. and az H. 'r,'
man had plenty of clothing he had brou@bt
back the clothes. Since this time he b.s se.l
arated from his wife, who has had her susn;-
cions aroused that the child adj been disposed
of in a manner other than that indicated by