The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1874-08-07
A BOY VAMPIRE.
a Boston Hoy who Kills and Mutt
lntes children The Most Reuuarkn-
BILE Case On Record-E0ects of Pre-
natal Influence.


natal Influence.
jesse Pomeroy, a boy fourteen years
old. is now in jail In Boston, where he was
confined On charge of numbering com
panion. named Mellen, In April last. He
has confessed that he murdered the boy.
Since his arrest. another and still more
horrible crime which he committed has
become known, the particulars OF which
are related below:
In March last little Katie Curran, living
with her parents In South Boston, disap-
peared and no trace of her could be dis
covered by the best detective talent. Her
gong away was "A mystery likely never To
be solved. But she went away before the
arrest of Jesse Pomeroy for murder, and
after that event there were some suspicious
that Jessie had something TO do with Katie
Curran's disappearance. But it was all
dark-black as the heart of the "boy fiend
itself A few DAYS ago some workmen
clearing out cellar of house in South
Boston, came upon skeleton-with some
female garments attached to tin pile Of
ashes. Ii WIS the cellar of the house In
which Mrs. Pomeroy and her two sons,
Charles and Jesse. lived and kept store
when Katie Curran disappeared. The
finding of the skeleton called to mind.
first. the fact that Jesse Pomcroy had lived
in that house and, next, that the remains
might be those of Katie Curran, so long
sought and never found. Katie Curran's
mother identified parts of the clothing
found on the remains as belonging To her
lost daughter. Now suspicion became
stronger than ever that Jesse Pomeroy
knew something about the disappearance
of the girl. He had shown that he was
capable of committing the most barbarous
ar Inn .fl ar Il laid af
his door. His mother and her other son
were arrested upon suspicion that they
might know something of this horrible
affair, ms the body had evidently been de-
posted I'm the cellar while the Pomeroys
lived in the house. They however deny
all knowledge Of il.
THE BOYS CONFESSION.
At the COroner's inquest upon the re-
mains of Katie Curran, Chief of Police
Savage testified:
After at first denying all knowledge o
the murder. Jesse Pomeroy finally con-
fessed TO me as follows: SAT 1880 o'clock
on the morning of the 18th of March. |
opened the store and ,eriormcd my work:
the Curran girl came in and asked me for
some papers told her there Were some
down stairs she went down; locked the
door of the shop and went down after her:
left arm around her neck. stopped her
mouth with my left hand and cut her
throat with my jack-knife; then drew
the body over to the water-closct and
placed it behind the same, with the head
furthest away from me: | then threw
stones and ashes on her; got the ashes
from box in the cellar; | sent a boy 10
the store of lioyt a Lawrence some time
before the murder and he bought the
knife for me for - cents the knife was
taken frem when was arrested in April.
When | was i'm the cellar | heard my
brother at the outside door of the store
trying to get in +; washed my hands and
the bloody knife at the water pipe and let
my brother into the shop he was going
toward Mitchell's store, suppose. to get
into the cellar that way do not know
why did it /; | couldn't help doing il I; the
two girls that worked for mother came
about $50 or 8 o'clock. and mother came
later; brother Charles and took turns in
opening the store; mother and brother
knew nothing of this
THE REASON FOR PoMERoY's MANIA.
Ever since young Pomeroy was first ar
rested. and the story told about his tor
turing number Of children I'm Chelsea
and South Boston. people have been curl
Gus TO know why IL was that he did such
things. or what prompted him TO such
acts of cruelty and inhumanity. All
sorts of explanations have been given by
people who were more or less conyersant
with the habits of the boy, but nothing
that was in the least satisfactory or In any
way bordering upon the scientific has ever
been given to the public. As fact init
mately connected with what follows, we
will state that when the boy Jesse was
first brought before Judge Forsaith. one
OF his victims went in and told the court
his story as to how Jesse bad whipped him
aud pricked him on the body and arms
with his knife. Judge Forssith turned to
Jesse and asked him. "Jes e, did YOU do
as the little boy saysy''
Yes, SIR" answered jesse
"Why did you do SOP" asked the
Judge.
81 don't know, your Honor, only n
couldn't help IL. had 10 10 IT,"
lie had to do it, and whyg Here il at
least partial explanation Of why he had
to be- thus cruel, or could not help tortur-
ing children.
Directly after tins Investigation. a party
of three well-known physicians. who were
anxious to learn all they could about the
boy, called upon his mother and had very
pleasant and candid interview with her
They told her their errand, and she kindly
gave them all the information in her power.
Among other things, she said that her
husband was butcher, and that during
her pregnancy she went daily to the
slaughter-house to witness the killing of
the animals, and that somehow she took
particular delight in seeing her husband
butcher the sheep, the calves and the cattle,
and not unfrequently she assisted him In
his bloody work. She also said that after
Jesse was born, and became old enough to
have "A knife in his hands. he was all the
time. when opportunity offered, jabbing
knife into pieces of meat, and, when still
older and about his fathers market, he did