Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-10-09

] into back door. W ebt up stdifs nnu iOuuu
much suioke; W hitting and brought water;
/ there was 50 much smoke that he couldn {
yet into Mrs Freezes room; door opened
INTO ball; in another room was much fire;
| went into this room, where there
were two trunks and clothes-line; | never
got into her room at all; | saw Whiting
outside afterwards; he said he got up on
ladder and saw her body in her room and
saw Eer legs burn off objected tol; her
room was over the kitchen; | was In the
kitchen; the lath was burned through 10
the ceiling. Whiting and took long pole
and pushed il through the burnt ceiling
and brought down the remains; l saw
cuts on tie neck Of body; | got an axe
/ from the garden and helped to knock down
the woOdshed. the back door was open when
We went in; WeScott. Whiting and myself
went in together; the yard back OF house
was sWampy and not cultivated; am some
acquainted with Phair; worked with him
in Mansfield and StimsOn' no knowledge
that be visited Mrs Freeze; he came to the
shop in May last: passed Mrs Freeze 5
house the night before at FIVE minutes past
ten: saw nothing uncommon there; | saw
papers living on road next morning that
we're not there the night before; my atten-
ZION was first called to fire about hali-past
six in morning.
RUTLAND. Sept. 90.
AFTERNOON.
At the coming in of the court in the after
noon the examination Of John Jordan was
resumed:
Direct Saw Mr. Phair going past my
place about two weeks before; never saw
hin going toward Mrs. Freese's; saw him
coming from there about : a. n. Sunday
morning June 7
Cros.-e1aminaticn Didn't see Phair
come out of Mrs. Fr.ese's house; saw him
about 60 rods away from her house; Mrs.
Presses house was a story and a half
Abraham Whiting sworn At the time
OF the burning Of Mrs Freese house !
lived about so rods of. discovered the FIRE
while Wa buiidIng fire for breakfast.
" hen | got there | iouud the front door
locked, vent around the back way aud
went IN: the hack door was shut but not
fastened, went up stairs; the door 10 the
front rom was open; the door to the back
room vas shut, bur punched i. open with
piece ui board; could see around by
lying d,Nn on the Aonr. then | went up
on the ladder and looked IN the window;
could see the limbs drop off as we stood
there. the bed stood IN recess about
halt way acro,, the partition; there
seemed 10 be- heap of Clothes on
tie hady. 50 that the lower limbs
were b.sucd more than the trunk;
We then got rail, AID punched up through
the floor tlll The car~pe cropped down We
then t0Ik Il up aud put 1t outside under
table, noticed some sears on her neck as
We were taking il out. was present when
DIS A.en and Mead arrived. there were
400 or $50 persons present altogether; did
not kr1W Phuii: never saw hun as | know
OF, there va DO fire below; when | first
went ia could see nothing but smoke, saw
tie lover limb, drop of, the foot OF the
bed laid On the floor; the bed was on an in
cline.
Charles McCarty, sworn: Saw the fire
early in the morning: there was nobody
ahead Of me; rang the bell; no smoke was
then visible; found no FIRE in the lower part
OF the house; tue door OF the house was
CLOSED but not barred; nothing suspicious
Ia the hail; saw her bat on the rack; went
up stairs; could not get into the front
room; there was DO FIRE on the floor of The
front room; went after ladder and put up
to the window; could see her on the bed;
IN about inmate her lower limbs dropped
of; after We had gotten out all the iurni
ture We went over to Mr.. keenan's house
aud helped him; was not acquainted with
Phair; on Thursday before saw hin go by
my house with Mrs. Freese in a covered car
rage; saw him at another time going in
the direction OF Mrs. Freese's house; it was
just before the evening performance OF the
circus; another man was with him, whom
| did not know.
{. H. Mathews, sworn: Was at the
burning Of Mrs Freese house saw the re-
mains before the doctors got there noticed
that the corpse had been hsggled up like
piece Of meat; all the doors in the lower
part Of the house were taken of and carried
away; found key in one OF the lower doors
and carried it Of. produced key of
door marked with spots, apparently blood J
CroSs-examined The top Of Mrs. Freese's
head was not all burned off; it was smashed
in.
Patrick ROurke, sworn: Am fifteen wears
old; saw Mr.. Phair at Mrs. Freese's Thurs
day afternoon; be took her out to ride; Sat-
urdsy night before the fire | saw him going
up town with her.
John Keenan,, sworn In June last lived
next door to Mrs. Freese never saw Phsir
going to Mrs. Freese's.
CrCss-examinod Have saw other men
60 there during the day and night; saw Mr..
Lsnd1n 90 by that morning.
GcOrke ". Wesc0tt, sworn: Was at the
FIRE; got there ct 6:45;there were two other
men there; when We went into the house the
fire seemed to be up stairs; could not
breathe up stairs except when lying down
on the floor; made my way to the rear of
the room but could not breathe and had to
come out; went alter my ladder, and when
| came back they had got where they could
see the remains; shortly after they called
out that she had fallen through; another
man LANDED the corpse out with hook and
fs.fA . .. 4 L -
out one side; lived twenty rods from the
house; never knew either Mrs. Freese or
John p. Phair.
Cross examined: The hook was fixed for
drawing water; made Of strap iron; they
rolled the body along with this hook; don't
know " here II touched the corpse; did not
stick into 1t anyw here; just rolled 1t along
Dora Wilson, sworn; Lived with Mrs.
Free>e from January 5 to 10 last OF March,
1874. up stars there were two chambers
and closet. the latter over The hall the
bed stood in al alcove at the back part Of
the room; that was her lodging room; no one
lived with her beside myself; she had no
rszlr there; she bad a watch and chain,
three rings and one set Of jewelry-earrlngs
ard hres>tpin; she had enc cameo ring, one
pearl ring with garnet setting. and one
erased ring; the latter she never took off
her finger; she had generally about 500
about her person; her watch was gold with
five diamonds in back; three of them gone;
the chain was long and had crUs. which
could be used as key; she gave part
OF the shawl; it was once a whole shawl; |
cut 1t IN two. and kept half until Mr..
Thornton called for il, the shawl was black,
with Paisley border. Two shawls were
then shown witness. and she matched them
together, and identified one part as her own
aud the other as Mrs. Freese's. Witness
was shown the watch, chain and case, and |
swore that they were the ones formerly |
owned by Mrs Freese; also she pointed out |
the rings when some were handed her; two |
of them she identifrd) She had also six |
teaspoons and two tablespoons, the former |
marked IA E. Stover,' her former name.
Cross xamined-The spot on the shawl |
was made by acid there was closet in her |
room. wine closet; she kept supply of |
wine on hand | was acquainted with her |
only a week or two when | went to live |
with her ; had been living with Mary Del |
ply since November woald not be posi- |
i've how many gentlemen had been there |
tlemen called on her. They never staid |
over night never staid late at night they |
made the same kind of calls that they would |
make ri any other respectable houss.
DIR. Charles l. Allen Am a practising |
physician in Rutland; was called by the |
town Authorities to make an examination of |
the body found at No 80 Forest street |
Frank Billings went with me; we found In |
the lot on board under q table the remains |
OF human being one limb was entirely |
sone of the other only fragment remain
ed the body was generally present the
head was badly burned the hole in :. pre-
sentcd ragged edges. as if the bone had been
broken after death; there was rent on the |
top OF the head where the brain protruded
the nose was burned considerably the
cheeks were well preserved there were
traces Of hair on the face there WAS some
hair on one temple the neck was simply |
blackened it was sound except that there |
was q cash under the chin severing the
uindpipe on the neck were four punctured |
wounds, probably made with double-edged
knife.
The doctor then described tho wounds
Tia Oash ~na unada h>fova ths h<,Hv -. -