The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-10-15
M at.,,x oatW, - Ind and ;1ltssi ;,ltsss law :.
Somctimes Fulfilled. -
(Qnad.y.h nrsh ldtf {, living
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Boston, We're thrown into a state Of in'
tense excitemohtzbSy Qhs< discovery M)the
fiendish murder Of Mrs. Margaret Bing
ham. Tie lady Vas *1; very beautiful, SIpt
thirty years Of age, and the centre oof .
large circle Of admi,ipg friends. She was
The. widow Of the late samuel, r. ,Rinng.
ham, and daughter Of the latels Deacou
William R. Lovcjoy of Maverick Square
church., and lived with her widowed
niothcsrsand d d asistsr: sfG~1Sx=seT9A /
$ On the Day named she. vas missed npn
home. It was thought She lad gon,
calling, but when evening wore. on and
|she did not return, the family beccaln,
alarmed. The door leading to the cellar
was noticed ajar and Mrs. Bingham s
sister descended. On: the floor Of the
cellar a most sickening sight awaited her
gaze. There, stretched ON her back on
the damp cement, lay the sister corpse
The mouth and throat were crammed
with earth and gravel and the face was
covered with blood. Cracks in the &C.
mcnt betrayed the desperate struggle for
life which the victim had maintained with
her assailant.
The police were called in and attempt.
cd an investigation, but with little sue.
cess until two days had passed. Then a
man named Laughlin, saloon keeper OF
Salem, called upon the chief of detectives
and gave an important clue. He said
that while at his place Of business on the
preceding day, a tramp giving the name
Of Pembcrton had called and Sold him Tor
liquor, two rings, which from their in.
scription he believed to be the property
Of the murdered woman. 1t so proved.
The directory of Boston was called into
|requisition, and one George Pcmberton,
a plumber, found to live in Charlestown.
Accompanied by Laughlin, an officer hur.
ried to the place indicated and there took
the murderer into. custody. He mani.
tested no concern at the charge against
him and denied his guilt. A penkniCe
belonging to his victim was found about
his clothes, however, and with the other
damaging circumstances left little doubt
that he was the man for whom they
sought. The usual coroner's inquest
took place tie day following and several
Of Mrs. Bingham's neighbors appeared as
witnesses. They identified Pcmbtrton
as man who had called at their houses
on the fatal afternoon, bearing kit of
plumbers tools, and asked to look at tt G
water pipes to see iC they were in repair.
One John L. Webster,a gas filter, testified
that at one time the prisoner had worked
in his shop as journcyman: Laughlin
swore to the purchase of ring from
Das1oh oho~.f %h4
bearing the inscription, e''Sam to Margic,
and being one given to the murdered wo.
man by her husband on the day of their
engagement to be married. The jury at
once returned verdict duplicating Penn.
berton, and he was bound over to the Dis.
trict court. i
On the succeeding Friday the case was
called in the District court, and after a
preliminary examination the prisoner was
fully committed to Charles street jail for
murder. When asked if he thought he
had had fair show, he replied that he
had and that he supposed the
charge must be true, although
he recollected nothing of the
affair." His landlady asserted that for
some three morths proceeding the mur.
der he had kept late hours and appeared
to be drinking hard. This his mistress,
OF wife, denied, with the assertion that
on the Sabbath before the killing Of Mrs.
Bingham he had gone with her to DR..
Loriner's preaching at fremont Temple.
Upon being questioned closely, Pembcr.
ton finally acknowledged that on the
fatal day he visited Webster street.
The accused was arraigned before Judge
Pond Of the East Boston court, on March
26th, and attempted to plead not guilty,
but was unable to articulate. Finally he
managed to say that he waived cxamina.
ton, and he was then taken back to Jail
to await the action Of tho grand jury.
He was indicted on the 5thof April, and
tried at the May term. The facts out.
lined above were sworn TO-, and the;jury
returned ! ayyerdict$ $0f guilt vi Of murder in
the first degree. Mr.. Carlton, Pember.
toms attorney, made the usual motions
in arrest Of judgment, but they availed
nothing, and on the Goth Of June the
dread sentence of death was pronounced
by Chief Justice Gray. Pemberton be.
trayed no signs Of rcmorsc. ..~
He went back to jail to await his ter.
riblc doom with light step and a
smile. : His wife occasionally visited
him, ,,.a and to. her lie talked freely,
but apparently with noSregrets for what
he had done. He did not welcome other
visitors, and spent his time when not
occupied with his counsel or his wife,, in
reading and writing. lie made a bold
but unsuccessful attempt at suicide seme
weeks since.
;Pemberton was criminal from youth
up. At least, twenty-five years ago, he
was arrested (although then mere bow
for breaking into the church at Bradford
and -mutilating the pulpit and pouring
oil on the Bible. He served three terms
in the penitentiary for larceny, deadly
assault and burglary, and had just re-
turned from astwo years term, when he
murdered Mrs. Bingham. The woman he