Connecticut western news., 1876-01-07
A Curious Incident.


 N. H., was the scene of great excite4 ment, caused by most atrocious mur- der, perpetrated by the keeper of a public house, awealthy 8 citizen being the victim. a.
 A man named Walter Haywood, a wealthy merchant from an adjoining county, had occasion to visit Rocking4 ham, and put up at public house called "The Adams" kept by Samuel Finley. At this house MT. Haywood met a couple of old friends, with whom he took supper, and passed the greater portion of the evening with them, dis cussing the weather, business and poli- tics, and in the course of the ;conversa- tion MT. Heywood made known the fact that he then had on his person the sum of $3, 600 in cash. The evening passed pleasantly, and about nine o'clock MT. Haywood excused himself, and retired!
 About half past ten his two friends also retired, occupying doub1e-bedded room on the second floor Shortly after midnight one of them was aroused by g quick, stihed cry, which so alarmed him that he woke his companion. They listened, and could distinctly hear the moans of some one evidently in great distress, and quietly following in the di- rection of the sonnd, they soon found the room from which it proceeded, the door of which was ajar, and on looking in they saw person weltering in bis blood on the bed, and another man standing over him, with dark lantern in one hand, and knife, dripping with blood, in the other. To their great hor1 TOT they recognized the murdered man as their companion of the evening, while the man with the murderous weapon was | their host. E SA
 They. instantly seized and disarmed | him, and charged him with the crime. He denied it stoutly, said that he too. had been aroused by the struggle and the groans, and had entered the room in order to afford his guest any aid it might be in his power to extend. On entering, he said he found the bloody knife lying upon the threshold, and had picked it up, as it lay directly under his feet. | These assertions were of no avail, and the man was handel oyer to the au- thorities, and lodged in jail to await trial. In due time his trial came off, and on the presentation of the above facts, he was convicted, and in due time executed. zs2
 MT. Finley asserted his innocence throughout, and reiterated it from the gallows, in 8 speech to the multitude gathered to witness his execution. Not withstanding this, he was generally be- ieved guilty, and his punishment re- garded as just.
 After his death letter was found in his cell, addressed to the attending clergyman, which read as follows:
 REV. HENRY LowRY.-Dear Sir |: h. closed is 8 sealed envelope, which I de- sire you to take possession of, and not break the seal until Charles Finley, my son bymy first wife (and my only sur viving relative), who isnow in feeble health, is no more. Then open the package, and let the contents be made public. It is my earnest wish that you accept the trust, and see that my object is attained. To provide for the possi- bility of your death before that of my son, suggest that you leave directions ill your will to have the package, ill case of your death, handed over to the judge of the county court, with instructions similar to those given you.
 | Es~ ~ SAMUEL FINLEY.
 When it became known that such a paper had been left, everybody thought it contained 8 confession of guilt, and for time there was the keenest curiosity felt in it's contents. Of course, it was not gratifed, and in few years the crime, the mufderer, and the mysterious document were all forgotten.
 Six years after his fathers execution, Charles Finley died, aud the long-look- ed-for document was published in the county paper. It is too long to insert here, but it was to the effect that of the actual murder of MT. Haywood he was entirely innocent :; he confessed, how ever, that he was nevertheless murder CT. Years before he had killed travel CT wao had stopped at his house, but whose death was never suspected.
 On the night of MT. Heywood's death he had entered the room for the purpose of robbery, and perhaps murder, but was not little surprised and shocked to find that his intended victim had already been killed, and his pockets rifled.s His statement made at the trial he declared to be true in every particular, of course with the above quail lfcation. He. like wise denied all Knowledge, or even the slightest suspicion, as to who the req murderer was. .- ~ He stated, in conclusion, that he was impe1led to this confession bya desire to have the real truth known, by a5sense of duty he owed to society, which he had outraged, and to God, whom he hac so greatly offended, but did not wish te make it public until, his only surviving relative should be beyond the reach o the shame of the exposure. a--a
 &Esa But the curious chapter in this crim, | A "A
 the publication of this statement, a mar known as Thomas Chambers died in thu , Massachusetts State prison. Before hi death he confessed to the chaplain tha 5 his real name was George Martin, ant that he was the murderer of MI. Hey B wood, for which MT. Finley had suffered ! death. - &# He stated that he had occupied f room on the same floor vas his victim a and having heard him stateito his com panions that he had,a considerable sun , of money, he determined to get pos session of it.
 , He entered his room, and was search ing for the money, when MT. Heywoo,
 partially woke. Frightened at tn 8 danger of exposure, and incensed at tn a pospeot of losing the coveted treasure . he sprang upon. him, stuffed his outcry ! and inflicted the wounds from which h $ died. This done, he secured the dyin l mans pocketbook and hastily left tn e room, having only just closed the doc behind him as MT. Finley entered an ! found the unhappy man dying. Tn i proof against Finley was so oyerwhelm ing that no one eyer thought of lookin
 elsewhere for the assassin, so the iea q criminal was never suspected.