The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-25
The phair Case.
THE MISSING PHOTOGRAPHER.

A dispatch dated Rutland, April %. ap-
pears in the Boston Globe of Tuesday, In
which several new points are made,a and de-
string to lay before the readers of The
GLOBE all there may be new in the case of
John P. Phsir on either side of the ques-
ton relating to his guilt or innocence, the
dispatch is published nearly in full
Further investigation by no means tends
to weaken the theory that the travelling
photographer, Sargent, might we'll have
been the murderer of Mrs. Freeze. This
man, it will be remembered, was even
more intimate with Mrs. Freeze than was
John p. Phair. On the night of the 9Th
of June, 1874, or on the morning of the
9th, early, he precipitately left town and
has not since been seen, nor scarcely heard
of, by his former acquaintance in Rut-
land. His luggage, which he left behind
him, was not called for until about ten
days afterwards, and then in a suspicious
manner. 1t 10 known that he proceeded to
Boston, and that thence he fed the coun-
try entirely and went to New Brunswick
and subsequently to China, where he was
at last accounts. 1t Is, moreover, known
that he had a quarrel with Mrs. Freeze but
a short time before the murder because she
would not loan him money. 1t has recent
ly been discovered, from the testimony of
highly respectable witnesses, that Sargent,
while fleeing from Rutland, had in his pos
session some bloody clothes which were
afterwards washed by a washerwoman in
Wallingford.
1t was an exceedingly weak point in the
case of the state against Phair that the de-
PENDANT should have stabbed the woman
four times, severing the arteries of the
throat, and yet have escaped without a drop
of blood upon himself or the light-colored
clothes which he then wore. 1t would be
a simple Impoesibillty for him to have COM
mitted the deed without leaving upon him
self a trace of blood, unless he had been
without a particle Of clothing at the time.
On the theory of the state, after carving
up Mrs. Freeze, he would then coolly pro-
coed to wash away the stains from himself,
put On shirt, pants and vest and collar, and
necktie, even, set fire to that slow-hurning
match which would enkindle the building,
according to his mathematical calculations,
only after he should have proceeded beyond
the reach of suspicion, pick up stray arti
Giles of the unfortunate woman, and then
go gamong his friends and act in a manner
entirely natural and without the least ap.
parent anxiety over the success of his fuse
scheme, which was to erase all vestiges Of
his crime. And then the wits of this long
headed, cold-hearted schemer suddenly
leave him, and on his arrival in Boston he
places his handwriting upon the pawn
ticket and hotel register and leaves at the
hotel-most OPPORTUNITY for the prosecu-
tion-a shawl to connect him with the deed.
fnLAan AArNtp1al 1;nAA,vartn0 - ra.auI -
Sargent compel the belief that If the "de-
tectives" had only turned their genius
against him instead of Phair, an utterly
impregnable "theory" would have been
the result. Newspapers and others here
who don't want the case reopened assert
with apparent indifference that these are
exploded theories" Exploded by whom,
pray? They were simply never lnvesti.
gated except in the most superficial man.
ner. The detectives, who knew as well as
anybody else in Rutland who were the fire.
quenters of Mrs. Freezes house, concluded
that they had enough evidence to make a
''case" against Phair and they stopped
short there and let all other clues slip
through their fingers. They wanted him
to prove that he was innocent, and they
still insist on the same course.
AuhhIl bhOOhD AND DOhA WlIbON.
The st. Adams Advertiser publishes an
editorial in which some information is given
relative to the whereabouts of Aurelia
Brooks and Dora Wilson from which the
following extract is made
1t won't do for Vermont to hang him mn.
til this matter is sifted to the bottom. Steps
must be taken to examine all these new
witnesses thoroughly. They must be gath.
cred together, and they can be, all oil
them, unless we except Sargent, the photo,
grapher, who disappeared from Rutland OF
the morning OF the murder, and Aurelil
| Brooks. Sargent is in China. Aurelia
Brooks, we apprehend, thanks to the in
| efficiency of the officers of the law in Rut
| land, may be a little difficult to find, but
can probably be traced out II she is wanted
She was, last week, in a house Of ill-fam6
In Albany, but where she may now be II
uncertain. Just after Phair's reprieve, SHE
met an acquaintance in the street and be
sought him not to tell where she was, be-
cause, she said, she was "wanted for
murder up in Vermont" Within the mex
three weeks she changed her place OF abod,
three times and leaving each place sudden
ly and without giving any reason. She hal
lost flesh, grown pale and hnggard, doei
not go out of the house at all aud has {
chronic dread of detectives. She will besl
investigating and shonld be found at ono,
and arrested. Dora Wilson (now married
is IN Middlebury. The other witnesses ar
in Vergennes, Rutland, Boston and Proyi
dence and should be brought to the stant
! as soon az feasible.