Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1877-03-31
Horrible Murder in
Dalton, n. I'll.
A Man is Three Hours Killing his
Wife by Beating her.

river, killed his wife by beating her with
a cane, goad-stick and whip-stock. Your
correspondent visited the scene of the
tragedy Wednesday morning and found
coroner and physicians assembled to make
an examination Of the body and give their
verdict in accordance to testimony there
found. The walls and floors of the house
in two rooms were smeared and spotted |
with blood from the victim as the fend
followed her from one to the other beat
ing her as she was trying to get away |
from him. There was found on the i'm
mediate premises the fragments of a
heavy walnut cane, it hsi"s completely
broken up; the remains of whip et9eh
and heavy elm goad-stick with both
ends broken and shivered up and covered
with hair and blood.
The persons in the house at the time
were two small children of Mr.. Kimball,
aged respectively seventeen months and
seven years, and young man nineteen
years old, who is a cripple and also had
his arm broken four days before. Mrs.
Kimball had q son, by former husband,
about fourteen years old, who had been
sent to the store three miles away by Kim
ball. The facts of the horid transaction
as brought out before the coroner, were
as follows:
Kimball aud young Brooks had been to
Lttleton for the purpose of having some
thing done for Brooks broken arm, and
Brooks testified as follows: Went to
Littleton with Kimball to haye DR.. Bugbee
see my arm; got home about two o'clock !;
bought half pint of whiskcy and pint of
alcohol to put on my arm; think Kimball
did not drink at Littleton; drank twice
coming home; drank some alcohol about
an hour after we got home; Kimball and
wife had some difficulty about getting
him some tea; he struck her on the face
with his hand; she went into the other
room and when she came out he pushed
her down and kicked her twice; the fracas
lasted about three hours; he beat her
with walnut cane and an elm goad-sCick
the pieces Of cane and goad-stick present
ed here are the ones used by Kimball in
beating his wife on the evening of the
Goth instant.
Ellsworth Dow testified: Came home
from store about seven O'Clock; went
into the room u willie afJnr and found my
mother lying on the floor beside the sew
ing maching; she whispered to me to put
her on the bed, which did; her head was
badly bruised; did not do anything fol
her; have seen trouble between my step.
father and my mother, but never saw him
use her so bad before; l went to bed NJ
stairs about ten o'clock; very soon after
my father called me down; he asked me
if my mother was dead and | told him
she was; he told me to go and get Mr.
Aldrich.
Hiram Aldrich testified. Ellsworth Dow
came down to my house about clever
O'Clock at night; he said his mother was
dead and wanted l should go up to Mr.
Kimball's; l asked him if his father ant
mother had been having any trouble; he
said that they had; / asked him if he haC
been abusing her; he said that he had;
went to Kimball's and found him holding
the baby he said to me, 81 want you t.
go and see my wife -; took the lamp an(
went to the bed where she lay; asked
him what was the trouble; he said HI
might have hit her; he wanted to know
what was to be donc / told him die
not know; he said he would give himsel
, up; | told him we could not do anything
but notify the proper authorities; sh'
was on the bed dead.
DR.. Charles futile testified: l have
made an autopsy examination of Mrs
Lauristine Kimball found the body ly
ing OH the bcd she had on apair of shoe
and stockings, bit of white cloth aroun,
her body and a piece Of print about a
wide as my had around her hips; silve
r ring on the second finger of the RICH
hand broken; one front tooth gone re
Gently from the upper jaw; large wour
: over each eye barring the bone; a larg
number Of incised wounds on the head
the chest showed a large number o
wounds from severe blows in front; con
tusions on the back, below the chest an
upon the lower eXtremitics as far dow
as the knees and upon the arms and hands
an cfiuSion of blood in pleura cavity au
lund; fracture of the sixth and mint
: ribs on the right side and a fracture @
the ninth on left side; evidences of oil
fractures on both sides; confusion Of
back of the neck; the conclusion is sh
: came to her death from Injuries named
! Dr. George Cove testified to the sam
as above.
: The cOrOnor's verdict rendered wa