The daily gazette., 1880-04-26
FIRST EDITION.
CRIME CONFESSED.
The Last Act Of a Great
Tragedy.
Confession Of VIM. E. lJdderzook
the Murderer Of VIM. S. Goss.

THE TRAGEDY AT JENNERvILLE FULLY
REVEALED TO THE PUBLIC GAZE.
Saturdays New York Herald con-
tains the closing act of the famous
Udderzook- -Goss tragedy, the unfold
ing of which, in the courts of Chester
County during the fall of 1874 at
tracted the attention of the whole
is nothing less than the confession of
the condemned man, VIM. e. Udder-
zook, made just before his execution,
which he intrusted to his counsel, with
the request that it be kept a secret for
at least five years. The confession oc-
cupies almost four columns of the
| Herdtd, and confirms in detail all the
items of circumstantial evidence that
were SO deitly worked up and present
ed by the able counsel forsthe Com
monwealth in that almost unparalleled
trial.
The confession opens with the state
ment that the murdered man, Win
field s. Goss, came to Udderzuok and
induced him to enter into plan to de-
fraud the insui ance companies. The
plan was for Goss, whose life was in
sured for So, 900, to get more heavily
insured, and then pretend to get kill
ed, and by palming off a bogus corpse
on the iniur lnce companies, receive
the insurance money. The confession
says:
THE CONSPIRACY.
In a short time afterwards he came
to see me and began to talk about it.
| asked him how much he would like
to have upon his life. He said $50,
600, but that would cost too much; if,
however, he could get $50, 600 more he
would then have $25,000, and that
would make a snug start for us.
asked him how much it would COST
lie told me he didn't know exactly
but would find out. He then explain
ed his plan to me, which was to rent a
shop or some building or part of it, in
Baltimore, have it take fire and get a
dead body and put it in it; that this
body should correspond in size to him,
and that after nobody could tell that
it was not he, and that nobody would
suspect; that he should go away and
stay until the money was collected
from the insurance companies by his
wife. in whose favor the policies were
to be drawn; that after they were paid
his wife should be informed that ht
was still alive. He had sufficient con
fidence in her to believe that she would
go to him, and that they and my fam
: lily should go to the far West, and no
body would know anything about it.
The insurance was duly effected
and Udderzook agreed to do his par
: of the business for $4,000. Then tn,
confession says
GETTING ANXIOUS.
Goss now became very anxious t.
, have the matter consummated but
wanted him to wait. He always tol,
, me that it was all his risk. If he wa
caught it would not affect me. w
p, had talked the matter over very often
, intending to have the burning at som
place in Baltimore but while Cos
was living at Engle's the thought sug
gested itself that small disused hous
belonging to Mr.. Loundes, near wher
Engle lived, would suit the purpos
better, and it was accordingly rente
while Goss was living out there an
used ostensibly as a workshop.
|. PROBABLY ANOTHER MURDER.
do not know where the body cam
) from that was used. Goss always tol
me that he would manage that. Tho,
II d. Landenslager did not tell the trut
|, when he said Goss and took DO
away from Thomas & Sons on the a
ternoon of the fire. A box was take
away containing some things for I'll
70 house on the York road, but it vi
D not on that day. 1t was some time b.
> fore and contained some boxes, too
i and rubber material to keep up the al
. pearance of working out there. 0
D, the afternoon of February 2, 1877
=. everything being completed, Goss an
/, | started out to the York .oad. W
nr went into the house and lie took II
st into the cellar and showed me IL
a body which had been placed there. =
n Wood had been split up and pile
Is around, both above and below, al
coal oil had been poured over iU.
then helped Goss to make the final a
g rangements. We had found that
e- would be necessary to get some assis
is, ance. Some time before A. G. Goss,
Id brother of Scott Goss, came on fro
s. Nashville, Tenn, where the fami
,r, had lived, with the idea of getting
to work. The scheme was accor
l ingly made known to him, although
II, had very little to do with it. In fat
there was very little to be done.
the afternoon of the fire he was to-
rd did, l suppose, although did not S
nj him, get horse and wagon and be
~ readiness in road running from t
;s York road and near to it to recei
;s Scott Goss when he came from
burning house.
.ot THE CONFEDERATION.
nj Our plans were now all arranged.
xt stopped at Engle's house on our way
&C. the cottage, ostensibly 70 get ali axe,
so that these people might see that &
- was there and going to the cottage, AM
er, possible to get young Gotlieb Engle to
Id with us, so that when he and should
away from the house upon the pret
les agreed upon, he could say that we
ID left Goss there. But young Engle '
not there. / borrowed the axe and W
i. with Goss to the cottage, made fire
w. the stove and he put his pretend
machinery in operation. About sunse
gill went back to Engle's house with the ak
rht remained perhaps half an hour whe
al uni