Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-16
CONN CTICUT MYSTERY.
Horrible Murder If Phoebe
Brush.
No Positive Clew to the Perps-
traitor, but Several p rsons
Suspected of the
Crime,
Among Whom Arc a Lnv.r and n
Sister Ofths Victim.

Philadelphia l mes
NEw HAvEN, January 3-Olo Of
the most mysterious u brutal Of
Connecticut's many murders occurred
III Stratturd la1t Saturday night or
Sunday morning, and is pcrplexing
the local authorities, who hayo called
TO their a7sistance the assistant state
attorney t n Fairfield county and De.
%te''tge Wood, who figured In the
Cramer investigation. The victim
was Ms Phoebe Brush, who separat.
cd from her husband, VIM. Brush,
and was siuce divorced from him, aud
who was receiving tho attentions Of
Henry Freemen, Of Meridep. At 4
o'clock Sunday of ernoon her deao
body was Uncovered by q party whu
intended to invite her to a Now Years
Eve watch meeting in the Baptis,
church. Her head bore six distinct
wounds from q bloody axe found in
the room where the body wau and her
head had nearly been severed f,um
her neck by terrific slanting blow
under her 10 t ear by the same instru
ment, which was blfJuled with blood
and hair.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE ROOM.
The arrangement of the room show
ed that she had partially prepared her
Saturday night supper and had rat
down to knit. The knitting was still
in her hanGs and the lamp burned on
La table. There was nothing in the
room to givea clew to the murderer.
Numbers CT letters were there from
Henry Freeman, who had promised to
marry her, worded in e~xtravagantly
fond language. Ga the table was her
picture, addressed to him, but the
supposed letter in the envelope con.
tanning the picture had been extract.
ed, supposedly after the murder.
Nothing was found ia her correspond.
ence to indicate present hostility be,
tween her correspondents. One letter
showed that Freeman had formerly
been jealous, but Freeman has estab
lished an al,bi apparently to the salts
faction of the Investigators. There |
no evidence that the missing HUSBAND
has visited Strait ord recently, although
he ia suspected. Boston White, an ad
mtrer of Mrs. Brueh's sister, Deli
Gilbert, who quarreled with Mrs
Brush, is claimed to have an alibi.
H woMAN's SISTER SUSPECTED.
Della Gilbert formerly lived wit
Mrs. Brush, and they had not bee
on the most friendly terms lately
, She was absent from her home s ltul
day night long enough to commit tn
murder, and the authorities thin
) she may be the guilty party, but Il
motive for the crime on her part clearl
appears, although Jealousy is alleged
L. The wounds on the top of Mr.
Brush's head were 30 slight, consi,
{ ering the nature Of the instrumen
that it is thought probable they wei
dealt by a woman.
o. Della Gilbert tells %contradictol
stories, and on a sleeve of a sacar
worn by her Saturday night a
stains which a Bridgeport microsco
It list Gays are blood She washed b
sacque Sunday or Monday, but So
this was that she might have som
hing suitable to wear at the funers
No n has yet beec arrested.
The Brush house stood In q lone
place In the woods. Frank Lally al
Michael Hickey passed the place Sa
urday night, saw a light burning al
y heard a woman's voice cry "Oh!" one
/. as if in pain, but they did not invest
d gate. There is Il more or less apochr
IL phal story that a man resembling Nh
Bru,h's divorced husband was sc,
about the house saturday. This mi
/. wore a dark shirt, striped pants and
j. SLOUGH hat. He is being looked 70
l. MIRA. Brush was poor, aud only r
.. venge or Jealousy could have been Il
to motive for murder. Freeman, Il
10 lover, did not attend Mrs. Brush
l. funeral, which is considered susI
cious, when his many ardent vows
IS love are recalled.