St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-11-30
Triple Murder at LacOnia. N. H.
AN UNACcoUNTABLE BUrCHERY.

y Il
Ford were brutality murdered Saturday
night, at Ruddy's house in the north
east part of LacOnia, n. H., about a
mile and half from the postOffice, and
Mrs. Ruddy was probably fatally
wounded. The crime was committed
with a Ratchet, and an attempt was
made to burn the bodies and the house.
Thomas SamOn, thirty-six years old, an
Englishman, who was acquainted with
the family, and Mrs. Ford's husband,
an Irishman, have been arrested on
suspicion.
Mr.. and Mrs. Rudy were of Irish
descent and and considered respect
able, the man having worked at the
Laconia car works for long time.
SamOn, cook by trade, boarded with
the FOrds not far away. He left his
home at eleven o'clock Saturday morn
ing, taking his trunk and wheeling it
toward Lake Village, distance of
nearly a mile. He finally stopped at
Ruddy's house, left his trunk in front
of the house for two hours, but sub
sequently took it back to his room.
Ruddy returned from his work at the
usual hour. Everything was quiet I'M
til early yesterday morning, although
lights were seen in the house by neigh
bOrs during the night. Shortly after
four o'clock, S. S. Andrews, a neighbOr,
was alarmed by a wOman's screams.
He aroused his son and together they
hurried to Ruddy's house. They found
Mrs. Rudy lying on the ground under
front window, through which she
had made desperate leap. She was
bleeding profusely, and, upon being
asked what was the trouble, said {:
"Pick me up. I'm all cut to pieces"
Mr.. Andrews assisted her to Charles
Filgate's house, directly opposite, and
then telephoned for Chief Officer Jud-
kins and physician. After waiting a
short time for their arrival, Mr.. An
drews and his son went to the back
door of Ruddy's house and forced it
open, the the flames at the same time
bursting forth. An alarm of fire was
sounded, but the flames were extin-
guished before the fremen arrived.
Upon gaining an entrance, the officers
found living upon the kitchen flool the
bodies of Rudy and the child, both
cut in a horrible manner and covered
with the contents of feather bed,
which had been saturated with kero-
l
figured by the flames as to be nearly
past recognition. In bedroom was
found SamOn's trunk and the lifeless
form of Mrs. Ford, which was identified
by her husband. One of her legs had
been chopped off and the detached
member and the remaining leg was
bound to her body with a clOthesline.
| The bed-clothes had been saturated
with oil and piled on the body, an I'M
successful attempt being made to set
them on fire.
Mrs. Ruddy said the crime was COM
mitted by Samon with Ratchet. Cor
Oner Ambrose held an inquest at noon
and Mrs. Ruddy's deposition was taken,
which is substantially as follows: awe
all went to bed about 9 o'clock. At |
SamOn came into the front room and
looked out of the window, saying he
was nervous and could not sleep.
got up and made him cup of tea and
went back to bed. At o'clock SamOn
came into the front room again and
acted queerly. He went back into the
kitchen. My husband and | then got
up and Mr.. Rudy also went into the
kitchen. | soon heard fall, and going
out found my husband hanging over
IA chair with arms down. SamOn start
ed for me and struck me with the
Ratchet on the head. | grabbed his
arm, but he then struck me and threw
me to the floor. He went into the
front-room and killed the baby who
was crying. While he was there | tried
to unlock the kitchen door, but he re-
turned and again struck me on the
head, knocking me down and, | lay
perfectly, quiet. He went back into
the front room and got the baby and
then came back and poured feathers
and straw over us and went out. | got
up and tried to open the front window
but could not. | then broke "A pane OF
glass and jumped through"
The Ratchet with which the crime
was probably committed was found in
the river. The corOner's inquest rem
dered a verdict that Ruddy, his child
and Mrs. Ford came to their death AT
the hands of Thomas SamOn. Officers
were sent ont and SamOn was arrested
in the afternoon on the main road be-
tween Laconia and Plymouth. He did
not resist arrest, but denied all knOwl-
edge of the affair and seemed perfect
:, ly surprised. SamOn has never been
regarded as vicious even when intOXi-
Gated. Ford, the husband of the muir
dered woman, has also been arrested
Several suspicious circumstances tend
to implicate him. There was no evil
dence of Mrs. Ford's murder and it is
thought her death was caused acciden-
tally by Samon, who wishing to con
ceal the body, took it downstairs al
Ford's house in trunk and thence to
Ruddy's, hoping, perhaps, to carry ii
from the house during the night. There
is another theory that Mrs. Ford died
either from strangulatiOn or dragging
as she frequently INDUCED in strong
drink. Great excitement prevails and
fears are entertained that a vigilance
committee will be organized and the
prisoner lynched.
LATER.-There was thirteen hatchet
wounds on Mrs. Ruddy's body, but she
is expected to get well. She bore the
dressing of her wounds without anes-
thetics and then fell into sort of a
cOmatose state She has been able
from the first to give a tOlerably intel
ligible account of the crime, but knows
nothing of the murder of Mrs. Ford.
DIR. Foster testified at yesterdays in
quest that in his opinion Mrs. Ford's
death was caused by rupture of the
heart induced by pressure upon the
chest, perhaps by the knees of a man
or woman. Her stomach was found
entirely empty, and the doctors belief
was that death occurred about "a hours
previous to the examination. Mr.. Ford
testified at considerable length, telling
straightforward story. He never
suspected an intamacy between his
wife and Samon until three weeks ago.
Since September 81, six pupils out
of one New York school have died of