Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-03-23
THE WATERBURY TRAGEDY RE-
yIvED.
McCnTreY TO be Tried for Murder-Par-
tIculaIs of the Horrible Deed.

piiNhei NiNSahicyi tuS uutIOI VI Tue ttTI
/. BILE Waterbury tragedy Of last March, is
tried for murder in Washington count
court, at Montpelier next Tuesday. w. 7
Dillingham; has been assigned by the cou
to defend Mccartney and the prosecute
Will be conducted by State's-Attcrney II.
lIusc.
This case, in itsparticulars. is probably III
most horrible instance of crime ever brougl
before Vermont court. 1t has passed int
, that dark page of history where al
chronced the awful results of human pas
sion and depravity, us a case probably with
out parallel The modern romanccr, search
ing the criminal records of the world for ma
terial upon which to found his blood-curdlin,
tale, could scarcely find anything more fear
fully fascinating and nhuman than TIN
account of McCaiTrcy's dreadful deed. Nc
Cailrey, at the time of the murder was livinl
with his wife and seven children and he
mother, an old lady of over eighty years, at
locality known as Cotton brook in the vicin
ity of Waterbury. lie was an lrishman
about fifty years of age, and was veteran Of
the late war. Ills wife was Bridget Anr
McCue OF Albany VT Of the seven chill
dren, five were girls and two boys, the oldest
being boy aged fourteen and the youngest
two twin babies, year old For years Nc.
Caffrey's conduct had been cratic; he was
subject to fits of temporary insanity, and for
days at time would be out of his head doing
the most unaccountablc things, and terrify.
ing his family by his strange actions.
Finally his insanity became so marked that
he was sent to the State Insane Asylum at
Brattleboro, where he remained for several
| months, but was at last discharged as cured.
Ills conduct from that time until shortly
hffnr I'm Of In
to convince his family, and those who knew
him, that his recovery was indeed perma-
nent. But whether or not the mans mind
was restored, there was that slumbering
within him which was to break forth with
irresistible and awful power. On Saturday
evening, the 18th of March, 1882 was com
mitted the terrible deed for which McCaffrey
is now to be tried. He had, according to his
own story, gone TO bed, having with him his
wife and one of their twin babies.
The other babe was in bed with its grand
mother in the same room. Suddenly the
long, slumbering frenzy of the man was
Weakened. lie says that he thought the
house was all open, and that wild animal,
changing repeatedly from hairy skinned to
smooth, was attempting TO kill his children.
Under the delusion that he was ,hrottlng
this animal, he says, he choked first his wife
and then his mother to death, and threw their
bodies into the cellar. This may be all fc-
tlon, so far as the motive of the deed was
concerned, and it certainly is a fiction as re-
CARDS the true particulars of the murder. The
deed was performed, as was proved by
subsequent examination of the bodies,
with butcher knife and some heavy s,rik-
lug instrument. The flour and walls of the
bedroom where the the tragedy was enacted
were spattered aud dabbleu with blood, and
in the cellar, with the bodies, were found
two sticks OF wood covered with blood and
with reddish'and gray hair. The wife had
terrible knlfc-cut just over the right temple.
where the sharp blade had evidently glanced
III the wild frenzy of lhe murderer, and
another deep cut piercing the corner of the
hight eye, and passing through the temporal
bone TO the base of the brain. The bone of |
her left check was broken by heavy blow, |
and the left eye protrudeI on the check. |
Inc cranial bone was also fractured. |
] he old lady was stabbed, through |
the lett eye, 10 the brain, and also behind |
the ear the brain protruding. She was ter
ribly bruised, both in the head and body,
with blows from the stick, and was also
manglcd in various places by the knife. Ac.
cording to the physician who conducted the
inquest, the death Of both women was caused
by fractures from blows. At The time of the
murder four of the older children-the sec.
ond oldest boy being absent-werc sleeping
IN room upstairs, and, hearing the cries and
screams ii their mother, came down stairs
and were witnesses of the last act of the ter
riblc tragedy. They piteously begged Nc.
Clifrcy to stop, but he told them to keep
still and mind their own business or he
would XIII them too. The poor old mother
was totally blind, and could do nothing 10
escape while McCailrey was numbering his
VIE. 1t seems past belief that anything in
human form could be 50 iieudish. Az
er beating and slashing the life out
IT his besceching wife, he deliberately
urned upon the poor, sightless old
woman and killed her in cold blood.
W hen the deed was done he fastened all the
ioors OF the house and compelled his four
cen years old boy to help carry the mangled
,emains into the cellar. lie kept the chill.
iren shut up in the house during Sunday,
Monday and until Tuesday noon, and then
COX Them all III team and drove to the res
dence OF Daniel Hopkins at Waterbury Cen
re. 1t was bitter cold day, and by the
line that the party reached the end of their
ong ride the feet of one of the twin babies
we're frozen stiff. McCaffrey told Mr. Hop.
ilns that there had been an accident at his
iouse, and that he wanted some one
o take care of the children for
lim until things were set right At the same
inc he handed over butcher knife, saying
hat 1t was all he had had to protect himself
With. The eldest boy told the story of the
murder to Mr. Hopkins, and constable
vas Immediately called and took McCafirey
II charge. Meanwhile son of Mr.. Hopkins
md another young man drove to McCaifrey's
house to investigate. They found the doors
ocked and the windows nailed on the IN
Side. Eneclins an entrance by force, they
ound the dead bodies of the women in the
cellar Driving back as quickly as possible to
Waterbury Centre, they told OF their discovery.
and the proper officers were sent to take
charge of the bodies. McCaiTrey was put in
charge of Deputy Sheriff Frank n. Anterior,
laken to Montpelier and thence in the same
week to the Insane Asylum at Brattleboro,
where he has remained ever since. On the
FRIDAY following the tragedy he said that the
llrst he knew of what he had done was ON
Thursday, when his brother visited him in
jail and told Inn what he had done. The
trial at Montpelier will be one of absorbing
interest, aud the final judgment in the case
will he anxlously looked for
Inventive VermOnters.
Patents have lately been issued to citizens
OF this State as follows; +. l.. Maranville,
asslgnor, one. half N. ID. Nicholson, Rutland,
attachment Tor ovens of cooking stoves
John Prince West Randolph, hoop shaving
machine James Sheehey, st. Adams, box
Or case.
The WIllett Case.
AS the court of appeals has not handod |
down decision in the Willett case, Whilst |
will remain in Jail until next September be- |
fore new trial can be had, If trial is or |
dered, unless Gov. Cleveland should call an
extra term of court.
An Old Storm Theory.
A st. Johnsbury correspondent of the
journal relates an instance which happened