Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-21
THE OYSTER BAY TRAGEDY.
Hhe Murderers of Mrs. and Miss Maybee
Diseovered-Edmund Tappan's Con-
fession.

/ ANASAOns
Our dispatches gave brief account OF
the CONCESSION of one Of the murderers OF
Mrs. and Miss Maybee, at Oyster Bav.
Long Island. The following is the con-
iessl0n OF Edmund Tappan, giving the
horrible details Of the manner in which
his brother John committed the murders
l knew who took the lives of lydia
and Annie Maybee, on the evening of
November 18th. 1t was John B. Tappan.
my brother. He was in the barn when
Mrs. Maybee came in. l was not in the
barn. saw John go into the barn. He
went In the double doors. / was at the
tront side of my house when he went in,
feeding the pigs. When John choked the
old lady to death was ont in front of fhe
Darn. L saw him; he chOked her TO death
on the barn floor. He caught her bv the
wrist with one hand and took her by the
throat with the other. / saw him do il.
l was looking in the door. It was ligbf
enou5 h for me to see in the stable. When
John had her by the throat she was on
the ground. When she came in for
the leaves, john was standing In the
stable where the leaves were. 1t took
from ten to fifteen minutes TO choke her
to death. After she was dead, John
picked her up and laid her in the back of
the stable. l saw him throw some leaves
over her. l was standing on the barn
noor, very near the opening in the door
that goes down in the stable. / saw the
whole thing myself. After she was dead
John said: Il am going to wait for An
ME; am going to choke her, too: if
choke her, too, no one will know about it;
then l can 20 to the house and get the
money" Annie opened the barn door
about two feet wide. When she stepped
In the door John grabbed her BY the right
arm and threw her down. / was on the
floor about three feet from where he
grabbed her. He threw her down on
the floor, held her by the right
wrist, put his knee upon her left
arm, and with his right hand took her bv
the throat. She tried to get away from
him, when he grabbed her by the arm.
She grabbed at his face; she reached his
face. | saw her hand close over his nose
and mouth. She said, "Let me CO." That
was all she said. Then he held her bv tie
throat until she was dead. She died in
about 10 or 10 minutes. He carried her
into the stable, near her mother, and COW
cred her all up with leaves, and said:
Now l am going to the house." We
both went, and went in the kitchen door.
Old Mr.. Maybee said EsWhO is thereY''
John said 'It's me-" Then he went I'D
stairs in Mrs. Maybee's room, when Mr..
Maybee Knocked on the floor. l stood by
the door. l saw him do it.. Then John
came down and went in front Of Mr..
Maybee, very close to the hall, ran his
hand up and down Mr.. Maybee's breast
and said Il want that gold
watch you had two years ago" Mr.. Nav
bee said, Il amt got it. l am blind and
can't see to get it." Il know that" said
John. John then said, Il must kill YOU,
them" He snatched the cane out Of Mr..
Maybee's hand and struck HIM with it
twice on the head. John went up stairs
again, and came back. l said, II have
all want" We came out, and he went
to the cedars bv the spring and went
home, suppose. He gave me ten dollars
in bills. L have it now, but not with me.
l will bring 1t to you. ! will bring it to-
day if can. John showed me the pin
and watch by the door, outside; / could
see them. He got them upstairs, he
said. He did not tell me how much
money he got. He did not tell me
what he was going to do with the
Watch and PIN. l do not know
what he did with them. l have
not since seen my brother alone to this
day and this hour. | saw him stand by
the wagon house, at the Maybee auction,
when L was going up the hill west of my
house, after dinner, on my way to work at
Henry Rushmere's. That was the only
time l have seen him since the night the
Maybee murders were committed. After
John showed me the watch and pin went
home by the old bridge. This was about
a quarter to six. / know it was not 6
O'Clock. am sure of it. My wife asked
me where | had been, and l told her
''down the road" My wife does not know
that had hand in the Maybee murder.
Sworn to by Edmund S. Tappan to Hal
sted and Frost, unsolicited by them, be-
lieving it to be my duty to make a COM
plete confession in regard to the part l
took in the Maybee murder.