Morning journal and courier., 1886-02-12
THE FORD MURDER.

The COrOner's Hearing Yesterday
 Several Witnesses Examined-New
 Facts of the Case.
 About dozen people crowded into Coro- her Mix's office yesterday afternoon to attend the coroners hearing into the cause of the death of Wm. H. Ford, the farmer who was so brutally murdered by Wales L. Doolittle of Bethany, and several witnesses were ex- amined separately and privately.
 Dr. Hinkley, who made post-mortem ex- animation of the body, found that there was not spot on the head or face that was free from cuts or bruises. The head was fright fully swollen. The hands showed marks of having been scalded and it is said that, in ad- dition to his other assaults upon Ford, Doo- little poured the contents of kettle full of boiling water on him. The assault which re- suited in the murder was commenced in Ford's room on the second floor of the shan ty and continued to it's finish in the kitchen of the squalid mansion, which is reached from Ford's room by a rickety stairway. Doolittle used q heavy stick and horsewhip besides hls hands and feet. Eight ribs were broken on one side and seven on another.
 The son of Farmer Wooding of Bethany, who visited Doolittle's place on Saturday, tells the following When arrived at the house Ford was on his knees on the floor and Doolittle was standing over him with a heavy whip in his hand, and there was so much blood about couldn't tell what Ford looked like. learned afterwards that the assault commenced at 7 o'clock that morn ing and that he continued beating Ford un- til after nine o'clock. There is story in our town to the effect that the fight started over q, rrl all bod i,,f fba He beat her too, you know. Her forehead has four or five whip-lash marks upon t,and her hand was badly cut. She says that Wales treated her so because she would not let him take improper liberties with her. I don't believe Ford ever struck blow He wae fifty y-four years of age and rather feeble. He was all right if he left rum alone He was on a spree at Wallace's tavern about week ago. He has two sisters living in New York. When I went up to see him after the fight found his face one mass of blood. It was an awful sight. I stayed with him that night and sent for the doctor. He suffered frightfully. When we were laying him out we found two scalds on his hands. The flesh peeled off as soon as we touched it. This was on Tuesday. There were no signs of the scalds on him Monday night when I left him, and think that Wales must have scalded him sometime ear ly on Tuesday morning.
 The place III WHICH tne Mufuer was colh- mitted is a regular den. l have often seen chicken fights going on in the back yard on Sunday mornings and the place has been nothing short of a rendezvous for the worst class of people for some time. It is time 1t was broken up. It is the flthiest place i'm aginabIe. don't think Doolittle is insane. You know some years ago he chased his sis ter with an axe. Then they trumped up this insanity business and they sent him off to Middletown. Doolittle is no more an insane man than I am. Not bit He's "a brute when he's drunk and he's just been on @ two weeks spree. I think everybody was drunk in the house when the row occurred. Doolit- tie was all right when he was sober"
 Other witnesses at the hearing were Allen Doolittle. father of the accused, and Walter and Allen Doolittle, sons of the murderer.