Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-08-25
SAYS HE KILLED THE BORDENS
Man Named Charles III. Peckham Con-
he RlnndY Deed.

Man Named Charles III. PeclSham Con-
tesses the Bloody Deed.
FALL RIVER, Mass, Aug 1S.-Charles
II. Peckham. of Central Village, West
port, Mass, walked into the central po-
lice station this morning and said to AS
sistant Marshal Fleet: "Well, Marshal,
I killed Mr.. and Mrs. Andrew J. Bor-
den, and l have come from
home to give myself up.
went over the back fence and through
the rear door of the Borden House two
weeks ago to-day, and l killed both OF
those people out of pure love for blood.
| went out the rear door and over the
back fence, and walked over the New
Bedford road. I'm the murderer, and
| want to be locked up"
The marshal took Peckham to the cell
room and searched him. Hefound pock-
ct book with few recelptsl III lt,and also
unearthed some official communications
from the Russian bureau at Washington.
Peckham is 62 years of age, about feet
inches tall and has thin, gray beard:
He says he leases farm from Edmund
Davis. The police have started to hunt
up his relatives Or friends.
The circumstances surrounding the
assassination of Borden and his wife
were such as to astound those who
would pounce, otf-hand, upon motive.
Borden was rich and pious skinfint,
aged rs years, whose probity was
equal to his thrift. He had not
led a public life, he had no known
enemy who, it could be conjectured,
would 90 to the extent of killing him,
much less his wife, and when the mu-
Ia
covered, in their own house, shortly be-
fore noon on August 4, the police and
the public were utterly at a loss for
motive, and in the intense excitement
that overwhelmed the community they
turned to one another in helpless aston.
isment and horror.
The body Of Borden was found on
velvet sofa in the parlor of the house.
His head had been literally hacked to
pieces. There were seven long gashes
on his face and skull, some Of them an
inch and half deep through the flesh
and bone. In the ''spare" bedcham-
Der on the second floor was dis covered
the body of Mrs. Borden, who was 81
years old. There was at first no sight
of blood, and the momentary SUPPOSE
ton was that heart failure had occurred.
Mrs. Borden was lying prone on the
stretched and the toes of her shoes
resting on the carpet. On raising the
body there was seen q pool OF blood,
and an examination disclosed the TACT
that death had been caused, as in the
case of the husband, by repeated
blows of some heavy sharp instrument
on the face, neck and head. In the
case of both there was found deep cut
into the brain.
The first alarm was given by Lizzie
Borden, who ran out into the yard and
called for help. tlalf of the police
force of Fall River were off on picnic
when the murder occurred, and for that
reason a strong guard Of the premises
was not furnished Immediately, but sew.
eral officers we're quickly in the
house after the alarm was given,
and they learned enough to make it
plain that robbery had not been the
purpose of the killing. No plate or
money or any of the valuabes
of the mansion were missing, nor
had a single thing been removed
from the bodies. Borden's watch and
money and Mrs. Borden's money and
jewels were undisturbed.
Miss Borden, a daughter of the MUIR
dered couple, was put under police
surveillance two days after the crime,
but was not arrested until the week toll
lowing. She was suspected chiefly by
reason of certain discrepancies between
her statements to the police as to the
circumstances under which the bodies
of Mr.. and Mrs. Borden were found.
The suspicion against her was rem
dered stronger by statement made to
the police by Eli Bence, a clerk at D.
r. Smith 8 drug store, to the effect that
Miss Borden had been in his store two
days before the murders inquiring for
prusslc acid or hydrocyanic acid.
She failed to secure either. The drug
clerk made partial identification
of Miss Borden, but later the &C.
curacy of his Identification was denied.
Miss Borden denied that she had
bought or tried to buy either poison.
Hydrocyanic acid leaves no outward
trace on the body, and it was the con-
lecture of the physicians for the prose-
ton that this was the drug that had
been used.