The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-07-28
THE BooRN CASE.


proof of the corpus deficit. A man was
indicted in Franklin county, Vt, for the
murder of his wife and child by drown
ing. In crossing a pond or lake in a
leaky vote, the boat sank the prisoner got
ashore, but his wife and child were both
drowned. The rural community prompt
ly decided that they were murdered. The
necessary proof was supplied by adream.
Some neighbor dreamed that the shawl
ard detachable clothing of the victims
had been concealed by the prisoner in a
certain hollow tree, where they were
found. AS they must have been con-
cealed by the prisoner, the fact was ac-
cepted as proof of his guilt.
The husband was indicted by the grand
Jury for murder. He was inadequately
defended by young attorney, and when
the evidence of the dream was offered,
Benjamin F. Smalley, who was sitting
within the bar, volunteered to argue the
objection to its admission. The Small
leys were fearless race. 1t was another
member of the family, Dayid A.. who, as
Judge of the Circuit Court of the United
States, sitting in New York, convicted a
wretch and caused him to be hung for
piracy; and early in the spring of 1861,
in a charge to the grand jury in the same
city. defined the crime of treason in
words that delighted loyal men and
chilled the blood in the hearts of those
who supposed they could commit the
crime with impunity.
1t must have been a powerful argu-
ment made on the spur of the moment
which made such an impression upon
the mind of a student that it has not
been effaced by the lapse of 40 years.
The point of it was that neither the
proof offered nor any that had been
given was satisfactory evidence that a
murder had been committed; and that
the proof ON that point must be positive
and leave no doubt whatever of the fact
of the crime. He cited as precedent one
of the most interesting cases which ever
occurred, and on its force the evidence
offered was excluded. Evidence of the
prisoners admissions secured his con-
viction, but his insanity rapidly devel-
oped and he died soon after the verdict.
The case cited by Mr. Smalley is known
in Vermont as the "Boorn case" The
pamphlets in which 1T was reported are
so scarce and the case is so instructive
that will give it's substance:
In the year 1912 there resided in the
town of Manchester, Vt, the two broth
ers, Stephen and Jesse Boorn, and near
them Russell Colvin, who had married
their sister. All were IN humble cir
cumstances and supported their families
by labor. All we're of very ordinary ca
pacity; Colvin man of weak intellect,
who was at times deranged. His family
increased, his ability to maintain them
diminished, and the obligation of sup
porting his wife and children in part fell
upon the Boorns. This necessity led to
chickering's and alterations, which be-
came frequent and sometimes led to as
saults upon the unfortunate Colvin.
Two or three times he had disappeared,
leaving his family to be wholly support
ed by the Boorns, but he had returned
after absences, the longest of about nine
months.
In May, 1912, Colvin again disappeared.
Months and years elapsed and he did not
return. There were suspicious that he d
met with foul play. Remarks were made
by Stephen and Jesse Boorn which led
neighbors to believe that they were in
some way connected with his disappear
ance.
Nearly seven years had passed after
Colvin's last disappearance, when anoth-
er member of the Boorn family, an uncle
of Stephen and Jesse, had a dream. In
his dream Colvin came to his bedside and
told him that he had been murdered;
that if he would follow him
he would lead him to the
spot where his body was buried. This
dream was repeated the conventional
three times and the place where the body
was deposited was pointed out. IG was
hole about four feet square, originally
made for burying potatoes, on the site
where house had originally stood, the
hole having since been filled up. The
pit was opened. 1t yielded a large jack
knife, smaller one and a button. Be
fore they were shown to her, Mrs. Colvin
described them infinitely; and as soon
as she saw them, declared that the large
knife and the button belonged to her
husband.
A marvellous circumstance then trans
pired. A lad with spaniel dog, walk
ing near the house of the father of the
BOorns, observed a decaying stump, to
which the dog endeavored to draw his
attention by whining and running several
times from the stump to his master. The
dog then with his paws dug from be-
meath the stump cluster of bones.
Further investigation disclosed in the
hollow cavity of the same stump two toe
nails which were supposed once to
have been attached to a human
foot. The doctors decided that the
bones were human, though one of them
thought otherwise.
About four years previously an ampu-
tated leg had been buried few miles
away. This was exhumed as a standard
of COMPARISON, when it was unanimously
decided that they were not human. But
it was concluded that the toe-nails were,
and as the bones were somewhat broken
1t was sagely decided that the body had
been burned and the bones, not being
consumed had been cast under the
stump, other bones having been deposit
ed with them for purposes of deception.
1t was remembered that after Colvin's
disappearance a barn belonging to the
father of the BooTns had been accident
ally consumed by fire. About the same
time the BoOTns had burned log. heap
in the vicinity. 1t was conjectured that
the body, originally buried under the
log-heap, had been then placed under
the barn and there partially consumed.
Before these discoveries were made the
rural community had almost unanimous
ly decided that murder had been per-
petrated. 1t also TRANSFERRED that on the
day of Colvin's disappearance he had had
a quarrel with the Boorns, which might
have ended in his murder. But as
the evidence was wholly circumstantial
it was determined to dismiss Jesse
BoOrn, who had been arrested, from any
further examination. The inquiry had
been adjourned from the 18th of April to
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