Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-06-01
The FALL RIVER HORROR
Arrests Likely to Be Made By
the Police To-day.
SIMILARITY TO THE BORDEN CASE

No Ground for Holding the Dead Gir's
Father, Who Talks Freely of the Mat
ter-NIotive for Committing the Crime
The Coming Borden Trial.
FALL RIVER, Mass, June 1.-The her.
rible murder of Bertha Manchester has
not yet been solved, despite the best eff
forts of the local police and the science
ard skill of the many detectives that
were attracted here There are few clues
that are being assidious'y worked on, but,
as yet, nothing especial has awarded the
efforts of the officers.
For many hours it was given out in po-
lice circles that suspicion rested on the
girls father but this morning. when re-
porter asked assistant marshal John Fleet
| if the authorities were working on any
such theory, he answered emphatically:
"No"
Mr. Manchester is an eccentric old man,
with outstrong affections. He went about
| the city yesterday, delivering milk as
usual willing to answer any and all ques-
| tions put to him regarding Tuesdays kill
| ing. He knows nothing further regarding
| the possible murderer than the police
know, but he makes time to consult and
| talk with them no matter how frequently
they ask for information.
The police have been working in the
| neighborhoodsof the house again to-day,
| obtaining all possible information of the
| neighbors concerning past affairs at the
1 Manchester farm and tracing out the
1 men who have been employed there. They
1 have their attention directed toward a
/ man who might have committed the deed ,
but they will not officially give out the
slightest clue as to where he is or where
he has been stopping.
Rumors in police circles say that the
man is foreigner, who worked on the
| farm less than a week, and left after hav
ing quarrelled openly with the daughter
and her father 1t does not SCENE posi-
1 BILE that any tramp or stranger could 60
| into the house without being savagely at
lacked by the dogs that are loose about
| the place
A prominent police official said last
| night: ''This murder was not done
through hatred, in my opinion, but was
| the result of fierce struggle, either in
passion, or to keep from dsnger of detec-
ton after robbery. We are on the track
of two men now, one of whom we hope to
| get before night. The other we are not
sure of. We are satisfied of this-that
this murder is in some respects difficult to
fathom, but the man who committed it is
not thousand miles away"
The body of the victim was removed to
Warnings rooms last evening. The burial
| is expected to take place tomorrow.
AS yet the police have not decidedly
strong opinions as to who may have com
mitted the murder In the Borden case Il
1 was argued that none but a woman would
have SO hacked her victim, yet the appear
ancs of Miss Manchester, due largely tc
the great flow of blood. was fully as re
| voting as the appearance of either victim
in the Borden tragedy.
While tine pounding was repeated with
the back of the ak a number of times, al
least five blows were struck with the edge
On the other hand, it has been claimed by
friends of Miss Borden that a murderer al
ways has horror of being connected with
the crime by means of the instrument uset
| and will take it with him to avoid all risk
This they think is why no Ratchet has beer
found by the police.
Yet in this fresh tragedy, the bloody
AZ was left carelessly exposed upon the
| wood pile near the house. Naturally
knowing the disposition of Mr.. Manchestel
and his difficulty in getting and keeping
help, the police have sought for informa
| ton of recent employees.
One of them, a Portuguese, is wanted
for a robbery committed at Charles Frank
clothing store in April.
The girl herself is spoken of by he
neighbors and all along the road as a fin'
L WOudU. DIG lb uOb hHOWU UOH udu al
lover or regular callers. All speak Of he
as modest, retiring, self-sacrificing. Sh
would seldom take an outing or atten'
| church socials even, except at repeated
urging, and then rather to please other
than to crafty her own wishes. She pos
sessed a good figure and face, and was at
tractive and loveable.
If the motive was robbery, the THE
gained access to the house by some way a
: yet unknown. His rifling of her room
= may have called her from the closet
where she was mixing ginger bread, ant
pursuing her to the kitchen, he coul
have struck her and then secured the a:
with which the murder was committed.
It is reported that some bruises wer
} found upon the girls body. One story
. that certain neighbors heard shrieks iron
the Manchester house about II o'clock
but that they were not accustomed to pa
much attention to noises at the Manchest
ers. Medical Examiner Dolan states tina
, in his opinion the girl had been dead six o
seven hours when he first saw the body
not far from half past three
3 The authorities in charge of the Border
case were examining the witnesses yester
day preparatory to placing their evidenc
before the jury at New Bedford. Thi
| morning several more witnesses are bein
heard.