Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-20
LEWIS is THE MAN.
Indicted for Murder of Byron
Coburn of Gorham.
Witness GRAHAM Tells Jury the Story
Told Him by Lewis.
A Premeditated. Cold Blooded and Mos.
Brutal Murder Of a Feeble Man.

Portland, Dec 19.-The coroner's jury
in the Coburn murder case at Gorham,
charges James Lewis, alias James Walsh,
with the premeditated murder of Byron G.
| Coburn.
The coroner's jury began its session,
at II O'Clock until the afternoon The
witnesses examined, this forenoon, were
| Henry Hanniford, neighbor of Byron
6. Coburn, Joseph H. Coburn, a cousin of
the murdered man, Silas Rounds and Al
| bert Smith, the two men who visited Co
| burn on the afternoon of the murder, Mrs.
Lowell and her daughter Annie, James
| Dooley, Messrs. C. Little, f. H. Elwell
of the Portland Press and +. r. Fay of the
Boston Globe.
| Neither Lewis nor Graffam were pres
ent at the mornings inquest, both be
| ing held in the jail in Portland. Cole
man, the fellow workman with Lewis,
was present, this morning and conversed
| freely with the reporters. He is a rather
nice appearing young fellow and those
who have met him would be willing to
answer to his honesty.
| The coroner's jury went into session
this afternoon at O'Clock, and after about
an hours deliberation brought in Il vcr-
dict as above.
A warrant was mt once issued, and
when Deputy Sheriff Chute reached this
city he read it to Lewis who is confined
in the Jail. Lewis exhibited the utmost
cooness. He took his arrest very
coolly, and although be would not talk, he
did not seem at all disturbed by the YER
dict of the coroner's jury.
Edward Gratfam, one of the principal
witnesses of the State, will be held in Jail
as witness. Mrs. Lizzie c. Kimball,
the dead mans housckeeper, and Joseph
A. Coleman will be held as witnesses.
| Mrs Kiinball is now with friends in this
city and Coleman will remain i'll the Gus
tody of Deputy Sheriff Gardiner Parker
of Gorham.
Ever since the arrest of Edward Graf
fam in connection with the Coburn muir
der at Gorham, there has been a rumor
that he had told the officers the story OF
how Lewis did the deed. After the coro-
ners' Jury had rendered its verdict, this
afternoon, a partial version of Gratfan S
story was obtained. 1t was at the inquest
that Graffam told this story, which was
extracted from him few words at "a time
by the persistence of the county attorney.
When Lewis met Graffam at the steps of
the Lowell house, after the murder, they
had few words together and Lewis then
said in joking way, something about
getting the old mans money. 1t was af-
| ter Lewis had returned to the Lowell
house and told of the murder, and while
he and Graffam were driving up to Cor
ham together to summon the authorities,
that Lewis told his chum Graffam how
he committed the murder.
When he went over from the Lowell
house, he went directly into the barn and
with cold-blooded purpose loosened one OF
the horses in the tie-up, to draw the un-
suspecting and feeble victim from the
house to the place of death. Lewis stood
in COW stall beside the COW with an axe
all ready in his hands, and Mr.. Coburn
entering through the doorway, he struck
him on the head in such way that he
fell toward Lewis into the stall. Then
other terrible blows We're struck with
diabolical nerve, upon the prostratc body
of the poor victim.
Just how Lewis kept himself free from
blood is not clear to Gratfam. He did not
wear the bloody overcoat because Lewis
Mcclellan found that just in the barn and
there was no blood on it. ~
| After killing Coburn, because he thought
he had a large sum of money in it, as
Lewis told Graffam, Lewis went to the
| house and with extraordinary GOODNESS took
up a paper and began to read. Mrs. Kim
ball mentioned Coburn's absence and
asked Lewis to go to the barn to see about
/ il. Mrs. Kimball say that she watched
| him and saw him light match at the
door of the tie-up which he himself had
| fastened but few moments before. This
| is the substance of Graffam' s testimony.
Coleman said that he was the first to
| find the bloody axe at the door. Lewis
was with him and expressed surprise at
| finding the axe. Coleman found Mrs.
/ Kimball beside the body and she said that
| Coburn had been kicked to death by a
cow
| Coleman says the family before the muir
der was divided into two factions, Coleman
and Coburn being harmonious, and Lewis
and Mrs kimball getting along well to-
gether, but Coburn did not like Lewis
and wanted to discharge him, but he was
kept by Mrs. Kimball's influence. Lewis
was not particular to please Coburn but
would lie abed in themorning while Cole
1 man and Coburn did the chores. Mrs'
Kimball kept Lewis at work in the house
just previous to the murder, painting her
room.
Lewis will be arraigned before Judge
Gould in the municipal court, tomorrow
on the charge of murder.