The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-09-05
LAST EDITION
POTTER DID IT.
He Confessed Last Night to
the Murder of His Wife,
Jealousy is Said to Be the Cause
He is Now in East Greenwich Jail.
Special 10 The He,c..

y
ago Gilbert Potter married susan A.
Vaughn, and last night he said to the
constable OF Rice City: al haye shot my
wife because for five years she has been my
torment. She was faithless, my own
brother has been her accomplice and she
has made me a laughing stock by strik-
ing me in his presence and defying me to
help myself. Now 1 have helped
myself, she is better of, can be no worse
and there is no need of any more trouble
about finding out who fired that bullet
into my wife's head"
That is the Substance OF what Gilbert
Potter said to the constable, Michael
Lynch, last evening at 7:30 o'clock.
The story of the murder itself is now Z
familiar one all over the State, and the
criminal has taken out the only mystery
there was to the crime by his confession,
given in a stolid, matter-o Of fact sort o, a
way, altogether characteristic OF the man
himself.
His fellow villagers had said: "If Glib
did it, he'll say SO, because he's SO hon
est" And Glib has lost none Of HE re1u-
tation for veracity.
Early last evening Potter was alone in
his house, sitting in the same roon With
the stiffened body of his murdered wife
and smoking pipe, when Lynch came
in, not as an officer looking
for criminal. but rather as
. man going to sympathizo
with friend in trouble, for the constable
was one of the few who believed the hus-
band to be innocent.
The two men talked OF the murder,
and the church picnic, the two
events now distracting Rico City,
and finally Potter, pointing to the shected
form on the bed, said, "Mike, / did 1t.
at was before started on that carly
morning trip to East Greenwich bay after
clans. My wife was lying thore asleep
the temptation was too great for
hated her; the pistol was In my pocket;
no one could see or hear. But at frat \
resisted and was sitting on the bed eat
ing lunch when she reused herself
and snarled at me for keeping
light i'm the room. That was
the last straw. put out the light at her
request, said good night aud waited
till she was asleep again, then i leaned
over the foot of the bed and fired once.
That was enough. IL was then that the
idea struck me that 1t was crime as
well as revenge, and the penalty was lie
The thought OF escape
was uppormost, so broxe
the window, disarranged the fur
niture to create the impression
that it was the work of q robber. had
the five dollars which had borrowed and
At first intended to take the train and
get away as far as possible but changed
my mind and went to dig the clans in
stead. f t
"That's all there is to It. have thought
Of it all day. The people don't hesitate to
accuse mo SO I've told the truth"
Then followed the explanation OF why
ne had done it, the jealousy aroused by
,he intimacy OF his wife with his brother
md other men.
Lynch Was Dumfounded.
Lynch was dumfounded, but lost no
ime in asserting his authority % an off,
er of the law, and, Handwriting tho pris-
'ner, led him through the village to
lis own barn, where he hitched up Tor
lis long drive of IL miles to the Jail ut
Cast Greenwich. OF the two the officer
ppreciated the solemnity OF that all
light drive through the woods of Coven-
fy more than the man who realized that
'e would probably never travel the ia
niliar pike again.
II was the same road that Potter had
rsveled twenty hours before when he had
eft his murdered wife and gone TO Gig
lams.
lie referred 10 that last night. lie did
verything but act rs a man who was be-
ng taken 10 jail for taking human life.
The couple arrived at East Greenwich
CONTINUED on Page 81