Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-12-10
THE MANCHESTER CHILD MUIR
DER CASE,
Arrest and Confession of the Per-
petrator of the Crime.

uuuluR VI Tue uedu OOuy OF q ClllQ IN
the Battenkill River at Manches-
ter Centre, Saturday, the 23d of
November, has been cleared away by the
arrest, last Friday, by Deputy Sheriff
Giddings, of Manchester Centre, of the
perpetrator of the crime. who was none
other than the mother of the child.
Shortly after midnight the woman stood
on the bridge in Manchester Centre near
the Colburn house, dropped her three
weeks old child into the river and, as
she says, without waiting to hear if it
made any outcry, proceeded on the way
to her fathers house three miles distant.
Whether she has felt any pang of re-
morse for the deed no one knows. She
has been at work in the village of Man
chester for Mrs. L. B. Burton since that
time, has heard the talk and witnessed,
the excitement caused by the crime, but
has given no sign that she was the guilty
one, or that she had the least interest in
| the case.
The mother who deliberately murder
ed her child is Mrs. Mary Wetherbee, a
divorced woman, and one who was born
and has always lived in Manchester, her
father, Henry Carpenter, living about
two miles from Manchester village. Her
life thus far would not appear to have
been happy one. People of the village
say that her father has always treated
her shamefully. Her reputation has
been clouded for several years. AL
though only "a years of age, she has CIV
en- birth to three illegitimate children,
all of which are dead, the first one hav-
ing been found dead in bed by her side
the day after its birth, although the doc
tor who attended remarked, Friday
| night, that it was remarkably healthy
child and that he could give no reason
for its death. She was married in 1890
to a man now residing in Barnumville.
The marriage was an unfortunate one
and divorce was secured year ago.
She has the reputation of being good
worker, pleasant to have around the
house, woman neither insane nor half
witted, but one of those quiet, cool, de-
termined women who tell nothing but
can keep their own counsel. Her attitude
since the commission of this crime
shows this to be true. 1t must have re-
quired an unusually strong nerve for
mother to start from Manchester Depot,
as she did, after midnight, carrying her
three weeks old child in her arms, and
then, on that bridge, with the waters of
the Battenklll rushing along below, lean
over its side, drop the child into the wa
ter with apparently little thought of the
enormity of her crime. She says that
the affair was not premeditated but that
the idea came into her head as she
stepped onto the bridge, and acting up
on the impulse Of the moment, she COM
mItted the deed. When the child was
found, its clothes were sewed tightly
around it.
AS soon as the physicians had exam
ined the body of the child and fouud
that death was due to drowning, investi-
cations were begun by Deputy Sheriff
Giddings who was given charge of the
case. He followed various clues, only to
find that they were all wrong. He had
about given up all hopes of finding the
guilty party.
One evening the first of last week, the
Sheriff and party of men were at the
Munson House talking over the matter
A certain person, who is supposed to
have been on friendly terms with Mrs.
Wetherbee, entered tho room several
times. After the party separated this
person went to the Sheriff and informed
him that while in hospital in Montreal,
Mrs. Wetherbee had given birth to
child. 1t was known, when she went
away several weeks before, that she was
in trouble, but when she returned and
went to work nothing apparently was
thought of the matter. Sheriff Giddings
seemingly did not place much depend
ance upon the statements. He was told
by his informant that the next day he
would show the Sheriff some letters that
would convince him of the truth of what
he was saying. This was done and it
formed the first tangible clue.
Sheriff Giddings then secured the
name of the hospital and wired the chief
of police of Montreal, narrating the cir
cumstances, and asked him to investi-
gate. This the Montreal chief did and
wired Sheriff Giddings his results, even
describing the clothes that the child had
on and the hour that Mrs. Wetherbee
left that city. The description of the
clothes tailed with those In which the
child was dressed. The conductor of
the sleeping train in which she made the
trip was seen. He remembered
a woman with a baby getting
off the train at Manchester
that night He saw no one meet her, did
not know which way she went, but
thought he could identify her. All evil
dence seemed to point to her as the
guilty party. Last Friday morning Mr.
Giddings went to Manchester village,
called at the house of Mrs. Burton and
called for Mrs. Wetherbee. When she
came into the room she appeared as cool