The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-19
IT IS A FOUL MURDER CASE
DEATH, OF THE YIOTIM OF co.
L0MBE'S FIENDISH ONSLAUGHT.

Mrs. Colombo Dies at the Hospital Last
Evening-Her Ante-Mortem Statement
Was Secured by Coroner Mix-The Muir
derer's Statement.
Mrs, Alice Colombo, who was so hor-
ribly beaten by her husband In Beth
the New Haven hospital, died last
evening at about eight o'clock. Her
husband was a woodchopper, and
the couple lived in Bethany. He
came home on Tuesday night drunk,
and in jealous rage accused his wife
of being unfaithful. She resented and
he struck her, knocking her down. Then
he seized his rifle to shoot her, but 1t
was unloaded, and, using it as club,
he beat her about the body and limbs
until the weapon became so badly bent
and twisted as to be useless. He then
caught the wretched woman by the
heels, dragged her upstairs and threw
her on Ia bed.
The selectmen of Bethany were noti-
fed and Wednesday morning the bru-
tai husband was arrested and after
hearing was bound over to the superior
court In $1,000 bonds and brought to the
city and lodged In Jail, as was told in
our yesterdays issue.
At the hospital it was discovered that
both the poor woman's arms and her
right thigh were broken, the bones of
the left leg were literally gouged out,
her right hand broken i'm two places,
her eyes blackened and her body from
head to foot covered with terrible
bruises. There were no less than thir-
teen fractures.
At o'clock yesterday morning DR..
Hawkes., the hospital surgeon, who had
attended the woman, awoke Coroner
Mix and told him the particulars and
gave it as his opinion that the woman
was so terribly injured that she might
not live until morning. The coroner
went to the hospital at once and took
the woman's ante-mortem statement.
She had perfect possession of her facul-
ties and told the story. but throughout
she suffered intense agony and was un-
able to remain quiet l(or single in
slant, SO great were her sufferings She
constantly swung her arms, which were
in splints and bandages, and hardly for
an instant could she refrain from NOV
ing her limbs. Two or three times dur
ing her narrative she seemed unable to
go on, but finally completed the story
of her husbands crime. Toward morn
ing she grew worse and at daylight yes
terday morning she became delirious.
The story she told Of her husbands cru
city Coroner Mix declined to make pub
lic
The following is the story of Colom-
be. He at once admitted striking his
wife many times with the weapon,
but said that he did not hit her hard
enough to hurt her. He says that he
was actuated by jealousy, and that
his wife had been unfaithful to him. The
details are practically as follows: He
was born In Canada thirty-five years
ago, and left there when boy and
knocked around the country until sew
en- years ago, when he located 1t Hol-
yoke, Mass. He| worked there over
six years, where he married his wife,
who was an American girl. A child
was born to them three years ago
He says while In Holyoke he discover
| ed that his wife was unfaithfui to him
| and that detective caught her under
compromising circumstances. He says
| that he has been hard drinker and
never Ill treated his wife when he was
tsober. On Tuesday night he came home
about s o'clock drunk. and went up
stairs and laid down.
He was aroused by his wife hringitg
a lantern up to his face He says she
came upstairs to see if he was sound
| asleep. He followed her down stairs
and there found his wife and the two
men,, He told his wife to come upstairs,
but she refused to do so. He then said
| that IL the two met did not get out Of
the house he would shoot them. The
gun, he states, was mo good" and
would not go off. He took the gun and
went down stairs and frightened the
men away. Then being Infatuated at
what he believed to be another instance
of his wife's perfidy he struck her with
the gun twice or three times. He saws
| that the gun broke, and by striking on
the floor. He then dropped the gun
and struck her several times with his
| fist.
He denies that he struck her hard
enough to kill her, and said he would
never have struck her If he had not
been drinking.
Another account of the crime is as
| follows:
Waterbury, July 17.-The woman was
thirty and pretty, and her husband was
Jealous of her. Night before last, at a
| late hour. he reached home drunk and
| committed his awful deed There were
| no witnesses, and little of the actual
| occurrence Is known, except that his
| weapon was dubbed gun until he
broke 1t. and then the barrel of the
same. Selectman Woodward heard of
the trouble and drove to Colombe's
house, but could not get in, and went
home for help. On his return he found
the woman unconscious on bed up
stairs and the man in drunken stupor
on the floor. 1t is suggested on &C
count Of bruises on the back of her
head that he dragged her upstairs by
the heels, but this Is purely conjecture
| DR.. Delaney of Naugutuck arrived at
a. M, about an hour and a half after
| the assault. and reduced the fractures
| the best he could without assistance,
and returned in the afternoon with DR..
! Spring of Naugatuck and Medical Stu
dent James j. Mccarthy, and the three
made the woman as comfortable as they
! could. Then Mr.. Mccarthy took her In
a covered wagon to the New Haven
4 L,