The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-21
DEATH PENALTY.
THE STORY OF THE MURDER.

perpetrated I'm Massachusetts. The dis
coytry OF the mutilated body OF the
child in the cellar Of the Emmons barn
on the afternoon of April IL caused almost
unprecedented horror and indignation In
Boston and vicinity.
Enticed from her fathers barber shop
TO the Emmons premises on Savin Hill,
the little girl was subjected to horrible
abuse and then hacked with an axe until
her body presented a sickening sight. Her
body was then consigned TO hastily
constructed grave on the barn cellar, and
the murderer resumed his customary
iabors without displaying the slightest
feeling OF remorse or agitation.
The history of the crime and the detec-
tion of She murderer is as follows: AT
about 10 clock on April 10 last, Angus
ID. Gilbert called ut Mr.. sterling's shop
on Dorchester avenue. Gilbert was on
intimate terms with Mr.. Sterling and 1t
was his custom to visit the barber shop
whenever in that vicinity. He had just
come from the city proper and was feel
ing in the "pink of condition" or so he
expressed himself, when accosted by Mr..
Sterling. Little Alice was playing before
the barber shop when Gilbert appeared.
Gilbert professed to be very fond of the
child. 1t was his habit to take her in his
arms and kiss her. He caressed her as
usual on this occasion, ,stroking her silken
curls before passing into the shop.
No symptoms OF intoxication were man.
ifested by Gilbert. He sat Gown in the
barber shop and related in humorous
vein The good time he had in Boston that
was in his mind then. Gilbert was not
long in the shop before little Alice en-
tered. She sat upon his knee and she
seemed pleased with his show OF affection.
After she left the shop to play upon
the sidewalk Gilbert projected to the
Emmons premises to do his chores about
the place. Half an hour later Mr.. Ster-
ling missed his daughter. He no longer
heard her childish prattle and thought
she had called upon one OF the neighbors,
who all loved the little girl, and she fire.
quently visited them. When an hour
passed and Alice did not return he be-
came alarmed and called at every house
which she frequented. His search was
unavailing, and no tidings could be
gained.
That night general alarm was sent out
by the police ana an investigation was
called for at once. Mystery enshrouded
the fate OF the child the day following
her disappearance, the authorities being
unable 10 gain the faintest clue OF her
whereabouts. Rumors of all sorts circu-
lated the district. Some persons believed
the child had been kidnapped.
Ii was not, however, until IL was re-
ported that the missing child had been
seen in the company of a man, going in
the direction of the marshes, that the
theory Of murder found credence. The
whole community wAs aroused.
Neighbors and strangers sympathiZed
with the parents of the little one, but no
person seemed TO manifest greater or more
genuine grief than Gilbert. He joined
the searchers and offered all kinds Of sug-
gestions, heing apparently most anxious
TO discover clew that would lead to the
ifpntifu ~ ho ma loo wit
He was diligent and collected in his
work, and most t,Ae careful observer failed
10 detect anything in his manner beyond
sincerity Of purpose. Yet his hands were
stained with the life blood o! Alice Sterl-
| ing.
| ing impelled by strange desire, visited
| the marshes adjoining the Emmons prem
| ises. Since the story that Alice had been
| seen in the company OF q man, he had
had a premonition that his daughter
F, had been murdered and that the body
| had been hidden in one OF the holes or
| pools about Dorchester bay. His course
| led him to the Emmons boat house.
While wandering in that vicinity he
was tapped on the shoulder, and on turn
| ing beheld Angus Gilbert. No suspicion
| that the man before him was the murd-
| erer of his child entered Mr.. sterli1g's
| mind. Gilbert inquired il any light had
been thrown on the mystery. Upon being
| informed in the negative he felgned sor-
row and disappointment, upbraiding the
| police for their slowness in ascertaining &
| the cause OF Alice's disappearance. When
| asked IL he had any idea who this man
seen with Alice could be the murderer
| shook his head with the remark that he
was "probably tramp"
The two men stood for awhile in silence
broken finally by Gilbert inviting his
companion to his room in the Emmons
| barn. AS has already been told, Gilbert
| worked for Mrs. Enmons in conjunction
| with his labors at the Savin Hill station.
| The room TO which he invited Nr. Sterl-
| ing was used by him as a sleeping cham
| ber. When near the barn Mr.. Sterling
| turned, as IL intending to enter the prem
ises by the cellar door. Gilbert, pale as
death, grabbed him by an arm and turned
him from his course, remarking that the
cellar door was fastened and could not be
opened from the outside.
There was a motive in Gilbert's conduct.
Within that cellar and within few feet
OF the door was conclusive evidence that
murder had been committed. The murder
er will seldom take chances; and Gilbert
foresaw the risk he would have to assume
should Mr.. Sterling pass through that cell
lar door. Every act OF Gilbert during
this brief period was the act of a frighten-
ed criminal Mr.. Sterling allowed himself
sed into the barn through the main door,
on the floor landing.
Up the narrow stairs and into Gilbert's
room they made their way. Gilbert drew
up a chair for Mr.. Sterling and then drew
from case two bottles of lager beer. Had
Mr.. Sterling been favored with the gift
of second sight he would have seen some-
thing that would have made him US rigid
as n statue. Below him the cold, damp
earth covered the mutilated BODY of his
darling Alice. Only few thin boards hid
the evidence OF Gilbert's crime from the
father of the victim. He was in the house
OF the dead; but he did not know that.
Gilbert watched Mr.. Sterling with hawk
like eyes during his stay in that little
room. Every motion on his part was fol-
lowed by the murderer. When he rose to
examine a book on the od-fashioned drss-
ser Gilbert sprang to his feet and brought
IL to him. Had Mr.. Sterling examined
the drawers in that old-fashioned piece OF
furniture he would have found clothing
saturated with the boot OF his little girl.
Mr.. sterling and Gilbert left the prem
is $ together, the latter going to the Sa-
win uill statio1. The murderer worked at
his post that night, unconscious that the
authorities were steadily accumulating
evidence against him. His demeanOr SO