The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-02-28
ANOTHER BRUTAL MURDER
IN AGED COBALT CITIZEN FOUND
DEAD IN HIS COTTAGE.

Lived as Hermit in His Isolated Home
Ghastiy Discovery by a Physiclan-The
Old Mans Skull Battered in by a Flat
Iron-Robbery the Motive of the Murder.
Cobalt, Feb. 27.-This usually peace
full town is all astir over one of the most
brutal murders on record in the state.
This morning the battered body Of Tim
othy III. Parmelee was found lifeless
stretched upon his kitchen floor with
every indication that murder had
been perpetrated, and this afternoon all
doubts were dispelled when Coroner
Davis came here from Middletown and
after careful study of the case pro-
nounced it one of unquestionable muir
der. He spent the greater part of the
afternoon examining every nook about
the place in search of any trace of
the cold blooded culprits Mr.. Parme-
lee was ripe old man and but two
days ago stated in the grocery store
of Bailey & Markham, where he called
regularly for his meagre store of pro-
visions, that he had well rounded sew
enty years. The general impression is
that he was fully seventy-five years
old The old man lived as a hermit
in a little house about three-quarters
of mile north of the railroad station
on what is known as Great Hill. His
cottage was isolated from others in
that part of the town and the murderers
and robbers, as they are believed to be,
had nothing but the strength of the
weakened old man to overcome without
the least fear of being detected in their
fiendish work. 1t is not known whether
there We're more than one connected
with the murder or not. One man
could have done the work alone. The
examination of Coroner Davis this af-
ternoon revealed that the old mans
skull had been hammered with heavy
tailors fiat iron and fractured in three
places; four ribs were broken and his
chest was crushed in. Little blood had
been spilled. Coroner Davis was as
sisted in search of the premises by
willing citizens, whose wrath has been
reused almost to the pitch of lynching
the murderers should they be captured
within a few hours. A light snow fell
early this morning, which did much to
assist the criminals in concealing their
movements from the authorities. In
the immediate vicinity of the house no
traces of a questionable nature were
discovered, but within short distance
the footprints close together as if caus-
ed by a man landing on the spot after
10Th, jr1Yy, cd
and measurements taken at once. At
ter the coroner's verdict the body of
the aged man was removed to the UNI
dertaking rooms of Arthur Wellington
| by order of the selectmen. There it
will remain until the police have salts
| fed that they have secured all the evil
| dence necessary to hunt down the muir
derer or murderers. The first man to
discover the murdered man was DR.. G.
| w. Lawson of Haddam. He had called
at the request of the old man sent in
| the night before. Thinking that his
visit could be put off until morning DR..
| Lawson decided to wait but called
around early this morning. To his
surprise he found all the doors locked
After trying them all he managed to
which opens on to the old mans Sleep
| ing room. He perceived the apartment
| to be in a mussed condition, the bed
| clothes had been thrown from the tick
and Mr.. Parmelee was lying upon one
corner of a quilt near the bedroom door.
The doctor at once determined that
there had been foul play and going
around to the side of the house again
he burst in the door, Then the real
condition of things became apparent.
He suspected robbery as the cause and
noticed that although the doors were
fastened the keys were missing, inside
and outside The body had the appear
ance of having been rendered lifeless
four or five hours before. DR.. Lawson
reported his discovery to the select
men at once and the Haddam and Mid
dletown authorities were sent for. Near
the old mans body were two house
hold articles that told the story of the
deed. Parmelee had been set upon with
an ordinary poker and pounded with
heavy pressing iron by the culprlts
to be sure that every spark OF lie
had been extinguished before they left.
Parmelee, though a hermit, had been
married but was divorced from his
wife fifteen years ago. She is now liv-
ing in Middle Haddam with one of the
three children born to them while they
were living together. A married son is
living in East Haddam. The other two
are unmarried. 1t was learned this al
ternoon that none of the family ever
visited the father and that since the
news of his violent death has spread
to all the surrounding places not one
of them has yet been seen in Cobalt.
Robbery is given as the undoubted
cause of the murder by the majority of
the citizens who have visited the scene
of the tragedy, but others think that
the articles which were taken were
snatched merely to put the authorities
off the track of the real culprits. Parm-
elee's watch and chain were taken and
late this afternoon it was learned that
his high priced revolver had also been
stolen The old man was not regarded
as a wealthy person by the inhabitants
of Cobalt, although it was known that
he lived without working. He usually
had a good roll of bills which he took
no pains to conceal whenever making
purchases and always had supply of
silver about his person. He was not
very popular with the townspeople and
was frequently engaged in former years
in lawsuits He was continually at va
rance with the distant neighbors. All
sorts of theories and rumors are in
circulation in the town tonight, which