Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-02-22
GILBERT HANGED.

seen in the company of man, going in
the direction of the marshes, that the
theory of murder found credence. The
whole community were aroused
Neighbors and strangers sympathized
with the parents OF the little one, but no
person seemed 70 manifest greater or more
genuine grief than Gilbert. He joined
the scarchers and offered all kinds Of sug-
gestions. being apparently most anxious
to discover clew = Il would lead to the
identity Of thu man .I>t seen with Alice.
He was diiigcnt and collected in his
work and the most careful observer failed
to detect anythin. in his manner beyond
sincerity Of purpose Yet his hands We're
stained with the lifc-bloo OF Alice Ster-
ling.
On the afternoon Of April Il Mr.. Ster-
ling, impellcI by a strange desire. visited
the marshes adjoining the Emmons
premises. Since the story that Alice had
been seen in the company OF mar. he
had had n prcmonitlon that his daughter
had been murdered and that the body hal
been hidden in one OF the holes or pools
about Dorchester bay. His course led him
to the Emmons boathouse.
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 muir
derer of his child entered Mr.. Sterling :
mind. Gilbert inquired II any light had
been thrown on the mystery Upon being
answered in the negative, he feigned sor.
row and disappointment, upbraiding the
police for their slowness in ascertainine
the cause Of Alice's disappearance. When
asked if he had any idea who this man
seen with Alice could be, the murderer
shook his head with the remark that he
was probably a tramp"
Tell-Tale Flood Spots
On the morning of April 10 he went to
the Emmons barn for breakfast. He gave
no signs OF being mentally irrespunsi bic"
when he began his labors on the Emmons
place that morning, nor We he apparently
deranged in mind when he encountered
the servants, from whom he tried to hide
the telltale blood spots on his trousers.
Gilbert had sought by every sane means
to cover up his crime.
BY noon of the same day the police had
frightened a chain of circumstantial evi.
dence against him. 1t was like working
v.
the officers experienced clear sailing, and
that afternoon strong evidence was estab
lished OF Gilbert's participation in the
crime.
The clew was found witnesses were I'M
earthed who saw him in company with
Alice on the fatal day, who saw him lead
ing the innocent child to her death. Inch
by inch his movements We're traced from
the time he left the Sterling barber shop
until he crossed into the Emmons estate,
to within about 40 feet of the barn.
When Gilbert reappeared that afternoon
he was placed under arrest on suspicion
Of being the murderer He BETRAYED no
emotion when accused of the crime nor
did he exhibit any signs of weakness when
confronted with the bloodstained gar
ments of his victim 1t was some hours
after Gilbert's arrest when the body was
found in its grewsome grave in the barn
cellar.
The First Clew.
The disclosure of the bloody apparel OF
the little girl in his dressing case was the
first direct warning that the officers re-
ceived of the commission of a heinous
crime, though all had strongly suspected
that murder had been committed
The finding of the clothing convinced
the police that the body was concealed
somewhere on the premises After ram
sacking the upper portion of the barn
the searchers proceeded to the cellar
Gilbert accompanying them. One of the
officers noticed a fresh spot of earth in the
corner near the dungheap, and he pro-
ceeded to apply his spade. A few turns of
the soft earth revealed the tiny feet of the
murdered child
Gilbert did not finch when brought face
to face with the body of his victim. He
put on bold front and denied in toto
that he had anything in common with the
murder of Alice Sterling. As he gazed on
the paled face of his victim his face never
once lost color, while his feelings seemed
in the declaration: II am in
nOcent!"
The celebrity with which the government
pushed the case from this time on was re-
On April 10 Gilbert committed
the awful crime, on the 18th he was ar
rested, on the 10th he was arraigned in
the local court, and two days later the
grand jury, by special sitting, returned al
Indictment Of three counts of murder
against him.
The Conviction,
His trial began in the superior criminal
;0lIrt on June ~ and was n,sh.l -;,h