Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-10-26
SAVAGE C0NFESSES.
Betsey Hobbs Met Death at
Hands Of Frank J. Palmer.
Savage Weakens at the Inquest and
Tells How the Deed Was Done.
Palmer Still Denies N-Both Boys Lodged In
Jail at Alfred.

West Parsensfield Oct. 25.-The mys-
terry surrounding the shooting and at
tempted cremation of Mrs. Betsy r.
Hobbs, Oct. 5, was cleared, Saturday
afternoon. by the confession of Charles
Savage. Savage and Frank ]. Palmer.
the alleged principal in the affair, were.
Saturday night, taken to the York
county Jail. and held on joint charge
of murder.
| Palmer is a cross-eyed youth, 16
years of age, and is a son of Joshua u
Palmer a farmer of Middle road VII
laee, in West Parsonsfeld.
Savge is 20 years of age. He came
| here with his parents eight years ago
from Cambridge. Mass. The Savage
| farm is in Effingham. N. H., about ll2
| miles from the ruins of the betsy
! Hobbs homestead, near Taylor City
| After the gunshot wounds were dis
| covered on the dead body of Mrs
| Hobbs, which had been rescued from
the burning dwelling. suspicion was d.
rected to these two boys, as has already
been stated.
| A Pinkerton detective from Boston
| went to work, and County Attorney
Willis T. Emmons of Saco put in con-
| siderable time on the case. Meanwhile,
| Coroner F. C. Bradbury of Saco was
| holding an inquest. the sessions sep
arated by intervals of week. At the
| conclusion Of the second sitting OF the
coroner's jury, a week ago, the outlook
was far from promising.
The inquest, Saturday, was held at
| The farm house of John Wentworth.
The only witnesses examined were the
| suspected boys. Palmers mother and
| Savages brother and sister.
Charles Savage retold his story of
| week ago, and unfinchingly withstood
half-hour's questioning. but at
last the coroner discerned a suspicion
of weakening, and pertinent questions
were rapidly put to the boy, till he
finally succumbed. and related tale
duplicating himself and Frank Palmer
in the murder and attempted cremation
of Mrs. Hobbs. His confession shows
that malice, not accident, was at the
bottom of the crime.
He and Palmer, he said, had been
drinking together, Sunday, the day be-
fore the tragedy. Monday morning.
Savage took his breech-loading shot
gun, started across the fields toward
Middle road. and met Palmer, who bor
rowed the gun. When not far from the
Widow Hobbs homestead they heard
horse and carriage approaching.
At the suggestion of Palmer. the boys
branched off into the woods on the New
Hampshire side of the read. After
George Taylor. the occupant of the car
riage, had driven by, they continued
their walk down the road toward the
village.
Lets go down and see the old lady
Hobbs" suggested Palmer.
When they reached the house the
aged widow had not lighted her kitchen
fire.
Charlie, won't you go out and get
me some kindlings?" she asked.
Savage got an armful of kindlings,
carried them in. and then returned to
the shed on another errand. While
there he heard the report of a gun, and
going to investigate. saw his companion
some distance off, while Mrs. Hobbs
lay bleeding upon the doorsteps
Palmer came back. and, with an oath,
declared that now he had squared the
grudge he owed her for pulling s. out
of him in payment for the glass he
broke in her house three years ago.
Get hold here, and help me carry her
into the house." he ordered, and Savage
obeyed.
Savage says he was so frightened he
did not realize what he was doing.
They dragged the dead body into the
house.
IL - ~1e. hot
shortly overtaken by Palmer who de-
clared that nobody would ever know
what happened, for he had set the
house afire.
''All you need to do is to keep your
tongue STILL" was his caution to Saw
age.
After roaming about there several |
hours, they went to Savage's home and |
began digging potatoes, in which occu-
patton they were engaged when Arthur |
Savage, the younger brother, came |
home in the afternoon with the news of |
the tragedy.
Neither Palmer nor Savage went to |
the village to join the assemblage |
gathered about the ruins of the widow |
home and at the residence of George |
Beal, where the partly burned body of |
the widow was taken.
After the examination of Savage was |
concluded he was handed over to the
temporary keeping of Sheriff N. N. |
Hurd.
Then Frank Palmer was called into
the presence of the jury, and the
squeezing process applied, but to no
avail. Not SO much as a suggestion of |
confession could be wrung from him.
Sheriff Hurd took charge of Palmer
also, and, assisted by Deputy Sheriff
Beacham, took the boys to Limerick.
The boys were arraigned before Trial
Justice John c. Hayes on a charge of
They pleaded not guilty, and
we're taken to the county jail at Alfred.
The verdict rendered by the coroner's
Jury is that Mrs. Betsy r. Hobbs came
TO her death. Monday. Oct. 5, 1896. at
about A. NJ, near her own home. as
The result of gunshot wounds. which
entered the brain. at the base of the
;kull. the shot lodging in the brain. said
shot being fired from a gun in the
lands of Frank J. Palmer of Parsons
= "