The Portland daily press., 1897-07-27
MAY BE A DEFAULTER.
Sensational Developments In Bar
rett Suicide Case.
YOUNG WOMAO BURNED HER EN-
PLOYER'S CASH BOOK.

Loss VIII Prevent Aseertaining If Firm
Suffered Any Loss-Young Man to
Whom She Had Been Engaged Found
But He Declines to Throw Any Light
On Mystery.
Boston, July a6.-It was learned today
that Miss Alice M. Barrett, the young
woman whose body was found in the
office Of Goldman & Goldman, Saturday,
purchased the revolver with which the
fatal shot was fired, herself at the store
of the John P. Lowell Arms company last
Friday night.
The property of the firm by whom Miss
Barrett was employed, was eXamin ed
this morning and found to be intact.
The cause of the suicide is still unex-
planned.
? 1t was also learned today that Miss Bar
rett was engaged to W. H. Foss, young
business man of this city. and that the
engagement was broken off about three
weeks ago, but when seen this morning
Mr.. Foss disposed of the theory that a
lovers quarrel led to the young woman s
act by stating that although the engage
friends. He saw Miss Barrett last in a
lunch room last Monday, and received
letter from her on Wednesday. He
| thinks Miss Barrett was murdered
1t seems as if every hour brought forth
new developments in the death of Miss
Barrett last Saturday afternoon. Her
family and later her employer are almost
positive that the girl was murdered, but
even this question has lost some interest
when it was ascertained this afternoon
that the cash book of the firm, which
Miss Barrett had kept for two years, and
in (which she had entered all the cash
transactions, had been burned The police
have been hard at work on the case
since it assumed such phases are almost
satisfied that Miss Barrett burned the
book before her death. With the disap7
pearance of this book the firm finds itself
in q most peculiar position. Mr.. Willie
G. Goldman admitted to the police that it
was truly n surprise to him to learn
that his confidential clerk and bookkeep-
er had destroyed the cash book. He then
admitted that the destruction of the
may have existed 80 etfectually that it
would almost be impossible to discover
them.
The absence of the cash book was not
discovered until this morning when the
safe was opened for the first time since
one of the frelnen hastily closed it at the
time of the fire. The safe was found
tents from being destroyed 1t was
promptly shut. Mr.. Goldman came from
Nantucket this morning and search
was made for the missing book. Among
the debris Of the fire that had been thrown
into the back yard, was found 20 pages
of the book.
The handwriting on the sheet was that
Of Miss Barrett. Mr.. Goldman says that
it is his personal conviction that Miss
Barrett did not commit suicide, but was
murdered, perhaps by some one who
followed her into the office on Saturday.
He does not believe that Miss Barrett
embezzled cent of the firms money.
DEPUTY Superintendent Burrill said
tonight: ''The cash book was in the
safe at 1.45 O'Clock last Saturday when
Mr.. Briggs left the office. He locked up
the safe We believe that Miss Barrett
opened the safe when she returned to
the office for the purpose of destroying
this book and other papers.
The family of the girl stoutly hold to
the theory of murder while the police
hold that she burned the papers in the
toilet room, then shot herself, and that
the burning papers came in contact with
some rubbish or woodwork of the closet
and caused the blaze which led to the
striking of the fire alarm. They do not
think that Miss Barrett intended to
fire the place.