The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-22
ANOTHER STRANGE
MURDER MYSTERY
Singular Fate of Mrs. Chaplin and
Charles Mead.
1T MAY NEVER BE EXPLAINED
The Wife of the Postmaster of Falls
village, Conn, and Her Lover
Found Dead in the Chaplin Home.
One Had Killed the Other and
Then Had Committed Suicide.

Fall River, Conn, Feb. 21l-Some
time yesterday morning before this
little village woke up a tragedy took
place in the house of Postmaster W.
II. Chaplin. Mrs. Hattie Chaplin, wife
of the postmaster and Charles H.
Mead, an unmarried man, were killed
by the same revolver. 1t was undoubt-
edly a case of murder and suicide, but
which one did the shooting it not
known. Circumstances go to show that
1t was the woman. Postmaster Chapln
was out of town that night, and the
only other persons in the house were a
servant and 1O-year-old Harry Chaplin,
the dead womans son, who found the
bodies. From their condition it is sup
posed that life had been extinct for
more than an hour when they were
discovered.
Mrs. Chaplin was about 80 years old,
and a rather handsome woman. Not
far away stands the house occupied
by the family of the Rev. II. p Mead,
now of Scotland, Conn, who used to
have a church here. When he went
to Scotland to preach he left his wife
and family here because of the supe-
rior educational advantages of this
place The oldest son. Charles, got
employment as a travelling salesman
for the King Paper company, of Spring.
field, and when not on the road, spent
his time at home. He and Mrs Chaplin
have known each other for many years,
but it is only of late that their ac-
Quaintance has been such as to arouse
any comment, and that was only the
gossip natural to a village of this size.
He was 20 years old.
No talk of young Mead's attentions
to Mrs. Chaplin had ever reached her
husband. He is away from home
much. In addition to being postmaster,
he has the management of the fish
hatcheries of Henry a. Bishop at Shelf
field, Mass, and during the past few
months has spent half of his time there.
Often he goes to Sheffield on the morn
ing train and returns on the following
morning. He left here for Sheffield yes
terday morning, telling Mrs. Chaplin
that he would return today. Mead had
been in town several days, and had
been seen talking with Mrs. Chaplin on
the street, though not in such a man
ner as to cause any special remark un-
til the double killing became known
Then several persons remembered hav-
ing seen them talking together.
The boy sleeps upstairs. On the
ground floor are the parlor, the back
parlor, the dining room, a bedroom in
which Mrs. Chaplin sometimes slept
and the kitchen and back rooms. When
Harry got up in the morning he called
to his mother and got no answer. 1t
was after o'clock, an hour at which
Mrs. Chaplin usually arose Going into
the upstairs bedroom sometimes used
by his mother, the boy saw that she
was not there, so he ran downstairs
and pounded on the door of the sleep
ing room there.
A CHASTITY FIND.
Getting no answer, he opened the
door and looked in, saw that the bed
which was empty, had been slept in
and supposed that his mother was al.
ready up and about the house. Cross.
ing the hail. he went to the dining
room. He got half way into the room
before his intelligence took in the
meaning of what he saw, the bodies OF
q man and a woman on the floor dark
stains on the carpet near where the
heads lay, and revolver lying between
the two forms. He cried out to hi.
mother, then turned and ran out into
the street, crying. The first person hi
met was Station Agent Adams, whc
was on his way to open the station ant
get the fire going. In few words the
boy told what he had seen.
Run for the doctor as fast as yol
cam" commanded Mr. Adams. "Tel
him to come straight to the house. II
be there"
Setting out at a hot pace, Mr.. Ad
ans quickly reached the house. ant
made his way to the dining room
There on the floor he saw the tw,
bodies. The face of the woman wa
turned toward him, and he instantl,
recognized Mrs. Chaplin, That of tn
man was turned away. Mr.. Adams
bent over to look at it and almos
tainted from the shock of surpris,
added to the horror of the scene. HI
was looking, not at Postmaster Chaplin
whose face he had expected to see, bu
al that of Charles Mead. Before h
had recovered himself, DR.. Francis S
Skiff had reached the house and wa
making an examination of the bodies
The bodies We're warm, and the docto
thought that they had been dead al
hour or two.
Meantime Harry Chaplin, who ha,
learned who the dead man was, wa
crying for his father. This recalled MI
Chaplin to the minds of those of hi
They asked the boy when he expecte,
his father back.
Il heard him tell mamma he'd b
back this morning." he answered.
The train was then pulling in, an
two of the men hurried down to tn
train to meet him. Explaining at frs
that his wife had met with terribl
accident, they came to the truth littl
by little during the walk to the house
and when Mr.. Chaplin reached his doc
he knew that his wife had been sho
and killed, but the worst of it he di
not know until he came to the room
which he insisted on entering at once
POSITION OF THE BODIES.
Coroner Higgins found everything O.
the scene of the tragedy exactly as
was when the bodies We're discovered
They lay few feet apart and almost a
right angles to each other The ma
lay almost face down. He was entirel
dressed except for his overcoat and har
which lay on a chair near by. Their
was hole in his right temple an
another in the left side of his heaC
showing where the bullet had entere
and gone through the head. Som
specks of powder about the wound o
the right temple showed that the bulle
had struck on that side, and also tina
the muZzle of the weapon was near hi
head when the shot was fired. Mr.
Chaplin lay on her back, her head wa
bowed toward Mead, as If she ha
fallen forward and rolled over. Th
bullet that killed her had entered q