The San Francisco call., 1898-01-11
THE FAVE AWFUL a1
 HIRED MAN Murder of a Farmer, His Wife and
 Daughter. Victims Slain With an AK and Left on BlOOd-
 Soaked Beds. 1 Robbery the Motive Of the Most Fiendish and WantOn
 Slaughter. TRIES TO BURN THE HOUSE l Plans of the Assassin to Crenate the
 Bodies Of His Victims Fail.
Robbery the Motive Of the Most Fiendish and WantOn
 Slaughter.
TRIES TO BURN THE HOUSE
Plans of the Assassin to Cremate the Bodies of His Victims Fail.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

BOSTON, Mass. Jan. 10.-F. n. New ton. prosperous farmer, his wife, Sarah and their 10-year-Old adopted daughter Ethel, were butchered in their house about two miles from Brookfield Centre. on the road to Sur bridge. The crime was discovered by neighbors who heard the towing of the cattle and made an investigation. The three members of the family were found in their blood-soaked beds. hay ing been horribly killed with an ax
 A hired man. who has been employed by Newton. is missing. and the author ities are making a sharp search for him. He was known only by the name of Paul He was last seen Friday night just before midnight by neighbors who were returning from a grange meeting. He was then more than mile from the Newton house and was going in the direction of Brookfeld From this it is believed that the mur- der was committed between 10 and II D. m.
 When Newton did not appear. the neighbors made an investigation As they passed the parlor windows one of the men noticed that a pane of glass had been broken They opened the window and Crawled into | the room. As soon as their eyes rested ! some one had thoroughly ransacked the place. Following their search the neighbOrS entered a small bedroom at 1 the rear of the house. On a blood | stained bed lay the bodies of Mrs. New | ton and the little girl. They were | dressed but their clothing was torn and 1 blOOd-stained. Near the bed was a blood-stained aX. which evidently was ! the weapon used Upstairs in the chamber usually occupied by MT New | ton. which connected with that occu- 1 pied by the hired man, Paul, lay the ! body of the farmer on the bed. All about were evidences that he had been dealt with had the other mem bers of his family. He was also dressed The coverings of the bed had been drawn at his head so as to conceal any wounds which might be thereon The 1 bed in Paul's room had been occupied ! but there was no other trace of the | hired man.
 Paul is a foreigner but his national ity IS not known. He was about 30. short and compactly built. and has 1 been employed on the Newton farm 1 for about two months. The motive of the crime is not known. Robbery has | been referred to as a probable cause but that, it is thought. does not account for the slaughter of the whole family. 1 Moreover. MT. NewtOn's gold watch was found in his vest, which hung over
 
 Outing the forenoon 1t developed that the Hired man. Paul. had been heard to call himself Miller, but whether that is his true name or not it cannot be ascertained at present. All trace of him as far as the officials could learn was lost after he passed George Pike and Arthur Rice. who were the young men who saw him Friday night Both of these men recognized Paul and spoke to him, they say, but he seemed to wish to avoid recognition and. turning away his head, did not respond to their greeting.
 An attempt was made to conceal the l murder by setting fire to the house Kerosene was discovered on the floor of the WoOdshed and a lamp was found so placed that it would have set fire to the wood. One stick was burned through, but for some unknown reason a blaze was aVerted.
 A man answering the description of Paul Miller, who came into station ? 1 at Worcester as a logger, has been held pending an investigation. He is farmland and dressed shabbily. and in many respects answers the descrip- ton of Miller.