The Portland daily press., 1898-09-17
rs7EcrAn TO THE PREss.1

new facts in relation to the murder of
Ivory L. Boothby, the North Saco farm
hand, were discovered today, but nothing
that seems to give any tangible clue to
the identity of the murderer. n!
Instead Of firing an upward shot
through the head as the hasty examine
tion of the body yesterday seemed to in
dicate, the murderer sent two bullets into
the victim, both on a. level with his head,
and both taking effect one below the
right jaw, and the other just above the
left temple. The second shot must have
caused instantaneous death and the first
was sufficient to have stunned the victim.
At the inquest held, by Coroner f. g.
Bradbury at the Boothby homestead to-
day, testimony was brought out showing
that a short man wearing dark clothes
and dark slouch ha t was met by several
people shortly after the murder headed
toward Portland. It is believed that 1t
was Ivory Boothby's murderer.
The inquest was held in the sitting
room, while the Members of the family
and the neighbors who had been sum
moned to tell what they knew about the
affair were gathered in the dining room.
In the front parlor, whose curtains were
tightly drawn, reposed the remains of the
murdered man.
Early in the afternoon, after the coro-
ner's jury had viewed the remains, an
autopsy was performed by DR.. W. j. May
bury of Saoo. He made the discovery that
two shots instead of one had been fired,
and after diligent search he succeeded
in locating both bullets. The revolver
used was SO calibre, and 1t must have
been fired at close range as the hair was
singed and the flesh near the wounds
filled with grains of powder.
One shot supposed to have been the
first, took effect just below the right jaw,
the ball passing through the windpipe,
fracturing the spine and lodging in the
back of the neck. This shot,, DR.. May
bury says, might not have been fatal,
but the other one must have caused in
etant death. The other shot was fired
on tie level, just above the left temple.
The bullet went straight across snd fract-
ured the skull, but instead of protruding
dropped back and lodged in the brain.
Both bullets were badly fattened when
by the surgeon.
In his testimony at the inquest DIR.
Maybury said he found no other bruises
on the body and no indications that
had preceded the shooting. In
his opinion the murderer took his victim
unawares and fred the two shots in rapid
succession. The dead mans arms were
raised above his head and the muscles
distended as if he had been taken by sur
prise and had raised his hands to ward
off the attack.
Miss Rena Merrill, the domestic en-
ployed at Mrs. Parcher's house, from
which Mr.. Boothby was lured to death,
related to the jury the story OF MIR.
Boothby's departure from the house in
company with the stranger who had So
licited assistance in getting up his horse
which he claimed had fallen on the
bridge short distance from the house.
She said she lighted the lantern and
handed it to Mr.. Boothby, and rs the two
men walked down the road she looked
ont Of the window and noticed that the
stranger was shorter than Mr. Boothby,
but did not get enough sight of him to
give more explicit description of his ad-
pearance. 1t was she who discovered the
body of the dead man after she and the
other two women in the house had passed
a sleepless night.
Mrs. Luther Foss, the neighbor who
had spent the night at Mrs. Parcher's,
also testified briefly, but her testimony
was not important
Miss Carrie 3oothby, Whose home is
across the fields from Parcher' 's,a distance
of about one-quarter of mile, testified
that she heard two pistol shots about
$780, the night of the murder. She was
in her chamber and the window toward
the Flag pond road was OPEN The sec
ond report followed the first almost i'm
m ediately. Mrs. Emily Kicker, who does
not live far from the bridge also heard
the two shots, but supposed that some
body was shooting racooons
Albion Boothby and Harry Henderson