Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-05-19

newspapers Of the day. Two years
previous to the discovery of the tody
of Jennie Cramer on the sands OF
Savin Rock, Mary Stannard. girl EN-
p!oyed in the household of Rev. Her
bert II. Hayden. Methodist clergyman
at North Brnnford Conn, was found
dead in the woods adjoining that town.
Her skull was crushed and 4 blood
stained stone close at hand told tho
fatal story. Hayden was suspected OF
the murder. and was arrested few
days later. He had always borne n
good reputation. and the suspicion OF
crime that rested upon him came as a
shock to the community. The standing
o: the young clergyman and the SEN
sational features of the crime attract
ed attention far and wide, and the case
was easily the most important of its
class in the country at the time.
Hayden had wife and children.
Mary Stannard was an attractive girl
and II was whispered that the clergy
man was not proof against her charms.
His defense hinged upon n case of
athletics. 1t was sworn by credible
witnesses that Rev. Mr.. Hayden was
in his back yard at n certain hour on
the day when the murder was commit
ted. Equally credible witnesses testi-
fed to having heard scream in tho
woods where Mary Stannnrd's body
was found at time subsequent to
liayden's Identification on his own
premises. The distance was three or
more miles. The elapsed time was
about seventeen minutes. The course
between the two points lay across
fields thick with running blackberry
bushes. There were fences to vault.
wooded lanes to traverse and other nat
ural obstacles. The best foot runners
OF the day, amateur and professional.
tried to cover the distance in the timo
specified. Each and all failed.
1t was practically an allbi for Hay
den. But the court and the public had
not figured on one man. Benjamin
Fotchkiss. n farmer from an obscure
village. Prospect, in the range OF noun
tnins north of New Haven. was on the
jury. Hotchkiss was ''sot man" Ho
afterward admitted that he was kinder
biased agin preacher folks" and that
he allowed he might be n loctle sot
IN his ways" This was shown by the
fact that when his eleven fellow jury
men promptly voted mot guilty" on
the first ballot Hotchkiss stood out for
guilty and the death penalty. For two
Gays and three nights eleven tired. dis
rusted and eXasperated men argued
with, stormed at, abused, wrcstled with
and importuned this white-haired old
rustic. "B'gosh. | believe he killed the
gal and I'll stick to 1t till cider max
ing" was all the old man would say.
In despair the jury reported to the
court that there was no hope OF reach
ing n verdict. They were thcrcupon dis
charged. The foreman then arose and
stated that the ballots had stood II to
from the start. The presiding judge
ordered that n nolle pros be entered in
the case and Rev. Herbert II. Hayden
walked from the courtroom a free man.
The cloud on his life drove him from
the ministry and he Is now n contract
ing carpenter in New Haven. Shortly
after the Stannard case the body OF n
young woman was found inside a stone
walled field on Il roadway near STAN
ford. Conn. 1t was identified as that
OF Rose Amber. a beautiful girl, and
the daughter of widow In the city
named. Her reputation was above re-
proach. She had been strangled and
stabbed. There were vague rumorB OF