The Portland daily press., 1900-06-15
Will Be Arrested For Four Muir
ders This Morning.
Bloody Shirt the Most Direct Evidence
Against Him.

Alfred, June 14.-George Champion,
the supposed murderer of four persons
at the Goodwin place in West Newfeld
on Sunday night, was locked up in Al
fred jail, tonight, after being brought
here by a party Of officers from Boston.
At late hour tonight four warrants
were issued against Champion, each
naming one person as having been muir
dered-namely, George w. Goodwin,
Scott G. Goodwin, Fred Bertsch and
Mrs. Elsie N. Horne-and they will be
served in the morning.
The prisoner appears on the verge OF
collapse and there Is an understanding
that he had practically confessed to the
crime, although the officers decline to
admit any such thing. They do not ex-
pect any lengthy hearing tomorrow for
Champion will waive the reading OF the
complaintsDand the Iformality OF holding
him to the grand jury will close the case
for the time being. The bloody shirt
promises to be the most direct piece Of
evidence to connect Champion with the
murders. II expert testimony proves the
stains to be coagulated human blood the
belief Of the officers will be confirmed.
for the faint red marks on Champions
undershirt which he wore when arrested
are in the same relative position as the
stains on the shirt which Champion is
said to have discarded at Pennington,
N. H., and which was found yesterday.
The one point yet to De settled Is wheth-
er the overshirt fits Champion. as he has
not been asked to try it on. Champion
will not be taken to Newfeld. Yester-
day quite q number Of the young men OF
the village talked over matters and al
most decided to make Champions return
a very unpleasant occasion. One of the
officers heard of it and sent for the sup
posed leader of the Judge Lynch
vocates and laid down his probable course
of procedure In case of trouble. Said the
officer:
"You boys know me pretty well, and
you know what 1 say / mean. II my
own brother ATTEMPTED to take Cham
pion from me I'd shoot him through the
heart
The lynching talk subsidized and the
prisoner viii go to trial In the usual
course of events. Some attention will
now turn to the settlement Of the Good
win estate, and winding up Of the affairs
of Fred Bertsch, the hired man. OF the
latter's finances 1t is claimed that he
usually had considerable money on hand,
for besides industrial habits, he was in
clined to talk about his savings and
friends maintain that he always had two
or three hundred dollars In cash available.
There will be a continuation OF inquiry
into Champions antecedents and 1t is
not at all unlikely that the accumulated
evidence will prove the prisoner to be
with bad Instincts 1t Is even suggest
ed that insanity may be a plausible rea-
son for many Of the deeds which have
been laid at his door. Now that Cham
pion is securely locked up, the threatened
squabble among the officers as to the
merit of individual work and the credit
of the capture Is avoided, The prison
ers Willingness to return to Maine
seems to indicate that he wished to reach
the end Of the case In the shortest way.
Champions g arraignment will be before a
local Justice and half of the town will be
up at daylight In order to get into the
small court room. A fair proportion OF
the townspeople know Champion by
sight.