The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-11-14
SAYS HIS WIFE
WAS IN PLOT
SWindler Rathbun Makes Still
Another Confession.
BUT DENIES THE MURDER
EXPLAINS THE PLAN TO DE-
FRAUD INSURANCE COMPANY.

Louisville, KY. Nov. 13.-New features
today in the case Of Newell c. Rathbun,
held here on charge of desertion from
me United states army and suspected of
the murder of Charles Goodman who
was found dead last Thursday in Jet
| fersonviile Gnd) hotel. were Rathbun's
statement to the police that his wife at
Little Rock haG known Of his plan to
ceIraud the insurance company, though
not OF the murder feature of it; the de-
clSlon TO have the corpse of the supposed
Goodman returned to JeffersOnviHe for
an autopsy and Identification; the an
nouncement from Washington that the
war department had decided to send
Rathbun to JeffersonVille and turn him
over to the Indiana authorities and the
refusal of the local authorities to send
Rathbun 10 Little Rock to testify at the
coroner inquest over the corpse that
was shipped there.
They say Rathbun viii go nowhere eX-
eept TO Jeffersonville, where he is to be
Jried on the charge of numbering Charles
Goodman A telegram was sent to Little
ROCK today, askii~A that the CORPSE be
returned TO JefteTst nville.
Makes Another Confession.
The suspicious of Captain Sullivan were
aroused today by news from Little Rock
that Miss COrinne Pryor had stated
that Rathbun had DropOsed a very much
similar plot of defrauding an Insurance.
company to her and had said that if she
would marry him and carry out her part
ne would send corpse home; that it
could be buried as him and that he and
she would divide the insurance. He also
learned that Mrs. Rathbun still insisted
that the corpse sent from JeffersOnville
husband
After ascertaining these facts. Captain
sullivan had RathbUn brought into his
private office and Intercepted him about
this phase of the case Rathbun said:
have only told you part of the truth
so far. / arranged this matter with my
wife in Little Rock not long ago. I told
her that l would find a corpse and that
and then collect the Insurance and in
time | would desert again from the army
ana meet her at some place and we would
divide it.
After making this statement Rathbun
said his wife knew nothing of any plot TO
commit murder or to set fire to a hotel
indeed Indeed; h. he said; no murder was
I might have killed him if necessary, bue
he died Of natural causes
Question Of His Identity.
one OF the most peTplexing features Of
the case as it now presents itself to the
Of the prisoner here. That ne has been
passing himself over the country as
Lieutenant Newell c. Rathbuu that he
was married in Little Rock under that
name and that he was insured for $1,000
appear to be certain. bat the detectives
are convinced that it is an alias
A telegram has been received from the
chief of police of Evansville. Ind. stat
ing that Goodman was a resident Of Grip
pie Creek. Colo Ahere he was a brass
worker. When asked for his opinion as
TO the claim made by Mrs Rathbun that
the corpse shipped to Little Rock was
that Of her husband, Rathbun laughed
and remarked, Maybe it is his corpse. "
That is all he would say on the subject
DR.. Benson Doolittle of JeffersOnviIIe
who was present at the autopsy upon
GoOdman's body. SAYS he will swear that
laudanum was in Goodman's stomach in
large quantities.
The Louisville police today began send
ing all over the United States photographs
and description of Rathbun, in an eff
fort 10 positively identify him
RathbUn was tonieht taken across the
river 10 JeffeTsOnville Ind. and placed
in Jail. charged with murder.
In the jail at Jacksonville tonight
Rathbuu was asked whether his wife at
Little Rock was implicated in the plot to
collect the Insurance After several
moments silence he replied: NO. there
was nobody in it at Little Rock"