The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-14
Her Husband Says She Knew OF
Plot to Obtain Insurance by
Fraud and Was to Have Re-
ceived Share of the Money
PRISONER DECLARES HE
IS NO MURDERER
Admits He Plotted to Kill Man
Whose Body Was PaImed OFT
AS His Own But That Natural
Death of the Man Made II In
necessary
necessary

Louisville. KY. Nov. 1S.-New fea-
lures today in the case Of Newell Z.
Rathbun, held here on a charge Of de-
sertion from the United States army
and suspected of the murder of Charles
Goodman, who was found dead In bed
Hast Thursday in a Jeffersonville, IND,
| hotel were Rathbun's statement to the
police that his wife at Little Rock had
known of his plan to defraud the in.
surance company, though not of any
murder feature of it: the decision 70
have the corpse of the supposed Good
man returned to Jeffersonville for an
autopsy and Identification; the an
nouncement from washington that the
war department had decided to send
Rathbun to Jeffersonville and turn MIN
over to the Indiana authorities; ana
the refusal of the local authorizes 70
send Rathbun to Little Rock 10 TESTIFY
at the coroner's inquest over the corpse
that was shipped there.
They say Rathbun will go nowhere
except Jeffersonville, where he 10 TO DO
tried on the charge Of numbering Good
man
Rathbun made another damaging
admission to the detectives today. FOR
the first time he admitted ne mad
closely questioned. he stated that his
wife was in part of the conspiracy TO
secure insurance money Illegally, al
though he insisted she was entirely
innocent OF completely in any plot 70
put Goodman out of the way.
The suspicious of Captain sullivan
were aroused today by news from LIT
tie Rock that Miss Corinne Pryor ned
stated that Rathbun had proposed a
I.n.s all or Nf
an insurance company to her, and had
said that II she would marry him ana
/ carry out her part he would send a
corpse home that It could be buried as
| him. and that he and she could divide
the insurance money He also said
Mrs. Rathbun insisted that the corpse
sent from Jeffersonville and now IN
Little Rock was that of her husband.
l. After sscertaining these facts Cap
tain Sullivan had Rathbun brought be-
fore him and Intercepted him about
this phase OF the case.
Rathbun said; Il have only told you
part of the truth so far | arranged
this matter with my wife in Little
i Rock long ago. but did not want to
bring her into the case. Now 1t looks
as though l will have to. ! told her I
would find corpse and that she was
to telegraph for it to be buried. and
then collect the insurance, and In time
I would desert from the army and meet
her at some place and we would divide
IT,
After making this statement, Rath-
bun said his wife knew nothing Of any
plot to commit murder or to set fire
| to hotel.
Indeed" he said. mo murder was
committed for / did not kill Goodman
might have killed him If necessary,
but he died from natural causes"
| A telegram has been received from
the chief Of police of Evansville Ind.
! stating that Goodman was a resident
of Cripple Creek, Col, where he was
/ brass worker.
When asked for his opinion as to tho
claim made by Mrs. Rathbun that the
corpse shipped to Little Rock was that
of her husband, Rathbun laughed and
remarked Maybe II Is his corpse"
This is all he would say on the sub
ject.
DR. Benson Doolittle, proprietor Of a
drug store in Jeffersonville close to the
undertaking establishment OF Cool &
! Son was examined concerning the
house where Rathbun stayed.
The Louisville police began sending
all over the United States photographs
and description Of Rathbun in an
effort to positively identify him.