Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-11-15
NOT DEAD AFTER ALL
Insurance Case Mystery Being
Cleared Up.
RATHBUN ARRESTED IN LOUISVILLE.
Man whose Supposed Dead Body Was
Sent to Little Rock. Ark. For
burial Confcsses u scheme
to DefrnuH

LOUISVILLE, Ky, Nov. 12.-Newell
G. Rathbun. who Wis supposed to have
been dead in Il Jcifersonvillc Qnd) no.
tel last Thursday, has been arrested in
Louisville. According to Rathbun. the
corpse which was shipped to Little
Rock for burial as the body of Rath-
bun was the body of W. l.. Ten Eyke
The police say Rathbun has confessed
to descrtion from the United States
army and TO having formed a plan to
fraudulcntly collect $1,000 insurance on
his life, but that he denies having
killed the man who died in the JEFF
fersonvillc hotel
Rathbun was arrested at the United
States recruiting station in Louisville.
lie is held as fugitive from justice.
The arrest was made on information
from Sergeant Skinner of the United
STATES recruiting station Rathbun en-
listed under the name of Lou Root.
Detroit Sergeant Skinner had read
the story of the Jacksonville case, and
circumstances connected with the new
recruit aroused his suspicious One of
these was the fact that the man had
on government suit of underwear.
Rathbun said he had bought the gar
ments from a soldier friend Another
circumstance was his knowledge Of
army affairs about Little Rock.
He passed the examination and en-
listed Saturday.
At the detectives office Rathbun was
put through the sweating process and
under pressure made the following
statement, according to his inquisi-
tors:
"NIy name is Newell C. Rathbun, and
my home is in Little Rock. Ark. Sev-
eral months ago | deserted from the
army post at Plattsburg. n. V. in COM
pany with another recruit of the name
of w. II. Ellis | soon lost sight Of
him and went TO Little ROcf. There
was married and aftcrWard took out
the insurance policies.
Il came to Louisville about ten
days ago ana formed plan to make
the insurance company think | was
dead. 50 that | could collect the insur-
anco. | fell in with a man who said
his name was w. L. Ten Eyko in front
of the Salvation Army headquarters in
Louisville and told him of my plan.
and he agreed to help me. Our plan
was to obtain a corpse from some
place, put it in n hotel in Jefferson
vile and then set fire to the hotel
while we were in JCffcrSonvillc we
took number of drinks. and Ten Eyke
got drunk. think his death was caus-
ed by drinking. | put the letters ad-
dressed to me in his pocket and left I
did not kill him. | then came to Louis
vile and went to the recruiting office
and enlisted. My real home is in De
troit."
The police are trying to establish the
identity of the dead man. one of their
theories is that he was Il tramp that
Rathbun had fallen in with The police
have telegraphcd to the Little Rock
authorities to hold the corpse. \ gold
watch bearing the name wv II. Ellis
was found on Rathbun. He refuses to
say where he got it. The police say
the handwriting of Lou Root" the re-
cruit. was very similar to the signature
81. l.. Ten Eyke" on the Jeffersonville
hotel register.
Coroner Coots of Jeffersonville states
that he examined the stomach of the
dead man and found traces of enough
laudanum TO kill two men.