The sun., 1901-11-13
RAYHBUH MAKES CONFESSION.
DESERTER SAYS HE PLANNED
INSURANCE SWINDLE.
Denies That He Poisoned Goodman. Found
Dead I'm JenersonyiIie. Ind.-Exon'
crates BIanchard-NO Post'Morten
Held-Doubt Of Death by Poison.

Held-Doubt Of Death by Poison.
Iou,sy,ILE. Ky., Nov. i2.-Ncwell G.
Ratbbun, the deserting soldier who now
stands charged with the murder oil Charles
Goodman Of Evansville, Ind, to swindle
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
out of a, 900, confessed 70 everything TO-
day except that he administered the lauoa-
mum. william Sullivan, Chief OF Police,
visited Rathbun in Jail this morning and
went over Rathbun's record in Little ROCK
Louisville and Jeffersonville. When the
Chief concluded Rathbun asked In shak-
ing voice:
.what is the punishment for an offence
Of this kind In Indiana' Do they have
the death penalty over therep'
-Never mind about the penalty, hath-
bun Chief Sullivan said, what we want
is the name OF the dead man.
"You are on the right track, answered
Rathbun. Goodman Is his name. He
came from Evansville. Ind. l met him in
front of the Salvation Army Hotel here
and determined to keep him drunk for
several days and then fix him with chioro-
form. II | should make a confession 1t
would be printed in all the papers and
people would turn against me-
Rathbun hesitated for a moment and then
said:
Il admit everything except that l killed
Goodman. / meant TO kill him and Kept
him drunk for the purpose, but he died oi
alcoholism and / was not forced TO make
way with him. My story about an accom-
plice named Blanchard was fictitious. ]
acted alone and without an accomplice.
| happened 10 know Blanchard and knew
he deserted at Plattsburg about the time
l did, and thought could make him help
bear the burden of this crime He had
nothing 10 do with il, though, and l guess
il would be pretty sneaking to put any part
of IL on him. Blanchard has not been in
Louisville and l don't know where he Ia.
Goodman, the dead man, was a profess
sional tramp One OF the marks. scar
across the bridge of the nose. by which the
body was identified was made with police
mans club. when he was arrested in Evans
Vile a year ago The police authorities
are mystified by the conflicting stories
that Rathbun tells about Blanchard. They
think Rathbuns second confession exon
Grating Blanchard is untrue. They base
their theory on the testimony OF Frank
Ogden. proprietor of the Falls City Hotel,
Jerersonville. Ind, where the dead body
was found. and that OF his brother.
The Ogdens say that the man who ac-
conpanied Rathbun TO the hotel on last
Wednesday evening and carried Ten Eyke's
CRathbun's) grip. and the man who was
found lifeless in room 80 in the hotel were
different individuals. They distinctly re-
call that the shabbily-dressed man with
Rathbun was in good physical condition.
The body was that of an emaciated man.
his face was thin and his legs and arms
we're small. The check bones were promi-
nent, Oh account of the absence of flesh.
A fight is likely TO be prccipitatcd between
the authorities OF Indiana and Kentucky
for the prisoner. IL is believed that the
poison was administered in Kentucky
and that Goodman was dead when the ferry
reached the Indiana shore. Coroner Coots
of Jefersonvillc insists that the man was
not dead when he reached Jefersonville,
and that as tho crime was completed In
Indiana the authorities there should handle
the case
Rs,hbun agreed 70 go to Indiana yester-
day, without requisition papers. To-day
he said he would not go without process of
law. Lieut. Col Rudman, in charge of
the recruiting station here claims Rathbun
a. n dcs>rter from the army and VIII Try
10 get possession of him. lie will then turn
over the prisoner 10 the Indiana auihofltl"s
for trial for murder
The detectives are irving 10 learn where
the laudanum that killed Goodman was
secured and 20 whom II was sold. hathbun
appears moro nervous each time he ~
quest ioncd and they believe he will break
down ana confess 10 the entire plot
LITTLE ROCK, Arl,, Nov. -. Mystery
and contradiction sill surround the iden-
tity of the body shipped here from Jefer-
sonyille, Ind a. that of Newell 4. kaih-
bun His wife aud family and friends
still contend that II IL certainly the BODY
Of Rat bun. while a. many mora are equhlly
positive that II T. not lil- wife ~ pToS-
rated and IL H. said by her physicians
that her condition H. pr-cauOus
The BODY wa removed to-day from w"
Rathbun re-deuoo g. an undertaking
establishment and h nov In charge oi
Coroner VI Young, Who examined the
body NsssDaTeT reports haN" rihi'1
that Coroner = VI to0ts of Jen"rsonyllle
sald that be- had examined the stomach
~ the dead man ana found tfao"s ~ enough
iaudanum ~ kill two men Ihis " mis-
tAAs fOt ~. slauiuatluu uf ih" body today
proved C0uriusl,rly ihAi 90 autopsy hAd
i.su lrld uIlu u AMI al-u that ihsr" Nrt'
49, -igns ~ ylulrHo" " murder wa com.
uittsd q mus have ls"u hy puisuil, hu'
tie tndy having isru rmialined make n
imtus-illr 60 lstsffutus whether poison
lad is.-n AdIuiuisi'r-d i@fur- death "f
FIHH