The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-14
IRATHBUIll
. !. Is |. POLICE
They Believe Name He Claims is an.
Assumed One.
WIFE KNEW PART OF PLOT |:
Prisoner Says He Did Mt Tell Her; Of Plan
TO iiurder, 4 Cd Insists That This Was
Not Carried Out, Because
Found Unnecessary.
WIFE KNEW PART OF PLOT.
fRy Associated Press.

LOUISVILLE, ky, Nov. 13.-New, fea-
lures to-day in the case of Newell C.
Rathbun, held here on a charge of de-
scrtion from the United States army. and
suspected of the murder of Charles Good
man, who was found dead in bed last
Thursday in a Jeffersonvile hotel, were
Ratf1buns statement to the police that
his wife, at Little Rock, had known of
his plan to defraud the insurance COM
Itlny. though not Of the murder feature
of it the decision to have the corpse of
the supposed Goodman returned to Jeffer-
sOnville for an autopsy and identification;
the announcement from Washington that
the War Department had decided to turn
Rathbun over to the Indiana authorities
and the refusal of the local authorities to
send Eathblm to Little Rock to testify
at the coroners inquest over the corpse
that was shipped there. They say that
Rathbun will go nowhere except to Jeffer-
sonville, where he Is to be tried on the
charge of numbering by poison Charles
Goodman
A telegram was sent to Little Rock to-
day asking that the corpse he returned
to Jeffersonvile.
PROPOSED SIMILAR PLOT.
The suspicious Of Captain Sullivan were
aroused this morning by news from Little
Rock that q Miss Corrine Pryor had stat
much similar plot of defrauding an insur-
ance company to her, and had said that
if she would marry him and carry out her
part that he would senn i corpse home;
that it could be buried as his, and that he
and she could divide the insurance money
He also learned that Mrs. Rathbun insisted
that tie CORPSE sent from Jeffersonville
and now in Little Rock was that of her
husband.
-.el
After ascertaining these facts, Captain
Sullivan had Rathbun brought into his
private office and Intercepted him about
this phase Of the case. Rathbun sale:
Il have only told you part of the truth
so far. arranged this matter with my
wife in Little Rock long ago, but did not
want to bring her into the case. Now it
Looks like I will have to. told her that
I would find a corpse and that she was to
telegraph for it to be buried and then COL
lect the insurance, and in time I would
desert again from the army and meet her
at some place and we would divide it,
IDENTITY a PUZZLE.
After making this statement. hathbun
said that his wife knew nothing of any
plot to commit murder or to set fire to a
hotel
Indeed" he said, ''no murder was COM
mitted, for did not kill Goodman.
might have killed him if necessary, but
One of the most perpleXins. features of
the case as it now presents itself to the
police is in regard to the real identity of
the prisoner here. That he has been pass
ing himself over the country as Lieuten-
ant Newell G. Rathbun; that he was mar
REC in Little Rock under that name and
that he was insured for $1,000 appear to
be certain. but the1detectives are con-
WINGED that it is an alias and that he has
never TOLD his real name or his real home
Identity OF corpse.
(By Associated P-ess.l
LITTLE ROCK. ARK, Nov. BIN or
der to establish the identity Of the man
under arrest at Louisville, Ky, and said
to be Newell c. Rathbun. Deputy Sheriff
a B. Chichester left this afternoon fer
Louisville, accompanied by Emil T.
Cleockler, who knows Rathbun well.
To-day Coroner Young took testimony
touching the identity of the dead body
sent here as that of Rathbun. Charles
sMcKeown, whose wife is a sister of Rath-
quainted with Rathbun. He had looked
at the. body and thought that it was I'M
doubtedly that of Rathbun.
William O'Connell testified that there
might be slight resemblance between
Rathbun and the corpse, but he was posi-
tive the corpse was not that of Ratfbur.
Durand Whipple testified positively that
the dead body here was not that of Rath-
bun.
Rathbuns wife did not appear before
the coroners jury to-day, as she has been
in q condition of nervous prostration Tor
several days.
The taking Of further testimony was
postponed until tomorrow.