Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-03-22
IDA FOSBURG'S CASE.
MYSTERY OF YOUNG WOMAN'S DEATH
I STILL UNSOLvED.

ments of the Week.
The case of Ida Fosburg. whose mys.
terious death on Tuesday night. March
II, at the home of Miner Jones near
ShOreham, was chroncled in last weeks
REGISTER, has developed into a sensation
of such proportions that the New York
and Boston papers have had special
representatives in the village during the
week to "cover' the matter.
For several days after the death, the
authorities were unusually reticent, and
the occasion therefore developed on
saturday, when Adace Vondette was
arrested at West Rutland by Sheriff
Chapman and brought to Middleburv.
His connection with the young woman
was discovered through letters found in
her room.
Nondette is a widower of about 80
years and is marble worker In the
present employ of a firm in Canon City,
Col. He has six grown children, five of
whom live at his old home in West Rut-
land, and it was at their residence that
he was arrested. He denied all knowl-
edge of the cause of Ida Fosburg's death,
and voluntarily gave up a package of her
letters which he had IN his possession.
When seen at the county Jail on Sun
day, Vondette was very willing to talk
about the case, and declared his desire
to do all he could to aid the officers in
their efforts to discover where the
powder came from which produced such
disastrous effect. An envelope had been
found In Miss Fosburg's room and also
piece of creased paper which had held a
powder. On stand near at hand was a
glass which contained the dregs of
solution of water and white powder.
The envelope was identified as one which
had been delivered to Miss Fosburg a
short time before the commotion was
heard which called the Jones family to
her room. The connection of the powder
with her death was so appareAt that the
theory of suicide was the first that
gained credence: but subsequent de-
velOpments threw doubt upon this be-
lief. The letter had been brought from
the ShOreham postoflice that evening at
0 80 o'clock by Nelson Jones, son of
Merritt Jones, Miss Fosburg's employer.
| 1t bore the Shoreham postmark and was
dropped in an outside box sometime be-
Tuesday afternoon. When these facts
were learned, Sheriff Chapman and his
officers at once set about finding the
person or persons who mailed the letter.
In their search for evidence they dis
covered the Nondette letters, traced him
to his old home in West Rutland, and
there made the arrest on suspicion, as
Stated.
Vondette's story of his relations with
Miss FOsburg are substantially as fol-
lows. He had lived in West Rutland
for 30 years in the employ of the marble
companies there. His residence was
next TO that of the Fosburgs and he
had known the dead girl for many years.
His wife died some l3 years ago. About
year ago he obtained Il position in
Canon City, Col, and went there to
work. Last September he came East on
a visit and was much with Miss Fosburg
They then became engaged to be married
and the time was fixed for Christmas.
He returned to Colorado and was to have
come back in December for the ceremony,
but the girl wrote him, requesting post
ponement until after Lent, giving no
substantial grounds for the delay, he
says. Vondette's presence in the East at
this time was to get married. He arrived
in Rutland on Thursday, March Z, and
went to his old home, where five Of his
unmarried children still reside. He made
known his arrival to Mrs. Fosburg, his
fiancee's mother, and the latter at once
wrote to her daughter in Shoreham, APP
prising her of Vondette's presence and
desire to have her come home to meet
him. Vondette declares that no misslve
of any kind passed between him and the
dead girl after his arrival In Rutland.
He says he caught a severe cold on the
long trip East, and was confined to the
house from Friday to the succeeding
Wednesday. He expected Miss Fosburg
home every day, so did not write her.
He was as much shocked as any one
when Wednesday brought news of her
death. He professed entire ignorance
of the condition of the girl. it having
been established after her death that she
would soon have become mother
When pressed to say if he knew of any
one who could have been interested II
the girls condition, he said that he haG
some suspicious that she was going witt
another man, with whom she was very
friendly. He gained this impression
from her letters. He did not think theil
intimacy had gone so far as her condition
would indicate, or he certainly wOulC
not have come 2900 miles TO marry her
He could throw no direct light on who
mailed the deadly letter.
The frankness of Vondette's story carries
: the conviction that he had no persona
hand in the girls death; and as it il
, evident that he did not mail the lettel
I that Tuesday afternoon, the officers be
? gan hunting elsewhere. Several person.
in Shoreham recalled seeing tw'
strangers drive into town at about
o'clock In cutter drawn by two horses
Descriptions were obtained by tn
officers and another search began. Thi