Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-07-10
PECULIAR
Vagaries Of Mur-
derer Vaughn.
He Is Under a Strange
influence
And Talked Freely to
the Sheriff.
Bancroft Still Denies That lie
Killed Hickox.
(special Correspondence.l

Naughn,acquitted of the charge of muir
dering his stepmother, Florence Ella
Vaughn, and her mother, Mrs. Martha
Calhoun, solely on the ground that he
was insane at the time he committed
the deeds, unburdened himself freely
to Sheriff Goodenough on his way to
the Massillon asylum with that Off
cial.
He seemed very willing to go, or in
fact, do anything that he was told to
do.
vaughn has certainly been a model
prisoner" said the sheriff and his wife.
His department of apparent uncon-
cern has remained unchanged and ne
left us exactly as he cameAdocile and
rational on every subject save the one
OF his Higher Law This delusion
is manifestly more pronounced than
ever"
HE conversed freely with me about
his movements on that bloody Sunday"
continued the Sheriff. HE said that if
he committed the deeds charged against
him it would all come back to him some
day. asked him if he would tell of it
in such event. Certainly | would he
promptly replied, without moments
hesitation. Why shouldn't ~ Con-
tinuing his story Vaughn said he had no
recollection of such act, but where he
was and what he did at the hour of
the tragedy are blanks to him. He
remembers, lie says, of leaving his
house that morning and going up the
road toward the Colonel Vaughn home
and of meeting two-strange rigs on the
way. The next thing remembered is
of crawling througha fence on his way
to kill Herman Jacks, neighbor OBJ
noxious to him, and coming to him
self and eXclaiming, What in h-ll are
you doing, Will Vaughn?' and turning
then from his murderous project to
his home again.
He thinks he is mentally improving
and says that the events of that day
! are becoming clearer to him. Experts,
: however, say that he is rapidly de-
clining. He still insists on his
Higher Law the Eye of the Law
Wall of Fire and all the creatures
of his disordered mind''
He told the sheriff his father Colo
mel Vaughn, had written valuable
manuscript of Mormon history, the
whereabouts of which is a source of
great anxiety to him. He insisted on
his statement and requested that steps
be taken to discover its place of hid
ing and have it published. Nothing
is known to the other members of the
family of such manuscript.
dering Farmer Hickox, in his sugar
camp at Garrettsville, last April, talks
freely of the trial and verdict. stout
ly maintaining his innocence and conf
dent Of new trial at the hands of
the Circuit court.
did the verdict disappoint your ex-
pectations?" was asked.
"I should say it did," he said. But
I'll get new trial. he continued, with
almost emotional emphasis. "Such an
unjust finding will never be allowed to
stand. / am an innocent man, and the
world will know 1t before this is over
Why sir, know no more of the killing
of Chauncey Hickox than you do and
1t is terrible thing for me, an old man
nearly three score years and ten. to
have to face such a destiny. l never
thought of murder in all my life, and
never for an instant harbored such
evil toward anyone"
"What is your theory of the killng?"
was asked.
81 have no theory and no idea, but
know that | didn't do it," he replied
"Were any threats made against
your
when l was arrested that mser-
able fellow they call Coach, the So
called detective, turned to me fierceIy
and said: Damn you, you know you
killed Chauncey Hickox, and I've
mind to shoot you right now.' l told
him he had better do it at once. He
gave me push as I was getting into
the buggy, and l told him not to get
too fresh. You notice that they did
not dare bring him before me to tell
his false stories against me.
II had no idea up TO the very mo-
ment of my arrest that was suspect