The Somerset reporter., 1905-08-10
CspOla May Kirschncr Held
ON CHARGE OF HAVING BUILDINGS
BURNED At NEW PORTLAND


the burning Of her hotel buildings for
the purpose Of getting the Insurance
and thereby defrauding the Insurance
companiesy is the question hat was
heard everywhere On the streets here.
Monday. The preliminary hearing in
The case Of lie State against Miss KirscL-
ner, now Mrs, Hoyt was begun, Mon
day morning, before Judge Bachelor
and she was bound over for the grand
jury probable cause being found
Bonds were placed at 5000
1t will be remembered by readers Of
the REroBTER that the respondent was
arrested and brought here from West
New Portland Monday night, week
ago, on warrant charging her with
having procured her buildings to be
burned with intent to defraud the in
surance company. When she WAS ar
ranged, Tuesday, the hearing was CON
tinued until last Monday.
The circumstances of the fire. which
burned the hotel and also destroyed two
other buildings, and the subsequent ar
rest of Otis Reed in connection there
with, furnished the good people Of
| West New Portland with matter for
conversation tor many an evening
When the subject had been exhausted
and re exhausted, new zest and new
material were added by the arrest OF
Mis- Hoyt. Interest, however, was not
q - 81 /, Al.
events occurred, and Monday it was
necessary to use the supreme Judicial
court room to accommodate the specta-
tors who crowded in from this place as
we'll as from the home of the respond
ent. Attracted by rumors of what
might appear in the course Of the evil
dence, women came to the gallery in
| numbers.
Mrs. Hoyt, or Miss hrsehner as she is
better known, is little, lame girl,
about 25 years of age. OF dark com
plexion, with coal black hair and bright
eyes to match, and trim of figure, be-
comingly attred, she is quite a striking
looking woman. She gave no signs of
being effected either one way or the
other as the evidence for and against
her was put in. Her compesure was
not equalled by that of her husband,
who was in a state of utter collapse
directly after her arrest.
MIR. MerrilPs position, in his opening
for the State, was that the respondent
had purchased the hotel property for a
small amount of money, had put $1,000
insurance on 1t, made repairs and then
put on $1,000 more insurance. That she
was in communication with Otis Reed
and that he met her in Lewiston where
the two arranged matters; after that,
she went to Massachusetts, and later
wrote Reed in regard to the burning of
the buildings. The contention of the
State was that the buildings were not
worth anywhere near as much as the in.
surance she had placed on them, and
that her intent was 10 defraud the in
surance companies.
The first witness was Samuel +, Rem
lex of Madison by whom the State
proved the three policies of insurance of
$1,000 each. On first examination Mr..
Goodwin drew out facts which were an
indirect admission on the part of the
witness, who was the agent with whom
Miss Kirschner contracted for insurance
that he considered the hotel buildings
worth an amount larger than the
amount placed upon them.
Eliza HOdgdon postmistress at West
New Portland, testified as to the re-
spondent mailing a certain special de.
livery letter. This letter was dated a
few days before the fire and was in re
gard to proposed meeting betw cen the
respondent and Mr.. Reed. The Wilton
postmaster, Cyrus Senderson, and Fred
Brown, who delivered it, were also put
on the stand to account for its receipts
at Wilton and its receipt by Reed.
Mr.. Hodgsdon thought the hotel
buildings were worth $1,000 or 1920, OF
not over $500 at the outside.
Thomas Carpenter, a hackman at
Lewiston, identified n ISIS Kirchner and
Reed as the parties he met at the station
in Lewiston and carried to Hotel At.
wood.
The surprise of the day came wher
Otis Reed was called. Now he stands
self confessed of the crime of arson Il
was not at first intended by tie state tC
put him on the stand, but it became
necessary, since some of the witnesses
who had been summoned did not appear
By his own admissions he is guilty OF
setting fire to and burning the hotel al
West New Portland; Furthermore, hii
story if true makes Miss Kirchner an &C
cessory. In substance his story in lie
gard to meeting Miss Krchner anC
burning the building was as follows:
H. is married man, has children ant
is 30 years of age. He first met the re
spondent at Wilton over a year ago
Later she went to West New Portland
to open a hotel and he soon followed FOL
the purpose of working for her. BY The
terms of the agreement he WAS to have
his board for his services and when Ii
should have gotten his divorce from
Mrs Reed he and Miss Kirchner were tt
be married.
He had not been at the hotel more
than month when she proposed burn
ing the buildings. She vas to have thu
buildings insured for greater amour
and he was TO set them ATTIRE The,
were to 90 away together with the IN
surance money obtained. Several times
afterward she spoke to him about thu
matter and each time he agreed Will
her plans.
Sometime last February, he went L
Wilton, where he could make higher
pay. While there he was visited by tn,
sheriff with executions taken out by hi
wife for the support of his children
Later be went back to Miss krchnera
place to get some things he had lief
there. At this time they again talked
over the matter of the proposed fire
On the Sth day of June he received
letter from her asking him to meet her
He did meet her at Leeds and together
they went to Lewiston. She proposed
to stop there over night and agreed L
register as r H. Jones and wife a