Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-12-01
PROBABLY NOT MURDER
JOHN REDDY THOUGHT TO HAVE
BEEN KILLED BY TRAIN.
Body Found on Boston & Maine
Track Monday Morning Identified
as That of a Man Who Formerly
Lived in Portland, Me.

4 Lying between the rails of the Bos-
ton & Maine railroad track, about 1E
miles north of Brattleboro station. o
mans body, badly mangled. was found
early Monday morning by Lewis NJ
Allen. who was on his way from the
Chickering farm to the Brattlebort
Cabinet company's plant where he i
employed. Mr.. Allen reported his
gruesome discovery at the freight Of
flee and the town authorities were al
once notified of the matter. Permis-
sion was given the crew of train II
north bound freight, to remove the
body from the right of way, and a
short time later DIR. Henry Tucker
health officer, Undertaken Nj. j. Moran
and party of railroad employees
went TO the scene on a hand car and
brought the body to Brattieboro.
Circumstances under which the
body was found led many people to
believe that the man met his death
by foul play and that the body was
afterward placed on the track to d.
vert suspicion. On account of these
circumstances an inquest was held
Monday and Tuesday at the request
of First Selectman James F. Hooker
At this inquest, which Is reported In
full below it developed that the dead
man. who has since been identified as
John n. Reddy of Portland, Me-,
spent the greater part of Sunday al
ternoon in company with four COM
panions and that all were more or less
/ intoxicated. Reddy was last ac-
counted for early Sunday Nevening at
a point where his body was found the
next morning, and the testimony
seems to indicate that he was too
drunk to know what he was doing.
The man last with him was in all
probability John Donovan. VINO
reached the Boston & Maine round
house about $3.50 Sunday evening but
/ admitted that he remembered Moth
ling from the time he was sitting with
the Other four men about A o'clock in
/ the afternoon until he ran into a
! freight car near the roundhouse at the
/ time mentioned.
Just what time Reddy was killed
has not been definitely settled, but 1t
! Is likely that he was struck by one or
the south bound freights which came
down Sunday evening An inspector
at the local depot is said to have seen
traces of blood on one of the cars OF
the freight which reaches here at
6:55, and if that is so then it is prob
able that Reddy met his death be-
fore Donovan left him
From facts learned from local peo-
pie who had known the dead man
during his residence here, 1t was
thought his home was in Portland,
and a description was telephoned to
the Portland police Monday afternoon.
on the following day word was re-
ceived by Mr. Hooker that the man
relatives had probably been located,
and further particulars given by the
Portland authorities seemed to es-
tablsh the identity beyond question.
Miss Josephine Reddy of IL smith
street. Portland, arrived in Brattle-
boro on the 2:20 train Wednesday at
ternoon and went at once to Moran
undertaking rooms She had no diff
Guilty in identifying the body as that
of her brother, John Nelson Reddy,
who left home about three years ago
and had not been heard from directly
since that time. Miss Reddy said that
her brother was "a years old and was
survived by two sisters and one
brother. After talking with MISS
Reddy Dr. Tucker issued a permit Tor
the removal of the body and II was
shipped to Portland Wednesday even
ing, the sister leaving on the 4:2o
/ train for her home.
/ The four men who We're with ReddV
Sunday afternoon, John Donovan,
James Shea. Cornelius Donovan ana
Patrick Mcguire, were arrested Tues-
day on the charge of furnishing IL
! ouor without q license and We're SEN
! fenced to three months in the house
of correction.