The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-05-03
Vermont NeUs
MURDERED FOUR
YEAR OLD NIECE
Terrible Crime Committed by North
Bennington Man Sunday-Cut
Childs Throat from Ear to
Ear and Hid the Body.


One of the most shocking crimes in
the history of Vermont was committed
in North Bennington late Sunday after
noon when Alfred Alahan, aged %, mur-
dered his i-year.old niece, Ethel Alahan,
by cutting her throat from ear to ear
with razor. The child's body was
Alfred Hunt, brotherin.law OF the
child's father and later in the evening
Alfred Mahan was arrested on the charge
of having committed the awful deed. At
first he protested innocence but broke
down Tuesday and made confession
which was made public the following day.
Attorney General c. G. Fits and DR.. b.
II. Stone of the state laboratory went to
Bennington Tuesday to make an autopsy
on the body to, determine whether there
had been n criminal assault. II was
found, however, that there had been
none. Following the inquest which took
place Tuesday and Wednesday States
Attorney William Aleagher issued a war
rant charging Mahan with murder in the
first degree. lie will be indicted in June
and his trial will be held as soon as posi-
BILE.
The little girls father, German Mahan'
and brother.in-law, Alfred Hunt, We're
fishing for suckers Sunday and observing
Albert Mahan passing near the pond re
quested him to go TO German Mahan's
house for lunch. This Albert did but
when he started TO return to the pond
the little girl begged to accompany him
and the mother allowed her to go. After
watching the fisherman for few min
utes, Albert and his little niece who
would have been years old May Is,
left the pond to return home. German
Mahan and Hunt remained at the pond
until nearly o'clock as they remember
the circumstances.
When they arrived home the father nat
urally inquired where the child was. Mrs.
Mahan replied that she had not returned
and that she had supposed Ethel was
with him. The father at once went to
the house of Thomas Mahan where he
found the son, Albert, and asked him
what had become OF the little girl The
reply was that she wanted to return to
the pond where her father was and that
he told her she might go. A search was
at once instituted but it was nearly s
when Alfred Hunt stumbled over the
| body in the gravel pit. Seeing that the
child had been foully dealt with he hur-
ried to the village for a physician while
the child was taken in her fathers arms
to the nearest house, that of her grand
| father, Thomas Mahan.
| After the childs body was found, sus-
picon pointed to Albert as the murderer
and he was arrested by Officer W. j. Hur-
| ley of North Bennington and turned over
to Sheriff Fred Godfrey.
During the day Tuesday Mahan con
fessed to States Attorney Meagher and
Judge L. l.. Bates. This confession was
made public Wednesday. He was warned
| by the states attorney that he was not
Obliged to talk and that whatever he said
/ Il L., .4t IA tgsul
but the murderer declared he could keep
his bloody secret no longer, and wanted
to tell all
Mahan said he went to Morse's saloon
at Walloomsac, n. y, Saturday night
and brought home two bottles, one OF
whisky and one OF gin. This he got
to drink Sunday. He said he had been
drinking heavily for long time and his
nerves were shattered
He arose at o'clock Sunday morning
and was around North Bennington dur
ing the day After dinner he put his ra'
zor in his pocket to take it to bar.
ber's for repairs, but with no Fremont.
ton of the awful crime in which it was
to figure. During the day, before the
murder, he drank heavily His brain was
befogged by the mixed liquors, and he
was ready for anything, he said. lie was
asked by his brother and Alfred Hunt
to go from the pond where they were
fishing, to the house for lunch. Mahan
complied with the request and obtained
1 the lunch. When he started back the
little girl asked to go with him and was
allowed to do SO. After the lunch was
delivered Alfred and the little girl start
ed home. He took the child to the foot
of large Eastwood tree near board
fence. out of the view of everyone. The
rest of the confession was too gruesome
to tell in all its horrible details. Mahan
hand shook so he could hardly write and
he wept continually as he wrote. he
said he took the child in his lap and
handled her as forbidden by law and rea
son but he insists he did nothing more
than handle her. Then, lest she shoulc
tell her mother what he had done, the
man took the razor and drew it across the
child's throat. As he did it he held hel
in his lap and she never realized that
he was trying to harm her. In a moment
she was dead in his arms. Terror seized
him and he sought for place to hide the
body. Remembering the depression, be
low the pond he took the body while II
was still warm and laid the child, face
downward, on the ground. He then wenI
to the mud hole" where he threw tho
razor into the water. He washed hl'
hands in the water but the blood still
stained his hands and clothing. liz
skulked around the place for the remain
der Of the evening and until late at night