Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-05-08

Children Perished--Man Under Ar
rest May Throw Light on Mystery
One of the most gruesome murder
mysteries ever unearthed in the cen
trail section of the country came to light
when the bodies of five persons, all of
them having been murdered were
found in the yard of the home of Mrs.
Bella Guinness, who, with three of her
children, was burned to death on the
night of April % Oh her farm near La
porte, Ind.
been identified These are Andrew
Heldgren, who came to this city from
Mansfield, S. D., for the purpose of
marrying Mrs. Guinness, whose ac-
quaintance he had made through mat
rimonial bureau, and Jennie o. Gun
ness, Chicago girl, who had been
adopted by Mrs. Guinness. She disap-
reared in September 1906, and it was
said had gone to Los Angeles to attend
school, The other bodies were those Of
man and of two children apparently
II years of age. So many bones were
missing in the latter two that it is not
known whether they are male or fe-
male.
The body Of Hedgren was dismem-
bered. and the arms, legs. trunk and
head were buried in different parts OF
the yard. 1t is believed by the authori-
ties that Guy Lamphere. who has been
| nff In.
Guinness home, on charge of murder
ing Mrs. Guinness and her family, com
! mitted the Heldgren crime. Lamphere
is carpenter and the manner in which
the body of Heldgren was dismembered
leads to the belief that it was done by
somebody familiar with the use of II
saw.
In some quarters it is believed that
Mrs. Guinness may have known some
thing of the murders of the five peo-
pie as 1t is not considered likely that
so many could have been buried in her
yard without her. at some time, be-
coming familiar with the fact.
1t is known that Heldgren had loaned
$500 to Mrs. Guinness and that he bad
another $500 in his possession just
prior to his death. 1t is considered
probable that he was killed by Mrs
Guinness or by Lamphere, or by both
of them, in order to procure the cash
he had and to avoid the necessity of re-
paying the loan he had made.
Lamphere, against whom strong
case of circumstantial evidence exists
in connection with the burning of the
Guinness home and the death of Mrs.
Guinness and her three children, denies
all knowledge of the bodies found yes
terday. He said. however on other
occasions, that Mrs. Guinness was anX-
ious to send him to an insane asylum
because of his knowledge of her career.
1t was current gossip, however, that
Lamphere was insanely jealous Of
Mrs. Guinness and of Heldgren. and it
is we'll known that the woman stood
greatly in fear of him and had asked
the police for protection.
Jennie o. Guinness was a Chicago
girl who was reared by Mrs. Guinness.
When the girl disappeared in Septem-
Der, 1906, it was Mrs. Guinness who re-
ported that she had gone to the Los
Angeles school. The theory is advan ID
that the girl knew too much in cOnnec
ton with the death of Mrs. Guinness
husband, who succumbed to wounds in
the head four years ago. Mrs. Gun
ness stated that her husbands injuries
were caused by meat grinder falling
on his head
Lamphere, before the fire In the Gun
ness home. said that Mrs. Guinness
was trying to get rid of him and have
him sent to an insane asylum because
he knew too much about her. The
home of Mrs. Guinness, near Laporte
was destroyed by fire during the
night one week ago. The bodies of the
woman and her three children were
found in the ruins. The children were
! Myrtle, aged II; Lucy. aged o, and
Phillip, aged years. Joseph Maxwell.
an employee. barely escaped from the
burning house. The head of Mrs. Gun
ness was missing from the charred
trunk 1t has not been found
Soon after the fire Roy Lamphere was
, arrested He acknowledged that he
knew of the fire. but said that he had
only seen IT as he passed the house at
O'Clock in the morning on his way to
work He Is alleged to have annoyed
Mrs. Guinness with his attentions
When put through Sweating" process
,, his stories were so conflicting that he
, was held without bail
Gas Snuffed Out Many Lives
S ing Illuminating gas in Massachusetts
last Year acrordinn 10 the annual rnnnri