The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1908-03-30

Murderer of BILLY" Brown COnfesses to His Spiritual
Advisors Before Being Led to the Electric Chair
Meets Death Calmly.

wish 10 LAY for the benefit Of the
public mind. thai 40 legal mistake
was made m the carrying ont u
the ends Of Justice
And go ends the pitiful tragedy
Of a pailid. covering youth and a
simple country girl, who loved M
wisely. but with pathetic con
stancf-=a story IN real life hat
might have come from the i'm
agiuaiiYe pen Of a Hawthorne
A Realistic Classic.
The story Of the murder 81 Grace
Brown. Billya Brown her ineHas
called her. by Chester r. Gillette
on lonely Moose Lake. under ne
ff0NninR peaks Of the AdirOndacas.
is q realistic classic.
The daughter Of a poor farmer,
billy Tired Uf the quiet life ~
country routine. and sent to Coft-
laud. y. y. where she obtained a
position ia q shirt factory There
she met Gillette. the nephew Of the
owner 81 the mill aud a book
keeper III the establishment Oh
lette vas the dashinE Young bean
or the town. and his attentions la
the simple country girl nattsFsd
her and made her the enYied o. al
the girls Of the mill.
And then one day Grace Brown
disappeared She bad returned to
her home. bearing In her breast
an aWful secret AZ the murder
trial the correspondence between
this girl and her lover Vas MADE
public. II portrayed In simple Ian
gnage the story Of braRen-
hearted girl. who still loved aud
refused 20 believe that the soft
promises OF her lover we're the
words of perfidlOus scoundrel lie
had promised 10 marry her A
hundred .ilmes Ia these letters she
begged him. for the love that had
been hers. for the name 81 The IN
born. and because II Was right Ia
come and claim her as bis hfide.
She did not threaten. She did not
complain. She only asked for Jus
tice.
Came 20 Murder Her.
And--Gilietie came to her. after
many weeks OF terrible mental an
gulsh upon her part and they west
away together. she believing hat
he had come To make good his
promises aud that b. would risat
his wrong
lie took her Go a fashionable
summer hotel on Big Moose lake.
delaying the marriage ceremony en
various pretexts On the third a&s
Chester Gillette took Billy Brown
canoeing ON the lake When they
reached a lonely spot--a cove
sheltered b. a clnmp Of pine trees,
the faithiess. yillianOus lover In
sudden impulse. seized tennis
racket and struck down the rtri
who had sacrificed everything fer
her love of him.
The young fiend threw the sense
less form into the water and Tins
allowed his promised bride aud un-
born child 60 perish The theory
that he wished to create in the
minds OF the police authorities was
that the boat had been upset BY
accident aud this. in fact was his
defense during the trial lie was
arrested few days later al hotel
where he had already begun =
filtration with Young girl. guest
of the house. lie denied his Euiit
and for many weeks put az stub
born resistance to the efforts Of
the prosecutor.
Mrs. 0lile;te's Statement.
Mrs. Gillette. mother OF the dead
boy. announced she would make a
brief statement:
Though Il IL hard for me To he
lieye that my boy was responsible
for Graee's death. his confession is
I'm response TO a request ! twice
made TO him before he died II he
was guilty | wanted him to ae-
knowledge it before the world. A
full statement of what my boy told
HIS spiritual advisers will never be
given out. but can say before God
and man that he never struck the
girl"
IL Is said that in his confession
Gillette admitted that he murdered
the girl BY throwing her into the
lake, but denied that he had struck
her with the tennis racquet.