Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-05-11
Given Wallace, Convicted
Of Murder Of Higgins.
Jury Takes Only 35 Minutes
10 Find Him Guilty.
Prisoner Shows No Emotion and
Keeps Up Bold Front.

Calais, Me, May 10.--After one of the
.briefest murder trials in the history of
Maine, Nicholas Wallace, the farm
hand, who was arraigned in the su-
preme court Wednesday noon, was con-
yicted Saturday for the murder of An
drew Higgins, the 70-year-old Bailey
vile farmer, and was promptly SEN
fenced to life Imprisonment in the State
prison at Thomaston. The jury retired
at $40 z. NJ. and reported the verdict
50 minutes later. Sentence was imposed
within five minutes.
Wallace heard the verdict Without
evidence of emotion. and after his at
torney had conferred with him he lis
tened to the sentence by the court with
composure. This attitude was in keep
ing with his statement to the officers
who arrested him, that if sent TO State
prison@ he would know where he was
gong to sleep at night, which was
more than he ever had known.
Attorney General Hannibal T.. Ham
lin summed up the evidence Tor the
State and Attorney II. j. McGarrigle Of
this city for the respondent Chief Jus
tce Emery charged the jury Saturday
afternoon.
The crime Tor which Nicholas Wal
lace was tried was coirmitjcd
during the night of Jan. l6 laSt. the
victim Icing Andrew Higgins, an in
offensive old man living alone in q
shack on his farm which is located
about two miles from Woodland, in the
town of BaileyVillc on the Princeton
road. The weapons used were Il bed
sat four feet long and a gray birch
club, % inches long and IA inches in
thickness. The skull of the murdered
man was beaten to a jelly and his face
badly disfigured.
The last seen of Higgins was on the
afternoon of Jan. 26 and the finding
of his body occurred on the morning
of Jan. %. AS Higgins had been in the
habit of making short visits to town
his disappearance did not occasion sur
prise or uneasiness on the part of his
nefhbors, hut as Sunday passed and
he did not return, three young men.
Thomas Sprague, John Munsou and
Benjamin King. determined to have a
look about the Higgins farm. Reach
unlocked and a short distance from
the door came across a pool of blood
close to which were lying the birch
club and bed slat, both bearing blood
stains. Following the trail of blood
which led to a clump of bushes about
20 feet from the camp, where the body
of Higgins was found behind a spruce
tree, partially covered by boughs.
The body was not disturbed but the
sclectmen of Baileyvile were notified
as was also Coroner Johnson of
Princeton. An inquest was held on the
morning of Thursday, Jan. %. the jury
returning a verdict Of murder against
parties unknown. Deputy Sheriff
Woodman was notified of the affair
by Selectnlan Ryan of Woodland and
Immediately began a search for the
murderer. Frank Williams as he was
called but known as Nicholas Wallace.
was IL once suspected of the crime and
search was made for him. On the
morning following the discovery of
the mutiIatcd remains of Mr. Higgins.
Wallace was taken into custody at
Tonsiield by Selectman Otis II. Tay
lor and another resident of that place
and was brought to Woodland, where
he was given q hearing before Trial
Justice II. J. Dudley of Calais. He
underwent the ordeal without evincing
the slightest uneasinesS or interest in
the proceedings and was held without
bail for trial at the April term of the
supreme judicial court.