Norwich bulletin., 1909-09-11
WILLlMANTlc
Coroner Fisk investigating Columbia
Csse-6ody May Have Been Hidden
from Four to Eiaht Years.

from Four to Eight Years.
The authorities continued to investi-
gate the mystery surrounding the find
ing the body of mummified baby in
the attic of the Charles H. Clark place
at Columbia Wednesday afternoon
Coroner Robert E. Fisk of Stafford and
Medical Examiner William l.. Higgins
or South Coventry were In Columbia
Friday morning conducting the work,
and then came to this city. Both stat
ed that they desired to question one or
two people in this city and conduct
their investigation further before Civ
ing out any statement concerning the
case.
A local physician makes the state
ment That in April, 1905, he was called
to the same house and found case of
abortion and reported 1t to the au-
ehorfties, but no action was ever taken.
Il Is now said that Cynthia Edgeton,
a young woman IS or 10 years old and
a daughter of the late Albert Edgeton,
who resided with the Clark family in
the same house where the infants body
was found, for some time. was the
patient whom the doctor called to see.
of the Clarks by adoption of her
mother, and was a sister of Flossie
Edgeton, who took care of old Mr..
Clark up to the time of his comn1ittal
to the Norwich hospital for the insane
a week ago. Shortly before the ply
sician was called to attend Cynthia,
she married Claude e. Collins, son of
Frank p. Collins, of Columbia. 1t is
said that the woman had a little money
but that soon after her death, which is
alleged to have resulted from the
abortion, he disappeared and has not
been seen or heard from for a matter
of four years. The fact that 1t is re-
ported on good authority that the re-
suits of that alleged abortion were
buried behind the barn on the Clark
place disproves the theory advanced by
some that the remains found In the
shoe box in the satchel in the attic
"Wednesday were one and the same and
indicates that In all probability that
the body was that of a prematurely de-
livered infant from woman down
Derby or Shelton way and that she
herself or someone else brought the
body to Columbia as long ago as 1900
and hid it where it was found.
Medical Examiner Higgins stated
Friday evening that no definite con-
clusion regarding the case had been
reached, that there were still one or
two more clues to be followed up and
that the case was now in the hands Of
Coroner Fisk. He said that they had
questioned one or two parties in Viii
limantic Friday and considered the
case rather of a funny sort.
Both he and Coroner Fisk are of the
opinion that Mrs. Charles Clark tried
to conceal something when they inter-
viewed her Friday, but he said that
she was about so years of age ami
rather deaf and it was not unusual
that she might have the appearance of
hiding some knowledge of the affair.
When questioned as to the time that
the body had been in hiding he replied
that in all probability it had been
there about four years, but that it
might prove that it was there all of
twice that number. He also stated
that the first supposition that it was
Cynthia's child was practically dis
proved and that the child, from meas
urements that he took Friday, tended
to indicate that it was the body of an
almost fully matured infant, if not en-
tirely so, and that whether or not the
fact would ever be proved was ques-
tionable.
He said that in all probability it
would be several days before anything
definite was known about the case.