Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-03-16
Life Convict al Charles
town Drops Dead
After Making Confession 10
Shocking Series Of Grimes.
Details Of Crimes Lacking...con.
fession Doubted by Some.

| Boston, March l5.-Five murders, in
four Of Which robbery was the sole
| motive. while revenge furnished a
| partial cause for the fifth, were ad-
mitted BY Angles Smell, the aged life
| convict. who dropped dead in the
state prison at Charlestown yester-
| day. with the exception of the fifth
| murder, that of Tillinghast Kirby of
Westpoct, for which Smell was serv-
ing q life sentence, the details of his
various crimes are lacking.
Smell, who was @ resident of West
port, Il small town lying between Fall
River and New Bedford, was q man
Of evil reputation, and many of his
energies were directed to an Illicit traf-
fic in liquor. Tllinghast Kirby. a car
pcnter Of 81 years, had ~ upbraided
Smell for his liquor selling and the
latter had been heard to make
threats against Kirby
Kirby was last seen alive on Sept.
Q, 1905, when he went out on fishing
trip in small hatbottomed boat. The
boat. was found the following day but
not until nearly two weeks later was
the body Of the missing man washed
up on Horse Neck beach. There We're
wounds on the head and a moose had
been fastened around the neck. Smell
was arrested, tried and convicted. He
was sentenced to death, but inasmuch
as the evidence against him was purely
circumstantial, the sentence was COM
muted to life imprisonment by Gov
ernOr Douglas.
In his confession to a prison official
col
that he was fishing in his own boat
ard came up to Kirby In another boat.
Kirby was leaning over the side Of the
boat when Smell struck him across the
head with q bar Of iron, killing him
instantly. He then tied rope around
the neck, fastened q bar Of pig iron
ballast to the end and threw the body
overheard.
Tie other four murders which Smell
admitted were the killing Of Philip
Cornell, an old hermit of Westport.
two strangers who came to Westport
On q vacation trip, and an unknown
Portuguese who had paid Smell to
guide him to an adjoining town. In
each of these instances Smell robbed
his victim, as he had robbed Kirby
Cornells body. horribly battered with
ar axe, was found in the cabin where
he lived on the outskirts of Westport.
The Two strangers came TO WeStport
for a vacation went fishing with Smell
and were never seen again, and the
Portuguese, who had hired Smell for a
Guide, was afterwards found dead In
the woods, his pockets having been
rifed.
Smells imp isonment at CharlestoWn
began NOV. II, 1908.
New Bedford, Mass, March l5.-lt
has been generally known here for
some time in an unofficial way that
Smell had made a confession Of some
sort, admitting his guilt in the Kirby
murder II is thought not unlikely that
he was concerned in the death of Cor
nell.
Smell during his incarceration here
was given to retailing stories Of criD.-
inal exploits in which he was invari-
ably the central figure. The stories
were Of such nature that they were
not always taken with implicit cred
ence. 1t was understood that Smell at
one time made confession to j. Ar
thur Taylor, then keeper of the New
Bedford Jail. but now assistant keep
err of the state farm at Bridgewater.