The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-25
--~
Wealthy Virginia Matrorf
Will Be Given Hearing for.
the Alleged Murder Of.
Painter Last Fall.
GREATEST MYSTERY
ATTACHED TO DEED
Apparently Simple and De.
void of Sensational Feat
ures, the Crime Has Baf-
fled All the Officers.
tAmerican News scrvice)

tAmerican News Service,
Lunenburg. Vt. Dec. 24.--With tho
approach of the time for the trial OF
Mrs. J. Marshall Dodge. this towns
wealthiest woman. who 10 charged
with the murder of William Heath. 6
painter. who was shot and killed whilx
Dodge's residence early in September
the interest in this mysterious case II
steadily increasing. The trial II to
come up week after next and In tho
meantime. Mrs. Dodge 10 at liberty
under $4,000 bail,
This case. apparently simple and de-
void of sensational complications. has
baffed the authorities, the lawyers
and detectives more than any case In
the history Of criminal cases In this
state and 1t would cause tho most gen.
eral surprise. should either the prose-
cution or the defense succeed. In the.
course OF the trial. to solve the myss
terry surrounding the death Of William
Heath.
All the men at the disposal Of the
! attorney general OF this state hayo
been at work for several months. gath
ering evidence and preparing the case
OF the government is believed to be
extremely weak. as there were no Wit.
nesses to the crime and, In spite Of
the most diligent search the prosecu-
ton is said to have found nothing that
could be construed AZ motive for
the deed
The known facts In the case can b
summed up in few words. One day
| in the early part Of September, VIII
liam Heath, a painter who had pre-
viously worked for Mrs. Dodge, was
engaged in printing the woodwork In
one OF the upper rooms of Mrs.
Dodge's residence. While STOPPING
over his work, Heath was killed by
three shots from a revolver which be-
| longed to Mrs. Dodge. No one could
be found who was in the house q tho
time when Heath met his death. OK
cept the owner Mrs Dodge herself
| ing that Heath had committed suicide.
She was arrested and charged with
the murder of Heath.
According to Mrs. Dodge's story at
the preliminary hearing, she was at
| work. ironing in her kitchen. when she
heard the shots. She admitted that
the revolver. from which the fatal
shots had been fired, was her property
| and had formerly belonged to her hus-
band. but asserted that she had not
touched the weapon since her huS-
bands death and had not even known
that 1t was loaded.
The utter lack OF motive seems TO
be the weak point of the theory that
Mrs. Dodge committed the deed With
which she is charged. The defendant
is by far the wealthiest and socially
most prominent woman In this town.
There never has been . breath Of sus-
picion concerning her character, there
seems to have been nothing In her pre-
vious career that even faintly suggOst
ed scandal or any ENHANCEMENT. Mr1.
Dodge was not only prominent In -
ciety. but also In church work and en-
other hand. Heath. the victim OF the
murder, was hard working. sober
and industrious workman. quiet and
i Iinoffensive. without the slightest sus-
picion against his moral character a.
his honesty. He was married and haA
/ several children. II is true, that Heath
and Mrs. Dodge had had some slight
difference concerning the bill for some
work which Heath had done upon
previous occasion for Mrs. Dodge, bux
the matter had been smoothed over
and Mrs. Dodge had again engaged
Heath to work for her
At the coming trial Attorney Cen
eral Sargent will be assisted by state
Attorney Hunt, while Harlan b. Howe
of st. Johnsbury and several other dis.
tinguished lawyers win be arrayed to
defend Mrs. Dodge. An interesting
legal battle is expected and II II be-
lieved that the state will be seriously
handicapped by Its inability to show
a sufficiently adequate motive on thu
part OF the defendant. Nothing deffn-
ite is known concerning the line upon
which Mrs Dodge's lawyers will make
their fight, but 1t is believed they will
attempt to show that some stranger
entered the house of Mrs. Dodge dur
| ing the morning without knowIedge
of the owner and, that for some rea-
son he shot Heath. It is expected that
the defense will advance the theory
that the stranger. who afterward kill
ed Heath, may have entered the house
with the intent to commit robbery. IN
support Of that theory It 10 pointed out
that there was a small safe in tho
room in which Heath was at work It
the time of his death and that Il was
the general belief in town that Mr..
Dodge kept money and vaIuabIes n
that safe at different times. The ont
come Of this mysterious case II await
ed with the greatest interest by hW~
yers and the public N gensraL