St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-09-21
MURDER IN LUNENBURG.
W. A. Heath Shot and Instantly Killed While Working the Home Of
Mrs. Marshal Dodge-She is Under Arrest Charged With
Murder in the First Degree.

w. A. Heath, a painter about 40
years old, living in Dalton, N. H.,
was shot and instantly killed in the
home of Mrs. Marshall Dodge in
Lunenburg last Saturday just before
noon and Mrs. Dodge, the only other
person in the house at that time,
is under arrest, the warrant charg-
ing murder in the first degree She
has not been taken to jail but is
kept as a prisoner in her own home
until the preliminary hearing which
will probably be held today or to-
morrow.
/ The case promises to be one of the
most important murder cases in the
state in recent years. There is no
doubt that the man was murdered,
that he was killed by a bullet fired
from the revolver of Mrs. Dodge
which was kept in the lower drawer
of dresser that was standing in the
hall that opens into the bed room
where he was killed at the time of the
tragedy; but Mrs. Dodge, the only
possible living witness of the trag-
edy, says that it was suicide and that
she was at work in the kitchen at
the time of the shooting. While sew
eral of the neighbors heard the shots
they did not locate them and nothing
was known of the tragedy until
Mrs. Dodge ran out into her door
yard and called to Mrs. Howard, the
nearest neighbor, to get the doc
tor quick as something terrible had
happened
1t was a gruesome sight that met
the eyes of the first to reach the
Dodge home. In the corner of the
room which Mrs. Dodge had occupied
as a bedroom was pool of blood
and near it partially on his back lay
the lifeless body of Mr.. Heath, with
the feet partially under small safe
of Mrs. Dodge's, the only article
left in the room while it was being
repaired. Mrs. Dodge explains the
position of the body by saying that
she rolled it over away from the
blood in an attempt to give the man
some whiskey.
While the doctor and town author
tiles were examining the body and
room Mrs. Dodge kept talking on
over the tragedy and exclaiming,
"How could that man have shot HIM
self?" Her story, however, does
not stand examination. She said she
heard two shots only but three were
fired; one went through Mr.. Heath's
heart and the other two struck the
floor a short distance from the door
opening into the hall and glancing
struck the opposite wall and the cell
ing and then fell under the work
table used by Mr.. Heath in the room.
The wound was not self inflicted as
the bullet entered the back part of
the left side and going upward
and out of the front side of the
body. and lodged under the shirt.
That would indicate that Mr.. Heath
was in STOPPING position when the
short was fired. The location of the
bullet holes in the hardwood floor
indicate that they were fired from the
hall where the revolver was in the
bureau. These two holes are in a
straight line and were not fired in
the direction in which the mans body
lay.
The missing feature in the case
at present is a motive for the crime,
but States Attorney Hunt is working
on some clues that may give light.
So far as known Mrs. Dodge was an
entirely sane woman, respectable,
alone in pleasant home on the out
skirts of the village. Several say
that .tshe was queer When asked
In what way they state that she is
very selfish and suspicious that any
man who shows her any attention
wants to get my money" She is a
of the Woman's club, the
Congregational church and treasurer
of the Woman's Relief corps. 1t was
often necessary to send after her to
attend the meeting of the Corps and
she would appear to be under the
influence of some drug that dazed
her when found. A person well
qualified to judge says, however, that
there is no reason to suppose she
was drug fend.
The woman has engaged Harland
B. Howe and Harry Blodgett of this
place as her attorneys. She per-
forms some of her regular work and
on Monday was out on the lawn hay-
ing the sheriff on guard NOW it.
These are some of the strange fea-
lures connected with the case that
cannot be cleared until the hearing
has been held.
The murder was committed about
ten minutes of IL on Saturday. Mr..
Heath and Mrs. Dodge were alone in
the house at the time. Her account
of the affair is that she was ironing
in the kitchen and Heath was paint
ing in her bedroom. She heard the
shots and ran to the bedroom and
found Heath lying on the floor, shot.