The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-01-14

OF LAMPHERE
IS GIVEN OUT
Murderer of Mrs. Guinness
and Children, Tells Tale
Before His Death

ST. LOUIS, Jan 13-In a copy
righted story, the Post Dispatch pub
lished today what it claims is the con-
fession of Ray Lamphere, who died
a few days ago in the Indiana peni-
tertiary at Michigan City, when serv-
! ing sentence for setting fire to the
| home of Mrs. Bella Guinness, near La
Porte. Ind 1t is known that the Rev.
Dr. E. A. Schell, formerly of LaPorte,
heard Lamphere's confession.
| The confession shows that Mrs.
/ Guinness and three children We're chlor-
! oformed by Lamphere, who was rob-
! bling the house with a woman accom-
! plice; that Jennie Olson was not kill
| ed by Mrs. Guinness; that the chlOro-
| form used by Lamphere was part of
| that he bought for Mrs. Guinness to
/ kill three men, one of whom was An
! drew Helgelein, the others probably
/ Lien, and that one of these men, prob
| ably Lien. was the third husband of
! Mrs. Guinness.
! The Post Dispatch says that, if the
Rev DR.. Schell would consent to talk
| he would verify the confession it pub
+, fishes.
Confession is Authentic.
, The confession, according to the
! paper was obtained from a man of
| unassailable character and truthful
ness, whose standing in the community
| where he leves is such that his word
| is accepted without question.
The Rev. Dr. Schell, at Burlington,
Iowa, after hearing the confession
which the Post Dispatch printed, said
today he had not divulged any such
confession to any person. A staff cor
respondent of the paper saw the Rev.
DR.. Schell, who is president of the
Iowa Wesleyan University. at Mount
Pleasant, Iowa. Last Sunday he re-
| fused to give the public the confess
sion Lamphere made on the ground
that it is pledged by the secrecy Of the
confessional.
The confession is startling in it's
variance from theories hitherto held,
based on all available evidence 1t
establishes that Mrs. Guinness is dead.
The adult body found in the smoking
ruins of the Guinness farm house was
the body of Mrs. Bella Guinness. She
was in the deep sleep that chloroform
induces, when the smoke crept up
through the crevices and smothered
her. She died with the head of her
little boy pillowed on her breast. He
was chlOrofOrmed also and died with
out waking
Little Girls Awake.
The two little girls. Myrtle and Lu-
cy, not so thoroughly chloroformed,
awoke and ran into their mothers room
where they persisted
Jennie Olson, niece and adopted
daughter of Mrs. Guinness who, it has
been believed, was murdered by the
woman more than a year before the
house was burned, and whose body was
believed to have been buried in the
farm yard, was not murdered by Mrs.
Guinness, according to Lamphere's
confession. but was burned to death in
the fire that destroyed the house. She
also had been chlOroformed.
Assuming that Lamphere told the
truth about Jennie O1sOn the identity
of a girl buried in the yard adds an
other mystery to the case.
Lamphere let himself into the house
the night of the fire. The chlOroform
was administered and a search for
money was made, but less than $40
was found.
Then he and the woman. who he
says, accompanied him, went away,
according to Lamphere, and it was
when he was hurrying away toward
the country, where he was to work
that day, that he looked back and
saw flames bursting from the house.
Lam phere Had Guilty knowledge
Lamphere, according to the confess
sion had a guilty knowledge of the
murder of three men in the Guinness
HON and assisted Mrs. Guinness in dis
posing of the bodies. He said he
thought he had not received enough
of the profits and went to the house
with his woman companion to search
for money After they left the place
with it's chloroformed inmates. the
candle they had used started the
fire.
Mrs Guinness method of killing vic
tins. Lamphere said, was first to
chIoroform them as they slept and
then if the drug did not itself kill,
to sever their heads with an axe.
Andrew Helgelein came from South
Dakota with a check for $2,S93.20.
Through a hole in the floor, Lamphere
heard Helgelein groan in distress. Pres
emily fell to the floor and Lamphere
said he saw Mrs. Guinness strike the
PROSTATE man and end his life. The
following nioht Lamphere buried the
body with Mrs. Guinness assistance
| They quarreled over money and he
was ordered off the farm.
Although he confessed to greater
| crimes, Lamphere did not admit that
| he Intentionally started the fire.
Budsburg May Be One.
Inquiry at LaPorte by the Post Dis
patch says that Ole o. Budsburg of
| lola, Wis, who sold his farm and went
to LaPorte, with the money, and whose
body was found buried in the Guinness
farm yard, may have been one of the
men. Budsburg, as near as can be as
certained, went to LaPorte about the
time that Lamphere went to live at