Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-01-13
ALLEGED CONFESSION OF CHAR
NAL HOUSE CONFEDERATE
MADE PUBLIC.
SAYS HE BURNED FAMILY
IN HOME BY ACCIDENT
After Quarrel With Woman Lamphes
Says He Went to Homo to Rob Hes
chIoroformed Woman and Children
and Started Fro by Acoident-TsIls
of Many Victims.

st. Louis, Jan. 1s.--Ray Lamphere,
who died recently In the Indiana peni-
tentiary at Michigan City. while serv.
ing term for setting fire to the homs
of Mrs. Belle Guinness in Laporte. Ind,
made confession of the secrets of the
Guinness charnal farm. according to
copyrighted story In the Post Dispatch
| today. The confession was made to
Rev. DIR. E. A. Schell, formerly pastor
of the LaPorte Methodist church, now
president of Iowa Wesleyan Univer-
sity. at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and held
by him inviolate as secret OF con-
| fcssional
The Post Dispatch says Schell would
verify. IL he would consent to break
silence. the confession 1t publishes. The
Post Dispatch. however. says the con-
fession 1t publishes was made to 4
man of unasssilable character.
Guinness Fire An Accident.
Lamphere. according to the confess
sion. had guilty knowledge of the mur-
der of three men In the Guinness home
while he lived there, eight months in
| 1907. and he assisted Mrs. Guinness in
| disposing of the bodies He said he
thought he had not received as much
of the profits of the transaction us he
considered himself entitled to and he
went to the farm house at night with
a woman and chloroformed Mrs. Gum
ness, the three children and Jennie Oh
son He and the woman took between
$50 and $40. The light they used was
a candle and they left the house with
spark that soon burst into flames
Mrs. Guinness Methods.
Mrs. Guinness methods of killing tho
victims. Lamphere said, was TO chioro-
form them as they slept and then ir the
drug did not kill, to sever their heads
with an AK. Lamphere said he saw one
of the men killed. and aided in brIrying
4 all three. These We're Andrew Helge-
lein and probably O,e Budsherg, and
Tonness Petersen Lien Lien, Lam
phere said. was the third husband OF
Mrs. Guinness Lamphere details how
Mrs. Guinness secreted Jennie Olson
in the house after she returned from a
visit and she was chloroformed by
Lamphere and his accomplice the night
the house burned. The confession SAYS
Mrs. Guinness informed Lanphere of
the coming OF her cousins. The first
man to be killed was from Minnesota
He never awoke from his sleep in the
Guinness house. In the darkness Lam
phere was ordered by Mrs Guinness to
dump gunny sack and ITS contents
in hole made by another farm hand
for rubbish. Mrs Guinness never told
him what became of the man, but Lam
phere received money from Mrs. Gup-
ness Within month another man
arrived and demanding to know his
rights before paying off mortgage
on the Guinness farm, Mrs. Guinness
took him To st. Joseph Mich. Lam
phere thought. where they were mar
ried. When they came back there was
another buryng. Lamphere received
more money from Mrs. Guinness, and he
became her trusted ally
HeIgelein Came Next.
! Then Andrew HelSelen came from
South Dakota with a check for se.s93.
This was cashcd- Lamphere went on
an errand to Michigan City and when
he returned he heard Helgelein grcan
In distress and beg Mr. Cnnness %
send for IA doctor 1t was chi3r, she
had given Helgelein ac.sorefrrr 70
Lamphere. Presently Heigeleia tel to
the floor and Lampheru saad IA. s.w
assisted Mrs Guinness to bury he
body.
Shortly after Mrs. Guinness and l.5n-
phere quarreled over money ana he
was ordered off the farm She On. er
money in the bank the afternoon before
Lamphere. seeking money echlonafn
ed all IN the house and robbed ma set
fire to the place. Lamphere ,aAk he
was drunk the night nc visited he
place. and he expected to find 81. na
Ray Lamphere did not desire the
death of the Guinness children and
jennie Olson. Altho he confessed, It
is alleged. to greater crimes, he did not
admit that he Intentionally started the
fire in which tho family perished The
confession was put into writing at ths
time 1t was made, but to the extent Of
only one copy, which was left with
Lamphere. According to the custodian,
this copy was not found among his
personal possessions at his death. II
is possible he destroyed 1t or gave II
into the custody Of some unknown per.
|