The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-09-02
Deadly Charge of Slugs from Shotgun, Not Pistol
 Bullets Caused Death.
Double Barelled Gun in Dead Mans Home Found to Have Been Recently Fired-Aged Father Says He Himself Fired the Gun.
 However, Two Weeks Ago
(By a Staff Correspondent )

Wilton, Conn.,, Sept. 2.-New and Wilton tragedy upon the Maudlin farm lent added mystery, today 10 the strange murder of Harry H. Maudlin, Jr., Thursday forenoon. AL most every hour since the murder there has been disclosed an addition al chapter in the odd career of the murdered victim. and each of these episodes multiplies the maze of hay clues among which the authorities are groping almost blindly, and, up to the present, without success.
 Now the authorities believe that Maudlin was murdered for revenge, that his assailant deliberately planned the staying. Today Sheriff Vollmer and his assistants, and the state po- Hcemen are of one mind in the be- lief that Maudlin was. shot, not by a 22. calibre pistol, as was originally supposed, but by a shot gun, with a charge of heavy slugs.
 Careful examination of the missiles taken from the dead mans body in the autopsy yesterday confirmed this belief, in the minds of the authori- ties. They said today they will cling to this theory unless the opinion of ballistic engineers now being sought, disproves it.
 Delving into the history of the Maudlin family has brought to light again series of sensational incidents of tlie dead mans younger days, his unhappy romance with Sarah Betts, his Kidnapping of his own child from the mother, and later of his barring all womankind from the Maudlin home.
 Bent and scared from advancing years, aged Henry H. Maudlin turned f0 Toll 1of fn doy xxrff n. an appealing look: What am I to do now? Whatever can I do without Harry?" Father and son lived alone in the Maudlin house. Not for six years had any others of the family been with them The son made oc- Norwalk to deliver farm produce, but most of the time he and the old man busted themselves with the chores about their fine 75 acre farm on the crest of Belden Hill
 The elder Maudlin is a native of England. From an early age he has been employed in the carpet indus try. There are three sons, George, born in Scotland, William, born in London, and Harry, the murdered man, born in New York city, after the father had emigrated there to work in the carpet industry.
 In 1879 Maudlin's wife was very i'll. New York doctors told him she would die if she didn't go to the country.
 Maudlin was an expert in his busi- ness, and by dint of frugality border ing on parsimony had saved snug little sum which he invested in the South Wilton farm He knew little or nothing of farm life, but soon ac- quired the necessary knowledge to operate the farm successfully, aided by Harry who spent his entire life o1oo rvvi% Y, e. II, CT and mother. Mrs. Maudlin died six years ago. Since then no woman ever crossed the Maudlin threshold
 Nearly quarter of century ago Harry married Sarah Betts, one of the prettiest girls in South Wilton CT three days at the Maudlin farm, she went back home. Maudlin said she ate so much that he couldn't af- ford to keep her. She said Harry was mean and overbearing and that she couldn't endure the 'desolate life of the lonesome farmhouse. Her baby was brought up in her own par ents home, while she got work in the factories of Norwalk and South Nor walk.
 For years there was bitterness among the friends of the Belts family found expression in words of hatred. But Maudlin, as he advanced in years, became a plodder and paid no heed to the taunts and often openly expressed insults of those he chanced to meet when business called him to South Wilton.
 Age did not improve the disposi- ton of Harry. His violent temper became byword among the boys of South Wilton. His father, too. de- spite his having already covered his three score and ten was known as a stern, hard headed man, extremely jealous of his property rights. In- are of record of terrible beat ings given by both father and son to trespassers upon their land.
 Maudlin's two older sons George and William, gradually grew away from the family. George settled in Yonkers. He followed the carpet in dustry, invested his savings in real estate, and now lives on the income of his property interests in Yonkers.
 William became a boss brickIaver end with the frugaIity characteristic of the family, he too became the
 Continued on Page 2.)