Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-01-05
.ELROY KENT TO HANG
Execution in State Prison at
Windsor This Afternoon
ing In Murder Of Miss Della q. Conadon
In East Wallingford In 1eos

In East Wallneford In 1908.
Eroy Kent, SO, sentenced to be hanged
in the state prison at Windsor between
and o'clock this afternoon, has been
contributing to the criminal history of
the state since he was seven years old
The crime for which he was sentenced
to die was the murder of Miss Della b.
Congdon of East Wallingford, which took
place July "a, 1903. A few days earlier
Kent escaped from the criminal ward of
the insane hospital at Waterbury, which
was the fourth time he had defied lock-
ed doors in three institutions Miss
Congdon was a deaf mute and was Grim
inally assaulted and then struck with a
club and strangled. Suspicion was di-
rected to Kent because of the finding of
his initials "E. X" cut in different
places in that locality. A fruitless search
for him was made, but in October Of
ficers in Pittsfield, Mass, arrested a man
for stealing a bicycle, and he was iden-
titled as Elroy Kent. Subsequent to his
trial and conviction of murder in the first
degree, at the March, 1909, term of Rut-
land county court, Kent was sent to
Waterbury asylum for observation as to
his sanity. His case went to the Yer
mont supreme court and the legislature,
but these bodies did not change Judge f.
l.. Waterman's sentence that he be hang
ed. Kent was originally sentenced to go
to the gallows last January, but owing to
a technicality the carrying out of the
death sentence was postponed a year.
In his early boyhood Kent lived in
Brooklne. later in Putney. He stole a
small stove at the age of seven and took
1t to- the woods. In 1896 he broke into
B. NJ Adams's store in Townshend. for
which he served two years. Later he
broke into Adams Blood's house in Put
ney. Sheriff A. W. ]. wilkins traced him
IN
ticles.
little later he was shot in Milton
where he broke into a store. He was in
a hospital in Burlington and on his re-
covery was sentenced to the state prison
for three years. After serving 26 months
he escaped in January, 1892, came to
Brattleboro. stole money from his cousin,
w. G. Kent, was arrested in Manchester
and taken back to Windsor to complete
his sentence. On his release in August
1902 he was returned to Newfane Jail
for trial for stealing from his cousin,
but 10 days later he escaped by tearing
a hole in the floor and the cellar wall. On
the night of Dec. of that year, being
| recognized on the West river train, Kent
| jumped from the train and struck on
| tie, a piece of wood nearly three inches
| long being driven into his brain. For
| robbing his cousin he was sentenced in
| April, 1903 to two and half years at
| w lnuSOr. Later ne was auJuuSed insane
and sent to the Waterbury asylum. In Au-
| gust 1905 he escaped by unlocking three
| doors and came back to this county.
| Nothing more was heard from his until
| Sept. 80, 1905 when he assaulted a rea
tive. Llewellyn Kent, in West Towns
| bend and ran away with his pocketbook
| A few weeks later he was caught in Had
| DAM Conn, and was taken back to Wat
| erbury, where he remained until July H.
| 1908, when he escaped. Then followed
| the murder of Miss Congdon.