Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-04-02
Arrest May Clear Up Killing of
Henry w. Ward of New
Haven Junction.
DETECTIVES TRACE COl0MBOS
Suspected Men Left for Europe
with Much Money after Oc-
tOgenarian's Dead Body
Was Found.

When the body of the brutally mur-
dered octogenarian Henry ". Ward, IA
widower who lived alone in his house
near the New Haven junction railroad
station, was found in his barn on the
morning of December 10, 1912, with his
throat cut with such force that piece
of the razor had been broken out and
was found imbedded in the wound the
countryside was Mortified, and until re-
Gently the murder remanded n mystery.
on Tuesday morning Giovanni Colombo
and Giuseppe Colombo, brothers, We're
arrested at their home town of PozzallO,
Province of Siracusa, Sicily, charged with
the crime. They We're indicted by a
special grand jury in Addison county
March is. Immediately steps were taken
with the Italian consul in Boston and
Governor Fletcher requested of the state
department at Washington the arrest of
the men.
Their arrest, the officials believe ends
the mystery that has baffled solution for
over a year. Great credit for the arrests
is due Attorney-General r. +, Brown and
States Attorney +. w. Tuttle of Addison
county for their untiring efforts, and
the Wood Morgan detective agency of
Boston, which was called into the case
five days after the discovery of the
crime. lnnumerabe clues We're run down
that apparently looked good, but which
ended in no result Twenty different
lines were followed with infinite patience,
but all to no effect. Doggcdly the au-
bo h.
case, although it seemed at times as II
the murder would ultimately be added
to the list of unsolved crimes
SUSPICION POINTED TO SICILIANS
But in November, 1913, the officials re-
| ceivcd information that led to the belief
that the two Siciians, the Colombos ar
rested Tuesday had murdered Ward. Tn,
| brothers We're living in this city IL
| December, 1872. 1t was supposed that they
| had gone to France or England or Sicily
| On January 81. 1914, Howard W. Morgan
| of the Wood-Morgan agency, sailed from
| Boston for Italy and after consdcrab bl,
| quiet work succeeded in locating the mer
| in their home town of PozZallo, PROVING,
| of Siracusa, Sicily 1t was then that tn,
special grand jury was called at Middle
! Information as to its proceedings be sen
| to the two suspected murderers, one o
whose brothers, Michele, is now in Mid
dlcbury. \ cable from Mr.. Morgan an
nounced the arrest of the men at sevel
O'Clock Tuesday morning. They will b.
held awaiting papers from this coun
btry.
Giovanni ard Giuseppe, 26 and %, cam
to this country about four years ago. Fo
some time they worked for the Rutlan
railroad on the travelling section, and o
one occasion laid off at New Haven June
tiOn in the year before the murder an
must therefore have been familiar wit
old Mr., Wards unusual habit of carryin
large sums Of money on his person.
was common knowledge that he carrie
with him sums ranging from 81, 600 to 81, 0r
in leather wallet. He made no conceal
ment Of the fact and it was considere
a wonder that he had not been hit on tn
head and robbed.
The Colombos did general labor whc
living in Burlington and at one time worl,
ed In a mill at Winoosk They neve
earned more than sl.4O or sl.50 per day
Giovanni lived with a French woman a
his wife over number 46 Battery stree
and his brother Giuseppe boarded in tn
vicinity. on December they were out, c
pr,,ing,o, for oho,,, oi hours :, is Lrou,
returning tho ravt do,. nocan,ba, IA ~
d,y y, ,b, a,s,co,.or,, of U.ord, nod, -,
told their frierds tha, tha,, ,,oro aoin
: homo becarsa tboir fothor Voc ~, a.,
e diving. Later davelonmente showed tha
3 their father had been doad for three =
t four months
,,,,pp,r,,> mo- ,,,,,on,
\ cio,.,,i ,,..o., IT. e.,..
great sacrifice to another Italian gov
I the French woman a small sum ~ n,ono
, and told her to go 70 her folks ri
0 brothers also settled for n few small hi
r and left Immediately for New York Pr,
= viouslv they had been "hrose" In Nc
York the detectives discovered that the
changed several hundred dollars into Ita
, ian currency and sailed December II. l9l
, on steamer bound for Havre, Franc
instead of going direct TO Italy. The
went in the steerage and paid about $50 e.
ira to travel overland from Havre