New Britain herald., 1915-03-13


state attorney have been work.
ns; .osether on this case in the great
- Is n lilIony The local police and
h5tate police deserve great credit.
10y back in February. according
eH reports made at the time,
AneW of the typewriter owned by
4tv1d and Media, they knew of
murderers receiving the automatic
Rolvers from the Savage Arms COM
my ard they knew of the names Of
me men
Confession of Murderer.
AS was announced in the regular
[ edition of the Herald last night. and
| q special account of which was pub
11shed In an evening extra, Bernard
| MontVld broke down late yesterday
ana made complete confession of
the murder. 1t was only after several
hours Of the most exhausting Sweat
| ing that the prisoner lost his nerve
and made the confession, in which he
said the murder Of Father
| Zebris and the housekeeper took place
| between 1880 and s O'Clock on the
| night of FEBRUARY 8 and in which he
| intimated that the deed was COM
mitted because the priest did not pay
| out a sum of money demanded. In
! previous statement. however, he
| contradicted this somewhat by say
/ ing that Krakas planned the murder
! and selected the men and the time.
This last statement gives the impress
| sion that the murder was to have been
| committed regardless Of whether the
priest paid over any more or not.
| The complete confession, signed by
the prisoner, follows.
| II Bernard Montvid without any
threats or solicitation do hereby de-
| clare the following to be correct: +
and John kelson boarded at No. $50
! Arch street. New Britain on Or about
! January 81. During the first week we
We're there, Kelson (Krakas) got a
package from the Savage Arms COM
pany One day he got a telegram
reading sister is sick" and he left
at once Later I met him ,on the
| street and he said he boarded at 33
Spring street. While there I loaned
him my typewriter.
| "Kelson was to have started bar
| Der shop and I was to work for him.
! On February 8, he told me to meet
| him in saloon on Main street and he
|
| some money. I met him and two
| strange men that night in saloon
| and we walked single file to the
| church. I stayed outside while the
| other men went in the front door.
They stayed about half an hour and
then they came out. Kelson said
Everything is done, couldn't get any
money from him and I killed him
1 -
1 to keep. We separated, going to
my boarding house
/ Montvid's Nerves Give Way.
1.-THE next day at dinner my board
| ing boss told about it and I got so ner-
vous I dropped my spoon. told my
boarding boss I was going to Boston
for a bluff, but I went to Plainville
and then to Waterbury.
/ IT had not seen Kelson again until
we met in Philadelphia and then we
came here. He first.
Signed, BERNARD MONTVID'
Letter to Father Bojnowski.
/ Tn another statement made to the
! officers( Moras admitted the black
Ehand letter received by Father BOZ
nowski was written on his typewriter
but he claims Kelson wrote II.
Think Guard Was Employed.
While the police declare they are
| sure that Melba and Montvid were
/ NOT alone in their crime, they are
/ either unable or unwilling to state
! how many they think were actually
| engaged in the killing of Father
! Zehris and Eva Gilmanaitis. They
do not hesitate to state, however, that
the gang who planned the foul muir
der is, in their estimation, composed
Of more than two or three, yet they
hesitate to express any definite opln-
ion as to how many were IN the muir
der party on the night of February g.
They think Montvid was telling the
truth when, in his confession, he de-
clared one of the party remained
outside the parish house to watch
Whether or not 1t was Montvid as
the latter maintains, is merely a mat
ter Of conjecture as in making con-
fession he would naturally want tC
but himself in the best light possible
May Have Seen Montvid.
few days after the murder o.
the priest and housekeeper was dis
covered, the Herald published an III
terview with Mrs. S. A. Johnson, OF
No. 500 Church street, in winch sne
. declared with assurance that between
7.3O and o'clock ON the n1gnt O
| February 8 she passed the Lithuanian
) | parish house, on the other SIDE o
the street At the time sac CASUAL.
: noticed a man, CARRIED in heav!
oyercoat parading in front OF tn
r parish house AS she continued OF
? her wav she said she noticed thl
! | stranger cross the little lawn in from
. Of the house and peep into the ba,
a window of the room in which Fathe
r Zebris' murdered body was late