The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-06-29
FIND KETCHAM
GUILTY OF 1ST
DEGREEMURDER
Slayer of William Costello
Convicted at Manchester
JURY OUT FOUR HOURS
Man Who Shot Bennington Mill Hand
Last September unmoved by
Ceath-Penalty Verdict.
JURY OUT FOUR HOURS

Manchester, June 2S-"Guilty of
murder in the first degree" was the
verdict returned at o'clock tonight
by the jury which heard the case of
the state against Francis Ketcham for
the murder of William Costello at
bennington the night of September
16, last. The case was given to the
jury at 8 o'clock, Judge Slack an
nouncing that if verdict was reached
this evening he would open court to
receive it. The case was opened in
Bennington County court Monday, the
state resting its case Wednesday af-
ternoon.
The defense resumed examination of
witnesses when court opened this
morning. Richard McKale, bar keeper
in Bennington saloon testified that
the respondent had taken several
drinks at his bar on the evening of
the murder.
Amos Ketcham of Bennington and
Mrs. Reta Kicks of Boston, brother
and sister of the accused, were on the
stand and testified relative to their
and their brothers home life as
child. DR., l.. H. Ross testified that he
considered that many of the respond
ents acts showed the presence of in
sanity.
The respondent took the stand dur
ing the forenoon in his own behalf
giving a full story of his home life.
His mother deserted her family, con-
sisting of three boys and two girls
and the father, when the respondent
was small. His father drank to some
extent and when under the influence
of liquor, a number of times struck
the respondent over the head with
sticks of wood, chairs and dishes, sew
eral times knocking him to the floor.
Fer several years thereafter he suf-
fered much from dizziness. Once he
fell 10 feet from a tree striking his
head on a stone.
He also testified to taking chloro-
form and paris green on four differ
ent occasions in an effort to end his
life, and he once tried to hang him
self. because of the conditions in his
home life. He told a connected story
of his movements on the day and
evening of the murder except in one
instance, in cross-examination, when
he varied from witnesses accounts of
his confession in which he stated that
Garrety and Grady were in Vicinity of
the soldiers home watering trough
about the time of the murder. This
he stated was lie but he told it be-
co pf all I,
that the more he got into the busi-
ness the better it would be for him.
The respondent gave an exhibition
Of the manner in which he took the
revolver from his pocket and fired
the three shots, using in the exhibition
the' same weapon with which the
murder was committed, Smith &
Weston 80 caliber revolver
The witness was self-possessed dur
ing his examination and at no time
during his trial has he shown the least
emotion, sitting perfectly still except
once in a while moving to speak to
his counsel.
There was only one witness in re-
buttal, Dr. Truman j. Allen, of the
state hospital for the insane at Water
DuGN, unuer whose observation Ine
respondent has been during his sew
eral months stay at the retreat. He
testified that he had seen him twice
each day during his stay there and at
no time exhibited any symptoms of
insanity. The doctor termed him "a
moral imbecile."
The evidence was all in when the
court took recess at noon and the af-
ternoon was taken up with the argu-
ments of the counsel on both sides and
the charge of the court, the jury going
out at o'clock.
According to Ketcham's confession,
made to officers, he and Costello met
on the street on the Saturday night of
the shooting and quarreled over half
pint bottle of whiskey which Ketcham
had in his pocket. They agreed to
seek a retired spot near the soldiers
home and settle the differences with
their fists. The fight had hardly be-
gun before Ketcham drew the revol-
yer. shot down his opponent and
emptied the chambers of the weapon
into the PROSTATE mans body.