The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-02-14
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT ADJOURNED.
WINTER TERM SATURDAY MIGHT
Criminals Sentenced Saturday. Twenty eight
Divorces Granted Summary for Week
MADISON ARSON CASE

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case of the term and resulted in
directed verdict of not guilty for Mrs.
Parsons. f. H. Sampson was fore
man OF the drawn jury. All jurors
moi setting on that case were excused.
Judge Deasy thanking them for their
service in behalf of the county state
and nation.
The property In the arson case was
that of Levi Upper, two tenement
house in Madison village, Harvey
Burton, being the tenant in the sec
ant, smelled smoke and went down
family were just moving out of the
lower tenement at the time of the fire.
1t seems that during the summer OF
1923 Mr.. and Mrs. Upper went to
their farm for the summer months
and as the Parsons were building a
new home nearby they allowed the
Parsons family to occtfpy their home.
On October 26th as Mrs. Parsons and
i'her family were in the act OF vacat-
ing the Upper home. two fires were
discovered, one in a cupboard in the
kitchen and another in the basement.
1t was claimed that hard feelings had
developed between the owner of the
property and the Parsons and that the
Parsons refused to go out when told
to. After Mrs. Parsons had left the
house Mrs. Burton, the upstairs ten
ent. smelled smoke and went down
stairs and tried to get into Mrs. Par
sons part. 1t was alleged that the
house was locked up and all the cur
tains drawn, that the kitchen stove
was cold and that there was a fire in
the closet in the kitchen. mostly in
the top part of the ~cfoset. Henry
Crowell who had made a plan of the
i Topper house. explained the plans
and also the progress of the fire in
the two cupboards. Mr.. Upper, the
next witness, stated that they left all
their furniture In the house of any
value, except one bed and few
dishes which they moved to the farm.
Witness said there was no trouble I'M
til they asked the Parsons to move.
Mr.. Topper said that there were no
wires attached to the cupboard in the
cellar but there were wires within
about three inches OF the cupboard In
the cellar. He said that open wires
came upstairs and that there were
evidences of fire running up the hall
way, with signs of smoke and fire in
side of the partition but not on the
outside where the wires were. The
cupboards on both floors were con-
trived from planks upon which the
chimney rested, the brick work be-
ginning before the kitchen ceiling
was reached. Mr.. Upper stated
that the Parsons family had brought
to the house, three iron bedsteads
couch, six dining chairs, dining
table dishes and bedding.
Mrs. Harvey Burton, who Giscover-
ed the fire, said that she heard Mrs.
Parsons walking faster than usual
and saw her go away not more than
five minutes before she noted the
smoke; that she tried to get Mrs
Parsons and couldn't and afterwards
7 tried to get in but found the doors
were locked. After finally gaining
an entrance she noted that the kItch-
en- curtains were down, that the iron
ing board was against one door with
an electric iron on it; that there was
no fire in the stove but there was
fire in the kitchen cupboard, she said.
Later she detected there was fire
down stairs. Nefghbors, Mrs. Emma
Clark and Mrs. Edwin Wescott tes-
titled to being told of the fire and
4 Mrs Wescott said she went to the
Topper house and helped put the fire
out in the kitchen cupboard, finding
the curtains pulled down. She said
|, the ironing board was back near the
entry doom Edwin Wescott, a men,
Der of the Madison Fire Department
said he rang in the alarm and found
the house full of smoke. The fire
in the kitchen had been put out but
he could see q blaze in the cellar
!. Norris Preble and E. NJ. Nichols.
members of the fire department, tes-
titled about being at the fire and
about the extent of the same. Mr.
i Nichols said that after the fire he
thought he noted faint odor of kero-
sene in the kitchen cupboard. Under
cross examination, he said that the
wires were not very near the cup
board. Sheriff Mooers said he went
to the Upper place Sunday after
the fire and that there were abso-
lutely two fires In the building. He
said that the respondent said that She
thought the fire might have caught
from a fiatirop which she had put in
the cupboard. but the sheriff said he
Investigated the flatiron and that the
same appeared to be free from smoke
and that he found no imprints of the
hot iron on the wood in the cupboard
Julian Conroy. a local insurance
man, solicited Insurance at the Par
sons home and wrote a policy on fur
niture, etc. for $500. He testified that
Mrs. Parsons said nothing about the
furniture, any of it belonging to Mr..
Topper.
w. B. Brown of Madison, who with
Vim. Folsom Merrill of Skowhegan
4 represented Mrs. Parsons, asked that
I the prosecution be dismissed for want
OF proof but this was refused by
Judge Deasy The defense was that
the fire was not of fncehdiary origin
but due to the forces of nature, they
knew not just what. The defense
advanced theories that spontaneous
combustion or fire from pail of
ashes in the cellar or possibly from
wiring was responsible for the near
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