The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1931-04-24
HISTORYS |
MYSTERIES |
II Unsoived Riddles That StiH Puzzle
II Authorities Mere and Abroad
The Murder Of DIR. Parkman

4 NsNE OF the most appalling murders
~ ever committed in the United
States was that of DR.. George Park
man, one Of the wealthiest and best
known citizens of Boston, by DIR. John
w. Webster, professor of chemistry
at Harvard university and lecturer
in the Medical college In Boston This
was q remarkable case not only be-
cause of the reputation of the MUIR
derer but also because of the mystery
as to why man Of such marked in
tellect and of such high standing in
his community and his profession
should have been guilty of the crime
for which he was executed.
There is no question that Doctor
Webster deserved his fate, for the only
excuse he had to offer was that OF
an ungovernable temper, but the rec
ords of crime contain few cases even
remotely approaching this reversion
to the brute by man who was edu-
Gated, cultured and refined In the ex-
treme.
Doctor Parkman, the murdered man,
was one Of the founders Of the Massa-
chusetts Medical college and 1t was
through his influence that Doctor Web
ster was chosen as lecturer on
chemistry at that institution At the
sixty years Of age, with the most
punctual of habits. Accordingly, when
he did not return home one day at his
usual hour, his family became alarmed,
but no attempt at a detailed search
was made until the following morning,
while it was almost a week before
any definite clew was located. 1t then
became known that the missing man
had had an appointment with Doctor
Webster on the day he disappeared
but, as Doctor Webster himself In
formed the police of this fact, no fur
ther Importance was attached to 1t
until it was discovered that Doctor
Parkman had loaned Webster money
upon two occasions and that the men
had had several quarrels over the
debts.
Doctor Webster was finally taken
into custody, charged with at least q
guilty knowledge of the crime and
finally broke down and confessed,
saying:
HE called me scoundrel and n
liar and continued to heap the Bit
terest taunts and epithets upon me.
Then he showed me a letter congrat-
ulating him in securing my appoint
ment as professor OF chemistry and he
fairly shrieked: 4 was the means of
getting you your position and now /
will get you out of It,
"Then the doctor began heaping
more threats and invectives upon me.
At first | tried to pacify him, but it
was of no avail, l forgot everything
and, feeling nothing but the sting OF
his words, became excited to the high
est degree of passion. When ne
thrust his fist into my face, seized
heavy stick of wood and struck him
with all the force that passion could
lend me-"
In his confusion, Doctor Webster
told how the horror of his crime sud-
denly flashed upon him and, In a wild
attempt to conceal the evidence Of the
murder he removed the clothing from
the body of the dead man and burned
it. He then dismembered the body
and disposed of it in a number of
ways, believing that he had hidden all
traces of the murder. But, in spite
of his skill as chemist, he was un-
able to hide all portions of the body
and a sufficient amount of the re-
mains were found to furnish the clsw
that led to his arrest and subsequent
confession.
So plain were the facts in the case
and so clear was Doctor Websters
statement Of the manner in which he
had acted that no attempt was made
even to secure reprieve. In full
view of the college where he had
taught, on a scaffold erected only a
short distance from the house In
which the murder had been committed,
Doctor John White Webster paid the
full penalty demanded by the law
But an examination of the police
annals of two continents fail to reveal
an instance where man Of similar
culture and education permitted him
self to be overcome by his passions 70
the point of becoming a murderer
particularly since there was no excuse
of his being under the influence of
drugs or liquor. In fact, as one Of the
famous criminologists has stated:
"The more we study the details of the
Parkman murder, the more difficult 1t
becomes to solve the mystery of the
human emotions or to present any
clear analysis of the reasons for mems
instructive actions"