A Sermon on the Murders.
On Saturday the case took on an unexpected phaze. Superintendent O.
M. Hanscom of the Boston office of the Pinkerton Detective Agency
appeared on the scene. He was not employed by the Mayor of Fall River
nor the Marshal of Police and it soon became noised abroad that he was
present in the interests of the Misses Borden with the avowed intention
of clearing up the mystery. In company with Mr. Jennings he visited
the Borden house and was in consultation with members of the family
for about two hours. Detective Hanscom remained in Fall River nearly
two days and then disappeared as mysteriously as he came. It was the
universal opinion at the time that the Pinkertons would unearth the
assassin in a short while, but the public was never informed as to the
reasons why they withdrew from the case. It was believed, however, that
there was a rupture between Marshal Hilliard’s men and the Pinkertons.
This may or may not have been the cause of their sudden disappearance.
Sunday morning the Central Church worshippers met with the First Church
congregation in the stone church on Main street. All of the pews were
filled, many being in their seats some half hour before the service
began. It was supposed that the Rev. W. Walker Jubb, who occupied the
pulpit, would make some allusion to the awful experiences through
which one family in his charge had been compelled to pass during the
week, and the supposition was correct. Mr. Jubb read for the morning
lesson a portion of Matthew, containing the significant words which
imply that what is concealed shall be revealed. In his prayer, Mr. Jubb
evoked the divine blessing on the community, rendering thanks for the
blessings bestowed on many, and, pausing, referred to the murder of
two innocent persons. He prayed fervently that right might prevail,
and that in good time the terrible mystery might be cleared away; that
the people of the city might do everything in their power to assist
the authorities, and asked for divine guidance for the police, that
they might prosecute unflinchingly and unceasingly the search for the
murderer. Mr. Jubb prayed that their hands might be strengthened, that
their movements might be characterized by discretion, and that wisdom
and great power of discernment might be given to them in their work.
“And while we hope,” he continued, “for the triumph of justice, let our
acts be tempered with mercy. Help us to refrain from giving voice to
those insinuations and innuendoes which we have no right to utter. Save
us from blasting a life, innocent and blameless; keep us from taking
the sweetness from a future by our ill-advised words, and let us be
charitable as we remember the poor, grief-stricken family and minister
unto them.”
The clergyman asked that those who were writing of the crime might be
careful of the reputations of the living, which could so easily be
undermined.
For his text, Mr. Jubb took the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, ninth
verse: “The thing that hath been is that which shall be; and that which
is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under
the sun.” The speaker considered the monotonies of life, and expatiated
on the causes of indifference in persons who would be nothing if not
geniuses, drawing lessons from successes in humble sphere. At the end
of the sermon Mr. Jubb stepped to the side of the pulpit and said
slowly and impressively:
“I cannot close my sermon this morning without speaking of the horrible
crime that has startled our beloved city this week, ruthlessly taking
from our church household two respected and esteemed members. I cannot
close without referring to my pain and surprise at the atrocity of the
outrage. A more brutal, cunning, daring and fiendish murder I never
heard of in all my life. What must have been the person who could have
been guilty of such a revolting crime? One to commit such a murder
must have been without heart, without soul, a fiend incarnate, the
very vilest of degraded and depraved humanity, or he must have been a
maniac. The circumstances, execution and all the surroundings cover it
with mystery profound. Explanations and evidence as to both perpetrator
and motive are shrouded in a mystery that is almost inexplicable. That
such a crime could have been committed during the busy hours of the
day, right in the heart of a populous city, is passing comprehension.
As we ponder, we exclaim in our perplexity, why was the deed done?
What could have induced anybody to engage in such a butchery? Where
is the motive? When men resort to crime it is for plunder, for gain,
from enmity, in sudden anger or for revenge. Strangely, nothing of this
nature enters into this case, and again I ask—what was the motive?
I believe, and am only voicing your feelings fully when I say that I
hope the criminal will be speedily brought to justice. This city cannot
afford to have in its midst such an inhuman brute as the murderer
of Andrew J. Borden and his wife. Why, a man who could conceive and
execute such a murder as that would not hesitate to burn the city.
“I trust that the police may do their duty and lose no opportunity
which might lead to the capture of the criminal. I would impress upon
them that they should not say too much and thus unconsciously assist
in defeating the ends of justice. I also trust that the press (and I
say this because I recognize its influence and power), I trust that
it will use discretion in disseminating its theories and conclusions,
and that pens may be guided by consideration and charity. I would wish
the papers to remember that by casting a groundless or undeserved
insinuation that they may blacken and blast a life forever, like a
tree smitten by a bolt of lightning; a life which has always commanded
respect, whose acts and motives have always been pure and holy. Let
us ourselves curb our tongues and preserve a blameless life from
undeserved suspicions. I think I have the right to ask for the prayers
of this church and of my own congregation. The murdered husband and
wife were members of this church, and a daughter now stands in the same
relation to each one of you, as you, as church members, do to each
other. God help and comfort her. Poor stricken girls, may they both be
comforted, and may they both realize how fully God is their refuge.”
Marshal Hilliard and his officers after two days and two nights work
concluded that the case was of so much importance that it was advisable
to call District Attorney Hosea M. Knowlton, of New Bedford, Mass.,
into their counsels, and accordingly he arrived from his home in New
Bedford, on Saturday morning. A short consultation was held at police
headquarters and then adjourned until the afternoon. The District
Attorney, Marshal Hilliard, State Officer Seaver, Mayor Coughlin and
Dr. Dolan met according to agreement in one of the parlors of the
Mellen House.
The Marshal took all the evidence which he had collected in the shape
of notes, papers, etc., together with other documents bearing on
the case, into the room where the five men were closeted and they
commenced at the beginning. At the close of the conference held earlier
in the afternoon, the District Attorney had advised the officers to
proceed with the utmost caution, and was extremely conservative in
the conclusions which he found. At that time he had not been made
acquainted with all the details. At the Mellen House consultation the
same caution was observed. The quintet were working on one of the most
remarkable criminal records in history, and were obliged to proceed
slowly. The Marshal began at the beginning and continued to the end. He
was assisted in his explanation by the Mayor and the Medical Examiner.
Mr. Seaver listened. There were details almost without end, and all
of them were picked to pieces and viewed in every conceivable light.
Considerable new evidence was introduced, and then the testimony of
officers not present was submitted, which showed that Miss Lizzie
Borden might have been mistaken in one important particular. The
Marshal informed the District Attorney that the murder had occurred
between ten minutes of 11 o’clock and thirteen minutes after 11 on
Thursday morning. The time was as accurate as they could get it, and
they had spared no pains to fix it.
The alarm had been given by Miss Lizzie Borden, the daughter of the
murdered man, when she returned from the barn. At the moment of the
discovery she did not know that her stepmother was also dead, though
she explained afterwards that she thought her mother had left the
house. It was but a short distance from the barn to the house. Nobody
had been found who had seen anybody leaving the yard of the Borden
house or entering it, although a number of people, who were named,
were sitting by their windows close by. It was also true that nobody
had seen Miss Borden enter or leave the barn. She had explained that
she went to the stable to procure some lead for a fish line, which she
was going to use at Warren. Here there was a stumbling block which
puzzled the District Attorney and his assistants. On the day of the
murder Miss Lizzie had explained that she went to the loft of the
barn for the lead, and an officer who was examining the premises also
went to the loft. It was covered with dust and there were no tracks
to prove that any person had been there for weeks. He took particular
notice of the fact, and reported back that he had walked about on the
dust-covered floor on purpose to discover whether or not his own feet
left any tracks. He said that they did and thought it singular that
anybody could have visited the floor a short time before him and make
no impression on the dust. The lower floor of the stable told no such
tale, as it was evident that it had been used more frequently and the
dust had not accumulated there. The conclusion reached was that in the
excitement incident to the awful discovery, Miss Borden had forgotten
just where she went for the lead. When she found her father lying on
the lounge, she ran to the stairs and ascended three or four steps to
call Maggie. Maggie is the name by which Bridget Sullivan was called by
members of the family. She did not call for her stepmother, because,
as she stated afterward, she did not think she was in. Then came the
history of the mysterious letter. Miss Lizzie had said that on the
morning of the tragedy her stepmother received a letter asking her to
visit a sick friend. She knew that at about 9 o’clock her stepmother
went upstairs to put shams on the pillows, and she did not see her
again. It was that letter which led her to believe that her stepmother
had gone out. Here was stumbling block number two. The officers had
searched all over the house for that letter, the Marshal said, but had
failed to find any trace of it. Miss Lizzie had feared that it had been
burned in the kitchen stove.
The Marshal’s men had found other letters and fragments of letters
in the waste paper basket and had put them together piece by piece.
The one letter that was wanted had not been found. It was considered
singular that, with all the furore that has been raised over this note,
the woman who wrote it has not come forward before this and cleared up
the mystery. It is also strange that the boy who delivered the note
has not made himself known. It was believed that every boy in town old
enough to do an errand had visited the house since the tragedy, but the
particular boy has kept in the background.
It was presumed that Mrs. Borden’s correspondent feared the notoriety
which would come to her if she disclosed her identity, but it was
unfortunate that she should allow any such scruples to overcome what
ought to be a desire to assist in every way possible in unravelling the
knot.
The Marshal, Medical Examiner and Mayor then carefully rehearsed, step
by step, the summoning of Dr. Bowen, who was not at home when the
murder was committed, and his ghastly discovery on the second floor. No
theory other than that Mrs. Borden was murdered first was entertained.
Miss Lizzie Borden’s demeanor during the many interviews which the
police had with her was described at length, and the story of John V.
Morse’s whereabouts was retold.
Thorough investigation of theories advanced upon the strength of
Bridget Sullivan’s statement that the crime was committed by the
Portuguese employed upon the farm of Andrew Borden in Somerset,
resulted in placing them with the other numerous opinions and
possibilities which have been exploded by the authorities. In the
excitement attending the discovery of the bodies of the murdered
couple, inquiries directed to the domestic, elicited answers to the
effect that the Portuguese must have done it. The individual referred
to was a Swede laborer, and Marshal Hilliard thereupon drove to the
Somerset farm. The investigation there was necessarily brief in its
character, but such as it was, satisfied the Marshal that the laborer,
whom the Sullivan woman designated as the Portuguese, was far removed
from the house on Second street at the time the murders were committed.
In their persistent following of every possible clue the authorities
deemed it advisable to make an exhaustive examination regarding the
whereabouts of the Swedish laborer, at the time of the tragedy, and
with this end in view another trip had been made to Somerset. The
result confirmed the opinion of Marshal Hilliard. The man established a
thoroughly satisfactory alibi, and the officials were forced to acquit
him of the possibility of any knowledge or of complicity in the affair.
Some time before Andrew Borden had purchased some property located
across the river. This property was owned by a number of persons, heirs
of a former owner, and among them was one who was strangely disinclined
to part with the place, at least at the figures satisfactory to the
other owners. His dissatisfaction was made manifest to such an extent
that among the stories circulated regarding the affair was one which
suggested the possibility of this dissatisfied individual having some
knowledge of the ones responsible for the tragedy. This story, although
without reliable foundation, it was deemed best to investigate also,
and accordingly the person referred to received a visit from the
Government officials. The desired knowledge was easily secured, and the
fact readily established that the party in question had no connection
whatever with the murder of the aged couple.
After this extended conference of the highest authorities in the county
it was given out that the District Attorney was much pleased with the
work of the police and that an inquest would be held immediately,
before Judge Josiah C. Blaisdell of the Second District Court of
Bristol, which is the Fall River local Court.