The twelve days' trial of Dr. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. Parkman : comprising the addresses of the counsel engaged, the examination of the 121 witnesses, the prisoner's singular defence, and the chief justice's charge to the jury, and his sentence on the prisoner.
- John White Webster
- Date:
- 1850
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The twelve days' trial of Dr. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. Parkman : comprising the addresses of the counsel engaged, the examination of the 121 witnesses, the prisoner's singular defence, and the chief justice's charge to the jury, and his sentence on the prisoner. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
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![as I was going to dig. I told her if Dr. Webster came to the door, not to let him in until she had given me a signal of four raps on the floor with a hammer ; but to let in other professors. 1 then went to work, for half an hour I think, and blistered my hands ; I got a pair of gloves, and then resumed my work. The crow-bar not answering my expec- tations, 1 then asked the Fullers for a cold-chisel ten inches long, and a hammer. These worked pretty rapidly. I had got out three courses and a half of brick, when 1 heard a running over the floor ; I then left my working, and came up. Then I met my wife and she said, I made a fool of you this time ; two gentlemen just passed, one of whom I thought was Dr. Webster, but they proved to be Kingsley and Stark- weather. I went to the door. Mr. Kingsley asked what private place that was in the college which had not been searched. I told them. Kingsley said, let us go into the dissecting-room. I told them the rooms were all locked up, and they went away, J saw Mr. Trenholmn, the officer, and told him what I was doing, and if he would come back in twenty or thirty minutes, he should learn the result. As I was going into my shed, I met my wife, and she said (objected to). I waited until Dr. Webster came out (he had gone in, though the witness did not see him until he came out, but was told that he was in). When Dr. Webster came out—not far from four—he told Trenholm and me that an Irishman had offered a 20 dols. bill for his toll. That the keeper took the bill to the Marshal, who knew nothing about it. After saying this. Dr. Webster went off. Mr. Trenholm also went off, to return. I charged my wife again to watch the door, and then went down ; and with my crow-bar, knocked a hole in five minutes. There v/as much trouble in getting a light through on account of the draft of air through the hole; but I succeeded and put my h^rad through. The fi.-st thing I saw was a human pelvis, and then two parts of a leg. The water was then running down from above. I then went up and told my wife what I had found—took the key of the trap-door, and told my wife to let no one go down. My wife spoke to me first, and, asked what was the matter. [Objected to.] I was very much afflicted. I went to Dr. .lacob Bigelow's house in Summer Street, but he was not at home. I then went to Dr. Henry Bigelow's, in Chauncy Place, and told him what I had discovered. He told me to go with him to R. G. Shaw's, where we found him. We separated after the Marshal had come, who directed me to return to the college. On my way 1 wrote my name on Dr. J. B. S. Jackson's slate. 1 found Mr. Trenholm at the college, and learned that he had made some discoveries. The hole I had made was close to the foundation wall of the building and about mid- way in the height of the wall. It was eighteen inches by twelve. The ground on my side of the partition wall was about a foot lower than on the privy side. The hole of the privy was about nine feet above the wall. I found the remains a litile out of a perpen- dicular line from the privy hole. The ground sloped to the fou idation wall. There was no aperture to allow any substance to flow under this part of the building, though the tide flows through the broken stones thrown up outside to strengthen the wall of the building. Mr Trenholm went down with a key of the trap-door, which my wife had. M.ssrs. Tukey, Trenholm, and myself went into the laboratory after this, when the bones in the furnace were discovered. Mr. Trenholm remained in the college, by the order of the Marshal. Dr. Webster was brought there about eleven, with two men, one on each side, who seemed to support him. Dr. Webster said, Mr. Litdefield, they have arrested me, and taken me away from my family, without allowing me to bid them good night. He seemed much agitated. I unlocked the lecture-room door, and we all passed in. When we came to the door of the Doctor's private loom they asked me for the key, and I referred ihem to Dr. Webster. He said they had taken him away in a hurry, and the key was left behind ; some one said, force the door. Assisted by one of the officers we went](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21083630_0029.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
