Show CONFESSION ION OF MURDERER I REVEALS DARKEST CRIMES Mystery tery of Killing of Martha Black Blackstone Blackstone B lack I stone at Springfield ld Mass MassIs Is Solved Sol d Springfield Mass April 6 Laying his crimes to love of excitement and a mania for stealing caused by an injury to his head in boyhood Bertram Gage Spencer today broke down aown under 24 hours of questioning and confessed he was the masked burglar who had terrorized Springfield for two years and had reached the climax of his wild career by murdering Miss Martha B Blackstone last Thursday In his amazing confession Spencer makes It clear that associated with his overpowerIng desire to steal were an intense Jove love of excitement and a high degree of personal pers nal vanity This latter trait Spencer gratified by baffling the police suid d reading the newspaper ac accounts accounts accounts counts of his exploits The accounts of his daring crimes fascinated him and fostered his ego egoism egoIsm ism The police say he is I a morphine fiend An that entered into Spen Spencers Spencers Spencers cers crimes was ivas a desire to secure money to purchase elaborate furnish furnishings jn ings B for his home in West Springfield where he be lived lI d with his young and pret pretty pretty pretty ty wife While admitting the killing kUUng of Miss Blackstone Spencer said he did not in intend Intend Intend tend to shoot her but had lost ost control of ot himself wh en she shrieked repeated repeatedly I Ily ly Even n then he asserted he fired only to frighten her and the tho three other i women who confronted him in the Dow holies haue I Spencer was arraigned in the police pollee court and was held without ball for tor further hearing April 15 Spencer told the police he ho had ex experienced experienced experienced no qualms of conscience over his crims The only thing that caused him any an worry was the loss of a locket bearing his initials This was found outside a house he had entered and caused his arrest In his confession conCession Spencer revealed a career of or almost lifelong crime Fol Following Following Following lowing a blow on the head when a small boy in Lebanon Conn he said he began to steal At the age of 9 he rifled the pockets of his schoolmates and robbed Jobbed his parents of ot small sums Later while still a youth he ho held up young women on the highways and en entered entered entered houses He Ho spent some time on ona ona ona a naval training ship and then traveled about the country count his thefts covering a wide range of ot territory He HI engaged In legitimate occupations by day He says ho he was in San Francisco during the earthquakes earthquake |