The mystery, which for the past two weeks has shrouded the movements of the missing man, Arthur W. RAYMOND who about 10 o'clock on the morn. of 5th inst., left his father's residence 72 Queen street, was cleared up yesterday by the finding of the body of the unfortunate man on the Beaver Lake road. The spot where the body was found is situated on Moriarty's farm, about four miles from the city and close to the school house on the road. The discovery of the body was the result of a talk between Walter BEARD and Mr. MORIARTY, both of whom reside on Beaver Lake road. Both of these gentlemen saw Mr. Raymond passing along the road about one o'clock on the afternoon of 5th inst. Mr. Moriarty indicted the spot where he had last seen the unfortunate man. They then proceeded to the side of the road and saw the faint marks of footsteps in the snow which they immediately followed. The tracks led them directly into the woods, then into a thick underbrush and after emerging therefrom they proceeded to a spruce tree about an eighth of a mile from the road, where they found the body of Mr. Raymond hanging to the lower limb. His feet were barely two inches from the ground. Upon examination they found an ordinary new clothes line with a slip knot at the back of the neck, the line being looped around the limb of the tree, leaving a slack of about two feet with a noose fastened on the limb.



Date February 22 1889
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Daily Telegraph

Yesterday Coroner Berryman and jury held an inquest on the body of Arthur W. RAYMOND who suicided by hanging himself to a tree in the woods in the vicinity of Beaver Lake. Witnesses: W.J. MORIARTY and J. Walter BEARD.

Date March 2 1889
County York
Place Fredericton
Newspaper The Fredericton Evening Capital






Date January 8 1881
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Morning Freeman

Peter O'HARE was the name of the young man who was found frozen to death at Beaver Lake on Friday morn. of last week. He used to live near the Loch Lomond Road (St. John)

Date January 1 1881
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Daily Telegraph





Date June 8 1894
County York
Place Fredericton
Newspaper The Gleaner


Date September 15 1888
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Saint John Globe



Date December 6 1894
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Saint John Globe

A sad accident occurred yesterday afternoon at Beaver Lake. Mrs. CRAWFORD, a widow, who had her residence at Fort Howe (St. John) while following her avoction of picking berries, went to cross a stream in that vicinity for the better prosecuting of her labours. The current after the late rains proved too strong for her powers of resistance. She was carried away by its force and died a victim of her own temerity. The body was shorty afterwards found and last night conveyed to the city; left three or four children.

St. John, Aug. 1 - Robert MOORE, who drove in from West Beach early this morn. tells of the horrible death of John HANNAH, an old man who lives near Beaver Lake, nine miles from this city. At the home of the old man, Moore learned that Hannah had gone last night to look for cattle and had not returned. His wife feared that the old man had some trouble with a ferocious bull that they owned and a search party was about to start out to look for him. Moore drove along, and about a mile further saw lying in a field a hundred yards from the road a body which he recognized as that of Hannah. He was afraid to go near as the bull was lying close beside it. Undoubtedly the old man had been gored to death and had been lying in the same spot all night. For a year or more the animal has been chasing people and as the road is not guarded by fences, his presence has always been most dangerous.

St. John, Dec. 5 - Between six and seven o'clock tonight fire declared itself in the barn owned by Mrs Robert LAWTON, widow, on Beaver Lake Road, about nine miles from the city. Mrs. Lawton's two sons, Oliver LAWTON, 23 years old and a younger brother after supper went to the barn taking with them a lantern which was suspended from a beam and hung directly over a heap of straw. The lantern was upset and in a few minutes the barn was in flames. Adjoining this was a barn in which there were three horses and four or five cows. Two of the horses were rescued. The third one Oliver attempted to get out and in doing so was overcome by the smoke and suffocated. His lifeless body was dragged from the barn before the flames touches it. All the cattle perished in the flames besides a large quantity of hay. There was stored in the barn the winter's supply of vegetables and some farming utensils, all of which were consumed. The loss will be very heavy as the owner had no insurance. A coroner visited the scene of the accident a few hours later but an inquest will probably not be held. Great sympathy is expressed for Mrs. Lawton who is a widow on the loss of her son who was the main support of the family.

Robbery, Arson and Murder: Early on Monday last, the city (Saint John) was thrown into a state of excitement by the report brought in that a most daring and atrocious series of crimes such are as rarely heard of in civilized countries had been committed ten miles to the eastward. As the reports became confirmed, it appeared that two houses belonging to Dr. Robert McKenzie late doing business in this city, but for a number of years residing at Mispeck, about ten miles out the Black River Road, had been consumed by fire and that portions of the remains of McKenzie, his wife and children had been discovered among the ruins under circumstances that left little doubt but they had been murdered first, the house then robbed and the whole set fire to hide the crime. McKenzie was a man well-to-do in the world and reported to have always a quantity of money in the house beside him, and on Saturday night last when the tragedy occurred had no one about the place except his wife and four children. The house was also a mile from the nearest neighbours on one side and two miles from the other. From being thus isolated, although the fire took place early Saturday night, it was not discovered until about ten o'clock Saturday forenoon, when one of the neighbours came upon the smouldering ruins and passed the alarm to others along the road. The circumstances that at once excited suspicions of foul play were that none of the family could be got any account of; that a large money safe in what had been one of the corners of the house was found with the door unlocked and the contents gone and that the two houses burned; the one the dwelling house, the other a house usually occupied by a hired man, were so far apart as to preclude any one of them having caught fire from the other. On further examina tion, after the arrival of the nearest Magistrate, it was also found that the remains of a man, supposed to be McKenzie in the one house, that where the hired men usually live and the ashes of what appeared to be the bodies of Mrs. McKenzie and some of the children were in the other or dwelling house, but not where they could have been had they been in bed when the fire caught them. All these circum stances led to the conclusion that there had been violence done, and suspicion immediately fell on a man who had been in the neighbourhood and about McKenzie's some days previous but who had subsequently disappeared. This man who gave his name while at McKenzie's as WILLIAMS, but who was elsewhere known as BREEN or GREEN or McGUIRE had engeged with McKenzie to come and hire with him, his former hired man having just left to go to Canada and had left McKenzie's on the day previous, Friday; saying that he would be back Saturday night with his wife and furniture. He appears, however, to have gone instead to the house of a man named SLAVIN, three or four miles distant on another road, where he had been residing of and on for the previous four or five weeks and where, there is no doubt, from what has since transpired, that the crime was planned. The destruction though discovered on Saturday (sic) was not intimated in town till Monday when Capt. SCOULLAR of the Police and some of his assistants went out and ascertained the identity of Williams who had been at McKenzie's, with the man calling himself Breen, &c. that had been living at Slavin's and thus got a trace that has led to the exposure of the whole of this horrid affair. On Tuesday the Coroner went out and viewed the remains of the bodies found in the ruins and took some evidence, after which he adjourned the inquest to the Court House in this city where it was after wards continued. The evidence in connection with the immediate perpetration of the crime, so far as we can gather leads to the inference that McKenzie had at first been decoyed out of his dwelling down to the lower house which was about 100 yards distant and that he had been there murdered and thrown into the house before it was set fire to, as his remains were found inside partially consumed; and that the miscreants had thence proceeded to the other house, where they committed the rest of the murders and robbery and then set fire to both. The principal evidence before the Coroner on the adjourned inquest was that of a little boy, a son of Slavin's about ten years of age, which, if his statements can be credited, leaves no doubt about the guilt of the parties suspected. It appers that Williams, alias Breen &c was at Slavin's house Saturday and came into town Sunday eve. where he slept all night and went out to Slavin's again on Monday morn., after which he and the two Slavin's, father and son, went into the woods, where they have since remained in hiding. This was collected from the evidence of several parties besides that of the little boy, but the principle light was thrown on the affair by that of the latter in regard to what took place at Slavin's on Saturday night and Sunday after the fire. Late on Saturday night, his father, Patrick Slavin brother of the same name and Breen, alias Williams &c. returned to Slavin's after having been absent from the forenoon; that they had brought a bag with them containing apparently clothes and heavy articles, that they washed their hands and held a good deal of whispering and mysterious talking, and had a long purse, a pocket book, a watch and money in their possession. He also said the next morning the three in question went into the bushes near the house and disposed of the bags and its contents, and that at a later hour of the day he saw them counting and dividing the money. On a re-examination he further stated that he heard them on the Saturday night after their return, speak of seeing the light still burning when they came into the house and about how the murder and robbery was effected, particularizing the part each took in the transaction. In several particulars, such as the description of the purse that Breen had, and the fact of the younger Slavin having a number of sovereigns in his possession on Saturday after noon, the boy was fully corroborated by other evidence, so as to leave no doubt on the minds of the jury about the guilt of the parties. By evidence given yesterday shortly before the closing of the inquest, the police were enabled to secure the whole of the three persons implicated in the murder. They were found in a temporary shelter of boughs and birch bark made up in the woods about a half mile from the house of a man of the name of HAGGERTY situated on what is known as the Four Mile Road, above Patrick BROWN's and about 10 miles from the house of Slavin and 17 from the city. They were discovered to be there by the evidence of Haggerty and his son, who were brought into Town Tuesday eve., and who had been supplying them with food, coverings and information of what was going on, and the police had twice been at Haggerty's house... No resistence was offered by the men when found, nor do they appear to have had any fire-arms or other weapons. They seemed thoroughly beat out and cowed by their situation and exposure to such a continuance of wet and cold The police were led to their place of concealment by the younger Haggert with much reluctance, which was not unnatural, the elder Haggerty being married to a sister of the elder Slavin. The younger Slavin made a slight attempt to run away but was easily frightened to come back and afterwards took the police to where a good deal of the booty was concealed. All three men are committed today for trial on Coroner's warrant. - N.B.C.