Murder of George E. Bailey

The murder of George E. Bailey occurred on October 8, 1900, at Breakheart Hill Farm in Saugus, Massachusetts.

[2][3] In the spring of 1897, Bailey abandoned his family and ran off with Susie Young, his wife's half-sister.

[2][4][5] Bailey was also hired to take care of their hunting camps at Breakheart Hill Forest for 20¢ per hour.

About a year after moving into Breakheart Hill, Young gave birth to Bailey's child, a son.

He then attended school during the winter and worked on the farm the rest of the year until the age of fifteen.

After that he worked in Sackville at a shoe factory for about a year, at a grocery store for about four months, and at a hotel until he left for Massachusetts.

Bailey would also give him less than he requested for farm equipment because Best tended to spend any money he had on him at the saloon.

[2] On September 27, 1900, Young left Breakheart Hill to visit her sick mother in Wiscasset.

[1][7] The next day, Best went to the homes of his neighbors, Sarah Rowe, Simon McKenna, and Annie Dwyer, to ask if they had seen Bailey.

[1] Also that day, James W. Thomas noticed a bonfire in the yard at Breakheart Hill Farm.

Micajah Clough, one of the owners of the property, heard of Bailey's disappearance and that Best was constantly drunk and left the livestock unattended.

He went to the farm to talk with Best, who told him that he thought Bailey had left because he was fleeing officers from Maine and that there was a $500 bounty on him for running out on his wife.

[5] On October 17, the trunk of a man's body was found in a bag at Floating Bridge Pond.

They asked Best to come identify the body, however before they left he pulled out a half-full pint of whiskey and downed it.

[10] Found on the body was a small chamois watch bag which Young would later identify as the one she made for Bailey.

An examination of the house revealed blood stains on the carpet, wallpaper, and window sill of Best's bedroom, which Best claimed had been there ever since he moved in.

These stones were of the same color and geological composition as the ones used to weigh down the bags containing Bailey's body.

Also, due to the trajectory of the bullets, the murderer held the gun at a 45 degree angle and was standing above Bailey when the shots were fired.

[2] A Saugus police officer found an empty .38 caliber cartridge in the ground below a small barn window.

This, along with Pinkham's findings, led investigators to believe that Bailey was shot as he was seated in his democrat wagon as he drew rein in front of the barn door.

Young told police that after his day's work, Bailey would rest with his elbows on his knees and his head slumped way over due to his height.

During his opening statements, District Attorney W. Scott Peters stated that Best had shot Bailey as he climbed up the barn cellar stairs.

Massachusetts Superior Court Justices Jabez Fox and Edgar J. Sherman presided over the trial.

[1] On the fifth day of the trial, William H. Stiles, Best's brother-in-law, revealed that Best had told him that some property, including a watch, was hidden in the basement of the barn.

It contained a gold watch, $75 in cash, a pocket knife, and part of a leather coat that resembled the one Bailey was wearing the day he was killed.

[16][17] Exceptions filed by the defense during the trial were argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on January 6, 1902.

[19][20] On August 6, Governor Winthrop M. Crane and the Executive Council heard Best's plea for commutation of his sentence.

Blood, associate district medical examiner Dr. George Stedman, and Deputy Sheriff William Cronin, whose presence was required by law.

District Attorney Peters wrote a letter to the Lynn Police Department suggesting that they give the Stiles family protection.

In it he wrote of the status of his personal affairs, expressed his innocence, and requested that his burial be paid for by the state.