The scene of crime in the pine woods was carefully examined by local officials. It was evident that the victim, Manchester's tax collector Jonas L. Parker, and the vicious assailant had fallen to the ground twice, locked together in violent struggle. The murderer's footprints were traced, and it was found that he had washed a bloody hand in the snow several yards away from the scene. The search was on for a man who had a fresh cut on his hand, although it was more likely that the blood was Parker's. Despite reports of loud voices in the woods, and of a horse and cart traveling down Hanover Street a few minutes after the murder, officials surmised that the killer had escaped alone on foot, and had headed southwest towards Hallsville.

The Manchester American newspaper published an “extra” about the murder on March 31, 1845, five days after the crime. It reported, “The citizens of Manchester are in a state of intense excitement and deep felt horror. That a man should be murdered within the hearing of so many of our citizens seems almost too much to believe...The streets are filled with squads of anxious inquirers during the day and in the evening the stillness of death pervades our streets.”

The motive for the crime appeared to be robbery. Parker was known to carry large sums of cash — there were rumors that he had a $1,000 bill in one of his pockets. The money pouch that he normally kept in his coat was missing. The murderer had rifled through Parker's tax collection book, leaving his bloody fingerprints on the pages. But strangely, he had neglected to move the body so that he could check the left side pants pocket. Parker's watch and a small wallet containing $1,635 were left behind.

Manchester's selectmen offered a reward of $500 for the capture of the guilty party. Parker's friends got together and put up a matching reward of $500 for the recovery of the stolen money. New Hampshire Governor John H. Steele offered an additional $1,000. Despite $2,000 in reward money available to anyone who came forward with information about the murder, months went by without an arrest. Numerous witnesses were interviewed, but no substantial new evidence was uncovered. The local populace was running out of patience. Manchester's selectmen finally set up a “vigilance committee” to take charge of the investigation that included county Sheriff Mace Moulton and several of the town's leading citizens.

As the physical evidence pointing to any suspect was flimsy, the investigators began to tackle the puzzle from a different angle. They decided to look for likely suspects based on what we today would call “profiling.” In this case, they looked for a person (or persons) who was considered to be of low moral character, who may have been in desperate need of money, who was acquainted with Parker, and who could have been in Manchester at the time of the murder.

Suspicion fell on three brothers, Asa, Henry T. and Horace Wentworth. They had family and business connections in Manchester, Lowell, Mass., and Saco, Maine. Asa owned a saloon in the Janesville section of Manchester on one of the main roads into the city, which we now call Bridge Street, located on the southwest corner of Malvern Street. The tavern's saloon was housed in a two and a half story wooden building, and there was a large dance hall on the second floor of an attached ell. The Wentworth Tavern was a busy stage coach stop, and the dance hall was frequented by locals.

Asa's tavern didn't have the best reputation in town, and his younger brother Henry was known to have had run-ins with the police. Plus, wasn't Jonas Parker on his way to Janesville to meet a Mrs. Bean of Lowell when he was murdered? Could he have been told that she was waiting for him at the Wentworth Tavern? In fact, couldn't one of the Wentworth brothers have stopped at his door that evening and lured him into the woods to his doom? Following this theory, the prosecution was able to find several witnesses who would incriminate the Wentworths.

Next week: The Wentworth brothers are arrested.

Aurore Eaton is executive director of Manchester Historic Association. Email her at aeaton@manchesterhistoric.org