Texas, F, 1891-1999, Undated

Jim Pisher muvie vad wu tin A. Hardy July 5, 1851. Austin
Hardy! 3 marker 4 tio nlondixe cemetery. Jim Fisher is
also turted tf tac ca ntike cervatery, not too far from Austin
Hardy. Fisher's geave i. awrked by a bois d are stob. He is
buried fanning worst. if wan the only person ever jegally hang~

ed in Delts count:

The 1870 Uilowey scouity, if. census
born in 1559, in if'issou rt. This woul
years old when he Ailled anstin Hardy

"} Li { )

From infornation
we have the for
lilfe. aS a you
blunt instru

years

SJ by Au
re lh had a ver
id hecn hit
the incide

furni
Llow4 Tes
ig boy he
“Mae! ; oJ

LJ
»

|:

AS

ma

shows James Ww. Fisher was
d make him thirty three
» who was forty three

stin Hariy's great grandson,

y disturbed and tragic
over the head with a
nt helieved to have

eausei most of hi: nen’: trouble. He was considered to he
retarded av 2 gould vot > trusted but with menial chores,
He lived sith “ic cloter ond her husband, Austin Hardy. Jim's
duties were t. ottend the cattle and at the end of the dayypdriva
them to tre barn lot, and he was usually assisted by his nine
year old rneive, Martha visa linrly. On one evening something
happened that savoed Al to flee home to the refuge of her
no they © Wher dime ot o> the souse, he wis questioned by his)
sister, Nancy, as So. t bad aetuslly taken place. Nancy
warnel Jin Gf le hind hep vet Alri, in any way, her husband
world take acti oo. opairet hiv. in fear, Jim grabbed a rifle
from the Loam moo roce@ead out of the house, with the sounds
of Nancy pieauting vt te co gs enething upid. Jim went to the
corn field; vhor aaetin vos working. austin looked up and
say Jim apr dri; bse [Ch the rifle. As it came out in the
trial, Aust ir. a eles Ji My he was doing this, but before
Austin could Qv vie, Jin shot and killed austin Hardy.
Hardy never view whe .ia “lel, but was latter apprehended.
he was tried ff ot levees nmarler and sentencel to be honged.,
His lawyers, Eo bonne bt ard d.k. Holmes, sppealed on the
grounis to Jnwimity, bib the sentcoree was affirmed. Nancy
dij notosepaeur at vY, Foetal, saying she would not testify
in ‘ele 1 ‘+ heqiuuse he killed her husband,
nov rub "-:% bam heeauuse he w ner brother.
An ic iS of ’ okjoysrephy gives the follLowdneg t
In] 3 . woin ulirivy, was tried in Coapexz
and : “ ‘ precohere visited hin in
birt ; ; ; ia anbeliever cond at first
Oat, to: % 7 re (°oohuff, but at last he
sou 4 4 ind Urother Jonss,
hed, lie seerfold with hin
ani] tal, 7 ot further from
{) Porgy UhaG Lirst Friday in June
2% ts aot in Pitsaburg and
mot] wo, ao the urrangsements
vt soLLite peek nee wag
ie cv, It seared providenticl,
i Ll dow the steps and
: ors -¢ to me and
73 his nicee, I jumped
; WLLL tohe my place
Legh tie mod) hick
‘.. iL 4 cr

NEW CLIPPTW ERINGS “EMO sS CF HANGING
rridauy, danuiry 26,1940

Following 13 a story tuat was printed in the Cooper Review, 46
years ago, that was sent to the Review by F.W. Pruett, publisher
of the Robert Lee Observe”, Robert Lee, Texas,

Mr. Pruett came by the clipping, by George McCraw, whe had gotten
dt from Tom bute, a former resident of Delta county, whese father waa
an Old time settler of Delt, County.--Ed. — r

FHE MaAJESITY OF THE Law VINDICATED ~~ The Execution of Janes Fieher

At 2 o'clock last Friday, dames Fisher wag hanged here, for tha mur~
der of Austin Hardy, coumited the Sth day of last July, 1891. The hour
for the execution was set ut 2 o'clock, and by half past 1 o'clock
between four and 3ix thousand hud ussembled at the scaffold, abeut a
half or three fourths of 4a mile south of the public square, on the
prairie.

Sheriff George W. acker and deputies, Kd Wallace, James H. Patter-~
80n, and others who had been specially deputized, for the occasion,
Arriving at the scen: of the execution at Ls30 o'clock, with the
prisoner and asscended the seuffold. The Revs Jones, of the Methodigt
and Booth of the Christian Churches, conducted a short religious ser=
vice, consisting of the old familiar song "There is a-fountian filled
With blood", and a very earnest prayer offered by Rev. Jones.

No one war on the seaffold, except the sheriff ‘and guard, the two
ministers and the press reporters. The prisoner showed but little sign
of weafening, though the daring bravado, sometimes witnessed on the
scaffold, was entirely absent.

He agsscended the steps to the eatiows, with a firm step and was
seated in 4a chair, on the trap door, The doomed man made un effort
to address the people, but not being able to de se , requested
Sheriff Acker te speak fer him. That gentleman then arese und stated
te the uudience, that Jin withel hin te Say that he had made peace
With Ged, and vos reaiv te die. avd that hig father was perfectly
innecent ef having had anytnii. ta ds with the killing ef Austin
Hardy. The prisener gterad crest on the trip door, without any evident
Sign ofemotion, while sheri’, pacKne> pliced the black cap over his
head, tied his feeb and heid., and p .ced the noose around his neck.

Fhig occupied “but a few menenus, wud at 2 o'clock, the sheriff pull-
ed the lever, wide rele ed to trap door. Lhe fall wag about & feet,

breaking Fisher's sec. He thet vi thont oo itruggle or movement of a
muscle,

The physician , Ceo. ee eo be hong Cele iarrison, made frequent
examinations She pulse. od ubbeousei he wears apparently dead in
fifteen minute:, he j . - a Pov. until 2:34,

The body wos turret oyap bho aday ond was buried in Pleasant
Grove cenetery. the vole ome Was Curried out in a most perfect
and orderly wane. .: 7 1€. Mau the spiritual counsel of Rev.

Jones and ofthe tout roy reoorer, Lor some time, and every effort

possible sour, Phe crude vo iy 2 Uy 4 reformation in his life.

Sal REE mare hae sua

an hes eptinire 2

lle thee

i
:
|
,

‘Ge t F
& 4 h.
’ iy
ve : . ’ 4 ae
~ e ' f
' . ’ 4 dl ”
ote 265 ‘ .
} “ « Saar}
n P . Fi w
rw BeO™|S ‘ at! 3]
. * ’ yy
Ay sige i. . ihe pe
COCO 4
oid Patan | ] " .
‘ , , L' » bryos wf fey
WAS ’ Yaa ; ‘ i aan
: : rT 4

‘ ; ~ , \ 4 tihoy : r) 3
weg3t ‘5 . ae I ‘+ 4 1 t F } P ‘ —

. 7 a : f ‘ ‘ we oily i Pilar ’ hana

’ int!
- ’
§ -4- ,
” iin
7 + -
} wi WAG

4g
nen north-

oe or .
rach inte .* , bee DANE Ns oaugsed
:} \y i ad _¢ : «* .? ty a) ays 4 Wal ; ; P ;
reapote ibd lit - ¢ tec S.6Plii, leeling his
a Jo oat s whe ' ’ ’ \ f « a, 4+ . os a oe -

furn is} vO veel to. 4 44 ad ERD unties to

: ‘ t io 7% en ONE oy an Sate ie i
A Braut ys. 4 ; a 1 . i € a} G2 ouble.

story oF it. ty: 7  ' omging. this is the
His futher 4 yO J eanll bey at the tine.

y a 4 4
rf 1 a ». +}
sheriff, Ms. t+ Seo ie we dees
iro . a att —_
Adu yas bt os Bb tuil=e 1.

Pr . ' ' vd : wey
y"¢ . hea Ot a 7 - ri ae ihe
I ,e%5 .

+ : ' ' , so

a a Aaa] s : ‘ “ da.

; *.* 4.4
mayb ' A ’

Provided by G. D. Albright, 550 SW 1st St., Cooper, TX 7532

wag the
Jim Ft shlroy
27et by the

lo owWie. om
ds} ‘le

prowounae-
cemetery in
mily and

ae ; noe ¥ a a, ee aw

NEWS CLIPPING BRINGS MEMORI#S OF HANGING
Friday, January 20,1940 2
Following is a story “that wes printed in the Cooper Review, 46 re

_ years ago, that was sent to the Review by F.wW. Pruett, publisher
| of the Robert Lee Observer, Robert Lee, Texas. ihe SSeS

Mr. Pruett came by the clipping, by George McCraw, who had gotten Si

yo. At from Tom Pate, a former resident of Delta county, whes¢ father was ..
_« »,an old time settler of Delta County.--Ed. | SRE iia. ha ara Maral

" ‘THE MAJESITY OF THE LaW VINDICATED -~ The Execution of James Fisher |

At 2 o'clock last Friday, James Fisher was hanged here, for the mur- 4
der of Austin Hardy, commited the 5th day of last July, 1891]... he hour @
for the execution was set at 2 o'clock, and by half past l o'’elock . @
between four and six thousand had assembled at the scaffeld, about a si‘éxh
half or three fourths of a mile south of the public square, on the. 4
prairie. , eit we

Sheriff George W. acker and deputies, Ed Wallace, James H. Patter-
son, and others who had been specially deputized, for the occasion... @
Arriving at the scene of the execution at 1:30 o'clock, with the <3.

are

prisoner and asscended the scaffold. The Revs Jones, of the Methodist
and Booth of the Christian Churches, conducted a short religious sem  ;

vice, consisting of the old familiar song "Phere is a-fountian filled.
with blood", and a very earnest prayer offered by Rev. Jones. nasa

ae
No one was on the scaffold, except the sheriff ‘and guard, the two -
ministers and the press reporters. The prisoner showed but little si
of weafening, though the daring bravado, sometimes witnessed on the
scaffold, was entirely absent. |

He asscended the steps to the gallows, with a firm step and was ne
seated in a chair, on the trap door. The doomed man made an effort
to address the people, but not being able to de se , requested 4
Sheriff Acker te speak fer him. That gentleman then arese and stated: +
te the audience, that Jim wished him te say that he had made peace _ :
with Ged, and was ready ts» die. and that his father was perfectly |
innecent ef having had anything ts de with the killing ef Austin
Hardy. The prisener steed erect on the trup door, without any evident
Sign ofgmotion, while sheri’f Acker placed the black Cap over his
head, tied his feet and hunuds, and pluced the noose around his neck.
fhis occupied but a few moments, and at 2 o'clock, the sheriff pull-
ed the lever, which releascd the trap door. The fall was about 8 feet,
breaking Fisher's neck. He ijiied without a struggle or movement of a
muscle.

Phe physicians, “Drs. H.5. Lain: and Gm. Harrison, made frequent
examinations o: the pulse, ind although he was apparently dead in
fifteen minutes, he wis not cut down until 2:34.

Phe body was turned over to ais ‘amily and was buried in Pleasant
Grove cemetery. the whole vrogramme was carried out in a most perfect
and orderly manne”. Jiu Fisher had the Spiritual counsel of Rev.

Jones and other gooi people « Vooper, for some time, and every effort
possible seemea to be made vo bring about a reformation in his life.

Provided by G D. Albright, 550 sw lst St, ty
Cooper, TX 7532

; 4 Ee a _ . — weg to — * — wenacen ¢ ntarermait
3 4. x a 2 ails. a pone: _— ee ee a ee wane ee ee ee, ee Ss ee
" —_— ee — te) ete


> ne

oe ee

xx BBs NaS
pe eee ee ee ce So awe Sie ss oe rere Sa er
B: 30TH TEX 1s Court OF APPEALS REPORTS. [ Tyler
v ’

AD,
© eused by appellant. The remaining two—Mrs.,Hollon and Charieg
-p—did not attend. ES
jreen was a stranger to defendant, and never met him until during
i: cmonth of Septermber subsequent to the homicide; was in jail a Se
-with him. was discharged therefrom, and has disappeared from,
tos eountry. It may be further stated of this witness, that he wes 4
cer, transiently in the county of the homicide, and while tion
S arrested for felony, placed in jail with the defendant, and wus oe
>ved shortly thereafter, and upon his discharge from custody -s
noo-oped. and the ofMicers have been unable to ascertain his a Warenkesiu<
> that tim The iets expected to be proved by hitn are alles
time hoth prier and subsequent to the date of 1

4
heomieide. it jselearthat the court did noi err inoverruling the app

eae | ; thease “itaye . Pe | '
By all of these witnesses excep Dr, Becton appellant expected is
that they have knows defendant forseme tine. oped that beto

’ +

no nee the Sth of uly, TS80t. they tneve seen defendant act and taik
a reninsaue persens fhar frequently otmight and in day-time defendant
iin the presence of saidd witnesses sudeents tup, felt at, and ru:
froin Some dimaginary caneer, and atferwared world cool down snd: he-
eal, ainl af times morose; that suid witnesses will testity that
defendant was regarded by them, frou suid acts aud declarations, as of
anseund mind,’’
Phe evidence shows beyond Cispute, and was not controverted by the
Stute, that defendant was a sommumbulist, aud would make noises iN
his sleep. get up and move about in his sleep, and do such other things
as that character of persons do under similar circumstances. It is also
equally established that ‘somnambulism is not insanity,” and ‘it is not
an indication of insanity.’? It was upon this state of ease that Mrs.
Hollon wasexpected to testify that she believed defendant to be insane.
Had she so stated, it is not probable that the jury would have believed
her conelusion and opinion to be correct in the face of the other testi-
mony to the effect that somnambulism is not a symptom or evidence of
insanity. The court properly overruled the application fora continuance.
Appellant’s second contention is the insufficiency of the evidence tu
support the verdict of the jury. The undisputed evidence is, that de-
fendant and deceased were brothers-in-law; that the defendant had
lived with the deceased for some months prior to the homicide, at least
most of the time during said months, and that the homicide occur
on July 5, 1891, on the premises of the deceased, in a corn field. The
facts show a cold-blooded and heartless killing, and these facts are alse
undisputed, unless the defendant was insane at the time of the homicide.
The only defense set up or attempted to be proved on the trial was
an effort to establish the insanity of the defendant. This was really
the only contested issue before the jury. No evidence offered by the

- defendant upon the issue was excluded. It was all admitted as offered.

» Morning. She complained of being cold, and said she we

1891.] FISHER V. THE STATE. 505

The theory of insanity was based upon the statements of defendant
rior and subsequent to the killing. that the deceased had been having
illicit intercourse with his own daughter, a child Jess than 10 years of
age, aud who was a niece of the defendant.
\ recapitulation of the salient features of this evidence should he
state! inorder fo understand the ease. About two months before the
homicide defendant went to Mrs. Hardy and desired to impart to ber
a secret, She declined to hear it. and informed her brother that she
“sy poor hand” to keep secrets. He insisted. however, that she
it. amd should promise not to tell it to any one, Finally

a
showid heal
whe aereed, and heard his story.

she thus testified: ‘Te told me that he had tried to have improper

intercourse woth my daughter, and could have done so. but that he

qat. aad didi net. That my husband. Me. Hardy, had been keeping
per. TL <vvid tohim, ‘Jim. you must be crazy He replied that he was

et as erazy as J was, and could prove what he had charged to me if I
would give him a chance. 1 told him [ did not believe it was true, so
far as he was concerned, and [ knew if was not true so furas Mr. Hardy
He told me Mr. Hardy treated Alma, who was my

was concerned,
» (defend-

oldest daughter, better than the other culdren: and that hy
ant) heard strange uoises at night: and if L would but Jook and listen
I could hear and see the same thing. From these things he knew Mr.
Hardy was criminally intimate with Alma. I knew it was not so, and
did not tell Mr. Hardy, because I knew he would not take it, and it
would cause tronble between him and my brother. Defendant men-
tioned this to me several times after that before the killing. :
I never saw and never suspected anything wrong between Mr. Hardy
and the child.

After that defendant talked to me about this seve ‘al times; in fact,
every time he found me alone away from the house. * * * One
day defendant came to me, and pretended to be terribly hurt, and I
told him IJ would hear no more of it; and he got down on his knees.
and cried a little about my refusing to hear him. I did not believe
there was any truth in defendant’s statement. Alma lacked ten days
of being 10 years old the day Mr. Hardy was killed. * * * Every
time defendant talked to me about Mr. Hardy being too intimate with
Alma he cautioned me to keep it secret. He said he had done no good
talking to me, as I would not believe it, and he was liable to be mur-
dered. He told me this after he had mentioned the matter to me sev-
eral times, when I told him I was tired of it; I did not want to hear

aay more about it. ,

“Y know Alma got into defendant’s bed by finding her there next
nt to his bed

s

x 1K zz


14 Basher murdered Austin a. Herdy aly 5, @801. austin
Hardy's marker is in the Klondike cemetery. Jim Fisher is

also buried in tue Alondike cemetery, not too far from Austin |

Hardy. Fisher's grave is marked by a bois d arc stob. He is
buried facing west. ie was the only person ever jegally hang=-
ed in Delta county.

The 1870 Calloway county, Mo. census shows James W. Fisher was

born in 1858, in Missourri. This would make him thirty three
years old when he killed austin Hardy, who was forty three >
years old. ‘

From information furnished by Austin Hardy's great grandson,
we have the following: Jim had a very disturbed and tragic
lilfe. AS a young boy he had been hit over the head with a
blunt instrument. This was the incident believed to have
caused most of his mental trouble. He was considered to be
retarded 2n@ could not be trusted but with menial chores.

He lived with his sister and her husband, Austin Hardy. Jim's

duties were to attend the cattle and at the end of the dayy drive »:

them to the barn lot, and he was usually assisted by his nine
year old neice, Martha alma Yardy. On one evening something
happened that caused Alma to flee home to the refuge of her
mother. When Jim enteved the house, he was questioned by his
sister, Nancy, as to what had actually taken place. Nancy
warnei Jim if he had harmed Alma, in any way, her husband
woild take action against him. In fear, Jim grabbed a rifle
from the wall, and procefed out of the house, with the sounds
of Nancy pleading not to do something stupid. Jim went to the
corn field, where Austin was working. Austin looked up and
gaw Jim approaching him with the rifle. As it came out in the
trial, Austin asked Jin wh) he was doing this, but before
Austin could osm him, Jim shot and killed Austin Hardy.
Hardy never knew why. vim fled, but was latter apprehended.
He was tried for lst legree murder and sentenced to be hanged.
His lawyers, El Bennett and J.F. Holmes, appealed on the
grounis to insanity, but the sentence was affirmed. Nancy

did not appear at Jim's trial, saying she would not testify
in defense of her brothern because he killed her husband,

nor would she testicy against him because he was her brother.

or
ea
~e

Wy AMA LAN
An 2 1 & TRA g

1 pny
, 1891 one dim Tister killed Austin Hardy, was tried in Cooper
and sentenced vo! . to with other preachers visited him in
the jail, a nun “ times, he was an unbeliever and at first
told us: that! fsthin: fer our stuff, but at last he
Sought Our Baw ce hole oye ssoi religion and Brother Jones,
bapti 764 thames sh, 2 to go to the scaffold with him
and I ngresa, BUG 39° oR? Fane anpsroached, I got further from
the’ thangs vile bo. Feb sn Priday, the first Friday in June
1892.2 0uUr  DiIsmeact “co enes wis to meet in Pittsburg and
Brother Janes fea to. 20° to sonferenee, so" the arrangements
were: ZOPi16 “ax one’ soth, a Cempbellite preacher was
to 20 Ges woe fo. ith cia Pisher. It seemed providential,
the fd owe oe ore hl m3 243 fe11 down the steps anc
pea Bo OrrOle -. la, end. Bro. Jones came to me and

‘ COED ence in his place, I jumped

oy you Will take my place

; ywesday I took the mail hack
re ae t Y | to Pittsburg.
eT , oy

fro. J.2. Dower ts autobiography gives the following:

<a


re: es * a ext 4s

ant in the presence of the crowd was coo] and self-possessed, and showeg
no sign of fear. Defendant, however, did leave the country, and the
testimony of Deputy Sheriff Metcalf shows that he was brought back #&
to answer to the indictment from Robertson County. Thisisthe entin §
evidence in the case, substantially stated from the record. ‘

We are of opinion that the evidence in this case does not disclose th #
offense of assault with intent to commit rape. That degree of fore &
requisite under the statute is not only not proved, but is excluded hy &
the State’s testimony. Nor do the facts as fully negative the consem §&
of the female assaulted as should be done in a case of this character iy
order to warrant the conviction for the offense charged. Willson’s Crit.
Stats., sec. 867.

In order to constitute the offense of which this appellant was con
victed the evidence must disclose the specific intent to rape. No othe.
intent will suffice. This was not done.

Appellant contends that the law of aggravated assault should have
been given in charge to the jury. Weare of opinion that this conten
tion is correct also. Violent and indecent familiarity with the perso:
of a female without her consent, and without the specific intent to rape. %
by an adult male person is an aggravated assault. Veal v. The State. &
8 Texas Ct. App., 474; Pefferling v. The State, 40 Texas, 486; Ridou &
y. The State, 6 Texas Ct. App., 249; Sanford v. The State, 12 Texs #
Ct. App., 196. :

The other supposed errors urged by appellant are not tenable. For &
the errors mentioned, the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded :

Reversed and remanded. &

ssn ra

Judges all present and concurring: ‘.

ene

_Jm1 FisHer Vv. THE STATE. <
go ca Naggite peemomenrs x }
1. Practioo—Continuance—Insanity.—On a trial for murder, whete the defeo* ¢

; It ¥

was insanity, defendant moved for a continuance for five absent witnesses.

to, but excused hy defendant. “The fourth was a-party who had
-with defendant aiter the murder, was's stranger_in the country; at
discharged:from custody and his where: bouts was unknown. TheSfth witness om
Mrs. H., was expected .to testify-that she helfeved ‘defendant nsane.. The face ® &
pected to'bé proved by thesé-witnesses were, that they had known defendant for 9 =
-__. Timer that hey hed often epcn him spring wp gnadenly and fight st and run S80
“+ Fmaginary digs’ that nt, times awag very mprose.° To wes established 07 Te
findings thit be was asoninsmbilisk # icted. to sele-poligtion. «That somo.
e 7 n of y.¢ Held, that_the application:

and who had be ©"

wie :

Me ae So

shown that two.of said witnesses testified at the trial ; the third was present, tenders ee
: been confined io HF =

& Austin Hardy on July 5, 1891, and the jury assessed against him the
+ Meath penalty. Bp

athe testiniony.of several witnesses who were alleged-to be absent. They
; Were five in number. Two of these—Dr. Becton and Brownlow Coston—

FISHER v. THE STATE. 503

5 “62. Murder — Insanity — Evidence.— Defendant’s guilt of the crime of murder
wes unquestionable,
P “syidence adduced was mainly that

provided his insanity was not established. Upon this point the

defendant had told his sister, who was the wife of
the deceased, that deceased was in the habit of improper and illicit intercourse with
per daughter and deceased’s daughter, who was a child not quite 10 years old. That
‘gefendant had told this to other parties also. That defendant admitted to his sister
that he himself had endeavored to have improper relations with the child. Held, in
yiew of the facts that there was strong presumption that defendant desired to bring
gbout a separation hetween his sister and her husband, and failing in this he feared
that the wife would tell her husband of defendant’s attempts at improper relation
with their child, and that the husband and father would kill him on account thereof,
and that actuated by these fears he killed deceased. Held, that the evidence did not
establish insanity

3, Insanity—Burden of Proof of.—Every person is presumed of sane mind un-
til the contrary is shown, and when insanity is relied on as defense the burden is upon
defendant to establish such defense by a preponderance of evidence. See evidence
stated in the opinion held wholly insufficient to establish a defense of insanity.

4. New Trial—Newly Discovered Evidence.—‘‘In order to obtain a new trial
on the ground of newly discovered evidence, it is incumbent on the defendant to sat-
isfy the court that the evidence-has come to his knowledge since the trial; that it was
not owing to a want of diligence on his part that it was not discovered sooner; that on
unother trial it must show that such evidence would probably produce a different re-
sult; and that it is competent, material to the issue, going to the merits; not merely
cumulative, corroborative, collateral, or to impeach a witness. If the application is
defective in establishing any of these essentials, a new trial will be refused.”’

APppgEAL from the District Court of Delta.
E. W. Terhune.

The appellant was indicted for the murder of one Austin Hardy,
who was his brother-in-law. The only defense was insanity. At the
trial he was convicted of murder in the first degree, and his punish-
ment assessed by the verdict and judgment at death.

All the essential facts are stated in the opinion.

Tried below before Hon.

No brief on file for appellant.

R. H. Harrison, Assistant Attorney-General, and Howard Templeton,
District Attorney of the Eighth Judicial District, for the State, filed an
able brief and written argument.

aad

-

DAVIDSON, JupcE.—Appellant was convicted of the murder of

‘There was gn application for a continuance made by appellant for

4 * —
+ eee

fied on:fhe trial, and another, Mrs. Patterson, was tendered to and

ae
<> ae


1 ORI Aig tees nt hal enc aig

"_ Ny | a i } “4
[ 8 HN i tO bhe "i de ie Dh a EB as Tes ye a oa a rt
2 T : 9 f ‘eB. f' ‘ i yy? ‘ yo ~ 4
i, 9 “ ee Y UG i OF OR e ! he

spdef df haneiwe A ;
lection Py y the panes a : arg ic and “the site soit
deened Wide Mo Mute tie |. tee eon oh Was
Binz ean rae" a Fe vas hee e etl, oeoe outsi ose
aoe an Open Sao aut} 4 es et i. ct sae iets selecte dy
weak ashore oe: ST le he one block north-
now, the Ls¢, Dpiier témes Poni adies rei na om eg home,
mach interest syer «ij. tateahy 2% the hanging. caused
responsi (dew Pee oe oat Se Ce eriftf, feeling his
fue ai Poy enue. ot on oot : ron eis es counties to
« A great crow? gab heiet +7 ‘ itt eae ae ae of trouble.
Story of Mr. #321 Pian et. re this is the
His’ father wasca ea a ne ak ee boy at the time.
sherdit Te! Pepin syd ly eee ACRer Waa the
addressed his “ate ee Oe Re ads es attended, Jin Fisher
Ov rpg: Wie are. saAemeack + Ln ned by the

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Marlin, Texas, OK July 21, 1921,

Wa Base tt <n Rae Sah

~~ FLORES, Jose, and ISRAEL, Jordan, hanged

p

HANGINGS:

-William M. Hinton: Murder = hanged March 25, 1860

Dennis Nelson: Murder = hanged August 13, 1869

Wash Washington: Murder = 2 counts =~ hanged August 13, “BQ69

Convich Silas Wood: Murder = hanged November 10, 1876
Wash Washington: Murder = hanged March 31, 1886, y

Westley C. Williams - Murder—hanged September 29, 1888

John Roan: Rape = hanged April 19, 1902

Dan McCline: Murder = hanged March 29, 1912

!

o© OM NA HTH hP WD HD
‘ e

Jose Flores: Murder - hanged July 21, 1921

pe
Oo
Py

Jordon Isreal; Murder - hanged July 21, 1921

DEATH SENTENCE = NOT HANGED:

1. Louis Hawkins: #2005, Murder = CV 1 81
Charged with murder of Addison Washington on Sept 26, 1888. He
shot him 15 times in back & shoulders. He died instantly.
Many citizens called on the Governor to say that Hawkins had
done a good deed by, getting rid of a evil man. The governor,

L.S. Ross, commuted death penalty to life imprisonment in the
State Penetentiary on 10-1-89,

2. Dave Anderson: #4779, Murder = D 153; C 94,96 :
Died of natural causes while in jail waiting to be hanged.

3. B. B. Myatt: #5074, Murder - p 354
Convicted of killing his wife Lou, by beating, kicking, & wounding
her. He was a prominent business man in Robertson County. He :
believed that if he could convince the law that he killed his wife bs
in a rage because she was unfaithful to him that he would go free,
He killed her on July 22, 1910 in Robertson County. It was trans-
ferred to Falls County because the citizens of Robertson County
were enraged by the brutal murder. He was convicted after a long
jury trial. This was probably the most sensational trial in Falls
County history. People from all over the state came to Foo St
was written up in all the newspapers in the state. Threats on
Myatt's life made it even more sensational. Myatt was convicted
and sentenced to death but there is no evidence of his hanging.

4. Bus Wyers: #5274 - Murder D192 June 6, 1913
Sentenced to death. Commuted to life imprisonment

5. edro Sanchez: #229 = Murder FE-52
While attempting to escape from the county jail on Nov. 4, 1920
with Jose Flores and Jordon Isreal. All three were convicted of
of the shooting death of Deputy Sheriff Oscar B. Sharp. Flores
& Isreal were hanged on July 21, 1921. Sanchez's appeal was
affirmed by the Criminal Appeals Court and a death warrant was
issued by the Clerk for execution by hanging on Feb. 28, 1922, but
no sheriff's return is on the death warrant. No record of Sanchez
ever being hanged is on record.

6. Jesse Coleman: #3456 = Murder A-441
Toasotea for Murder on July5, 1898. Tried by jury on August 9, oe Q
and found "We the Jury find the Defendant Jesse Coleman guilty o
Murder in the First degree and assess his punishment at Death.
/3/ 3 A Budgood - Foreman." Notice of appeal given on 8/25/1898.
Judgment affirmed 1/25/1899, Sentenced on 2/25/1899 to be hanged
by the neck until dead on April 28, 1899. The papers having been
lost there is no Death Warrant with Return thereon to prove his
actually hanging.


i)

cas spp eiannerre@ e

Riedie
never be driven from channel frontage. It has the
‘hat is more than sufficient to protect it,

-e@ 8 @

wecne nines ¢ ee a ee te eae eat
“ents nae te

mma tion,

qe of Houston, the question of whether you buy Man-
is nat a question of port development,

-ed, the port will develop more healthfully and more soundly
wut the city being tied up to any such vast and visionary
‘te question of purchasing Manchester is intimately con-
with the city’s power to do what it ought for its people,
and What every city is expected to do, no

‘Vaspavers of Houston, do yeu want to exhaust the city’s credit
for unnecessary Jand and wharves below Harrisburg, or do you
want to cavea little for better streets, sewers and schools? :
| Taxpayers of Houston, do you want to use up this city’s bor;
rowing eapacity for a terminal it does not need, for ships it can
not load, or do vou want.t reserve a little for the health and edu-
cation of your children?

‘Against All of Them

The H. 1. D. Wilson land, so-called, is not an issue in the pres-

ent controversy. a ;
The advocates of the Manchester purchase are trying to make

init appear so, in order to mislead the voters and to engender per-

me

sonal hatred. : :

Not one line hae ever appeared in The Chronicle advocating
the purchase of the Wilson tract, the Manchester tract, or the
House tract.

li the harbor board had recommended buying the Wilson land,
The Chronicle would be opposing it, and for exactly the same
reason that it is opposing the Manchester tract.

These reasons are:

The Turning Basin terminal is not overtaxed now.

If properly enlarged and equipped, it will not be overtaxed for
several years.

When the Turning Basin terminal needs to be doubled or even
tripled, which will not be for several years, the city already owns
enouch water frontage to do it.

‘The city can not now afford, considering its debt, its high tax
rate and its need of improvements, to start a new terminal project.

‘che Chronicle is opposed to the city buying the Manchester

necessary to connect up its north side frontage, at this time.

The Chronicle will go further than that and say that it is op-
posed to this city buying any tract of land on the Ship Channel,
except the 40 acres above mentioned, for five years.

The city owns more land than it can possibly develop in five
years, and the city has the right to condemn water frontage at any
*"—-- which is sufficient to protect the public interest.

The Manchester advocates have proved to their own satisfac-
tion that the city will have as much money to operate next year
as it has this year if the bonds and Jand notes are authorized.

They did this by leaving out the item of increased salaries
which will cause a $60,000 deficit in this year’s budget and a
$140,000 increase in next year’s budget.

They did this by reckoning in $150,000 in revenue from the
terminal which they have no means of guarantecing.

They did this by making no allowance for normal increases in
the various departments without referente to employes.

They know that this year's budget is not sufficient to pay ex-
penses because of increased salaries, yet they have taken it asa
basis of reckoning next year’s expenses.

They know that there has been a normal increase in the city’s
operating expenses each year, just as there has been a normal
increase in the city’s valuation. -

They have deliberately left out this normal increase. They
have deliberately Jeft out the item of increased salaries for both
years.

They have deliberately used 1920 appropriations to compare
wil 1921 revenues, knowing that these appropriations have proved
inadequate even for 1920. 7%

They have even added speculative revenne.

What they have reall} proved, to their own satisfgction, is that
this city can increase its fixed charges by $515,000, increase its
revenue by $319,000 and still have more money.

CAR} Marshall Silent

ISTEAMER CARRYING
AMMUNITION SUNK

BY FRENCH CRUISER| (Qn Bryan’s Plan
 Ceomegiteias, Nov. 4.—The| Py Associated Preee.

Freeport, ML, Nov. 6.—Vive Presl-
dent Thomas KR. Marshall Jectuted

here Inst night before a Jarge crowd
but made ne comment on the muxK-
gestion of William Jenninga Uryan
that Preadent Wilson resixn iImme-
diately.

“f ended ny compalen lant SMon-
day,” Murshall said when questioned
toncerning Uryone gumcestion. "Tl
am throurh talking politica, fur @
while at Jeaat,”” _

steamer Zennbe, flying the red Nag
and freixhted with ammunition for
the Turkish nationalitiats in Trebt-
fond, wan aunk in the Black fea off
Hatuin by a Brenth destroyer nt 10
Ovlork Wednemlay niyht, according

views received here today

he Zenshe went down after a
OUS exXplomion oreurted on
Twenty-two members of her
. W Were taken prisuner,

——_ meee ee eee

a wep: Wy, NE

Var Ee OOO TENS eA FA TN EE NE PE SAORI YAR ON | OT TY EP OLIN T°: TR PY FEES LOO EET eae Heenan
t t nD ARM Rag ee lia er 4 Tey Bas, Ree. cree = KS

tract, the Wilson tract, or any other tract, except the 40 acres’

New Vork Nov NN Pearson the eiaht outatandi ng ovata,

nee, of the New Vork Athictic Club, which would give them a record

whe wae aecord in the 10,000 metre

Malle at the Antwerp Olympk: games, party marain in the house, The

today marvel the Hevea of Henry uy. Senta atiil in doubt were the Fourth

dam, a beoker: bia wife and thete Maryland district, Fighth Minnesota,

10-year-old daughter, Katrinka, whe Firth Missourl, Fifteenth, Twenty

v i a U]

nance lamers tern theie home firat and Twenty-Third New orks
Firat North Dakota, and Fifth Weat
Virginian, .

ee
A further porsibla democratic up-

WILSON OFFER net appenred posaible in the Fourth
OF WARSHIP Bear seticse: cecveperia to
IS DECLINED

have Yorged elightly ahead of Core
Ny Associated Presa

dell Hull, earlier reported elected.
“Mie renate majority wan settled
Inte nat might, when belated ree
turns from the mountain regions of
Kentucky gave the republican candle
date, Richard 1. Ernat,. victory,
Marion, Ohlo, Nov, 8.—Preatdent | over Senator Heckham, democrat
Wileon’s offer of w batticahip to car- mages aot seauie pret me
ely into e arding columa
ry Preaident-clect Marding to Pan-| when returns from 1227. precincts
ema on his vacation voyage was dc
clined today by Harding.
The president-clet wired to
Washingtop that although he was
thaak{nt for Wileon's courtesy be al-
ready had perfected hia plens for
the trip and had engage passage

out of the total 1482 gave the repube
lican candidate a lead of 44,530.
south froin @ gulf port on @ pasecn-
xer stcamcr,

With North Dakota's five electoral
ooo

votes counted last night when dem-
ocratic leaderw admitted they had
siven up hope of carrying the state,

Washington, Nov. 5.—President
Wilson today directed Sccretary Dan-
fels to place a batticship at tho din-
posal of President-biewt Harding for
his contemplated visit to the Panama
Canal Zone.

The president also instructed Dan-
icls to offer Harding tho ure of the
pre<idential yacht Mayflower to con.
vey him and tho members of hits
party to Hampton Roads to go

aboantl the battleship.
Hy International Newe bervice

BRITAIN LIFTS
COAL EMBARGO,

Afarding total up to the 404 mark,
Yerterday'’s count in Oklahoma ase
@ured the nation’s new women vote
ers one representative in the lower
houne—Mise Alice Robertson of
Muekogere, a farmer and restaurant
owner, @déisa Robertson was an ane
tl-nuffragiat prive to the adoption
of the nineteenth amendment, and

if the men meant it.”
“thrust the vote on us.”

Committee Will

Decide Bankers
Export Policies

Whether the Texas bankers will
Join the proposed all-Southern exe
port corporation or proceed with
ae ae the organization of the Texas export

UAbecciates ETOH corporation will be determined by @
oe eae ete an at uchescommilies of wven bankers appeint
aboard at home ports sufficient coal ed at the Thursday afternoon cons
to make tho round trip to England.| ference of bankers of Texas and
Jt was lenrned today at the Hicitieah | Louisana. :

SIMO Of the coal sirthe tn Boel oo tee ne Se ReRNE D BOR
7 ference of Bouthern bankers to be
held in New Orleans Saturday for

land the reetrictions imposed on the!
supply of bunker coal had been re-

the purpose of organizing a $12.000,«
000 foreign trading corporation,

moved,
After hearing the dtecuasion at this

Deputy Sheriff —__|resinutndent rine si states
Shot to Death by
‘X Mexican Trusty

Marlin, Texas, Nov. 8.—Deputy
Sheriff Oacar Bharp was ahot and
inatantly killed in an attempted Jail
delivery here Thursday. He had

when they

Texas shall join the bic ageociation
vr proceed with the Texas corporas
tion. The committee has authority
to decide the question.

The perronnel of the committee is
T. J. Caldwell, vice president of the
Fort Worth Natlons! Bank; J. A.
Pondrom, vice president, Bouth Texe
aa Commercial National Bank, House
ton; FE. McKinnon, vice-president,
Citizens Btate Hank, Austin; H. Af,
Htart, aasiatant cashier, City National

_—— oe

the addition of Montana hrought the -

innda the congressional rare “to see:

committes will determine whether “4

entered the jall at noon to feed the
Prisoners when a Mexican trusty in
the run-around slipped up behind
him and shot the deputy under the
right arm, the bullet tearing through
the lungs and heart.

The Mexican then grabbed the
keys, but fetled to find the one to
the door ef the jall. Bheriff Moore,
hearing the shot, intercepted the
Mexican with several others on the
lower floor of the jail and returned
thom to their cells,

MURDERER HANGED
4IN OREGON PRISON

By Associated Preea,

Balem, Oregon, Nov. 6.—Emmett
Mancroft, aliae Nell Hart, wan hank-
ed here today for the murder of
Sheriff Tit Taylor during a jail
break at Pendleton, Oregon, July
25. Nancroft's execution was the
firat in Oregon since capital punish-
ment was restored by popular vote
last May.

“I regret what I have done,” were
Rancroft's last ,words, “I feel that
God ts on my alde and I am not
afraid to go when ho calls me.”

o-oo

KILLED BY PLANE,

Marrieburx, Pa., Nov. 6—Louls A.
Piatt, a busineas man of Maryville,
was killed and Chester §chaeffer
seriously injured when # sixhtsceing
airplane operated by the Intter drop.
ped over 1000) feet during a trip
over this city this afternoon, Platt
wan burled under the wreckage of
the mnetine and was dead when re-

ceived at the hospital, Bebuclfer ta

v

Mank, Sin Antonio; J. P. Tally,
deputy governor Federal Reserve
Rank of Dnilae; Andrew Querbea,
President First Nuattonal hank,
Shreveport; A. M. Graves, cashier
Ned River National Bank, Clarks-
ville, Edwin Hobby, vice-president
Security National Bank, Dallas.

DO YOU READ THE OF-
FERINGS OF THE CITY
THAT ARE PLACED BE-
FORE YOU IN THE
CLASSIFIED AD = COL-
UMNS? ‘

There are an average of 800
different Classified Ads in The
Chronicle daily, conveying mes-
‘sages of everything imaginable
for sale, rent, to trade or to
buy. You who are out of reach
of the city for immediate ac-
tion on things you desire should
read The Chronicle Classified
Ads regularly. No matter what
you have to offer or what you
are in the market for, Classified
Ads will always serve the pure
pose.

The Chronicle carries more
Classified Ads than the other
two Jlouston papers combined

Place your confidence in Miss
Classitied and you, will always
be satisfied.

badly injured.

“yor

c\ ro NeLe.

ple SIRO

’

2

ee ee


508 30TH TEXAS CoURT OF APPEALS REPORTS.’ - [ Toler

the way I met defendant. He had no arms that I saw. I spoke, anq
said it was a warm morning. He said, ‘Yes,’ and passed on ae
4 gate, going out. * * * He walked tolerably fast as he lef
Mrs ee ardy had sent Alma to Mrs. Moore’s after milk. I knew of no
ill will between defendant and Hardy until after the shooting.”? rie

witness testified to defendant's sanity.

Defendant secured the pistol at his father’s residence. A fter the

homicide he returned to his father’s with the pistol on his person

he refused to do, and assigned as a reason that he was going to Coope
and they might try to mob him. He also stated to his cate’ t) e:
would be hung for the crime. He took dinner at his father's ne
ie zeae and subsequent thereto, and gave an account ot +},
The court: charged the jury fairly and fally the law of this phase o
the case. Insanity isa question of fact to be passed on hy he an
under appropriate instructions from the eourt. Is the x erdict ae fr
to the evidence? The insanity theory is based Upon the up rnat
thoucht conceived by defendant that A father could se Built y of %
iu atrocity as an incestuous intercourse with his own datwite, ee t
is contended that the idea constituted a delusion, bethake of the ult
improbability of the conjecture and belief of the defendant iadad !
as the girl was of such extreme youthfal age. {Scars
at is iurther urged that the alleged self-pollution on his part was an
additional fact strengthening the theory of insanity. Gn the ses
hand, the prosecution contends the evidence discloses defendant to
have heen in the full possession of his intellectual faculties ih that
he acted upon a well laid, rational plan and scheme to take the life of
deceased.
: It is also contended by the State he feared the mistreatment of his
little niece would be discovered, and in consequence thereof deceased

,would ‘all him to account for his conduct toward and treatment of her:

that the secret imparted to Mrs. Hardy by defendant was so imparted
for the ulterior design of separating husband and wife; and that, fail-
Ing in this, Mrs. Hardy would inform her husband of the winter, who
would then kill him; and that he killed the deceased on account of
these matters; and that in all of his acts and statemenis as to the alleged
2 intercourse on the part of deceased with his daughter defendant
i lb and embraced the homicide and his subsequent defense of

We are of opinion that the matters were fairly submitted to the jury,
and we would not be justified in setting aside the verdict.

One of the grounds for a new trial urged by the defendant was the
newly discovered evidence of Dr. Henry. By this witness it was pro-
posed to be shown that in his opinion the defendant.was insane. It is

oe ee ee eee

shown by the facts adduced on the trial of this motiop that Dr. Henry
and one of defendant’s counsel, while on a fishing excursion prior to the

trial, discussed the insanity phase of this cise to some extent. This
witness was present during most of the time this case was being tried,
and heard the witnesses testify, except when the State was examining
witnesses in rebuttal, and while Hollon was testifying for defendant.
Defendant and his counsel knew of his presence in the court room, and
defendant’s counsel gave him a seat ‘inside the bar.”? which he ac-

} ‘ ed 5 . . . . Ae
he tried to induce defendant to give it to him, or put it awav. T |
5 « ay. hily

FISHER VY. THE STATE. cig tee

cepted. The court, in conversation with the same counsel, called his
attention to the fact “that Dr. Henry was a physician of experience
and a Campbellite preacher, and had heard all the evidence in the
ease, and, as some of the jury were Campbellites. his testimony would
doubtless be beneficial to the State or the defendant. whichever side
he night favor in his opinion as an expert;’? to which counsel replied,

that he knew Dr. Henry was a physician and had been present. for
he liad given himaseat ? If was further shown, that ‘said counsel did
net offer him the seat to use him as a witness, and did net think of
using him until after the conviction. It was further shown that de-
‘ndaut had six physicians summoned as experts, but only examined
CONT oe i od 86

It is made apparent by this statement that the evidence does not
come within any rule announced for obtaining a new trial for alleged
newly discovered testimony. Neither defendant nor his counsel made
affidavit that the same was newly discovered, and the facts show it
was not.

In order to Obtain new trials on this ground, it is incumbent on the
defendant to satisfy the court that the evidence has come to his knowl-
edge since the trial; that it was not owing to a want of diligence on his
part that it was not discovered sooner; that on another trial it must
show that such evidence would probably produce a different result;
and that it is competent, material to the issue, going to the merits, not
merely cumulative, corroborative, collateral, or to impeach a witness.
If the application is defective in establishing any of these essentials, a
new trial will be refused. Willson’s Crim. Stats., sec. 2544, for col-
lated authorities. The court did not err in overruling the motion for
a new trial.

The charge asked by the defendant was properly refused. The sub-
stancé of this charge was to require the State to assume the burden of
proof, and show affirmatively that defendant was sane at the time of
the homicide, provided there was any evidence terding to establish in-
sanity. The rule upon the subject in this State is, that every person is
presumed of sane mind until the contrary is shown, and when insanity
is relied on as a defense the burden is upon the defendant to establish
such defense by a preponderance of evidence. Id., sec. 85. z

bx Dt
weet he

he at

Sa week

a

«

on
ide


Me ee
: oe See Ke SOT SY
506 30TH TExAs, COURT OF APPEALS REPORTS. [ Tyler
; ?

on that account. After the killing she told me of defendant’s attempted

intimacy with her.’’

Alma Hardy testified: ‘‘I was 10 years old July 15 “1891, Defend
ant is my uncle, and lived with us several months before he killed es
father. * * * J never told defendant nor mother that my fath
had been too intimate with me, because he never was. * * if De.
fondant never said anything out of the way to me. Once we were 2
bed together. I went to his bed. He was not asleep. He always Sle :
in the same room, and one of my little sisters slept with him ind it
tle brother with me; and father and mother slept in an edi cinihae roon
7 he night in question my little brother was in Uncle Jim's bed alse ;
don’t know why I went to his bed. I remained in his bed aif make {
never told mother about this until just before the first court after tl
killing.’ :
; aaa after the homicide, and befere this witness knew of it, the de-
fendant, on leaving the plice of the killing, met her coming from ;
neighbor s, where she bad been for nuilk, on her return home, in See
pany with other girls, and asked her ‘‘to go down in the waar with
him, He never said anything more to me until we left the other sirls
Ife then asked me to say that my father had been too intimate with
Me. IT told him I would not doso. He insisted that I should do so
but Trefused. Heasked me if f had not been too intimate with father,
and | said ‘No.’ He said he thought father had been too jakimate ith
me, J said he had not. He urged upon me to admit it, but I refused
because it was not so. I don’t know whether he was awake at the nie
I got into his bed or not. He was afterward awake. Defendant ulled

up my clothing with his hands, and put his hands upon my ees
parts, and took his private organ, and put it on me, against my acter
parts, and pushed a little. He held it there a short time He never
poe Oe : ae conversation in which defendant sought to induce
this witness to admit her f: ’s inti i
Acie Wee a ather’s intimacy with her occurred a few mo-
Coston testified, that while they were in jail together he heard de-
fendant say “that some other parties, men and boys, were guilty of
ae ee with the Hardy girls; and if he could get out he
: Defendant rode in a hack with one Reeves, and asked him what he
thought should be done with a man who would have intercourse with
his own daughter. He said he knew of.one or two men who did 50.
and seemed bothered about it. * * * He said a man who would do
so ought to be hung or killed.” He was drinking on this occasion.
Defendant on another occasion went to see Dr. Becton. ‘This witness

said defendant “seemed a little confused, and: asked meif aman had.
anything to: do with ‘a girl.9 or 10 yearsold” would it ust her. I> .

told him a man could not have intercourse with a girl at that age. He

1891.) FISHER V. THE STATE.

said it had been done already. I said if it had been done, and did not
purt her when done, it would not hurt her now. He said two men
pad already done so I looked him in the eye, and said, ‘Have you

peen ruining a girl?’ He said, ‘No;’ it wasa niece. That he had

offered her #100 to tell him, and she admitted it. I told him that was

not what he came to see me for; that I was busy; and for him to state

his business. He said, ‘No,’ that was not the purpose of his visit. He

then said that when he was young he had got in the habit of playing

with himself, and he wanted me to treat him for it. * * %* Defend-

ant had no appearance of insanity, but seemed confused or embarrassed,

or in some sort of trouble.”’

Further testifying, this witness aS an expert said: “Tt is impossible
to tell what a man imagines or what he thinks. The general disposi-
tion of a masturbator is harmless and inoffensive. From what I know
of defendant and the evidence in the case, there is nothing to indicate
that he is not sane now. AS an expert, from the evidence, I would say
he is sane. He is nervous, dyspeptic, a masturbator; but not insane.
t would say he is unhappy and morose, but is not insane. Strip the
ease of everything but the isolated fact that he killed Hardy under the
unfounded belief that Hardy was too intimate with his child, and from
that act alone I would say the killing was not the act of an insane
man.”’

The father of defendant testified, that he had “never regarded de-
fendant as right. * * * I don’t believe defendant is right exactly,
put I can not decide whether he knew it was wrong to kill a man or not.
I don’t know whether he was insane to that extent or not.”

All the remaining witnesses who spoke to the question of insanity re-
garded defendant as sane. Among those who testified for the defense
were several of his relations. Armstrong testified, that he had known
the defendant three or four years, and never saw anything unusual
about his conduct. This witness was not related to defendant. Ding-
ler testified, that the father of defendant, on the day of the homicide,
said to him that defendant was not insane. He said that he never
noticed any indications of insanity about him. ‘‘I remarked, ‘Uncle
George, Jim must surely be crazy.’ He said, ‘No,’ he seemed to be
@8 rational as he ever was.””? Defendant was at a picnic on July 4,
playing poker, and there was nothing peculiar about him. W. D.

-. Hollon, a brother-in-law, testified for the defendant as to events trans-
- piring just immediately preceding and succeeding the difficulty. ‘My
wife and myself were at Mr. Hardy’s at the time of the killing. I first
saw the defendant after he came through the gate on the way to the
field where.Mr. Hardy was. After ten or fifteen minutes I heard two

; say shots, and wife and I started out there. * * * I turned her back
**2 to the: house. I heard Mrs. Hardy call for water and camphor, an¢

oe" Went to the house and got it, and back to where Hardy was shot. On

e


f

Friday, July 22, 1921 .

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

FICE
1-TAKING

Texas.

LR eVATY ACREAT.
o. daly 22.-—-The repul-

the postmacterehipa har

arnest. Announcement
swreday of the helding
ne
* for more than 1000
trd class posicffice ap-
While an effort haw
» have there evaminna-
‘oas taking the post.
ut of the politica, the
t the order the ap-
aye be made from the
on the liet of eligibles
v the examination inakee
certain that the choice
-al organization may be
erery instance.
eloftices for which ex-
were announced have
for more than a year
»na for many of them
Breatdent Wileon, but
-epublican senate tn or-
might be filled by
rding.
of second-class postof-
led there are 16 from
-slaries? ranging from
00, The examination
~es will be held August
® offices In the list are
Ronham, Fryan, Cam-
the, Colorado, Conper,
n. Gejrgetown, Hitls-
‘4, Teague, Vernon
A ,

offices. for which the
tll be held Aucuat 13,
llowing tn Texas, pay-
9 to $2200 a year: Al-
-y, aird, Bellevue, Bu-

Cooledge, Crawford,
vville, Diboll, Portoria,
nd Prairie, Grand Ha-
ter, Holland, Lavernin,

“@ Ulm, Oder-
n ineland, Pre-
1q il, Banderson
ball

ESTROY'S
VE STORES

ae

N. J.. July 22.—Nine
‘estroyed here by fire
The Liase was discov-

‘he boar4 walk nearby
rosea,

| a to see modern 3
ampoo with the 4
racile, HENNA... !
4 watch your hair g
Slowing strands of /:
thines:, soft, fluffy

radiant reflecting

light thar
our bair
let

OPENS

n Raid Disclosed
muncement  Affect-
» Classes of Posi-

‘Io feet the fitness

of all of

almost if not quite an comfortable as

emart little bathing ault which te far

sults Jf she must appear on a public

style trimmed with huge snail spirals
of gray wool embroidery.

Guide to Game

addition treat minutely of all

Bathing Suit Has
Snail Shell Trim

BY ELORK,
Where one-piece guits are frowned
on, an@ there ere auch places in apite

Callifornin'a propaganda
work for the comfortable and reveal.
ing one-piece, there are many pretty
Htte bathing frocks which are really
the banned suite Here tn a very
from tho one-piece and yet it is at-
tractive enough to make up for any-
thing else,

One young flapper said of ft: “The
enail ahell pattern ie en appropriate
for compared to the California one-
Piece effects this ts a bit slow isn't
| Sheed

The flapper, however, will be the
first to want one of those pretty
beach.

It In made in @  eleevelens

Found in Texas
In Preparation

Pamemorpeett rman

Austin, Texas, July 22.—-A valua-
ble book of natural hiatory, which
will contain a clome deacription of
all birds, animals and fish that tn-
habit Texas, with their  ecientific
names, origin, habits and abiding
Dincea, Is being prepared by Georke
Findlay Fimmona, acting naturalist
for the state game, fiah and oyster
department. Air. Kimmons ta con-
Nected with the department of sool-
Ocy at the University of Teras and
how been engaacd in similar work
for a number of years.

Hie history for the une of the
Fome commissioners department
Will be in the nature of a guide to
the anme birds and animale of this
rection of the country, but will in
wild
fowls, animain and fish which in-
habit the plaing, woods, mounteins
and streams of Toxaa or frequent
them at certain seasona of the year.
It will prove of great value to nat-
Urniista and hunters an well an to
those seeking information concern-
ing the dientity, habits and orixin of
bractically unknown birds or ani-
ano which are occasionally encount-
ered,

HARDING TO CAMP

Dy Interrational Mews Service,
Waahingtun, July 32.—President
Marding has mude plane to leave
Waehington tumorrow for Bhorpa-
burg, Md, to apend the nixht in the
Hille as the guest of Harvey & Fire-
Stone, rubber manufacturer of Ak-
ron, Ohio. it was learned at the
White Huuae today, Henry Ford. !
RUtoMmobie manufacturer and Thom.
an A. Edi on alsa will be present ail

the Firestone camp.

te

BHOOTING IN FATAL,

{WOODLAND TALES

|| THINGS TO REMEMBER IN THE SUMMERTIME
| _ BY ERNEST THOMPSON SETON.

The Fairy Lamps

HERE was once a little harelegged, brown-limbed boy who spent all

his ume in the woods. Ble loved the woods and all that wat in them,

Ble weed to look, not at the flowers, but deep down into them, and
net at the e'nging bird, Git jute ate eyes, to ate littl: heart, and so he got
an insight better than most others, and he quite gave up collecting birds’
eyys.

Bar the woods were full of mysteries. He used to hear little bursts
of song, and when he came to the place he could find no bird there.
Nutses and movements would just escape him. In the woods he saw
stranye tracks, and one day, at length, he saw a wonderful bird making
these very tracks. Ble had never seen the bird before, and would have
thought a great rarity had he not seen ita tracks everywhere. So he
learned that the woods were full of beautiful creatures that were skillful
and quick to avoid him,

One day, as he passed by a spot for the hundredth time he found a
hied’s meat. Et must have been there fur long, and yet he had not reen
tt and so be learned bow blind he was, and he exclaimed: “Oh, if only I
could see, then To might understand these things! Tf only TP knew' If 1
could see but for once, how many there are, and how near! If only
every bird would wear over its nest this evening a little lamp to show
me!” *,

The sun was down now; but all at once there was a soft light, on
the path, and in the middle of it the brown boy saw a Little Brown Lady
in a long robe, and in her hand a rod.

She smiled pleasantly and said: “Little boy, J am the fairy of this
woods, I have been watching vou for long. I/lhke you. You seem to
be different from other boys. Your request shall be granted.”

Then she faded away. But at once, the whole landscape twinkled over
with wonderful little Jamps—long lamps, short lamps, red, blue and green,
high and low, doubles, singles and groups; wherever he looked were Jamps
—twirkle, twinkle, twinkle here and everywhere, until the forest shone
like the starry sky. Heranto the nearest, ves, a nest; and here and there,
each different hind of lamp stood for another kind of nest. A beautiful
purple blaze in a low tangle caught his eye He ran to it, Quod found a
nest he had never seen belore. It was full of purple eggs, and there was
the rare bird he had seen but once. It was chanting the weird song he
had often heard, but never traced. Hut the eggs were the marvelous
things His old egg-collecting instinct broke out. He reached forth to
clutch the wonderiul prize, and—in an instant all the lights went out.
There was nothing but the black woods about him. Then on (he path-
way shone again the soft light. It grew brighter, till in the middle of
it he saw the Little Brown Lady—the Fairy of the Woods. Rut she was
not smiling now. Her face was stern and sad, as she said: “I fear J set
you over-high. I thought you better than the rest. Keep this io mind:

“Who reverence not the lamp of life can never see its light.”

Then she faded from hie view, and he never saw the Janips again.

a ee

CARGO OF LIQUOR
GETS SHIP’S MASTER
IN TROUBLE AT PORT

By Aveociated Prean

Philadelphia, July 22—Ths mas-
ter of the small British schooner
Pocomoke, which came into Atlantic
City Wednesday in distress and with.
out her cargo of 1000 cases of in-
toxicating liquore from the Hahama
Talande will have sume explaining to
do to the British authorities in thia

ha

Officials Promise

Protection to Jap
WorkersonFarms

By Assoristed Preea

Turlock, Cal, July 23.—Japanene
farm laborcra, etnployed on farma
around Turlock need have no more
fear, a: cording to atatementse by Tur-
lock offictala and businces men to-

day, of deportations similar to tha’
of Wednesday.

Business men of Turlock, through
the chamber of commerce, went on
record against forcible steps against
the Japanese, and county officials
predicted serious trouble for white

frult workers if any mure mob movea
are made ugainat the Orientals,

However, should another deporta-
thon be attempted, every Japancac
worker in Turluck would leave thie
section, according to G. Fruikawa,
Japanese rancher, prominent in the
work of the Japanene aserciation
here. Fruthawa, together with N
Albara, secretary of the association,
declared the Japanese want pence
ond would rather move than aroue
the enmity of white woikera,

Two fruit workra, J. 1. Bhea, ¢
former Pacific coast baseball player,
and president of the fruit and vege-
table workers union local here, and
Lyle Btarcg. automobile mechanic,
were in Jail (today charged with have
ing tuken part in the @eportation.
The formal complaint against them
charged kidnaping, inciting ao riot
and leading @ mob. More arrests
are expected.

Juriadiction, according to Charles R.
Kurtz, surveyor of the port.

“There ta no question the Porn.
moke ta the myaterious veasel report-
ed off the New Jersey coaat.” Kurta
said today. “All the versel's papers
were taken by the navigatlon In-
epector at Allantle City, and turned
over to the British consul for in-
quiry.”

Captain J. A. Roy, according to
Kurtz anid the 1000 canes of Heyner |
were for Quebes, Off the Delaware |
capes he sald he encountered a ntacia
which caused him (o transfer pare|
cf the catgy to wa schooner and tol
throw the remainder overboard be.)
cause the Veavel aprung a leak.

a ap

EXONERATED CONVICT |
ASKS STATE CHARITY

Auvatin, Texas, July @22.—A, In
Gieorge, who, after having server aly
yeara in prison and then pardoned,
after another men had made a death:
ted confession exonerating Qeorge, |
has ariived home. Ie ia sald to be.
practically bed-ridden, being pare;

Turlovk business men declared
that the trouble started when J

alyzed on the left side, and also suf-
fering from other Giseases. The;

anese accepted wage cuta and that
the same action would have been
taken against other forelanera had

Texna Prison Anaociation, acvvording
to an official of that organization, .
has interested iteclf in hie case and

IN MARYLAND HILLS:

they acted as did the Japanene, aent him to a hospital. :

Gieorge is to make an effort to
have the legislature make an appro. |
Viletion to relleve him of his dia-'
tress, |

Neport Keat Ahiichara.
Ry Aveoriated Freee.

Ran Franciseo, July 22.—A fulbic-
port of the depurtation of a group
uf Japanese from the Turlock axri-
cultural district yesterday was tele-

craphed to Jaron Kijuro Khidehara,
Japaners ambassador at Waahington,
by SB. Yoda, Japanese coneul general

Jua ta Miller’

———_- > -@ oe. ~-

HIBERNIANS DEMAND |
REMOVAL OF SIMS.

a eemees
Ry Intornativnal Newe Rervire.

Detroit, July 832.—The removal
of Admiral Sims ae head of the naval
Swar college le demanded of Necretary

of the Navy Denby tn a resolution

ni

-

‘adopted by the convention of
Ancient Order of Mibernians in aes.
tlon here.

The teaoludion

the

characterized the

Romance Blasted: rts cneracterses ave

By International Newe Fervice, das ub lonaee an fhe ihe
Oakland, Cal, July 22.—John | une American citizen.

By Internationa: News Kervice,
Haves Brent ov 6

|
'
'
'
t
'
jiinglieh ACUVIOR were auch that he |
!

Meld, olristened “Juan Miller, the| DKATIL RENTUENCK IMPOKED.

Mexican Hanged
Second Time to
Satisfy Justice

Marlin, Teszas, July %2 ~Joae
Florea, Mexican, and Jordon Jneral,
Nowro, were hanged tn the Falla
County jail at 2:14 and 6.07 Thurae-
day for the murder of Deputy
Sheriff Oscar Fharp, who waa killed
while feeding the prisoners Novein-
ber 4, last. Flores was cut down an
Gead eeven minutes after he was
hanged, but showed elans of jife 29
Minutes Inter and wae dropped ow
second time.

laaral is understood to havea mada
& long atatement conrerning the Mt
Ciatr murder four yeara aco, frogell.
cating persona who were arrentedd
but later reiraned.

Fioren was in a semi-ronecious
condition and had to be carried to
the evatiold and supported. by degu-
tlea while Bheri(f Moore placed the
noee and sprung the trap.

Jneral's statement concerning the
St. Clate murder will not be made
public unti] approved by the district
Judye,

All viaitorn were excluded from
the jail for the leet four days at the
request of Flores and Iseral, except
a minister and priest.

Kepresentativea of the Moxican
kovernment called on Qovernor Neft
during the week withuvut avull,
trying to act the sentercoe of Flores
commuted. Israel remained calm to
the Jaat and was credited as saying:
““I'me got to die, gimme whats | wants
to ont.”

Pedro Sanchez also convicted fn
conne tion with the aame killing,
was given the death penalty, but his
case hos not been acted upon by tae
Court of Criniinal Appeals.

ee

TIP RIN COTTON GROWERS

Ran Henito, Texas, July 23.—A
warning has been jaaued to valley
farmerea by County Agent I. F. Asl-
meyer to avold picking wet and im-
mature cotton and taking luads to

the gin before it is thoroughly dry.
“Wet ecotton cloga the anwar,” he
anld “and the ataple obtained ia cer-
tain to be chopped and weakened.”

So

—

Make Your Own |

-Ice Cream |,

And the est Freeser to make
it in is the “WHITE MOUN.
TAIN” Triple Motion Freezer.

beets edi dg
HARDWARE CO.

MNeneton'’s Hardware Neuse

'
L Urairie, Corner Milam 81. J |
i

GENERAL SMUT:
70 PLAY DO}
 DISARMAI

Sr

By International News Mervire

London, July 22.—Cieneral Jn
Christian Mmuts, premier of Kou:
Africa, who played the domina;
rola tn the Irish peace negotiation
promises to be equally dominant |
the Britie#h councils at the diaarm:
ment cenference at Washington.

General Mmute today canceled h
return passage to Routh Africa Ju

23 and ta seriously conaldering a tr
tu the United States in a semi-of!
Clal capacity.

Muny messages have heen rere:

AS S28s PTSTS Lesser. 2:

rc Mail Orders Promptly Fill:

7th /

Small Profit F
ful Sele

Boys’ Palm £
- Suits

AU the new patterns; a
models, light and dark ¢
make and tailoring; sizc
values to $15.00; sour ce!
and Monday at

$7.9

All Put Into One Big /

We

Oliver Twist, Mid:

fancy color combi

OP,

von DES

ee SSS. eR,

-

a. [OB _ ee eae

=,

$1.50-$1.75 Boys’ Sh’

With and without collars

85c

Visit Our N

AE. “Ee, AER OE.

405
Main St.

—

our volume of business t

ren

. oO 7

Mail Orders Promptly Filled

ceive new choice merchandise every day—thus
offering to our customers the finest selection
of Clothing and Furnishings in Texas.

7th Anniversary Sale
Finest Quality Summer

Clothing Reduced!

Our small profit policy has so rapidly increased

hat we are able to re-

7 nv | aa ’


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_an international treaty to contact the Mexican con-

Mexican-born killer awaits execution in
Texas amid protests from foreign countries

By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer

_ HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Mexican-born killer
awaited execution Thursday amid protests from for-
eign countries that say he was denied his right under

sulate after his arrest.

About five hours before Miguel Flores was to be
strapped to a chamber gurney and receive a lethal
injection, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote,
denied his request for a reprieve.

Earlier this week, both the Texas Board of Pardons
and Paroles and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
refused to halt the execution, the 35th this year in the
nation’s most active death penalty state..

Flores, 31, was condemned to die for abducting,
raping and stabbing to death 20-year-old Angela
Marie Tyson as she left her summer job at a video
store in 1989.

When Flores was arrested, he was not allowed to
contact the Mexican consulate as called for under the
Vienna Convention of Consular Relations, his back-
ers argued.

“We firmly believe that timely assistance from the
Mexican consulate would have meant the difference
between life and death for Miguel Flores,” attorney
Richard Ellis said.

Roy Carper, who prosecuted Flores, countered:

“There’s no dispute that wasn’t done. But Mr. Flores

claimed to be a US. citizen, and that would knock ndedl Le . Ar
out anything the Mexican government has to do Mexican-born convicted killer Miguel Angel Flores stares out from a

about it.” visiting room cell at Texas’ death row Wednesday in Livingston, Texas.

Pee a as We ee ibang tees ne a ee A es PRD eee cz ee a -—  m ~_ . . —

Apes ea Eat

Ra RCO.

es

shooting of |
‘town near Fort Worth, last Nov. 23.
‘Sira. Carney. her two young sons
and a friend drove to the: outskirts
of Waco the night ‘she lost ber life.
“They had information that a aum of
ymoney had been buried near railroad
ftracks there. >. ee ig
eo take for _£ ORS Game
While Mrs. Carney and one of.
20ns remained in ‘their car,
ujfriend ‘and the “other «son -went™ to’
{s@arch for the money. It-was--whie |
Tthey were digging that a ne came
up to the car. Mrs. Carney flashed a
light -on him and he fired at her
then robbed her of $1.55 and fMed.<<
it was brought out at his trial that
Be Lenard on robbed the woman to get
a” a :

a)

vide

stake” for a poker game.

ca
Pa

Sty


be dad WILD y PL

N a lonely section of the field, in the

shadow of a giant oak, a man leaned on

a spade and wiped his .brow. The task

before him had spurred him to a fever
of activity. Now he rested for a moment and
his eyes took in the wide curve of the shining
railroad tracks as they swept toward the dark
ribbon of the Brazos River. Across the black
water twinkled the lights of Waco, sentinels of
cheer in a forlorn spot on that night of Novem-
ber 25th, 1933.

Bob Carney watched the man impatiently.
His eyes darted from a hole near his feet to the
spreading oak, silhouetted against the night sky.
dee measured the distance from the’ tree to the
hole.

“It’s bound to be here, Mr. Whitlock,” said
the twelve-year-old boy. “Do you reckon we'll
have to dig much more?”

Clark Whitlock jabbed the spade into the
yielding earth.

“Can't say, son,” he replied. “We’ll keep right
on going.”

From across the field drifted occasional shouts
of laughter and brief snatches of song. There
was a party on in the Negro quarter of the
town.

“Let's keep mighty quiet, Bobby,” said
Whitlock.

The boy looked at Whitlock’s drawn face. He
saw, but he could not comprehend the strain of
anxiety that was written on the man’s brow..
Whitlock was wondering if, in the event his
search failed, anyone would ever piece together
the fragments of the chart that had sent him

(Right) Hollis. A. Barron,
Chief of Police in Waco, at
the time of the murder


a

Se ee

| E. M. FARMER

mH
IN sy - 2

Lonely Cotton Belt
Street, in East Waco.
Cross indicates spot
where Mrs. Carney's
car stood when she
. was shot down.

(Right) Arrow indicates
where a man and boy dug
furtively for buried treasure

ae

: 24 FAMOUS DETECTIVE CASES Anril, 1936

digging for buried treasure at the base of the
oak tree,

Suddenly the boy started. A figure had de-
fached itself from) the houses beyond and was
drawing near. It went on after a moment, a
blurred outline in the moonlight, moving uncer-
tainly toward the river.

“Look,” whispered Bob Carney.

Whitlock socked, and dropped to the ground.
Bobby did likewise and the two lays motionless,
hearts pounding against the cold earth. The night
was now a thing of menace, dark and mysterious.

Their eyes burned into the darkness.

“WEAYBE we ought to see about Mother and
Fred,” whispered the boy, thinking about

his parent and elder brother who were waiting in

a car parked on Cotton Belt Street.

| ; “They'll be all right,” replied Whitlock.

} But from far up the railroad tracks, from some

| unseen spot on the shadowy road came a scream,

| a woman’s high-pitched cry of terror.

| Whitlock -and Bobby exchanged frightened

H glances,

: Suddenly the air was rent by a blast of gun-

fire that echoed across the fields. Then silence,

more terrifying than sound.

Bobby’s hand sought Whitlock’s. Together
they ran across the stubble-packed field. They
climbed over a fence, stumbled across the rail-
road embankment and emerged on a_ narrow
road of red sand. On they ran, blindly, breath-
lessly, searching for the outlines of the car in
the moonlight.

! “Mother!” gasped the boy. “Mother!”

(Above) Cross marks the
spot where the lethal
weapon in the Carney

murder was dropped

by the fleeing killer

(Left) Graveyard
where the slayer
hid his clothes.
Cross indicates

the place

in gente

|

There was-no re-
ply. There never
would be.

* 7 ae

It was nine thirty
when a call reached
the office of Captain
of Detectives Wil-

liam C. Buchanan at
City Hall in Waco.
“Come quick to Cotton
Belt Street,” urged a
man’s voice. “Mrs. Reba
Carney has been shot.”
Captain Buchanan turned
to a group of detectives.
“Hurry out to Cotton Belt
Street,” he ordered. “A wo-
man by the name of Carney has
been shot. Maybe it’s the same
woman the sheriff mentioned this
evening. Find out the connection.”

Immediately, Detectives J. R. Doty,

Wiley Stem, George Blount and W. E.
Westmoreland sped to the scene.

mang


MYSTERY AT

RED HAT STATION . 25

The report from the sheriff that Captain
Buchanan had referred to was uppermost in their
minds. It appeared that a woman who gave her
name as Mrs. Reba Carney had called Sheriff W.
B. Mobley from the Red Hat Filling Station
earlier in the evening and had asked for a deputy-
sheriff to meet her as soon as possible. Deputies
John Cunnick and H. L. O’Neal had been dis-
patched to the scene.

Meanwhile, Captain Buchanan and Detective
R. S. Van Wie were speeding to Providence Hos-
pital to intercept the ambulance which was
carrying the victim of the Cotton Belt Street
shooting.

When they arrived they learned that the wo-
man had died en route,

AN examination by physicians revealed that a

bullet had entered her left cheek near the
nose and had penetrated the brain. The slug was
extracted and proved to be from a .32-caliber
Savage automatic pistol.

At the crime scene the detectives found Whit-
lock, Bob Carney and his brother Fred, in a high
State of excitement. From them they pieced to-
gether a story of what had happened.

When Whitlock approached the car, he saw a
man’s figure in the distance, running toward the
M. K. & T. tracks. Then Fred Carney, who had
been seated in the car, ran to them.

“A man shot Mother,” he blurted. ;

Mrs. Carney had been found slumped in the
front seat of the car and the moonlight had re-
vealed a slowly increasing circle of crimson on

(Below) Portion of the letter
that substantiated the reason
‘for the treasure-hunt

—

~

FORBES, Henry, black, hanged Galveston, Galveston Co., November 13, 1840.

“A negro named Henry Forbes was the first person hanged by law in Galveston after the
incorporatiokn of this city. He had committed burglary and was incarcerated in the bulk of an old
brig called the E/be which was used as a prison. He was indicted under section 9 of the laws of
the Republic which provided that ‘any person who shall break and enter into any dwelling-house
or store by night and take therefrom any goods, chattels, money or other articles of value, shall be
deemed guilty of burglary, and on conviction thereof, shall suffer death.’ Forbes was arraigned
before Judge A. B. Shelby, under the indictment for burglary, on April 10, 1°840, when the
evidence was heard and the case submitted to the jury, who after retiring reported that they were
unable agree on a verdict arid were discharged by order of the court, the prisoner being remanded
to jail. After remaining in confinement a short time Forbes succeeded in breaking through his
flimsy prison and made his escape, but was recaptured and again locked up. When the district
court reconvened in October, 1840, the original indictment for burglary was ignored and the
prisoner indicted for prison-breaking, at that time also a capital offense. On the 16th of October

a change of venue to Liberty County was granted, but was set aside the next day and the cause —
reinstated for trial here. How it was disposed of is shown from the following extract from the
court records:

“Saturday, October 17, 1840, Republic of Texas vs. Henry Forbes, prison breaking. This
day comes the prisoner, in pro. pri., waived his rights of the two days’ notice, previous to trial, of
the list of the grand jury and copy of the indictment; whereupon also comes the Republic of

Texas, by Thomas Johnson, acting district attorney, pro tem, and the prisoner being led to the bar

and arraigned, and on his arraignment pleaded not guilty; and thereupon came the following jury
to wit: James McKinney,k Stephen Kirkland, William P. Herring, Henry B. Martin, John P. Davis,
John Fordney, Joel T. Case, John DeYoung, Epirhaim McLean, Jacob DeCordova, Noah Dryager
and Marcus Williamson, good and lawful men, who, being duly elected, tried and sworn to well
and truly try the issue between the Republic of Texas and Henry Forbes, whom they shall have in
charge, and, having heard the evidence, do say, “We the jury find the prisoner guilty.” It is
therefore ordered and adjudged by the court that Henry Forbes be taken hence to the prison and
there safely kept until Friday, the 13th day of November next; that he be taken thence on that day,
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. , to the place of execution and there be hanged by the
heck until dead, dead, dead; and that the sheriff of the county be charged with the execution.’

“Forbes was hanged by Sheriff Wm. F. Wilson on the bay shore in the western part of the
city. He was.a bad character, acknowledged that he deserved death for various offenses,
professed to have experienced religion whsile under sentence of death, said he wanted to die, and
rode to the gallows sitting on his coffin and singing a hymn at the top of his voice.”-Daily News,
Galveston, TX, 9/9/1888 (5/1).


. 50 Southwestern 951
Clay Ford, black, hanged for murder at Lagrange, Texas, on July 20, 1899

"Lagrange, Texas; July 20, 1899-Although Sheriff August Loessin had announced thatt
the hanging of Clay Ford, the negro condemned to death for the mrder. of the
colored octogenarian, Matilda HENESEH Winston would be private, thousands came from
all portions of Fayette county to witness the first legal execution:in 20 years
and the second that ever took place in the history of the county.

"Clay Ford bade his aged mother and his wife goodbye last night at ll o "clock and
then slept soundly until. daylight this morning. He breakfasted and then was. shaved
and dressed in a suit of blacks At 9 o'clock-he asked for pencil and paper_and

he wrote a stiatement which he gave to his spiritual adviser, Rev. G. W. Townsend, In
the statement Ford declared his innacenses It, is in effect the same as his speech
which he d&livered later, &t 10 o'clock Rev. Townsend read to the: condemned man
from the Bible and sang a hymn, The aged father of Ford, his pastor, Dr. Lindsey,
a colored physician and a few officers spent ‘the morning , with him,

"Ford's pastor asked him to pray. On his knees in his cell the negro sent. up his
last prayer to God, He prayed in earnest and good language, and it was not the
prayer of an excited man nor of an enthusiast. He called upon God to witness

his innocence and closed with: 'Oh Lord! You know I am innocent, Poor old

Matilda who was a good woman on B&AxPRIXXX earth is with you now and she knows I

did not kill her, when I leave this sinful earth do-day, take my sould in a
chariot of fire to the throne and let me sit by the side of old Matilda, !

"His prayer concluded, Dr.. Lindsey at 10:35 felt his pulse and found it at 80,

Reve Townsend then absured the condemned man that if he wished to go to heaven

he must tell the truth. Ford's only answer was a claim of innocence, Sheriff
August Loessin informed Ford that therr were many people in town who had come to
seehim hanged; that only a fewcould witnesshis execution. He-asked to be per-~
mitted to addresse the crowd, He was taken,from the cell to the jail door and
then addressed the crowd'as follows:- 'Eadies, Gentlemen, Friends: This morning
seems very, very, very beatthiful, This is theprettiest morning of my life. This is
the last day that I can stand and look you in the face and see the friends I played
with and associated with, I am very proud this morning to see you all here; very proud
to look and talk to everybody this: morning. I am here, sentenced tobe hanged at a
certain four of the day and the crime that I am accused of is a very brutish crime,
very hideous, There was never a thought that run through this body that in my
heart I could commit a crime like that. I want all. of you to hear that. But
today I pay the deathi penalty on the gallows for it, and I.am proud of it,

I am in no way guilty. I look the whole world in the face and tell them that I_

am not the guilty man, I am perfectly: innocent of the crime and ny sould is going
where all crosses, trials and tribulations are over, They will all ‘be ower in

a few hours, > They, will-all be done with, All I will be there where I can

hear -all, I will be out of the way. I am going to a place this mroning where |
there are:no liars, no disputing, no swearing., The days that,1 used to walk out

on the green I-had-a very bright life that I could see, I can say this morning,
with clean heart, clean hands, that I never ended a person’ s life, never put to
death, I only had fights and scraps, and though I played cardsfor amusement,

I workéd hard for a ‘living. They have accused:me of killing old lady Winston,

I was only acquainted with her, The Saturday before the. killing I went there

and talked with the old lady and she talked, and I gave her some pecans and she

was telling me what happened thraugh the Last passed week, Now, today, that I am
standing beffore everybody, I confess that I am innocent of this crime, though I

was picked up and convicted before the Lagrange courts without a sign of evidence,
If they only had any eye-witness - that .would have changed ever ything. The man

who committkd the crime is out and today I must pay thepknalty, I am willing

and ready to go, befause I know the sould will not be, lost, . They can cheat me

out of the breath, out of the outward'man, but this inward man, they cannot

cheat me out of it, God taks that in hand.) God rules that. Today I will be

with old lady Matilda, Today.I am going, Today I.will be in her company, | i

will talk to her, I forgive everybody, and everybody that did anything for me

I thank them with the greatest gratitude. Today my lips will be chilled in

death., 1t mist be, I have got to go. Then angels and the, archangels and
God himself are waiting at thegates, JI will walk bravely like a man; the
sooner the better for mee I am glad to knowthat every man under the sun and
every woman has got to pay the same debt. This is a debt that no man can get around,

g

° This debt has got to bepaid and the «day is coming when I will meet everybody =
all these people. I will meet them in the great getting up morning, when the
heavens will be split, when God shall walk out on the four wings of the wind.
I will be there this morning. I have got the spirit of God in me, 1 feel
strong this morning, « Feel in no weak way. . Doliti@tiidtead dying. Thank you for: «
your attention,.' | | :
"He spoke in a clears distinct voice, and data tremor of voice or movement of
muscle betray any excitement. He was taken back into thejail, where the death .
warrant was read to Ford by Sheriff Loessin, Thenegro listened attentively while
the bigehearted Sheriff read with ill-concealed emotion, The reading over, his
pulse was again-tested by Dr. Lindsey and found to be 102. He was then handed a
pair of white gloves, which he drew on without assistance, remarking as he did
so to a friend: 'Wallece, tell all the-boys to come to my funeral. It. takes
place at 3-this afternoon,t and, turning to his pastor: 'That's the hour. set
for services at the church, is it not?! He then told all the prisoners in the
jail goodbye, He had previously thanked all the officers. for kindnesses shown -
to him, He walked unassisted to the scaffold in therear of thejail and :
ascended the steps, His pulse now beat 128, On the scaffold Rev. Townsend
conducted religious-servies, after which Fotd shook’ hands with all the officers
and newspapermen on the scaffold, calling each by named, kissed his aged father,
took the hand of his pastor, thanked him, and, with his hand resting in the
preacher's,-his eyes looking straight into the eyes of his pastor, his feet
upon the trap, he uttered his last words: 'I am not guilty.' .

"Sheriff Loessin adjusted the black cap, hands and feet were tied, and the rope,
which first breke the neck of John Shaw at Cleburne was placed around the necKke
Quick as a flash, Sheriff Loessin pulled the lever and Clay Ford paid the highe
est penalty known to the law. The trap was sprung at 11:19, Thirteen minutes
later, the doctors pronounced Ford deade . "OQ

(when Matilda Winston was murdered, her 7-year-old grandson, Ora Winston, was

also cruelly beaten and left for dead, but the child: lived, and today, with its
mother, watched the execution of the man who the law said committed the heinous
crime, ‘This was Sheriff Leossin's first hanging and Fayette County's big sheriff
felt it deeply. The execution was carried out wibhout a hitch and the coolest man
there’ appeared to be Clay Ford,

"The crime for wich the negro, Clay Ford, was hanged here today, was one of the
most heinouws which has ever been committed, . His victim was a black woman, about
80-yearseof age and her 6-«yeaneold granddaughter, Ora Winston, At about 8 o'clock
on Monday evening, Nov, 28, 1898, news reached the officers that just a few -
minutes before, someone had entered the cabin-and killed bpth the old woman and
the little girl, Upon investigation it was found that the old woman and little
girl had both been struck on the head with some heavy instrument, which rendered
both unconscious, and from which injuries the old woman died a few days later.
Near the cabin was found a (?) plate, bloody and evidently the insturment used

by ‘the assassin. Dep. SheriffWill Oeessin set to work at once to find some clue
and learning that Clay Ford, who was then employed picking cotton near Holman,

in this county, had beenseen loitering n ar the premises just a fewminutes before
the crime, and finding that he had ridden through town on a mule shortly after-
wards, coming from the direction of the Winston house, he began inquiry and

found that Ford had been in town since Saturday evening; that on Sunday and Monday
he had tried to borrow money from various persons, saying that he was broke,

It was leamed that before leaving town on the night of te crime, Ford stopped
4t°a negro saloolm and pgmbling house for about half an hour, where he displayed
money, drinking and gambling considerabley. On leaving there he was traced in
the direction of Helman and itwas learned that he had paid a woman whom he met

on the road $i. Atr o-clock on the morning of the 29th he was arrested near. Holman
by the deputy sheriff, brought to town and placed in jail. ‘When arrested he had
$25 in currency besides some silver money. The jacket he wore had a spot of

blood on‘the front about the siae of a 25*cent piece, Before the old woman's
death she became sufficiently con cious to let it be known that she had some
money, about $30, wrapped in a rage and coneealed between the matresses of the

bed, The money was gone and she stated that. Clay Ford was the only one who knew
nhere herg money was, as he had borrowed $4 on, theSaturday afternoon Before.


Clay FORD - black, hanged Lagrange, Texas, 7-20-1899 - page two, .

"District Court being in session at the time, Jidge Teichmueller, after the
death of the old woman, reconvened the grand jury Dec. 6 to investigate the
case, which resulted in an indictment against Ford for the mrder of Matilda
Winston, The trial of the case began on Saturday, Dec, 10, and the jury
brought in a verdict of guilty, assessing thedeath penalty, on the following
Monday, December 12, Ford claimed his innocence, but the chain of circumstan-
tial evidence, without a missing link, wich was thrown around him made the
verdict which was returned inevitable, The bloody jacket was introduced

and the shoes which he wore when arrested were identified under oath by a
number of witnesses as those worn by,the man who had left tracks in the cotton patch
as he ran from the direction of the Winston cabin, It was also proven that he
had no money late in the afternoon on the day of the crime, and that the $15

a $10 bill and a $5 bill, found on his person when arrested were the denomina-
tions of the two bills stolen from the old wommn, HMMBHBHBMEHWH His nervous
actions when told of the crime and many other circumstances pointed him out as
the guilty party beyond any reasonable doubt,

"The case was app aled to the court of criminal appeals and affirmed by that
courte

"Ford was a saddle-colored negro, 5 feet 9 inches in height and 2 years old,
He was the son of respectable parents, but seemed to have always been wayward, &
spending most of his time gambling and loafing in company with the lowest types
of his racee" GALVESTON DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, July 21, 1899 (l-1)

NES, Sy MA tal CE

7 in, 37,,made no final ‘statement before a lethal
injection was administered at the Texas Department of Cor-

dead at 12:30 am, six mimutes after: |

He was pronounced

doctors began administering the injection.

Franklin was the second person executed this year’ in’

Texas, which leads the nation with 27 executions since the
US. Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976, He

el amg Cia a A =

f. 64, Cols Jb

Texas executes Pratitin for murder

The nation’s highest court had granted Franklin a stay in
to consider his challenge of Texas’ ’ capital


HovsTon CHiewic ce

Franklin’s request

FACE 7A

for stay is denied

By KATHY FAIR
Houston Chronicle

HUNTSVILLE — The U.S. Su-
preme Court refused Wednesday
to block the execution of Donald
Gene Franklin, ending lengthy
appeals by the former cabinet
maker that had postponed his
death sentence for years and
virtually halted executions in
Texas.

Franklin, 36, was sentenced to
die by injec-
tion for the
highly publi-
cized 1975
abduction,
rape and
stabbing of
27-year-old
Mary Mar-.
gar et

‘““Peggy’’

Moran, a
San Antonio
nurse.

“We have done everything we
can do,” said George Scharmen
of San Antonio, one of Franklin’s

Franklin

attorneys. “There’s nothing left.”

Franklin was notified of the
Supreme Court’s decision about
4:45 p.m. and said only “Thank
you,” a Texas Department of
Corrections spokesmen said. His
parents were visiting with him at
the time.

“There’s some sadness. You
wonder if there’s something
more you could have done,”
Scharmen said of the Supreme
Court’s decision. “Obviously
there’s not much public senti-
ment for it, but I’m opposed to
the death penalty.”

Franklin once was character-
ized by one of several defense
attorneys who have worked on

his case asthe most hated man in
San Antonio.

Allen Cazier, who defended
Franklin at his third trial, said
clients dropped him as an attor-
ney when they discovered he
represented Franklin and he and
his wife were threatened. Frank-

-lin’s appeals attorneys have said

they had similar experiences.

Franklin had three trials and
at least five execution dates
stemming from the murder of
Moran. He was on parole from
TDC for the 1969 rape of a Bexar
County woman when he ab-
ducted Moran from the parking
lot of the Audie Murphy Veterans
Hospital as she left work shortly
after midnight on July 25, 1975.

After raping and stabbing her,
Franklin left Moran in a vacant
field less than a mile away, but
he refused to tell authorities
where she was and she lay nude
arid bleeding from seven stab
wounds while a citywide search
ensued. An elderly couple found
her five days later.

Franklin’s attorneys also °
asked Gov. Bill Clements for
clemency for Franklin, but that
request was denied Wednesday,
as was a request that the Texas
Board of Pardons and Paroles
commute Franklin’s sentence.

Franklin’s case had stalled all
but one execution in Texas for
about a year when the USS. Su-
preme Court agreed to hear his
challenge to the Texas capital
sentencing law. Ironically,
Franklin was to be the first
condemned killer to be executed
in Texas since the court voted 6-3
last June to deny his claim.

The only other Texas execu-
tion this year was Jan. 7, when

See FRANKLIN on Page 29A.

¢
‘ery od Stare”

Franklin

Continued from Page 25A.

Robert Streetman was killed for the
1982 robbery-slaying of Christine
Baker, 44, of Kountze. 3

The next scheduled execution is
Nov. 9, when Arturo D. Aranda, 40, is
to die for the 1976 shooting of an
undercover drug agent during a drug
bust in Laredo.

Franklin was taken from death
row to a holding cell outside. the
execution chamber at the Huntsville

“Walls” Unit shortly after 8 a.m.,

TDC spokesman David Nunnelee
said. He spent most of the day

sleeping and visited with his parents, .

James and Jenola Franklin of San
Antonio, and the Rev. Roosevelt
Sands of the Church of Christ in San
Antonio late in the afternoon.
Franklin, who requested a final
meal of a hamburger and french
fries, was calm as he awaited the

Thursday, Nov. 3, 1988

execution in a small cell adjacent to
the death chamber.

Franklin was arrested at his
apartment a few hours after Moran
was abducted, because witnesses
had seen him flee. Authorities found
a pair of bloody pants soaking in his

apartment and several of Moran’s

personal items.

Although Moran was alive when
she was found, she died the next day
in Methodist Hospital from irrevers-
ible kidney damage and blood loss.

Franklin has maintained his inno-
cence, claiming he had given his car
to a friend who committed the mur-
der and then left his pants and
Moran’s belongings at Franklin’s
apartment.

Franklin was first convicted and

sentenced to die in 1976. by a Corpus.
Christi jury. That jury deliberated —

only 30 minutes before returning its
verdict. | ;

The conviction was overturned,
however, when the court ruled that
prosecutors had erred by telling
jurors that Franklin refused to talk

Houston Chronicle

acs ee

ES

with police.

His second conviction came from a
San Antonio jury in 1980, but the
conviction and death sentence again
were overturned because the trial
judge’s charge to the jury omitted a
reference to Franklin’s “culpable
mental state.”

‘His third trial, in 1982 in Browns-
ville, also resulted in a conviction
and death sentence. That sentence
was upheld, but not before the Su-
preme Court heard Franklin’s claim
that the Texas death penalty statute
is legally flawed because it does not
provide for consideration of mitigat-
ing circumstances by juries — con-
sideration of facts that might lead
them to return a life sentence rather
than the death penalty.

Franklin also had been charged
with capital murder in the 1974 rape-
slaying of another San Antonio
woman, Cynthia Kettinger; with the

aggravated rape of a 16-year-old girl

in 1964; and with the rape of a fellow
inmate in the Bexar County Jail.


Chapa Gai Pdi dimen Go beermerarr en
Project T
EX] now LER

uisstssiper 26 OCTOBER 1988 GAS CHAMBER

October 25 5, 1988.

LY CPOE

Leo Edwards: (Black) age 36, has been on death row since April 1981. He was
convicted of the’ robbery/murder of a black male store clerk. He was
convicted by an all-white ‘jury.

‘There were no eye-witnesses to the «rime. A co-defendant accepted a
life-sentence in exchange for his testimony ajainst Edwards. Edwards has
always maintained that his co-defendant was the actual Killer. .

Edwards' attorney has filed for astay of execution and clemency.
The governor's office responded stating that he had officials looking into
the case but would not meet with anybody to discuss a clemency decision.

Urge Governor Ray Mabus to meet with representatives of the defendant
to hear all clemency issues.

.. TAKE ACTION, CONTACT: Gov. Ray Mabus (601)359-3150/1000
New Capitol Bldg. TELEX: 0230353755
Jackson, MS 39201 FAX: (601)359-2832 '

TEXAS 3 NOVEMBER 1988 i LETHAL INJECTION
Donald Gene Franklin (Black) age 37, has been on death row since 1982. He
was convicted of the rape/murder of a white female.

Franklin's case was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court last March.
The case argued the constitutionality of the Texas death sentencing statute.
He's argued that juries were not properly instructed on how to balance the
mitigating and aggravating factors involved with death sentencing. Franklin
was turned down by the Court, though they did express concern about the
statute. Several days after the Franklin decision was issued, the Court
agreed to hear the case of Johnny Penry, which raises the same question
concerning the Texas statute. The Penry case also questions the execution of
the mentally retarded.

Urge Attorney General Jim Mattox to grant Penry stays to all pending
‘executions while the U.S. Supreme Court continues to struggle with the
constitutionality of the Texas statute.

TAKE ACTION, CONTACT: Attorney General Jim Mattox  (512)475-2501

eee ’ State Capitol (512)463-2100
Austin, TX 78711 TELEX: 9108741367

FLORIDA 4 NOVEMBER 1988 ELECTROCUTION

Jeffrey Daugherty, (White) age 33 has been on death row since 1981. He
was convicted of the 1976 robbery/murder of a white female hitchiker.

Daughtery was abandoned by his parents at age 2 and raised by his

grandparents. He was often subjected to corporal punishment. He suffered 2

head injuries as a youngster, and has a violent. history as a juvenile.

At the time of the crime, Daugherty's girlfriend/co-defendant, 22 yrs
his senior, instructed him to rob and murder the victim. It is unclear what
happened to the co-defendant. Daugherty was convicted of previous murders in
Pennsylvania and robbery charges in Virginia. He was denied by the U.S.
Supreme Court October 3, 1988.

TAKE ACTION, CONTACT: Gov. Robert Martinez (904 )488-1234/2050/2952

The Capitol TELEX: 0255206002953/
Tallahassee, FL 32301 0230756407
MONTANA-VOLUNTEER 1 DECEMBER 1988 HANGING/LETHAL INJECTION

David Keith, (White) has been on death row since 1985. He was convicted of
the kidnapping/murder of a white male. Keith was shot in the head while
being apprehended, resulting in the loss of his eyesight. He suffers from
continual pain. He has been insisting for 2-1/2 years that he wants to drop
‘his appeals and end his suffering. His family is going along with his
wishes. His lawyers continue to try to convince him of options open to him
but will go with his wishes.
Montana has not had an execution since 1946.
TAKE ACTION, PLEASE WRITE: David Keith Points To Write On:
° ; Montana State Prison 1. Sanctity of Life

Deer Lodge, MT 59722 2. Religion
3. Makes it hard on
family & friends
4. Doesn't help others

on the row
5. Death Penalty is wrong

UPDATES: Warren Bridge, Texas, received a stay.
Stephen Booker, Florida, received a stay
Freddie Lee Hall, Florida, received a stay
Walter Bell, Texas, received a stay


MAE Mh 8
Pong

Sergeant Myers and other officers (photo below) gathered evidence at lonely spot
‘where ‘kidnaped nurse was found. She was still alive, having survived for four

Police soon arrived at the scene an
found a girl lying face down on the flow’
board of the car in which the “prowk’
had been seen. Some of her clothes bad,
been removed. An officer found “taal
traces” of a pulse.

The girl was rushed to Baptit
Memorial Hospital. She was pronounced &
dead on arrival, and identified asCynthig
Kettinger. 4

Detectives started at the parking kt 7
They found the station wagon the girlhad.
been using near the car in which she hab
been found. A sack of spilled grocers
were found nearby. .

A young woman told police shew
Cynthia’s roommate, .and that Cynthig
had been frightened to go anywhere
alone after dark. The young womansi
Cynthia had borrowed the car so ae}
could have transportation in the evetd j
a bus strike, which had loomed at
possibility in San Antonio. bg

The two women who reported seeeg 9
the prowler described him as amanwie Hi
appeared to be black and wore amedaa@
Afro hairstyle. They said ‘he wa
mediuin build. gy

As police swarmed through
neighborhood looking for a suspet @
more witnesses, Y girls were tahag
about Cynthia Kettinger. She wa @
honor student at Kennedy High Schad
She attended Rice University in House
and San Antonio College and had taht
the job at the newspaper five months

No more leads were picked up

>

}
|

|
|
|
A
pif
il
i


x

}yéce that night. In the morning, the
éedical examiner reported the cause of
évh as manual strangulation and said
di the girl had been raped.

. Detectives discussed other crimes
fs considered as possibly having been
@aemitted by the man who killed
3 Giathia Kettinger. Detectives covering
O@ & NCA picked up further information
doc a black man with medium build
aian Afro haircut. An artist sketch
gilshed in newspapers and a plea from
pace brought a rash of tips to
ghorities, and officers brought ina large
amber of men for questioning.

After two weeks of intensive in-
wtigation had failed to produce a solid
ayect, police announced that all per-
@s interrogated in the case would
ave letters of clearance. The move
mordered by the City Council after an
4 dxial protest was lodged by NAACP
Pa eresentatives. The mass arrests were
a ened by the group as unconstitutional
@4aja violation of civil rights and con-

Aeeted intimidation against blacks.

4s a service to women living and

Wa ering in the near downtown area, the

BCA announded it would sponsor a

te self defense course which would in-

Mdde instruction in karate and other

siniques women could use to fight off
fackers.

Areward fund grew and more men
se picked up for investigation. But the
gad remained unpaid and the men
ee released. As more crimes diverted
pice and public attention in San An-
wo throughout the winter, the Ket-
wer case drifted out of the news.

Security, however, remained tight at
wing arcas throughout the city where
men went to and from cars at night.
td now, on this late July night, Nurse
heey Moran had been taken from the
whing lot of the Audie Murphy

{derans Administration Hospital on the
@ whwest side of the city.

At police headquarters the next mor-
wy, the license number obtained by
teurity Guard Valvan had been traced
paman with an address on the east side
dihecity. A quick examination of police
%& failed to produce a record on him.

Detective Juarez and his team drove
the address which was on a block lined
wh small houses. There was no green
edn on the street or in the driveway of
te car owner’s address.

Some officers were sent around to the
lak of the house as others went to the
eat door. Their knock was answered by
wean in his 50s who looked with surprise
athe callers. When police asked) him
| dent his car, the man said he had sold it.
| Who bought it?” a detective asked.

Y The man said he sold the car to
Sa bald G. Franklin and gave an address
a Bluebonnet Street for the buyer.

hvestigators sped to the address on
bebonnet and their interest heightened
than they spotted a green sedan parked

~~ Te om

ran Pitan
Aeria

on the street. Detectives looked around
the car and noted it recently had been
washed.

“That's unusual for this time,” one
said.

The house was covered by officers
and two detectives went to the door. A
woman who answered the knock said
Franklin and his wife occupied an apart-
ment at the rear of the house.

At the rear apartinent, officers found
Franklin in the company of a young
woman, Franklin was a black man of
average size with an Afro haircut. After a
brief conversation with him, detectives
searched the apartinent.

Franklin was taken to police head-
quarters, along with several items detec-
tives reportedly found in his apartment
and outside in the backyard. The green
sedan was towed to the police garage.

Investizators conferred: with Lieute-
nant David Kenne, ead of the homicide

division, and other top police officers. -

“He won't say anything about the’ i

nurse,” one related. . :
Detectives reported finding a

partially-burned checkbook belonging to | .

Mary Margaret (Peggy) Moran outside

Franklin’s home. It was also alleged thata

number of incriminating items were -
found inside the apartment, including a’:
woman’s handbag and a billfold con-.”

taining identification cards bearing the-<

RN’s name. Police said they found a pair:
of man’s slacks soaking in a bucket of |
water, and blood appeared to be on the
slacks. ; :
Police files reportedly showed that
Donald Gene Franklin was 23, and had
served time for rape.. ee

“Franklin’s wife said he got home at
1:30 this morning,” an_ investigator
reported. “But some neighbors told us
they saw him drive up just shortly after
one, : ‘

y


saci amt Seals innate ad ensacAAck <

ithe hea EARNED IO ily BCE ci it a glia

i AN RNR tian

* Lieutenant. nae was informed by
~ his men that a knife and a pair of scissors,
allegedly found in Franklin’s apartment,

andi steading noe

.. still bloodstained area had been observed
on the rear floorboard of the green car.
-*. At that point, police were more con-

* cerned about the whereabouts of Peggy
Moran than about the man in custody.

~Newsmen were told all available police
units were searching ‘for the missing
nurse.

Police noted that Franklin reportedly
had reached his home about an hour after
~ the nurse was abducted from the hospital
parking lot. And they knew there were
many wooded and isolated areas not far
from the hospital.

The, temperature was climbing into
_. the high 90s in San Antonio as the search
-for the missing nurse increased in intensi-
ty and apprehension. At the Audie
Murphy Veterans Hospital, the staff

“waited anxiously for word about Peggy,
knowing that each passing minute lessen-
ed the chances of finding her alive.

Peggy, most of her co-workers knew,
was 27. A divorcee, she lived in a duplex
townhouse in. a development on Oak
- Manor. Since she worked nights at the
hospital, she had spent much of her
: leisure time playing tennis.

While detectives made no official an-
nouncement as to whether Franklin was
being considered a suspect in the murder

of Cynthia: Kettinger the preceding

nee

pallbdiisherceaersemeneamareneanation ee

ERR ee ar FASO ee: PEO

conten ett sear

1 NERS RAR Rt

were being tested in the crime lab. It was .
also reported that a freshly-cleaned but .

" vestigators.

November, it was noted that some of-
ficers had mentioned he fit the general
description of the man police had been
seeking in that case, and that there also
were similarities in the two nighttime
parking lot attacks. At the moment,
however, the department was concen-
trating its attention on expanding the
search for the missing nurse.

On Sunday morning another hunt was
launched by 31 volunteers from Explorer
Scout Post 70, along with police in-
However, the day-long
search in the woods near the hospital
produced nothing. Police went over a
‘map of the city. that night, circling possi-
ble search areas between the hospital on
the northwest side and Franklin’s home
on the east side.

Monday morning’s newspaper stories

contained speculation that authorities

might file murder charges against
Franklin even if Peggy Moran was never
found.

“The difficulty is proving the victim is
dead,” an official was quoted as saying
about that possibility. “This is hard to do
without a body, but it is possible under
the existing statutes.”

While police pushed the hunt for the
missing nurse, more private citizens got
involved. The San Antonio Secret
Witness Committee posted a $2,500
reward for key information leading to
her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, police reported that ad-
ditional attempts to obtain information

from Franklin were fruitless. However!
was announced he had been identified: ®
another case after being placed in:
lineup. It was alleged that a 16-yearé
girl identified Franklin as the man w
raped her on December 30, 1974. Shes
she had been walking along East Housa
Street when aman struck her and dng
ed her into a vacant lot and behind.
building. She said he tore off her clothat
and raped her. Franklin was chargedwa?
aggravated rape.

Tuesday morning, a joint news cr:
fererice was held by the district attone: §
office, police department and shert
departinent. District Attorney Ted Bue |
issued an appeal for public assistance t;

the search for the missing nurse. “ty

’ ° Be,
quite evident that she has be:
murdered,” Butler said. x

Also supplying — inforniation we bie

Police Inspector Marion* Talbert a&
Sheriff W. B. Hauck. Vhey said offie
from their respective departments ket.
conducted an intensive search, but»
trace of the missing woman had be
found. Talbert said his of fice was loc
into the possibility that the presuss
killer of Peggy Moran was responsible‘

the rape-slaying of Miss Cynthia ls &2

tinger in November. 7

As scores. of
searched for the missing nurse in lf
degree heat, detectives were gatherw
background information: on |e
Franklin. They learned he was bons
1951 in the small northwest Texastowrs
Stanton, near Odessa. When he wai
child, his family moved to Hereford s®
the Panhandle. :

Donald, eldest of nine: chika &
reportedly quit school when he wassa 5
and went to work as a farmhand unit
was 15 when his family moved toa:
tonio. He worked there as a bush w
cabinetmaker until 1970, when he ss
arrested for rape, it was reported. Hen
released on parole in 1973 and reve
had completed his time under its tex §
tions,

Franklin then went to work «
custodial supervisor for the Ella tea &
Community Center, where he reported é
had a good employment reputation (e &
of Franklin's superiors said he a &
fi amiliar with the suspect's $ prison re 1 F

“But you see,” he said, “here wee
concerned about rehabilitation of pee
This is part of our work, We care de
people.”

It was learned that Franklin had aw
ed into the apartment on Bluehost
couple of months earlier. The landad §
said he paid $75 a month rent and va &
paid up until August 20th.

Franklin always offered to hey a
the grass and = once brought ber.
watermelon, she recalled, adding % 8
was a nice boy.” e

A neighbor remembered bein 4 ©
turbed when Franklin played his nab

(Continued on “

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OEP EP ET ae OLN ie Ot A 4 z


of Burton, was charged at Waxahachie with being an accessory to murder, Both Ed and Burton
Franks were held in unannounced North Texas jails Momay." SeT, 5-15-1939. (1-5),

Franks! mother filed affidavit that he was insane and trail delayed for sanity hearing,
S-T r) 522 3-39.

",..eFranks was rational and knew exactly what he was doing, Dep. Sh, Carriker of Ellis
(ounty said, when he led officers to his mother's home = on Mother'sDDay = and indicated
the spot where the fruit jar containing the money was buried. The defendant's mother
and his sister, Mrs, Louise Works, 26, both of Bonham, previously had testified that
Burton, since his recent release from the state penitentiary has been insane and not
capable of knowing right from wrong. ‘He acts like a wild man at times,' the mother tes-
tified. She admitted on cross-examination, however, that she frequently feft Franks in
full charge of her shoe repair shop in Bonham, and that his workmanship and conduct had never
caused any complaints from customers, The mother also testified that Franks' paternal
grandfather twice was found insane and sent to an asylum, Mother and daughter both
stated during cross-examination, however, that Franks was rational and normal until

after his release from Huntsville where he served 18 months for auto theft. Mrs,

Watson and Franks frequently converesed at the counsel table Monday and during selection
of the sanity case jury Tuesday...eeMother's name Mrs. Frank Watson,"

STAR-TEIEGRAM, Fort Worth, Texas,5-2))-1939 (1-3).

Jury deliberated only 12 minutes before declaring sane, S=T, 5-25-1939 (1)

"UNCLE OF YOUTH ON TRIAL FOUND SHOT TO DEATH. = Venus, Texe, May 30, 1939. = (AP) - Ed Franks,

uncle of Burtn Franks, 22-year-old Bonham man on.trial in the bank robbery slaying of ". D. Wile-
mon, was found shot to death at his home here, Ed Franks, free on bond under a charge of being an
accesspy to the killing of the Maypearl bank president, was found sprawled.in his chicken coop, a
shotgun at his feet, Justice of the Peace J. W. Brewer said he would withhold his verdict until
tomorrows" CLARION-LEDGER, Jackson, Misse, May 31, 1939 (1:2,).

the small
aoused the

-om some-
itly struck
“he tellers’

Willis D.
atched his
and began
1g once to

Suddenly a scraping sound penetrated the quiet of the room.
Wilemon looked up, startled. At the cashier’s window stood a

man. The bank president rose and went to the front cage. Then

he halted abruptly, the blood draining from his face.

Too late had he observed the black muzzle of the gun pointed
menacingly at him from across the counter. His fists clenched
convulsively, his eyes narrowing with anger as a gruff voice
snapped, “Get your hands up!”

Seconds later, the echoes of a shot reverberated in crashing
waves of sound through the town’s streets: On the corner across
from the bank a farmer turned around in time to see a man walk

from the bank and climb into the waiting luxury of a red
Mercury automobile. The car backed into the center of the
road, then headed south until it was lost in a swirl of dust at
the edge of town.

Anxiously the farmer started across the street. As he did so
he saw a woman he knew, who worked for the bank, approach
the red brick building.

“Did you hear that. shot?” the farmer called out as he caught
up with her.

“Shot? No, I didn’t. I was on my way home to lunch and
forgot a letter I have to mail.”

By WADE HITSON

The posed scene at left shows how Willis D. Wile-
mon, sketch below, president of the bank, was found
dying in the vault. The institution formerly
had been the Farmers and Merchants State Bank.


138 SOUTHWESTERN -2nd-, 109 ;
FRANKS, Burton, 22, White, electrocuted Texas State Prison (Ellis County) on June 7, 190.

"Denison, May 11, 1939-A young man giving his name as Burton Franks, 21, of Bonham, was
arrested in a hotel here !hursday as a suspect in the robbery of the First State Bank of
Maypearl in which W. D.. Wilemon, hl, president, was wounded fatally,

"Assistant Chief of Police Paul Borum said the suspect made a statement in which he ad=
mitted he was alone in the bank robbery. The oral statement was heard by a newspaper man,
Borum said the suspect told him he threw the pistol used in the robbery into the Red River.
"tBorum said $556 was found under a pillow in the hotel room where the youth was arrested,
"Officers began a systematic search of the city when a maroon sedan was found on a street
here Wednesday night. The machine answered the description of the automobile used in the
bank robberye . ;
"Wilemon died Wednesday night in a Waxahachie hospital, He had been slugged and shot in
the back during the noonday robbery by a slender, well dressed bandit who ordered him into
the bank's vault.

"Borum said the suspect told him he did not know the banker had died, He was arrested by
City Patrolmen Grady O'Shields and Louis Winchester about 9:30 AM, Lawrence Wilemon,
brother of the slain banker, said the loot probably amounted to $1,000, Sheriff Henry
convicted of automobile theft in Hunt County._ Robbery of the Maypearl bank occurred shortly
after noon Wednesday, while other employees were at lunch and Wilemon was alone, When a
nattily dressed young stranger entered, Wilemon took him to be a customer and arose to
serve him, The youth leveled a pistol at Wilemon compelled him to empty the cash drawer
in the teller's cage and then ordered him to open the vault,

"Wilemon, who released details of the holdup, while being taken to the hospital at Waxaha-
chie, said he was struck on the head as he entered the vault, He then was shot in the
back, Mr. and Mrs, Weldon Blair, cashier and assistant casheir of the bank, found Wilemon
on the floor the vault, Residents of Maypear] said the youth and his maroon car had been
in the town since Tuesday. J. L. Morris, Missouri-Pacific agent, saw the car parked near
the bank Thursday night. J. H, Cavaness talked with the stranger in a drug store Tuesday
and observed him again shortly after noon Wednesday, when he parked his car 100 feet from
the bank, got out and walked slowly up and down the street between the bank and the car.
Cavaness saw the man enter the bank and leave shortly afterward, stuffing something into
his coat pocket. He quickly went to the car and sped away,"" STAR-TELMGRAM, Fort Worth,
Texas, May 11, 1939 (Thursday, page one, column AMEYXX seven).

"Denisen, May 13, 1939-Denied even a visit of his mother, Burton Franks, bank bandit and
ex-convict, remains in the Denison city jail under heavy guard, awaiting agreement of state
and national attorneys as to jurisdiction over the prisoner. Denison authorities Saturday
received a copy of a telegram from Federal Judge Davidson at Dallas to Judge A, R, Stout

at Waxahachie stating: 'In order to detemine jurisdiction it is agreed between us that the
prisoner remain in the custody of the Denison police until released by agreement or until
after hearing on which state and national attorneys have participated,' Charges have been
filed in justice court at Denison against Franks for automobile theft, He has been indi-
ected at Waxahachie for mrder, Federal authorities are charging violation of the Dyer

Act since Franks crossed the Texas-Oklahoma line with the stolen automobile, Denison
officers appeared before the grand jury in Sherman Friday in connection with auto theft
charges, Franks is secluded from even a sight of visitors in the jail." S-T Ga 13-19 39( 2/30

"Denison, May 15-Sheriff J. E, Roy of Hllis County announced here Monday that $1,019 of the
$1,57) stolen from the First State Bank at Maypearl last Wednesday had been recovered at
the home in Bonham of Burton Franks, dapper youth charged in the case, With the $553 found
in the hotel room where Franks was apprehended here last Thursday all but $6 of the loot
was accounted for, Sheriff Roy and Ellis County deputies took Franks to Bonham Sunday.

Roy was buried in a fruit jar buried near the Franks family garage. Returning to Denison
by way of Bells, Roy said, they found automobile license tags used by Franks behind a

sign near a beer tavern, Charged in Ellis County_with murder, in connection with ts
shooting during the holdup of Willis D. Wilemon, President or the Maypeart Balky FeanKgatal

is to be tried in district court at Waxahadhie May 22. Sunday Ed Franks of Venus, uncle


Staging a one-man raid on
the First State Bank of
Maypearl, Tex., below, the
phlegmatic bandit-killer,
left, mercilessly shot a
man in cold blood, Arrow
indicates where the gun-
man parked his car.

Texas town. Inside the red brick building that housed the
First State Bank of Maypearl it was cool. From some-
where in the back recesses of the bank a clock softly struck
noon. Immediately employes folded ledgers, closed the tellers’ |
cages and left for lunch. |
In his private office at the far end of the bank Willis D.
Wilemon, 44-year-old president of the institution, watched his
clerks go. Then he leaned over the papers on his desk and began
to check the figures that lay in front of him, stopping once to
cash a check for a youthful customer.

B ‘tess tow sunshine flooded the streets of the small

|
|
|
|

.

oc

DARINY DETECTIVE, November, 1940
¢ a

in his hip pocket, pulled his coat into shape and walked
leisurely from the bank toward his car.

As he started across the sidewalk, he saw the men
across the street looking at him, but apparently they
weren’t suspicious.

He climbed into his car and drove northwest from
town, in the general direction of Dallas.

He had been gone five minutes when Mrs. W. D.
Blair, an employee, entered the bank. She looked for
Mr. Wilemon as she entered, but he was nowhere in
sight. She entered the cage and then she heard a
groan. Startled, she looked toward the vault.

She gasped when she saw Wilemon sprawled in the
doorway of the vault. Then she turned and ran to a
grocery next door.

She got Louis Brigman, a grocer, to come with her

the bank. There Brigman examined the wounded
banker. “He’s alive,” he said, “but we've got to get
a doctor—and quick!”

As Brigman Picked up the telephone, Mrs. Blair
gasped. “Look, the drawer is empty. We’ve. been
robbed!”

“We've got to have real help, then,” said Brigman,
stepping to the front door of the bank. “Hey, you
fellows, come here,” he yelled at the men across the
street. Aroused by the tone of his voice, they came,
among them Joe Cabiness and James Wiggins.

Brigman told them what had happened. “Didn’t you
fellows hear a shot or see anyone?”

Cabiness answered. “Sure, we heard a shot, but

thought it was a backfire. We saw the man who did
it, too.”

LICENSE PLATES.
of killer (right) marked his trail from scene of
crime. Attorney Hancock: is examining other clues,

Within another minute, Brigman and Cabiness were
busy on telephones, Brigman calling an ambulane
and physician; Cabiness the sheriff’s office at Wax.
ahachie, the county seat of Ellis County. He told
what had happened, gave a description of the car and
its occupant. Word of the crime was immediately
Passed on to Deputy Sheriff Jess Cariker, who was hav.
ing lunch with N, C. Ellis, an agent of the U. S. Alcohol
Tax Unit, of Dallas.

CARIKER called District Attorney Forrester Han.

cock immediately. Then Cariker and Ellis drove to
Maypearl, 12 miles away. Deputy Sheriffs Hillyer Bates
and Ernest Ledwell came by another route, hoping to
spot the robber,

Cariker and Ellis reached the bank about half an
ho

}

pow 4

as,

OF ee |) | ee



92

‘two notes, in one of which her husband had

written: :

“T am innocent, but this is the best way
out.”

Burton Franks’ mother became hysterical
while the jury was deliberating, A deputy
Suggested that she retire to another room.

deputy and tried to dash out a courtroom
door through which Spectators were pass-

REAL DETECTIVE

ing. But the attempt failed. Deputies over-
Powered him and placed him in shackles,

ATER THAT AFTERNOON, the jury returned

its verdict. It found Franks guilty of .

ilemon’s murder and assessed his punish-
ment at death in the electric chair,

Held in the Dallas County jail until April
6, 1940, he was taken, heavily shackled, into
the Waxahachie courtroom where Judge
Stout imposed formal] sentence, fixing May
7, 1940, as the date on which hé should

die for his crime. A few minutes later, in
the custody of Sheriff Roy, five deputies
and two Texas Rangers, Franks Was on
his way to the penitentiary at Huntsville.

One week later, April 13, Gov. W. Lee
O’Daniel granted him a 30-day reprieve for
the purpose of permitting his mother and
a sister to appeal to the State Board of
Pardons and Paroles for a commutation of
the sentence to life imprisonment, but the
appeal was denied and Franks was put to
death in the electric chair on June 6,

vised the removal] of Branson’s body to Noel
for an autopsy, Sheriff Bone and Fine drove
to the Marke] cabin a half mile away, leay-

Tanson house.
Markel answered their knock and blinked
sleepily from his watery blue eyes as the

nm. “She’s over.to Jim Buchanan’s helpin’
Miz’ Buck. What’s she been up to?” he
demanded suspiciously,

good idea who murdered John Branson.”

“Murdered—” Charley Markel recoiled
and swallowed. “Hey! Troy!” He called
over his shoulder to his thirty-five-year-old
son. “Git up. Somebody’s murdered John
Branson!”

“He was sick because he was being mur-
”? =
Fine Snapped. “Some-

he two Markels exchanged quick,
frightened glances. “W’y if a fellow east
f en

NN Aes

«

ANNIE’S A GOOD HOUSEKEEPER

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43)

son? Some other man who wanted you to
live with him instead of Branson ?”
“If they was, he never said nothin’ to
me,” she replied.
ine, however, found himself unable to
forget the possibility of the woman angle
and he received Startling news when they
once more reached the Branson iarm. Con-

stable Bradley had been questioning some .

of the spectators,

é

holds him responsible for breaking up
Troy’s home. So does Old Man Markel.
The old man’s made a lot of threats, they
tell me.”

The Markels! Fine and Bone exchanged
glances, remembering Charley Markel’s
sudden panic.

“What about that, Annie?” Fine de-
manded.

“T never heard nothin’ about it.”

“Markel and his wife separated,” Brad-
ley went on. “Later they went back to-
gether, then Separated again. She’s out in

ansas now.”

“T’ve heard a lot of threats,” a bystander
spoke up. “By icks! Charley Markel’s
old for his yez d down in his hactl- 11.

the breadpan from the kitchen range.

“I want an analysis of that bread!” Fine
rasped.

“You'll get it,” the State Trooper
promised grimly. “J’}{ send this stuff to
our Jefferson City laboratory as fast as I
Can get it there. But you might as well take
your analysis from the label of any lead
arsenate can! The stuff must be loaded ! ”

Fine swung around to Gold-Tooth Annie
who stood watching the drama as though
she were seeing ghosts.

“Who made that bread for Branson?” he
demanded.

She shook her head wonderingly. “He
did, I reckon. He done all his own cookin’.”

“From poisoned flour !” Bradley eja-
culated. “The bird who lay out there in
the grass must’ve come through the win-
dow and planted it while Branson was
gone.”

“Then we want to talk to the Markels ©

again,” Bone said darkly. “And their story
had better be good.” .

Fine held out a restraining hand. “Wait
a minute,” he cautioned. “We don’t have
a thing on them except the story of a
grudge. We don’t even know they had any

poison.”
Wary e com


Oe OD

| meetin 8
cx " 3 om iw dt )
FRANKS, Burton, white, elec, Tex. SP (Ellis) 6-7-1940,

~ automatic.

at lunch except
here and there

Several men who s

bank saw a. lanky,

“Yes, sir. What can I do for you?” he asked.
The youth glanced quickly around the deserted in-

; terior before replying: “I ‘need some. change,”

He reached in his pocket as if to withdraw the change.
But when he withdrew his hand, he held a .38 Colt

i
teh

Before the banker could speak, the youth said, “And

I’m going to take all the change I need, too!”

The robber motioned for Wilemon to put up his
hands and the banker complied, Then the youth
walked behind: the cage,

“All right,” he said, “turn around.”

Wilemon did so, and he couldn’t see the. bandit but
he heard the bandit open a drawer and the rustle of
currency—the click of change dropping into .a pants
pocket. The bandit spoke again: “Move on down a
couple of feet so I can get into this other drawer.”

Without answering, Wilemon stepped ahead, then
stopped when commanded to do so, He heard the
drawer at the counter pulled open.

The robber glanced in and asked: “Where’s the rest
of the dough?”

“You already have all there is,” answered Wilemon.
“This is only a small bank, so we need only one cash
drawer.”

The youth cursed. “Get in that .vault, then. And

move carefully or I’ll blow your head off. You don’t
need to try to delay me by giving me a lifetime history
of this jug. Come on. Start moving.”

Wilemon moved carefully toward the vault, But
just as he reached the threshold, the. robber crashed

~~ s
Ae

renee +

235

his pistol against Wilemon’s head, Wilemon wavered, . oie

stumbled forward.

The. killer jammed _ his pistol against the banker's. __

back and pulled the trigger. ;
Wilemon gasped and fell halfway into the vault.
“That ought to hold you!” the bandit cursed and
ee ee ss. looked around quickly, One

TEXAS SLEUTH—_ +h
Jess Caricker directed had__ overlooked nothing.
hunt for larceny killer, Then he stuffed the pistol

&

KILLER—CAUGHT—...
tried to smuggle note (right)
in shoe’s tongue to 4 friend,

last check to make sure: he -


FRIZZELL, William H., white, hanged at Abilene, Texas, onll-20-1891,.

"yet am an amature genealogist, engaged in the research of my
reat-grandfather, one John Nathaniel Frizzell. My Great-Grendfather
fathered ten children; one of his sons, William Henry Frizzell, was
supposed to have been hung for murder during 1891 at Abilene, Taylor
County, Texas, “hile awaiting execution, William Henry Frizzell is
revorted to have written a ‘History of his life.' I am asking you to
research your files..."

Ltr. dated 17 Sept., 1987, from Jim Frizzell, Boxx 332, Kimberton,
Penna. 192,

en William oe : |
-FRIZZELL, — ms » white, hanged at Abilene, Texas, on November 20, 1891 for wife murder,

Gs pros
"vided and bad.J¢ puaraiel: to: thelr un
dertaking establishment, — where: they:
* proceeded ‘te embalm the: body. This
Was accomplished by means of a process
which they. “employ. in their ‘ pargoess- er

swe were able. fe: ao, 4

a s: 7 ; thax
Fridays, ast it ‘was jen:

‘ evening before the execution took place.
Hence it: waa, tipodsible® for: usto: give.
more of the details than weed. without

-By3 o'clock Friday: Svante a. owalt o

| had collected in the, pablic square: andi
around, the gallows numbering fifteen
oar Of two thoasand.” Drs. H.

: W. Crawford; of Béftale Gag, Ind: ent
summoned as the attending physicians.
Dr. Rogers was late: in ‘patting tis bis ¢

‘gall daring? the day tendering: him the } eee
tions of the Gospel and poloting Exzecaeas

him te Jésus: Christ who-sas' his only Eee

| refage and in whow alone he ould rely

+ for salvation, Aboot 10 e'clock Rev. R. ¢

ie Stcart, rector of the opal chutch,

" nleely fitting sult of. black calottade had
‘been shaven, and, altOgethef, presented |\ x
avery genteel appearance,~” ile seemed |f


FRITTS, Will, white, electrocuted Texas—(Kent—County) onDecex

OTION FOR NEW TRIAL—AND SENTENCE. 58323 wanuratruaee sy cnrenecoones dheereds ‘
@ IT REMEMBERED, that op-Diamdeg the...... LO. Ghz, day ot. LOesee hor... 19:24, there was begun gnd,holden wit Hg
Abia, County. oe at the Court House of said County, in the City of ae
A Soe Ipdge of the... id. ab Judicial District; |
t ld G CO, Bose digesaasdssateewcenics District Clerk, and |
ed tenen sch watt lfasonqedip anevgnt--ntenssnepean thes i, M The half sport when the following proceedings, at Aa were had, to-wit: --»-' a
) "DEATH SEMPENCR AG ee noe
THT VAS" gue grate oF TRAAS I THK DISTRIOR QOURDSUR! COUT 1 Fe site |
a i V8. Noe 428 KEM, COUNTY, TEXAB « | ‘ oh oe ea Genny, ' ;
pica . .., WELL PRITTS, " NOVEMBER BPEOTAL, Tey _ we WEE : oe
HIS Dé ¥ cetie ws cp hy be os eg » Movenber 10%, 20520. oie is pe lhe above
and : eee tet ee thie ‘day in the above iit (a inane caus ‘aint ene
Re Ssddacs : MA . btilte Jin pew. nad the Coa ving

oS eee ‘appeared in open court the Parties, & : State te by 1 her County Attorney : i
MIS Th sc oscc, and the defendant, Will Fritts, who was byeughi in-person: before. the. ree

oa Roe Court by the Sheriff of Kont ‘Oounty, for the purpore of having the S
So ee sentence of the lew pronounced upon him in accordance with the vere [ae
ie eae dict. and judgment heretofore on towwits the 87th day of Oetober, shates bs ees
eae "AY Dy 1050, rendered in this court against him,’ His counsel alee being fl a
-. “present in gourt and it appearing te the Court that the said Wilh se cc i
A jeg tine, Mating appealed from the said judguent of convistteniin ae gai ke =< |
Cie + sourt te the Court of Criminal. Appeala of Texas, and that th aie :

Court of Criminal Appeals has' by fte decision on the 3rd day of se :

THE 91. “June, Ae Ds 1031 affirmed the judguent of this Court as is fully show : esa as
eid by the issuance of its YMondate, which has been duly returned and filed . . i |
ee 4 “4m this court of the Glork of this Gourts and the said Mantate having 2 fig a |
IS DA been heard and eons idered by the Court, the defendant wild Fritts OY te eee fd
aos thereupon asked to stent Up, and was then asked by the Court ifthe ‘Ss remem a i
eee hag anything to say, why the sentence should not be pronounoed seninee, ‘pach:

tpl him to whioh the defendant refused. to answers. sc adit hd SS on Sy ee
ont | ic P = Thereupon, the Guurt in the presence’ of the si eran, roa vith the

and ju... _WAll Fritts, pronounced sentence upon ims a8 folleway oie oes
se It ie considered and ‘ordered by thé Court that’ the: defendant, ve 2c od not be
oe : Will Pritts, who has ‘been adjudged to be gaiilty of murder end saaeg 2S ede _

ISTH © 2.’ \\; Punishment has been, egnoused by the verict. of the Jury rendered against. - be guilty
| him herein at déath bé row taken by the! ‘Sheritt of Kent County)’ read rch not, leas
siege v to the State Penitentiary at Hubteville, ‘Texas and deliver nim into nereee l

“ag 3 the handa of the Warden of the State Penitentiary of Texas and, that,
naccol iv wii the! eadd WALL Pratte be executed on Priday the 18th day of December, Oe ame, qe
nded f°" De 1952 by causing to pass through the body of the suid W112 yritte <
a ie a ourrent of electricity of sufficient intensity to cause death end Sa oe i fees

weedet ns the application and contimence of such gurrent through the body of i feo i Ty")
a paid Will Fritts until he is dead, And it is further considered and — ms eee ihe 4 |
Pd: a. ordered that the Clerk of this Court shall ‘tesue a Warrant for the | ee i
ee kee: execution of this sentence of death end deliver the same to the Sheriff | eer: |
Sain of Kent gaysfty, Texas, to be by him delivered te the said Warden ton See
2a ss gether, with the said wilt LPratie A. Se

ae Qn craminea and approved tn upen ovrt, Ga _.22 2.2 atte Aegan hw
a Cathy Se ee VA: , or a

rk District Court, Ae skkhes le oseeaueustatdetbddceedeoucrens County, Texas, ss Sud gens ine eee
_...Devuty.


‘Kent County

Bana Sherev

County & District Clerk
JAYTON, TEXAS 79528

Juky 15, 1975

Watt Espy, In.
Pe.0. Box: 247
Headland, Aka. 36345

Dear MA. Espy, Jnr.:

Since I received your Letter inquiring about Wikk Faitts, I have been
checking our okd nxecords and talking to okd timers who I thought might
remember anything about this case. I couldn't get many facts about
WLAkk Frartts because the trial was held in Kent County on Special Venine
dated Oct. 18, 1930, from Haskell County. The trial began on Oct. |
20, 1930. I takked to one okd timer who had served on the jury and he
tokd me Wikk Faitts was convicted of kiklLing an elkderky couple on a
farm near Rochester, Texas, with a hame from a horse's harness while
An the process of robbing them.

The records show that he cannied his case to Criminal Appeaks in
Austin, Texas, on Jan. 9, 1931, but they upheld the verdict ina

nepky dated June 3, 1931. He was then sentenced by a Judge Milburn

S. Long from AbiLene, Texas, who had been appointed by the State to

do 40 because while the case was in Criminal Appeals the District
Attorney, CkLyde Grissom, who had prosecuted him had become the District
Judge in Kent County. WAkk Faitts was electrocuted in Huntsville on
Dec. 18, 1931. I beleive his home was in HaskekR County but TI can't

be sure as I Sakd before IT couldn't find anyone who knew him.

AS £02 hangings, I coukd not find any officiak necords of one and
no one I takked to could nemember one taking pkace in Kent County.

14 I can be of further assistance, please Let me know.

Sincerely,
yi Arcee L6s

Zana Sherer


a ap

need

| Jim Tucker, wife, Dixie, three sons (I. to r.), Charles, 13; James Jr., 16,
and Michael, 9, enjoy horseback riding—and just being together as a family

the 3rd Marine Raiders, and fought
bitter battles on Bougainville, New
Guinea, Munda and Amare, and was.

sass ag ili

Finchhaven. The latter wounds sent ¥
him back to the states, and an eventual}
discharge in 1945.

Up to that time, Jim Tucker had 2

a career, but while working as a ro!
neck in the Texas oil fields followin”
the war, he became acquainted

another, and on September 16, 19
Jim Tucker applied as a cadet in Ho
ton’s second class of the city’s
Police Academy.

His police career had an auspicious
beginning. bs
During his last month of polict
school, Houston’s merchants—drive-ia
grocers and liquor store operators im
the main—began being plagued by a

odd-ball type bandit.
That the bandit sometimes wort
bedroom slippers was not so

fortable in his work. And it was pée™
fectly natural that he should pack #
six-gun. A tool of the trade. Fes

But a baby tucked under his arml
Naturally, the newspapers jumped
it. After only a few capers, the “Bab¥ag
Sitting Bandit” was big news. eves

Houston Police Chief Short (/.) considers Tucker one of his most valued men
26 a 3 va r

eons v F Petts . . a

> Amal E

boot training, Tucker was assigned t

wounded in the arm, head, shoulders @
and leg in action at Bougainville and =

given a thought to law enforcement fe

some police officers. One thing led #3

what the hell, a man should be com ~

BS bf

Pex

time he sallied forth.
he was still sallying forth when
Tucker; 8raduated from police school,
& 45 caliber Colt on his hip (it
was the same model automatic he'd
t to use in the Marines), and
Was paired in a radio patrol unit with
Iman H. S. Dickson. By that time,
even the rawest recruit, and every
Ctime buff in the city, could recite the
Ption of the “Baby Sitting Ban-
i” by. heart.

Tucker and Mrs. Sally Stump, who gave officer key clue in Osten slaying
tase, received joint award and citation from Crime Commission head Meyer

3 “ ¥ +

Jim is Proud of these shooting trophies, but even prouder of pretty wife, Dixie

At any rate, neither Tucker nor
Dickson, at the wheel of their patrol
ear, had any trouble recognizing the
notorious marauder while speeding to
his latest holdup scene the night of
January 11, 1950. Dickson, whipped the
patrol car around the minute the offi-
cers spotted the bandit at Telephone
Road and Gulf Freeway.

“He’s got a woman with him!” ex-
claimed Tucker as Dickson poured the
coal to the squad car. Down the free-

; way the bandit flew, the prowl car be-

hind. and both cars whipping in and
out of traffic.

Tucker unlimbered his pistol and
leaned out the window. The heavy
pistol barked once and sparks flew
from the pavement near the right rear
wheel of the bandit’s car. Tucker ad-
justed his aim and squeezed off an-
other round.

The tire exploded, the bandit’s car
wobbled crazily and then skidded
into a telephone pole. The squad car
screeched to a stop and the officers
leaped out, guns drawn. The bandit
and his woman companion were climb-  .
ing shakily from their car.

The woman had a gun in one hand
and a baby in the other.

“We didn’t figure the kid was with
them, or I’d never leveled down,”
Tucker recalls. “I almost fainted,
thinking how that baby could have
been hurt. I told the woman to drop
the gun, She did—down the front of
her dress!”

The bandit was sentenced to 50 years
a few months later.

As a radio patrolman, Tucker worked
not only traffic but criminal cases, as-
sisting plainclothes officers in probing
homicides, robberies and burglaries.

. Although he later was wont to credit

any success he had on a given case to
the “breaks,” he made many of his
own breaks. On his own time, Tucker
attended every seminar on crime and
crime detection offered in the area. He
studied criminology at home, using
books available through the police
training library, and he showed equal
desire to learn all he could about bal-

’ listics, fingerprinting, photography and

the other police sciences.

Early in his career, through contact
with young dope addicts he arrested,
Tucker developed an undying hatred
for the narcotics rackets and the
vicious, merciless men behind the dope
traffic. Within a year after joining the
force, Tucker was making four or more
narcotics cases weekly, as many as
most officers in the vice squad.

nm February 24, 1954, an event oc-
curred that was to have a bearing on
Tucker’s future activities. On the after-
noon of that date, Tucker, riding alone
in Patrol Unit 116, was dispatched to a
liquor store on the North Side, the
clerk of which had just been held up
at gun point.

“The guy was crazy, crazy, I tell

, you,” the clerk said nervously as Tuck-

er quizzed him. The telephone rang.
The clerk answered the phone, then
handed the receiver to Tucker.

“It’s for you.”

“Get over to Laura Koppe, Janes’
Store,” directed the dispatcher. “A man
answering the description of the ban-
dit just called for a cab there.”

Tucker legged it to his patrol car
and sped to the given address. As he
pulled in front of the store and stopped,
a man stepped from behind a telephone
pole directly in front of the patrol car.

The man leveled an automatic pistol
at Tucker and began firing.

The windshield of the patrol car dis-
integrated. Lead thudded into the
steering wheel, the window post of the
squad car, the (Continued on page 84) 97


FARRAR, Carroll D., white, elec, Tex, SP (HARRIS), 1/4/1956,

busta by Res

Dayton
a i "DVL Natv1ce0 Cs) at aera
ar ee Lil (va EF E L95e |

1202 Pierce Avenue

neCOR cL Pile pou Sycad dutinet Lor Lill atreg Dape.
Miwder t-te) |

Bbiswan toad Madde = Te

Aespiliacy Arad fr gintliasang thet lags sise Llraliald ig. 0

While Maddox's #4¥ parents were rushing to his bedside, their car struck and killed ll-year-old
Margie Elliott, Aft. x 2 m0 as—suspicious
and notified police, Officer J, E, Tucker went there to check and Farrar opened fire and ran into
alley. Tucker rushed around to back and Maddox and partner Moon who was wounded went to front of
alley, Tucker exchanging fire under cover when other two officers entered, Farrar shot Moon first
wounding and then Maddox, inflicting wound from which he died two hours later, Tucker shot twice

in leg and finally downed Farrar when he fired shotgun, He had KXXXXKKH threatened to kill the
liouor store owner, HOUSTON POST 2~25-195),

| riite

9

Had served four years of 10-year sentence for assault on l?-year-old girl, Expressed remorse after
eapture;—saying—he-had-shot the -officersto prevent arrest but did not—mean to kill, Made a con=
fession, saying he stole the pistol in a burglary and admitted two other robberies,

TRIAL

APPEALS

329 bly (2) NH

LAST WORDS

EXECUTION

Current Wp leed 12/0 TLL Ppontenadh Mead aX /2 £06 “et

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY—-COTHAN

Until Fool _( 5%

ATIONAL POLICE OFFICE
_ OF THE MONTH

James E. Tucker

by STAN REDDING

Patrolman, Houston, Texas Police Department

vauval

a |

ym €*q [Tore

e4t

a

4 oa

- i aga gsi

rae:

Oi ta

*

rey

devotion to duty is a credit, not only to our own fine police

‘He is a shining symbol to those youngsters everywhere

0 are considering law enforcement as a career.”

Louie Welch,

Mayor, Houston, Texas

EMurmured the darkly-handsome
Manas he jack-knifed over his
Pool cue, his black eyes calculat-
the angles of the shot he would
>to make.

=: 4s opponent, tall, with mild features
ead bowerful shoulders, nodded, seem-
HY intent on the game, but his eyes
heath drooping lids were actually
don the five men grouped around
; ble 15 feet away. The men
ound that table were openly watch-
e€ the pool players, and had been
ke the fifth man had entered the

“pool hall a few minutes pre-
y.

The tall man turned so his face was
not‘ visible to the group around the
table. “That has to be Tony Garza.”

The swarthy player straightened and
began to chalk his cue, his eyes on the
five ball. His lips barely moved as he
answered, and his words dropped with
the softness of rose petals on grass.
“Yeah. And he’s coming over.” He bent
again over his stick.

The tall man turned lazily to con-
front Garza, who was squat and pow-
erfully-built with a bright sheen to his
eyes. A thin cigarette dangled from his
lips. There was a distinct odor about
the cigarette that told the tall man
what it was. Weed.

“You Frank Paget?” Garza asked.
The tall man nodded, but Garza was
looking at the dark man making his
shot. The five ball made a series of
complicated caroms off the cushion and
dropped into the side pocket. The
shooter straightened and faced Garza,
his sooty eyes gleaming with a ‘sar-
donic light.

“I’m Sebastian Morales.”

Garza studied Morales, his features
harsh. “I know a Sebastian Morales
once. I was in the joint with him. He
was from Houston.” Garza waited.

“Tm from Louisiana,” drawled Mor-
ales. “I’m a Cajun Mex.” He smiled
mockingly.

#

yy

“T (Aquneo STITeH) Sexo] ‘peqnoo.zt49eTe €

he
t

qd) °9S6T-

3a

*

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SUTUUT

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(lz &

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i a le ES i uh Sb

5, EDA MII orp NK a) 00 6 9 ow

Seige ont

24

Garza relaxed suddenly, and laughed.
“Okay! Okay! I hadda ask. You know
how it is?”

Paget grinned, “Yeah, we know how
it is.”

Garza pulled a package of cigarettes
from his shirt pocket. “You guys blast
pot?”

Morales shook his head. Paget de-
clined also. “We buy it, though. I hear
you've got some,”

Garza nodded. He jerked the thumb
of one hand over his shoulder, indi-
cating the four men at the table. “My
Soys will turn over 25 pounds anytime
you want the stuff. Cash on delivery,
okay?”

“I don’t do business any other way,”
agreed Paget. “When can we make the
switch?”

“This afternoon, at the race track,
just before the first race,” Garza re
plied. “Only one guy goes, though.”

Paget nodded assent, and looked at
Morales. “You g0, Frank,” Morales
said softly, “I don’t like to be out in
this Texas sun.”

A few minutes later, Frank Paget
walked out of the tavern in Victoria,
Texas, and climbed into a car driven
by one of Garza’s henchmen. A second

man, a burly, taciturn man, was in the
back seat. “That’s Tito,” said the driver,
“The other guys will be along with
the stuff. They’ll use two cars. Tony
ain’t coming.”

“Any way you say,” Paget drawled.
He settled himself in the seat and
eyed the huge Tito, who looked back
with expressionless eyes, .

At Victoria’s quarter-horse track
that afternoon, a gaily-dressed crowd
milled, ebbed and flowed. Cars lined

—— me

the dusty roads leading to the track.
The driver found 4 stretch of shoulder
free of vehicles and pulled off. In a
few minutes, tyra other cars, each with
only one occupant, pulled in behind
them,

Tito; Paget end the driver got out of
their vehicle anJ°went to the back of
their car. The Griver of the middle car
got out, carryiny a paper sack. The
driver of the thi ‘d_car also carried a
bulky bag. The 329 placed the sacks
_. 4nk of the car in
<cidden, and surrep-

* titiously the. tali dope buyer inspected

the contents. Beth: contained a high
&rade of manicui:3 (ready to smoke)
marijuana, oa

“Good stuff,” 2 St approved, and
slipped a thick « <af of bills to his
driver. Tito shielded the man with his
huge bulk while the driver counted
swiftly,

it’s hot,” Paget Spat. He
thumbed back his: straw hat, too vio-

Was approaching grom. the front,
Suddenly, both» cars stopped and

eight men, rifles or big-bore shotguns

leveled, confronted the five dope deal-

ers. “Freeze!” barked a stern-faced
shotgun holder, :
“Federal officers—put ’em up!”

echoed another,
One driver's hands dipped toward
his shirt, worn with two buttons loose

above the belt. “Don’t try it—I’ll kil
you!” snapped a federal agent, He
twisted the driver around, took a 45

One
armed, it developed.

Handcuffs. flashed in the sun and ©
Clicked on wrists. “That rat Garza,”
snarled Paget as the steel imprisoned
his wrists. The driver who had brought
him to the track looked up. “Cool it
man, Tony didn’t set this up.”

An hour later, the men were jn the
Victoria jail, and shortly thereatter,
Garza and Morales joined them. Garm
headed at once for Paget. “Man, I
Swear I didn’t set you up! They been
after me for months, I can’t figure this,
honest!” Paget eyed him surlily, thea
nodded. “Okay, Garza, but it better be

The. next day, the seven men _ were
taken to Houston, Texas, and arraigned
- Commissioner, Each

to jail in lieu of bonds, iy
At the jail, Tito, Morales and Paget
were shunted adroitly into a side room

the mug and print shop
(indentification). Then a federal agent
stuck his head in the door, “Okay, cut
‘em loose,” he grinned. “They just
made bond,” ca

The cuffs fell from the wrists of the
three men. “Paget” grinned at “Tito.”
“Hello, Mike. I was lad to see you.
down there. It looked for a minute like ©

we were up tight,” Se

Detective Mike Chevez, Houston |
Police Department, smiled. “Jim Tuck)
er and Blackie Free! | figured it
be you guys when we started se

automatic from inside the shirt, 2 i
of the other drivers was alse >
‘

Cop-of-Month Tucker played hunch, n

A

up.” The big cop slapped both fellow

officers on the shoulders. “Come on,

buy you a cup of coffee before the
man puts us back to work.”

Wherever “narcos” gather in Texas

~ to talk over a cup of coffee about their
. &dventures in the war against narcot-

ics, someone, if he’s been around any
time at all, is bound to bring up the

f “name of James E. Tucker, criminal
+

investigator, Houston Police Depart-
ment. Tucker—the cop with the farm-

: boy look, the glib tongue, and the fast,

Sure hands . . . the undercover agent
who -ranged from Mexico to Maine to
Snap the trap on one of the nation’s

$s Most vicious drug rings and a few
~~ others that just happened to crop up
~) along the way.

What some of the officers privy to
Tucker’s incredible career as a secret

_~ 88ent don’t know themselves is that

cker’s accomplishments as a police
" Officer didn’t begin and stop with that

" Period in his life behind a badge.

“Tucker was a logical man for the

_ Assignment, based on his past activi-

ties, his intelligence and his courage,”

» comments former Houston Police Chief

ack Heard, now assistant general

~ Manager of the Texas Prisons and
*

Custodian” of many of Tucker’s tar-

‘ “Jim Tucker always was and always

{Will be“a top-flight officer.”

4 Only last November, the Houston
ty Council, in a rare gesture, unani-

abbed

# 2, “a

*S

this young suspect in parking lot

1 assed a resolution praising
Tucker Pc his police capabilities and
cited him as a “shining symbol” for

officers. ;
oh sencladiains ac well as citations
from Mayor Louie Welch and a scroll
from the Houston Crime Commission—
honored Tucker for trapping a noto-
rious rapist-killer who had terrorized
Houston for nearly a year.

Tucker's is one of the quietest suc-
cess sagas in police annals, little known
outside law enforcement circles and
has been spun without causing a ripple
in the newspapers until recently. As in
the past, Tucker would have gone
quietly about his other duties, having
solved the brutal murder, leaving the
credit to those who might claim it, had
not Sheriff C. C. Kern and Homicide
Captain L. D. Morrison, who were joint
commanders of the probe, singled
Tucker out as the key man in the solu-

i f the crime.
arent ens did an outstanding job. He’s
a fine officer,” the two famed man-
hunters said in a joint statement.

Tucker characteristically shunned
personal glory. “It was a team effort
all the way. I was lucky. I got the
ay Tucker is a farm boy, from
Grand Saline in Van Zandt County,
where he was born 39 years ago. In
1942, at the age of 17, Tucker left the
Plow and Grand Saline High School to
enlist in the Marines. After finishing

slayi

ng of pretty Joyce Osten, 18, below

EL PASO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

P.O. BOX 28 EL PASO, TEXAS 79940

RALPH A. GUILLIAMS
8503 VOLCANIC AVENUE |
EL PASO, TEXAS 79904

JUTyS 1982
Watt Espy
Law Library - Box 6205
University, AL. 35 486

Good Mornina:

The following information on legal hangins in El Paso, Texas
was taken from an article, written by JOE K. PARRISH in the
PASSWORD of the EL PASO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Volume III,
No.2; Avril 1938.

Prior to 1917 persons condemned to death were hanged in the
county in which they were tried. Then the law was changed
and afterwards all hangins were verformed in the state
penitentiary.

The earliest recorded hanging found in El Paso County was that

of a man by the name ofBrinster. He was hanced on July 5, 1883,
on a gallows erected behine the Court House located in Ysleta.
Brinster was convicted of the rane of a wife of a non-commissioned
officer at Fort Davis, Texas, the vear before. He was tried in
34th District Court in El Paso on a change of venue, and

found quiltyv.

The second man to be hanged, was Rosalio Castillo, also for rape
of a ll-year-old girl. The only unsupported testimony.

He escaped detection for two weeks, then was nicked ur on a farm
near Ysleta, charged with the offense, identified by the girl.
He was found quilty anc sentencec to hana.

The next one was a double hanocing, of Geronimo Parra and Antonio
Flores, at 12:45 p.m. on Januery 6, 1900. As they were led to
the gallows Flores produced eae smuaaled danqaer from his shirt

and lunged at Deputy Ed Brant, former Ranger and plunged his
weapon into Bryant’s stomach. As four men tried to hold hin,
then Parra, aslo brandishing a deacver, stabbed Policeman
Christlv, then turned on Deputy Ten Eych and stabbed him too.

Antonio Flores slauahtered his sweetheart in a fit of jealous rage.
Geronimo Parra, ten years earlier, had shot Charles Fusselman,
a Texas Ranger, during the trailing of stolen stock.

Both were found quilty, and by 2:04 in rebruary 1900, both

were hanced.

The Canyon where the Ranger met his death is known today

Fusselman Canyon y
as Fusselman Ca Resp 0 Bb Menpie


ae ee

National Police
Officer of the
Month

(Continued from page 27)

front of the front seat, and ricocheted
about the front of the car.

“He really showered down on me,”
Tucker recalls. “I hadn’t been under
that kind of fire since World War II. I
thought I’d driven up and stopped in
front of a machine gun nest.”

Tucker reacted with Marine coolness.
At the first shot, he hit the door handle
on the driver’s side. As the windshield
glass showered the interior of the car,
Tucker was rolling out, pulling his pistol
as he did he so,

Tucker came to his feet as the gun-
man wheeled to run. The officer fired
twice quickly. Both bullets struck the
bandit, who staggered but did not fall
and who then ran around the small
grocery.

f re sprinted around the opposite
side in an attempt to cut the bandit-
gunman off. As the officer rounded the
building, the bandit, who had taken
cover at the front of a parked car,
opened up again. His fire pinned Tucker
down at the side of the building.

“I could see him only as a silhouette,”
Tucker recalls. “I couldn’t get a good
shot at him, but he couldn’t get a real
good one at me, either, although both of
us were grouping our shots pretty good.
I shot 16 times with my pistol.

“He fired at me 20 or more times,
and some of his spreads in that wall, I
could cover with my hand.”

What happened next, Tucker will
never forget.

Patrolmen Fred Maddox and Martel
Moon, on scout in the district, heard the
rattle of the pistols, and drove to the
rear of the store to investigate. Both
officers alighted in full view of the con-
cealed ‘gunman and less than 10 feet
from him. “watcH ovr!” screamed
Tucker.

Moon did not have his pistol clear
when the gunman wheeled and yelled in
maniacal tones: “Now you're going to
get it!” He pointed his pistol at Moon’s
head and fired.

Moon threw up his arm as the gun-
man screamed his threat, and the bullet
thudded into his forearm, catapulting
him backward.

Patrolman Maddox, warned by Tuck-
er, threw himself across the hood of his
patrol car and tried to draw a bead on
the gunman. The outlaw beat the officer
to the shot. Maddox fell backward,
mortally wounded.

The gunman turned his pistol back on
Tucker, satisfied the two patrolmen were
dead. Moon was not, but feigned death,
his pistol out of reach and his shooting
arm broken.

An off-duty officer, W. E. Millican,
ran up beside Tucker, carrying a shot-
gun. “Here,” he said, thrusting the
weapon at Tucker, “Use this!”

Tucker checked the weapon and then
measured the distance to the gunman’s
fort. It was far for a shotgun, but if any
other officers drove in, they, too, might
be killed. F

Tucker made his decision and stepped

® out away from the building, straighten-

ing up in full view of the gunman.
“He came up, like I figured, for his

shot at me,” Tucker recalls. “But I had
that shotgun ready. I let him have a
load of it in t™» face.”

A dozen offic «s were running to the
scene—summo..cd by witnesses to the
‘sustained gunfight—as Tucker walked
toward the killer. A deputy wrested a
pistol from the writhing man’s hands as
Tucker reached him and stood over him.
‘The killer looked up at the officer, hate
blazing from his eyes.

“He had a lot of lead in him, but he
was still alive. My bullets didn’t kill him
at all, as a matter of fact. But he wasn’t
tough enough to sit in that electric chair
and not get burned.”

The tough man who absorbed bullets
and buckshot so easily was Carroll Day-
ton Farrar, executed in January, 1955,
for Officer Maddox’s murder.

But by that time, Uniformed Criminal
Investigator J. E. Tucker had dropped
mystericusly out of sight. He was on
vacation, some were told when they in-
quired of his whereabouts. He was no

longer on the force, others were in
formed.

Fo years, the illegal drug traffic in
Texas had beer: on the increase. Each
year, seemingiy, the number of addicts
—especially those of junior and senior
high school ‘“ge—increased, Heroin,
marijuana and cocaine flooded Houston,
readily available to anyone who had a
yen for tie narcotics.

Then, abruptly, federal agents, brought
in from out of state, announced they had
the Houston police vice squad chief and
several members of the squad under in-
vestigation as pyssible dealers with un-
derworld figures.ini the narcotics racket.
There was oné:j.:émber of the Houston
police departmétié in collusion with dope
dealers, along with one member of the
narcotics bureaiy of the United States
government. Ths rest of the Houston
police departme: : vice squad were men
of honesty and i*.-grity, fully aware of
their one officer  ollusions and in the
process of trapping him, when the fed-
eral agents came to town,

But the seeming scandal rocked the
city, and ali but destroyed public con-
fidence in the department.

A special grand jury convened to in-
vestigate the allegations against the
high-ranking Houston police command-
ers, and a Houston Narcotics Commis-
sion—composed. of city councilmen and
other city leaders—assumed the job of
creating a seyarate narcotics bureau
within the police department.

There were officers-on the force above
reproach, abovésuspicion. One was Cap-
tain Jack McMéhon, a fiery, testy Irish-
man who openly Jared the federal agents
y+ Page doubt on his integrity. None

id, ¥

The grand jury summoned McMahon.
“Will you head.up the narcotics squad,
Jack?” asked tie foreman.

“Give me a free hand, Jim Tucker,
the men we want, and the money we
need, and I'll give these dope peddlers
hell,” replied the doughty officer bluntly.

“You’ve got it. How much money will
you need?”

“I dunno, I’fl have to ask Tucker,”
Captain Jack replied frankly.

Tucker figured with $20,000 a year,
the squad ought to be able to buy a lot
of dope and make beaucoup cases. “It
really wasn’t enough, looking back,”
Tucker says wryly. “But my knowledge
of the dope trade wasn’t as extensive as
it subsequently became.”

McMahon and Tucker picked seven
officers to form the body of the squad.
All were young;.tough, fearless men,
unknown among the underworld, and
ready to take on the devil himself.

top pushers in Houston,” Tucker recal.

In one year, the squad made mm

narcotics cases than had been made by
the vice squad in the past several year,
In one 10-day period, Tucker himself
made 28 cases. 2

The men of the squad—those thst
were married, anyway—saw litile @ —
their families. Tucker. would kiss his
pretty wife, Dixie, goodbye one mom —
ing and not see her for 10 days or thre |
weeks, sometimes a month or two.

The men of the squad acquired fe
titious identities, assumed fictitious roles —
as hoodlums, dope pushers, dope usem ©
They played the roles to the hilt.

“We made a lot of good jails in Tex
and other states,” says Tucker.

He and Criminal Investigator Naths
“Blackie” Free, a debonair, nerveles
officer, were assigned to get the “king- 7
pin” of Texas dope dealers, Vito Gior-
danello, operator of a New York & _
Mexico dope traffic.

It was part of Giordanello’s ring te |
two knocked off in Victoria, Texas.

Several weeks later, Tucker and Free,
in their roles as dope dealers, went & —
Roma, on the Mexican border, to trap
one of Giordanello’s top suppliers, & —
wily Mexican known by the nickname
of Chamaco. pgae
Chamaco took a liking to the tw |
“gringo” pushers. He entertained thes
royally. He even offered to sell them five
ounces of pure heroin. “But you got &
take delivery in San Diego, California”
he said. “My brother-in-law has the
stuff, and that’s the only place hel —
make delivery.” oe

Free agreed to go to San Diego and —
buy the dope. He did, too, taking ##®—
him a federal narcotics agent, and les -
ing behind a pre-arranged plan to cap.
ture Chamaco. Federal agents wert
staked out nightly at a point below
Roma and near where Tucker was @
receive 50 pounds of marijuana from.
Chamaco. When Tucker flashed th
lights of his car, the agents were #
move in.

Tucker, berift of his partner, and fee
ing he needed help in making his cas
contacted Captain McMahon and r& ~
quested another officer be sent to &*
company him. Captain Jack, shabby, u —
shaven, the picture of a border :
came himself. ‘

Several nights later, Chamaco, Tucke
and an aide of Chamaco’s deliv the
marijuana across the border, where
Captain Jack, whom Chamaco had bee

netlist

he cuffs on me and Chamaco and hand- |

gfied us to the door of the car. While
te was doing that, the other one broke
ged ran for the Rio Grande. He jumped
in Jack right behind him, and

© swim across.”
The moment McMahon ran after the
Chamaco twisted around and
inside -the car, clawing at the

gove compartment.

' “What the hell are you doing?” Tuck-

@ hissed.
*] got a gun in here. I’m going to kill
@at damned cop!” spat Chamaco.
“Man, don’t be crazy,” Tucker
gowled, pulling the dope dealer around.
"We can ride this beef—we can’t fade

snarled Snemece, a
gabbed again for the glove compart-
ment. He and Tucker fought furiously.
A hot pain sliced at Tucker’s back, and
bis legs suddenly felt weak. He clung
te Chamaco, and McMahon, looking
tack and seeing the struggle, abandoned
the fugitive and ran back to the car. He
tapped Chamaco with his pistol barrel,

him out,

“A pistol in the glove compartment.

Be was going to kill you,” Tucker

Two days later, when Tucker was
“bonded” out of jail and examined by a
tector, he learned his back had been
troken in the struggle. But the threads
@ the dope ring operated by Giordanel-
le were beginning to unravel. Within
mveral weeks, Giordanello and 14 of his
ip men were arrested in a concerted
*peration that had simultaneous results
i New York, Chicago, Houston and

here in Texas. Every member of
fe ring drew 15 years in prison.

Within months, a new “kingpin” had
@merged—an ex-policeman named Ed-
@e Barrios. Tucker had served with
Barrios when both were rookies.

The informant who gave Tucker the

% on Barrios thought he was talking to
. a big-time dope dealer. “Eddie can de-
any amount, anywhere,” the man

“Can he deliver 250 pounds of mari-
Jemma, for cash?” asked Tucker, : dis-
Paying a huge roll. It was a fantastic
, unheard of. The man looked at
Money greedily and then nodded.
“One thing,” Tucker added. “I won't

——

fy

deal-with Eddie personally. “I don’t like

to know the faces of the people I do
business with. Tell him we'll deal on
the phone, or through you.”

A day later, the man reported back.
“Eddie says that’s the way he likes to
deal, too. He’ll call you here.”

Barrios did. “Man, 250 pounds! Are
you kiddin’?”

Tucker laughed into the phone. “Look,
man, I got the money. You want to sell,
I'll buy. You don’t want to sell, forget
it!”

“You got a deal,” replied Barrios.

Barrios and Tucker worked out the
details of delivery, and the date was
set for December 23, 1955. Barrios made
the delivery, using a huge van truck.
Detective Free headed the posse that
“busted” Barrios and his henchmen.

“Hello, Eddie,” grinned the handsome
officer over his pistol barrel. Tucker’s
testimony sent Barrios to prison for 15
years.

The narcotics business was at an all-
time low ebb in Houston. Tucker wasn’t
getting any action. He requested a trans-
fer back to the uniformed criminal in-
vestigation division. i

“I wanted to meet some honest crimi-
nals for a change,” he laughs. ;

Shortly after he returned to pursuing
“honest” crooks, four such gentlemen
held _up_a Houston supermarket for
$19,000. The clever outlaws masked their
faces in silk stockings and dipped their
fingertips in glue so as not to leave any
fingerprints. They used a stolen car in
their getaway, and abandoned it in a
cemetery. Tucker was dispatched to ex-
amine the car on its discovery. The ve-
hicle was clean of prints, except those of
the rightful owners.

But in going over the floorboards,
Tucker noticed minute bits of dried,
transparent glue. He picked up the
pieces, painstakingly pieced them to-
gether and correctly assumed the glue
had been used in an attempt to avoid
leaving fingerprints.

It hadn’t occurred to one of the ban-
dits that their prints were beautifully
preserved in the glue they’d peeled from
their fingers following the robbery.

The dean of Houston’s fingerprint ex-
perts, R. O. Queen, made a positive
identification on one of Tucker’s repair
jobs, and a very surprised bandit was

told had the “gold,” was waiting. Cap a hd

tain Jack set the light concealed in Fe
front of his car to flashing on 4
and came back to Chamaco’s car.

four men grouped beside the vehicle 4
McMahon inspected the merchandies
and dawdled over paying the $1,
price agreed upon.

‘Te. tedecal agents didn’t see Of
blinking light. They had concealed them
selves too well. The minutes stretched
out, and Chamaco and his henchae®
became nervous. oe
“We didn’t want to pay over
money and let them go back — at
9 Bey al cornet te n
,400,” Tucker remembers.
“Finally, when it became, appereat
that the federal officers weren't sone
show up, Captain Jack yanked OWT
.45 and busted all three of Us.=*

wat

“Nothing for me, thanks, I’m driving.

MASTER DETECTIVE

She, nes

arrested in New Orleans the next day,
with over $12,000 of the loot on him. He
blew the whistle on the other three men
in the caper.

Jim Tucker, like many a dedicated
officer, isn’t paid much. His salary is
less than $500 a month. Tucker, like
many another officer who’s willing to
make a financial sacrifice to play a role
in law enforcement, often took “extra
jobs” to supplement his income. He al-
ways had the permission and the bless-
ing of his superiors. :

One such job, patrolling the parking
lot of a popular night club, led to one of
the grimmest moments of his career. He

and another officer, M. B, Hightower, /

had enjoyed their extra job until one
summer night in 1957. The two officers
were standing near the front of the
club when a woman, screaming hysteri-
cally, ran from the rear of the club.
“He’s killing him—he’s killing him!” she
screamed,

Tucker and Hightower sprinted for
the back of the club, Hightower flicking
on his five-cell light as they rounded
the corner of the building.

In the beam of the light, a man lay
on the ground. Another man crouched
over him, a pistol in his hand and the
muzzle of the weapon against the prone
man’s skull.

“I’m going to kill you this time, you
sonofabitch!” the man with the gun
snarled as, the officers halted. He paid
no attention to the policemen.

“Drop it—we’re police officers!” High-
tower barked. Tucker echoed the com-
mand.

The man with the gun turned his
head and looked at the officers with
glittering, hate-filled eyes. ‘(Come on,
drop it!” Hightower commanded.

The man straightened, his arm falling
to his side, and he turned to face the
officers. “Okay, okay!” he spat.

And then his arm flashed up. The
pistol boomed right in Tucker’s and
Hightower’s faces.

Tucker drew and fired in one motion
as the gunman sought a better aim. The
45 slug hit the man square. between
the eyes. He was dead when he hit the
ground,

And thus died Kenneth Cockrell, “The
Bouncer,” who earlier that evening had
terrorized another night club and even
then was sought by police for the earlier
crime.

“T didn’t want to kill him, but I had
no choice,” said Tucker. “You do what
you have to do.”

Oddly enough, the marksmanship of
Tucker led to another facet in his career.
Captain O. B. Hitt, seeking a winning
pistol team for the department, per-
suaded Tucker to join the department’s
pistol team. As he did in his regular
duties, Tucker excelled here also. He
was the first Master the force ever had.
He took the team to the state champion-
ship, and captained it in the national
police pistol tournament. He served as
captain until last year.

But he was, first of all, a working
police officer,

And in the years following his return
from the underworld, Jim Tucker
worked on every type of case, including
murder cases.

“You ought to get a transfer to homi-
cide, Jim, you’d make a good homi-
cide officer,” a friend-once remarked.

“No,” grinned Tucker. “I don’t think
I could solve one of those whodunits.”

He was wrong. On November 19,
1963, when pretty 17-year-old Donna
Jean Tweedt was found murdered in
her home in Southwest Houston, Tucker,
the uniformed criminal investigator in

(Continued on page 88)

85

oe

88

(Continued from page 85)
the district, made the scene. ae

Like any good officer, he moved
around, carrying out instructions of the
homicide men on the scene, who were
headed up by Captain L. D. Morrison
himself. But Tucker also managed to get
a fill-in on every detail of the crime.

The only clue the detectives had to
the slaying was a .22 caliber cartridge
found near the girl’s body, although she
had not been shot. She had been beaten
with a meat cleaver and then strangled.
However, the detectives were certain
the cartridge had been dropped by the
killer, since Donna’s father did not own
a gun and the girl had no reason to have
the bullet.

“It’s a worthless clue, anyway,” re-
marked an officer.

Tucker took the cartridge and exam-
ined it, his brows knit in a frown. Then
he asked to see a list of the girl’s ac-
quaintances, being checked out for pur-
poses of pinpointing the girl’s move-
ments that day.

Among the names was. that*, a
David Williams.

“This could be your man,” Tucker
told Captain Morrison.

Tucker explained that hours before
Donna Jean’s death, and while she was
still in school, in fact, he had been as-
signed to make a burglary investigation
at the home of a man who lived across
the street from the Williams youth. The
man reported someone had entered his
home that morning or afternoon, and
had stolen a .22 rifle and four boxes of
.22 cartridges, among other things. The
man bluntly named Williams, a 17-

-year-old student at the same school

Donna attended, as a suspect.

Checking out the boy as a suspect,
Tucker learned Williams had left school
before lunch and did not return for
afternoon classes. Tucker went to the
boy’s home and learned the boy had
apparently run away, because all his
clothes were missing, as was a .32 cali-
ber pistol belonging to his stepfather. In
the boy’s bedroom, Tucker found several
pieces of cardboard which proved to be

bits of .22 cartridge boxes.

son decided.

David Williams was captured the next
day in Louisiana, as he tried to elude
police in Donna Jean’s car, which he
had stolen, He confessed to her murder,
He said he had gone there to talk to
her, and when she panicked at finding
him in her home when she returned, he
killed her.

Williams was found guilty and sen-
tenced to 99 years.

A second sensational murder case was
the next highlight in Tucker’s career.

In March,
stalking young, pretty girls in Houston,
accosting the young women as they en-
tered their cars on downtown or su-
burban parking lots. The man always
told the women he had just killed a
policeman and was desperate to make
a getaway. He would then force the
young women to drive him to secluded
spots, where he either beat them, mo-
lested them, raped them or attempted
ta’ rane. them.

“ He always returned the victims to
where he had kidnaped them, or a
nearby point.

Houston police, Tucker among them,
worked around the clock over the
months that followed the terrorist’s first
foray, seeking to nab him before he
killed, as most officers were certain he

would, sooner or later.

The man did kill on October 18, 1965
shooting to death beautiful Joyce
Osten, an 18-year-old Westbury High
School student, after abducting her in
her own car from a Southwest Houston
parking lot.

Tucker was not specifically assigned
to the case, since the jurisdiction in the
murder of the girl lay with Sheriff
Buster Kern, but like other officers on
the force, he worked many hours on the
case as a volunteer.

In fact, whenever he had free time,
Tucker ran down leads he had received,
or explored theories of the case.

In the last week' of October, Tucker
investigated a burglary at an apartment

MASTER DETECTIVE

“Got any music to sign report cards by?”

“Let’s find that boy,” Cantal Morri- :

1965, a terrorist began :

. with scope. A similar citation was ae

a woman, Jerry Michael Ward. 3 :
tenant, joined them to report his.
ment, too, had been ransacked{“T}
had been nothing taken, how vere ;
youth said.
Tucker took down the informatle Sahil
but Ward’s report had started him think”
ing. Tucker twice before had invegtj-
gated burglaries at the apartment house,
and each time Ward had _ followed
reporting his own apartment ais
his car burglarized. ees
Tucker suddenly realized Ward
the description of the “Par
Lothario,’ as Joyce Osten’s killer
been dubbed. But then, SO. did tho
of men in the city. - 3
But Tucker began talking’ to”
and to the manager, Mrs. Sally !
and Mrs. Stump agreed with Tucker.
there was something about Ww
rang false. ts :
- A few days later, Mrs. Stump eet
Tucker. She said Ward, ‘who had
her he was a gun collector ang”
given her a .22 caliber pistol for.pros
tection, had asked for the gun back.
But in return, she said, he had. given
her another .22 pistol. It appeared to be
the same kind Ward had first given her,
she said, / AS? Sos
Tucker puzzled over the information. - “
Why would a man replace one gun with —
another of the same type and caliber? ai
On impulse, Tucker picked up the -
gun and delivered it to Captain
son with a request that a ballistics ‘eat .
be made, comparing the bullets” an ee
covered from Miss Osten’s body
bullets fired from this gun.” >” :
The tests proved it to be the m * Fe
weapon. .- Rees a
' Tucker was given the honor of ae
the posse that smashed down’ Ward's __
apartment door and took him prisoner
on October 30th. The young man tacitly
admitted Joyce Osten’s murder to wane
tors, police and newsmen—although he
would never make a written state
—and was identified by several st
young women as the parking lot ,ab duc-- —-

tor-rapist. of RSE * ne
Several other honors followed, the
capture. Wein re ae ;

beneficiaries of a $450 reward oe
that had been established by ci
Mayor Louie Welch and_ the oun
City Council unanimously Oe
resolution commending Tucker. =e
The resolution, in part, cited 7
for his “quick thinking and do
termination” in working on
praised him as a “credit to the
force,” and expressed the “than! 8 of
the entire city.” SM sp 2
The Houston
headed by businessman Leopold
also presented an outstanding ~ et
citation to Tucker, along with. an”
graved watch and a high-po

sented Mrs. Stump for her alertness
her assistance to Tucker in brea
case. Ms uy
To Tucker, however, one of the
prized accolades wasn’t put on vellum

paper and encased in a beauti glass” :
frame. It came from C. J. Lo We eke
said: “It would have been easy J

stay clear of this thing, to walk 4
from all the nebulous lence ae
in, Tucker didn’t.

tenant. ee
And as any professional knows,

can be sure you’ve done a job whee

of your own kind tells. you. 50.


FLONBS, Antonio, hanged El faso, TX l-

AKI zp 0SA Ke Bc1Cad
I~lo -196© CL»

A FIEND IN DEATH

PORERER NIE fieg meron 6 a RS

Frightful Incident at an El
Paso Hanging.

A Doomed Mexican Breaking Out at
the Last Moment Stabbed a De-
puty Sheriff—Several Spectators
Injured in the Ensuing Panic.

| El Paso, Tex., Jan, 5.—(Special.y—A |
{double hanging at the El Puso county |
jail today developed into one of the
, most sensational episodes in the crim-

inal history of TT. “xag.

and Geronimo Para about to be
hanged, were in semingly close spirit- |
ual communion with the priests, They
seemed dispirited and resigned. |
As the cell door was opened to con- I
,duct Flores to the scaffold, both he and |
his fellow Mexican murderer suddenly '
threw off their air of humility and |
drawing sharpened wire dagyers, pre- |
Viously concealed on their persons,
sprang out like wild beasts and
perately attacked the
rounding them.

Antonio F lores

des-
deputies sure |
Parra was covered by a Bun in the
hands of State Ranger Sanderson, and
as he paused for a moment in his
break for freedom, the cell door was
slammed in his face, Flores, how-

ever, loose in the corridor, maddéned

with the thought of his awful fate,

yelled in’ Spanish, “You shall all go 0 |
hell with me!” and attempted to dis- |
embowel Deputy Ka Bryant.

6-1900

The wounds inflicted were not fatal,
but Flores was conquered only by the
combined might of four men, and svv- |
eral spectators were injured in the |
panic in the narrow corridors. Only
the determined front of six rangers
with drawn six-shooters cowed the |
other prisoner and prevented an .out- !
break evidently prearranged.
After Flores was hanged, Sheriff |
Boone warned Para that further resis- |
tance meant death, and dragying his
gun walked into the dark cell where
Kkangers with

the murderer cowered.
drawn guns backe! '
seized and bouns m4 2.2888 J otthe
scaffold. When t: rate, 3 betel
was severed alm: 0. i: re dy
body by the force «> | jen! Tha 3
spurted in strean.- - ee RL
the severed jJuguc:: | otc.

DEATH WAS Vt. ANAS TO
Denver, Colo, Vosgeahtp oto
the News from 1.

“Geronimo Para and Antonio. btores,

who were executed here today for mur-

der, made oa desperate cffort to kill

some of the officers or spectators this |
afternoon when their cell was 4
It had been decided to hang
would break
down and when the officers unlocked
the cell door to convey hitn to the gal-
lows both prisoners dashed out and
stabbed right and left among” the
crowd with dirks made of coarse steel

door
unlocked.
Flores first for fear he

wire. |
A desperate struggle followed and.

cipitated, A constable shoved Para
into a cell and bolted the door and five
rangers and deputy sheriffs sprang Up-
disarming him and bearing
He was bound and
where death
was instantaneous. ‘Ranger Ed Bryant
was wounded in the stomach by a dag-
Para was sovered by re-
volvers and disarmed, after which he
was taken to the scaffold. “Death was

on Flores,
him to the floor.
conveyed to the scaffold,

ger thrust.

lotrogst instantunevus in hiss case...

TV. weary wpe!

the most intense excitement was pre-—


testified against Faulder.

“Too often we lose sight of the horrific circumstances of the crime and
the tragic plight of the victims and their families," Cornyn said.

Faulder's first conviction was thrown out by an appeals court which found
his confession was improperly obtained. He was retried, convicted and
condemned again in 1981.

Faulder becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year
in Texas, and the 178th overall since Texas resumed executions on Dec.
7, 1982.

Faulder also becomes the 51st condemned inmate to be put to death
this year in the USA, and the 551st overall since America resumed
capital punishment on Jan. 17, 1977.

(Sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

RREEKRARREERKRERERREEEN

Protesters gathered in a park in downtown San Antonio today to protest
tonight's scheduled execution of Canadian citizen Joseph Faulder. Doctor
Roger Barnes... a Sociologist at San Antonio's University of the

Incamate Word... says executing Faulder violates international treaties.
And he says other westem industrialized nations like Canada "look on in
horror” at the way the U-S puts people to death. Faulder does NOT deny
fatally stabbing heiress Inez Phillips in her home in Gladewater back in
1975. But he argues his rights were violated when he was NOT allowed to
contact the Canadian embassy after his arrest.

(source: States News Service)

>>

Wednesday June 19,1986 America Online: Galba33 Page: 3

Nov. 10, 1998—
TEXAS:

From: Sandra Babcock, counsel to Joseph Stantey Faulder

November 10, 1998 NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release

CONDEMNED CANADIAN PETITIONS FOR CLEMENCY

With 1 month remaining before his scheduled execution, a Canadian man
has petitioned the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for a reprieve

and the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment. Joseph
Stanley Faulder, a 61-year-old former mechanic from Jasper, Alberta,
faces death by lethal injection in Texas on December 10th.

The 20-page clemency petition was filed with the Board of Pardons on
Friday by Mr. Faulder’s attorney. “We have given the Board a full 30
days in which to review and vote on the petition,” Sandra Babcock said
today. "Unfortunately, under current Board procedures, they are not
even required to hold a hearing on the clemency application,” she
added.

. The decision to seek executive clemency followed a recent ruling by the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissing both of the remaining legal
issues which Mr. Faulder had raised. The Court declined to reconsider

a defense claim based on an acknowledged violation of Stanley Faulder's
treaty-based right to obtain the assistance of the Canadian Consulate
following his arrest in 1977. A challenge to the reliability of

psychiatric testimony used at the sentencing phase of the trial was
dismissed on procedural grounds.

"it is deeply distressing that the Texas courts have ignored a basic

~ human tights treaty, particularly when it is clear that consular

assistance would have altered the outcome of Stanley Faulder's trial",
Ms. Babcock stated. Canadian consular officials did not learn of

Mr. Faulder’s predicament until 15 years after his arrest and

conviction. Last week, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs sent
letters to the Board of Pardons and the Governor of Texas in support of
the commutation of Mr. Faulder’s sentence.

No physical evidence of any kind links Stanley Faulder to the 1975
murder of Inez Phillips. His conviction rests on the testimony of an

_ accomplice, who implicated him in exchange for complete immunity on the

murder charge and financial inducements made by private prosecutors
hired by the victim’s family. The death sentence itself was obtained
through the paid testimony of a notorious psychiatrist, who has since
been expelled from the American Psychiatric Association for his
unethical testimony in capital cases.

More than 20 exhibits support the clemency petition, including the
evidence of a dozen character witnesses who were never called to testify
on Mr. Faulder’s behalf. One swom statement came from a woman whose

Sunday November 10, 1996 America Online: Galba3s

Page: 4


6-17-99-—
TEXAS: (execution//foreign national)

Convicted killer Joseph Stanley Faulder became the 1st Canadian in
almost a half-century to be executed in the United States Thursday
evening.

Faulder, 61, was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., 6 minutes after the flow
of lethal drugs began. He coughed twice, let out 2 gasps and then

stopped moving.

Fauider nodded to his lawyer, Sandra Babcock, as she walked into the
death chamber. Ms., Babcock stood right against the glass and asked
Faulder, "You O.K.?" He didnt respond.

When the warden asked Faulder whether he had any last words, Faulder
shook his head and said, "No statements.”

Faulder, 61, didn't deny killing 75-year-old Inez Phillips during a

burglary of her East Texas home in 1975. But attorneys for the former
auto mechanic from Jasper, Alberta, argued his conviction was tainted
because he never was told after his arrest that he could seek legal
assistance from Canadian authorities as allowed under international law.

The Canadian government filed documents in Faulder’s appeals protesting
his treatment and won the backing of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright in calling for a reprieve. The federal courts, however, rejected
Faulder's appeals and state officials, including Gov. George W. Bush,
refused other requests that could have blocked the execution.

The Supreme Court late Thursday afternoon denied another request for a
reprieve, clearing the way for the execution. Faulder's attorneys, asking
the punishment be stopped, cited a 200-year-old law that allows foreign
citizens to sue American officials if they have been harmed by breaches
of treaties.

“There is no new evidence that questions the jury's verdict that he is
guilty of this crime," Bush said, refusing to issue a one-time 30-day
reprieve.

in December, the high court halted Faulder’s scheduled execution about 30
minutes before he could have received lethal injection. In January, the
justices rejected his appeal, lifted their reprieve and state officials

set the new execution date for Thursday.

it was his 10th execution date.

"I'm at peace with my maker,” Faulder told prison officials Thursday as
he was moved from death row to a holding cell adjacent to the death
chamber. “I'm ready to go."

He refused repeated requests in recent months for interviews with
reporters.

"42 jurors have spoken by convicting Mr. Faulder and sentencing him

Wednesday June 19,1996 America Online: Galba33

Page: 1

to death," Attorney General John Comyn said. "10 different courts and
more than 38 judges have reviewed a total of 17 appeals, each time
rejecting his appeal and affirming the capital murder conviction."

Faulder would be oldest of the 178 inmates executed in Texas since the
state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. The total is the
highest in the United States.

Faulder's case attracted much media attention in Canada, a country that
outlawed capital punishment in 1976. In Canada, convicted murderers can
be sentenced fo life in prison with no chance for parole until at least

25 years are served. The last execution of a Canadian in the United
States was in the early 1950s.

Faulder was being held in Colorado in 1977 on unrelated charges when he
was charged with the murder 2 years earlier of Mrs. Phillips at her
home in Gladewater, about 115 miles east of Dallas.

His attorneys contended Canadian authorities should have been told of his
murder arrest and detention under terms of the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations. Also under that treaty, Texas authorities should have
informed Faulder of his right to contact the Canadian government for

help, his attorneys said.

“We continue to regret the long delay between the time Mr. Faulder was
arrested and when Canadian consulate officials learned of the case," a
State Department spokesman, who asked that he not be identified by name,
said Thursday. “But under our system, we've exhausted all of our
possibilities and recognize that the final decision is in the hands of

the state."

Odis Hill, the former Gregg County district attorney who prosecuted
Faulder, said while authorities knew of Faulder's ties to Canada because
he spent at least 2 prison terms there, it was at Faulder’s insistence
Canadian authorities were kept in the dark.

"He has had every legal resource that any individual could ever ask for
or enjoy under our Constitution," Hill said.

When arrested, Faulder was carrying a Colorado driver's license and had
applied for a Texas license. It wasn't until 15 years later that his

family, who believed he was long dead, and the Canadian government
discovered he was alive.

Trial testimony revealed how Faulder and his girlfriend, Lynda McCann,
barged into Mrs. Phillips’ house July 8, 1975.

Faulder ordered Mrs. Phillips to surrender the combination to a floor
safe. While Faulder worked on the safe, Ms. McCann, carrying Faulder's
gun, and Mrs. Phillips struggled over the weapon and it discharged.

Faulder became enraged over the gunfire and also that he found the safe
empty. He ordered Ms. McCann from the room. A maid found Mrs. Phillips’
body the next morning. A 6 1/2-inch butcher knife was embedded in her
chest. Her arms were tied and tape covered her mouth. Ms. McCann later

Wednesday June 19,1996 America Online: Galha33

Page; 2

Oct. 20, 1991—
_ TEXAS:

For immediate release : Qctober 21, 1998
DEATH ROW CANADIAN SUES TEXAS OFFICIALS

With his execution date fast approaching, attomeys
representing a Canadian man on death row in Texas have launched a
bold legal challenge to the state's clemency review procedures.

Sentenced to die for a 1975 murder, Joseph Stanley Faulder from
Jasper, Alberta has spent the past 21 years on death row. In
September, a Texas appeals court denied his petition for a new
trial, paving the way for the setting of his 9th--and possibly
final—execution date. Mr. Faulder is now scheduled to die by
lethal injection on December 10th.

However, a group of lawyers representing the interests of all 445
death-sentenced prisoners jn the state recently filed a class action
law suit against the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The law
suit faults the Board of Pardons for violating the Texas constitution
and state law in the procedures if uses to consider clemency petitions
from prisoners facing execution.

According to Sandra Babcock, Mr. Faulder's attomey, the claims
raised in the law suit are particularly relevant to the Canadian man's
case. “If the the Board of Pardons would simply give us a hearing, we
would be abie to show them why they should spare Stan Faulder’s life,”
Ms. Babcock said today. “At this point, I'm convinced that some
members of the Board won't even read Mr. Faulder's clemency

application.”

Mr. Faulder is 1 of 2 named plaintiffs in the law suit, which refers
specifically to his petition for clemency. As the class action
suit paints out:

"Although the clemency request will be discussed by many people in the
United States and Canada—Mr. Faulder is a Canadian citizen—it will

not be discussed by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, the one
group of persons who have the responsibility to consider the clemency
request and the power to act upon it. The Board members have decided
that this question—whether another human's life should be spared--does-
not merit any discussion.”

Named as defendants in the suit are the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice, the Board of Pardons and its chairman, Victor Rodriguez.

The plaintiffs contend that the Board is violating a provision of the
state Constitution requiring it to "keep record of its actions and the
reasons for its actions.” The complaint against state officials was
filed in the District Court of Travis County earlier this month. An

initial court decision on the merits of the law suit is expected

within a few weeks.

Like any other public agency, the Board of Pardons is subject to the

Monday October 24, 1906 America Online: Gelbads

Page: 4


In a message dated 98-11-10 23:30:38 EST, you write:

<<

More than 20 exhibits support the clemency petition, including the
evidence of a dozen character witnesses who were never called to testify
on Mr. Faulder’s behalf. One swom statement care from a woman whose
life Stanley Faulder once saved following an automobile accident.

Another testimonial to his positive and non-violent character came

from a fellowinmate on death row who was later released on grounds of
innogence. No mitigating testimony was presented to the jury which
sentenced Stanley Faulder to death in 1981.

“There is overwhelming evidence that this fundamentally decent man was
wrongfully sentenced to death", Ms. Babcock concluded. “The members of
the Board should now do what the trial jury was prevented from doing and
spare Stanley Fauldet’s life”.

>>

hy

Sunday Nowdnber 46,1986 America Online: Galba33 Page: 1

requirements of the Texas Government Code, The lawsuit contends that
the Board's clemency deliberations are shrouded in secrecy: no minutes
are kept, the yoting process is not open to public scrutiny and the

Board provides no formal explanation of its decisions—all in glaring
Violation of the "open government” provisions of state law.

Under current procedures, Board members receive clemency petitions by
fax, make individual decisions on these requests and fax in their votes
within three hours of the scheduled execution. The Board has convened
only 1 clemency hearing in the past decade, allowing dozens of
executions to proceed despite serious doubts about the gullt of the
defendants or the fairness of their death sentences.

According to the 1998 Amnesty Intemational annual repott cited in the
law sult, Texas executed 37 people in 1997. The international hurnan
rights organization found that not one of the 18 Board members voted
for commutation in any of the 16 clemency petitions which were filed
with them that year. One member failed to vote at all in 15 of these
life-or-death decisions.

In another report issued earlier this year entitled "The Death

Penalty in Texas: Lethal Injustice", Amnesty Intemational described

the current clemency review process as “killing without mercy". The
report notes that the organization “considers the clemency/commutation
procedures in Texas to be in violation of intemational human rights
standards. The process fails to comply with any reasonable concept of
a fair procedure and provides no protection against arbitrary decision-
making.”

Stan Faulder was last scheduled to die in June of 1997 but was granted
a reprieve by a Texas appeals court just 4 days before his scheduled
execution. His attorney filed a comprehensive clemency petition with

the Board of Pardons well in advance of the execution date, but its
members conducted no review of Mr. Faulder's request for a commutation
of his death sentence.

The clemency request filed last year contained statements from more
than a dozen people attesting to Mr. Fauider’s positive character,
including the testimony of a woman whose life he once saved following
an automobile accident. None of this crucial mitigating evidence was
presented to the jury which sentenced Stan Faulder to death.

_ Instead, the jury heard false testimony from psychiatrist Dr. James
Grigson—commonly known as “Doctor Death"—that Mr. Faulder was a
violent sociopath. Dr. Gigson has since been expelled from the APA
for his unethical conduct in death penalty cases.

New medical presented evidence in the petition completely undermined
established that Mr. Faulder sustained brain darmmage from a childhood
head injury, impairing his decision-making ability, His disciplinary
record during the past 2 decades of incarceration is superb, further
discrediting the prosecution's allegation that Mr. Faulder represents

a future danger to society.

Canadian consular officials also contributed statements outlining the

Moriday October 21,1996 Amorica Online: Galbad3

Pare: 2


unique assistance and support they would have provided to Mr, Faulder
if Texas had not violated his treaty-based right to contact them
following his arrest. The Canadian government continues to support
efforts to obtain a new tral or the commutation of his sentence.

"At a minimum, we hope that the law suit will expose the Board of
Pardons’ grossly deficient procedures to judicial scrutiny,” Ms.

Babcock concluded. "A successful outcome could result in much-needed
reforms, ensuring that individuals like Stan Faulder will obtain a fair
chance to demonstrate why their fives should be spared.”

‘source: Amnesty International, Canada)
>>

Monday October 21,1996 America Online: Galbass

Page: 3


y

[ Farle

10-26-98—

TEXAS/CANADA::

Canadians are being asked to show their support for an Alberta
man sentenced to death in Texas.

Joseph Stanley Faulder, 61, has been on death row in a Huntsville,
Texas, prison for 21 years. He is set to die by lethal injection
this December.

The Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty has set up a Web
site to inform the public about Faulder's case, at
http://members.tripod. com/~ccadp.stanleyfaulder. htm.

People are being asked to get in touch with Texas authorities to
persuade them to hold a clemency hearing for Fauider.

Faulder, of Jasper, Alta., was sentenced to death in 1977 for the
1975 stabbing death of Inez Phillips, 75, during the burglary of
her home. His first conviction was reversed, but he was retried
and sentenced to death in 1981.

A previous clemency request said mitigating evidence about
Faulders character and medical history weren't brougit up at his
trial, and his rights were violated because he wasn't informed he
could contact Canadian officials for help after his arrest,

(source: Toronto Sun)
>>

Saturday October 26,1996 America Online: Gatba33 Page: 1


10-16-98 —
TEXAS/CANADA:

A Texas judge has ordered Mr. Faulder, a mechanic from Jasper,
Alta., to be put to death Dec. 10. It is his 9th date with the
executioner, but this time there is every indication that the state's
justice system will finally get its way.

if Mr. Faulder dies, as scheduled, by lethal injection at the Texas
state prison in Huntsville, he will be the 1st Canadian to be executed
in the United States in 46 years. And he would leave behind - in the
minds of his family, friends and the Canadian govemment - strong
doubts about how the Texas justice system works.

Mr. Faulder, who will turn 61 on Monday, was convicted 21 years ago of
the 1975 slaying of 75-year-old Inez Phillips, the matriarch of a
weaithy oil family in Gladewater, Tex.

But no juror ever heard about the brain damage he had suffered in a
childhood car accident that left his behavior occasionally
unpredictable.

No court has expressed concem that Canadian consular officials were
not notified for 15 years that a Canadian citizen was facing the death
penalty in Texas.

And no court has shown itself to be in a hurry to deal with the fact
that the forensic psychiatrist whose testimony was crucial in Mr.
Faulder’s conviction was later expelled from the American Psychiatric
Association for unethical and unscientific testimony in death-penalty
trials.

(source: Toronto Globe and Mail)

>>

Tuesday October 16,1996 America Online: Galba33

Page: 1


Despite Pleas, Texas Kills Canadian
.c The Associated Press
By MICHAEL GRACZYK

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - A former auto mechanic who killed a woman during a 1975 burglary became the first Canadian to
be executed in the United States in almost a half-century Thursday.

Joseph Stanley Faulder, 61, didn't deny killing 75-year-old Inez Phillips, but his attomeys argued his conviction was tainted
because he wasnt told after his arrest that he could seek legal assistance from Canadian authorities as allowed under
intemational law.

Faulder made no final statement before his lethal injection.

The Canadian government filed documents in Faulder's appeals protesting his treatment and won the backing of U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in calling for a reprieve.

Canada outlawed the death penalty in 1976, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to be reinstated.

“We deeply regret our request for executive clemency was not acted on, but the government of Texas has its laws and we
respect that,” John Morrow, the Dallas-based Canadian consul, said after watching Faulder die.

Texas authorities said Faulder did nothing to inform them he was Canadian. He was carrying a Colorado driver's license and
had applied for one in Texas. It wasn't until 15 years after his arrest that his family, who believed he was dead, and the
Canadian government discovered he was alive.

Federal courts rejected Faulder's appeals, and state officials refused other requests that could have blocked the execution.

Then on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected an 11th-hour appeal in which Faulder's attomeys cited a 200-year-old law that
allows foreign citizens to sue American officials if they have been harmed by breaches of treaties.

Faulder was scheduled to be executed in December, but the Supreme Court halted the lethal injection about 30 minutes
before it was to begin, saying the delay was necessary so the justices could determine whether Faulder's international rights
were violated.

in January the justices rejected his appeal and lifted their reprieve.

Despite Albright's earlier pleas on Faulder's behalf, a State Department spokesman said Thursday “we've exhausted all of our
possibilities and recognize that the final decision is in the hands of the state.“

Faulder grew up in Jasper, Alberta, but left his wife and children during the winter of 1974-75 and headed to the United States.

He and a girlfriend robbed Mrs. Phillips’ home in the mistaken belief that there was a large sum of money in her safe.

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
>>

|
AP-NY-06-17-99 2211EDT
|

Wednesday June 19,1896 America Online: Galba33 Page: 7

11-20-98—-
TEXAS:

As Joseph Stanley Faulder’s Dec. 10 execution date draws near, the
former Aibertan says he spends his time "just laying back and
thinking.”

Faulder tells CBC-TV's 5th Estate it is time to reflect on a life that

led him from kicking around the Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper to
drifting through the United States to his end on a Texas jail’s death

row.

While Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, Amnesty International
and others plead for clemency, Faulder says he isn't afraid to die and
would apparently like to get it over with.

"I'm ready, I'm ready as {'ve ever been. We all have to meet our maker
sooner or later. I'd just as soon do it sooner,” he says in a intenmew
with 5th Estate to be broadcast Tuesday night.

"| have the advantage on you. You don't know when you're going ta die.
I do."

He has been on death row for 21 years for the stabbing and bludgeoning
murder of a 75-year-old Texas woman during a robbery in her home.
Faulder, 61, has been a prison chaplain since 1981 and says his faith
in God has given him strength.

"You've got to have faith in something and it can't be all in yourself.
if you turn faith inward, you wind up right where I'm sitting right:
now. God exists, people have to accept that."

The soft-spoken man has sharp words for the justice system in Texas,
saying he was “railroaded” by plea bargains and a move by the rich
family of his victim, Inez Phillips, who hired a special prosecutor to
push their case after Faulder’s original conviction was overturned.

He also calls the death penalty by lethal injection "state-sanctioned
murder.”

"| say that...death row shouid not exist, period, the way they go
about it. | would like to think that there is some mercy in the
system but there isn't. It's very cold-blooded system.

“In fact, I'd say that the death penalty itself is more cold blooded
that any other forrn of murder there is."

(source: Canada Press)

Wednesday November 20, 1996 America Online: Galba33

06

He committed the murder on
Cotton Belt Street

the Government forest camps, in Cali-
fornia, in the fall of 1931.

While there, they had murdered an
elderly couple, they told him, and had
taken some valuable jewelry from them.
For some reason, they had eluded sus-
picion. Millard did not know the locality
of the crimes nor the names of their vic-
tims, but stated they had soon left Cali-
fornia, carrying the jewelry with them.
Flours, after some rambling through other
states, had returned to Waco, in 1932.

The recital of the California crimes
checked with some information the Waco
officers already had. Several months be-
fore the Carney murder, Flours had been
arrested for disturbing the peace. When
he was searched by the detectives, several
diamonds were found in his possession.
It was beyond the remotest_ possibility
that a Negro day-laborer could come into

ossession of such jewels by honest means.

he jewelry was taken in charge by the
city. Flours, when questioned about it,
was vague. Since the police had no direct
evidence against him on this point, how-
ever, he was released after two ‘or three
days. Further efforts of the police de-
partment to trace the ownership of the
jewelry were in vain. f

Now the shadow of this California
crime was again following the slippery
Flours. Detectives were more firmly con-
vinced than ever that he had a guilty part
in the murder of Reba Carney. Both
Flours and Gaines were sullen and silent.
At first they seemed to make no attempt
to talk to each other. But it, became
evident by the fifth’ night that Flours
was growing uneasy. Sometime ‘after mid-
night, everything beirig ‘still, his hoarse
as carried to Gaines’ near-by cell:

“Yes,” was the sleepy response.

“LISTEN. Oné of us has got to get out
of here!” =
“Uh-huh: Jailer going to bring you de
og on a golden platter?” _— - ;
lainly, Gaines was not optimistic. But
his sarcasm was Jost on Flours, whose’ agi-
tation got the better of his discretion, . ©
“Never mind bow. One of us has ‘got
to get out of here and find that gun before
the Law finds it, or else—” ae
“Yes, or else—and how! Supposing I.
was out, and if I was out, how’d I ever
find it?”

“Where I jumped dat fence—”

“Where you jumped a fence,” scoffed
L.B. “Lawd! phe § you told me about
jumping fences when you was_ running
after the shooting, you was jumping them
all Mag a rabbit. How you know which
one
_ “I know where I crapped it,” Flours
insisted. “It was—”’ There followed a

PAMOUS DETECTIVE CASES

description of location intelligible only to
one long used to the picturesque dialect
of the Southern Negro. Fvidently Gaines
thought he understood,
“But, | ain’t out,” he amended gloom-
”

“Tell them about something or other
to get them to Jef you out,” Flours still
persisted. “And then when you can give
them the slip, you go for the gun and
hide it. If the Law finds that automatic
and finds out who owns it—” His voice
trailed off on a note of dire apprehension.

Unseen and unheard by the two con-
spirators, a shadow of the dread Law
they feared moved silently away, armed
at last with definite information. On the
morrow, Flours’ agonized wish for Gaines’
freedom was to be granted, for reasons
known to “the Law” alone.

On Sunday morning, December 3rd, L.B.
Gaines was released from jail. He was
followed at a discreet distance, followed
across the Square, down streets that led
toward his usual haunts, and then, sud-
denly and unaccountably, he was gone.
Through all the rest of that day, Detec-
tives Van Wie, Stem, Doty, and Captain
Buchanan searched for the Negro, in va-
rious sections of Waco.

The next day, at about noon, Stem and
Doty found him in a Negro section of
the City, known as “Frog Town.” He was
arrested and searched, but there was no
gun on him. Questioned about Flours’
gun, he first insisted he knew nothing
about it. After he saw that the officers
knew better, he promised to go with them
to get the gun. The officers started out
with him, following his directions, but it
was soon apparent that he was stalling.
The points to which he led them invar-
iably yielded no gun.

Meanwhile, word had reached the City
Hall that an automatic had been found
in Greenwood Cemetery, in East Waco.
This information was relayed at once to
Stem and Doty. The latter turned the

risoner over to Detectives Van Wie and

uchanan, and left for the cemetery, at
once.

RRIVING there, they found the ceme-

‘M§ tery had but recently been cleaned
by C.W.A. workers, who had moved their
camp out to a point on Robinson Road,
several miles south of Waco. Accordingly,
the detectives set out. to question the
C.W.A. workers.

Meanwhile, Van Wie and Buchanan
had decided to take Gaines back to jail.
As esd reached the rear door of the
City Hall, the Negro. suddenly lurched
away from them and ‘like a flash he was
across the pavement and was fleeing down
Bridge Street, heedless of the calls to halt.
By this time Doty and Stem, crossing ‘the
bridge from East Waco, had seen Buch-
anan and Van Wie approaching the City
Hall with the Negro. :

B geece. it best. to ascertain. whether
they had found thé gun before going on
to the C.W.A. camp, they. turned in at
the City Hall just as Gaines slipped away
from the officers. Van Wie followed the
fleeing’ negro on foot, and Stem = and
Doty ‘joined the pursuit in their car as
fast as traffic would permit. |

The Negro readily outdistanced them,
his haste greatly increased by shots from
the pursuing. officers. Gaines. crossed the
end.of the Brazos Bridge at the entrance
to Cameron Park, darted across the grass,
leaped the hedge and plunged intd the
Brazos. ;

A single thought dominated the deter-
mined officers who pursued him. In
Gaines lay their hope of the final solv-
ing not only of the Carney murder case,
but the California jewel mystery as well.
He must not get away. But Gaines struck

out for midstream without heeding their
cries to halt. Another bullet whined actoss
the water, found its mark, and the Negro
slowly sagged forward. .
When Detective Stem brought him out
of the water five minutes later, it was
found that Gaines had a serious wound in
his chest. He was rushed to a local hos-
pital in the hope that he could yet be

saved. So much depended on_the infor-

mation he could give. But Gaines died
soon after he reached the_ hospital.
Whether he had found Flours’ gun and
hidden it elsewhere, or whether he had
failed to find it was a matter that still
baffled the police.

Gaines’ fatal flight had occurred late
Monday afternoon, December 4th. Since
the finding and identification of the
weapon that took Reba Carney’s life was
highly important to the police, they were
determined to persuade Flours to reveal
its location, if possible.

ASOORDINGLY, the questioning of
Flours was immediately resumed. He
was convinced, after a brief conversa-
tion with Detectives Buchanan and Van
Wie, that his guilt was established. He had
betrayed himself by insisting that Gaines
should -try to find his automatic. Gaines
had further emphasized Flours’ guilt by
his determination to keep the officers from
finding the gun.

The Negro considered his dilemma. It
was evident that he clung to a feeble hope
that by confessing his terrible crime, he
might escape the electric chair.

tite in his cell, the husky thirfy-
five-year-old Negro. shifted his beady
eyes from face to face of his inquisitors.
Haltingly, he told the story of his brutal
atrocity, confessing that he had shot Mrs.
Carney and snatched her purse.

He told briefly how on November 24th,
he had arranged with a friend for the use
of his .32 Savage automatic under pre-
tense that he was going out into the

Y eee

L. B. Gaines, half brother of the

killer. He attempted to destroy

evidence in the case, to protect
his brother

country to gamble and wanted to take
the gun with him. ‘

On the evening of the 25th, the friend
had brought the gun out to Flours’ home
at 1010 Oak Street. There were five car-
tridges in the magazine and one in the
chamber as he “eased” the gun to Flours,
unobserved by two other Negroes who
were in the room. Flours, who had been
drinking that evening, went into his room,
drew a pair of overalls and a gray shirt
over his cream colored pants and brown
shirt. He completed his costume with a
leather jacket and a gray cap.

With the automatic in his pants pocket,
under the.overalls, he took a last drink of


ws nem mete oe

(Above) Home of Mrs. Carney's
murderer, where he was ar-
tested for the crime

(Right) Cross marks spot

where a man, implicated in

mystery, plunged to his
death

her left ‘cheek.

“A man shot her,” Fred told the detectives, “I was in the
front seat with her when he fired. | got out and threw my
knife at him and he came around and chased me off. Then
he camié back and grabbed mother’s purse and ran off
With it.”

“What about the call from Red Hat Station?” the officers
asked, turning to Whitlock.

The latter turned a puzzled face to the officers.

“T know of no call,” he replied.

At this point Bob Carney spoke up.

“My mother called the sheriff because Fred here had left
the car to look for Mr. Whitlock and when he didn’t come
back, mother was frightened. She called the sheriff and a
few minutes after the men came, my brother came back.
Then I went out to help Mr. Whitlock.”

“WQYHAT were you doing?” inquired the officers.
“Digging for buried treasure,” came the unex-
pected reply.

“Buried treasure, what’s the boy talking about?” All
eyes were turned to Whitlock, who fidgeted uncom-
fortably. ;

“It’s a long story,” he said. “I don’t know as it bears
on Mrs. Carney’s death.”

“We'll be the judges of that,” replied Night Chief W. G.
McDonald who had joined the officers along with Assis-
tant District Attorney F, bj Bauerle.

The quest for hidden gold was nothing new to the Waco
officers, for the city’s history has long been filled with
legends of treasure hidden deep among the caves and wild
cliffs of the Bosque and the Brazos: whispered tales of
Spanish gold, silver and jade, zealously cached by the
hunted Aztec refugees or devout Spanish padres, .

26


But how were these hushed whisperings of a distant past
linked with the present case? A treasure was being sought,
and a life was snuffed out while the search was in progress.
It appeared that something deeper than a casual robbery lay
beneath the surface of the case.

Whitlock’s story was awaited with interest.

“On the eighteenth of this month,” began Whitlock,” I re-
ceived a letter from a man in Greenville named Nathan Hur-
ley. He wanted me to go to Waco and dig up some money
that he said was buried here. He was in jail, doing a five-
year stretch for robbery and needed five hundred
dollars for bond and appeal costs, He said that
eight hundred dollars was buried in a field between
the M. K. T. and the Cotton Belt tracks. He wrote
to me to come to Greenville and get a chart giving
the location of the buried money. eae

“I was sorry for him because he said he had been framed
on the robbery charge. I didn’t have a car so I went to.Mrs.
Carney whose family I have known for years, and it was ar:
ranged that she was to get part of the money when. we'found' -
it. . A eg

“W ESTERDAY, we all went over to Greenville and I talked

to ager 6 He told me that the money was in a field be-
tween the railroad tracks and ten yards north of a lone oak
tree. He gave me a chart to go by.” ;.

“Have you got the chart?” asked McDonald.

“No,” said Whitlock sadly. “I tore it up. We went out this
afternoon and located the place in the field and marked the
spot, because we didn’t want to dig until nightfall.

“I tore up the chart and Hurley’s letters and at eight
o'clock we parked the car and started for the field to dig.
“We never found anything,” he added bitterly.
When Whitlock had finished, the detectives ques-

City Detective Wile
Stem, of Waco. Wit
City Detective J. R.
Doty, he arrested the

killer

tioned Fred Carney about the mysterious attacker.
He said he thought the man was a Negro, and told the
oflicers that the man had worn overalls and a brown leather
coat.
“He wore a light cap, too,” he added. But further infor-
mation as to the man’s identity was not available.
It was decided to hold Whitlock at the City Hall for
further questioning, while the Carney boys waited for their
father who was at Fort Worth.
Meanwhile, at the crime scene and its immediate vi-
cinity the detectives continued going over the ground look-
ing for possible clues.. They were particularly anxious to
locate the gun used in the crime, but darkness hampered
them at every turn. Several Negroes were taken ‘into cus- |
tody and questioned, but to no avail. |

Me next morning Detectives Stem and Doty continued

their investigations in East Waco, and located a man
who had seen the flash of a pistol in the direction of the
crime scene and another man who had heard the shot, But
neither one was close enough to sce anyone leaving the
scene of the tragedy.

Out on a wind-swept field just outside of Bell Mead, four
miles north of Waco, Detectives Westmoreland and Blount
searched for the elusive key to the golden treasure. For
hours they continued the search until they had gleaned

forty-cight irregular bits of paper.
Slowly the scraps were pieced together until at last two [
separate letters anda chart were formed. ‘Their contents
checked with what Whitlock had said.
So far as it went his story seemed correct. But what was

the untold sequel, if any? Was there someone else interested
in the treasure-hunt, someone (Continued on page 85)

27


aoe

April, 1936

FAMOUS DETECTIVE CASES

85

Mystery at Red Hat Station

who came in disguise to seize the slain
woman's purse thinking that it contained
the buried money?

Or was the murderer a Negro who, learn-
ing of the proposed search, thought to
obtain the chart for himself?

These angles of the murder mystery
Were given serious consideration by the
investigating officers, ‘

On November 28th, Sheriff W. B.
Mobley, of Waco, received a letter from
Attorney J. E. Roach, of Sulphur Springs,
Texas. Attached to the letter was a chip-
ping from the Dallas Morning News, giv-
ing the details of the murder. of Mrs.
Carney. In his letter, Roach stated that
he had just read the enclosed clipping,
and desired to tell the sheriff what he
knew, for, it might assist in solving the
mystery. He stated that he was the at-
torney for Nathan Hurley, who had re-
cently been tried for burglarizing a box
car. Hurley, he stated, had asked Roach
to go with Whitlock to locate eight hun-
dred dollars, which Hurley declared was
“planted” close to Waco. He asked Roach
to mail a letter for him in which, Hurley
said, he was asking Whitlock to come to
Greenville for detailed instructions on how
to find the money, which he wanted to use
to appeal his case. Roach had hesitated
about going along to look for the buried
money, but Hurley had assured him this
was money he had earned raising poultry.
Roach, after talking the matter over with
the district attorney and the court re-
porter, had decided he would not go, lest
something might happen to him. Roach
closed the letter with the statement that
he was quite sure that the name given to
him was Whitlock, and that he would be
happy to render the officers any further
assistance, if possible. ie

One wonders what strange Intuition
warned Roach not to take any part in
that mysterious treasure-hunt, which, in
the end, proved fatal to another. —

Since the police had run up against a
stone wall so far as information concern-
ing the source of the hunted treasure was
concerned, it was decided that Assistant
District Attorney F. J. Bauerle and City
Detective George Blount should go to
Greenville to interview Hurley.

The latter was gloomily meditating on
the outcome of his trial when the visitors
arrived. “Yes,” he told them, when they
had stated their names and the object of
their visit. “I’m the guy that sent Whit-
lock after that money. | needed it to
help me out of this trouble I’m in. If
you’ve ever been framed—”

“@KIP it,” said Bauerle. “Other folks

have their troubles, too. For in-
stance, the unfortunate woman who drove
Whitlock down to Waco to look for your
buried treasure was murdered in ‘cold
blood, less than two hundred yards from
the spot where the money was supposed to
be hidden.”

Hurley’s face froze to a mask of horror.
Clearly, this was a development of the
situation he had not foreseen. He shot
a frantic question or two at Bauerle, then
dropped into an attitude of utter despair.
Presently, after some hesitation, Hurley
began to give the officers an explanation
of the mysterious treasure. After all, he
had not buried it himself,

Another prisoner had a ‘chart of this
hidden gold. This prisoner had obtained
it from a drunken cellmate, in the Waco

Jail, in 1932. Unable to make use of the:

chart himself, he had given it to Hurley,
who had, in turn, prevailed on Whitlock.
whom he had known for several years, to

Oe

(Continued from page 27)

try to find the money for him.

So, out of the distorted dream of a
drunkard’s brain had arisen one more
legend of buried treasure to lure its
seekers through false hopes to disappoint-
ment and death. And yet, so persistent is
the hope of man that when the rumor be-
gan to spread that an undiscovered treas-
ure lay buried in the red sands of East
Waco, the field suddenly teemed with
hopeful treasure-hunters, Young and old,
by day and in the chill November moon-
light, plied their shovels and picks in the
vain pursuit of the elusive gold,

While this more romantic search went
on, Chief of Police Hollis Barron and De-
tectives Wiley Stem and J. R. Doty were
quietly investigating every possible thread
of circumstance that might lead to the
discovery of the slayer of Reba Carney.

Stem had ascertained on the night of
the crime, after the removal of the bullet

First Assistant District Attorney
Francis Bauerle, investigator in
the Carney murder

from Mrs. Carney’s brain, that the slug
which caused her death was from a_ .32-
caliber automatic. A certain suspicion
began to ripen into conviction as Stem
considered several facts connected with
the case. For instance, the automatic is a
type of gun rarely ever used by Negroes.
However, Detective Stem knew a Negro
who habitually carried such a gun. The
fact that the Negro lived less than two
blocks from. the crime scene, and that
he had a prison record that showed him
entirely capable of such a crime as the
Carney murder, led him to suspect this
dangerous. black.

Therefore, when Chief Hollis Barron
planned a_ wholesale raid on all Negio
quarters that might easily shelter the
murderer, Stem suggested that the raid
be deferred a day or two at least, since
he believed he knew. the guilty) Negro.
Somewhere there was also a half-brother
of his who might be involved, Stem
feared that a raid might serve only to
frighten the Negroes from town. Then
they would be indefinitely lost to the
police. Therefore, the planned raid did
not take place and the detectives quietly
ascertained that the Negroes they wanted

were still in Waco.
Stem remembered that the man he

sought, Frank Flours, had an ugly record. Q

In 1928, he was sent up from Houston
for ten years for assault with intent to
murder, His half-brother, L. B. Gaines,
also was an ex-convict, having served two
years at the Huntsville State Penitentiary
for burglary. Flours had received a parole
during the Sterling administration. He
had “improved” this opportunity by work-
ing into sundry Projects of extremely
doubtful legal and moral standards. How
far these projects had taken him and
Gaines was not realized until later,

Tue detectives knew Flours’ house at

1010 Oak Street. It was a tiny, white
frame cottage, nestling close to another
white building, a two-story rambling
building that seemed to quite overshadow
It. Detectives Stem and Doty knew that
if Flours came in to his home that night
It would be at a late hour, Following
the inherited instincts of his predatory
kind, he would probably be engaged until
midnight in a characteristic game of
“jumping dominoes.”

So, at midnight, on Tuesday, November
28th, Detectives Stem and Doty went over
to the Negro quarters on Oak Street.
There, in front of Flours’ little house
stood Flours himself, with L. B. Gaines,

his half brother, evidently engaged in

earnest discussion. The pair were com-
pletely surprised by the sudden appear-
ance of the officers as they strode forward
and told the Negroes that they were under
arrest, There was no protest or Struggle.
pity realized that once more they were
in the hands of the Law.

Since it was discovered that Gaines and
Flours lived together, the detectives as-
sumed that Gaines had at least some
knowledge of Flours’ crime (if he was
guilty), even though Gaines himself might
not have been directly connected with it.
The Negroes were placed in separate cells
of the City Jail, but they were close
enough that the two could talk to each
other.

Throughout. the night the suspects were
separately questione by Captain Buch-
anan and Detectives Doty and Stem,
concerning their movements on the fatal
night. Both steadily denied all knowledge
of the mystery slaying on Cotton Belt
Street. Flours even declared he was not
in Waco that night. Gaines had been ar-
rested on the: night of the murder, by
Officer Frank. Tennison. However, he had
been released, along with other suspects,
later that night because of lack of suffi-
cient evidence.

Since Fred Carney had been able to
give only a general description of the
Negro’s appearance, it was obviously im-
possible to expect definite identification
from that source, -

On December 2nd, workmen found a
pair of overalls and a gray shirt rolled up
with some pliers and a flashlight in Green-
wood Cemetery, in East Waco, There was
no blood on the clothing, but the overalls
were badly torn. The articles were taken
to the police station. When Buchanan
showed them to Flours, he denied owner-
ship, and. continued ‘his denial of any con-
nection with the crime on Cotton Belt
Street.

Again, on December 2nd, another Negro,
a relative of the suspects, was questioned
at the City Hall by the police, Obviously,
he knew nothing of their connection, if
any, with the Carney murder mystery,
However, Millard told the oflicers that
both Gaines and Flours had worked. in


158 SOUTHWESTERN, 1117 and 1120,
Paul FOWLER and Ernest HARRISON, blacks, hanged at Fort Worth, Texas, on August 7, 1913,

"Paul Fowler and Ernest Harrison, negroes, were hanged by Sheriff Rea in the presence of Mrs,
Kobert Knetsch, wife of the man for whose mrder they were sentenced to die; Mrs, Knntsch's
sister, Mrs, Anna Lee Jamrowski, Polytechnic, and a hundred men in the county jail Thursday
morning. Both of their necks were broken, Fowler, who was hanged first, said he had been
treated well when Sheriff Rea asked him if he had anything to say, and when Rev. L, L. Will-
iams, pastor of the Mount Gilead Baptist Church (colored), asked hif, if he was prepared to
fie, he answered simply, 'Yes,' Harrison talked fast when Sheriff Rea asked him if he
wanted to say anything. 'I am ready to die,' he said. 'I am guilty of this crime I am
charged with, I feel that the Lord has already forgiven me, 1 want to warn young H&M ne-
groes like myslef not to drink whisky and not to keep bad company, because these have been
my downfall, - Fowler dropped through the trap at 11:12 o'clock and at 11:25 six physicians
pronounced him dead. So tight did bhe noose bind his neck that it was necessary to untie

it after the body had been placed in the undertaker's basket under the scaffold before it
could be removed, No time was lost escorting Harrison to the gallows, It had taken 13
minutes fof Fowler to die. “arrison went through thetrap door at 13 minutes to 12 and died
in 13 minutes, His body writhed for five minutes after the first jerk of the drop,

- "More than 1,000 people stood in Belknap street between the courthouse and the jail from

early in the morning, They could see nothing but the corpse baskets coming down the iron
stainway from the jail, but the strange attraction of a hanging that was going on inside
the jail and out of ‘their sight ‘kept them there until the last corpse basket was driven
away and until thelast spectator had left the jail. Scenes inside tle jail before the
hanging drove many a tender hearted man away from the jail after he had rushed and shoved
to gain a choice place to see the double execution, The crowd of spectators was composed
almost entirely of officers, representing the sheriff's force, the police force and visiting
officers attending the county officials' convention, There were few negroes in the crowd,
The preacher, the undebtakérs and two or three friends of the condemned negroes waited from
early inthe morning for the execution, The death warrant,was read to Fowler and Harrison
at 8:30 o' clocks They listened without my display of emotion, Then they began dressing
in thehandsome blue serge suits and the new shirts and shoes that Sterling P, Chark, former
Sheriff, gave them. At 9:30 Harrison came out of the death cell to be baptized in a bath-
tub that had been filled with water and placed under the gallowg The cells of negro women
prisoners in the county jail open on the spacedirectly under the gallows, Blankets had
been placed over the grated doors but this proved uselesswhen the baptising began. The 8
negro women confined in these cells gave vent to all the superstition and vigor of their
race when the ante-death ceremony began,. As the husky voiceof the negro preacher rose, a
woman sobbed, The ordinanceof the baptism went on and the women joined in a terrible wail
that almost drowned out the words of the preacher, This wailing grewin strength until
Sheriff Rea and several of his deputies opened the cell doors and marched the women downstair
into another ward. As they passed the death cell, where the condemned negroes, now dressed
in their neat new clothes, with white shirts and black ties, looked through the bars at the
moaning women, they threwtheir hands to their faces and shrieked, The effect of the women's
hysterics did more toward unnerving the condemned negroes than anything else, Up to this
time they had be@m stoics, They turned away from the sight of these women, Mrs, Knetsch
and her sister cameup the sairtway to the second floor of the jail shortly before Fowker
wasexecuted. Mrs, Knetsch had Guard Robinson point out which was which, Harrison was
reading his Bible and Fowler was writing addresses for Barney Finn, Detective Chief Connelly'

.sectetary, with the request that their pictures be mailed to these addresses, ‘I would

shoot them both full of holes right now if you would let me,' Mrs, Knetsch said as she turned
awaye She was led up the steps to the scaffold and she handled the noose that was to break
the necks of her husband's layers. Someone suggestedthat she place the noose over the
negro s necks, 'I could do it easily,' she said. When the last negro had been hanged, she
said:°'Well, I'm glad it's all over, a could have sprung the trap myself,' .

"Fowker walked to the scaffold smiling, e stood as still as a statue while the straps were
being buckled on his legs and arms and the black cap and noose placed over his head. His
body did not flinch after the first jerk of the rope, Harrison was nervous. He twitched
his fingers until a deputy sheriff took a handkerchief from h&s hand and stuffed it into

his coat pocket. He spoke his confession and his advice as if he had regited it over and
again in practice, While the trap doors were still clattering, larrison s body doubled and
his feet kicked. The body dangled with the jerks of life struggling its way out of.his

body for fully five minutes, . ;
"The negroes slept soundly Wednesday night. Guard Robinson woke them up at 6:30 o clock


WALIJER FORD, hanged at Waco, Texas, on October 27, 1899, 50 sw 350 -See

"Waco, Texas, Oct. 23, 1899-Sheriff Baker has placed a death watch beside the cell
occupied by Walter Ford, who is to hang next Friday, the 27th instant. The watch
consists of two men wo relieve each other at intervals and the one guard keeps his eye
on Ford all the time, He has talked about sjicide, therefore every precaution is
being used, nothing being permitted to enter his cell until it is carefully inspected
by thejailer. His friends send him edibles and flowers, all of which are subjected

to the closest scrutiny, Ford talks cheerfully about his coming end and says he is
prepared for his fate and will meet it bravely{ He is under 25 years of age and camee
to Waco from Robertson County between five and six years ago, At the time he committed
the murder wich he is about to expiate on the gallows hewas emplyed by Judge W W
Evans as hostler and yardman and enjoyed the confidence of his employer. His record
waa excellent and there is no question but that he was desperately in love with the
girl and slew her while in a frenzy of disappointment,

"The execution will be private. Only those having permits from the sheriff will be
able to enter the enclosure, and Sheriff Baker will not give outpermits except to
necessary witnesses, newspaperre orters, surgeons and his own assistants. The

gallows wll be erected in the rear of the three-story jail annex, and this will cut
off the view from mapy of the housetops, thereby preventing crowds mounting the

roofs, as hasbeen customary in past years on similar occasions,

"Ford is very talkative, and greets all callers cheerfully, being evidently pleased

to have persons visit him, He has professed religion, and says whe will die in full

hopes of going to a better world, Building the gallows will be postponed until the
day before the execution, The heavy frame work of the scaffold used in the execution
of King Sims six years age is in the loft of the court house, and wll be takendewn
and erected. A newtrap will be necessgry and the county commissioners' court has

made provision for theremoval of the scaffold, its erection in the jail yard, and for
whatever additions it will need in order to make a safe and human task of the exee
cution, Sheriff Baker is in posséssion of a rope made of the very best hemp, with

a noos@ all prepared and ready, The rope has been tested and will certainly serve

the purpose to which it will be devoted next Friday." GALVESTON DAILY NEWS, GALVESTON

Texas, XAXSBXXRARKARK 10-2)),-1899(2-7).

Tarrant County Assistant District Attomey Alan Lew, who prosecuted
Foust, said he wasn't surprised with Foust's attitude.

"He doesn't show any remorse because he's never had any,” Lew said.

Foust, whose muscular build and long hair earned him the nickname
“Conan” among his friends, said he arrived on death row 11 months ago
figuring it would take years for his appeals to be exhausted and his
punishment to be carried out.

"Soon as | got here, | found out | could drop my appeals,” he said.
"So | wrote a letter to my attomey and the judge."

Foust's time on death row - just shy of one year - would be the
second-shortest among the 173 condemned killers who preceded him to the
Texas death chamber. Joe Gonzales, another execution volunteer, received
lethal injection in 1996 only 252 days after arriving on death row. The
average prison time before execution is about 10 years.

"| dont want to spend the rest of my life without a woman,” Foust
said. "| don't want to spend the rest of my life being told what to do,
not having any freedom. I'm guilty. | did it."

(source: Associated Press)
>>

Tuesday April 30,1996 America Online: Galba33

Page: 2


4-28-99—

TEXAS: (impending execution)

Self-described cold-blooded killer Aaron Christopher Foust voluntarily
headed to the death chamber Wednesday night for robbing and strangling
a Fort Worth hospital executive almost 2 years ago.

Foust, 26, demanded that no appeals be filed on his behaif, clearing the
way for his lethal injection, the 10th this year in Texas.

“Sometimes | wish | did kind of feel something," Foust said in a death
row interview. “The bottom line is, if! was the type to feel

remorseful, | wouldn't have done this in the first place. It takes a

good deal of determination to put a man in a chokehold and choke the
life out of him."

Foust, a former welder and carpenter who dealt drugs on the side, was a

week away from entering the Army when the May 18, 1997 murder occurred at

the Fort Worth apartment of David Ward, 43.

Ward was a British citizen who came to Fort Worth in 1975 to work as a
nurse at John Peter Smith Hospital. He moved up the hospital hierarchy,
eventually becoming a vice president in 1995. He was active in the battle
against AIDS and was instrumental in establishing a public-private
organization, “Healing Wings," that has raised millions of dollars for
AIDS patients in Tarrant County.

He was about to leave on a month-long vacation to England when Foust and
an accomplice arrived at his home to collect what Foust said was a $500
debt. When Ward balked, he was killed.

“{ didn't like the guy,” Foust said last week. “Mostly it was his

attitude. He had a real arrogant, snobbish kind of attitude. Here's a guy
whose got a damn good job, education. He's got this attitude he's better
than me. It seems like to me he's worse than me. He thought he was
untouchable.

"The situation with Mr. Ward, it was just business. He entered into a
contract with me. Obviously, | couldn't take him to court.”

Ward's brother, Michael, arriving from England, was to be among witnesses
watching Foust die.

Asked last week what might say to the victim's brother, Foust replied:
"Adios."

"What's to say?" he added. "! don't know them. If! felt sory for
what | did, | would say so. But | don't.”

Foust and Jamal Brown, 23, who still is awaiting trial, fled with Ward's
cash, credit cards and his BMW. They were caught 5 days later trying
to use Ward's credit card at an Arlington restaurant.

Tuesday April 30,1996 America Online: Galba33

Page: 1


U. S. Suo:

Fr aed CX ected / GFE — te kas

DT TPE. eae amine :
reme Court to hear —

Texas death-penalty case

Hundreds of death row inmates could be affected by ruling -

 cciacasemammeaaaedl

By Michael L. Graczyk

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A rape-

murder case nearly 13 years old will
be the focus Tuesday of a U.S. Su-
preme Court review that many in-

mates see as a ticket off death row. .

“In my opinion, it will affect ev-

erybody,” said Jim Vanderbilt, who .

has spent more than 11 years on
Texas’ death row for the 1975 slay-
ing of an Amarillo teen-ager. “We
will have commutation of every-
body.”

Lawyers for the state and for
Donald Gene Franklin will present
arguments to the high court on the
constitutionality of a Texas statute
that limits consideration by a jury
of mitigating circumstances that

could lessen a defendant's sen-.

tence.

Since October, when the court
agreed to hear the case, dozens of
death-row inmates in Texas, whose

tached Franklin's arguments to
their own in efforts to win stays.

os of! en] oe, ©

“It's an issue that could poten-
tially affect everybody,on death
(row) in Texas,” said Richard H.
Burr III, coordinator of the death
penalty project of the NAACP Le-
gal Defense and Educational Fund
Inc. in New York. -

Franklin, 36, who has had three
trials and four execution dates,

“blamed the abduction, rape and.

stabbing death of 27-year-old Mary
Margaret Moran on’ a friend who

~ used his car. |

Police searched Franklin's home
and found a pair of trousers soak-

‘ing in bloody water, as well as Mo-

ran’s denim purse, her checkbook,
and a knife identified as the proba-
ble murder weapon.

Franklin ‘was arrested hours af-
ter the J uly: ‘1975 abduction but re-
fused to say where the missing San
Antonio nurse was. Search parties
combed San Antonio, but it took
four days to find her bleeding in a
bed of insects, suffering from loss

27 executions in the last six years. of blood and irreversible shock. She’

are the most in any state since exe-. _§
cutions resumed in 1977, have at-

died the next day, «~~

Mark Stevens, who'is eeoréseht!”
ing Franklin before the high court,
‘said jurors, should have had doubt

about Franklin’s guilt because of

circumstantial evidence in the case.

Stevens also said Franklin, at the
time of the last trial, had caused no
disciplinary problems while in pris-
on, both of which “go toshow... he
shouldn’t be executed.”

Stevens contends although such ~

mitigating circumstances are pres-
ented at the punishment phase of a

trial, the jury is given no guidance’ °°

as to how heavily to weigh them.

Under Texas law, a defendant.
may raise mitigating factors. Buta |
judge will tell the jury to consider, .
the evidence in the light of two.
questions: Was the murder deliber-
ate and is the accused likely to be

violent in the future?

If a jury answers “yes” to both |

questions, Texas law requires the
death penalty.

Franklin’s trial attorneys sug-
gested a jury charge that would:

have the jury give the mitigating

factors greater weight. But the. -
‘judge refused to include it in his

instructions to the jury, which de-
termined Franklin should die. He
has been on death row since 1982.

eR

a K APMIA

Slain beauty Peggy Moran. The
tortures she endured for 110
hours will never be fully known.

by MIKE COX

H., eight-hour shift over,
the dark-haired nurse, still
wearing her starchy white
uniform, pushed open the
hospital door and stepped
outside. A blast of warm,
sticky air enveloped her as
she left the dehumidified,
air-conditioned comfort of
Audie Murphy Veterans
Administration Hospital at
midnight.

The hospital was one of
several huge medical
facilities on a hill in North-
west San Antonio, Texas.
The view of the Alamo City
sprawling in the distance
was striking, a sea of lights.

(continued on page 8)

RAPED & TORTURED

FOR 110 HOURS UNDER
A HOT TEXAS SUN!

TRUE POLICE CASES,
Octeber, 1976


1er legs
round
is 7

ne before going to
ough a door and
iutomatically shut
that was still back
ig about the vete-

oblems, pains

... » hen she stuck
gray clock on the
irge VA hospital,
e late shift in the

se Was nearing her
s who were getting
edical assistant,
ir, noticed a man
parked cars on the
ppeared to be hol-
ands, but the hos-
see what he had.
oser, the man ap-
d for directions to
tion.
ye gave the direc-
vn car, and started
ticed a car parked
e of a traffic lane in
>n backed out of a
n abandoned. +
man standing in a
( midnight wanting
tation didn’t seem
s>mploye thought.
d seen belonged to
ped him. Maybe he
ork with less gas in
é motor might have
ick of fuel just as he
ie for the night.

1 page 10)

field for
> uscovered
> attack 110
er.

a ee

Convicted
Donald Gene

(right) faces possible death

rape-killer
Franklin

in the electric chair.

yeyerrinieyr retin
4A hades
MOO


The attractive woman was nude and on her back, her legs
spread apart. Flies and other insects swarmed around
vicious wounds and she made gurgling sounds :
breathing through her slashed throat.

The July sun had been soaked up all
day by the acres of asphalt surrounding
the hospital, and now, four hours after
sunset, the radiation of that heat contin-
ued. But the soppy hot night air would
not have to be endured long. Soon, the

nurse would be in her air-conditioned car
en route to her air-conditioned, two-story
townhouse not far away.

It might be midnight, but for the nurse
and most of her co-workers, it was 5
o'clock. At home, she would read and

perhaps sip a glass of wine before going to
bed. Just walking through a door and
heading home did not automatically shut
off the part of her mind that was still back
in the hospital, thinking about the vete-
rans in her section, their problems, pains
and treatment.

It had been 12:05 a.m. when she stuck
her time card into the gray clock on the
fourth floor of the large VA hospital,
where she worked the late shift in the
surgery wing.

The 27-year-old nurse was nearing her
car now, as were others who were getting
off work, too. A medical assistant,
walking toward his car, noticed a man
standing between two parked cars on the
hospital lot. The man appeared to be hol-
ding something in his hands, but the hos-
pital employe couldn’t see what he had.
As the employe got closer, the man ap-
proached him and asked for directions to
the nearest service station.

The hospital employe gave the direc-
tions, walked to his own car, and started
to drive away. He noticed a car parked
irregularly in the middle of a traffic lane in
the lot, as if it had been backed out of a
parking space and then abandoned. +

Something about a man standing in a
hospital parking lot at midnight wanting
directions to a gas station didn't seem
right, the hospital employe thought.
Perhaps the car he had seen belonged to
the man who had stopped him. Maybe he
had driven his car to work with less gas in
it than he thought. The motor might have
sputtered dead from lack of fuel just as he
backed out to go home for the night.

(continued on page 10)

Texas lawmen search field for
clues after nurse was discovered

still alive after rape attack 110

hours earlier.

Convicted

Donald Gen

(right) faces pc
in the elect


begins to.hug and neck. The person then
maneuvers to other more sensitive parts
of the body until. the woman, aroused,
gives herself up. ,

“You know, by kissing the desire for
sex grows, not only in the man but also in
the woman. If you must kiss aman then
- kiss him with closed lips...

“With all:my love and kisses to you,
Hazel, from your supposed husband to

~. be. Shan.”

“The letter carried a drawing of
‘entwined hearts and ended in a verse he
~ had ‘written:

“There never was a heart so true, my
love

1<- There never will be a heart so true
- Forl am devoted to you, my love
~~ And forever will be true.

| > Tlove you my Hazel.”
~~ Mohangi himself spent more than
- eight grueling hours on the witness stand.
~. He maintained steadfastly that Hazcl’s
death was an accident, and a slashing
cross-examination by the prosecution
_. lawyers failed to ruffle his composure or
_. shake his story of the events which had
led to the death of the girl he loved.
<The prosecution seems to believe,”
‘Defense Attorney Bell concluded, “that

_ © happened to the girl’s body after death,
someone must suffer for it, however inno-
cent of murder he may be—and all the
better that he is an Indian.”
In his charge to the jury, Mr. Justice
_Teevan gave the panel two alternatives.
He said that since there was no question
that the victim had died at the hands of
~ the defendant, they could find him guilty

i| - because everyone is horrified at what
:
L

‘| _ either of murder or manslaughter.

-If the jury believed that the girl had

| died of vagal inhibition and the prosecu-

tion had failed to establish the intention to
kill or do grave bodily harm, then

i . Mohangi could be found guilty of

manslaughter.
| hee If, however, they were satisfied that

Se Spelman Nn AME

|. there had-been an assault on the girl that’

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by its determined nature would have put
her in grave peril of death, then Mohangi
must be found guilty of murder.

The trial had lasted for 11 days, but
when it ended on February 21st, few pers
sons would have risked a prediction on
what the jury would decide.

They retired for deliberations at six
o'clock in the evening, and the swiftness
of their arrival at a verdict surprised
everyone. At precisely 9 o'clock, the
foreman called a bailiff to announce that
they were ready to return to court,

The judge had to be summoned from
the restaurant where he was having
dinner, and when court was reconvened
at 9:25, the jury foreman announced that
they had found Shan Mohangi guilty of
murder.

From the packed galleries came audi-
ble gasps of surprise, and several persons
cried out, “No! No” Many women burst
into tears.

Shan Mohangi took the verdict calm-
ly, however. When he was asked whether
he wished to make a statement before
hearing his sentence pronounced, he
replied firmly: “No. I have nothing to
say.”

Mr. Justice Teevan then took the only
course open to him. He sentenced Shan

Mohangi to death.
From the furor which sweptlr

the following weeks, it appear

there was a wide discrepancy ofr

to the verdict. Many prominenth

were interviewed and expressed

nion that Mohangi should has

found guilty of manslaughter, at

worst. Some went so far as tos

believed that, on the evidence, ht

have been acquitted.
Apparently. doubts about the

extended to high places. av!

judicial review of the (ia

ed, the death sentouce |

aside, and the dec

suspend all) othe:

young Indian medic:

killed the girl he loved,

the more than six inthis ty

Mohangi was ordered deporte:

Africa.

EDEVOR'S NOTE
Mrs. Moira Culleen.
Murphy, Altwear Bandli
and Francine Mi

]

f

i
real names of the persons sos,
ie

t

Vase

Haan ated

ine the foregoing story. |
names have been used in vr
comply with Lrish police ress

Killed by Paroled Rapist!

loudly. He said he spoke to Franklin and
the noise stopped promptly.

Other neighbors recalled sceing
Franklin walking his wife to the bus stop
in the morning. “They held hands and
looked real nice together,” one said.

As the search for the missing nurse
continued, officials at the Audie Murphy
VA Hospital announced additional
security precautions for parking areas.
More guards were to be employed,
designated parking spaces were to be
provided for night shift nurses and es-
corts would be provided to take them to
their cars.

Wednesday morning, the search for
Peggy Moran went into its fifth day,
which promised to be another 100-degree
scorcher. It was disclosed that police had
found a pair of patent-leather shoes in
Franklin’s home with mud on them, That
indicated he had walked in a muddy area
shortly before his arrest Saturday mor-
ning, detectives noted. ;

The body of the missing nurse, police
felt, could be in a wooded or brushy area.
Officers noted the time element involved
in the. disappearance indicated she
was abandoned within a five-mile radius
of the suspect’s home.

Area residents were urged to look for
tire tracks or marks indicating something
might have becn dragged into a brushy
area, for strong odors that should be
emanating from a corpse due to the re-
cent hot weather, and for circling buz-
zards. Inspector Jack Hutton also warned

searchers to be «
snakes in’ bushy
tonio.

San Antonio |
the search for ’c
quoted in es
believed the nurse \
ina watered section 0:
water,” she continued. S:
where she was ab
picture water out (icre, but
clear picture.”

Another seer said she als
Peggy Moran was c
either in an old ho
been made, anc |
she was quotod u

While the search for tie mist
continued that hot \\ !
police disclosed they were as
foraman who was knownt
Donald Franklin. fle was
lived on the cust sive uy
reported miissiiy
minister reported
at his apartuicus.

It was re}
appeared i!

Scarlet Ouk 10
that his wallet ss
license and wi!
the wallet. Miss
cards.

While spec
what charges wit)
file against bisa
not found, soul

CCTs i


‘icer {his whereabouts and activities
it the nurse was abducted, He
toff work at the community
nd 5:30 p.m. shot pool with a
iand later ran into another
und 10:30 p.m,

lie went home, ate, and went to
s house. The friend was not
the went to a nearby pool hall

him, the jury was told.

nsaid it was then when he saw

new as “Smokey.” He said this

him $10 for the use of
scar. Franklin said Smokey also
wrrow his trousers.

‘ht he had a date or something,
ed, and he and [ went to the rear
partinents and changed pants,”

stified. “He gave me his blue,
med Levis, and I gave him my

in said he went to the pool hall
| until sometime after 11 p.m.
{to walk home. He said aman

icked him up and gave him a

in said when he arrived home

the garbage can by his back
heon overturned by his dog, and
| to clean up the trash when
returned with his car around |

1 said he completed the clean
‘en set fire to the trash. He said
ent into his house and told him
awn up on Franklin’s pants.
ihim to take them off and put
ucket and [ put some water on
testified.

i when police arrived at his

nd 5:30 am., Smokey was

id Smokey was Jack S. Nealson.
eght out that Nealson had been
the previous month for the
d rape of another Audie
ospital nurse.
king Iranklin’s account under
ination, the prosecutor asked
e did not tell all this to police
vas arrested.

»wouldn’tlet me,” Franklin said.
pt questioning me but they
let ne tell my story.”

secutor asked Franklin, “Do
ny idea how the human blood
ur shoes?”
r, was the answer.
\. Nealson was brought into the

osecutor asked Franklin to look
vand asked the defendant if he
ke Nealson.
out my size, black hair about
length,” Franklin responded.
on, flanked by two. guards,
«snorted and was led from the

the jury was out of the cour-
e prosecutor called a young
ta the witness stand. He said it
tention to prove to the court
ada pattern of abduction, rap-

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ing and murdering women.

The young woman testified she had
known Cynthia Kettinger for about a year
and worked across the street from the
YWCA. She said on the night of
November 13, 1974, she went out the
alley leading to the parking lot behind the
Y.

“I went to my car where it was usually
parked and looked at the car...you
know,” she said. “The way you would
when you walk up to your car.”

She said she saw someone in the back
of the car, slumped over to the side. She
said the person looked up directly at her
and she looked directly at him.

She said she went back into the Y to
call the police. ;

The woman stood up and pointed out
Donald Gene Franklin as the man she saw
in-the car.

The judge refused to allow. the
woman to testify before the jury. “If you
are going to try him for that case you'll
have to do it at a later time,” he told the
prosecutor,

The jury went out to deliberate at 2:05
p.m. on Saturday, March 6th. At 4:50
p.n., the jury came in with a verdict of
wuilty of capital murder.

The defendant showed little reaction.
The only visible signs were a rapid blink-
ing of his eyes. He swallowed rapidly two
or three times.

On Monday, March 9th, the jury
deliberated on the punishment phase of
the trial. It took the jury less than 30
minutes to agree that Franklin acted:
deliberately anid with full knowledge that

his actions would lead to the death of the
victim, and that Franklin would continue:.

to be a threat to society through con-.
tinued acts of violence. ay Re

Judge James E. Barlow said he would.

immediately-enter an order, “that the jury’
had replied in the affirmative to the two :

questions and that the sentence to be im-
posed will be death in the electric chair.”

In April, Judge Barlow denied a mo-

. tion for a new trial and ordered Franklin.
transferred from the jail in Corpus Christi |:

to death row at the Huntsville State

Prison. Attorneys for Franklin gave Judge »
Barlow their notice of appeal.“

At this writing, Donald Gene Franklin. ‘
is in death row at the Huntsville State...
Prison, and the indictment against him in’. °
the case involving the death of Cynthia.
Kettinger is still pending.  totte

EDITOR’S NOTE: & «), s+):
Jack S. Nealson and Frank: and
Lola Simpson are not the real names}:
of the persons so. named in. the.
foregoing story. Fictitious: names
have been used because there is no
reason for public interest in the iden-

start on the basics right away in the proven, ..

tities of these persons. ost i See sat By

oes

See = : =
lanai y tac ni laine cinta itt EE tre age tt Set ceementbens

as

Fis sis teil ican. 2a a a

33 Se OS See
, ‘ mastetearmcagnceneathis,
iach Sn ms ts ence RCO ASN te


n. Pranklin was charged
of Cynthia Kettinger.
‘ined to Comment regar-
vice had connected the
rking lot case.
tonio residents were in-
ach for the missing nurse
Among them were
Lola Simpson, They
ourch about Ll a.m, and
i) the afternoon. They
of stops before reaching
Selle Edlen at the edge
i slightly less than a mile
\ hospital. There were
von the other side of the
» subdivision, and the cou-
xe weeds pushed down.
ynebody was in there,”
‘Let's park here.”
walked into the brush
‘a investigate when Simp-
iS Wy ‘ife,
some clothes and it looks

}

son ran to her husband's

a nurse’s uniform, a blue
pair of white shoes. The

loodstained,

+) to a nearby house and
ice. Within minutes, a
rs reached the 4900 block
id Simpson pointed out

them,

t be around here
detective said.

» of officers, quickly

re than 50, fanned out to
‘Yask Force Officers A.P.
uce Le Stourgeon were
ily in the brush when they
Vhey heard a weak
wats
p mel”
ward the sound, they
Moran lying nude in a
position on her back.
to the nurse’s side, asking.
_ Please help me,” was her
ssured her help was on the
trier ran to spread the word
cue equipment.
the woman’s face was
the sun. The area was
brash and weeds, three to
7 vi and it appeared as if the
bee ‘dragged herself under a tree in
sto shield herself from the sun’s
me was a creek nearby and,
e water had been the lure that
Hs sto expand her waning strength
7 eramaking it.

Nores tried to question the
die was able to say was that
viking to her car when “he
rt we.” She said she was stabbed
! into another car,

, soortly after 4 p.m. when rescue
; the fire department and the

fice arrived to adininister aid

wworni, [owas obvious she

had been stabbed a number of times. Her
body was covered with caked blood and
mad,

The medics bandaged a two-inch
laceration on her throat across the
trachea. They decided not to try to treat
the chest stab wounds, which appeared
infected, there.

“Iler blood pressure is extremely
low,” a doctor said. “But that’s to be ex-
pected when someone has been
dehydrated for as long as she has.”

As the nurse was carried to an am-
bulance, officers wondered how she had
survived,

“All those wounds...more than four
days in all that heat,” one said in awe.

“T understand she took survival train-
ing,” another said. “That may have been
what kept her going.”

“ eggy Moran was taken to Methodist
Hospital. Doctors started cleansing the
wounds and doing everything else they
could to save the nurse’s life as an entire
cily anxiously waited word on her condi-
tion,

thank God she was found alive,”
Security Guard Gerald Galvan. said.
“There was a one ina million chance after
five days.”

As friends hoped: for a speedy
recovery for Peggy Moran, they talked
about her. Peggy was a girl who had a
special desire to help people and wanted
to be a nurse since she was 1]. She was an
above average student, graduating in
1966 from Lee High School. She attended
‘Texas Women’s University at Denton,
receiving her degree as a registered nurse
in May, 1970

After serving two months on the staff
at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, she

joined the Army Nursing Corps‘and was.

assigned to the White Sands Military
Reservation in New Mexico. On June 30,
1974, she was separated from the service
asa captain and joined the staff at Audie
Murphy Hospital.

She was married in 1970 and divorced
in 1972. She had no children. -

Meanwhile, at the Bexar County
Courthouse downtown, Donald G.
Franklin was being led along a hall after
arraignment on the charges of murdering
Cynthia Kettinger when he was told
about Peggy Moran.

“They found her alive?” he respond-
ed. “Phat’s good.”

A spokesman for the Secret ‘Witness
committee announced that Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Simpson would receive the $2,500
reward posted for information leading to
the finding of the nurse.

At. police headquarters, detectives
reviewed the assault case that had sent
Franklin to prison.

“A knife to the throat, followed by

rape,” a detective commented.

‘The victim in the 1970 attack was a 28-
year-old woman, She had been walking

back to her ear after visiting her son in

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* Baptist Hospital when Hi was grabbed
pe a-man who forced her into her car.

“After he threatened to kill her, he raped

her. He also secured, her address and
‘phone number. | =

“Several days later, the woman receiv-
ed a phone call from the attacker asking

“that she meet.him, and a rendezvous was
‘set up. A ‘police woman was waiting ina
_ car at the spot while a male detective hid
--in the rear seat. The man entered the car

and officers grabbed him, but somehow

. he managed to break free and escape.

Franklin was arrested a couple of days

: “later at an upholstery shop. where he was

‘

“f P. lice records indicated that at the

~ time of his arrest, Franklin also was im-

_ Plicated in the rape of a 21-year-old
nurse’s aide who said she as abducted
while waiting for a. bus. She said a knife
was placed to her throat and she was
dragged into a lot and raped.

-- Doctors continued throughout the
night trying to save gallant Peggy Moran.
Her ‘body was covered. with 10 stab
wounds, including one which punctured

» her right lung and another which punc-

~ Jost two-thirds of her body’s blood supp-

"ly. She had pneumonia in one lung and
‘ the other lung had collapsed. A doctor
said she told him she was not raped by her

assailant.

‘Peggy's training sid her excellent
physical condition had been of great
assistance in keeping her alive, it was said.
But, at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, after clinging

-». to life for 15 hours in the hospital, her

- fight ended. A hospital spokesman ‘sadly
told newsmen that Peggy died from her

wounds, exposure and massive dehy dra-

» tion.
District Attorney Ted Butler said in-
vestigators never had a chance to show

her pictures of the suspect.

-“Butler. said capital murder charges

> were being filed against. Franklin.

Flags were lowered at the ‘Audie
» Murphy VA Hospital to half-mast at the

* news of Peggy Moran’s death. Flags were
*’ also to fly at half-mast at the University of
~ Texas, at San Antonio Health Science

& &

Center and the Cancer Research Center.

«A Mary Margaret Moran Scholarship
Fund was started. A retired colonel of the
_ Army Nurse Corps told why it was being

: . established. She said:

“Peggy wasn’t just a nurse. She was
“truly involved with people. Peggy was as
~ beautiful in spirit as she was in looks; a

“very compassionate woman, a very

dedicated young woman who did a

~ marvelous job wherever she went.”

Officers:who had been given a big lift

“when the nurse was found alive, were
~ heartsick. They commented grimly on a
“ report by Bexar County Medical Ex-

, aminer Ruben Santos, who said:
-“You can never be sure, but, had she
~ been found a day earlier, she might have

been able to survive.”

Friday afternoon, friends and co-
workers of the slain nurse filed past the
casket at a mortuary. Peggy was dressed
in her white uniform, complete with her
nurse’s pin. While many persons wept
openly at the funeral home, Franklin’s
lawyer was in court attempting to stop
the placing of the suspect in lineups.

He charged police were trying to pin
“all robbery, rape and murder cases now
unsolved and pending in Bexar County”
against Franklin.

District Judge James Barlow denied
the motion. An agreement was reached
whereby the lawyer was to be given a
two-hour notice prior to future lineups.

On Saturday, rain broke the San An-
tonio heat wave as hundreds of mourners
stood with heads bowed to say a final
goodbye to Peggy Moran. Pallbearers in-
cluded six men who were involved in the
search for the missing nurse: Hlomicide
Detectives Abel Juarez and Emilio
Cavazoa; Task Force Officers A.P. Flores
and Bruce LeStourgeon, and VA Hospital
security guards Jerry Galvan and Bill Pat-
ton.

Franklin’s court-appointed attorney,
meanwhile, had requested two more
lawyers ‘be assigned for his client's
defense, and District Judge James Ee.
Barlow appointed them.

On Wednesday, August 6th, the Bexar
County grand jury returned three in-
dictments against Donald Gene Franklin.

Two covered counts of capital

- murder in the deaths of Cynthia Kettinyer

and Peggy Moran. He was also indicted

‘forthe aggravated rape of the 16-year-old

girl that occurred in December, 1974,

In February, 1976, Franklin went on
trial for the murder of Nurse Mary
Margaret Moran. ‘The trial was moved to
Corpus Christi on a change of venue. It
took six days to select.a jury of seven men
and five women.

A first day witness was a hospital X-
ray technician. He testified that on the
night Nurse Moran was abducted, he
talked toa man inthe hospital parking lot,
and later informed Security Guard
Galvan that he thought the man was
siphoning gas from cars.

“There is no doubt in my mind,” he
testified, “that the man I saw was Donald
Gene Franklin. . .] got a real good look at
him.”

He said the man had just popped up
between two cars and asked him where
the nearest service station was.

The second witness was Security
Guard Galvan. He testified about talking
to the X-ray technician and then driving
his motor scooter through the lot. He said
he stopped when he saw a green Buick
approaching and the car slowed to make
a corner of the lot.

“And that’s when | got my first look at
the driver,” Galvan testified. “It was
Donald Gene Franklin.”

Galvan said he was able to get the
license number of the car, and identified

pictures of a car be
number that) has

Franklin's,

Sergeant Don /

tonio Police De;

Bureau was calle
testified he reach

hospital parking

followed a trail of |
Peggy Moran's c

where it ended.

This, the prose

same space wl
said he saw Fras
A nurse testi
be the last per:
before she left |
The nurse |
have Mrs. Mora
later that night, :
car parked in the
lot. She also obs:
Galvan’s chase «
ed green Buick
The nurse late:
items as belonyi
included a wal):
jewelry and aw
iform. The anil
“That's Pey:
whisper. “But tic
white.”
A detective |
sound asleep ii
came to arrest ii

Oricx tes

of items they s
of Franklin's «
ean. They sai

pair of surgica
bag and a c!
checks in the 1
garbage can. \
Donald Gens
the court wus |

Items four
testified, were
surance Card,
license and cr
Moran’s name

The jury w
found in the ci
and bore. the
received = fromm
guard.

Anolficers
to be blood on
back of the di
seat. Tle said
the car. Anot
clothing was ¢
ment.

A medical
tim died of 1:
throat, chest
punctured: the
heart and live

Donald ©:
witness stan
denied killing
der questionin


> pain.
; blood
istered

» what
1 from

whis-
: vault,
didn’t

pounds,
‘s old.”
ounded
le gray
’ pistol

2 bank,
‘ders to
er. He
1esses.””
ition in
’ phone
| peace
t. Then

ked the

1 check
a thou-

places.
igation.
d, “and

ARING

they all describe him as husky and red-headéd, But they differ
in their opinions as to how old he is.”

“Did anyone see the actual getaway ?” Roy asked,

“A man from Glen Rose said he was just getting ready to go
home when he saw a man come out of the bank and get into a
red car. Several people told me that red car has been cruising
around town for several days.”

Roy was encouraged, “We won’t have much trouble locating
the car,” he prophesied, “and we’ll have witnesses to identify
the bandit. We'll get him pretty quick.”

But response to the sheriff's radio calls to other officers
proved discouraging as vital minutes slipped by. State highway
patrolmen and other officers had blockaded all roads leading
out of Maypearl.

WIFT phone calls to outlying areas brought no additional
news of the phantom killer. Deputy Cariker radioed neigh-
boring towns requesting officers to concentrate their search to
the south, the direction in which the bandit had last been seen
heading. Then, leaving Cariker in charge of the bank, Roy and
Estes drove rapidly south along whgt was believed to be bank
robber’s getaway route. *

Ten minutes later they encountered a blockade of officers
patroling roads, lanes and fields. The highway patrol advised
Roy and Estes that all roads in the area were barricaded. The
sheriff nodded in.satisfaction, then climbed back in his car and
made a tour of inspection. At each barrier he stopped and made
certain that the possemen had a description of the fugitive
killer and the getaway car,

In less than an hour the sheriff was back at the first
barricade, 12 miles south of Maypearl. “I believe we've got
him hemmed in,” he said confidently. “Now, while other
officers guard the roads, we'll search the immediate vicinity.”

Farmers, armed with shotguns and rifles, had concentrated
in the blockade area to assist’ the authorities. Roy formed a
posse and took complete charge of the manhunt.

DETECTIVE

District Attorney For-
rester Hancock is scen
examining evidence un-
earthed against the bru-
tal bandit—the jar in
which the money was
hidden, a pistol magazine
and saw blades. Sherifl
Joe E. Roy discovered a
set of license plates
stolen by the killer hid-
den in the stump, below.

Back in Maypearl, meanwhile, Deputy Cariker had been
joined by District Attorney Forrester Hancock. The prosecutor
closed the bank, wired the state capital at Austin for a finger-
print expert from the state department of public safety, then
turned his attention to getting statements from witnesses.

“Several persons’ saw the red Mercury car leave town,”
Cariker said. “It drove away leisurely and wouldn’t have been
noticed except that it was new and attractive.”

“We've got to get statements from all witnesses who saw the
bandit,” Hancock announced: “See what you can find out.”

In a few minutes Cariker brought in an excited youth. “This

- [Continued on page 55]

19


,

A witness points to a
shell from the bandit’s
pistol which fell un-
noticed to the floor when
the killer shot Wilemon.
Deputy Jess Cariker,
circle, of the Ellis county
sheriff’s office aided in
cracking the baffling case.

Together the farmer and the woman entered the bank. Her
quick steps sounded loud on the tile floor as she hurried behind
the counter. No one was in sight and she frowned bewilderedly.
Where was Mr. Wilemon? It was not like him to go ‘off and
leave the bank unattended.

Then she remembered the vault and she went toward it swiftly.
As she was about to step inside the small room, she stopped,
her eyes widening in horror. A shrill scream tore from her lips.
She leaned against the wall to steady herself against an attack
of dizziness. Then she gasped to the farmer as he rushed to
her side:

“Tt’s Mr. Wilemon. Quick!” Get some help, Something ter-
rible has happened.”

The farmer took one look at the still form on.the floor, noted
that the bank president was still alive, then bolted into the street
to spread the alarm. .

In Waxahachie, 12 miles away, Sheriff Joe E. Roy took the
frantic phone call. Calling to Deputies Hillyer Estes and Jess
Cariker to accompany him, the three sleuths dashed to the
sheriff’s waiting car. The time was 12.30 p. m., May 10, 1939.

The officers arrived on the-scene simultaneously with the
ambulance from Waxahachie, Ellis county seat, Sheriff Roy
hurried forward and entered the bank with the stretcher bearers,

18

2 anna Mo, hee

He found Wilemon conscious, but dazed and in intense pain.
The floor of the vault was red with the bank president’s blood
and the sheriff stepped aside while first aid was administered
to the seriously wounded man.

With heroic control, Wilemon endeavored to relate what
had happened, while the intern stanched the flow of blood from
the gaping hole in the small of his back.

“T put my hands up, just like he told me,” Wilemon whis-
pered feebly. “He got the money and told me to get in the vault.
As I entered he hit me over the head with something, I didn’t
fall and then he shot me in the back.”

“What did he look like?” Roy asked tensely.

“He was a big fellow, weighed around two hundred pounds,
and was red-headed. I guess he was around thirty years old.”

Sheriff Roy stepped back as the attendants lifted the wounded
man onto the stretcher. The officer frowned as he saw the gray
pallor creeping over Wilemon’s face. He saw an empty pistol
shell on the vault floor and he picked it up.

ARIKER and Estes were guarding the door of the bank,
holding back the curious crowd. Roy issued quick orders to
them, “Stay here and’keep everyone out,” he told Cariker. He
turned to Estes. “See what you can find out from witnesses.”
Leaving his deputies in charge of immediate investigation in
the neighborhood, the sheriff hurried to a telephone, By phone
and radio he notified every highway patrol office and peace

-officer within a radius of 50 miles to watch for the bandit. Then

he returned to the bank.

“How much money do you reckon was taken?” he asked the
woman who had found Wilemon.

“It’s hard to say. We'll have to go into the vault and check
up,” she answered, “But he could have taken more than a thou-
sand dollars.”

Officers began to arrive, meanwhile, from other places.
Deputy Estes came in with reports from his investigation.
“Several. people believe they saw the bandit,” he stated, “and

DARING


r Brum de-
nce more he
me with the

ope.
told the de-
igly. “Now

scope. Allow

lis ig an ex-«

ng to sample
vill be vapor-
shall photo-
sulting spark

stigators fol-
‘ss. Then, in-
yst surprised
neement:
nged. Please
at the date,
ally the letter

All, that the
nother stroke
mple forgery
le. But the
n the process
‘ntiations. It’s
‘tier, the same
t.”

the professor.

ordered a
»brega’s living
Fialho started
she was em-

in she thought
uly. ‘But Iam
much she

*s private
tectives with a
a guilty con-
-; her doll-like
rose of a blond

ie the truth?”
yu saw Tomaz
illed. No use
ill about it.”

asped, ‘‘are you
ut on you?

I’ve told you

You changed
re tell you why
, alibi for the
h, and because
ently that you
t home and not
a road in the
ou used a letter
make it appear
e for that night.
st the same.”
irily. “You men
cing light of the
iange the date?

cuse I promised
: Roberto any-
) air of disdain.
ous, you know.”
hat canary you
‘ou found it in

, Inspector.”

es said gravely.
tive. 1 am forced

| witness.”

a raven-haired

to appear before

rear-old girl
ied by her

fiance, a tall, husky, outspoken young
man.

Paula corroborated her sister’s story,
adding nothing to what police knew..
She stated that she was employed in a
poultry store, had lived with Luna since
she came to Lisbon four years previous
and did her share in supporting their
parents.

The shrewd investigators, however,
sensed that her story was not complete.
Holding the girl and her fiance on a
blanket charge, Inspector Borges dis-
patched his men to Paula’s place of em-
ployment.

“Collect every knife you find in the
store,” he ordered. “Inquire whether a
man’s umbrella is missing.”

A short time later, Inspector Borges
and Capt. Fialho entered the police labor-
atory.

Displaying a quantity of butcher knives
of every description, the inspector ex-
plained to the chemist in charge:

“You recall the skeleton of a man’s
umbrella which you tested after we re-
covered it from the wrecked car? You
found bloodstains on it—chicken blood.
These knives have been taken from a
certain poultry store. I want you to ex-
amine them for traces of human blood.”

Several serums were examined and
found to be a mixture of rabbit blood and
several kinds of poultry. Then the chemist
got a turbid reaction in one of his saline
solutions.

“This discoloration,” he said, pointing
at the slide under observation, “indicates
human blood. Now we shall compare it
with a sample taken from the corpse.”

He made the comparative test quickly.

“Same group,” he announced tautly. |

“Here is the knife from which the blood
was sampled. It is your murder weapon,
gentlemen.”

Hastening back to his office, the in-
spector sent for Luna Nobrega. ‘Miss
Nobrega,” he began, “I am going to give
you a last chance to tell the truth. We
found the knife that killed Tomaz. It

_ was discovered in the poultry store where

your sister works. To make the evi-
dence against you still more damaging,
we also know where you got that um-

brella you were careless enough to-leave
behind in the burning car. It belongs to
one of the men employed in the same
store as your sister. To refresh your
memory may I remind you that she bor-
rowed it the evening of September thir-
teenth, when she went out in a drizzle to
meet you.”

He leaned across his desk. “Young
woman, if I were you I would unburden
my conscience. There is a cab driver
who saw you and Tomaz when the sta-
tion-wagon passed through Campolide.
He witnessed the fight, heard your
screams. then there is human blood on
the knife you stole and again replaced,
Tomaz’ blood, the very same blood that
stained your hands when you stabbed
him again and again and then left his
charred corpse behind in the smoldering
tomb of the burned car.”

“T didn’t do it,” she whimpered. “Be-
lieve me, I am innocent. I met him that
night. I drove his car and later escaped
from the burning wreck. But I did not
kill him. Never. I loved him. Ask my
sister.”

Her wish was granted. A few moments
later Paula Nobrega faced her sister, hate
blazing from her eyes, every accusing
word dripping with venom:

“What are you afraid of?” Paula hissed.
“Why don’t you tell them? Well, I shall
do so, and right now.” She whirled on
the detectives.. ‘We both are in on this.
We kidnaped that scoundrel Tomaz. He
made love to both of us, cheated both of
us, tried to run out on.Luna and myself.”
She added with an hysterical laugh: va
am not on his list. He didn’t know me
long enough. By the time he offered mea
job in vaudeville his bags were taken
away by his landlord. He had that little
book of-his in one of them, the book in
which he has listed his harem.” She drew
a deep breath. “I am glad I did it. I'd do
it again.”

Handed a cigaret, which she puffed in
nervous gulps, Paula Nobrega continued,
her incredible story accompanied by her
older sister’s moaning sobs.

“T met him through her amd he made
love tome. Luna found out and we three

.

met that night to have it out once and for
all. She was at the wheel. We were
supposed to go to his place in Cacem. I
was in the rear of the car and the blind
was drawn across the rear window.

“T noticed a canary in a cage. He told
us he had bought it for someone. We were
passing through Campolide when sud-
denly Luna said, ‘We are not going to
Cacem. None of us are. I shall smash
this car and take everybody with me.’

“Then the fight started. He tried to
get hold of the steering wheel. I saw
him hitting her, I heard her screams. I
had a knife with me, just in case. I knew
something was going to happen that
night. We brushed past a parked taxi and
narrowly missed a tree. I told him to
leave her alone or we all would get killed.
He wouldn't listen. I stabbed at him.

“My sister screamed like she was going
insane,” Paula went on, “I told her to
keep on driving. Tomaz was moaning
and wanted us to take him to a doctor.
But there was a cab following us and I
told my sister to step on it. We were
near Cacem when he tried to get out and
started abusing us, threatening to turn us
over to the police. I let him have it then.
I don’t remember how often I used the
knife. All I know is that Luna yelled at
me and then there was a crash.

“When I came to I was lying on the
road. My sister was sitting beside me,
crying. ‘You murdered him,’ she said.
‘Why did you have to do that!’

“T got scared and told her we had better
leave him before anybody saw us. And
then I noticed that the car was on fire.
I got on my feet and dragged Luna with
me. I then grabbed the bird cage and
I took out the canary. I felt sorry for it.
And then we ran.

Pleading not guilty and claiming their
deed had been prompted by self-defense,
Luna and Paula Nobrega went on trial
early in April, 1939. Sentence was pro-
nounced April 12, convicting Paula of
second degree murder and sending her to
prison for from 20 years to life.

Her sister, Luna, was punished as an
accessory after the fact, receiving a ten-
year term to be served in a different penal
institution.

Crimson Raid’ of the Bandit-Killer

boy tells me he saw the bandit enter the
bank,” he said.

“That’s right,” the youngster nodded.
“I came in to cash a check for my dad a
little after twelve o’clock. There wasn’t
anyone in the bank but Mr. Wilemon.
Just as I started out a big man walked in.
He turned his face away when I looked
up to see who he was.”

“What makes you think that was the
bandit?” Hancock asked.

“Well, the way he acted, for one thing.
And he was flashily-dressed, wearing .a
green suit. I noticed, too, that he Wore
gloves.”

“Gloves,” Hancock said sourly. “Tf this.
man was the killer, there go our chances
of getting fingerprints.” j

“Pm sure it was the bandit,” the boy
insisted. “I saw him, later, walking toward
that red car. But I didn’t think much

about it until I heard about the robbery.”

“Did he seem excited, or run toward
the car?” °°

“No, he didn’t. He just walked along.”

Others corroborated this statement.

[Continued from page 19]
. { y
Further questioning also brought out the
fact that the new red car had been seen
several times during the past few days
idling about town. The tall, red-headed
man driving it had been seen in a cafe
shortly before the crime.

“Evidently he’s been casing the job for
several days,” Cariker observed. “He cer-
tainly was bold, Either he’s an amateur,
or he had his getaway well-planned.”

“If Mr. Wilemon could only talk,”
Hancock said. “He could give us a better
description. Most of these people who
claim to have seen the bandit are con-
fused as to what he looked like.”

But the condition of the bank president
permitted no further questioning. Spe-
cialists had been rushed from Dallas to
perform an operation. The officers waited
tensely for their report. Up to now the
only information the wounded man had
been able to give was that his assailant
was “big and red-headed.”

As Cariker and Hancock continued
their work of questioning witnesses, they
were joined by an agent of the FBI from

Dallas. The Maypearl bank belonged to
the Federal Reserve system, and a check
on the missing funds came under the
jurisdiction of federal authorities.

“There’s nothing we can do here at the
moment,” Hancock decided. “We'd better
join the search until the checkup on the
money is completed.”

The search had already taken the after-
noon, Evening was approaching as the
stern-faced men marched determinedly
through river bottoms, into deserted
buildings and farmers’; barns.

“We might as well give it up,” Roy
finally told his possemen. “The killer
can’t break through that ring of officers.
Unless he ‘got away before we received
the alarm, we’ll get him.”

The sheriff asked the disbanding posse
to keep alert through the night. “He may
try to hide in somebody’s barn,” he
warned. “Don’t take any chances. If you
spring him, shoot first and ask questions
later.”

Reports from the bank proved confus-
ing. No fingerprints were found, corrobo-

55


i ee

Is.

as

pl a RD MRS, Ip BLDTELD IE:

rating the youthful witness’ statement
that the bandit wore gloves. A survey of
the bank records revealed that $1,574 had
been taken. But, strangely, the robber had
overlooked money that was plainly vis-
ible and which would have considerably
increased the amount of his haul.

“T believe it’s an amateur job,” Han-
cock told the sheriff. “No professional
crook would overlook part of the loot
after accomplishing his entry.”

“And there was no reason to shoot
Wilemon,” Cariker added. “It looks like
a first job. The bandit got nervous and
bungled badly. He shot a man when it
wasn’t necessary to his purpose, then got
scared and didn’t complete the robbery.”

Night passed, and there was no sign of
the fugitive. Then word from Waxahachie
increased the grim determination of the
officers. Willis D. Wilemon had died at
9:30 p. m.

The news threw the town into an up-.

roar. Wilemon was known and admired
in Waxahachie, as well as in Maypearl.
He had friends all over the state who
rushed to the scene, offering assistance
and demanding swift apprehension of the
slayer.

Hancock ordered a post-mortem to re-
cover the death bullet, which had not
been obtained in the operation. It proved
to be from a .380 caliber automatic. No
powder burns had been found on the body
or clothing of the victim, indicating that
his assailant had fired from a distance of
several feet.

“He shot Wilemon in the back, evi-
dently after he’d gotten far enough away
to know that his victim could not stop
him,” Hancock observed.

“Pye got a hunch,” Cariker said sud-
denly, “that the criminal was driving a
stolen car, maybe with stolen license
plates.”

“I’m going to try and back-trail him,”
the deputy decided, “and see if I can find
someone who remembered the license
numbers.”

Cariker spent a day questioning around
Maypearl and Waxahachie. But the search
brought no results. He decided to widen
his search. In this thickly settled region,
he reasoned, the bandit must have con-
tacted some person. Then, at Midlothian,
11 miles northeast of Waxahachie, he sud-
denly came upon his first clue.

A FILLING station operator re-

membered the red Mercury car.
“A big, red-headed man came in here two
days before the robbery,” the man re-
lated. “I sold him some gas, and he asked
a lot of questions. He got a road map
from me, then he wanted to know about
the roads in every direction.”

“Did he mention Maypearl?”

“Come to think of it, he did. He asked
me about the roads south of Maypearl.”

“Did you happen to notice his license
number?”

“Why, yes, in a way. That is, the kid
who works here with me was talking
about it and wondering where the big
red Mercury came from. He guessed the
numbers were from some city. We knew
they didn’t belong to any of the counties
around here. I believe he wrote them
down somewhere.”

The man read through some letters and
bills on a desk in the station.

“Here it is,” he exclaimed. “The kid
said he was going to find out where that
car came from.”

Hurriedly Cariker took down the num-
bers. He had one more question. “Which

56

way-did the stranger go when he left
here?”

“T’ believe he said he was going to
Venus. Then he drove off in that direc-
tion.”

Cariker raced to Venus, ten miles away.
There the trail apparently vanished. After
a few hours of futile search the deputy
returned to Waxahachie.

Information on the license number was
immediately broadcast. It brought quick
results. The license plates had been lost
in Oklahoma by a man who lived in Galy-
veston, Tex. He had reported them stolen
from his car. Oklahoma officers had been
hunting the plates but no trace of them
had been found.

A TELEPHONE call from Denison,
Tex., brought more information. A
red Mercury sedan, recently arrived from
the factory, had been stolen from the
street in front of the dealer's showroom
several days before the Maypearl tragedy.

“That still doesn’t get us very far,”
Sheriff Roy complained. “It merely tells
us the killer has been in Oklahoma, Deni-
son, and around Midlothian and Venus.
He'll probably return to the territory
with which he is familiar.”

Following this theory, the officers spent
days investigating the towns where the
bandit had been. Their efforts brought no
results. Then came news from another
locality that seemed to tie in with evi-
dence in the case.

At Santa Anna, Tex., a lone bandit had
entered the Santa Anna National bank,
ordered the assistant cashier into the
vault and escaped with $1,500. The gun-
man was described as about 5 feet 8
inches tall, fat, and wearing a mask. After
the robbery it was known that he had fled
ers Brownfield in a. yellow automo-
bile.

“T believe that’s the same man,” Roy
said to Hancock, “He pulled the robbery
in the same way, except that he wore a
mask. That's probably because he knows
his description is out from the Maypearl
job and he didn’t want to take any
chances.” °

“The job does look similar,” Hancock
conceded, “even to the use of a flashy
automobile.” “

Deputy Cariker consulted a map. “Evi-
dently the bandit got on the main high-
way when he left Maypearl,” he said.
“That would take him through Waco.
Then he went across counfry to Santa
Anna and after the robbery there, he
doubled back this way, through Brown-
field, which brings him toward Venus and
Midlothian again.”

“T believe you're right,” Roy agreed.
“But we've questioned everybody over
there. If he came to Venus it’s because
he knows someone there, and they’re not
talking.”

“Tm going back there to do some more
questioning,” Cariker said doggedly.
“This time somebody’s going to.talk.”

Sheriff Roy accompanied the deputy.
The two officers searched the entire town,
investigating every possible hide-out. It
was the second day of their search before
they came upon the information they
sought. :

A frightened witness told them hesi-
tantly that he had seen the red Mercury
car on the outskirts of town the day after
the crime.

“Do you know who was driving it?”
Cariker asked.

“No. I couldn’t tell.”

“Just where did you see it?”

‘The man hesitated.

Roy lost patience. “This is a case of
murder,” he snapped: “If you know any-
thing, you’d better talk.”

“Well, it came out of Joe Benton’s
driveway. But it was nearly dark. I
couldn’t see who was in it.”

“Joe Benton?” Cariker exclaimed.
“Why, he’s never been in trouble. There
must be some mistake.”

“Come to think of it,” Roy said sol-
emnly, “Benton’s description might fit.
He’d pass for red-headed, and he doesn’t
look more than thirty, even though he’s
older.”

The two officers checked their informa-
tion with other people in the town. They
received additional information that a
large red sedan-had been seen at Benton’s
home before the date of the crime. The
sheriff decided to close in.

Accompanied by Bill. Rogers of the
state highway patrol, Cariker and Roy
went to Benton’s home. They found the
suspect in and informed him that he was
wanted for questioning in the Wilemon
murder.

“What makes you think I had any-
thing to do with that?” Benton asked.

Roy told him.

“These neighbors are mistaken,” Ben-
ton growled. “I haven't any red automo-
bile around my place. Besides, I can prove
I haven’t been out of Venus in months.”

“We'll give you a chance to prove any-
thing you can,” Cariker said drily.

Cov peSUs questioning failed to
shake Benton’s stubborn denials, yet
the officers felt that his response to the
investigation was suspic ious. He
answered questions only after persistent
repetition, and he could not conceal his
resentment toward inquiries.

The officers finally left but, under Roy’s
orders, they did not return to Waxahacie.
Instead they secured a search warrant
for Benton’s home and filed a complaint,
charging him with the murder of the bank
president. Deputy Cariker had been left
on guard while Roy and Rogers secured
the necessary legal papers. Fortified with
these documents, they again approached
the house.

Benton flared hotly at the officers’ re-
turn, “You're not going to search my
noes he stated flatly. “I'll shoot it out

rst.”

“T wouldn't do that if I were you,” Roy
said softly. “If you’re innocent, you've got
a good chance to prove it without any
trouble to yourself.”

White-faced, the man stood aside while
the officers went through his home. They
were disappointed. The search revealed
nothing. They went to the garage and
found it padlocked. Cariker pried off the
lock and entered, but the garage was
empty.

They were turning away, when the
deputy paused and looked closely at the
ground, The hardpacked gravel driveway
showed faint but unmistakable prints of
a tire.

“Where’s your car?” he asked Benton.

'“T don’t own a car.”

“Then who’s been using your drive-
way?”

Benton refused to answer.

Sheriff Roy did not accept defeat, de-

- spite the lack of evidence. He arrested:

the man and then made a quick decision.

“We'll not take him back to Waxa-
hachie, where bondsmen can get at him,”
he told Cariker. “You go back to head-
quarters. Announce that we've arrested

a suspe
jail. M:
I’m goi
gets rea
Roy t
night he
torney |
hours o
ment fr
that he
the ma:
at his p
but cla
driver's
long qu
pistol v
robbery
“You
Hancoc
memor:
that ca
“T tel
ing it. $
me ac
“You
ilar to
must |
the ca
mighty
The
tude o
to Ma
nesses
Thoug
bandit
him.
“He
never
man $s!
tificats
his fac
Ben
murde

after:
trifyil
Merci

H
pl
car,”
down
where
“A
in it!
ON,
long.
after
Les
Carik
blank
know
arriv:

.


94

CRIME DETECTIVE

“AND A LITTLE CHILD...”

Nancy Lindner, 8, took the witness stand at her father’s trial in
Chicago and identified him after he was accused of murder.

before while he was at a chicken
fight just across the Red River in
Oklahoma. .

Cariker explained why he was in-
terested, and, said, “Will you fellows
get out and check every place in your
town you know of in order to get a
line on this car? We feel that the
murderer is connected with your
town in some way, and if so, we want
to find out how. If he stole the car
there, then he’ll probably return. If
you get anything,.keep a tight grip
on it, for we’re on our way—”

ARIKER and Rogers drove to
Waxahachie, where they held a
brief conference with Sheriff Joe Roy
and District Attorney Hancock. Then
they drove on to Dennison.

It was early morning, May 11, 1939,
when they walked into the office of
the Dennison Chief of Police, who was
personally directing the hunt.

“All my men are out hunting,” the
chief said. “We gave them orders not
to overlook a single bus station, train

depot, hotel, rooming house, flop
joint, tourist camp or honkytonk. We
feel sure if this fellow is. in town,
he’ll never get away. We've about
combed one side of the town; and as
soon as the day force comes on I’ll
put them to work, too. You’ve got the
wholehearted assistance of every man
we have.”

Thanking him for his co-operation,
Cariker and Rogers wondered if it
wouldn’t be a good idea to cross the
Red River to see if anything of value
could be picked up at the chicken pit
where the license plates had been
stolen.

“You know, Chief, someone in that
part of the country might have seen
this fellow hanging around. And if
they did, we might be able to put
the cuffs on him. For that matter, he
might be living in that vicinity and
slipping across the line to pull his
dirty work.”

But when they got to the chicken
pits they learned nothing, so returned
to Dennison.

Cariker and Rogers, practically ex-
hausted after a sleepless night, took
time out to get coffee. Then they
learned that more help in the hunt
had been extended by numerous
members of the North Texas Peace
Officers and Southern Oklahoma
Police Officers, who had deserted
their convention in nearby Sherman
and had come to Dennison to join the
hunt.

Tired and perhaps a trifle down-
hearted, now that day had come with
no further trace of the fugitive,
Cariker and Rogers went into the
chief’s office. While they sat resting,
a clerk came in and placed a small
piece of paper on the chief’s desk.
The latter glanced at it, then shook
it significantly. “Get your hats and
coats on. We have a little trip to
make.”

“What’s the angle?” asked Rogers.

“T’ve just received some news that
may turn into real information. Now,
however, we'd better investigate
it quickly.”

Without further ado, the three men
drove swiftly to a residential district.
Then they saw it! A red Mercury
parked at a curb, minus license plates
—but a sedan. Dusty, spattered with
spots, hard traveled! But the motor
was cold. Evidently, it had been
parked here for some time—probably
all night.

The killer could have had plenty
of time to make good his escape. Not
a consoling thought for two tired
peace officers! Nevertheless, the car
was given a-most thorough exami-
nation—with no results.

Despite this, Rogers said: “I feel
like we’re getting much too close
for this man’s comfort. We're going
to get some kind of a break and not
too long from now, either!”

FFICERS Shields and Winchester

had been working without result,

just as had perhaps fifty or seventy-

five others. Nevertheless, they were

methodically and meticulously check-

ing through the section of Dennison
given them to cover.

About the time the Chief and the
others were examining the car, they
entered a rooming house and spoke to
the landlady.

“Have you registered, since yes-
terday, or have you living here, a red-
headed fellow about six feet tall?”
asked Shields. “We’re hunting such
a fellow, and it is extremely impor-
tant that he be found.:He might have
been wearing a green suit; at least,
when last seen, he was.”

The landlady thought a .moment.
“Maybe you mean the young man
who came in about three o’clock this
morning. He might have been the
one you’re hunting.”

“Is he still here?”

“Yes. YTll take you to his room.
He’s asleep, I think.”

Seconds later, Winchester turned
the knob of a door. As it swung open,
he and Shields stepped in. On the
bed, fast asleep, lay a red-headed
man. Winchester shook him.

“Come on. Get up. We want to
ask you some questions.”

Reluctantly, as if dazed, the fellow
arose.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh?”

“Come on. Let’s hear it—”

“Say, what is all this?” he asked
angrily. “Waking a man up when
he’s dead for sleep.”

“Skip it,” said Winchester tersely.


At that I sat bolt upright in my

seat. Stan Tarbell, the man who had

been Alma Payson’s first husband. I
remembered now that she had been
the “client” I had parted from $1,000.

“That’s quite a coincidence,” I said
flustered, “Meeting you and Mr. Rund
together.”

Looking out of the window I saw
that we had turned off to a dark side
road. Tarbell looked grim as he kept
going, his face turned straight ahead.
Soon we stopped under a clump of
trees. Tarbell methodically pulled his
emergency brake and then turned
towards me.

“When you and Weatherbee col-
lected $1,000 from Alma, it was time
to call quits!” he said grimly. “Not
satisfied with that, the other day you
tried to collect another $2,500. She

asking the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation to send a man down. “Tl
send one immediately,” said E. E.
Conroy, in charge of the Dallas
bureau.

Then, Cariker aided in the ques-
tioning. The witnesses told what little
they knew, described the car and the

robber. However, they were unable -

to give the license number. None-
theless, all were sure they’d recog-
nize the fellow again.

Then another call came from the
hospital. Wilemon was sinking. But
he had aroused sufficiently to say that
the bandit had worn gloves.

At 2 p.m. FBI Agent Garner ar-
rived from Dallas. He immediately
began helping with the statement-
taking.

Next, Ranger Rogers arrived. He
laid out his fingerprint set immedi-
ately and got to work. But when half
an hour had elapsed he shook his
head. “They’re just not here!”

“That leaves the prints out,” said
Caricker. ‘“Wilemon was right about
the gloves.”

For a minute he pondered. Finally
he said, “By now officers over the
entire state are looking for the rob-
ber. Now, we know where the car
came from, but not where it went to.
Possibly we could get an inkling of
his course if we were to set out and
query everyone we meet. .Of course,
I know the trail is ice cold by now,
but there is just a million-to-one shot
that he is holed up somewhere near
by, waiting until darkness. If so, we
might be able to get him.”

HE officers left, following the
course the bandit had taken when
he had left town.

A mile out of town they stopped
beside a farmer who was trudging
along the side of the road.

“Have you seen anything of a red
Mercury sedan _ this afternoon?”
Cariker asked. “A red-headed fellow
was driving it.”

“Wal, let me_ see,” answered the
farmer, picking his teeth with a dried
piece of grass. “I don’t remember see-
ing any such car today.”

Cariker began easing out the clutch

CRIME DETECTIVE

hasn’t got that much and her husband
will find out about the whole mess.”

“Look, Tarbell,” I remonstrated.
“You’ve got me wrong, I haven’t seen
Weatherbee in months!”

“Your name was specifically men-
tioned, Miss Elizabeth Gates!”

As he spoke I saw him move slowly
towards me and I shrank back against
the door, fumbling vainly to open it.

“What are you going to do?” I
asked in alarm. His answer was low,
although it seethed with suppressed
emotion. “I’m going to beat you up!”
he said. His arm lashed out and his
fist caught me full in the face, knock-
ing me into insensibility.

Just a few weeks ago I was dis-
charged from a New Jersey hospital
where I had been since they found
me at the side of the road terribly

93

beaten. Some kindly doctor had me
booked as the victim of a hit and run
driver and I never told them dif-
ferently.

As I lay there on my hospital cot
during endless hours I had plenty of
time to think over the crowded events
of the past. Nothing, I decided, not
even the beating Tarbell had given
me had hurt as much as the shock
that Anne Walters had given me
when she had taken my husband
away.

Still, my disastrous marriage and
my career as a divorce ghoul can’t
really be blamed on any living per-
son. Its main cause, as in the many
cases I’ve uncovered, is due to the
conflicting divorce laws of the various
States which make such fantastic
things possible.

LARCENY LEADS TO MURDER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 71

pedal, when the farmer smacked his
thigh.

“Hey—wait a minute,’ he cried.
“Come to think of it, that must be
the same car that’s been driving
around this neck of the woods for
most nigh a week, now. I’ve seen it
a lot.”

‘Did you notice the license num-
ber?” asked Cariker.

“Wal—no. Can’t say as I did. That
is, not all of it. But the first three
ri if I remember right, were
4 iene

“If you see this fellow again, get
in touch with the sheriff,” Cariker
said.

“I will,” the farmer said.

They drove on then, stopping now
and then to question people, but not
getting any information.

“Well, we'll try this next house,”
said Rogers finally. “If they know
nothing, we will go back to where
the road forked and take the other
one. But, gosh, I wish we had begun
this trailing earlier.”

They stopped at the farmhouse and
the owner came to ‘the door.

“No, I haven’t seen anyone pass
today. I’ve been working in the gar-
den since noon, and would have seen
them had they gone by. But this
fellow you’re hunting—he drove by
several times yesterday and the day
before. I thought he was hunting
someone, he drove so slowly.”

“Do you remember the license
number,” asked Cariker.

“Well, I believe the last three
numbers were 708.”

This series was added to the first
informant’s information. Now the
deputies thought they had something,
so they drove back to the forks. And
they were right once more, for a
mile farther on a farmer reported
having seen the car pass, not only
today, but several times earlier in

the week. And he remembered the

number, he thought.

“It was 437-508, I think,” he de-
clared, adding, “However, I’m a little
uncertain about the last three num-
bers.”

“Could they have been 708?”

“Well, I reckon they could. But

I’m not so sure. It’s hard to recall.”

Cariker and Rogers were elated.
Next on their program was to find
out something about the plates. Who
owned them?

But first, they must trace out their
fugitive’s course, for there was still
a possibility that he was hidden out
somewhere near by. So on they rolled
down country roads, stopping here
and there to question farmer after
farmer. Some didn’t know the num-
bers, others thought they recognized
the numerals 437-708, while still
others had seen the car that after-
noon but didn’t remember the num-
bers.

Late in the evening they plotted
the course of the fugitive back toward
Maypearl. When they arrived Cariker
telephoned Galveston, where the plate
was issued. “We haven’t got any re-
port on it here,” the Galveston official
said, “but we'll call you back if we
get anything at all.”

“Not so good, not so good,” said
Cariker, his shoulders’ slumping
wearily. “I thought sure we'd find
something, a lead of some sort, there.”

“Let’s see what Sheriff Joe Roy
knows about it,’ suggested Rogers.
“Those fellows might have uncov-
ered something.”

So the call was made to Waxa-
hachie. But the officers there knew
nothing new which might help solve
the case. The only news they had
was that Wilemon had died.

“What next, partner?” Cariker
asked Rogers.

“Well, ’'d say that id

The ringing of the telephone in-
terrupted and Cariker answered. It
was Galveston.

He listened a minute, his face tense.
ae “Thanks a lot. We’ll look into
i Bed

He hung up and turned to Rogers.
“This is hot. They say the man those
plates were sold to is visiting in Den-
nison! Where the car was stolen!
What do you think of that?”

“Well,” answered Rogers, “Let’s
call and see what about them.”

A Dennison official answered and
reported on the license. A man had
reported his plates stolen the night


K~iIi<nQa17 6060

Ono

ias

an

placed in the ambulance they questioned him briefly.
“J didn’t know him,” the banker spoke in a whisper.

But he was red-headed, about five-ten. Slender,
dressed in green suit. About 22 years old.”
Cariker questioned the other witnesses. They

described the car as a maroon Mercury; and their
description of the man agreed with Wilemon’s. They,
too, said they would recognize the bandit.

The deputy pondered a moment. Then he told Ellis:
“That car is our best angle.”

Immediately he called Dallas and seconds later Bill
Decker, Chief Deputy of the Dallas County police, an-
swered the telephone. Quickly Cariker told him of
what had happened and described the car.

“Reckon you’ve got anything at all on that car?”

There was a short delay while Decker searched
through his files. At last, he said, “A new demonstrator
car, a ’39 model, four-door Mercury sedan, was stolen
five days ago in Dennison, Texas, while it stood in front
of a prospect’s house. That’s the only car we have a
report on that agrees with your description, so it is

LAN ug

*

KILLER'S CAR-—-
was a stolen onc. He parked it
in front of bank before holdup.

probably the one you want. It had a
dealer’s license number on it.”

“Fine,” said Cariker. “We're get-
ting somewhere. Now, put this on
the air’ over KVP, asking all officers
over the state to keep a sharp look-
out for our man.”

A’ one o’clock that afternoon Dis-
trict Attorney Forrester Han-
cock arrived and ordered all witnesses into the bank.
Immediately after his arrival, a doctor from the
Waxahachie Hospital telephoned Cariker that Wilemon
was in an exceedingly dangerous condition. His spine
had been shattered and the bullet had lodged in his
upper left chest. “It is very doubtful that he will
survive,” the doctor said, “although we are making
every effort to save his life.”

This made the officers more determined than ever
to crack the case and the efficient district attorney
began taking statements from the witnesses, aided by
Mr. Ellis. Meanwhile, Deputy Cariker called Texas
Ranger headquarters at Austin. After telling the cap-
tain in charge what had happened, he asked: “I'd
certainly appreciate it if you’d send my old partner,
Bill Rogers, over to help me out. He’s not only a
good fingerprint man, but he knows this country well
and probably can help me immeasurably.”

“All right,” was the answer. “Rogers will be there
as soon as possible.”

Cariker then called Dallas, (Continued on page 93)

71


96

“Let’s search him. But be careful.”

While the fellow looked on sul-
lenly Winchester went through his
clothes. He found a cartridge clip and
a .38 automatic pistol. The clip fitted
the automatic. Y

“Where’d you get this?”

“TI found it!”

“You did. How nice. Well, I’ll just
keep looking. Maybe I’ll turn up
something else you found.”

Winchester pulled back the pillow
on the bed. A large roll of bills was
exposed. He counted them. $558!

' The young man blurted: “I won
that money in a chicken fight.”

“Oh, so you did, eh? From who?”

“Well, I don’t know the fellow’s
name:”

“Was it the same man you stole the
license plates from?”

The prisoner was too astonished to
reply, so Winchester said, ‘Come on,
let’s go down to the station. There
are some fellows there from Maypearl
who want to talk to you about. some
happenings up in that part of the
country.”

A’ HOUR later, the sullen prisoner

was facing a barrage of questions
fired at him by various Dennison de-
tectives, as well as Rogers and Cari-
ker, and E. E. Conroy, Federal Bureau
of Investigation agent from Dallas,
who had come to Dennison immedi-
ately upon hearing that the chase had
led there.

Four four hours the questioning
went on. The first break came when
City Detective Harston found a set of
three fine hacksaw blades concealed
in the lining of the prisoner’s shirt.

Upon this, he admitted his name—
Burton Franks of Bonham. Later, he
admitted having served part of a two-
year sentence from Hunt and Lamar
Counties on theft and automobile-

CRIME

DETECTIVE

assured him. “J’ll have the money at

10 a. m. tomorrow. Wait and see.”
Joe kept the ring, the louse, but he

gave me my fifty bucks. He couldn’t

very well refuse the way I put it to ©

him.

The next morning I was on the
phone at the designated hour.

“Dad sent me a thousand this morn-
ing. Isn’t he a sweetheart? You can
take me to lunch today.”

He accepted eagerly and said he’d
meet me at one o’clock.

Three more times that week I bor-
rowed fifty from different fellows, al-
ways leaving the ring as security and
always paying up promptly the next
day with that mythical thousand-dol-
lar check from the old man. My
credit rating was thus soundly es-
tablished and stood aces with the
suckers. They also had enlarged ideas
about the extravagant way in which
IT lived. Nothing less than a thousand
a week would do me, was the impres-
sion I tried to put over. And succeeded
in most cases.

By the time Franz returned, the
ground work for my plans had been
laid. I made no effort to work on my

CRIME DETECTIVE

theft counts. He said he had been
discharged from the penitentiary
while free on a conditional pardon.

But he maintained that he was not
implicated in the bank robbery and
murder until he heard the evidence
pile up and learned that numerous
witnesses were to be brought to Den-
nison to identify him.

At that, he broke and made a ver-
bal statement of his guilt, claiming,
however, that the shooting had been
an_ accident. .

But as to the remainder of the
$1,567 loot, he snarled: “Why, you got
all the money I took. You got it from
under my pillow.”

Murder charges were filed and he
was taken to the Dallas jail for safe-
keeping. There Cariker visited him.

“You might as well come across
and tell us where the rest of the
money is hidden,” said Cariker. “I
traced your course after you held up
the bank and found that you went
to your home in Bonham. That you
visited your mother that afternoon
and were seen taking your sister to
the picture show that night. That
you didn’t leave Bonham until 2 a.m.
It might interest you to know that I
picked up additional information to
the effect that you buried the money
somewhere near your house. Now,
are you going to tell me where it’s
hidden?”

“Youre darn tooting I’m not,” re-
plied Franks. “That’s one pot of
dough you’ll never get.”

“Oh, I won’t, eh? Well, let me tell
you something—”

Franks hung his head. Finally, he
said, “All right. If you'll take’ me
up there at night when the neighbors
can’t see us, I’ll show you exactly
where the money is.” :

That afternoon, Cariker, Franks
and Ranger R. L. Badgett of Dal-

las, left for Bonham, arriving after
dark. Franks took them behind the
garage of his home and pointed to
the ground. “There’s $1,010 buried
there in a fruit jar.” The officers
dug up the ground and retrieved the
money.

Then the party drove north of
Bonham to the Red River, where the
murderer showed them where he had
thrown the murder gun into quick-
sand. Their attempts to find it were
unsuccessful, so the trip continued
on toward Dennison. Within two
miles of the latter place, they stopped
at a V-shaped signboard where the
road forked and found, just as Franks
had told them they would, the stolen
license plates that he had hidden
before entering Dennison the morn-
ing after the murder.

While in jail he wrote a note to
a friend, asking him to “spring” him,
but the officers found the smuggled
letter. Two weeks later, Franks was
tried before Judge A. R. Stoute in
Waxahachie and was sentenced to be
electrocuted. Prosecuting him was
Forrester Hancock, who had worked
so hard to catch up with him during
the investigation.

The Court of Criminal Appeals re-
viewed his case and affirmed the
death penalty. Franks was trans-
ferred to the State Penitentiary at
Huntsville early in April, 1940.

On June 7, at midnight, the tall,
solemn-faced youth walked resigned-
ly into the death cell, fumbling with
a button on the coat of his green
suit. Witnesses included Deputy
Sheriff Jess Cariker, District Attor-
ney Forrester Hancock and a relative
of the slain man.

Franks looked at them and made
his last statement: “May God bless
my mother.” A few seconds later he
was dead.

GIRL SMUGGLER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

own on this trip and had dutifully
delivered every diamond to the desig-
nated fence, even to the stone I had
had mounted in the ring.

Thad also learned why the diamond
market was so low. Heimie Berg, a
fence on Third Avenue had told me.

“For why,” he asked, accepting the
package I handed him, “should I pay
more than 25 per cent? With Max
Haberman—you know, the guy what
stuck up the jewelry store in the Wal-
dorf-Astoria—and Little Moe Aus-
wack and Heinie Reszka, the greatest
jewel thieves of all, filling the town
with hot stones, for why should I buy
smuggles? And from Germany, yet!”
He spat on the floor. “No, 25 per cent
is too much for them monkeys.”

I agreed, but I couldn’t help want-
ing more. For myself.

I COULD tell from Franz’s actions

that he was satisfied with the job
I had done. His spies had not caught
onto what I was up to spending all
my time in night clubs and living in
a swanky hotel. But he knew where
I had been.

“I don’t care what you do with

your money,” he said pointedly. “I
hear you were sober and that’s all
that counts with me. But don’t let me
hear of you getting drunk and talk-
ing. Life is short enough without
seer erinas it with foolishness like

a Re!

The three weeks that followed were
the longest in my life. If I didn’t get
back to New York I would lose my
contacts. Those playboys have noto-
riously short memories. But true to
his word, Franz put me on the train
to New York, alone. “I have too much
work,” he complained. “Maybe next
time we can go together again. I like
you.”

That was as close as he came to
making a play for me, but it was close
enough for me. With slow movers
like that the next play always calls
for a complete showdown, and I
wasn’t quite ready for that. Later,
sitting in the train his remark, “I like
you,” pulsed through my blood in
rhythm with the clattering chatter of
the wheels. I had never thought much
of him personally before, but now I
suddenly realized that I hated him.
Hated him with a fury and intensity

soa


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if some t tine and (hen moved ta the;

want ‘you? fo: ‘ :
read this. carefully: ould for gold. Ast ‘you: wuarry f
ad. there’s where we

apd b
e uh ink of eibecits Bay Ae all, oman ind raise two. or three sreountry, an

Idren—ev en one e child, and you : first separated. i thought it would
Bill me to part, but left anyhow to

have: “peace. But LE. went back,
&\ home four of five times to see ber;)

band she would tell ine every time)
ighat she would go. any where with:
‘me if Y would take her miother
wi us. 1, told her every time.
ba would : take her mother with:
aud | nobody ‘else. But that did,
tbat did not suit ber. She,
promis we. several times that’
she: would go to Anatlp to live if Ii
‘would £0; aud 1 told her that I
would go at any time, and gay

<®

: Yi an ‘Naber to. hot that
sr different from m bats :

“go. They wonld s spend. thi
ié for their own use and di¢
‘at all. pol did. not. kno:
: ay ry todo. “so quit it: altoget
: and. tried to drop: the- whole
ite thing. But I could not do 80, ant
came tc a bad end,’ 1 am noq
in the prison with a guard abou
me day and night. ae
Now, my youug: friends, 1 wal
you to cut this, out and keep. itt
eat and’ ‘think of Lam writin
story « of my life. “Tt? will pa
ut to buy, the ook, The’end.
ON. H. “PRIZzeLt.
parlor county, rex
hd ae BRS eal

oat one give rot ‘sone. ed
further aliead: is~is 10
re ng men and young ladies:
ee will” take my

: Abilene

or th 66 lies sae x aie y
hi OF ER ‘you, and the. two
join hands as jman dad? wife


&

%

WS


can’ say: to the people, : There; is}:

s

| made. me do. the” killing.

i was ‘born in Leavenworth,
@ Kaneas, on the 29th day of Jdnu-
’ Faised in. Texas.

the only: one. ii

There ia: a ryeliv ot ike tn
his whole career a8 well as in: his

[énd upon the gallows to-day, We

cannot think that hé was.» really
bad mav at heart notwithstanding
the fact that he committed a’ fear.
fal crime for which: he paid: the
.| penalty with his own-Jife. -There
‘was in his’ latter days ‘an under

,peartent: which carried him along

: Frisell: ag. mother's: name se do
pee ea beast I -was, only, six care

have nothing’ to: aay in’ xtents-

i time’ ofthe killing for I-don’t know:

28 3 myself, and iy ‘regard to-what my

wife back to: life, and that is my’

i feeling now just as it was ten. min- f

to his epee aslgots We often read.

{pone oF thtas cau be more tangled

than tis seems to have been... We

pala]
penalty’ f it. with his own life,
diwe leave his case in the hands

Governor- Hoge bas

‘nO ote Dut God that: ean 'telt er his-intention of

| session of the iagisiatare:

=| Maree or April samd thas ¢

the work to. be diene, He:

“The legislature cannofven
special session umder: the ¢

tation longer thaw thirty - -daya., :
Necessarily, therevore, many sab-'
jects of importance will bay dip

state into congressional, jadlelal,
senatorial and representallrs

of ape-4

us way ben ;
fect fo each of: te a pes zs
adopted constitationa’

ent

| speedy. Panishmens for their of.

‘ Below We , give
Annie: Frizzell, nee
was the unfortuuate vietim of the
pertarbed state of mind into which
Frizzell had. worked. himaelf, / It
also’ shows the “baby” ‘of: which
Ae sieaks in his “Last 2 serngeet

row, who}

on other. questions of great: pubic. :
su portan se: may arise and be aise Be

think by the time fibe work I ‘have:

| ontlined receives proper attentio

ling to dietwo deaths in'the game :
ot to die. Now, there
beenseveral that have asked |:

cause dud what mado you: ‘do it
Thas- Is; ‘Bomething’ that: tT cannot}:

Au Interesting Relic. :

Jesse Waldon last week showed»
as 9 rifle gan® which he. Kaye ‘was.
once the: property of  Gen.- Sam.

{Honston. It wae made. ‘in the ;

olden times and carries a ‘part:
ite. history engravedon the. tallow |
box? This inscription: Bets. forth |
that In 1814 it waa presented
President Madisom to a Mr, Reese,

_ | After thé various ownerships and: :
: fblished |

tranefere. @ ould by:

See toe cee &
cs tae eee Ny ON ae,

v


- ASA yt ony Se

FARMER, Frank, ie ak electrocuted Texas (Floyd Coin) on 6-10-1953,

Meg Me Tex

Mr, Espy,dJr.

Bn reference to your recuest of one Jack Farmer,our old

newspapers are in bound files aud we have no way of making

a copy of the particular story you are interested in

other than typing the facts. , —

a“

Tne man you are refering too, according. to the story »is

Frank(Pat) Farmer, 51, charged with #Ké murder with malice of
his second wife March S, 1951 3

Farmer was a resident Oe Lubbock,as was his wife, and
on change of venue. -
the trial was moved to Floyd County.The jury death penalty
Flo assessed |).
verdict was the first in the county and was/déddd November l,

1951 in Floyd County's 110th District Court.
"Parmer fatf/ally shot his wife in TNM&0O Cafe in Lubbock
in the wee hours of March 5, before scores of witnesses,then

4

turned the gun on himself.in A¢¢dotdd attempted Adidd suicide.

‘He was gravely injured.

The story does not relate who stopped him from the attempt#.
He and his first wife had three children, and he and his

second wife had eight children.

Farmer testified at the trial, #hedt eecording to the

news story,that he didnot recall any of the details of the

‘shooting.That his mind was blank, He was a carpenter and a

A new trial was asked for,but denied.Notice of appeal
was given and Farmer's case passed on by the Court of Criminal
Apvveals.

I could find nothing in newspapers around June 10,

(1953 of the actual electracution.Evidently #% the editor

did not finish the story bo its completion or I overlooked
it.

Hope this helps you in your research

The wounds Mappeted Were not fatal,
se ty

but Flores was conquered only by the
combined might of four men, and sev-
eral spectators were injured in the
panic in the narrow corridors. Only
the determined front of. six rangers
with drawn six-shooters cowed the
other prisoner and prevented an out-
break evidently prearranged.

After Flores was hanged, Sheriff
Boone warned Para that further resis-
tance meant death, and dragying his
gun walked into the dark cell where
the murderer cowered. Rangers with
drawn guns backe'?) 1.05) o> Parse was
;seized and bound ant taken co) the

scaffold. When t).alus fuibehis bead)

Was severed almisi cutis iv fom hl
body by the force «* | Hab dnd bh
spurted in streanie os) 0 his oath Pons
the severed jugwn: stn.

DEATH WAS. th Si ANTANT OU,

- Denver, Colo., CS cia Pf eed

the- News from IT.) 0)°¢9: SGM
“Geronimo Para and Antonio. fivres,
who were executed here today for mur-
der, made a desperate effort to kill
some of the officers or spectators this
afternoon when their cell door was
unlocked. It had been decided to hang
Flores first for fear he would break
down and when the officers unlocked

the cell door to convey him to the gal-

lows both prisoners dashed out and |

stabbed right and left among the
crowd with dirks mude of coarse steel
wire.

. A desperate struggle followed and

‘the. most intense excitement was pre-

cipitated. A constable shoved Para
into a cell and bolted the door and five
rangers and deputy sheriffs sprang up-
on Flores, disarming him and bearing
him to the floor. He was bound and
conveyed to the scaffold, where death
was instantancous. Ranger Ed Bryant
was wounded in the stomach by a dag-
ger thrust. Para was covered by re-
volvers and disarmed, after which he
was taken to the scaffold. “Death was
almost instantaneous in his case.

re

csermry A Ae TT} BSG" CHT y ary


James FISHER, hanged at Cooper, Delta County, Texas, on May 27, 1892,

"May 27, 1892-James Fisher, the murderer of Austin Hardy, was hanged at Cooper, Delta
Co., Tex., at 2 o'clock this afternoon, The execution was public and took place in the
court house yard. He had Sheriff Acker to make a statement in his behalf, exonerating
his father, who was thought by some to have been an accessory to the killing, There was
no disturbanceof any kind and the great throng went away fully satisfied that justice
had been done,

"The crime for which James Fisher was executed today was a most @#WSKXXAKA cruel and
cold-blooded one. On duly 5, 1891, he brutally and inhumanely shot Austin Hardy because
he would not admit that he had been guilty of a crime that is worse than murder, Hardy
lived about 8 miles northeast of Cooper, and was a hard working man who had the
respect of his neighbors, He married Fisher's sister in Missouri about 12 years before
his death, and was the father of children, the oldest a girl 11 years of age. James
Fisher kaa been making his home at Hardy's for several years. He was an idle, shiftless
sort of fellow, who gambled when he had any money, On Saturday, Jukty lh, 1891, there
was a picnic in the neighborhood that nearly everybody attended, That night Fisher
went to his father's and stayed all night. The next morning he went to Hardy's house
and asked his sister where her husband was. He was told that he was in the field
gathering W## roasting ears, Fisher weht down to where he was and, drawing a pistol,
saidt 'Austin Hardy, you have been criminally intimate with your own daughter, If
you don't own up to it, I will kill you,'

"Hardy attempted to deny it, when Fisher shot him Mrs, hardy heard the shooting and
went to her husband and found him mortally wounded, He lived until that night,

and made a statement Kit as to how it BR occurred, Fisher gave up to the officers and
was placed in jail, He was placed on trial September 22, 1891. Hardy's little daugh-
ter, with whom Fisher charged that he was intimate, stated that a few months before,
during the serious illness of her father, Jim Fisher made repeated efforts to outrage
her. She did not tell because he threatenéd to kill her father if she did. On the
morning of Sept. 23, the case was given to the jury and in one hour a verdict 6f guilty
with the death penalty was returned, The case was appealed (18 SOUTHWESTERN 90), but
affirmed. His friends made a vigorous effort to have it commuted,

"Insanity was alleged and pleaded, He was sentenced to be hanged on Wednesday, May h,
but Governor Hogg respited him until today in order to get additional expert testimony
as to his sanity. The leading physicians of this section declared him to be sane.
The executioh meets with almost universal approbation of the people of Delta County,
"Fisher was about 28 years of age and his general makeup showed him to be a man of
low morals and little intelligence." NEWS, Galveston, Texas, 5-28-1892 (2-3)

Vt x eo Ac )
len OA OV \
& ee

Nor on Sauyhle Le 3

Jack Frelds executed at Wharton TX on 1a-8-1872
for murder of Mr. &lrs. Henry Kearby on Xmas Eve Gi.
Al/ negroes. First lega/ execution |p lharton County
Since ifs inception 46 years previous. Fields and Kearby
Were two of a group of gamesters who Stayed up Te
the wee hours cf 1AfA¢/9/ gambling. Kearby won O73
and Frelds resolved 10 rob him. Snuck tate hewse at Faur
ocleck that morning and fatally hlungtoned Kearby and hs
wife th their bed, Pansached house and Sek 1¥ on Hire. (ia
unborn Child was exptlted from the Corpse of The sews
onto the greund he dragged Sr Ye burning POuse.

-‘\e —

Fields was decapita ted by the drop.
Mis head remained Lived in the Noose th
plain syoht of the specrayors aftjer his body

had fallen Yo the ground.
N.0. Pic. (8/3/98 7:6

»
’
{

FORBES, Henry, black, hanged Galveston, Galveston Co,, November 13, 1840.

“Henry Forbes, black, hanged at Galveston, Texas, on Nov. 13, 1840, for ‘burglary,
breaking and entering’. This was the first legal execution on Galveston Island under the
Texas Republic, No mention of Forbes as a slave, so he was presumably a free black, of which

there were many in Texas during the 1830's.”-Letter from W. T. Block, citing Daily News,

Galveston, TX, 5/21/1885.
“The first (legal execution in Galveston) occurred on Nov. 13, 1840, when Henry Forbes
was hanged near where Shipper’s press now stands. He had been convicted of breaking out of

prison, which was a capital crime under the laws of the Republic of Texas.”-Daily News,
Galveston, TX, 6/11/1899 (6/3).

FORBES, Henry, black, hanged at Galveston, Texas, on Nov, 13, 1810.

"A negro named Henry Forbes was the first person hanged by law in Galveston after the
incorporation of this city. He had committed burglary and was incarcerated in the bulk
of an old brig called the Elbe which was used as a prison, He was indicted under sec-
tion 9 of the laws of the republic, which provided that ‘any person who shall break and
enter into any dwelling-house or store by night and take therefrom any goods, chattels,
money or other articles of value, shall be deemed guilty of burglary, and on convic-
tion thereof, shall suffer death,' Forbes was arraigned before Judge A. B. Shelby,
under the indictment for burglary, on April 10, 180, when the evidencewas heard and
the case submitted to the jury, who after retiring reported that they were unable to
agree on a verdict and were discharged by order of the court, the prisoner being re-
manded to jail, After remaining in confinement a short time Forbes succeeded in
breaking through his flimsy prison and made his escape, but was recaptured and again
locked up. When the district court convened in October, 180, the original indictment
for burglary was ignored and the prisoner indicted for prison-breaking, at that time
also a capital offense, On the 16th of October a change of venue to Liberty County
was granted, but was set aside the next day and the cause reinstated for trial here,
How it was disposed of is shown from the following extract from the court records:
'Saturday, Oct. 17, 180, Republic of Texas vs. Henry Forbes, prison breaking, This
day comes theprisoner in pro, pri., waived hi s rights of the two days' notice,
previous to trial, of the list of the grand jury and copy of the indictments; whereupon
also comes the Republic of Texas, by Thomas Johnson, acting district attorney, pro tem,
and theprisoner being led to the bar and arraigned, and on his arraignment pleaded not
guilty; and thereupon came the following jury to wits James McKinney, Stephen Kirkland,
William P, Herring, Henry B, Martin, John P, Davis, John Fordney, Joel T. Casey
John DeYoung, Ephriam McLean, Jacob DeCordova, Noah Dryager and Marcus Williamson, good
and lawful men, who, being duly elected, tried and sworn to well and truly try the
issue between the republic of Texas and Henry Forbes, whom they shall have in charge,
and, having heard the evidence, do say, 'We the jury find the prisoner guilty.' It is
therefore ordered and adjudged by the court that Henry Forbes be taken hence to the
prison and there safely kept until Friday, the 13th day of November next; that he be
taken thence on that day, between the hours of 10 a. m, and l; p. m,, to the place of
execution and there be hanged by the neck until dead, dead, dea; and that the sheriff
of the county be charged with the execution.' Forbes was hanged by Sheriff ™m F,
Wilson on the bay shore in the western part of the city, He was a bad character, ack=
nowLedged that he deserved death for various offenses, professed to have experienced
religion while under sentence of death, said he wanted to die, and rode to the sallows
sitting on his coffin and singing a hymn at the top of his voice,"

DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, September 9, 1888 (5-1).


At last the legation received a com-
munication regarding Hellmut. ‘The
decision was that we were-to return
to the United States at once. The
Summer months of 1941 were already
overshadowed by the storm clouds of
the approaching war. The spy masters
in Berlin might have changed their
minds about shifting their agents
around at such a late hour.

We had hardly settled in Beverly
Hills again’ when a coded message
arrived, advising Hellmut to continue
his previous activities, and to await
orders which would arrive by personal
messenger.

Who would this man be? An envoy
arriving from Germany? And what
instructions would he relay to Hell-
mut?

Weeks, months passed and nothing
happened.

Hellmut rarely visited German Con-
sul Gyssling. He told me that since
our return Gyssling was rather hostile.
Maybe he sensed that I had a restrain-
ing influence on my husband. Or may-
be he suspected that. we weren’t quite
on the level.

More weeks went by, and still the
agent we were expecting failed to
show up. That added to our nervous-
ness as we interpreted it as a sign
that they had lost faith in us, and
were getting ready to liquidate us in
their brutal manner.

I reached the point where I couldn’t
stand it any longer to live under this
cloak of fear.

“I’m going to look for a job,” I said
one day. “I feel I’m going crazy here.
Please, Hellmut.”

He nodded. “I think that is a good
idea. Look for a job.”

I soon found one, offering me the
opportunities I had dreamed of in
earlier years. It was with a large
Hollywood studio producing animated
cartoons. I was hired as an inker. I
finally had found an outlet for my
artistic ambitions which had been
frustrated from the day I started
studying medicine, despairing of any-
one making a living as a painter or
designer.

With my work new happiness came
into my life. But though I tried not
to think of it, I was living on borrowed
time.

The Japs staged their treacherous

attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany de-
clared war on us. The FBI started
rounding up suspected spies and
agents by the hundreds. Hellmut told
me that a purge, ordered by Berlin,
was going on among the German
agents in this country.

Hellmut didn’t tell me that the
demons of fear were at his heels like
a pack of wolves. But I knew how he
felt.

One night when I came home Hell-
mut said, “I have a visitor, my dear.”

A big, heavy-set man, slumped in
an armchair, rose to his feet.

“Mr. Freddie Walther,” Hellmut in-
troduced. “My wife.”

Walther bowed. For a moment his
cold eyes fixed on me in a scrutinizing
stare. Then he turned to Hellmut.

“Tl be going,” he said in fairly
fluent, though heavily accented En-
glish. “I have a lot of other lost
children to take care of.”

‘ H®* CLICKED his heels, bowed stiffly

like a puppet, Heil-Hitler-ed, and
was gone.
“What did he want?” I asked. “And
whom did he mean by ‘lost children’?”
Hellmut chuckled. He looked almost
carefree, as if relieved of the invisible
load that seemed to have been weigh-
ing on his shoulders. “The lost children
are you and me, and all the others
who work for Germany’s_ victory.
Freddie just arrived from Germany.
He saw my uncle and brought me
greetings from him. I am still in good
standing he told me. Every month a
large sum of money is being paid for
me into a German bank by the Gesta-

po and the Intelligence Service. After’

the war we'll be rich. Meanwhile we'll
be receiving money here too. That’s
Freddie’s job, to get it for us. He also
will be giving me instructions regard-
ing my work.”

I couldn’t share Hellmut’s jubilant
feelings. I knew the longer this dread-
ful life lasted the more terrible the
final climax would be.

When I came home from work on
the night of January 21, 1942, I found
a message from Hellmut. A message of
doom. My eyes blurred as I read and
re-read it, bewildered, unbelieving, un-
able to grasp its full significance.

| have been arrested by the FBI,

For a French Prisoner's Buried Treasure

all with the treasure hunt, killed Mrs.
Carney,” Buchanan muttered, “it
would be the wildest coincidence I’ve
ever heard of. After all, she wasn’t
known in Waco—no one was supposed
to know she was here. If she were the
sort to have personal enemies, the kind
that would want her dead, then I might
think someone was spying on her and
deliberately planned the thing to look
like it tied up with the treasure hunt.
This is just about the wackiest case
I’ve ever heard of!’’

Detective Van Wie said, reflectively,
“You know, the treasure angle was so
obvious that it has obscured every-
thing else. But there is another angle,
at that. It’s a slight one, I’ll admit.”
The others looked expectantly at him,
and he suggested, “What about the
killer jerking Mrs. Carney’s purse out
of her hand? Could robbery have been
the motive? That’s a mighty dark, iso-
lated place down there between the
tracks, and not far from a hobo jun-
gle.”

The others were skeptical. “Why
would a robber just walk up and shoot
his victim down without warning? He
didn’t say a word—didn’t tell her to
put her hands up or give her purse to
him—just shot her. Grabbing the purse
looks like an afterthought. Or maybe
the killer was after more papers or
charts he thought might be in the
purse.”

“He could have gotten scared. May-
be he thought the boy was a man—it
was dark, you know.”

Bauerle broke in, in a thoughtful
voice, “It is a possibility. You’ve got

AD 6

to admit we aren’t going places fast
with what we’ve got. You fellows know
from experience that sometimes the
most obvious motive isn’t it at all, and
this treasure hunt was unusual enough
to command all the attention.”

“You’re right there,” Mobley ad-
mitted. “We’ve got to cover all the
angles.”

Accordingly, known toughs of the
district and denizens of the rather ex-
tensive “hobo jungle” were rounded up
for questioning. Posses of officers
scoured the region for the murder
weapon, which the completed coroner’s
report had revealed to be a .38 auto-
matic. As news of the treasure leaked
out, the land between the Katy and
Cottonbelt swarmed with men and
women, feverishly digging in an at-
tempt to find the alleged buried money!

While specially detailed officers con-
tinued their exhaustive investigation,
Mobley and Buchanan turned their
attention to the possibility that Mrs.
Carney had been slain by a holdup

, Man.

“In the event she was,’ Buchanan
pointed out, “it had to be someone who
stumbled on her by accident. Neither
Whitlock nor the woman appeared
prosperous enough that there -would
be any likelihood of anyone trailing
them with an eye to robbery. It would
have to have happened on the spur of
the moment. So what we’ve got to fig-
ure out is who’d have been in that
vicinity at that particular time outside
the drifters who stay around there.
They’re another possibility that may
be in the ‘too obvious’ class.”

Stunned as I was, I realized that the
world in which I had lived, a world
of self-deception, desperate love, sor-
did compromises, had collapsed, and
the hour of reckoning had come.

_ I was arrested the following morn-
ing.

Sergeant D. P. Henderson of the
Beverly Hills police assisted the G-
Men in arresting Hellmut and me.

For days Federal men kept ham-
mering at me with questions. I told
them what I knew. I was not allowed
to see Hellmut, who was being ques-
tioned separately. He, too, I learned
later, confessed his role in the Nazi
plot.

We were indicted for having acted
as agents of a foreign government
without being consular or diplomatic
officers or attaches; for having ‘‘con-
spired, combined, confederated and
agreed with each other and with
diverse other persons, to violate the
Federal laws pertaining to our na-
tional security.”

On June 2, 1942, Hellmut and I
came to trial. Hellmut was found
guilty on two counts—failing to regis-
ter as an alien agent, and conspiring
to send information to a foreign power.
I was found guilty only on the second
count.

Facing me, Federal Judge Harrison
said gravely. “You, like your husband,
were acting in bad faith. It has been
hard for me to reconcile your conduct.
At one moment you seemed to be con-
trolled by a feeling of loyalty to the
United States, and in the next breath
you appeared to be willing to give up
that loyalty for your intended hus-
band, who later became your husband.
It is quite apparent that you were
fighting between two very deep emo-
tions—your feeling for Hellmut Gros
and your feeling for your country.”

Hellmut was sentenced to five years
on the first count, and ten years on
the second; however, his sentences are
to run concurrently. I was sentenced
to eighteen months imprisonment only
on the second count.

The day after the sentences were
passed I was allowed to visit Hellmut
in his cell. We held each other for a
long time, and we both cried, and
sobbed out our regret about what we
had done.

But then it was too late.

(Continued from Page 16)

From house to house in the lonely
area the officers went, questioning in-
mates. Painstakingly they obtained a
list of names—‘Everyone who was
even seen walking along the street that
time of evening,” Mobley told Bu-
chanan.

“T learned from a woman near the
tracks that there was a poker game in
progress in an abandoned elevator of-
fice near the crossing. That’s a little
over a block from where Mrs. Carney
was shot.” He showed him a slip of
paper, with several names written on
it. “These are the ones who were there
—these the ones who came and went
during the evening. We’ll have a talk
with them.”

NE by one the men who had at-

tended the poker party proved to
authorities’ satisfaction that they had
been either at the game, or somewhere
far removed, at the actual hour of the
killing. However, in the course of his
investigation, Captain Buchanan heard
something that interested him.

“A Negro named Frank Flour got in
an argument with his brother-in-law,
L. B. Gaines. Seems Flour had lost all
his money and tried to make a touch.
Gaines turned him down. Flour got
pretty sore about it and finally Gaines
said he’d loan him the money if he’d
put up his gun as security. Flour said
okay, and they left together.”

Mobley looked interested.
kind of a gun?”

“Nobody seems to know. The others
said it.was about 8:00 when they left
and that Flour came back about 10:00

“What

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4]


with some money. Gaines wasn’t with
him.”

“We checked Flour,” said the Sher-
iff, “and he is supposed to have been
at this Gaines’ house until 10:00. I
didn’t have Gaines’ name on this list.
Maybe we ought to look them over,
huh?”

AINES, a laborer, was at home

when the officers called on him.
He repeated his former assertion that
Flour had spent the evening until 10:00
o’clock at his home. Mobley said, “But
you overlooked telling us that both you
and Flour were at the poker game
until 8:00 o’clock, and that you walked
home along the tracks.”

Gaines looked embarrassed. “My
wife doesn’t know I was. playing
poker,” he said, lamely, “so I just
didn’t mention it. Yeah, I was over
there. I promised to loan Frank some
money, but when we got home my
wife had come back from town and I
didn’t let him have the money.”

The Sheriff demanded, “When you
and Flour walked home, did you see a
car parked beside the railroad track?”

Gaines shrugged. “There might have
been. I don’t remember.”

A talk with the man’s wife brought
an interesting development. The wo-
man flatly denied that Flour had spent
the evening there!

“He was here for a little while,” she
said, “but he left about 9:00, maybe
earlier. And he never did come back.”

Caught in his lie, Gaines squirmed
and fidgeted. ‘Well, he did leave,” he
admitted. “I told you that because I’d
heard what you fellows were doing and
I knew it might cause trouble for
Frank if you knew he was out around
town that time of night. To tell the
truth, I don’t know where he was.”

“When Flour went back to the poker
game he had some money. Where did
he get that? You’ve already said you
didn’t lend him any.”

Gaines squirmed some more. “I don’t
know. I reckon he borrowed it from
somebody else.”

"Bring

intersection of 2lst Street and Park
Avenue. The driver whistled flirta-
tiously at a young woman ‘walking
along 21st, a waitress on her way
home from the restaurant where she
worked. She ignored the man’s whistle
and continued walking.

In a flash, the driver leaped from
his car, grabbed the girl by the throat
and dragged her toward a_ near-by
hedge. As she screamed and bit her
attacker, a taxi pulled around the
corner. The man released his hold,
leaped into his car and fled. The taxi-
driver pursued him a short way and
then lost his quarry in traffic.

Shaken and partially incoherent, the
waitress gave police a description of
her assailant that roughly corres-
ponded with that of Harry Burns.

On the following “night, police re-
ceived a call from a woman on North
LaSalle Street near Brookside Park.

“I just saw a man in a green car
drag a little girl into his car and
drive away,” the woman said hyster-
ically. “‘He’s in the park somewhere.”

Within minutes, the entire park area
was surrounded by a cordon of motor-
ized policemen; reinforced by a corps
of deputies provided by Sheriff Al
Feeney.

A few minutes after 9:00 o’clock,
a frightened and weeping child entered
a grocery on 21st Street. Her clothes
were shredded and she told a terri-
fying story of mistreatment by a “big
man” in a green car who had driven
her to a dark spot near the railroad.

Alarmed by these new outrages,
Mayor Sullivan and Safety Director
Leroy Keach demanded an_ all-out
drive to bring in the marauder.

The order went out: “Bring in tall,
dark and handsome!”

By newspaper and radio, word went
out to all Indianapolis citizens to be on
guard against the phantom attacker.

42

The Sheriff’s face hardened. He
drawled, “I don’t think you're telling
all you know. You’d better come down
to Headquarters with us.”

Buchanan suggested, “Go ahead and
take him in. I’) round up Flour and
we'll see what he’s got to say.” He
glanced at the crestfallen Gaines. “By
the way, what kind of a gun does Flour
have?” Gaines shrugged and refused to
answer. The woman spoke up sharply:

“T can tell you. It’s a .38 pistol!”

“Do you know where it is?”

She glared at her husband. “Frank
had it with him when he left here.”

Buchanan and Mobley were jubilant.
Now events seemed to be shaping up
nicely. Gaines looked thoroughly un-
happy, and as he was started on his
journey to Headquarters he _ said,
morosely, “You got me all wrong. I
don’t know anything about that killing
and Frank doesn’t either.”

1tlF YOU’RE as innocent as all that,”

Mobley retorted, “you shouldn’t
have done so much lying. If ‘Frank
doesn’t know anything about it, why
did he need all that protection?” After
a moment he added, grimly, “Flour’s
home is two blocks from where Mrs.
Carney -was killed, and he passed the
spot at least twice that night. Doesn’t
look so hot for him!”

Buchanan, in the meanwhile, found
Flour also at home. Flour, a strap-
ping six-footer, complied at once with
the Captain’s request that he ‘come
down for a little talk with the boys.”
When Buchanan arrived at the Station
with his prisoner, Sheriff Mobley just
was entering the parkway with Gaines.
Buchanan sang out, “Flour says Gaines
ean tell us where that gun is.”

Gaines spun around, his face blanch-
ing. “That’s a dirty lie!” he shouted,
hoarsely. “He had that gun with him
when he left. I haven’t seen it since!”
Suddenly he wrenched loose from the
Sheriff’s grasp and_ broke into a run.
Across the crowded square he went,
jostling his way among the shoppers.
Unable to shoot for fear of hitting

innocent bystanders, half a dozen of-
ficers sped in pursuit.

The fleeing Gaines left the square,
dashed down a side street. “He’s head-
ing for the river!’ someone shouted.
Gaining on the fugitive, Detective Van
Wie and Deputy Wiley Stem saw that
he was making straight for the bank
of the Brazos, a wide stream which
crossed Waco less than a block from
the teeming market square. Buchanan
yelled, “If he gets across, we’ll never
get him.”

Gaines waded into the shallow, mud-
dy water at the river’s edge, glanced
back, and then plunged forward. Dep-
uty Stem, nearest him, shouted, “Stop,
or I’ll shoot!” Twice he repeated his
bellowed warning, but Gaines contin-
ued to swim with despairing speed.

Stem’s gun spat flame. The man in
the water floundered, began to sink,
and the Deputy yelled, “I’ve hit him!
We’ve got to get him out of there.”

The half-conscious fugitive was

brought to the bank. Blood streamed '

from his body, and he was breathing
hoarsely. In an ambulance summoned
by Buchanan, Gaines was rushed to
the hospital.

At Headquarters, Frank Flour
slumped in a chair, refusing sullenly
to talk. Buchanan told him, “When I
asked you on the way in about the
gun you said that Gaines had it. What
have you to say now?”

“Nothin’,” said the big fellow. “You
guys ain’t gonna pin no murder rap
on me.”

For two hours he persisted in his
stubborn silence. At length Mobley was
summoned to the telephone. When he
returned, his face was grim. “Gaines
is dead,” he said shortly. “Died just a
few minutes ago.”

Flour lifted his head to stare at them.
The Sheriff returned his gaze expres-
sionlessly. ‘Your brother-in-law knew
plenty,” he said in a cold voice, shoot-
ing in the dark. “That's why he tried
to make his getaway—to cover you.
Because he knew you killed Reba Car-
ney. Did he hide the gun for you?”

in Tall, Dark and Handsome!" (Continued from

On July 11 the mystery woman
found in the gutter at Michigan and
Meridian Streets, recovered conscious-
ness for the first time. She identified
herself as Mary Seaman, a waitress.
Through tortured, swollen lips, she
gave Lahrman her long-awaited first-
hand account of her experience with
the man in the green car early on the
morning of July 5.

“IT was walking home from a
friend’s,’ Miss Seaman said, ‘when a
dark-green car pulled to the curb.
The man at the wheel said, ‘Hello,
there! Want to go for a ride?’ Realiz-
ing that it was someone I didn’t know,
I said nothing and walked on. I had
gone only a short way when I felt
myself lifted completely off my feet.
Something hit me in the back of the
head and I was dragged into the car.
I was terrified.

“Before we had gone very far, the
man demanded that I do something
awful. I refused. He struck me on
the head and face and. began to rip off
my clothes. I screamed but nobody
heard me. The man pulled out a
knife and cut me. I don’t remember

much afterwards—except a sensation °

of falling.”

Mary Seaman’s description of her
assailant convinced Lahrman that he
was Harry Burns.

One item in her story regarding
Burns’ clothing weighed heavily on the
detective’s mind. .She said the man in
the green car had worn a loose-fitting
camel’s-hair jacket and a pea-green
sports shirt open at the collar. ,

The shirt and jacket instantly re-
called to Lahrman’s mind. the hand-
some young man who had occupied the
apartment across the hall from the
Graves on Massachusetts Avenue.

Lahrman returned to the apartment-
building. Both the Graves and the
Sinclair apartments were vacant.

¢

The rental agency informed the de-
tective that the Graves had vacated
only two days before. Sinclair had
moved in the middle of the afternoon
on Saturday, July 5. That meant,
Lahrman mused, that Sinclair had
fled shortly after he and McLoughlin
had questioned him regarding the
whereabouts of Harry Burns.

Why?

; Aen received a jolt when he
learned, on examining the rental
agency’s accounts, that Sinclair's first
name was Burns.

The coincidence of the names Burns
Sinclair and Harry Burns gave Lahr-
man an idea. Maybe the two men were
one and the same. If so, Burns, posing
as Sinclair, cleverly had duped him
on July 5 and then abandoned his
apartment.

Lahrman hurried back to Headquar-
ters to check the Department’s rec-
ords on Burns Sinclair. Just inside
the building, he was accosted by Mc-
Loughlin.

“The Chief wants to see you,” Mc-
Loughlin said.

Lahrman found Chief Morrissey in
a scowling mood in his office, study-
ing a letter that just had come in the
mail. '

Morrissey handed the missive to
Lahrman and stood by silently as the
detective read it with growing disgust.

The letter was from one of the city’s
most prominent specialists in venereal
diseases. He stated that he just had
received for treatment two girls, one
nine years old, the other eleven.

‘I haven’t informed the children’s
parents of the true nature of their ill-
ness,” said the doctor’s letter. “The
manner in which they were infected
constitutes, I assume, a criminal of-
fense on the part of the infection
bearer.

The prisoner’s head dropped again.
For long moments he stared at the
floor, while the officers waited. Only
the ticking of the big clock on the wall
made a sound in the room. After a
long time Flour muttered almost in-
audibly, “He shouldn’t have run. He
didn’t have anything to do with it—
he was just afraid he’d get into trou-
ble because of what I did. I shouldn’t
have told him what happened.”

The officers relaxed. A confession
was coming.

It was a cold-blooded recital. “I
needed some dough to get back in the
poker game. I saw this car by the
tracks and I figured they might have
some money. There was a little light
on the dash and I could see the woman
had a pocketbook on her lap. I didn’t
intend to kill her. I just shot into the
car to scare them, and then I grabbed
the pocketbook and beat it. I didn’t
know it was a kid with her until I
heard him start to yell.” Flour rubbed
a huge hand over his face and a
crooked grin distorted his mouth. “I
was kinda nervous until I read about
the treasure hunt, and then I figured
I’d never be suspected. I still don’t
know how you guys got onto me.”

UCHANAN asked tightly, “How
much money did you get from Mrs.
Carney?”

A grimace of disgust crossed Flour’s
face. “A dollar sixty-five! And I
lost it all in the game!”

He revealed that he had tossed the
murder weapon in the Brazos on
Gaines’ advice, after he told his fright-
ened brother-in-law what he had done.

On December 5, ten days after the
brutal killing, Flour signed a full con-
fession to his crime, in the office of
Captain Buchanan. He stated that he
alone had been involved and that no
one else questioned in the case was
implicated.

Brought to trial in the early Spring,
he was convicted of first-degree mur-
der and sentenced to death. He since
has been duly executed.

Page 9)

“T respectfully await whatever ac-
tion you see fit to take under the
circumstances.”

Lahrman hurried to the physician’s
office where he learned more of the
revolting details concerning the chil-
dren.

They were the daughters of the
Graves couple who formerly had lived
on Massachusetts Avenue in the apart-
ment across the hallway from~- Burns
Sinclair, now suspected as Harry
Burns and as the man in the green car.

“Mars. Graves brought them in yes-
terday,” the doctor said, “thinking the
children were suffering from a kidney
or bladder ailment. It will be a
terrible task, but I must inform the
parents.” ;

Lahrmgn nodded glumly, then said,
“It'll be tough, all right. But I’ll help
you break the news. I think I know
the responsible party.”

The two men drove to the Graves
home.

Mrs. Graves listened in stupefaction
as the physician, couching his language
gently, told her the nature of the chil-
dren’s affliction. ‘

When the doctor had finished, Mrs.
Graves’ eyes flashed, she clinched her
fists above her head and_ sobbed:
“Burns Sinclair! That dirty beast! He’s
ruined my children! He’s destroyed
them! Oh, what can 1 do?”

Lahrman and the doctor quieted Mrs.
Graves only with considerable effort.
Once she had gained her composure,
she dried her tear-stained face and
said stonily: “I should have known
there was something wrong with him.”

Sinclair, according.«to Mrs. Graves,
was living in the apartment-building
when the Graves moved in. Handsome
and talkative, but ever mysterious as
to his means of livelihood, Sinclair
manifested a deep attachment for the
Graves children. Frequently he took

AD- 6

ee

al

‘e _

A 4 oe t

Donald Gene :

HF Thursday, November 3, 1988

black,

LI Texas (Bexar)

GheBallas Morning News

TEXAS & SOUTHWEST

a > 4h

Killer is executed i: in Texas

US. Supreme Court votes 7*2 against stay for Franklin vu

By Michael j Graczyk

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas’ — A con- ;
victed killer once characterized by ;
his own attorney as the most hated

man in San Antonio was executed

by lethal injection and pronounced *
dead at 12:30 a.m. Thursday for the °

1975 abduction-slaying of a nurse. *

Donald Gene Franklin's hopes ©
for a reprieve were dashed Wednes- »

day when the U.S. Supreme Court
voted 7-2 against his request for a

stay. Other federal and state courts _

earlier had refused similar motions.
Franklin -was taken into the

death chamber at the Walls Unitof .
the Texas Departments.of Correc- :

tions just before midnight Wednes-
day as witnesses filed into the room.
Franklin made no statement before
doctors administered a lethal injec-
tion.

Franklin coughed seven. times
and gasped once. His eyes never
closed and his mouth remained
open.

Earlier, when Franklin was told
of the high court’s ruling, his only
response was “thank you,” Texas
prison officials said. He was visiting
with his parents at the time.

Franklin, who had three trials
and at least five execution dates,
was slated for lethal injection be-
fore dawn Thursday for the July
197S death of Mary Margaret

Donald Gene Franklin ...
was comvicted of the 1975
abduction-slaying of a
nurse.

“Peggy” Moran.

“He just told me he was framed
for something he didn’t do,” a fel-
low death row inmate, Johnny
Penry, said Wednesday. Franklin,
37, for years had refused interview
requests from reporters.

Franklin, who requested a final

meal of a hamburger and french

r

not calm. He’s worried about what's
goingtohappentohim.” 3 -*«f

year agreed to consider his chal-

_ment law. r

‘mitigating circumstances whén de-;

, peace and have relief.” «oe

ae —~ TNs Seo
cAPy ; : Pile |

- ee ~*

=-
a:
‘e te

fries, was described. as calm’ "ag he
awaited the execution in a ‘small |

cell adjacent to the death chamber.

Penry, however, who saw Frank.
lin earlier in the week, said-“He’s |

‘Franklin’s case virtually. halted :
all Texas executions for about a}
year when the Supreme Court [ast

lenge to the Texas capital manish

But in June, the court ruled 63
to reject his claim that jurors un-|
fairly were not allowed to consider’
ciding his punishment. 2

“I think for so long everyone was
so concerned about Franklin’s
rights, I really felt Peggy’s- rights
got lost in the process,” said*Patri-
cia Crawford, Ms. Moran’s mother.
“I know I'm not at peace..1 feel |
Peggy is not at peace. ... I hope |
some day — and I hope ae a
(Wednesday) night, we cam hav

The disappearance of Ms iapran
from a San Antonio hospital.in July :
1975 prompted a highly publicized ¢
citywide search. She was found in a
vacant lot five days after her abduc-'
tion, nude and bleeding from multi-:
ple stab wounds and barely alive

a

She died laterina hospital. <1; {:!

Friday, Nov. 4, 1988. Houston Chroniata..

aA OK

By KATHY FAIR
Houston Chronicte

Patricia Crawford went to her
daughter’s grave in Kentucky Thurs-
day morning to tell her she hoped she:
somehow knew her killer had finally:
been executed.

Donald Gene Franklin, 37, was
executed before dawn Thursday at
the Texas Department of Correc-
tions “Walls” Unit in Huntsville for
the July 1975 rape-slaying of Mary
Margaret “Peggy” Moran, a 27-year-.
old San Antonio nurse. 7

“T talked to her and her father and
said I hoped they knew it was over,".
Patricia Crawford, a Fort Thomas,
Ky., homemaker said. “I told her I
knew what a horrible thing she had:
been through.”

Moran’s father, William, died two
years ago of cancer, but Crawford
said the stress of following the
lengthy appeals of his daughter’s
killer contributed to his illness. They
moved from San Antonio to Ken-

tucky te escape the almost daily.
reminders of the ordeal.

Franklin maintained the same st-
lence in the end as he did more than
13 years ago when he refused to tell.
authorities where he had left Moran,
whose disappearance touched off a
highly publicized citywide search.

He was arrested several hours
after her ‘abduction but she was not
found until five days later. Authoré-
ties have maintained that ifhe had:
told. them where he left her,. she.
probably would not have diéd: 3

Franklin left her in a vacant lot®
less than a mile from where she wag Z
abducted. She was alive when an:
elderly couple found her, but died the ‘
next day in a hospital from seven
stab wounds. .

Woman has ‘feeling 4
execution of daughter’s

ace
ae a

Franklin was pronounced dead at
12:30 a.m., six minutes after officials.
administered the lethal injection.

“I have a great feeling of relief,”
Crawford said. “I feel a lot of tension
went out. I hope this will be a turning
as in the way I can cope with
this.” .

Franklin was the second Texas.
killer to be executed this year and -

the 28th to die since the state re-«

sumed executions in 1982. .

Attorney General Jim Mattox, y
who witnessed Franklin’s executien,..
said the former cabinetmaker “waa.

resolved to his fate.” 3

Franklin’s case had stalled all but-;
one execution in the past:year while
the U.S. Supreme Court heard his:
challenge to the constitutionality of:
Téxas capital sentencing law. + 5.
Mattox said the state has two mere:
legal roadblocks to clear before exé-}
cutions resume on a regular basia, +
but in the meantime he. expects :
courts to begin imposing sanctions.
on defense attorneys who wait until
the last minute to file their clienta*.:
appeals. 4
Those roadblocks — cases pending °
before the U.S. Supreme Court wee
involve questions on the constitu-”
tionality of killing murderers who
are mentally retarded and those who

were younger than 18 when they
committed their iat A

eae te ema mc ae

Mattox said he dees not fpepaes a
halt to. executions until the high:
court rules in those cases, © . ee

The only execution that, Mattex:.
said he expects. to be carried out:im,
Texas in the next two months.is that:
of Raymond Landry, 38, convicted af!
capital murder in the robbery and;
shooting death of Kosmas‘ Prittisy-az"
Houston restaurant operator. . hen e

The U.S: 5th.Circuit Court’ of Ape,

als. earlier this” week “chastise ¥

ranklin’s attorneys for waiting’ un!"
til-10 days before his execution date!
to file the latest rourrd of appeals andy
said it would begin to sanction attor-;;
neys who: wait.until the last: minute,
to file appeglm: . ts 0s

ye ad er sp WIR! eg om
iB 8 MMT Lk vy a i" . ¢

of reli

ra

“This is not a-piitie we're playin .
Mattox said. “This is a matter that is
resolved by the rules of law, and the
court is setting down the rules that

the court wants attorneys to. abide.

by.”

Scott Howe, an attorney with the
rapital NA sorai sida Clinic at the
hiversity of Texas Law Schoo
dented that the clinic hag x

defense attorneys to wait until the.
llth hour to file appeals, as some
prosecutors have contended.

Howe said the last-minute plead-
ings reflect too many killerg on
death row and too few attorneys
‘willing to handle their cases.

“In those circumstances, resources
and efforts don’t become concen-
trated until an execution date is set,”
Howe said. “The idea that lawyers:
are sitting around with papers in
hand waiting till the last minute as a
strategic maneuver is simply not the
case.”

He said he fear’s the court’s threat
to impose sanctions against attor-
neys “would have a chilling effect on
attorneys’ willingness to become in-
volved” in death sentence appeals.

Franklin’s 13-year battle to get his
sentence overturned was the most
litigated case of any death row in-
mate in recent history, some experts
believe. And his appeals brought a
halt to all but one execution for the
past year while. the Supreme Court

heard his challenge to tha Texas;
capital sentencing law. = -

One of the cases pending before the
high court is that of Johnny, Paul 9;
Penry, who has challenged the legal-z
ity of killing mentally retarded capi-
tal offenders and also ha3..raised, s
questions about whether Texas law:y ,
allows juries to.consider such evi- 73
dence as retardation as a mitigating’)
factor when: deciding the fate-of ans
capital murderer. His issues abouti? :
mitigating factors are-similar to the,iN
challenges: Frankiia raised in his’ 4
case in Marek


se ee ee Vow eggmnee eo oe — -

of Si oe

Hundreds of death row inmates could be affected by ruling ; |

about Franklin’s guilt because of: -';

By Michael L. Graczyk

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A rape-
murder case nearly 13 years old will
be the focus Tuesday of a U.S. Su-
preme Court review that many in-
mates see as a ticket off death row.

“In my opinion, it will affect ev-
erybody,” said Jim Vanderbilt, who
has spent more than 11 years on
Texas’ death row for the 1975 slay-
ing of an Amarillo teen-ager. “We
will have commutation of every-
body.”

Lawyers for the state and for
Donald Gene Franklin will present
arguments to the high court on the
constitutionality of a Texas statute
that limits consideration by a jury
of mitigating circumstances that

could lessen a defendant’s sen-.

tence. ‘

Since October, when the court
agreed to hear the case, dozens of
death-row inmates in Texas, whose
27 executions in the last six years
are the most in any state since exe-
cutions resumed, in 1977, have at-
tached Franklin's arguments to
their own in efforts to win stays.

os om A. oe |

en ee i

: ee én a 3 EV :
U.S. Supreme Court to hear -
Texas deain-penaity case

“It’s an issue that could poten-
tially affect everybody on death
(row) in Texas,” said Richard H.
Burr III, coordinator of the death
penalty project of the NAACP Le-
gal Defense and Educational Fund
Inc. in New York.

Franklin, 36, who has had three
trials and four execution dates,

blamed the abduction, rape and.

stabbing death of 27-year-old Mary
Margaret Moran on a friend who
used his car.

Police searched Franklin’s home
and found a pair of trousers soak-
ing in bloody water, as well as Mo-
ran's denim purse, her checkbook,
and a knife identified as the proba-
ble murder weapon.

Franklin was arrested hours af-
ter the July 1975 abduction but re-
fused to say where the missing San
Antonio nurse was. Search parties
combed San Antonio, but it took
four days to find her bleeding in a
bed of insects, suffering from loss
of blood and irreversible shock. She
died the next day,

Mark Stevens, who is represent-

_ing Franklin before the high court,
said jurors should have had doubt

circumstantial evidence inthe case: .-
Stevens also said Franklin, atthe’ ~

time of the last trial, had caused no
disciplinary problems while in pris-
on, both of which “go toshow...he
shouldn’t be executed.”

ta

Stevens contends although such a

mitigating circumstances are pres-
ented at the punishment phase of a”
trial, the jury is given no guidance’
as to how heavily to weigh them. -'

sa

Under Texas law, a defendant. ~

may raise mitigating factors. But a,

judge will tell the jury to consider -
the evidence in the light of two ~

questions: Was the murder deliber-” -":
ate and is the accused likely to be’ =>

violent in the future? a

If a jury answers “yes” to both
questions, Texas law requires the
death penalty.

Franklin’s trial attorneys sug-: .:

a.

*.

gested a jury charge that would~ -

have the jury give the mitigating

factors greater weight. But the. |

judge refused to inciude it in his
instructions to the jury, which de-
termined Franklin should die. He
has been on death row since 1982.

_ (eer RRR ASE ANE RET ERE EET

~

-

ry

a


Death Sentences
Are Upheld

Also today, the Court split closely in
upholding two death sentences, includ-
ing one in a Texas case that could have
clouded the sentences of most or all of
Texas's 260 death row inmates if it had
gone the other wav.

Justice “Anthony M. Kenneay, «ie
Court’s newest member, was with the
majority in both cases.

In the Texas case, Franklin v. Ly-
naugh, No. 87-5546, the Court limited
the reach of its prior decisions requir-
ing that defendants facing a possible
*| death penalty be allowed to present all
relevant mitigating evidence about
their character, background or the cir-
cumstances surrounding the crime for
{| consideration by the sentencing jury.

3! Texas has a law that is unique for
states with death penalty laws in which
-|a jury in a captial murder case is in-
-| structed to condemn the defendant ff it
-| finds beyond-a reasonable doubt that
he murdered the victim deliberately
tland that he will pose a continuing
‘| threat to society.

The Court rejected 6 to 3 a murder
*| convict’s argument that he had been
| sentenced unconstitutionally because
“| the trial judge had refused to give an
3| additional jury instruction that, even if
it made these two findings, it could
1] spare his life on the basis of mitigating
>| evidence such as his good behavior in
1] prison.

: No single opinion commanded a ma-:
>

)

~

"| jority of the Court. Justice Byron R.
White wrote for himself, Chief Justice
Rehnquist and Justices Scalia and Ken-
nedy that states may constitutionally
t| jimit through jury instructions the abil-
C] ity of the jury to consider mitigating
it! evidence, and that the jury instructions
it] had been adequate in the case at hand.
©| Justice White also suggested that the
+} defendant had no right to a jury in-
1-| struction that even though the jury had
Y} found him guilty “beyond a reasonable
d| doubt,” it should consider any ‘“‘resid-
(d] yal doubts” as to his guilt to be mitigat-
‘C| ing evidence. j
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, ina
d| concurrence joined by Justice Black-
i-] mun, agreed with Justice White on the
-| «residual doubt” point but said she did
not think a state could limit jury con-
Y| sideration of mitigating evidence to the
i-| extent that Justice White's opinion sug-
e! gested.
ty) justices Stevens, Brennan and Mar-
Y| shall dissented, saying the jury instruc-
1 tions had been unconstitutional.
€| In Ross v. Oklahoma, No. 86-5309, the
‘U) Court upheld by 5-4 the death sentence
1] of an Oklahoma murderer despite the
_ | trial judge’s refusal to exclude from J,
>] the jury a man who said he wou!d auto- |’
hs matically vote for the death penalty if
‘I-| tie defendant were found guilty.
Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote for the
d-} mnajority that the trial judge had erred
9-| Hut that this had not deprived the de-
fendant of an impartial jury because
the defense lawyer jater excluded the
¢,| man from the jury by using one of the
‘© defense’s “peremptory challenges.”
>| Justice Marshall, joined by Justices
4\ Brennan, Blackmun and Stevens, said
C| jn dissent, that the defendant's rights
"| had been violated because his defense
1} had been forced to use one of its limited
number of vetoes on a potential juror
who should have been excluded by the

}
: judge.
\

o)

THE

\

$$$

In other decisions yesterday, the court: m

“@ Upheld by a 6-3 vote the way-tedc OU. ts admin-
ister that state’s death penalty law, dashing the hopes of
some 260 death row inmates. [PTIZCAY Ba 4 SR

@ Split, 5-4, in upholding an Oklahoma nfan’s mur-
der conviction and déath sentence even though the'pre-
siding judge wrongly refused to exclude one potential
juror. The juror was disqualified when the defendant’s
lawyer used one of the defense’s limited number of auto-

matic challenges. VA —-23-SF

enmet ta a anne Sn-

1. ©

_| Franklin's that state law didn’t.al-

| didn't have an adequate chance to a

NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1988

dey ceeeae PLUPerlye
Opponents of the death penalty
are mounting a new challenge to
‘Texas’ statute on capital punish-
ment. Last term the court rejected
the claim of murderer Donald Gene

6-23-£P

@ Upheld Texas’ capital punishment

scheme. The 6-3 decision stands to affect

low him to bring up mitigating evi-
dence that might have led to a life
sentence instead of death. ..

‘This term, justices will consider
the murder conviction of Johnny
Paul Penry, who says a similar jury

EXarnrner

consider the fact that he is mental- L,
ly retarded before passing a death

sentence. 7-2 -FF

more than 260 Death Row inmates who had
hoped the court would reject Texas’ defini-

In other action yesterday, the
court rejected appeals by men on
death row in Texas and Oklahoma.
In the Texas case, Franklin v.
Lynaugh, the court rejected, 6 to 3,

: arguments that state sentencing
> procedures did not adequately allow

for jury consideration of mitigating
circumstances. In’ the Oklahoma
case, Ross v. Oklahoma, the court
ruled 5 to 4 that a judge’s error in
not striking a juror who said he
would automatically impose the
{ death penalty did not abridge the

defendant’s rights since the juror
was eventually removed.

THURSDAY,

June 23, 1988 A13.

E08

veges

THE WASHINGTON Post

tion of ‘“‘mitigating circu:nstances’’ that

can weigh against the death penalty.

Sache Unser

death-sentence law

The pace of executions in Texas

death-sentencing law. Texas

equal treatment in pension benefits.

tors get at foreign bank accounts.
_ p> Limited the power of
ments because ofa prosecutor’s misconduct.

Court upholds Texas

USA TODAY « THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1988 - 3A

will quicken due to a
Supreme Court ruling Wednesday upholding the state’s
doesn’t require jurors to
consider factors favorable to a defendant. The court also:
> Upheld Oklahoma death sentence of Bobby Lynn Ross.
> Limited rulings requiring that men and women receive

> Eased rules for suing officials for civil rights violations.
> Upheld grand jury subpoenaes for corporate records. °
> Said grand jury targets may be forced to help prosecu-

federal judges to dismiss indict-


alone when her shift ended.
Yaailable police cars were rushed
yea of the hospital and alerted to
athe lookout for a speeding green
fe pickup order also included a
gumber which security Guard
sahad obtained.
nective Abel Juarez was in charge
za of investigators dispatched to
pital. Galvan repeated to them his

- ei : of what happened and he show-
other nthe blood found on the lot which
ret yu the car. They noted the ignition

rere in the vehicle which was ¢s-

rial as belonging to Nurse Moran.
% omebody reported a suspicious
athe lot just a few minutes before

dused that speeding car,” a detec:

ie ¢ “

* saumed up. “Must have been some
1 a Set sys
shacks ater Waiting around here to grab a
8 » He probably managed to stop

mene somehow just after she started
a. Maybe he curbed it with his own.

he Of TTA vy must have put up &@ fight right
- he ER kk blood tells us that. He dragged
be re ohis car and took of f. Tle had plen-
ne we jinetoslip out of this neighborhood,
ospital: . wreworking on that license number
Patton, Tgaetown. If it’s the right one, we might
id what fast break. There’s a woman out
. ““l » bleeding heavily and desperate for
- by % vihehospital, detectives asked if any
ito find & jous-looking men might have been
- cor an bitering around the parking lot in re-
ave tag is aights. They gotno leads. They were
“ETERANS 4 desecurity guard patrol covered the
ae  gegpang areas as well as possible, but that
<cooters al rahvays Was the chance that a man
ashed ine a have been lurking 1m the dark,
ce. while al rm for a woman alone.
group ‘We havent had any recent com
Ags, but we re always on the alert,” a

irth floor . . guard said.
+ Night duty nurses anxiously waited

tie rl of the police hunt for Peggy Moran
coht. N aatly morning hours moved slowly.
inight. ‘Ne @ }was shortly before daybreak, and as
re hospital “Bp desperate search for the nurse
Guards 08 Fic more police units to the
urses who west side, many officers were

1 left the | Wang the Kettinger case: -
WA iwthia Kettinger wes 19, a clerk in
BH tusified advertising section of The
27% \ntonio Light. She had a room at the
1S ~~ Bike, Women’s Christian Association
id “Ms the street from the newspaper.
3 n November 13, 1974, women and

is aSan Antonio, and those working in
© asaper offices in particular, were
A. of the rape Of two housewives in

their homes on that particular day.

When Cynthia Kettinger le

5:30 p.m. the latest news stories

no suspects were in custe

tinger drove to her paren

ody.

after a pleasant visit she left in the fam

station wagon. She knew s
the vehicle in the parking lot b

Y. Itnormatly was used by employes, t

at night residents were permitted
there. The girl had been cautioned to b

careful, as there had been instances

ft work at

reported
Miss Ket-
ts’ home and

he could leave
ehind the

to par

Nurse Moran’s name tag W
car in hospital parking lot, as were b'
stains. She had gone off duty at midnight ©

muggings, vandalism and car burglaries fot

in the area. But there had been no reports .

of trouble in the Y parking lot, which was .
illuminated by two outdoor street lights.

To get from the lot to the building, the girl

ily would have to walk around the Y’s side

where the shadows were deep. -

residents of the Y saw a man moving
about in the back seat of a parked Car.

yut

of police to report a car prowler.

Shortly ‘after 8 p.m. that night, two v4

e They hurried into the building and called "~


1's car brought

ame type as the:

&
s developing for:
. They were be-
2s in the Moran
974 sex killing of
a Kettinger be-
“A building. .
lking from work
by an unknown
ngled her in the
at the time of the
the suspect re-

is police and vo-
mb the San An-
f the missing VA
6-year-old girl to
ie girl had been
itors believed.to
rson who killed.

sung lady. if she,
nald Gene Fran-

k victim consen-

mday identified
0 allegedly beat
rt time after the

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‘About 8 p.m., detectives took Franklin
from the Bexar County Jail to appear be-
fore Night Magistrate Manuel Lopez,
where Franklin was charged with aggra-
vated rape in connection with the attack
on the teenager in 1974. But no murder
charges were lodged ‘against Franklin.
| Though Frinklin was considered a

_ suspect in the nurse*s.abduction, hospital.
officials weren't taking any chances. Se-
curity at the hospital was tightened, and a
hospital employe’s association asked for
an investigation of parking lot security —
a problem around any major hospital.

San Antonio area newsmen scrambled
to the Bexar County Courthouse the fol-
lowing Tuesday morning when they lear-
ned a press conference involving the Mo-’
ran case had been scheduled. Under the
glare of television lights, Bexar County

’ Dist. Atty. Ted Butler, Sheriff W. B.

Hauck and Police Inspector Jack Hutton
announced they had everything but the
body to make a murder case against
Franklin. Mrs.. Moran was presumed
dead, the officials grimly announced, ur-
ging all of San Antonio to aide in the
search for her body. .

**We need the body,"* Butler said, add-
ing, ‘from now until seven or eight days
there-will be a great odor eminating from
that body, which would greatly. assist in
locating (it.)"’

A The-day after Butler’s plea, members
of the Bexar County Mounted Posse be-
gan searching an area behind the Univer-
sity of Texas at San Antonio campus, lo-

cated in the vicinity of the VA hospital.

At Il. a.m. Wednesday, a man who had
had his share of bad.luck — the loss of his
job because of a leg injury — set out with
his wife to begin a personal search for the
body. ‘*Everyone has the right to be bu-
ried,"* 31-year-old Sammy Davis later
told reporters. **I just wanted to go.”

Four hours and 30 minutes after they
started their own search, Davis came
upon a bloody nurse's uniform, a white
pullover sweater and white shoes in a
bushy area about. 30 feet off Belle Ellen
Drive. a location less than a mile from the
VA hospital.

Davis, sure the nurse's bloody body
would not be far from the clothing, called
out to his wife not to come any closer.
Instead, the concerned citizen made a te-
lephone call that sent some 60 law enfor-
cement officers rushing to the scene.

An hour later, two police Task Force
officers, A. P. Flores and Bruce Le
Stourgeon, .were making their way
through the dense brush near where the
bloody uniform had been found. Only 40
feet from the street and 100 feet from the
nearest house, the officers heard a faint
female voice!

**Who's there?** Flores yelled.

**Help me, help me.”* came the weak
reply.

The officers ran toward a brush-shaded
ravine. Flores got there first. “‘Over
here!"* he shouted. “*She’s alive! Still
alive!”*

The woman was nude and on her back,
her legs spread apart. Her body was bur-
ned from the hot July sun, and flies and
other insects swarmed around vicious
wounds. Her throat had been slashed.
and she made gurgling noises as.she brea-
thed laboriously. But she was still alive.

**She couldn't move her arms, she just
lay there faintly crying.’ Flores said la-
ter.

As his partner partially covered the
woman with a shirt and attempted to get
the/crawling insects off her sun-reddened
body, Flores radioed for medical help —
at first in the wrong language.

Since the abduction occurred, the po-
lice department's elite Task: Force team
of 28 men had been intimately involved in
the case. They, like the rest ‘of the city’s
population, were elated Peggy Moran had
been found alive.

The officer was so excited that his first
almost indecipherable calls for help were
in his native Spanish. Dr. Vincent Walk-

(continued on page 81)
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(continued from page 79)

er,a Bexar County reserve deputy sheriff,
: heard the call on his car police radio. He

was on the scene in five minutes and be-

gan medical procedures immediately.

The wounded woman was taken to Me-
thodist Hospital, where a team of doctors
quickly Went to work. Late that night, she
was listed‘in critical condition with 10
stab wounds. She also was suffering from
a collapsed left lung, pneumonia in the
other lung and exposure.

Doctors, calling it a miracle she was
still alive after an 10-hour ordeal in the
blistering sun with bleeding wounds all
‘over her body, said they-had a chance at
saving her. ;

As doctors battled to save the nurse's
life, police continued searching for evi-
dence to wrap up the case. A man whose
house was located near where the nurse
was found told police his dog had been
barking since the previous Saturday.

**But I just didn’t connect it with that
poor girl,”’ he said. **The funny thing is, I
usually walk my dog ‘Smokey’ every
night exactly where they found her. But I
haven't taken ‘Smokey’ out for the last
four nights. | wish now we had, we might
have ended her suffering sooner.”*

Before Mrs. Moran was found that

“afternoon, Franklin had been charged
with capital murder in the death of the
19-year-old clerk killed the previous No-
vember. After the discovery later that

day, the district attorney said he would
file attempted murder charges against
Franklin in connection with the stabbing
and abduction of Mrs. Moran.

Mr. and Mrs. William Crawford, pa-
rents of the nurse, told reporters they had
never given up on their daughter. Mrs.
Crawford said it was undoubtedly her
daughter's personal strength which kept
her alive for four days in the burning sun,
despite a heavy loss of blood.

“She takes good care of herself,"* Mrs.
Crawford said. **She has her father's
strength and determination.’

The parents, police, Mrs. Moran's
friends, virtually all of San Antonio were
overjoyed at the discovery of the abduc-
tion victim — still alive.

For the officer who found her, the hap-
piness was particularly sweet. ‘‘You
know what today is?’’ Flores asked at
police headquarters an. hour after Mrs.
Moran had been taken to the hospital.
“It's my 1Sth wedding anniversary. This
is the best present I could ever get ..."°

Me

\

But the joy was not to last. At 6:30a.m.
Thursday, July 30, Mrs« Moran lost her
battle for life. She died from the combi-
ned effects of her wounds, exposure and
dehydration. f

Later that morning, the district attor-
ney filed a second capital murder charge
against Franklin in the death of the pretty
nurse who had survived in the broiling
sun for more than four days, only to die
just as it. looked as if some good news
would come out of the case after all.

* Franklin's murder trial was transferred
from San Antonio to Corpus Christi on
the Texas coast. The seven-man, five
woman jury began deliberation of the
case at. 2:05 p.m..on Saturday, March 6.
Just under three hours later, they retur-
ned to announce the verdict: Guilty.

The jury found Franklin committed
three other felonies along with the murder
— kidnaping, rape and robbery, which
under Texas law constitutes capital: mur-
der.

A conviction of capital murder in Te-
xas Carries one of two penalties — life in

 prisory or death in the electric chair.

- On Monday, March 8, the jury heard
evidence in the punishment phase of the
trial. Judge James E.. Barlow of 186th
State Dist. Court, in his charge to the
jury, required thé panel to answer two
questions, yes or no: ’
“Do you find, beyond a reasonable

’ doubt, that the conduct of the defendant

that caused the death of the deceased was
committed with reasonable expectation
that the death of the deceased or another
would result?**

And: ‘Do you find, beyond a reasona-
ble doubt, there is a probability that the
defendant would continue to commit cri-
minal acts of violence that would consti-
tute a continuing threat to society?"’

The jury answered yes to both ques-’

tions — an answer that meant the death
penalty for Donald Gene Franklin.

On death row at the Walls Unit of the
Texas Department of Corrections in
Huntsville, Texas, Franklin. will await
two more decisions — appeals to higher
courts and the ruling of the Supreme
Court in regard to capital punishment.

If his conviction is not reversed by a
higher court, and if the Supreme Court
reverses its 1972 ruling and finds capital
punishment constitutional, Franklin will
die in the electric chair. -

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~~ by ERVIN KRONER

_ Special Investigator for
ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

OMEN WERE walking un-

easy in San Antonio, Texas. It

had been eight months since
the teenage girl who worked for the San
Antonio Light was murdered at the
Young Women’s Christian Association
parking lot across the street from the
newspaper at the edge of the business dis-
trict.

Police, spurred on by the brutality of
the crime and hefty reward an-
nouncements that got the public into the
act, had run down numerous tips and

-Jeads and investigated scores of possible

VA hospital guard. Jerry Galvan places a flower on
tch man who abducted, then murdered the young nurse

LI Texas

casket of Peggy Moran. Galvan

suspects. And newspaper men, of course,
were on the alert to assist authorities, tur-
ning over tips that came to the city desk.

But 19-year-old Cynthia Kettinger
had been slain in November, and now the
heat of July was baking San Antonio and
no suspect was in custody.

Women and girls were aware the
killer was loose. Security was tightened at
parking areas throughout the city where
women went to and from cars at night.
Such was the case at the Audie Murphy
Veterans Administration Hospital on the
northwest side of the city.

It was shortly after midnight on Satur-
day morning, July 26, 1975, when Securi-
ty Guard Jerry Galvan was st spped by a
man while making his rounds of the
hospital parking lot on his three-wheeled

Texans were outraged when homicide detectives

at put together evidence in one of the most hideous
murders in a decade, evidence that would prove

11/3/1988

eycle. ‘The man seented very agitated

He pointed toward the other endal
the parking lot.

“Someone is acting suspiciously over
there” he told Galvan. “TE think he's
siphoning gas out of cars.”

Galvan put his three-wheeler in m
tion toward the other end of the lag
parking area. There, he noticed ac
parked in an unusual position in the md
dle of a driveway, with a door open. Tx Ee
guard stopped and was checking out &
car when he heard the sounds of ante
car approaching. He looked up tases
green car speeding toward him.

‘The green car whizzed past the three J
wheel scooter, made a turn and heada
toward Wurzbach Road. Galvan tum Fe
his scooter around and pursued thea > tg
Ile took a short cut, turning down ast
vice road, and was waiting on Wurebat
Road when the green car approached

Jumping from his scooter, Cale
made a dive at the green car, landing a

the passenger side of the hood. The at
did not slow down and Galvan bound £2
off like a basketball. Undeterred by %& |
impact, the security guard ran to

scooter and sped back to the hosptad fee
where he encountered — Bill Pata a
another security officer, and told ua Be
happened.

When they went to investigate thear
parked in the middle of the drivewa 8
the parking lot, they were startled te fal
bloodstains on the ground near theca e
well as a nurse’s name tag. The names
read: “PEGGY MORAN, R.N. VETIAW
HOSPITAL.” a

The officers gunned their wets §
back to the hospital door and dashed ®
side. One of them called the police.wte fF
the other conferred with a grow 4
hospital personnel.

Word was sent up to the fourth fhe
where Registered Nurse Moran worded |
in surgery, and it was quickly estabbbed |
she had gone off duty at midnisht 4

one recalled seeing her leave the hogita
with a companion, however. Guards
the first floor found several nurses ts
were certain Nurse Moran left &


a,

FRANKLIN v. LYNAUGH

99

Cite as 823 F.2d 98 (5th Cir. 1987)

3. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.2(7)

Charge which could have permitted
jury to convict petitioner of capital murder
for killing committed in the course of a
felony, when some of the jurors may have
believed that the felony was robbery while
others thought it was kidnapping, did not
warrant habeas relief where there was lit-
tle serious dispute that whoever attacked
the victim both robbed and kidnapped her
and the major defense was mistaken identi-
ty.

Mark Steven, Allen Cazier, George
Scharmen, San Antonio, Tex., for petition-
er-appellant.

Wilham C. Zapalac, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim
Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
spondent-appellee.

Appeals from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before GEE, RANDALL, and
DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

There is small occasion for us to re-
hearse the sickening facts of this murder,
one in which an innocent victim who
stepped into the wrong place at the wrong
time was stabbed, raped and left to bleed
to death for five days in the July sun of
Texas. These are set forth at length in the
various opinions on direct appeal, e.g., 606
S.W.2d 818 (Tex.Crim.App.1979). Nor need
much be said on the law, it having devel-
oped and set against petitioner’s conten-
tions over the course of the twelve years
since his crime. We affirm the trial court’s
- judgment denying habeas relief on the ba-
sis of that court’s opinions, adding a few
observations chiefly based on events occur-
ring since that court ruled.

[1] Of petitioner’s points, the most
nearly meritorious is that complaining of
an improper reference to petitioner’s post-
arrest silence after he had received Mi-
randa warnings. Since the handing down

1.. The portion of the charge in question autho-

rized conviction on a finding of murder “... in ¢

the course of committing and attempting to

of Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 96 S.Ct.
2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976), comments by
the prosecutor on the post-arrest silence of
a defendant after the administration of Mi-
randa warnings have been taboo. The Su-
preme Court has now held, however, that
such a question as the prosecutor asked in
this case does not require a grant of habe-
as relief where no use of the fact of peti-
tioner’s silence is permitted by the court.

Greer v. Miller, —- U.S. ——, 107 S.Ct.
3102, 95 L.Ed.2d ——, 55 U.S.L.W. 5126
(1987). Here there was none; a sustained

objection and an instruction to disregard
followed hard on the improper question. It
was never heard of again. Greer is on all
fours; it controls.

[2] The next most troubling was a sta-
tistics-based claim that the Texas murder
statute is applied in a discriminatory way
against blacks who murder whites. Peti-
tioner’s claims in this respect have been
resolved against him by the Court’s opinion
in McCleskey v. Kemp, —- U.S. ——, 107
S.Ct. 1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987).

[3] Finally, we were concerned by peti-
tioner’s contention that the wording of the
trial court’s charge was such as to have
permitted the jury to have convicted peti-
tioner of capital murder for a killing com-
mitted in the course of a felony, when some
jurors may have believed that the felony
was robbery, while others thought it kid-
napping.! While, on the words of the
court’s charge standing alone, this may
seem a realistic objection, when the record
is consulted, it is not. On the evidence,
there was little serious dispute that whoev-
er attacked the victim both robbed and
kidnapped her. Petitioner’s defense dis-
puted these matters only pro forma; his
major claim was that he was not the perpe-
trator of the crime, that his indictment was
the result of mistaken identity. The evi-
dence supporting the commission of both
felonies was crushing, unanswerable; the
only question was, who did them? In these
circumstances, the claim that some jurors

commit the offense of robbery or kidnapping
(emphasis supplied).

NKLIN, Donald Gene, black, death sentence, Texas.
ee? iS wine “0440 gt voa wie OOLLUGSIC Gg 10AGD~6 t Exetuden (7¥8 |

Donald Gene! Franklin has. side-
stepped his dat/# with: death ; iat least

until =u when Ya’ federal
: ju e scan Peephar tis apt al »
fe merit. ny eat oe)

_ Franklin ha been convicted d three |

se Mary :
: aoe ' fie seven fumes. and
_ left to die foty more than four,

‘lissue of} ‘whether police “coerced
aren ph ‘into pene them » sell

J Davad iis ‘oi ae |

a jer 5) of sei
re Te su € i eal f

_ mire in the appeal because hé did nat |
_ believe it hat any merite, 3 394i p5t50'

EXPRESS-NEWS, San Antonio, Texas, Friday, May 2, 1986,(11A/1.)

SMITH v. BOOTH

» aS,

97

Cite as 823 F.2d 94 (5th Cir. 1987)

S.Ct. 767, 771, 85 L.Ed. 1058 (1941); see
also-Interfirst Bank Dallas, N.A. v. Unit-
ed States, 769 F.2d 299, 306 (5th Cir.1985),
cert. denied, —- U.S. ——, 106 S.Ct. 1458,
89 L.Ed.2d 716 (1986).

[2,3] In the court below, the plaintiffs
alleged, in essence, that the United States
had consented to the instant lawsuit by
conferring subject-matter jurisdiction over
such suit in the district court under sec-
tions 1331 and 1346 of the Judicial Code.
28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1846. Section 1331’s
broad provision of federal question jurisdic-
tion does not aid the plaintiffs, however,
for that provision does not constitute a
waiver of sovereign immunity. See Garcia
v. United States, 666 F.2d 960, 966 (For-
_ mer 5th Cir. Unit B), cert. denied, 459 U.S.
832, 103 S.Ct. 738, 74 L.Ed.2d 72 (1982).
Section 1346 equally is of no avail to the
plaintiffs. That section provides federal
district courts with jurisdiction to review
an IRS determination only in the context of
a tax refund suit brought by a taxpayer
who has fully paid the assessment. Flora
v. United States, 362 U.S. 145, 177, 80
S.Ct. 680, 4 L.Ed.2d 623 (1960). The estate
in the instant case has not fulfilled the
conditions required to invoke section 1346’s
waiver of sovereign immunity.

[4] A more likely source for govern-
mental consent to the instant suit might be
5 U.S.C. section 702.1 As we noted in
Sheehan v. Army & Air Force Exchange
Serv., “[t]he 1976 amendment to that stat-
ute waives sovereign immunity for actions
against federal government agencies, seek-
ing nonmonetary relief, if the agency con-
duct is otherwise subject to judicial re-

1. This section provides as follows:

A person suffering legal wrong because of
agency action, or adversely affected or ag-
grieved by agency action within the meaning
of a relevant statute, is entitled to judicial
review thereof. An action in a court of the
United States seeking relief other that [sic]
money damages and stating a claim that an
agency or an officer or employee thereof act-
ed or failed to act in an official capacity or
under color of legal authority shall not be
dismissed nor relief therein be denied on the
ground that it is against the United States or
. that the United States is an indispensable par-
ty. The United States may be named as a

view.” 619 F.2d 1132, 1139 (5th Cir.1980),
rev'd on other grounds, 456 U.S. 818, 102
S.Ct. 88, 70 L.Ed.2d 81 (1981). Upon closer
examination, however, we find that section
702 does not aid the plaintiffs because the
Anti-Injunction Act and the Declaratory
Judgment Act bar judicial review of plain-
tiffs’ claims.

Section 702 provides, inter alia, that
“[njothing herein (1) affects other limita-
tions on judicial review or the power or
duty of the court to dismiss any action or
deny relief on any other appropriate legal
or equitable ground.” The legislative his-
tory of the 1976 amendment to the section
specifically notes that the Anti-Injunction
and the Declaratory Judgment Acts’ pxohi-
bition of “injunctive and declaratory relief
against collection of federal taxes” remain
unaffected by the revised section 702.
H.R.Rep. No. 1656, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 12,
reprinted in 1976 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad-
min. News 6121, 6132-33. By its own
terms, the Declaratory Judgment Act does
not apply to a controversy, like the instant
one, ‘‘with respect to Federal taxes.” 28
U.S.C. § 2201. The Anti-Injunction Act
similarly provides that ‘no suit for the
purpose of restraining the assessment or
collection of any tax shall be maintained in
any court.” 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a). As the
government points out, the Supreme Court
has recognized an exception to the Anti-In-
junction Act where (1) “it is clear that
under no circumstances could the Govern-
ment ultimately prevail, ... [and (2) ] equi-
ty jurisdiction otherwise exists.” Enochs
v. Williams Packing & Navigation Co.,
370 U'S. 1, 7, 82'S.Ct. 1125, 1129, 8 L.Ed.2d
292 (1962). Given the district court’s deci-

defendant in any such action, and a judgment
or decree may be entered against the United
States: Provided, That any mandatory or in-
junctive decree shall specify the Federal offi-
cer or officers (by name or by title), and their
successors in office, personally responsible
for compliance. Nothing herein (1) affects
other limitations on judicial review or the
power or duty of the court to dismiss any
action or deny relief on any other appropriate
legal or equitable ground; or (2) confers au-
thority to grant relief if any other statute that
grants consent to suit expressly or impliedly
forbids the relief which is sought.
5 U.S.C. § 702.


SE nine a

100 823 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

may have thought Franklin only a kidnap-
per while others thought him only a robber
lacks any substance whatever, despite its
abstract plausibility. The jury faced only
one real question: whoever did this thing
did both robbery and kidnapping, but was
it Franklin?

The jury found that it was. For whatev-
er it adds, we agree. The stay of execution

earlier granted is VACATED, and judg-
ment is AFFIRMED.

O & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

{HuM=s

James BREESE, Jr.,
Plaintiff-Appellant Cross-Appellee,

Vv.

AWI, INC., Defendant-Appellee
Cross-Appellant.

No. 86-3607
Summary Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

July 30, 1987.

Disabled seaman brought action seek-
ing damages under Jones Act and general
maritime law, based upon shipowner’s pur-
ported bad-faith failure to pay maintenance
and cure following heart attack. The Unit-
ed States District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, Fred J. Cassibry, J.,
determined that seaman was not entitled to
recover attorney fees and punitive dam-
ages. Seaman appealed. The Court of Ap-
peals, Randall, Circuit Judge, held that
question of whether seaman is entitled to
maintenance turns on whether individual
seaman has reached maximum cure, which
is medical question, not legal one, so that
reliance on advice of counsel, as opposed to
advice of physician, is insufficient to consti-
tute reasonable investigation of seaman’s
right to maintenance and cure of situation

where a counsel is not advised as to sea-
man’s medical condition.

Affirmed in part; and reversed in part
and remanded.

1. Federal Courts <-868

District court’s factual findings under-
lying its conclusion of whether failure to
pay disabled seamen maintenance and cure
was arbitrary and capricious are, like other
factual findings, reviewed under clearly er-
roneous standard. Fed.Rules Civ.Proc.
Rule 52(a), 28 U.S.C.A.

2. Federal Courts ¢-813, 830, 868

‘In determining whether district court
erred in concluding that disabled seaman
was not entitled to award of punitive dam-
ages and attorney fees based upon ship
owner’s purported bad-faith failure to pay
maintenance and cure following heart at-
tack, Court of Appeals first inquired as to
whether district court’s findings that ship-
owner’s conduct investigating claim was
not callous or arbitrary and capricious were
clearly erroneous, and second inquired as
to whether district court’s failure to award
punitive damages and attorney fees
amounted to abuse of discretion. Fed.
Rules Civ.Proc.Rule 52(a), 28 U.S.C.A.

3. Seamen ¢11(9)

In determining whether ship owner has
arbitrarily and capriciously denied mainte-
nance and cure to injured seaman so as to
make shipowner liable for punitive dam-
ages and attorney fees, each case is to be
evaluated on its own facts.

4, Seamen ¢°11(9)

Shipowner’s investigation of disabled
seaman’s claim, which investigation did not
include inquiry of any physician, much less
seaman’s treating physicians, or review of
any of seaman’s medical records, was im-
permissibly lax under any reasonable stan-
dard, rendering shipowner’s decision not to
pay maintenance and cure beyond seaman’s
discharge from hospital arbitrary and ca-
pricious, for purpose of determining ship-
owner’s liability for punitive damages and
attorney fees.

a eg gh iP Te at ABO Rg OE Pay aE Rea gee

i
f

did all right. And now you can take
ttrip with us over to headquarters.”
ers shrugged and said nothing. He
dong with the men quite readily.

as late at night by the time they got
‘Homicide Bureau. And Powers re-~

fo admit ever having a woman in his

i

‘@~ nothing about all this: 1
inn was so drunk I don’t remem-
ythin’,” he insisted, over and over

fon’t see why you don’t give up and
;what happened,” Canevari said final-
exasperation, “You have bloodstained
x, your furniture is covered with
{you hid in your apartment all day,
wu raised hell with me when I got in.
yers waved his arms around in the
“Tow do I know what happens if I
tok?” he yelled.

a knew she couldn’t scream,” per-
iCanevari relentlessly. “So you took
fime in beating her—in strangling

wre crazy!” Powers shouted. “May-
tad some other guy with ‘me—maybe
ade all the mess!” =

tu mean you'd let some other fellow
wer a pretty, young gal like Char-
v
4 Powers fell for it.

hadya mean young—she was old—al-
forty.”
w--do—you—know !” Canevari said
yand with emphasis. “How could you
any idea how old she was?”

¢ longshoreman was stupefied. He
{wildly at Canevari, his mouth mov-

ing soundlessly ian effort to answer, This
bravado collapsed, and he slumped in his
chair, mumbling to himself.

“T did it.’ He spoke so low Canevari had
to strain in order to hear. “LE dilled her.”

“But why?”

A leer of inhuman lust flashed across the
brutal face and was gone. “T dunno,” he
said stolidly.

Ae Powers retracted everything
he confessed, he went on trial and was
found guilty of second degree murder. On
February 28, 1940, he was sentenced to
from twenty to forty years in the peniten-
tiary. :

Canevari took a special interest in locat-
ing Charmaine’s family. Convinced that
the girl had been gently bred, he followed
every lead he could rather than have her
sent to Potter’s Field. Time after time, he
was disappointed. He learned she had
come from Knoxville, Tenn., but the police
there were unable to find her people.
Through a clipping from a New York
newspaper he learned that she at one time
had toured the country as an actress under
the tutelage of Charles B. Dillingham.
Throughout her past was a: slender thread
of mystery, hints of some scandal, but he
never did know the whole story.

It was through his efforts among the peo-
ple of the theatrical world that he even-
tually received a letter which gave him the
address of Charmaine’s sister in Knoxville,
Tenn. It was there that Charmaine’s body
was sent.

And Canevari could mark the case
“CLOSED” at last.

tap and began asking about the roads.
ticed that the map had circles drawn
nd several towns. I remember Itasca,
: Forreston and Milford were circled.
id him about the roads and he made
»marks on the map with a pencil. He
ed to know mainly about the less trav-
roads.”

was on the second day that he had
ged in conversation with young Ca-
ss, after purchasing a drink at the foun-
“Now his question, “Is it this dull here
he time?” assumed significance.

‘was recalled that conversation had oc-
ed during the noon hour. It was ap-
nt now that his question was not an idle
It was no belittlement of the town and
xtivities that he had attempted. Rather,
was seeking vital information, relevant
he crime he had in mind.

in the day of the robbery he had again
le his appearance early in the morning.
mt 11:30 a. m. he went into Earl Camp’s
»and ordered his lunch. He ate, chat-
: meanwhile with those in the restau-

t Then, shortly before noon, he went,

-on the sidewalk. He strolled to the
k corner and back again in the bright
y sun.

fr. and Mrs. Blair, at the moment, still
re in the bank with Wilemon. Came
wand the bank president sent them
@ lunch, But the bandit’s foray was
wet again momentarily, for P. G. Whit-
, Maypearl business man, entered the
tk as the Blairs departed. Then A, J.
pmas had gone into the bank for a chat
th his friend, Wilemon. Both Whitten
{ Thomas saw the stranger on the side-

a

DEADLY STRANGER

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 67)

walk when they departed, they told Cariker.

The red-head then had entered the bank.
It was only a brief interval until the muf-
fled shot was heard. Across the street in
the filling station, Wiggins, BP... Hilton,
of Glen Rose, Texas, and T. J, Countess
and Mitchell Maxwell of Maypearl, heard
the noise, as did young Cavaness four
doors down the street. But all assumed it
was the report of the cap pistol coming from
the store next door to the bank, where a
merchant’s young son was wont to engage
i imaginary gun battles with imaginary
oes.

All the men mentioned had seen the
stranger emerge from the bank and drive
away. But only young Cavaness had seen
him stuffing currency into his pocket, and
none was aware of the holdup until they
heard the druggist’s son yell that Wilemon
had been shot.

The amount of the loot obtained by the
bandit was not immediately determined be-
cause Cariker ordered that nothing be
touched until a fingerprint expert arrived
and obtained such prints as had been left
on the money drawers by the ruthless red-
head. Blair, the cashier, estimated the bank’s
loss, however, at more than $1,000.

Cariker established headquarters in the
bank to direct the search and to question
the witnesses.

Due to the alertness of young Cavaness,
barricades .already-had been set up by the
officers of surrounding towns on all of the
main roads leading from the Maypearl
area. Within a short time more than two
hundred officers, including the sheriffs and
their deputies in surrounding counties, po-

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crowd at the bank and learned first-
hand what Wilemon had said occurred.

“It was an amateurish holdup and a
wanton shooting job,” Cariker asserted
when he heard the details. “There was
no need for shooting Wilemon. He
was making no resistance. The fact
that he was shot in the back shows that
we have a dangerous coward to catch.”

Bending low over the wounded bank
president to catch his gasped words, the
chief deputy obtained from him and a
dozen other citizens of Maypearl a de-
scription of the bandit, which checked
closely with that given by young Cava-
ness over the telephone. The citizens
had been given ample opportunity to
observe the stranger and to give his
description fairly accurately.

He had been in and out of the town
for several days. It was immediately
apparent to Cariker that he had been
“casing” the bank before attempting the
holdup. He had talked with several
persons in Maypearl, but now that they
gave thought to the matter, they real-
ized he had told them nothing which
would explain his presence there or aid
them in establishing his identity.

On the day of his arrival in the town,
the red-head had gone into the filling
station across the street from the bank.
With a road map as reference, he had
checked up with Al Wiggins, the pro-
prietor, on the roads in the vicinity. He
had asked particularly about their con-
dition.

“He came in and bought a tank of
gas,” Wiggins told the deputies. “Then
he pulled out (Continued on page 89)

Willis Wilemon had been an ath-

lete at college in the years before
becoming 2 prominent banker.

“
<<


90

lice of nearby towns and State Highway pa-
trolmen actively were engaged in the search
for the red-head in the maroon Mercury.

At intervals there came reports that the
fleeing car was seen in areas south of May-
pearl, and posses went speeding to those
locations. Several times the officers were
certain they had the fugitive bottled up.
But the bottling-up operations produced no
results. If the bandit actually had been
where he was reported, he somehow had
managed to slip through the traps. Other
searchers brought in innocent motorists
who were unfortunate enough to be driving
red cars,

‘As time passed and a thorough search of
a large area around Maypearl produced no
result, it became apparent the young man
with the smoking automatic had somehow
managed to avoid all of the barricades to
elude the posses and to make his getaway,
despite the rapidity with which the net was
spread.

The story told by Wiggins of the red--

head’s interest in the infrequently traveled
roads of Ellis and adjoining Johnson County
explained the escape to Cariker.

“He simply got away on the back roads

-before we could get them covered,” the chief

deputy said. “He figured we'd blockade the
main roads first and then cover the country
roads. He had the jump on us because he
had it all planned.”

The search was widened and officers
throughout the State were urged by radio
to keep a sharp lookout for the maroon
Mercury and its dangerous occupant.

The ambulance which had followed the
deputies to Maypearl carried Wilemon to
the Waxahachie Sanitarium. There it was
found the bullet had pierced vital organs
and paralyzed the banker’s right leg. The
blow on his head had caused a concussion.
He was obviously in a dangerous condition
and it was deemed imperative to perform
an operation for the removal of the bullet.
But Wilemon had been too sorely stricken
to rally after the operation. At 9:30 o’clock
that night he died.

A WAVE OF INDIGNATION swept Ellis
County when news of the banker’s
death spread. That was to be expected, be-
cause Wilemon was a member of two of
the most prominent families of the county
—the-Wilemons, and, on his maternal side,
the Tierys.

He was 44 years old at the time of his
death. His birthplace was Boz, in Ellis
County, and he ‘had lived virtually all of
his life at Maypearl. He was a brother of
Tiery E. Wilemon, superintendent of pub-
lic schools at Waxahachie. In Maypearl,
besides his other activities, he had been su-
perintendent of the Sunday School and a
steward of the Methodist Church.

Checking the license number which young
Cavaness had given him, Cariker learned

that the maroon Mercury had been stolen’

on May 3 from a street in Denison, Texas,
in the extreme northern part of the State.
Chief J. R. Dishner, of the Denison Police
Department, had broadcast a description of
the car on the day it was stolen.

Now, because of the possibility the May-
pearl killer might be a resident of Deni-
son, and might have returned to his home
after the bank holdup, Chief Dishner gave
orders to his men to be on the alert. Each

* man was given the engine and license num-
bers of the stolen car and a description of

the man last seen driving it.

Late that afternoon, a patrolman walking
his beat on a downtown street in Deni-
son, saw a.maroon Mercury sedan without
license plates parked at the curb. Absence
of the plates was in itself a suspicious cir-
cumstance. The patrolman lifted the hood
of the car and read the engine numbers.
From his pocket he pulled a notebook in
which he had written the numbers supplied

REAL DETECTIVE

by the owner of the stolen Mercury. He
checked those numbers with the ones on
the engine. He determined instantly that
here was the car in which the slayer of
Wilemon had escaped from Maypearl.

His call to Police Headquarters announc-
ing he had found the car, set the Grayson
County law-enforcement machinery into ac-
tion. Chief Dishner made certain that
every man in the Police Department was
familiar with the killer’s description.

“IT want every hotel and rooming house
in Denison searched,” he said. “Start
with those in the vicinity where the car
was found. The man who abandoned it
may. be holing up nearby, waiting for the
‘heat’ to subside. “Make your search thor-
ough. Don’t miss a place. If that killer’s
in town, I want him brought in.”

Patrolmen and detectives, working in
pairs, began the search. At each rooming
house and hotel they inquired of the own-

stands
yr news
on you

out how the
s in the eamps are
g taken over

ers and operators if any man answering the
Maypearl killer’s description had registered,
Many of the questioners met with disap-
pointment, but it remained for Patrolmen
Louis Winchester and Grady O’Shields,
after futile visits to several places, to find
their goal when they reached the small ho-
tel operated by Mrs. Lena Adkinson.

She listened intently as the patrolmen
told the purpose of their visit and described
the man they sought.

“I think he’s here,” she said. “A tall,
red-haired fellow came in this morning. I
think he’s asleep now in his room.”

_ She went to the hotel register, scanned
its pages, then beckoned to the patrolmen
to look, “Here’s his name,” she said, point-
ing. “He registered as Charlie Anderson.”

Winchester and O’Shields informed her.

that her guést might be a dangerous killer
and that it was necessary for them to take
him by surprise.

“We should have a pass-key, Mrs. Ad-
kinson,” one of them told her, “so we can
get into his room before he knows what's
up. It may save a lot of shooting.”

Mrs. Adkinson produced the pass-key
and Winchester and O’Shields moved soft-
ly up the stairway and approached the door
of Anderson’s room. They stood just out-
side the door a moment, ears strained for
movement inside. Only the sound of the
deep, steady breathing of a sleeping man
reached them. Drawing their guns, they
turned the pass-key in the lock and pushed
the door open cautiously.

The man on the bed was snoring. Guns
in hand, the officers crept up to the bedside

and eyed the slumberer. They saw that his
hair was red, that he was the approximate
height of the man who had shot Wilemon.

One of them nudged the sleeper into
wakefulness with a prod of his revolver
muzzle. He sat up, staring at them stu-
pidly a moment. :

“What do you want?” he demanded, ori-
enting himself, “Who—?”

“Where’s your gun?” Winchester inter-
rupted.

“T haven’t any gun,” the suspect answer-
ed, and then, in response to questions, added
that he was Charlie Anderson, that he lived
in Dallas and that he had come to Deni-
son on business. He made the trip by
train, he asserted, but he was vague as to
the time of his arrival. He claimed to have
no knowledge of the theft of the maroon
Mercury sedan.

While one of the patrolmen kept him cov-
ered, the other searched the room. Pockets
in the suspect’s clothes were turned wrong
side out; his suitcase was given a thorough
inspection. But no weapon of any kind was
found.

“What'd you do with your gun?”
O’Shields demanded. “And where is all the
money ?”

“I told you I had no gun,” the man reit-
erated. “And I have very little money.”
He waved a vague hand toward his clothes
on the chair.

He was told to dress; that he would be
taken to Police Headquarters for further
questioning. While he was putting on his
clothes, one of his captors searched the bed,
pulling back the sheet and lifting the mat-
tress to peer under it. “When he ran his
hand into the pillowcase, a look of amazc-
ment crossed his face. His fingers had
come into contact with a roll of currency.
He pulled the money out and counted it
while the red-haired prisoner glowered.

“For a man who has very little money,”
Winchester commented, “you’re doing right
well. There’s $585 in this roll.”

Yee Deputy Cariker of Ellis County
had started for Denison after being

-informed of the finding of the Mercury

car. He did not reach the Grayson County
metropolis, however, until after Winchester
and O’Shields had delivered their prisoner
to Police Headquarters.

There, fingerprints of the suspect were
taken. Comparing them with those in their
files, the Denison police learned their pris-
oner was not Charlie Anderson of Dallas,
but Burton Franks of Bonham, Tex. More-
over, they learned that Franks had been re-
leased from the State penitentiary at Hunts-
ville only 60 days earlier.

He had been given a. conditional pardon
by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles
after serving 18 months of two 2-year sen-
tences imposed in Lamar and Hunt Coun-
ties in September, 1937. Both were for
thefts committed in those counties. From
the prison officials it was learned that dur-
ing his stay at Huntsville, the 21-year-old
youth had been the cellmate of a convicted
bank robber.

The two convicts frequently had talked
of the technique which should be followed
in a bank heist, and Franks was said to
have received many tips from his older cell-
mate.

Confronted with that information, the
suspect readily admitted his identity. With
the arrival of Cariker, who had with him
the numbers on some of the currency taken
from the Maypearl bank, it was quickly de-
termined that the money found in the pil-
lowcase was part of the loot taken from the
Wilemon institution.

Detective J. R. Hartson of the Denison
police, impressed upon the prisoner’s mind
the fact that the presence of the money in
his room definitely linked him with the
holdup.

aie


“We've got the evidence linking you with
that robbery,” Hartson said. “There’s no
use your denying it any longer.”

“All right,” Franks resp. “I'll ad-
mit I robbed that bank,”’

“Why did you shoot Wilemon?” Hartson
pressed. “What was the need for that?”

“T didn’t mean to shoot him,” Franks an-
Swered. “The gun just went off accident-
ally.”

Pressed for details by Hartson, Franks
said he went to Maypearl and spent several
days sizing up the situation.

“I kept to the back roads in making my
getaway,” he said. “I knew the main roads
would be watched, so I mapped out a route
and stuck to it. I left Maypear! traveling
south, but doubled back north.”

Following the unfrequented roads he had
previously selected, he said he drove to the
home of his mother, Mrs. Frank Watson,
in Bonham, Tex., crossing the heavily trav-
eled DallaséFort Worth pike near Grand
Prairie, just west of Dallas,

At the home of his mother, owner of a
shoe repair shop, he obtained a change of
clothing. He had taken apart the gun with
which he shot Wilemon and thrown it into
the Red River, four miles north of Deni-
son, as he approached that town. Then he
drove into .Denison,. where he was cap-
tured.,,

Taken to the Red River by the Officers, he
pointed out the spot where ‘he said he had
thrown the gun,

Searchers tried for hours to find the pis-
tol, but it never was recovered. If Franks
told the truth about the manner in which
he disposed of it, the treacherous quick-
sands of the river had swallowed the auto-
matic for all time,

The prisoner made another significant
Statement. That was that his uncle, Ed
Franks, 52-year-old shoe repairman of
Venus, Texas, in Johnson County near May-
pearl, had suggested and planned the bank
robbery.

“My uncle,” he said, “told me it would be
an easy job because Maypearl was such a
quiet town at noon, He said I could get
$8,000 or $10,000.”

Questioned in Waxahachie by Forrester
Hancock, Ellis County district attorney,
about the story his nephew had told, Ed
Iranks was said to have admitted he knew
of Burton Franks’ plan to hold up the
Maypearl bank. He denied, however, his
nephew’s story that he had suggested the
robbery as early as August, 1937, before
young Franks was sent to the penitentiary.
On the strength of the nephew’s story and
Ed - Frank’s own admissions, Hancock
charged him with being an accessory in the
robbery.

Back at Police Headquarters in Deni-
son, Detective Hartson discovered that
young Franks not only had laid plans for a
getaway from the scene of the bank rob-
bery, but that he had prepared himself for
later escape should those plans go awry
and his arrest be effected.

Making a thorough search of Franks’
clothing before placing him in a cell, Hart-
son noticed an unnatural stiffness of a seam
in the front of the prisoner’s shirt.

“Take that shirt off,” the detective com-
manded. “I want to take a look at it.”

Franks removed the shirt and from the
seam the detective took half a dozen hack-
saw blades.

“Smart boy, aren't you?” Hartson asked.
“Where'd you learn that trick 2”

“My cellmate at Huntsville told me about
it,” Franks replied.

HEN HE LEARNED that Wilemon had
V died from his wound, Franks became
panicky and refused to sign a confession
similar to the oral statement he had made.
But the [lis County Grand Jury was told
of his admissions and returned indictments

REAL DETECTIVE

charging him with first degree murder and
robbery with firearms, Sheriff J. E. Roy
departed for Denison with warrants for
him.

Franks’ uncle, meanwhile, had been re-
leased under $7,500 bond, pending trial.
Then, because the Maypearl Bank was in-
sured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, Federal authorities entered the
case, and the day after the Ellis County
Grand Jury, acted, a Federal grand jury in
Dallas indicted Burton Franks for robbery
with firearms of a Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corporation bank—a capital offense.

Clyde Eastus, United States district at-
torney in Dallas, announced he would send
Franks to trial in Federal Court and that
he would ask the death penaity. Sheriff
Roy had just been given custody of the
Prisoner in Denison when Federal Judge
Whit Davidson telephoned news of the Fed-
eral indictment and ordered Denison police
to hold Franks until ‘t was determined
whether the Federal or State courts should
be given the privilege of trying him,

Special agents of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation dug up another charge against
the suspect—interstate transportation of a
stolen motor car—when they learned that
Franks, after stealing the Mercury in Den-
ison, had driven it to Enid, Oklahoma.

wo days of conferences followed between
Eastus and Hancock before the Govern-
ment agreed the State should try Franks
on the murder charge. He then was turned

over to Sheriff Roy a second time,

Franks had persistently refused to divulge
what he had done with $1,014 of the $1,572
taken from the Maypear! bank.

“It’s none of your business,” he had re-
peated stubbornly in reply to questions.

“That money never will do you any
good,” Sheriff Roy and Chief Deputy Ca-
riker told him time and again. “You might
as well tell where it is.”

Now, confronted with a murder charge,
and with the knowledge that if he were ac-
quitted in the State courts, he still would
have to face Federal prosecution, Franks’
resistance broke,

“All right,” he said, “I’ll show you where
it is. I buried it in the yard at home.”

Sheriff Roy and Cariker, accompanied by
Denison detectives, took Franks to his
home at Bonham, twenty-five miles south-
cast of Denison, in Fannin County. There
they unearthed a fruit jar containing $1,000
in currency and $10 in 50-cent coins, Only
$4 of the loot had been spent by Franks.

he missing license plates for the Mercury
also were recovered.

Franks was kept in the Dallas County jail
for safekeeping until his trial was called on
May 22 before Judge A. Royce Stout in the
Fortieth District Court of Ellis County at
Waxahachie. Because of the high feeling
against the defendant, Sheriff Roy limited
the number of Spectators to the 238 seats
in the courtroom. Texas Rangers were
called in to maintain order.

Henry Tiery, former Ellis County Dis-
trict Attorney, and Frank Tiery, Waxa-
hachie attorney, cousins of the slain banker,
were named by District Attorney Hancock
to aid him in the prosecution,

On the first day of the trial, Mrs. Watson
signed an affidavit that her son was insane
and incapable of making a defense, The
murder trial was delayed until a jury re-
turned a verdict that he was sane and
should stand trial for killing Wilemon,.

While Franks was on the witness stand
and his attorneys were trying to get into
the record his Story of Ed Franks’ alleged
participation in the robbery plan, the uncle
sat upon a chicken coop in his henhouse,
placed the muzzle of a shotgun against his
hody and pressed the trigger with a yard-
stick, Tlis wife found his body when she
returned from a visit with friends in near-
by Midlothian, Texas, She found, also,

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(26 SOUTHWESTERN -2nd- 63 (Reversed) and 2 SOUTHWEST ERN -2nd= 609 (Affirmed)),

:
FRITTS, Will, White, electrocuted Texas State Prison (Kent County) on Dec, 18, 1931.

"Abilene, Texas, Oct, 26, 1928-One of the most intensive manhunts in the history of this
section still wasin progress today as hundreds of armed possemen, led by three West Texas
sheriffs, searched the brakes of the Brazos River bottoms along the boundary between Has-
kell and Stonewall Counties for Bill Fritz, 35, charged with the slaying of Dudley W,
Hamilton and his son Earle, at Rochester Wednesday (10-2);-1928) night. Sheriffs Al Cousins
of Haskell, Tom Hudson efi Jones and Bailey Bingham of Stonewall Counties were leading the
search which began a few hours after Hamiltonand his son were shot down at the door of
their home, The country where Fritz was thought to be hiding was almost inaccessable in
places. All exits to the region were guarded and detachments of men hoped to force Fritts
from the cover into the hands of guards stationed on the roads. This failing, it was be-
lieved the fugitive would be forced to surrender, The Hamiltons were believed to have been
killed as the outgrowth of aliquor investigation in which Earle was a state witness, Mrs,
Hamilton who supplied information which resulted in a murder charge being filed against
Fritz said he called her husband and son to the door of their house and demanded that Earle
leave thecounty before Octe 29 when the liquor case was to have come to trial. Earle re-
fused, she said, and Fritz opened fire on both men, killing the father instantly. Earle
was shot twice, dying as he fell to the floor," DAILYTIMES HERALD, Dallas, 10/26/1928 (1/6)

"Abilene, 10-25-1928-,,.the fugitive was under indictment in a liquor case in Haskell Co,

in which Earle Hamilton was a state witness, Mrs, “amilton said that Fritz called at the
Hamilton home late last night, getting the father and son out of bed, to demand that the

son leave the county before the liquor case came to trial next Monday, After a conversation
in which the elder Hamilton said his somewould not leave, a pistol was shoved against Dudley
Hamilton's breast, and he fell dead when a shot was fired, Mrs, Hamilton said, The boy
then fled, his mother said, and was shot twice, one bullet striking him in the shoulder

and another in the leg as he attempted to run into thehouse through a rear door, Ke died
before a doctor could be summoned, The assailant fled in an automobile and had nob been
caught at noon today." TIMES HERALD, Dallas, 10/25/1928 (1/3)

"Abilene, Oct. 27 = Brought here from Hakkell County, where he surrendered late yesterday
to Marshal George Flourney after posses had combed the river brakes for himtwo days and
nights, Bill Frit, last night stoutly maintainedhis innocence of the slaying of Dudley W.
Hamilton and his son, Earle, Haskell county farmers, Wednesday night. Fritz, anoeverseas
veteran of the World War, talked freely to officers and reporters but denied he fired the
shots thatkilled the Hamiltons, He asserted he was accompanied to the Hamilton home by 3
companions, whose identity he refused to divulge. He declared he had seen none of the three
sinee the night of the shooting, It was several hours after Fritz surrendered before his
whereabouts were known, Due to what was siad to be high feeling in Haskell County, Marshal
“journey secreted Fritz beneath the rumble seat of his automobile and brought him here, In _
discussing his plight with authorities last night Fritz gave a vivid description of the

two days and nights he was in hiding in cotton fields near Judd, Haskell County community,
Many times, he said, possemen armed with rifles passed within a few feet of his hiding
place. When he saw his capture was inevitable, Fritz said he made his way to the house of
John Epley, a farmer and friend, and asked that he telephore Marshal Flourney to come get
him, e declared he would have surrendered to no other officer, The slaying of the
Hamiltons aroused eitizens of Haskell County to a high pitch, The two ere shot down after
they had been called from the house at night, “rs, Hamilton, whose statement resulted in
charges being filed against Fritz said her son was ordered to "vet out of the county' before
licuor cases in which he was to be a witness came to trial, When Hamilton refused to send
his son away, she said, he was shot and instantly killed, Earleswas shot twice as he ran
into the house and died before aid could be summoned," TIMES HERALD, Dallas, 20-27-28 (8/5)


FREENEY, George, black, hanged at Franklin, Texas, on Nov. 25, 1892, .
"George Freeney was indicted by the grand jury of Robertson County, Tex., at the June term,
A. D., 1892, for the murder of his step-son John Robertson, alleged tq have been committed
in said county on March 31, 1892, by shooting him with a gun, He was unable to employ
counsel and the Hon, John N. Henderson, District Judge presiding, appointed Hon, W. 0.
Campbell and J, 2, Gann, esqe, to represent the defendant, His appointed counsel, after
investigating the case, agreed with the district attorney, Hon, P,. S. Ford, to plead guilty
to murder in the first degree and accept lifeimprisonment in the penitentiary as the
penalty, A jury was duly impaneled and the defendant was arraigned, but to the surprise

of the attorneys the defendant refused to plead guilty dnd demanded that his attorneys
should fight his case. His plea of not guilty was therefore entered and the case was
tried, resulting in a verdict of guilty and the assessment of the death penalty, No appeal

respite until November 25, 1892. er

"George Freeney was a tall negro, nearly black, a little over six feet high, and was about
50-years-old, He said he was born in Mississippi and belonged to a man named Hasting
Sandages that he came to,Texas the first year after the war as the servant of U. S.
soldiers, or, as he termed it, 'Yankee,soldiers,' and that he lived in Williamson

and Milam counties before he came to Robertson; that he had lived in Robertson County for

7 or 8 years in the vicinity of Wootan Wells, He was a hard, brutal-looking negro, could
not read or write, was of very low grade of intellect, and had a very repulsive counte-
nance€e . :

"His victim was his wife's son, a boy about 12-years-old, The evidence was circumstantial,
and showed that about March 31, 1892, defendant and his family were tenants on the farm

of F, M, Wootan, and on that morning the mother of deceased sent him into the woods after
an armful of woods the boy brought one load and then went back after another, and was

gone quitea while. Defendant was at work in the field and came to the house and asked

that the boy had come back; was told no, Defendant took his gun, a double-barrel shote
gun, and went off in the direction the boy had gone, Very soon the report of the gun

was heard about 200 yards. from the house in that direction, Defendant returned to the house,
but the boy never returned. It was then reported that the boy was missing and some search
was made for him, About two weeks later some negroes discovered a fresh gave in the
colored grave yard nearf by and flies buzzing about, They reported same and had the grave
opened and found the bodies about. 18 inches in the ground,. wrapped in an old skirt and bede
spread, no coffin or box, A postmortem examination and inquest washeld. The body was
identified and had four buckshot holes in the back which had caused death. Just prior to
exhuming the body defendant was questioned as to the whereabouts of the boy, and denied
knowing anything about him, Search disclosed where the boy had been killed about 200 yards
from defendant's house in a dugout where the boy had gone after wood, and was sitting down
cracking hickory nuts with a rock, The leaves were raked away, fresh dirt was found,

and a hole about thelength of the boy was found, and an old vest was also found there and
identified as the twy's vest, with four shot holes in the back and blood on it, corresponding
with the holes in the body. It was also proved that thenight the boy was missing, the de-
fendantand his wife want off in the direction of this place. The wife had on two skirts

or dresses, and came back with only one, The other was identified as the one wrapped
around the body found in the graveyard, The bedspread was identified as one carried away
that night by defendant and his wife. It was proved that defendant was unmercifully

cruel to his family and his wafe was in mortal fear of him, Other circumstances pointed
strongly to defendant's guilt, At the examining trial defendant made a voluntary state-
ment in which he told about the boy going after the wood and not returning, and that he
hunted for the boy for a week and finally found him dead in the dugout. That he told his
wife about it; that they agreed that it was best not to tell anyone lest they might be
accused of it; and that he and his wife buried the boy in the dugout at night; that about

a week later he and his wife went at night and took the body up and buried it in the
graveyard and wrapped it in the dress skirt and bedspread. This statement was ruled out

on the final trial by reason of some information in taking it before the justices
"Defendant's wife testified on the examining trial that she sent theboy after wood, that
defendant came out of the field and called the boy and then took his gun and went in that
direction, Soon she heard the gun fire. Defendant returned and told her he had killed
the boy and that if she told it he wuld kill her; that he.made her go with him and Betp
pury the boy, and that a week or so Later he made her go with him = an ay Pas
to the graveyard and there bury him. The wife was not permitted to testily .

"Both white and capers in the neighborhood where the homicideoccurred seem to have no
doubt of defendant's guilt and think his punishment juste. Your reporter called on George
Freeney in jail today. He talked without reluctance and admitted tat he found the boy
dead and just buried him in the dugout and that subsequently he and his wife took him *
and buried him in the graveyard at night, but bipyerly denying killing him or any know-
ledge of who did. He said he hoped the governor would commute his sentence to life
imprisonment in the penitentiary and that the wibnesses swore lies against him. He said
he had been a member of the church for three years and that he thought he would go to.
heaven, but that he would much prefer going to the penitentiary and dying a natural death,

THE EXECUTION,
"Franklin, Texas, Nove. 25, 1892-Early this morning crowds of people began coming in to.
witness the-execution of George Freeney, The gallws was erected in the corner of the.
courthouseyard, in public view of the whole town. Just before 3 o'clock, George Freeney,
accompanied by Sheriff J. W. White, Deputy J. F. white, Rev. G. H, Phair, Methodist minis-
ter and Dr. W. B. Morrow, came from the jail and ascended the scaffold, The prisoner
walked with steady ste and ussupported. About 3000 people, of all colors, ages and
sexes were circled around to witness the execution, Sheriff Whiteread the death warrant.
and asked Georgeif he had anything to say. George stepped forward, dressed in a neat
new suit and in a clear tone addresséd the ‘multitude.
"He called on all to bear witness that they would seethe execution of an innocent mane
He said his sins were forgiven:and that he was.very sooh going home to heaven, That he
would meet them all at the bar of Gody where a man could get justice; that he would
leave this sinful world where justice could not behade He complimented the sheriff, .
Captainyhite, and his deputies. He proclaimed his innocence, until' the last and said
he had no fears but he would be saved in feavj,
"After his speech Rev, G. H,. Phair offered a fervent prayer arid sang a hymn, Deputy
Sheriff White then adjusted the rope, drew down the black cap over the face of the prisoner,
tied his hands and feet, jerked the trigger, and at nine minutes past three’ o'clock,
the drop fell and the bodyshot down out of sight and the soul of George Freeney mend
to eternity. He never moved a muscle nor made a struggle, His neck was byoken and in
15 minutes Doctors Glass and Abney and Briggs pronounced him dead. He was taken down,
put in a neat coffin and turned over to friends for burial, F
"It rained at intervals all day but the morbid, curious crowd stood their ground,
"This is the fourth legal hanging for Robertson County in the last ll years, all of
Which were reported for the NEWS." DAILY NEWS, Galveston, Texas, 11-26-1892 (23),

a
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A broad-shouldered man with
tawny red hair lay stretched out
asleep. Aroused, he sat up, digging
the sleep from his eyes. O’Shields
flashed his badge.

“Get. up,” he ordered. “But keep
your hands high.” >

Grumbling that he was innocent
of any wrong-doing, the man obeyed.
Cariker had searched the trousers on
a chair. He found a wallet containing
three dollars and nothing else.

When asked his name, the man
said it was Tom Hodges and that he
came from Midland, Texas.. When he

got up, Winchester searched the bed.

When he lifted the pillows, he let
out a whistle.

There was a thick sheaf of bills.
A quick count revealed a total of
nearly $400.

“See here,” the redhead protested,
“I worked darn hard for that money
in the oil fields.”

“You'd better be right,” said Cari-

ker. He fished out one of the bank ©

bulletins and compared some of the
bill numbers. Then he turned to the
detectives. ‘Well, here’s the stolen
money,” he announced. “This is our
man,”

He was taken to the Denison jail
and there searched much more thor-
oughly. This was a wise move, as sub-
sequent events proved. For although
he was unarmed, in his shirt tail he
had cleverly sewn three saw blades.

In his left shoe was a letter from a
woman, written from an address in
Bonham, Texas. The letter was ad-
dressed to Burton Franks, in care of
the general delivery at Venus.

But the man insisted his name was
Hodges and that he found the letter,
intending to send it back. But the
officers didn’t believe a word of it.
They were sure they had netted an
exceedingly slippery fish.

They telephoned the police at Bon-
ham to question the woman. Sure
enough, as it turned out she was a
relative of Franks and she described
the man exactly.

“He seems plenty smart—for an
amateur,” Cariker decided. “Let’s
phone headquarters in Austin. Maybe
he’s got a record.”

When this information came
through, it proved Franks was not
exactly a novice. Although he was
only 22 years old, he had served time
in Texas for theft of an auto. He had
been pardoned for this and released
on September 17, 1938.

The police of Dallas and other
cities had also investigated him at
various times as a vagrant.

Cariker made another call, relaying
the news to Sheriff Roy and asking
him to ascertain if Franks was known
around Venus. Two hours later, Roy
called back. Burton Franks was a
cousin of Bob Parton. ‘

But even when confronted with all
this overwhelming evidence, Franks
did not give up. “Yeah, that’s my

name, all right,” he admitted. “But-

I don’t know anything about a ma-
roon car. I came here on the train.
And I found that money in a depot
rest room.”

“We'll see about that, too,” said
Cariker. ;

The prisoner was rushed to May-
pearl, and there he was positively
identified as the driver of the maroon

Mercury. But keeping him in the
county jail at Waxahachie -promised
to be dangerous, for the sheriff was
informed that a plot was afoot to
lynch Franks.

Now FBI Agent Conroy arrived
from Sherman. He filed a charge
against Franks for the Federal Re-
serve Bank robbery and this gave the
government prior rights to the pris-
oner, But Conroy surrendered Franks
to District Attorney Hancock, who
made arrangements to spirit the pris-
oner away, after darkness, to the
Dallas jail.

Just before departure, the sheriff
went to Parton. “Well, we finally
caught up to your cousin,” he said.
“To you really think it paid you to
help him?” hi

Parton paled and trembled at the
news. Gone was all his bravado. “I
didn’t do anything, except to keep
quiet. He wanted me to go in on the
bank job, but I refused.”

He said Franks drove into the farm
one day, saying the cops were after
him, so Parton concluded his cousin
had pulled the job. He kept still, he
said, only because of Franks’ mother.

Franks was next visited in his cell.
“You might as well confess,” Roy
told him. “Even Parton told us how
you planned the bank robbery.”

“Oh, he did!” sneered Franks.
“Well, he was the one who planned
it. Then he backed out, and I was left
to do it alone. He’s the guy you want.
I didn’t even mean to shoot Wile-
mon.”

“Glad to hear you admit the job,”
said Roy. “Now, where’s the rest of
the money?”

Franks laughed. “Nobody will ever
find it.” ;

During the trip to Dallas, the
sheriff treated his prisoner with kind-

“ness, buying him a steak dinner

and cigarettes. Franks broke down.
“You're a swell guy, sheriff,” he said.
“J might as well tell you where the
money is.”

They found it as he directed, in a
fruit jar hidden in a garage at Bon-
ham. This clinched the case against
him.

The Santa Anna authorities could
find no evidence that Franks was
involved in the robbery of their city
bank. So he was held for the murder
at Maypearl. Parton was released
from custody. .

While in the Dallas jail, Franks
made three attempts at escape Once,
the jailer found a letter in the pris-
oner’s shoe, ready to be mailed. He
had written to a pal, outlining an
escape and telling of license plates
hidden in a tree stump. If he got out,
he planned to counterfeit money.

But all his schemes faded. On
May 7, 1940, just one year after the
killing, he went to trial in the court
of Judge A. R. Stout, of the 40th
Judicial District of Ellis County. He
was promptly found guilty of first-
degree murder and sentenced to die.
The Court of Criminal Appeals up-
held it. :

On June 7, 1940, Burton Franks
was led to the. electric chair at the
Huntsville prison. A few minutes
later, he was pronounced dead.

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fictitious for obvious reasons.

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he


FELDER, Wade and John, blacks, hanged at Rusk, Texas, on October 9, 1891.
THEIR CRIME

"On July 9, 1891, the grand jury of Cherokee County returned into open court two indictments
against John Felder, charging him in one with an assault on Mack Beasley with intent to mre
der said Beasley, on the lst day of July, 1891, in Cherokee County, Texas; the other charged
that John Felder assaulted Mack Beasley with intent to murder him on the $rd day of July,
1891, John Felder was promptly arrested, and on the 21st day of July last the parties appear-
ed and announced ready for trial. In each of these cases Mack Beasley was an important wit-

ness for the state. Yonce Thomson, the father-in-law of John Felder, was also a witness
and testified for the state. These prosecutions were hotly contested and in each a verdict
was tendered acquitting the defendant. Wade Felder testified in each of these cases for the
defendant, On the night of August 17, while Yonce Thompson and Mack Beasley were asleep in
bed at Yonce Thompson's house, Wade and John Felder went there armed with shot guns and dis-
charged the guns into the house, instantly killing Yonce Thompson, On August 2 the grand
jury returned indictments against them severally for mrder. On August 29 they went to
trial. Wade Felder was tried first. He pleaded not guilty, but the evidence was reason=
ably conclusive that Wade and John Felder did the shootings; shat they were mad with Yonce
Thompson, etCe, and the jury assessed the death penalty, John was then put on trialk pleaded
guilty and made a statement to the jury to the effect that he alone did the shooting to scare
Beasley; that Wade Felder was not present, and had nothing to do with the killing. The death
penalty was promptly assessed against John, The defendants were represented by Messrs, Whit-
man & Dickenson and the state by District Attorney Polley and Wilson & Wilson, The defend-
ants declined to appeal and the death sentence was pronounced, The pefsoners still insist
that they did not intend to kill any person, but only intended to frighten Beasley, Before
last summer, these negroes have been regarded as being quiet and laweabiding, They are half-
brothers, John being very black, while Wade is bright but not a mulatto,

. | THE EXECUT ION .

Hanged at 1:30 PM. Slept well night before and arose cheerful, After breakfast, washed and
were dressed in black coats and pants and white vests, lit cigars and received immediate rel-
atives and friends until noon, At 12:30, business houses closed, streets deserted and ml-
titudes gone to see them hanged, Shortly afterwards, Sheriff John B, Reagan, accompanied by
guard of 60 men, drove them to scaffold, On arrival, they seemed to be calm and collected
and walked with firm and steady step. Death warrant read and they were told they could say
anything they wished, ‘Wade talked for some 15 minutes, saying that he was going to die,
that he had been found guilty and that he was a wicked man when he was sentenced, but that
a good friend of his, referring to Jailor McCord, had talked to him; had told him of the
awful consequences of dying in sin, and led him to repentance and belief in Christ; he was
prepared and willing to die; he had thoughtof the the Governor of the land at the start, but
had sought the love of God, which 'is shed abound in my heart,' Here John said: 'I have a
few remarks to make,' He then proceeded to tell about the killing of Yonce Thompson; how
he and Wade had agreed to buckshot the door in order to scare Mack Beasley off, and made no
new statement. He then went on to say that he had been awfully wicked; had bem a gambler
with dice and implored his listeners to never touch dice nor gainmble nor lie, but to seek the
Lord; that the love of God was strong in him and asked the jailer and the NEWS reporter if
they did notthink he had the love of God in his heart. He paid JailerMcCord an eloquent
tribute; told how the good man had sat by his cell and read and sang and preached with him,
and how his con ersion was partially brought about by the wholesome and Christian advice of
the jailer. He then spoke to Mr, Thompson: "Mr, Thompson, you hired a lawyer to prosecute
me and I hated you for it, but since I told the truth and the Lord has forgiven me my
feelings have entire changed and I love you,"About 6,000 people had assembled by 1 ofclock
to witness, Most of them were men, but many women and children were in dense crowd, Wade
ascended scaffold first withsteady tread and smoking cigar and John followed in similar
manner with complete air of indifference, Drop fell at 1:30. On one occasion during Wade's
talk, John interrupted saying: "Don't take up so much time; let us leave this world,' Before
conversions, had attempted suicide by trying to starve themselves to death on three occasions
but each time relented and started eating after the third day. Also on one occasion, John
cut his wrist and Wade broke some glass and swallowed but neither died. They told a NEWS
reporter this in an interview. NEWS, Galveston, Texas, 10-10-1891 (-1/h-)


| Texas Killer
Of a Neighbor
Is Put to Death

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., June 20 (AP)
— A man who said that his wife’s
casserole led him to stab a neighbor
to death was executed by injection
early today.

The condemned man, John Fear-
ance Jr., 40, ended a brief, rambling
final statement by saying he was
ready to die.

“IT would like to say that I have no
animosity toward anyone,” Mr.
Fearance said. ‘‘I made a mistake 18
years ago. I feel like I’m not respon-
sible for what I done because I had a
bad psychotic break. I lost control. I
lost my life.

“IT don’t have any hate toward
humanity. I didn’t mean to and I’m
ready to go meet my Maker.”

He said “hail Mary” through a
gasp before falling silent.

Mr. Fearance was sentenced to
die for killing Larry Faircloth in
Dallas on Dec. 23, 1977.

Mr. Fearance said he returned
home from his job at a car repair
shop and found that his wife had
baked him a casserole with meat. He
said he liked his meat separate.

In an interview on June 7 he said
he argued with his wife and then: “I
just lost control of my mind. I just
snapped.”

He broke into at least two houses
in his neighborhood, including Mr.
Faircloth’s. Mr. Faircloth’s wife,
Betty, identified Mr. Fearance as the
man who stabbed her husband 19
times.

Mr. Fearance said he was re-
morseful but should not have been
sentenced to death. ‘They should
have tried me for temporary insan-
ity,’’ he said.

Mr. Fearance’s criminal record

. dates to 1972 when he received a two-

year prison sentence for rape and
theft. He served eight months. In
1975 he was sentenced to five years
in prison for theft but was released
after serving slightly more than a
year.

TE.

19

5b/

& oS alen(/ |

'N FIEND IW BEATE

Fright Incident r an 4
Paso Hanging,

A Doomed Mexican Breaking Out at
the Last Moment Stabbed a De-
puty Sheriff—Several Spectators
Injured in the Ensiing Panic.

nie mrs ACEI

El Paso, Tex., Jan. §.—(Special.j—A
| double hanging at the El Paso county |
jail today developed into one of the
, Most sensational episodes in the crim-
prea history of Texas. Antonio Flores
and Geronimo Para about to be
hanged, were in semingly close spirit-
val communion with the priests. They
| seemed dispirited and resigned.

As the cell door was opened to con-
duct Flores to the scaffold, both he and |
his fellow Mexican murderer m= ae

threw off their air of humility and
drawing sharpened wire daggers, pre-
viously concealed on their persons,
sprang out like wild beasts and des-
perately attacked the deputies  sur-
j}rounding them.

Parra was covered by a gun in the
‘hands of State Ranger Sanderson, and
jas he paused for a moment in_ his
break for freedom, the cell door was
jslammed in his face, Flores, how-
lever, loose in the corridor, maddéned
with the thought of his awful fate,
yeiled in Spanish, ‘‘You shall all go to
hell with me!” and attempted to dis-
embowel Deputy Ed Bryant. | sii



A Fantastic Tale of Hidden Wealth, a
Convict's Map Showing Its Location—
How Could Waco, Texas, Police Use
These Facts to Find the Killer of the
Girl Who Was Seeking the Treasure?

posed himself and was sitting beside
a window, staring stonily out into the
darkness. Whitlock sat in a near-by
chair, gazing at nothing, and he did
not seem to notice as the officers en-
tered.

“Now, then,” said Buchanan, briskly,
“would. you boys like something to
eat?”

They looked at him, mutely shaking
their heads. After a moment the Cap-
tain said, gently, “Look, kids, I know
this is tough for you—but you want
us to catch the man who killed your
mamma, don’t you? Well, then, I’m
going to have to ask you to help me.
In the first place, I’ve got to know
why you came to Waco.”

“T’ll tell you,” volunteered the older
child. ““We—we came over here to look

‘for a buried treasure.” At the in-

credulous gaze of the Captain he
gulped, but went on bravely. “Yes,
Sir. Mamma and Mr. Whitlock knew
where there was a thousand dollars
buried and we came over here to dig
for it!”

i evs officials digested this amazing
bit of information in silence. Fred
wiped his eyes with the back of his
grimy little hand, took a fresh hold on
his courage. “Mr. Whitlock took Bobby
and went over by the railroad tracks
to dig. I stayed in the car with Mamma.
It was only about two hundred yards
away but it was dark and we couldn’t
see them. When they .were gone so
long Mamma got worried and she
called the Sheriff.”

Whitlock muttered, “I sure didn’t
know she did that!”

“Well, she didn’t tell them you were
digging for the treasure—she just told
them Bobby went off with a white man
and a colored man. After a while, Bob-
by went back where Mr. Whitlock was.
leaving Mamma and I alone. We were
in the car talkin’ about what we’d do
with our share of the buried treasure.”
His lips quivered. “She was goin’ to
let me have a new air-rifle. A man
walked by, turned around and came
back. Mamma watched him. All of a
sudden the man put a gun in the win-
dow and shot her.” Despite Fred’s
gallant effort to be manly, his voice
quavered and cracked. “Then he
grabbed her purse and ran! I jumped
out of the car and threw my pocket-
knife at the man, and started scream-
ing for Mr. Whitlock.”

‘T heard him.” Whitlock took up the
narrative. “I grabbed Bobby by the
hand and we went running that way.
We heard Fred coming, yelling that
Reba had been shot!”

“Did you hear the shot?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know what it was
then.”

Mobley looked at Bobby. “Did you
hear it, Son?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And you heard your brother
screaming?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“What was Mr. Whitlock doing when
the shot was fired, and your brother
screamed?”

“He was digging.”

When detectives found no clews at the murder scene they

extended their search to near-by streets, including this one


April, 1936

whisky and left the house. He had twenty-
eight cents in his. pocket, twenty-eight
cents that made a lonely jingle in his
pocket and clamored for companionship.
He wanted to go to a Negro “supper”
somewhere and get into a game. If only
he had more money!

As he walked down Cotton Belt Street,
he came upon a roadster parked at the
edge of the street. He passed within three
feet of the car and thought he heard a
man’s voice from somewhere about the
car, though he saw no one. As he put it,
he “felt his liquor rising” in him, and de-
cided to return home, after buying some
tobacco on Elm Street. He walked back
along the Cotton Belt Tracks.

This time, he said a flashlight was sud-
denly thrown on him from the parked
roadster. Blinded and frightened by this,
he had seized his gun and fired in the di-
rection of the light.. Some one on the far
side of the car threw a knife at him.
Flours ran around to that side of the car,
and a man (meaning ig fo old
Fred Carney, of course) fled from the
car. Flours pursued him a short distance,
while the “man” ran, calling that his
mother had been shot. When he returned
to the car, he found the woman had been
shot.

LOURS declared he thought a bank

job had been pulled, and he decided he
would take the money along. He ran to
the railroad tracks from which point his
wild, terror-inspired flight seems to have
been a succession of hastily vaulted fences,
with scarcely a memory of what lay be-
tween them. At, the third leap, he had
felt the automatic drop from his pocket,
but in his mad haste he feared to stop
long enough to retrieve it.

When at last he bore into Frog Town,
out of breath and with his. clothing torn
from many barbs, he took the away
and followed that. to Greenwood Ceme-
tery. There he dared to stop long enough
to open Mrs. Carney’s purse. It con-
tained $1.30, not the fortune he had ex-

ected to find. Yet, for that paltry sum
ie had left a woman dying in the dark-
ness on a lonely street. He hastily stripped
off his torn clothing, and threw it with
his pliers and his flashlight over into the
weeds of the cemetery. He tossed Mrs.
Carney’s purse under a house near by.

From here he went directly home. After
burning his cap in the heater to destroy
any possibility of identification by the
cap, he coolly entered his long-deferred
game with some other Negroes, who had
gathered there during his absence. Inci-
dentally, he lost the game and his stakes.
Once, during that game, the blacks heard
the police car in the street near by. They
put out the light and kept ng

As soon as they could safe y do so, the
other Negroes slipped out of the house.
At midnight, after the others had gone,
and Gaines, who had been released, came
in, officers came out and searched the
house, but made no arrests. |

After completing his confession, Flours
accompanied Detectives Buchanan, Stem,
Van Wie, and Doty to the scenes con-
nected with the crime and his desperate
flight after the murder. He traced his
course all the way from the crime scene
on Cotton Belt Street to the final home-
ward turn on Oak. He took the officers
to Greenwood Cemetery, where — the
clothes he had disposed of had _ been
thrown, As previously stated, these
clothes had been taken to the police sta-
tion by workmen who had found them in
the cemetery. Le showed where he dad
thrown Mrs, Carney’s purse, under a
house not far from the cemetery, Th was
still. there. The money was, of course,
pone, Only a pathetic little array of

FAMOUS DETECTIVE CASES

feminine accessories such as a woman
carries in her purse remained. -

Finally, Flours showed the officers where
he had dropped the long-sought gun. It
lay well hidden in the dead grass, just
within the field, where Flours had jumped
the fence, less than a quarter mile from
the spot where the treasure was sought.
When Detective Stem examined the .32
Savage automatic, a shell was found
wedged at an angle between the hammer
and the firing-pin. The accidental wedg-
ing of the shell had prevented the gun
from being fired again, and was, without
doubt, the sole reason Fred Carney had
not been shot at the time his mother was
murdered.

After his return to the jail that night,
after midnight, Flours made a detailed
statement of his crime and a brief outline
of his earlier life, which was taken down
by Assistant District Attorney |. J.
Bauerle. In his statement he mentioned
the fact that he was sentenced to ten
years in the state penitentiary, for an
attempt to murder a white man in Hous-
ton, in 1928, and that he had been pa-
roled by Governor Ross Sterling, in 1931.

T had taken almost two hours to take

all of Flours’ statement about the
crime. At its conclusion, Attorney Bauerle
reminded the Negro that he ought to clear
his conscience fully and give officers the
details of the California robbery and mur-
der. But Flours steadily refused to give

87

any information on, the subject, main-
taining that he .had®already talked too
much, To the great diSappointment of the
city and perigon officers,*that mystery re-
mains unsolved. fe

The Grand Jury was now promptly re-
convened by Judge D. W. Bartlett and
Flours was indicted for murder. The
prosecution was conducted by District
Attorney Willard McLaughlin.

In his trial, December 18th, Flours took
the stand in his own defense. He de-
clared that on the night of the crime he
was drunk and that Mrs. Carney’s flash-
light frightened him, causing him to fire
in alarm. He stated he believed her purse
contained money taken in a bank job, and
had, therefore, appropriated it. After
thirty-three minutes’ deliberation, the
jury returned a verdict of “Guilty,” and
gave Flours the death sentence.

Flours sought to have his sentence com-
muted to life imprisonment; but District
Attorney Willard McLaughlin, who had
asked for the death sentence from the be-
inning, wrote Governor Ferguson that

lours had had a fair trial, and_ that
justice would not be served unless Flours
paid the extreme penalty. Flours was

_ executed at Huntsville, on Feb. 2nd, 1934.

The principals of the treasure-hunt are
scattered and gone. But sometimes, in the
lonely field appears the freshly turned
earth of a new excavation, mute evidence
of a hope that lives on and on—the eter-
nal quest of Coronado’s children.

fH OR WITHOUT

"Warden, | jest want you to see de tricks some low-life planted in my room."

a

lil


A detective motioned Captain Bu-
chanan outside the room. ‘“We’ve
brought the car in, Sir. There’s nothing
in it. No sign of the murder weapon.
It’s a one-seater. Blood on the driver’s
side. The woman was shot as she sat at
the wheel. We found this near the
front bumper.” He held out a jack-
knife. The Captain’s lips tightened.

“That poor little kid in there threw
it at the man who shot his mother,”
he said, grimly.

Back in the office, Whitlock told
Sheriff Mobley, “I’ve known Reba Car-
ney and her husband for years. We are
neighbors in Fort Worth. Reba’s hus-
band works for a dairy company.”

Mobley studied the tall man. “Did
Mrs. Carney’s husband know you and
she were coming over here to dig for
the money?”

Whitlock seemed to sense the un-
spoken question in the Sheriff’s query.

“Her husband knew what we were
coming over here for. He’d have come
himself if he didn’t have to work. You
can ask Carney. We came over here
from Fort Worth this morning. We
drove around by the tracks until we
located the place where the money
was supposed to be buried. I had a
chart showing the place. When we lo-
cated it, I tore the chart up and threw
it out in a field across from the tracks.
We waited until after dark to start the
digging.”

“And you still don’t want to explain
where you got the chart or how you
knew the money was supposed to be
there?”

Whitlock hesitated then said, “T’ll
tell you this much. The man who gave
it to me is in jail. I don’t think you
need his name. He’s already in trouble
enough. And I’m sure he didn’t have
anything to do with this!”

“How can you be sure?”

“I'd already thought of him,” Whit-
lock admitted. “We were digging for
the money because he asked us to. If
he’d been going to have someone kill
us to keep us from getting our share
of the money, he’d have waited until

the money actually was_ located,
wouldn’t he?”
“Sounds logical,’ the Sheriff ad-

mitted, ‘but I can tell you just how
logical it is when I know a little more
about the whole thing.”

Notified of the tragedy, Reba Car-
ney’s husband sent word that he was
coming to bring the body back to Fort
Worth for burial. He expressed com-
plete mystification as to his wife’s
killer.

Both Whitlock and the Carneys were
quiet, hard-working people who tended
strictly to their own affairs, and never
had been involved in trouble of any
kind.

No one could make any suggestion
as to who the second man, the one who
had engaged Whitlock and the mur-
dered woman to dig for the treasure,
might be.

Sheriff Mobley detailed three officers

see—and she was to get a fourth of the
thousand dollars for furnishing the
transportation. Whitlock contracted to
do the digging. That’s his story.”

After hours of tedious searching
about the wind-blown field, the three
officers came in bearing every frag-
ment of the torn chart! This was pieced
painstakingly together. One side of the
cheap white paper bore a _ rudely
scrawled chart showing the Waco Cot-
tonbelt and Katy—NMissouri, Kansas
and Texas—railroads, dotted lines and
numerals showing the distance be-
tween certain points, converging on the
spot where the treasure supposedly
was buried.

"We Were in the Car Talkin’ About
What We'd Do with Our Share of the

Buried Treasure ..

. The Man Put a

Gun in the Window and Shot Her"

to go to the field near the tracks, where
Whitlock said he had thrown the torn
chart, and look for it.

“Maybe it will give us some lead on
this guy who gave it to them,” he said
to Captain Buchanan. “Seems like
there’s something funny about this
business. But when you come right
down to it, I guess digging for buried
gold isn’t a crime—and for that matter,
burying it isn’t either, far as I know.
Mrs. Carney must have been an intelli-
gent woman, because those two kids of
hers are well-mannered and smart—
and the whole family has an excellent
reputation. She wouldn’t have been
mixed up in anything shady.

“Whitlock says they dug after dark
so no one would catch on to what they
were doing—and then anyway, he told
me Mrs. Carney felt kind of ‘silly’
about the whole thing. It was her car,

On the reverse side a letter had been
written in a sprawling hand:

This is the map | promised you.
If you come down Saturday | will
explain it fuller but it is enough
to get you by. If you don’t find
money destroy the map because
we don’t want no one else digging
there.

- That was all. No date and no signa-
ture. Mobley muttered, “Saturday—
that might be last Saturday. There’s
just a chance—” Hurrying to where
the two Carney boys were resting in an
anteroom, he asked Fred, “Sonny, did
you and your brother go somewhere
with your mother last Saturday?”

Fred considered. “I don’t remember
if it was Saturday or not, but one day
last week we went with Mr. Whitlock
down to Greenville.”

Police were certain that no one had followed the victim along this
Waco street as she drove to the spot indicated on the treasure map

ae ee

as

“What did you do there?”

“Mamma and Mr. Whitlock went to
see somebody that was in jail.”

Before the Sheriff had a chance to
act on this new information, a clerk
brought him a special-delivery letter,
postmarked Greenville!

Tearing open the envelope, Mobley
observed that the missive was trom an
attorney. It informed him in brief that
the writer was the defense lawyer for
aman recently convicted of a box-car
robbery in Greenville.

“He was sentenced to five years im-
prisonment and wanted to appeal the
case,” the letter stated. “He was with-
out funds, but he told-me that he had
several hundred dollars buried some-
where near Waco. This money, he said,
was the proceeds from a chicken-farm
he used to operate. He was anxious to
obtain this money to post a five-hun-
dred-dollar appeal bond.”

Ts attorney had been partly skepti-
cal of his client’s story, partly of the
opinion that if it were true, the funds
of which the prisoner told him were
ill-gotten. Before he decided, however,
what steps to take in the matter, he
read of the murder of Mrs. Carney in
the newspaper. At once he had turned
the information over to police.

City Detective George Blount and
Assistant District Attorney Francis
Bauerle sped to Greenville to interview
the prisoner. They found a wizened,
shrewd-looking man of middle age,
who appeared willing enough to talk.

“T figured someone would be down
here lookin’ me up when I heard about
Mrs. Carney,” he told them. “Sure, I
made a deal with ’em to dig for the
money, but that’s all I know. They
said they were goin’ over there and I’d
been waitin’ to hear what they found
out. Then I learned of the killing. Who
you think done it?”

Bauerle countered, “We thought
maybe you’d have some suggestions.”

The prisoner shook his head. “It’s a
mystery to me.”

“How did you get word to Whitlock
to come and see you?”

“I smuggled a letter out to him, and
him and this woman came down. She
didn’t much want to do it at first, and
he said it was strictly up to her on
account of her havin’ to furnish the
car. I don’t think she much believed
me, and anyway she said it was child-
ish, digging around lookin’ for money—
but she finally said she would.”

After a lengthy questioning the con-
victed man finally broke down and
confessed that the treasure wasn’t his.
He explained the map by saying that
while he was in jail awaiting trial his
cellmate had been a drunk, often in-
carcerated for various offenses.

From the drunk the prisoner had
obtained the map purporting to re-
veal the hiding place of $1,000.

“He told me,” the jailed man related
to the officers, “that he obtained the
map from a fellow he was in jail with
who received a long sentence. He was
a Frenchman and said since he would
not be out to get it he would pass the
information on. My cellmate was going
up for a while and was disgusted and
he gave me the map. I wanted money
bad for an appeal bond and so I
thought if there was anything to it I
would try to get the money. So that’s
why I had them dig for it.

“Both of the other fellows who once
had the map are now doing time so
they couldn’t have had anything to do
with the killing.”

The investigators lost little time
checking on the two men named by
the prisoner. They found that both still
were serving their sentences. What’s
more, the officers learned that the con-
victed man had no other visitors, so he
couldn’t have had anyone do the
shooting.

“T,ooks like we’re right back where
we started,” Mobley said in discussing
the news with Buchanan, Bauerle and
Detectives Van Wie and Blount. “We’ve
got to get a line on a third party,
maybe someone we don’t even know
about so far.”

“If some outsider, not connected at

(Continued on Page 41)

f
j

4

ee 9 aw be oh 5 ? whee

r :
whe WS Ly eo \ wMOC Luc a oe

For a French

Detective (now Lieutenant)
R. S. Van Wie: He thought the
treasure angle was too obvious

been a woman murdered!”
That was the startling news
shouted by Deputy Joe Cunnick as he
hurried into Waco, Texas, Police Head-
quarters on the evening of November
25, 1933.

William Buchanan, Captain of De-
tectives, swung about to demand;
“Where did it happen?”

“She was shot in a car, down be-
tween the Cottonbelt and Katy rail-
road tracks. But she’s over at the
Municipal Hospital now.”

“Who shot her?”

“Nobody knows.”

With Cunnick and City Detectives
George Blount and R. S. Van Wie,
Buchanan hurried to the Hospital. Out-
side the operating-room, two small
boys, aged perhaps twelve and thirteen,
huddled on a bench. Both were sob-
bing quietly. Near them, a tall, gaunt
man with a deeply lined face strode
up and down the corridor, muttering
beneath his breath. A surgeon came
through the swinging white doors and
caught sight of Buchanan. He shook
his head gravely.

“We didn’t have a chance. She must
have breathed her last as they brought
her in.”

One of the small boys cried out as
if something had struck him, and the
surgeon made a pitying gesture.

“Hers,” he said briefly. To Buchan-
an’s questioning glance toward the tall
man he added, ‘Says his name’s Whit-

14

eC. APTAIN BUCHANAN! There’s

Prisoners Buried

By Fred Covert

Special Investigator for

ACTUAL DETECTIVE STORIES

lock, He’s a friend of the dead wo-
man,”

Hearing his name mentioned, the tall
man strode forward. “I’m C. G. Whit-
lock,” he said, almost tonelessly. “I
brought her to the Hospital.”

“Who was she?”

“Mrs. Carney. Reba. Carney. Those
are her boys there—the little one is
Bobby and the other-one’s Fred. We
all live in Fort Worth.”

“How did it happen?”

“Well, Reba and Fred were sitting
in a car down by the tracks and Bobby
and me had gone up the street a ways.”’

FRED broke in, his thin, boyish voice

shaken by sobs. “It was dark, and
Mamma got kind of nervous because
they didn’t come back. She called the
Sheriff once and the officers brought
Bobby back.”

Whitlock stared at him, frowning,
“She didn’t tell me she called the
police!”

“Wait a minute!”? Buchanan broke in.
“This isn’t making sense to me.” He
looked at Whitlock. “Where were you
when Mrs. Carney was shot?”

“IT just told you—I was up thé street
with Bobby.”

“T see. You say you all live in Fort
Worth? What are you doing in Waco?”

Whitlock’s eyes met Buchanan’s,
steadily, and he said, “I can’t tell you
that.” The Captain looked in amaze-
ment at the boys, but they avoided his
glance. Fred said, in a choked tone,
“Mamma wouldn’t want us to tell.”

Buchanan hesitated, studying the
three, The boys were obviously in a
bad way, struggling valiantly to con-
trol their grief and terror. At last he
said, “Well—this won’t get us any-
where, I’ll just send you boys down to
the Station, with Mr. Whitlock here
and an officer, and you can get some
rest. When I come down I’ll talk it over
with you.”

He lingered briefly at the Hospital
to get the surgeon’s report. “Shot once
in the head. We haven’t recovered the
bullet yet.” ;

The Captain called Sheriff W. B.
Mobley to ask about an earlier call to
the railroad tracks. Mobley told him,
“Yeah. Some woman’s little boy had
wandered off, and she was worried
about him. I sent a couple of deputies
over and they found him playing along
the tracks and took him back to her.”

“Well, she’s dead.”

“Dead!” echoed Mobley.

Buchanan said grimly, “She was
shot and killed, less than an hour ago.
Better come on over and we’ll see what
we can dig up. The case has a funny
odor.”

“T’ll be there in five minutes!”

When Mobley, in company with the
Captain, reached Headquarters, they
found young Bobby Carney still cry-
ing. His brother, however, had com-

Against her better judg-

ment, Reba Carney accepted

the prisoner’s treasure map,

as shown in this posed

picture,

and found death

a


and they said they felt fine, They ate heartily of cantaloupe, oatmeal, fish and everything
they had asked for at their last breakfast. Prisoners in the white men's ward sang, "When (J
the Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I'1l Be There," and the negroes BH@X dug their fists in their
eyes to keep. back the tears. Evangelist S. B. Mayfield drew from them admissions of their
repentance and he shook hands with them a few minutes before Fowler went to the scaffold,

Joe Hentzen, mechanical superintendent of county buildings, oiled every hinge on the sca-

ffold before Fowler was called. Hentzen closed the doors and took down the bodies after they

had been pronounced dead, Joe Samy. a Chinaman awaiting deportation because his credentials

arenot good, witnessed the double hanging from his cell, level with the scaffold floor, |

"I guess it allight,' he said to a (STAR-TELHGRAM reporter after Harrison had plunged
through thetrap door, 'In China, him cuttee off man head, Me, I see 13 one time,' The
physicians that examined the negroes' bodies and pronounced them dead weres Dr. D. S. Rumph,

Dr, T. G. Rumph, Dr. R, B West, Dr. W. D, Littler, Dr. I. Withers and Dr, T. M, Jeter.

C. Morrow, proprietor of the People's Undertaking Company, 309 East Nigth St., took charge

of the negroes’ bodies, Fowler's body will be held pending arrangements for burial by the

county. Harrison s body will beforwarded to Ennis for burial, .

"Detective Chief Connelley and Detectives Jackson, Snow and Wren went to the county jail

Wednesday afternoon, believing that on the eve of their execution the condemned negroes would
confessto other crimes of which they are suspected, but the doomed blacks could not be shaken.
Since the mysterious murder of Charles T, Mouser, young Fort Worth and Nenver freight depot

cashier in December, 1911, the city detectives have believed that Fowler was implicated,

"Mr, CHKMSEXK¥ Connelley,' Fowler said Wednesday afternoon, ' tomorrow I'm going to die and

I swear to God now that I am about to pay .the penalty for the only crime I ever committed,'
| XMAXXXAKHAANH XWAXHAXWARAX XUSXBRM "And I already have paid the penalty for the only crime I
ever committed except the one I am about to pay the penalty for,' Harrison added, Harrison |
was sent to thepenitentiary for two years in February, 1910, after his conviction of burglary.
He was the first criminal ever 'mugged! according to the Bertillion system in Fort Worth. |
The detective bureau nowhas nearly 500 photographs in its 'rouges' gallery of criminals
arrested by the Fort Worth police,

"Half and hour after the hangman's rope was strung to the beam at the top ofthe gallows
Wednesday afternoon, Fowler got a glimpse of it. Guard Robinson had let down the small iron
door in the death cell while the negroes were talking to a visitor, Fowler stuck his head

to this opening, gazed for a moment at the swinging noose and drew back, Harrison stepped

to the door, looked .quicly at it and then sat down on his cot. Neither of them spoke of ite
Scores of visitors, many of them merely curious and some of them people who wanted to see the
negroes before they died but did not want to see the execution, were denied admission to the
jail Wednesday afternoon because they came too late,.

"The condenned men were being prepared for their last appearance, They were bathed and
shaved and had their hair cut, Police departments all over the United States were hunting
for Harrison within a few days after Fowler had confessed to the mrder of Knetsch and
severd innocent suspects were arrested as far away from Fort Worth as Pennsylvania and
Californias Robert Knetsch, 35, a sculptor and interior decorator, was murdered at East
Front Street and Kentucky Avenue late the night of July 1, 1912, while he was on his way

home from his pk ceof business at 221-3 East Front Street. Fowler and Harrison, according

to their own confessions to the police, covered him with their guns, He cried out in terror
at the sight of the weapons aimed at him before the negroes had addressed him and two shots
were fired, The negroes fired about the same time, One bullet buried itself in, Kentsch's
brain and the other went tlirough his right arm, He fell, The negroes fled, Knetsch died

at the Medical College hospital soon afterward, but not beforehis wife, Mrs, Marion Knetsch ,
reached him, The negroés went to the home of Fowler's grandmother, Delphie Thompson, 111)

Dallas Alley, where the woke the aged negress, were let into the house by her and spent,the an
night there without discussing the deed, The following afternoon Fobler was detained at _ ae.
Central PoliceStation and on the morning of.July  he'made a written confession, implicating +4

Harrison, who had disappeared the morning after the murder, Fowler said he and Harrison
had never seen Knetsch before and that they had decided to hold up the first likely vic-
tim they*met becausethey were 'broke,' It was the quick, clever detective work of Chief
Connelley and Detective Speight, now assistant police chief, and Detective Snow that trapped
Fowler so soon after the murder was discovered, A week after Fowler's confession, the
detectives fell into possession of a letter that Scotland Anderson, a negro since convicted
and sentenced for burglary, addressed to a negro girl who had been a sweetheart of Ernest

Harrison, Anderson wasin the eee ay of Fowler and Harrison in a Main Street saloon before
Fowker and “arrison went out on their robbery expedition, This letter told the negro eird

oe,

3 . FOWLER and HARRISON , Fort Worth, Texas, - Continued,

that Harrison was with Anderson working on a Hill County farm. Detective Chief

Connelley and Detkctive Snow went to Hillsboro late the afternoon of July 11 and hunted all
night ghrough fields and meadowsfor Harrison, who had fled at the sight of the officers afm
ddomockkex ter they had captured Anderson, T. E. Shipley, a farmer, block Harrison's flight
with a Leveled shotgun and held him at 'hands-up' until the detectives came running up a
moment later. Shipley was a visitor in Fort Worth Wednesday afternoon and accompanied

the detectives to the county jail when they visited the condemned men, Harrison's written
confession was made immediately in the Dallas County Jail where he was taken from Hills-
boro for safekeeping. Fowler was convicted first and given the death penaltye Harrison's
conviction followed immediately. The court of criminal appeals twice affirmedthe sentences
of the neyroes and Govermr Colquitt refused to stay the execution or to commute their
sentaicese" SIAR - TELEGRAM, Fort Worth, Texas, 8-7-1913(1-6). Photo of Knetsch on page
one and photo of Fowler and Harrison on page 2. The following also on page two:

"County Judge Jesse M, Brown waspresented with 'a message from God' about 9 o'clock, The
bearer of the message was a portly negro woman, who handed a letter to Judge Brown with
another slip of paper and left before he opened it. The letter read: 'Fort Worth, Texas,
Aug. 7. The holy messagefrom God to the judge of Tarrant County. Jf you hang Ernest
Harrison, your city shall be blowing from the face of earth within three days, Alla power
is in His hand, said he. Mutual MM# Burden Message Bearer, sent from God,*"

The following from STAR-IELEGRAM of 8-6-1913, page one, col, one, Both confessed on day
before executions, but said killing was accident, In reply to suggestion that they invite
Governor Colquitt to witness execution, Fowler replied: 'If I was going to invite anymore,
I'd invite somebody like myself that would have to pay for it if he did what I did, Hd'd
get out of it if he should happen to get into trouble.!

They claimed they were trying to sell Knetsch a gun andhe had it cocked while examining
it. Harrison said Knetsch returned gun to him and he though Knetsch had let trigger down
and touched trigger and it went off, shooting Knetsch through arm, They were running up
street when Fowler turned and fired again, killing Knetsch,

ronicle

h

Sy

The Largest Daily Circulation in Northern California
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1988

kkk kk ke

\

Former Janitor
. Executed For
 Nurse’s Death
aay United Press International

Huntsville, Texas

Donald Gene Franklin, who
was convicted of stabbing a nurse
and leaving her to bleed to death
atop an ant hill, was executed by
injection early this morning at a
state prison here,

Franklin, 37, became the ninth
person executed in the United
States this year, compared with 25
in 1987, the highest number in any
single year since the Su preme Court
reinstated the death penalty in 1976,

Franklin, a former janitor, was
sentenced to death for the July 25,
1975, kidnaping and slaying of San
Antonio nurse Mary Margaret Mor-
an,

Sere RENEE weer erererreen

Neem ee erin

Texas killer executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Convicted
killer Donald Gene Franklin was put
to death by injection early today for
the 1975 abduction-slaying of a nurse.

Franklin’s hope for a reprieve ended
Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme
Court joined Jower courts an refused,
on a 7-2 vote, to grant him a stay.

Thursday, November 3, 1988
Reno Gazette-Journal

Texas:executes sex killer

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Donald Gene Franklin was
executed carly Thursday for a 1975 sex killing in which he
stabbed a nurse, Jeft her for dead in a field, then refused
after his arrest to help police find the bleeding woman in

lime to save her life,

Franklin, 37, had no last statement before officials

injected him with Iethal dru
Corrections’ Walls Unit sho

gs at the Texas Department of
rtly after midnight.

Compiled” from” United Press International and The

Associated Press.

A4 The Arizona Republic

_Friday, November 4, 1988

NATIONAL
NEWS BRIEFS


: ~~
E 7 } ath: anf Th cs ww Rexwo yr ( 4 9 £2

Per nery

KILLER OF WOMAN
EXECUTED IN TEXAS

Slayer Waited 12% Years on
Death Row and Was 102d

UVUNTSVILLE, Tex., Nov, 2 (AP)
Donald Gene Franklin, whose appeat
halted executions in Texas for more
than nine months, was put to death
early today for abducting and murder-
ing a nurse 13 years ago. He was 37
years old.

Mr. Franklin no statement before a
lethal injection was administered at
the Wall Unit of the Texas Department
of Corrections.

He stared at the ceiling and coughed

several times as the drugs flawing
through needles in his arms took effect.
He was pronounced dead at 12:30 A.M.,
six minutes after doctors began admin-
istering the injection.

Mr. Franklin was the second person
executed this year in Texas, which
leads the nation with 28 executions
since the United States Supreme Court
restored capital punishment in 1976. He
was the 102d person executed in the
United States since then.

Execution Scheduled Five Times

Mr. Franklin spent 1214 years on
death row. He had three trials and at
least five execution dates, His own law-
yer once described him as the most
hated man in San Antonio, where Mary
Margaret (Peggy) Moran, 27 years old,
was Slain in July 1975.

“I'm very thankful it's over,” her
mother, Patricia Crawford, said today.
“I feel really relieved. I feel I can be at
peace and Peggy can be at peace.”

Mr. Franklin’s hopes for a reprieve
were blocked late Wednesday when the
Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 to refuse
him a stay of execution.

The Court had granted him a stay in
October 1987 to consider his challenge
of the Texas capital punishment law.
His lawyers argued that the law does
not say how much weight a jury should
give to a defendant’s mitigating cir-
cumstances.

The challenge put a halt to execu-
tions in Texas after Jan. 7, when Rob-
ert Streetman, 27, was put to death for
murdering a woman ina $1 burglary.

In June, the Supreme Court voted 6-3
to reject Mr. Franklin's challenge.

In 1975, Ms. Moran's disappearance
from a San Antonio hospital prompted
a highly publicized citywide search.
Five days later, she was found in a va-
cant lot, nude, bleeding from multiple
stab wounds and barely alive. She died
later in a hospital.

Mr. Franklin was on parole from a
sentence for rape when he was ar-
rested about four hours after Ms.

am A

--

Donald Gene Franklin wag exe-

cuted by lethal injection at the,
Texas Department of Corrections in
Huntsville for a 1975 sex killing in
Which he stabbed a San’Antonio  !
nurse, left her for dead in a field,

then refused after his arrest to help

police find the bleeding woman in (

time to save her life. Franklin, 37,
became the ninth person executed
in the United States this year,
compared with 25 in 1987, the
highest number in any single year
since the Supreme Court lifted its
ban on capital punishment in 1976.

+
.

ae

9

| los Angeles Times

|

Part I/ Friday, November 4, 1988

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1988

£

put to death

¢

~-bleed to death atop an anthill, was

day at a Texas prison.

. an 1lth-hour request for a stay

_ day afternoon.

‘called him'the most hated man in .
San Antonio, made no final state- |

i
« A-18, « Thursday, November 3, 1988 o

Killer of nurse

in Texas prison

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Don-
ald Gene Franklin, convicted of
stabbing a‘nurse and leaving her to

executed by injection early Thurs-

Franklin, 37, was declared dead
at 12:30 a.m. local time at the Tex-
as Department of Corrections here.

An attorney for Franklin filed

with Supreme Court Justice Byron
White,*but:White referred the ap-
peal to the full court, and it was
rejected. Justices William Brennan
and ‘Thurgood Marshall dissented
from the majority ruling Wednes-

Franklin, whose lawyer once

ment before doctors administered

“the lethal injection. As the drugs | 1
(
(

Moran's abduction. He consistently k flowed into his body, he coughed
denied any involvement. ” ;

A fellow inmate, Johnny Penry, said |¢ - wi _ a“ gasped =e
Wedensday, ‘‘He just told me he was |‘ ind, tanklin was convicted three |
framed for something he didn’t do.” : « mes of the 1975 murder of Mary | '

Witnesses provided the license plate ’: Margaret “Peggy” Moran, a San
pent ine at wey speeding away r Antonio nurse, and was sentenced

: to death each time. The first two
:. convictions were overturned on ap-
i . ; peal,-”’ rai
c ; “Morari was raped, stabbed seven
: times and left for dead in a brushy
. » field’: She was found alive five days
m8 } later, lying atop an ant hill but too

, weak to move. She died the next
day.’ i

ey Et


Or maybe the man was up to something
else. The hospital employe decided to de-
lay his trip home to report what he had
seen to a VA security officer.

As guard Gerald Galvan drove toward
the awkwardly parked car in his three-
wheeled patrol scooter, he saw an old
model green car driving toward ‘him. The
car drove past Galvan’s three-wheeler,
then sped off, its driver making a wild
U-turn toward nearby Wurzbach Road.

As the security guard pursued, the car
crashed a barricade, jumped a curb and
was headed across a grassy area toward
the main road. Galvan decided to head
the car off, turning down a service road to
beat the fleeing vehicle to Wurzbach
Road. His plan worked. He got to the
road first and soon found the green car
headed toward him again.

Leaping off his scooter, the officer ran
toward the approaching car, squinting
against its headlights. He jumped on the
passenger side of the hood as the dtiver
mashed the accelerator. As Galvan later

described it, ‘‘l was bounced off (the car)
like a basketball."*

Before the car disappeared into the
night, Galvan got one key piece of infor-
mation — the license number on the vehi-
cle.

Galvan’s thinking, based on what the
medical assistant had quickly related to
him, was that the man in the green car was
the same person the assistant saw with
**something”’ in his hand.

The way it seemed to add up was that
the man had been out in the parking lot
siphoning gasoline. Galvan knew now,
however, that the matter was more thaha
mere gasoline theft — he could have been
killed in his efforts to stop the car. The
driver seemed to have no concern about
running someone over, as if he wanted to
get out of the area fast and not be seen.

Catching his breath and trying to col-
lect his thoughts, the security officer re-
turned to his patrol scooter and drove to
the erratically parked car to see if he
could tell what had happened. He met

security guard Bill Patton, who was
already there.

Assuming the man who had just esca-
ped from the parking lot was after gas
from one of the hundreds of vehicles, why
was this car parked in such a manner?

What he saw as his scooter’s headlight
illuminated the car convinced him some-
thing far more serious than a theft, or
even the wild chase, had happened. The
door on the driver's side of the car was
smeared with blood. A trail of gore led
away from the car.

As Galvan played his flashlight beam
around the car, the light reflected off
something near the left rear tire of the car.
He picked it up and both security guards
examined the object — a plastic nametag
labeled ‘‘Peggy Moran, R.N.”*

The guard went to summon city police.
Within moments a patrol car was on the
scene, followed a short time later by de-
tectives.

The blood-smeared front left door of
the car was open. More blood was found

i

They found victim’s bloody clothing, alerted authorities.

10

‘

%

on the front seat o
, Police radio check s
to a Mrs. Peggy M
The trail of blood le
then abruptly ende

At the very best
they had an abduct:
worst... Nurse Mor
injured or dead.

Security guards
scoured the larg:
checking other cars
of the missing nurse
ed had just gotten
hospital.

A quick check o
taken down by Gal
and address of a San
tives sped to the ma’
awakened him. The
rative man told poli:
in question to his s!
lead investigators t
at 203 Bluebonnet.

The stepson, 23-)
Franklin, readily cx
search of his reside
house. Soon, detec
some major finds: |
Franklin's house, of
Inside was identific:
the missing perce!

A. bloodsi
found soaki a
house. Outside, po
stained area on the r:
man’s car, a 1959 mc
rent attempt had bee
bloodstain, but it w:

Also discovered in
ning knife and a pair
which were taken by
the case.

It looked easy, cu
dence found at this
found because an ale

jotted down his licer
to point to a connecti
ythe nurse’s disappe
‘ the man had readily
search his premises,
sed to answer questi:
abouts of Peggy Mo

Where was the nu

At 5:30a.m., Frank
suspect in the case, t
immediately filed ag:

Based on the amou
and around the missi
cers admitted they |
was dead. On Saturd

re he burried her
aphs of the area
arlier searchers.

he was upset on
nurder. He was to
that afternoon on
iproper left turnin
r while driving the
> School bus filled
struck the bus and
, taken to the local

re treated for brui- .

dark emotions he
andle. A psychia-
ring Delap’s trial
ature, emotionally

<amining psychia-
‘ that evening, and
at 5:30, he threw
and left.

en drove around in
re got his up tight
s drove to a deser-
ist of Okeechobee

hamburger stand,
around town. He
ymat where Paula
er be known just
mind. Did he re-
e just looking for a
r one on whom he

zry and looking for
jrove to the back
romat, left his car
2n's room of the

ut later denied on
id his pocket knife
men’s room, ap-
the rear, put the
| forced her to ac-

| he claimed amne-
forcing her. He
ie to with a girl

were Called for the
Aiami psychiatrist
id he believed De-
om brain damage
of epilepsy called
2, in which his lap-
be consistent.

2y did not try to
| Paula, only that
2 of premeditated
a second degree
first degree.

ind, he was fearful
) from the car and
er own protection,
2 a fast turn off on
ell out, hitting her

next page)

. He said he stopped the car and got out
to help her. ‘‘She was a mess,"’ said De-
lap, and he claimed he put her back in the
car to drive ‘her to the hospital, but she
began screaming and flinging her arms
around and he had to tie her hands, using
her red pullover blouse. Her blouse and
bra were never found.

That story differed from his earlier
‘confession and the stories he gave to
three psychiatrists in which he said he hit
her over the head repeatedly. One doctor
said Delap identified the object as a cow
bone. Whatever the object was, investi-
gators were never able to find it.

The state called two psychiatrists in
rebuttal testimony. Dr. M. Haber of Ft.
Myers read from his notes which quoted
Delap: ‘I remember | was hitting her with
an object, three or four times. | saw blood

, on her face and it scared me. Oh, no, what
did I do? | saw her eyes staring up at me
and she wasn't breathing or moving. She
was dead. | put her up on the seat.”

After driving the body to the spot
where he would leave it, Dr. Haber said
Delap told him, ‘l beat on a tree and

screamed and then I felt better.”

‘Dr. Gilbert, the defense psychiatrist,
related an even more macabre story
which Delap had told him: *‘He remem-
bered hitting her several times until she
was dead and drove the body to one of his
frequent meditation spots. He recalls set-
ting her body up in the seat and talking to
her because he felt her soul could under-
stand he was sorry about what happened.
That is why he returned several times to
that spot." ;

Delap told him he did not recognize
Paula as someone he might know, at least
by sight, until she was dead.

Although the defense tried to establish
Paula was killed:during an accidental fall
from the car, the medical examiner testi-

. fied that Paula had both a hair-line frac-
ture of the skull and strangulation marks

_on her neck, either of which could have
caused death. He testified that a final de-
termination could not be made because
the brain had already liquified when the
body was found and it could not be de-
termined whether she had suffered mas-
sive bleeding from the fracture to cause
the death before strangulation.
Spectators jammed the courtroom du-
. ring the five day trial, and special security
precautions were taken in view of the
town's outrage and previous talk of lyn-
ching when Delap was arrested. The jury
deliberated less than an hour before re-
turning a verdict on Jan. 9, 1976, convic-
ting Delap of first-degree murder.
According to Florida's two-part trial

system, the jury again reconvened to hear
arguments on both sides regarding the
advisory sentence it would give to the
presiding judge.
~ In less than seven minutes of delibera-
tions, the Jury returned the recommenda-

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tion for the death penalty, the first time

this had ever been done in Okeechobee

County. .

On February 27, Delap, pale and many
pounds thinner than when he had been
arrested, soit ts C. Pfeiffer Trow-

bridge say, ‘*I sentence you to death; may
God have mercy on your soul.” Ww '

(Editor’s note: The names Bill Renning and Che-
ryl Hastings are fictitious. They were changed,
because publication of the real names would serve
no public interest.) a a

| Raped & Tortured For 110 Hrs. Under
A Hot Texas Sun!

(continued from page 11)

The Army has a major post in San Anto-
nio, Fort Sam Houston, and the Air Force
has three bases there.

The famous Spanish mission nick-
named the Alamo is located here, and San
Antonio has been compared to San Fran-
cisco, New Orleans and Boston as one of
the nation’s most colorful cities.

Despite its romance, San Antonio has
the reputation of being an impersonal
city. Most of its residents are poor or
associated with the military. The old-time
families stick to their own society and
social barriers are hard to penetrate.

Allof which adds up to make what hap-
pened in San Antonio after the abduction
of Peggy Moran pretty impressive: For a
city used to the high crime rate a large
population and other factors breed. the
community became caught up in the story
of the crime to an extent seldom seen.

People who would never have dreamed
of such a thing showed up for search par-
ties. People who knew nothing more of

the nurse than what they had read in the .

city’s two newspapers began talking

(continued on next page)
77

NOW is the time to start -

se

Ls

yn, who was

had just esca-
was after gas
vehicles, why
) a manner?

er’s headlight
ed hin’ some-
in a theft, or
ippened. The
f the car was
il of gore led

ishlight beam
reflected off
tire of the car.
2curity guards
astic nametag
Nice
on city police.
ar was on the
1e later by de-

it left door of

e" found

a eemetiertsianteten tn ir a a i A ri

Nurse’s naked and bleeding body
was found in lot in lower right
hand corner of photo.

on the front seat of the vehicle, which a

. Police radio check showed was registered

to a Mrs. Peggy Moran of San Antonio.
The trail of blood led 58 feet from the car,
then abruptly ended.

At the very best, the officers realized,
they had an abduction on their hands. At
worst ... Nurse Moran might be seriously
injured or dead.

Security guards and police officers
scoured the large VA parking lot,
checking other cars. They found no sign
of the missing nurse, whom officers learn-
ed had just gotten off duty at the VA
hospital.

A quick check of the license number
taken down by Galvan netted the name
and address of a San Antonio man. Detec-
tives sped to the man’s house, where they
awakened him. The surprised but coope-
rative man told police he had sold the car
in question to his stepson. He agreed to
lead investigators to the stepson’s house
at 203 Bluebonnet.

The stepson, 23-year-old Donald Gene
Franklin, readily consented to a police
search of his residence, a modest rental
house. Soon, detectives began to make
some major finds: In a trash can behind
Franklin’s house, officers found a purse.
Inside was identification in the name of
the missing nurse!

A bloodstained pair of pants were
found soaking in a sink in the man’s
house. Outside, police noted a blood-
stained area on the rear floorboard of the
man’s car, a 1959 model Buick. An appa-
rent attempt had been made to clean the
bloodstain, but it was still visible.

Also discovered in the house was a bo-
ning knife and a pair of scissors, both of
which were taken by police as evidence in
the case.

It looked easy, cut and dried. The evi-
dence found at this man’s house, a man
found because an alert security guard had
jotted down his license number, seemed

_to point to a connection between him and
ythe nurse’s disappearance. But though

the man had readily agreed to let police
search his premises, he steadfastly refu-
sed to answer questions as to the where-
abouts of Peggy Moran.

Where was the nurse?

At 5:30a.m., Franklin was arrestedasa
suspect in the case, but no charges were
immediately filed against him.

Based on the amount of blood found in
and around the missing nurse’s car, offi-
cers admitted they feared Mrs. Moran
was dead. On Saturday, from Mrs. Mo-

ran’s parents and acquaintances, detecti-
ves learned the background of the missing
nurse.

She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on
Feb. 10, 1948. She moved with her family
to San Antonio in 1961. Five years later,
she was graduated from Lee High School
in the Alamo City.

In November, 1969, she joined the
Army and spent two months as a staff
nurse at the Presbyterian Hospital in Dal-
las. In May, 1970, she got a degree from
Texas Women’s University and becamea
registered nurse. That summer, she was
assigned to the White Sands Military Re-
servation in New Mexico.

On Jan. 17, 1970, she had been married
to Michael G. Moran, a marriage which
ended in divorce on Nov. 20, 1972. No
children were born to the marriage.

The attractive nurse left the Army as a
captain in the summer of 1974: On Aug. 4,
1974, she started work at the VA hospital
in San Antonio. ‘‘She had a special desire

to help people and wanted to be a nurse
since she was 22,"’ her father told repor-
ters.

The manager of the apartment complex
where Mrs. Moran lived said she never
gave her any trouble. Since she worked
nights, she spent much of her leisure time
during the day playing tennis, the mana-
ger said.

At daybreak on Saturday, July 26,
1975, an intensive search for Peggy
Moran was started.

San Antonio is America’s 11th largest
city. Some 800,000 persons live in the city
limits; total population of Bexar County
is 1 million. It's like most metropolitan
areas, but there are differences. Fifty-one
per cent of its citizens are Mexican-
American, and of those, 40 per cent are
functionally illiterate. Of the 49 per cent
non-Mexican-American residents, a high
per cent are associated with the military.

(continued on page 77)
11


ia nae

{i

4

Raped & Tortured For 110 Hrs. Under -

A Hot Texas Sun!

(continued from page 77) -

about Mrs. Moran as if she was one of the
family.

In short, the abduction of the night
nurse cut through social strata, touched
the hearts of people usually numb to
crime and turned an 800,000-plus metro-
polis into a concerned community —
from bus drivers to bankers, the concern
was for Peggy Moran and where she
might be.

That Saturday, officers concentrated
their search in the parking lot of the VA
hospital and the area immediately around
the huge medical complex. Later that
day, detectives searched another San An-
tonio house where Franklin was known to
have stayed. Officers found a ‘pair of
muddy boots belonging to Franklin, and
deduced from the caked mud on the
footwear that the suspect had been in a
low-lying, damp area sometime recently.

The discovery of the boots, however,
was the only significant find of the day..:
The whereabouts of Peggy Moran — be
she dead or alive — was still the baffling
riddle facing the San Antonio Police De-
partment. ‘

The following morning, Sunday, as
many congregations across the city
prayed for the missing nurse, 30 members
of Explorer Post 700 teamed up with po-
lice officers in a search of fields bordering
Wurzbach Road.

At 10 a.m. that Sunday, detectives
conducted a lineup at police headquar-
ters. In that lineup, police reported, the
security guard and the other hospital em-
ploye identified Franklin as the man they
had seen in the VA parking lot the day
before. ;

Concern for the nurse grew that Sun-
day when the results.of an analysis of the

blood found in Franklin’s car brought

grim news — it was the same type as the:

missing Mrs. Moran’s.

Another possibility was developing for.

the investigating officers. They were be-
ginning to find similarities in the Moran
case and the November 1974 sex killing of
19-year-old Cynthia Ann Kettinger be-
hind the downtown YMCA building.

She, too, had been walking from work
to her car when accosted by an unknown
assailant. The man strangled her in the
back seat of her car, and at the time of the
Moran disappearance, the suspect re-
mained at large.

On Monday, July 28, as police and vo-
lunteers continued to comb the San An-
tonio area for any trace of the missing VA
nurse, police brought a 16-year-old girl to
police headquarters. The girl had been
raped by a man investigators believed to
have been the same person who killed
Miss Kettinger in 1974,

Officers asked the young lady if she
would mind viewing Donald Gene Fran-
klin ina lineup. The attack victim consen-
ted, and later that Monday identified
Franklin as the man who allegedly beat

and raped her only_a short time after the
Kettinger killing.

(continued on next page)

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About 8 p.m., ¢
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Though Fran|
suspect in the nu:
officials weren't
curity at the hosp
hospital employe
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a problem aroun

San Antonio ai
to the Bexar Cou
lowing Tuesday 1
ned a press confe
ran case had bee:
glare of televisio

Dist. Atty. Ted

Hauck and Police
announced they
body to make a
Franklin. Mrs.
dead, the officials
ging all of San /
search for her bo:
“We need the b
ing, “from now u
there-will be a gre
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fan I<C da), bourth Lue

98 823 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES.

sion in the government’s favor on the mer-
its, it is evident that this exception would
not apply in the instant case. Moreover,

equitable jurisdiction does not exist here

because it is well established that a taxpay-
er’s right to sue for a refund under 26
U.S.C. § 7422 provides an adequate remedy
at law. See Zernial v. United States, 714
F.2d 431, 434 (5th Cir.1983). We therefore
conclude that 5 U.S.C. section 702 is un-
available to the plaintiffs, and the United

States has not waived its sovereign immu-

nity against the instant suit.

[5] As the government notes, the Su-
preme Court has recognized two exceptions
to the doctrine that sovereign immunity,
absent specific statutory consent to suit,
bars suit against the sovereign. Sovereign
immunity does not bar suit (1) where the
federal officers in question act beyond
their statutory powers, or (2) where the
statutory powers exercised, or the manner
in which they are exercised, by the federal
officers are unconstitutional. Dugan v.
Rank, 372 U.S. 609, 621-22, 83 S.Ct. 999,
1006-07, 10 L.Ed.2d 15 (1963). Plaintiffs
have not challenged the constitutionality of
section 6166 of the Internal Revenue Code
or its application in their case. Nor does
the complaint allege, or the opinion of the
district court find, any action by the IRS
that could be characterized as ultra vires.

An exception to the bar of sovereign immu-

nity cannot be established on the facts be-
fore us.

III.

Because the doctrine of sovereign immu-
nity bars the plaintiffs’ suit, the judgment
of the district court is REVERSED as be-
yond its jurisdiction and this cause is RE-
MANDED for dismissal without prejudice
of plaintiffs’ claims.

O & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

sums

Donald Gene ne.

Petitioner-Appellant, 7

Vv.

James A. LYNAUGH, Interim Director,
Texas Department of Corrections,
. Respondent-Appellee.

Nos. 86-2538, 86-2883.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

July 30, 1987.

State prisoner who had been convicted
of murder petitioned for habeas corpus.
Relief was denied by the United States
District Court for the Western District of
Texas, at San Antonio, H.F. Garcia, J., and
petitioner appealed. The Court of Appeals
held that: (1) relief was not warranted by
improper reference to petitioner’s postar-
rest silence after Miranda warnings; (2)
relief was not warranted on statistics-based
claim that murder statute was applied in a
discriminatory way against blacks who
murdered whites; and (8) relief was not
warranted on basis of charge which could
have permitted jury to convict defendant of
capital murder for killing committed in the
course of felony when some jurors may
have believed that felony was robbery
while others thought it was kidnapping.

Stay of execution vacated and judg-
ment affirmed. .

See also, 106 S.Ct. 1238.

1. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.2(7)

Improper reference to  petitioner’s
postarrest silence after he received his M1-
randa warnings did not warrant habeas
relief where sustained objection and in-
struction to disregard followed the improp-
er question.

2. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.2(3)

Statistics-based claim that Texas mur-
der statute was applied in a discriminatory
way against blacks who murdered whites
did not warrant habeas relief.

FRANKLIN v. LYNAUGH 99
Cite as 823 F.2d 98 (5th Cir. 1987)

3. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.2(7)

Charge which could have permitted
jury to convict petitioner of capital murder
for killing committed in the course of a
felony, when some of the jurors may have
believed that the felony was robbery while
others thought it was kidnapping, did not
warrant habeas relief where there was lit-
tle serious dispute that whoever attacked
the victim both robbed and kidnapped her
and the major defense was mistaken identi-

ty.

Mark Steven, Allen Cazier, George:

Scharmen, San Antonio, Tex., for petition-
er-appellant.

William C. Zapalac, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim
‘Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
spondent-appellee.

Appeals from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before GEE, RANDALL, and
DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

There is small occasion for us to re-
hearse the sickening facts of this murder,
one in which an innocent victim who
stepped into the wrong place at the wrong
time was stabbed, raped and left to bleed
to death for five days in the July sun of
Texas. These are set forth at length in the
various opinions on direct appeal, e.g., 606
S,W.2d 818 (Tex.Crim.App.1979). Nor need
much be said on the law, it having devel-
oped and set against petitioner’s conten-
tions over the course of the twelve years
since his crime. We affirm the trial court’s
- judgment denying habeas relief on the ba-
sis of that court’s opinions, adding a few
observations chiefly based on events occur-
ring since that court ruled.

[1] Of petitioner’s points, the most
nearly meritorious is that complaining of
an improper reference to petitioner’s post-
arrest silence after he had received Mi-
randa warnings. Since the handing down

1.. The portion of the charge in question autho-

rized conviction on a finding of murder “... in ~

the course of committing and attempting to

of Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 96 S.Ct.
2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976), comments by
the prosecutor on the post-arrest silence of
a defendant after the administration of M1-
randa warnings have been taboo. The Su-
preme Court has now held, however, that
such a question as the prosecutor asked in
this case does not require a grant of habe-
as relief where no use of the fact of peti-
tioner’s silence is permitted by the court.
Greer v. Miller, — U.S. ——, 107 S.Ct.
3102, 95 L.Ed.2d ——, 55 U.S.L.W. 5126
(1987). Here there was none; a sustained
objection and an instruction to disregard
followed hard on the improper question. It
was never heard of again. Greer is on all
fours; it controls.

[2] The next most troubling was a sta-
tistics-based claim that the Texas murder
statute is applied in a discriminatory way
against blacks who murder whites. Peti-
tioner’s claims in this respect have been
resolved against him by the Court’s opinion

in McCleskey v. Kemp, — U.S. ——, 107

S.Ct. 1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987).

[3] Finally, we were concerned by peti-
tioner’s contention that the wording of the
trial court’s charge was such as to have
permitted the jury to have convicted peti-
tioner of capital murder for a killing com-
mitted in the course of a felony, when some
jurors may have believed that the felony
was robbery, while others thought it kid-
napping.! While, on the words of the
court’s charge standing alone, this may
seem a realistic objection, when the record
is consulted, it is not. On the evidence,
there was little serious dispute that whoev-
er attacked the victim both robbed and
kidnapped her. Petitioner’s defense dis-
puted these matters only pro forma; his
major claim was that he was not the perpe-
trator of the crime, that his indictment was
the result of mistaken identity. The evi-
dence supporting the commission of both
felonies was crushing, unanswerable; the
only question was, who did them? In these
circumstances, the claim that some jurors

commit the offense of robbery or kidnapping
(emphasis supplied).

\
4

‘-~.

=~»

100 823 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

may have thought Franklin only a kidnap-
per while others thought him only a robber
lacks any substance whatever, despite its
abstract plausibility. The jury faced only
one real question: whoever did this thing
did both robbery and kidnapping, but. was
it Franklin?

The jury found that it was. For whatev-
er it adds, we agree. The stay of execution
earlier granted is VACATED, and judg-
ment is AFFIRMED.

O © KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

4qaums

James BREESE, Jr.,
Plaintiff-Appellant Cross-Appellee,

Vv.

AWI, INC., Defendant-Appellee
Cross-Appellant.

No. 86-3607
Summary Calendar. |

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

July 30, 1987.

Disabled seaman brought action seek-
ing damages under Jones Act and general
maritime law, based upon shipowner’s pur-
ported bad-faith failure to pay maintenance
and cure following heart attack. The Unit-
ed States District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, Fred J. Cassibry, J.,
determined that seaman was not entitled to
recover attorney fees and punitive dam-
ages. Seaman appealed. The Court of Ap-
peals, Randall, Circuit Judge, held that
question of whether seaman is entitled to

- maintenance turns on whether individual

seaman has reached maximum cure, which
is medical question, not legal one, so that
reliance on advice of counsel, as opposed to
advice of physician, is insufficient to consti-
tute reasonable investigation of seaman’s
right to maintenance and cure of situation

where a counsel is not advised as to sea-
man’s medical condition.

Affirmed in part; and reversed in part
and remanded.

1. Federal Courts <=868

-District court’s factual findings under-
lying its conclusion of whether failure to
pay disabled seamen maintenance and cure
was arbitrary and capricious are, like other
factual findings, reviewed under clearly er-
roneous standard. Fed.Rules Civ.Proc.
Rule 52(a), 28 U.S.C.A.

2. Federal Courts <=813, 830, 868

‘In determining whether district court
erred in concluding that disabled seaman
was not entitled to award of punitive dam-
ages and attorney fees based upon ship
owner’s purported bad-faith failure to pay
maintenance and cure following heart at-
tack,.Court of Appeals first inquired as to
whether district court’s findings that ship-
owner’s conduct investigating claim was
not callous or arbitrary and capricious were
clearly erroneous, and second inquired as
to whether district court’s failure to award
punitive damages and attorney fees
amounted to abuse of discretion. Fed.
Rules Civ.Proc.Rule 52(a), 28 U.S.C.A.

3. Seamen ¢11(9)

In determining whether ship owner has
arbitrarily and capriciously denied mainte-
nance and cure to injured seaman so as to
make shipowner liable for punitive dam-
ages and attorney fees, each case is to be
evaluated on its own facts.

4, Seamen ¢11(9)

Shipowner’s investigation of disabled
seaman’s claim, which investigation did not
include inquiry of any physician, much less
seaman’s treating physicians, or review of
any of seaman’s medical records, was im-
permissibly lax under any reasonable stan-
dard, rendering shipowner’s decision not to
pay maintenance and cure beyond seaman’s
discharge from hospital arbitrary and ca-
pricious, for purpose of determining ship-
owner’s liability for punitive damages and
attorney fees.

= we

98 823 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

sion in the government’s favor on the mer-
its, it is evident that this exception would
not apply in the instant case. Moreover,
equitable jurisdiction does not exist here
because it is well established that a taxpay-
er’s right to sue for a refund under 26
U.S.C. § 7422 provides an adequate remedy
at law. See Zernial v. United States, 714
F.2d 481, 434 (5th Cir.1983). We therefore
conclude that 5 U.S.C. section 702 is un-
available to the plaintiffs, and the United
States has not waived its sovereign immu-
nity against the instant suit.

[5] As the government notes, the Su-
preme Court has recognized two exceptions
to the doctrine that sovereign immunity,
absent specific statutory consent to suit,
bars suit against the sovereign. Sovereign
immunity does not bar suit (1) where the
federal officers in question act beyond
their statutory powers, or (2) where the
statutory powers exercised, or the manner
in which they are exercised, by the federal
officers are unconstitutional. Dugan v.
Rank, 372 U.S. 609, 621-22, 83 S.Ct. 999,
1006-07, 10 L.Ed.2d 15 (1963). Plaintiffs
have not challenged the constitutionality of
section 6166 of the Internal Revenue Code
or its application in their case. Nor does
the complaint allege, or the opinion of the
district court find, any action by the IRS
that could be characterized as ultra vires.

An exception to the bar of sovereign immu-

nity cannot be established on the facts be-
fore us.

If.

Because the doctrine of sovereign immu-
nity bars the plaintiffs’ suit, the judgment
of the district court is REVERSED as be-
yond its jurisdiction and this cause is RE-
MANDED for dismissal without prejudice
of plaintiffs’ claims.

© & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

ANnms

—

COMMAN elecuted

Donald Gene a
Petitioner-Appellant,

Vv.

James A. LYNAUGH, Interim Director,
Texas Department of Corrections,
Respondent-Appellee.

Nos. 86-2538, 86-2883.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

July 30, 1987.

State prisoner who had been convicted
of murder petitioned for habeas corpus.
Relief was denied by the United States
District Court for the Western District of
Texas, at San Antonio, H.F. Garcia, J., and
petitioner appealed. The Court of Appeals
held that: (1) relief was not warranted by
improper reference to petitioner’s postar-
rest silence after Miranda warnings; (2)
relief was not warranted on statistics-based
claim that murder statute was applied in a
discriminatory way against blacks who
murdered whites; and (8) relief was not
warranted on basis of charge which could
have permitted jury to convict defendant of
capital murder for killing committed in the
course of felony when some jurors may
have believed that felony was robbery
while others thought it was kidnapping.

Stay of execution vacated and judg-
ment affirmed.

See also, 106 8.Ct. 1238.

1. Habeas Corpus ¢=45.2(7)

Improper reference to _petitioner’s
postarrest silence after he received his Mi-
randa warnings did not warrant habeas
relief where sustained objection and in-
struction to disregard followed the improp-
er question.

2. Habeas Corpus ¢—45.2(3)

Statisties-based claim that Texas mur-
der statute was applied in a discriminatory
way against blacks who murdered whites
did not warrant habeas relief.

R. Dishner
inet for the
Denison City.

(the holdup
lowed after
{ Al Wiggins
ed to the cell
‘s seen below.

went up in a swift motion and the gun
he held crashed down on the back of
Wilemon’s head.

The bank president staggered a step
or two on rubbery legs, balanced pre-
cariously on his heels, but did not fall.
Then flame shot from the gun muzzle,
a sharp, deafening crack and Wilemon
fell. He sprawled grotesquely across
the doorsill, his head and shoulders rest-
ing inside the vault.

Unhurriedly, the red-haired man
turned back to the cash drawers. He
emptied them of currency, his hands
grasping the bills with greedy fingers.
Then he strolled from the bank as
calmly as any law-abiding customer of
the institution could have done.

The pistol was hidden in his coat.
As he started across the sidewalk to a
maroon-colored sedan, he began stuf-
fing the currency into his pockets. He
got into his car, stepped on the starter

and moved away toward the south at a_

leisurely gait.

Inside the bank, Wilemon’s prostrate
form was sprawled in the vault door,
his life blood slowly ebbing from the
bullet wound in his back.

or CavANnEss, 23, was one of a half-

dozen Maypearl citizens who saw
the red-haired stranger leave the bank
and drive away. Cavancess was silting
in front of the Cavaness pharmacy with
his druggist father at the time. He
recognized the green-garbed stranger
as the one who had dawdled over a
coca-cola with him the previous day at
the drugstore fountain.

They had talked about various mat-
ters, aS customers and small town store
owners do. Cavaness remembered idly
that he had seen the red-head loitering
on the main street of the little town
for several days. The stranger had
asked him in a bored tone:

“Ts it this dull here all the time?”

Young Cavaness was the only one of
Maypearl’s citizens who saw the cur-
rency the red-head was stuffing into his
pockets as he strolled from the bank.
He jerked up sharply now as something
else found place in his consciousness.

“Dad,” he said, “I heard a report
awhile ago that sounded something like
a pistol shot. I wonder—I wonder if
that fellow could have robbed the bank?
I think I’ll take a look.”

The maroon sedan was gliding south-
ward out of town as young Cavaness
arose from the bench and walked to
the bank, four doors away. He glanced
through the plate glass window, then
stopped and stared. His father and
others on the street, heard him shout:

Joe Cavaness (above) remem-
bered the stranger and got sus-
picious when he saw him stroll
out of the Maypearl, Tex., bank
(at left) pocketing the money.

65

49

By ALLEN QUINN

AND

DAN T. KELLIHER

ILLIS D. WitEmon, president of
the First State Bank of May-
Pearl, Texas, was seated in his
Private office toward the rear of
the bank when the young, red-haired
stranger entered,
Weldon Blair,
cashier, and his wife, Mrs. Eva Rae
Blair, the bookkeeper, had gone home
as had most of
the 410 inhabitants of the little Ellis
County cotton town. Those who were
still abroad, sat in the shade of the
wooden canopies covering the sidewalk
in front of the stores, which extend up
the block on both sides of the street
om the bank at the corner,

Wilemon moved-toward the banking
counter to greet the Stranger. He saw
aman, 22 to 25 years old, weighing be-
tween 170 and 180 pounds, attired in a
green suit and a green hat. The banker
spoke to him pleasantly,

G4

elec,

“Ts there something |
can do for you?”

With a barely per-
ceptible nod, the stran-
ger’s hand moved into
his pocket, and came
out with a pistol. The
weapon pointed directly
at the surprised banker’s chest.

“Get, your hands up!” came ‘the
brusque command. “Get ’em up quick !
This is a robbery !”

Wilemon’s hands went up above his
head. Keeping him covered with the
Pistol, the man in green sidled to the
door leading behind the counter and
went through it,

“You can’t get away with this,” Wile-
mon protested. “Why don’t you put that
gun away ?”

“Shut up!” the bandit snapped. “Just
show me where the money is and keep
your mouth shut. Where's that money ?”

“Over there.” Wilemon wiggled the
thumb of his right hand, still high above
his head, to indicate the drawers in the
cashier’s cage. The man with the gun
grinned triumphantly and stepped over
to the drawers, careful to keep Wile-
mow covered. Fe Opened them and
glanced in. :

“Fine!” he exclaimed at Sight of the
currency. “Now you can Move into the
vault,”

Wilemon turned and walked toward
the vault, the red-head following closely
at his heels. As the bank president
neared the vault door, the bandit’s arm

a

is a case of
su know any-

Joe Benton’s
arly dark. I

r exclaimed.
rouble. There

Roy said sol-
ion might fit.
ind he doesn’t
‘1 though he’s

their informa-
he town. They
nation that a
-en at Benton's
-he crime. The

Rogers of the
riker and Roy
‘hey found the
im that he was
1 the Wilemon

ik I had any-
enton asked.

iistaken,” Ben-

ry red automo-
des, I can prove
ius in months.”
e to prove any-
-?4 drily.

|

|

_g failed to
orn denials, yet
response to the
picious. He
after persistent
not conceal his
ries.
but, under Roy’s
‘n to Waxahacie.
search warrant
iled a complaint,
irder of the bank
er had been left

| Rogers secured
rs. Fortified with
igain approached

t the officers’ re-
g to search my
“T'll shoot it out

I were you,” Roy
1ocent, you've got
e it without any

|
stood aside while
| zh his home. They
| e search revealed
| ) the garage and
| -iker pried off the
| the garage was
away, when the
ked closely at the
-d gravel driveway
istakable prints of

‘he asked Benton.
using your drive-

iswer.

accept defeat, de-

lence. He arrested

‘~ 4 quick decision.
back to Waxa-
can get at him,”

_0 back to head-

hat we've arrested

a suspect and have him in an unnamed
jail, Maybe that will start folks talking.
I’m going to stay with this man until he

”

gets ready to talk.

Roy took his prisoner to Dallas. That
night he was joined by Prosecuting At-
torney Hancock. Late the next day, after
hours of questioning, they got a state-
ment from Benton, who still maintained
that he was innocent. He admitted that
the man in the red automobile had been
at his place a few days prior to the crime,
but claimed that hé did not know the
driver’s name. He also admitted, after
long questioning, that he had seen a .380
pistol which might have been used in the
robbery.

“You're in a pretty tough spot, Benton,”
Hancock said. “You'd better get your
memory to work. If you weren’t using
that car, some of your pals were.”

“T tell you I don’t know who was driv-
ing it. Somebody sent the guy out to sell
me a car. That’s all I know.’

“You know he was carrying a gun sim-
ilar to the one that killed Wilemon. You
must have gotten pretty chummy over
the car deal. That makes your alibi
mighty thin.”

The prisoner still maintained his atti-
tude of stubborn silence. He was taken
to Maypearl and confronted with wit-
nesses who had seen the bank robber.
Though they each said he resembled the
bandit, no one could positively identify
him. ;

“He kept his hat low over his face and
never looked straight at anyone,” one
man summed up the uncertainty of iden-
tification. “Nobody got a good look at
his face.”

Benton was charged with Wilemon’s ,
murder and placed under $5,000 bond.
The evidence was still incomplete and the
officers continued the investigation.

“He may have. had an accomplice,”
Hancock said. “It would be a good idea
to check up on his friends.”

While the officers worked on this angle
the search for the stolen car went on.
Daily bulletins went out over the radio,
and highway patrolmen and other officers
searched tirelessly. It was three days
after the arrest of Joe Benton when elec-
trifying news was received about the red
Mercury.

HE police chief at Denison, Tex.,

phoned Hancock. “We've found the
car,” he announced. “It was parked ona
downtown street, not a dozen blocks from
where it was originally stolen.”

“Any evidence of the Wilemon murder
in it?” Hancock asked.

“None. But it hasn’t been abandoned
long. We determined that it was parked
after the rain last night.”

Less than 30 minutes later, Deputy
Cariker was rushing toward Denison, a
blank warrant for the arrest of the un-
known driver in his pocket. When he
arrived he found that a search was already
under way for the man who ha aban-*
doned the car. Cariker joined the search,
and with City Officers Winchester and
O'Shields began a; checkup on hotels
and rooming houses.

At one small hotel the proprietor gave
them unexpected information.

“There was a man came in here before
daylight who fits that description,” he
said. “He asked for a room and said he
didn’t want to be disturbed. I guess he’s
still asleep.”

“Show us the room,” Cariker ordered.

Their knock on the door at the end of
a dark hallway brought no response. The

officers waited, then, using the manager's
key, opened the door. Face down upon
i bed lay a big man with tousled red
air.

The suspect, aroused, exhibited aston-
ishment. “You've got me wrong,” he pro-
tested. “I haven't done anything.”

“What’s your name?” Cariker asked.

“Tom Hodges,” the man answered
readily.

He was quickly searched. His billfold
contained only a few dollars, and no iden-
tification. He looked triumphantly at
Cariker, sneering, “I told youyou wouldn’t
find anything on ‘me.”

“We're not through yet,” Cariker
snapped. He turned to the bed and threw
the pillows: aside. Astonishment spread
over his features at the sight! that met
his eyes. :

A large stack of paper money lay be-
neath the pillow. Beside the money lay
the magazine of a .380 automatic pistol.

“So we've got you wrong,” the officer
said to the wild-eyed prisoner. “Where
did you get this money?” :

“Made it working in the oil fields.”

“For your sake you'd better be right.
But first you’re going to jail.”

Evidence against the prisoner devel-
oped with lightning-like speed. A check
of the serial numbers on the $400 hidden
beneath his pillow proved that it was
part of the loot from the Maypear! bank.
Two other things of importance resulted
from a thorough search of the prisoner.
Sewed in the seams of his shirt was a
complete kit of steel saws, and concealed
beneath his undershirt was a crumpled
letter. The letter was from a woman in
Bonham, Tex., and was addressed to
Burton Franks. .

“Burton Franks!” Cariker exclaimed.
“Then that’s the reason he hung around
Venus. I've heard about him. He’s kin to
Joe Benton.”

The prisoner denied that he was Burton
Franks, but a phone call to the woman
the letter was from identified him as her
son,

Additional information on him was soon
gathered. The 22-year-old prisoner had
served a term in the Texas penitentiary
for automobile theft, having been released
on Sept. 17, 1938, by a pardon. He had
also been picked up at Dallas and other
places on vagrancy charges.

Franks finally admitted his identity but
held to his story that the money found
on him had been paid to him for work,

News of the arrest was broadcast. Im-
mediately Federal Agent Conroy arrived
from Sherman and filed charges against
thes prisoner for robbery of a Federal
Reserve bank. ;

In Waxahachie news of the arrest
brought another problem to officers.
Irate citizens caused alarm and fear of
mob violence. District Attorney Hancock
sped to Denison. After obtaining custody
of the prisoner from the federal authori-
ties, he rushed the suspect to the Dallas
jail, where he was held without bond.

Hancock then had Joe Benton brought
in. Benton was subdued and quiet, In
answer to the prosecuting attorney's
questions, he told a strange story.

“T knew Burton did it,’ he admitted
sorrowfully, “He came to my place sev-
eral times and tried to get me to go in
with him. I did everything I could to talk
him out of it. But when you asked me
about it—well, I didn’t want to bring any
more trouble to his mother.”

“Did you see him after the robbery?”
Hancock asked.

“Only for a minute. He came by here
and told me he was hot, so'I knew he

did it. I told him to leave, and I didn’t see
him again.”

When faced with his uncle’s statement,
young Franks roared: “He put me up to
it! He told me it ought to be easy. He’s
guiltier than I am.”

“Then you admit you did it,” Hancock
snapped. \

Franks blanched. “Yes, I did it,” he ad-
mitted slowly. “But it was an accident.
I didn’t intend to kill anybody. The gun
went off when I started to shut the vault

oor.”

“What did you do with the gun?”
“Threw it in the river.”

“And the money?”

“Nobody's going to find that out,”

’ Franks boasted.

“You're not going to have a chance to
spend it anyway,” Hancock said. “And if
any of your friends try to spend it, they'll
be nabbed quick. Don’t forget, that’s hot
money.”

RANKS hesitated. Finally he said,

“All right. I’ll show you where the
money is hidden.”

Sheriff Roy, Deputy Cariker and a
state ranger sped to Bonham with the
prisoner, Franks indicated a spot in a
private garage where he claimed the loot
was cached. After a few minutes of dig-
ging the officers lifted out a fruit jar
wrapped in a towel from beneath the
garage floor. The jar contained $1,000 in
bills and ten dollars in silver.

With all this evidence against the
young killer, Hancock prepared the case
for trial. No connection with the Santa
Anna bank robbery was proven against
Burton Franks. A thorough check on Joe
Benton’s story convinced officers that he
was innocent, and he was immediately
released.

Burton Franks then attempted to plead
insanity. A sanity hearing was held and
the jury found him sane within 12
minutes.

On May 7, 1940, Franks went on trial
in the 40th judicial district court of Ellis
county before Judge A. R. Stout, charged
with first degree murder. He was found
guilty and sentenced to die in the electric
chair.

Franks appealed the verdict. While
awaiting the results of his appeal, he made
several attempts to escape. Once, his
jailer, Rufe Workman, had a hunch some-
thing was wrong. He examined Franks’
shoes and found, neatly sewed into the
lining, a three page letter. The letter, ad-
dressed to a pal, outlined an elaborate
plan of escape. It offered $1,000 to the
friend if he would follow the plan.

“Man, you don’t know how it feels
when you're ‘going to burn,” Franks
wrote. “Get me out of here and I'll do
anything in the world for you.”

He instructed his friend to steal a car,
go to an old tree stump on a certain road
and obtain license plates hidden there.
Then, after the escape had been accom-
plished, he promised to take his friend
to New York City, “where we can make
plenty of dough in the counterfeiting
business.”

After this attempt, Franks was removed
to the escape-proof Dallas jail, where he
remained pending the outcome of his
appeal.

The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld
the original sentence. On June 7, 1940,
Franks was executed in the electric chair
at Huntsville, Tex.

(Editor's note: The name Joe Benton as used in

this story is not real but fictitious in order to protect
the identity of an innocent person.)

57


ad

res

Barton Franks had been the cell-
mate of a bankrobber while in pen.

“Dad, quick! That fellow shot Mr.
Wilemon. Come here and take care of
him! T’ll call the sheriff.”

Mrs. Blair, the bookkeeper, was re-
turning from lunch. She had seen the
stranger leaving the bank; saw him
drive away. Now she heard Joe Cava-
ness’ shout. She ran into the bank, fol-
lowed by others. A glance told them
that Wilemon had, indeed, been shot.
He was unconscious and a little pool of
blood was staining the bank floor.

Meanwhile young Cavaness had run
to the telephone in his father’s store.
Quickly he told the operator what had
happened and asked that she keep the
lines open so he could call surrounding
towns. First, though, he asked her to
connect him with the sheriff’s office in
the courthouse at Waxahachie, the
county seat. Jess L. Cariker, chief
deputy sheriff, answered the call.

“Come down here to Maypearl right
away,” Cavaness told him excitedly. “A
man has just robbed the bank and shot
Mr. Wilemon. He got away in a ma-
roon Mercury sedan. He’s driving
toward Itasca.”

Cavaness gave the bandit’s descrip-
tion and told Cariker the license num-
ber he remembered having seen on the
Mercury. He had noted it subcon-
sciously while the red-haired stranger
sat in his father’s drugstore, with the
car parked at the curb.

“Keep a lookout for that license num-

$1,010 bank loot was found in a jar buried in robber’s yard. In prison-
er’s shirt (right) police found six hacksaw blades hidden in seam.

ber,” the youth urged. “And don’t wait
to call other towns around here. |) do
that while you’re on your way !) +.

Maypearl’s telephone operator was
efficient. Rapidly she connected the
druggist’s son with law-enforcement au-
thorities at Italy, Itasca, Grandview,
Alvarado and other places. He gave
them descriptions of the car and its
driver and urged that they take imme-
diate steps to block all roads from May-
pearl.

In the bank, working desperately over
the stricken president, Mrs. Blair and
Wilemon’s other friends restored him
to consciousness and he told them what
had transpired in the bank.

“I don’t understand why he shot me,”

the banker gasped. “I was doing every-:

thing he told me to do. I was prepar-
ing to step in the vailt when he hit me
on the head with something. It didn’t
knock me down, but it staggered me.
Then he shot me in the back.”

The bullet had penetrated the bank-
er’s back just above the belt line. A
.38-caliber cartridge case from an au-
tomatic pistol was found on the bank
floor, a few feet from the vault door.

Chief Deputy Cariker was busily en-
gaged meanwhile. From Waxahachie,
he put through avhurried call to the
State Bureau of Public Safety in Aus-
tin, the State capital. He relayed for
radio broadcast the information Cava-
ness had given him and asked that an

investigator be dispatched to Maypearl
immediately. .

Then he got in touch with one of his
fellow deputies and instructed him to
tell the Waxahachie Sanitarium author-
ities to send an ambulance for the
wounded banker and to call the sheriffs
of surrounding counties.

By the time he had given his instruc-
tions, other Ellis County deputies had
drifted into the office, learned of the
holdup and shooting, and, with Cariker,
got into their cars and raced over the
graveled road to the scene of the rob-
bery, twelve miles southwest of the
county seat.

HEY FOUND Maypearl seething with
excitement that afternoon of May
10, 1939. Several citizens had started
in pursuit of the bandit car, determined
to capture the red-haired assailant of
Wilemon if it were humanly possible.
Cariker and his fellow deputies read-
ily could understand their indignation.
They knew that virtually all the inhab-
itants of the little town were acquainted
with the. bank president and liked him.
Wilemon had been in the cotton busi-
ness in Maypearl ever since his gradu-
ation from Baylor University at Waco.
Cariker pushed his way through the

Get-away plans were checked by
robber at filling station (right).

had told Cartielli that the Govern-
ment dicks weren’t smart enough to
get him. Now he was bent on prov-
ing that he meant it.

But he was fooled just as so many

others have been. He and Cartielli
were both convicted and sentenced to
thirty years in Atlanta.

| pm all this time, rivals of
Lupo and the others in his mob
were being bumped off with the regu-
larity of cars coming off an assembly
line. They included, among others,
Maruena Bendetto, Petto the Ox,
“Louse” Galucci, Joseph De Marco,
“Nine-fingered Charlie” Lombardi,
and numerous other gentlemen of the
underworld with such fantastic nick-
names as only the criminal can con-
jure up.

Police and Government men who
had for years tried to “get” Lupo and
his henchman were jubilant when the
judge said “thirty years.” One ex-
pressed’ the thought of all when he
ejaculated, “At last! That’s the fin-
ish of those birds!”

But he was wrong, just as had been
Lupo when he had sneered at the
ability of the Secret Service agents.
The “Wolf’s” mob started to get busy.
They had plenty of money to employ
good lawyers, and they hired them.
Key men in the-mob went to Italy
and did a little fixing. It included a
murder rap—Lupo being wanted for
shooting a friend in the back—and a
bit of other skullduggery.

A short time thereafter, word came
from Italy that Lupo was needed by
the Italian government to help them
straighten out an intricate business
matter, as to which only he had in-
formation. That government made
representations to President Harding,
who pardoned Lupo on condition that
he go to Italy and stay there.

Lupo went. But he didn’t stay.
He came back in three months to be
greeted by the joyous members of his
mob, who hadn’t fared so well finan-
cially during his enforced absence.

His return aroused a storm of pro-
test.

Newspapers and citizens de-

manded that he be forced to return to
Italy. The Immigration Department
arrested him and started deportation
proceedings. But the court held that
it would look like bad faith on the
part of this Government, to deport
him after the President had issued a
pardon. It was curious reasoning, as
the pardon was conditional on his
staying in Italy. But it stuck, and
Lupo, now more contemptuous than
ever of the United States Government
and all its sleuths and other em-
ployees, walked out of the court free
to resume his rackets.

And he resumed—plus! Prostitu-
tion, dope, liquor and other rackets
again came under his sway. The good
old bumping-off days were back
again, and one usurper after another
who tried to muscle in on Lupo’s good
deals was quickly muscled out with a
bullet.

Once more, the disgusted police,
city, state, and federal, took up the
weary task of trying to get enough
evidence on this shadowy and elusive
caliph of crime to send him to prison.

For weeks and months and years
they tried. And for weeks and months
and years they failed. They could
get just so far up the criminal ladder
in search of evidence. But they were
always stopped before they got to the
topmost rung where Lupo trium-
phantly perched.

His apparent immunity from pun-
ishment became, as the newspaper
editorials invariably put it, “a stench
in the nostrils of honest citizens.”
They demanded that “this insolent
thug be brought to book,” with the
usual oblique hints of graft, “protec-
tion” and all the rest of it with which
readers of the dailies are so familiar.

The police were doing their best.
But their best was not good enough.
Lupo seemed to exist in an impreg-
nable chamber. The rackets which
he controlled became more and more
flamboyant. Merchants, saloon keep-
ers, and others were forced to buy his
products at prices far above what
they could be purchased elsewhere.
Those who protested had their stocks

and husky. Sort of dark red hair.”

Cariker pressed for details. The
man said he and his youthful helper,
who was quite interested in cars, had
discussed the big maroon car since its
license was not from any nearby
county.

“Can you remember anything the
driver said?” urged Cariker. “Any-
thing at all? Think hard.”

The ‘owner scratched his head.
“Let’s see—he asked me about the
graveled road _ to Maypearl—and
about the roads north of here. I'll
phone my helper to come down. May-
be he'll recall something.”

The youth arrived and instantly
remembered the car. He had been in-
trigued by the unusual license num-
ber, and he had jotted it down, in-
tending to look it up later. He now

38.

rummaged through some papers and
found it written on an old blotter. It
was indeed a Texas license number
from another county.

Cariker was elated. He thanked the
pair, then raced back to Sheriff Roy
with the number. But their joy was
short-lived. Within an hour, it was
traced to a Galveston merchant, but
there it abruptly ended. ;

The owner had been on a trip to
Ardmore, Oklahoma, and one night
his license plates were stolen. The
theft had taken place one week be-
fore the killing, and he had reported
it promptly to police. The Oklahoma
city was 130 miles north of Maypearl.

The license number was incorpo-
rated into a bulletin and sent to all
cities and towns within the state. Still,
it gave no clue to the bandit and

ee

ruined,’ their stores wrecked, their
features smashed by the fists of his
hired thugs. If their objections be-
came too pronounced, one of the
crime czar’s numerous trigger men

saw to it that they were silenced for-

ever.

The Assistant District Attorney,
head of the Brooklyn Rackets Bu-
reau, saw the handwriting on the wall.
This super-crook, he felt sure, had
protected himself so well that the po-
lice couldn’t reach him. Lupo didn’t
seem to make any slips or to have any
of the weaknesses of other gang lead-
ers. He never drank to excess, with
its concomitant of a loose tongue,
and with the exception of Cartielli,
he took no one into his confidence.
Even Cartielli had it only to a limited
point.

Some other method would have to
be devised to pull the ‘““Wolf’s” fangs.
The D.A. carefully reviewed all the
numerous papers in his case. When
he came to the story of the pardon by
President Harding, he had an idea.
It was a unique idea, one of the kind
that other city, state, or federal offi-
cials had never thought of. With it,
he hurried to Albany to see Governor
(now Senator) Lehman. He laid be-
fore him all the facts in the master
criminal’s case and asked Lehman’s
help.

“What do you want me to do?”
the Governor asked.

“There is only one person in the
country who can really do anything,”
the prosecutor answered. “You can
present the case to him.”

“Who is that person?”

“President Roosevelt.”

“But what can he do?”

“He can revoke the pardon granted
to Lupo by President Harding,” the
prosecutor answered.

The astounded Governor stared at
his visitor. “Revoke the pardon?
Why, I—I never heard of such a
thing!” he exclaimed.

“Neither did I,” the district attor-
ney admitted frankly.

“I’m not sure it can be done,” the
Governor went on.

Continued from page 27

Sheriff Roy was forced to conclude
the man had escaped the road blocks.
Now, fresh on the heels of the
license discovery, came an indication
that the car, too, had come from a
northerly direction. A stolen car re-
port from the city of Denison, 100
miles north, reached Sheriff Roy. It
described a maroon Mercury.

“Look at this,” the sheriff told his
men. “Four days before the Maypearl
robbery-killing, this car was stolen
from a Ford dealer’s parking lot. It
ties in with the stolen plates. The
bank job must have been planned for
some time.

Lacking other leads, the deputies
were again ‘forced to continue their
canvass of restaurants and service
stations. They enlarged their queries
in an ever-widening circle, hoping to

“Neither am I,” came the confes-
sion. “But I think it’s worth a try.”

The Governor pondered for a mo-
ment, “All right, I'll try it,” he
promised.

He wrote a letter to the White
House that night. The President
consulted his Attorney General. That
official said he didn’t know whether
such a course would be legal or not,
but that the President could, of
course, try it if he wished. .

The President did. To the aston-
ishment of every criminal lawyer in
the United States, he revoked Presi-
dent Harding’s pardon, effective at
once!

Lupo was rearrested. He wasn’t
at all discomfited. As the old story
goes, he “didn’t say nothin’.” He just
laughed, so sure was he that the
courts would never uphold President
Roosevelt’s action.

But he was wrong. The case went
as far as the Supreme Court, and that
august body ruled unanimously that
the President was entirely within his
legal rights in vitiating the pardon of
a prior President! And Lupo went
back to prison to serve the remainder
of his thirty-year term!

Well, as I started to say, Lupo put
in an “audience slip” to see me on
the occasion of one of my visits to
the federal penitentiary at Atlanta.
This was after his “return engage-
ment.”

And what do you think he wanted,
this wholesale killer, this evploiter of
women, this dealer in dope, this coun-
terfeiter and swindler, this most ruth-
less and merciless of criminals?

_He wanted the Government to in-
sist that. the newspapers stop calling
him the ‘“‘Wolf”—because it was ruin-
ing his reputation!

Lupo served his term, with time off
for good behavior. He went to his
eternal reward — or punishment — a
few years after his release.

Nore: The names Guiseppi Car-
tielli and Carlo Tomasa are fictitious
for obvious reasons.

— es

RED-HAIRED KILLER

——— ss

cut across the killer’s trail again. But
no one else was found who had seen
him.

Then, abruptly, another bank hold-
up was pulled. This was in Santa
Anna, 165 miles west, in Coleman
County. But when Sheriff Roy read
about it the next day in the news-
papers, he was struck by the similar-
ity of the two crimes.

He noted several facts. The bandit
was alone and he was heavyset. After
locking the cashier in the vault, he
took $1500 and escaped, heading east.
The sheriff. also discovered two differ-
ences. This bandit wore a mask, and
he used a cream colored car.

Roy put down the paper and con-
sulted a map. “There’s every chance
that it’s our man, striking again,” he
told his deputies. “Probably, he cut

south from here to Waco, then west
to Santa Anna. Now he’s headed back
this way again.”

“Maybe somewhefe along the
way,” Cariker put in, “he had the-car
painted.” -

The sheriff nodded. “Yes, and if
it’s the same man, he’ll head back for
Dallas and points north. He’ll stop
along the way for food and gas. With
a repainted car, he’ll feel more se-
cure.” .

Sheriff Roy had a small force of
men, It was necessary that he use
them to the utmost advantage and
within the borders of Ellis County.
Estes and another deputy were de-
tailed to patrol the north-south high-
way 77, to spot the cream-colored car
and driver if they passed through the
county.

Roy and Cariker would patrol
route 67, where it crossed the county’s
northern part.

Arriving in Midlothian, they
dropped in to see the station owner
who had provided the lead on the
license plates. They now informed
him the car might be repainted a
cream color and to be on the lookout
for it.

“You know,” he said, “since you
were here, I talked to a customer from
over Venus way. He mentioned see-
ing a maroon Mercury around there,
a day or so after the Maypearl bank
robbery.” :

The officers exchanged glances. It
could mean the handit had friends or
relatives in that section. If not, per-
haps the bandit had stayed at some
hotel overnight. Roy and Cariker de-
cided this was a more tangible lead
than patroling the road. They hur-
riedly covered the 15 miles west to
Venus.

A canvas of filling stations was the
first move. They found one place
where a maroon car had stopped for
a lubrication, gas, and oil.. But ‘the
attendant could remember little about
the driver; since he had been busy at
the time. He recalled the car because
it was new, shiny, and obviously an
out-of-town auto.

“Did the driver say where he was
going?” queried Roy. “Or tell you
anything about himself?”

The man thought for a minute.
“Well, he wanted to know about car
painting prices around here. Said his
car might get scratched.”

To the sheriff, this sounded sus-
picious. Maybe this was the spot
where the car had suddenly changed
colors between bank holdups. He
promptly telephoned his office. They
were to notify all surrounding peace
officers, by radio, to check with auto
paint shops.

He and Cariker then checked up on
at least a dozen garages and shops.

But “no maroon or cream paint job -

had been in. Next, they queried

hotels, rooming houses, and auto |

courts. But no one resembling the red-
haired bandit had been a guest at any
of these hostelries.

“Yet, every hint we get on the car,”
Roy told his deputy, “tends to place
it around here. If the driver knows
somebody in Venus, then the hideout
is here, Let’s concentrate on this sec-
tion.”

They proceeded to go over the town
in earnest. Public and private garages

40

were searched. Neighbors were ques-
tioned about a maroon or cream car.
But the two officers got nowhere.
Now, they tried gas stations, cafes,
and restaurants, always carefully
questioning the employees. At the
Palace Cafe, they were eating and
talking to the waitress when they ran

* into an unexpected lead that appeared

promising: — —
This restaurant was small and in-

‘conspicuous, located on the edge of

town. But the food was excellent and
it was frequented by truck drivers and
tourists. The place was open day and
night, and_.it was this fact that proved
important.

The tall brunette waitress who
served the officers was on duty from
midnight until 7 a.m. When the sheriff
described the suspect car, she hesi-
tated a moment.

“There was a new maroon car
which stopped here,” she said. “Two
mornings ago.”

“What did the driver look like?”

- Roy asked quickly.

“T really didn’t pay much atten-
tion,” she replied. “He was alone, I
remember that, and he kept his hat
pulled down. He was the only cus-
tomer at the time.”

Urged to recall everything she
could, she thought he was a tall man.
As he finished eating, it was just get-
ting light. She noticed the shiny auto,
because most local cars were faded
and dust stained. :

“Most men driving alone,” she
went on, “like to talk. That fellow
didn’t say a word except to order.
But he tipped me well.”

The girl, not busy at the time, had
through idle curiosity watched him
drive away. Thus she noticed him
heading south along a county road.

The officers jerked erect. Perhaps,
by traveling at night, the suspect had
escaped being seen. Perhaps he trav-
eled by lonely county and township
roads. But another possibility loomed
—that some isolated farm in the
vicinity was his hideout.

The maroon car was not conclusive
evidence although, according to
theory, it should now be a cream
color. Perhaps it hadn’t been re-
painted, after all. At any rate, the car
and the tall driver were suspicious
enough to warrant some investigation.

HERIFF Roy and his deputy drove
down the county road and con-
tinued their questions, But none of
the farmers claimed to have seen
either the man or the car. Determined
to leave no stone unturned, Roy
stopped an oil truck driver who said
he traveled the road frequently when
making deliveries.

“A maroon car,” he repeated
thoughtfully. ‘Yes, I’ve met one twice
along this road lately.”

Both times, he said, he had spotted
the car at daybreak. Once, he noticed
it turn into a farmyard. “It’s about a
mile farther. A farmhouse with a
white porch.”

The officers were astonished. This,
they knew, was the farm of young
Bob Parton, a none-too-prosperous
but quiet and well-behaved fellow.
Yet ‘the truck driver insisted he was
not mistaken. And it was the only
white porch along the road for many
miles. ,

Sheriff Roy thought of Parton, tall
with light brown hair almost blond.
It was possible for him to be mistaken
as husky and red haired. Stranger
things had happened, and the Sheriff
was never one to take anything for
granted.

In Venus he and Cariker picked
up State Highway Patrolman Bill

‘Rogers, then they drove to the farm.

Parton eyed them coldly and
promptly denied that he owned a car.
He also denied being in Maypearl for
over eight months. ;

“T read about the banker being
killed. And you think I did it.” He
laughed bitterly. “Well, go ahead and
think all you want to.”

He continued to answer Roy’s
questions, but he responded slowly
and only after giving each question
much thought. Plainly, he was antag-
onistic., If he was innocent, there was
no reason for his reticence. The sheriff
asked him why he was acting: that
way.

“Because I don’t like to be sus-
pected of anything. I haven’t done
anything.”

““Then you won't mind us searching
your place.”

“Better not try to do it without
a-warrant, There'll be trouble for
sure,”

Such an attitude made the sheriff
even more suspicious. While Deputy
Cariker remained, Roy and Rogers
drove to Venus and returned with a
search warrant.

They went through the house from
top to bottom, but found nothing
unusual, The barn was equally devoid
of clues. The garage was padlocked
and when Parton refused to unlock
it, the sheriff broke it open. It was
empty.

At this point, Cariker noticed tire
prints by the garage door, made since
the last recent rain. Parton said they
were from a truck delivering groceries.

“We'll check that,” said Roy.
“Whose truck?”

Parton laughed. “Suppose you find
out.”

In Venus, the officers visited gro-
cery stores. None had ever made
deliveries to Parton. “So,” mused
Roy, “he lied. And why? It’s hard to
believe he shot Wilemon, but some-
thing’s wrong somewhere.”

Parton was taken to the Waxaha-
chie jail, and there he was questioned
for hours by District Attorney Han-
cock. But he remained evasive.

“All right,” Hancock told him,
“You’ve made yourself a good murder
suspect. Murderers go to the electric
chair.”

Parton then admitted, somewhat
uneasily, that the delivery story was
false, to give the sheriff some extra
work. “He had no right to accuse me.
Truth is, a car salesman drove into
my yard, one day, with a red car of
some kind. But I couldn’t buy a car.
I don’t know who he was or what
company he worked for.”

The district attorney checked this
story, too. He proceeded to telephone
every car dealer in the country. As he
suspected, no salesman was found who
had been to Parton’s place. Despite
this, the man stuck to his tale.

Sheriff Roy now decided to take
the suspect to Maypearl, to see if
anybody could identify him. Two or

‘engine was hardly cold.

three thought he vaguely resembled
the driver of the maroon car. So did
the service station man. But there was
no positive identification.

The sheriff went back and made a
check with Parton’s neighbors, only
to find that apparently the man had
been seen working on the farm every
day. Yet Roy was convinced that the
truck driver’s story and Parton’s
falsehoods were not to be overlooked.
He was positive the young farmer
knew more than he was telling.

Parton was held in jail pending
further investigation, and bail was set
at $5000. Then the sheriff and his
deputies set to work to gather more
evidence that would link him defin-
itely with the slaying.

Meanwhile, the Department of
Public Safety had provided banks
everywhere with bulletins on the
Maypearl robbery. These listed the
serial numbers of the stolen money.

Roy had tried to plug all avenues
of escape. The car had not been
found abandoned, and this meant
that the killer was probably still using
it. It seemed incredible that he had
not been picked up.

UST when things loomed darkest,

Sheriff Roy received a telephone
call from the chief of police at Deni-
son. The stolen car had been spotted
in that city, a few minutes before.
It was parked but a few blocks from
where the car was first stolen.

The car, he added, was under con-
stant surveillance.

Roy hurriedly procured a blank
warrant of arrest for whoever the
driver might be and started Deputy
Cariker off in the rain for Denison.
Arriving there, the deputy found local
officers had checked the engine num-
ber and found it to be the stolen car.

The auto was parked on a dark
side street and evidently had not been
there very long. Beneath it the pave-
ment was wet, showing it was parked
there after the rain started. The

Cariker, with Detectives O’Shields
and Winchester, searched the car.
They found nothing incriminating to
connect it with the murder and rob-
bery. An identification expert had
already gone over the interior and
steering wheel and found everything
wiped clean,

The next thing was to find the
driver. Either he had finally aban-
doned the car as too hot and dis-
appeared, or he was pushing his
luck and was still in the city.

They began a search of hotels and
rooming houses in the lower part of
town for a husky, redheaded man
who had arrived - recently. In this
manner, they came to the small Brand
Hotel, a red brick two-story affair.

Their luck held. The clerk recalled
just such a guest. “He came in here
four hours ago,” he said, “and wanted
a quiet room. After I showed him to
his room, he said he was going to
sleep around the clock.”

“That’s what he thinks,” said Win-
chester. ‘“Let’s go.”

They tiptoed to the door. All was
quiet. But if their quarry was there,
he might try to shoot his way out of
the police trap. The clerk unlocked
the door, jumped back, and the offi-
cers barged in with drawn guns.

ET

ee ee ardvead sioepliy it toe Texas police tackle a tough one—the mysterious murder of

_ summer sun, Most clerks and towns eople “ns .

‘ad gone to their homes for lunch. The town the highly respected banker who had been shot in the back.
eemed in a state of suspended life, as if all — ,
ature was holding its breath. Soon it would be

a an uproar, the scene of a particularly brutal
aurder.

Several people told the officers later that a sud-
len, muffled explosion had come from the direc-
ion of the red-brick First State Bank. They
hought it sounded like a gunshot, but nobody in-
restigated. A few minutes later, they heard the
inmistakable scream of a woman.

She proved to be an employee of the bank. Re-
urning from lunch, she had gone back to the vault
ind there she stumbled over the body of Willis
(). Wilemon, the bank president. He lay on his
yack, very still, and around him the vault floor was
stained a bright red.

With a scream, she rushed outside and stopped
1 passing man. To him, she gasped out an in-
-oherent story of her discovery. He hurried to a
telephone and called Waxahachie, the Ellis County
seat.

Sheriff Joe E. Roy, quiet and business-like, ar-
rived in a few minutes. He brought with him two
tall, alert deputies. They were Hillyer Estes and
Jess Cariker. With them came an ambulance from
the county seat. -

The officers pushed their way through a crowd
of people standing around the bank door. While
the clerk recounted her story, the ambulance men
busied themselves with Wilemon.

“He's still alive!” said one attendant. “But he’s
going fast.”

Sheriff Roy knelt beside the wounded man and
noticed his eyes open. “Who was it, Mr. Wile-
mon?” :

“A—a big man—red hair,” he spoke feebly and
with obvious pain. “He shot me and—robbed the
vault safe.” :

“Get him to the hospital, quick,” said Roy terse-
ly. ‘We'll have to learn what we can without him.”

When the banker was carried away, Deputy
Cariker whipped out his handkerchief «and re-
trieved a black pistol from the vault floor. It was
a .32 Colt automatic.

Evidently in his haste, the bandit had dropped
the weapon and neglected to pick it up. Also on
the floor was an empty shell. .

“We'll have fingerprint men go over the gun
and vault,” the sheriff told his men. “In the mean-
time, find out if anyone saw the big, red-haired
man around town.”

He summoned the bank employees and asked
them to check immediately on how much money
had been taken, but he asked them to avoid touch-
ing the safe handles. The woman clerk led the
sheriff to Wilemon’s desk.

Apparently, he had been filling out some tax
papers, His fountain pen lay uncapped, just as he
had laid it down after inking in the date of May
10. But the papers gave no clue to the gunman’s
identity.

The astute sheriff questioned the woman clerk
and learned a significant fact about Wilemon. On
days when business was slow, it was the custom of
the 44-year-old banker to remain alone in the bank
during the noon hour. He took care of customers
while his clerks went to lunch.

“The bandit must have known this,” said Roy
thoughtfully. “Have you ever noticed a customer
of that description, in here?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve been thinking
about it, but I can’t recall ever seeing such a man
in this town.” :

The sheriff knew that in a small, town, every-
body knew everyone else. The bandit, therefore,
was probably a stranger. But this, in turn, would -
have made it more likely for him to be singled out
for special attention by townspeople who had seen
him loitering about. ,

Almost at once, Deputy Estes returned. The
deputies had found three people who were certain

_ RECOVERED LOOT: District Att'y. Forrester Hancock examines jar of
money the murderer buried together with the saw blades and license plates.

26


they had seen the stranger. One man had seen

him circling the bank block in a- maroon sedan. .

Another saw such a car parked outside the bank.
And still another man had, from a distance, seen
the stranger leave the bank and whirl around the
corner in the car.

~ All the witnesses agreed the car was maroon,
but they differed as to the make. They all agreed
the stranger was tall, husky, and had a thatch of
dark red hair. But while one thought he was young,
the others guessed he was of middle age.

“The description is good enough for a start,”
clipped the sheriff, reaching for the bank telephone.

In rapid succession, he called peace officers in a
circle of towns about Maypearl. He gave the brief
description of the bandit and car and asked them
to block all roads and highways immediately.

This done, he asked the telephone operators of
Ellis County to warn farmers and ranchers on
party lines. If they sighted the red-haired robber,
they were to report him at once.

“Maybe he didn’t go far enough to reach our
road blocks,” Cariker suggested. “If he knows this
country, he might hide out near here.”

“Could be,”’ Roy agreed. “Get a posse organized
right away.”

At once, he despatched a telegram to the State
Department of Public Safety, in the state capitol
of Austin, requesting the help of an identification
expert. By then, two cars of heavily armed men
had set out.

Deputy Cariker headed one, and Estes was in
command of the other. Sheriff Roy made his tem-
porary headquarters at the bank, keeping in con-
stant touch with surrounding towns by telephone.

During the afternoon, word came in from the
web of road blocks. Dozens of cars had been
stopped. But no man resembling the bandit had
been seen by anyone.

Meanwhile, the posses had spread out, combing
the country about Maypeari. Isolated farms and
ranches were visited. The brush and ravines along
miles of Chamber’s Creek were thcroughly ex-
plored. But no sign of the robber or his car were
found. At sundown, the posses returned empty-
handed.

,

They found that District Attorney Forrester
Hancock, from Waxahachie, had closed the bank
temporarily. Since the bank was a member of the
Federal Reserve system, an FBI agent from
Dallas, 35 miles north, had come to represent the
government. By suppertime, the cash had been
checked. ;

“There’s $1574 missing,” a clerk announced.
“There was more in plain sight, but the bandit
didn’t take it.” Most of the stolen bills’ serial
numbers were listed.

“Wilemon might have jumped him,” theorized
Estes, “and got a bullet in return. Then the bandit
had a panic. Otherwise, he’d surely have taken
more.”

“From what I can learn of Wilemon,” said the
sheriff, “I don’t think he would resist. The fact the
bandit shot him and left money lying there seems
to indicate it was an amateur job.”

He drew his two deputies aside. “The whole
thing is a bungled job and I’m not too sure yet
that Wilemon was shot down because he resisted
a robbery. You fellows circulate around town and
find out if he had trouble with anyone.”

As they departed, the identification man arrived
by plane. He quickly went over the vault and gun,
but all surfaces were too badly smudged to yield
any prints of value. The serial number of the gun
had been filed off.

At this point, news came from the hospital. The.

middle-aged Wilemon had succumbed to his bullet
wound and had died. The officers were now look-
ing for a red-haired killer!

The deputies returned. “So far, we haven’t been
able to find any trouble he had,” Cariker said.
“He seems to have been pretty well known, and
apparently everybody liked him. He’s had a few
little arguments, but nothing that would warrant
murder.”

Cariker and Estes had brought with them a
youth. “This boy may have seen something of the
killer,” Estes explained.

Questioned by the sheriff, the boy repeated what
he had told the officers. He had been passing the
bank just as the maroon sedan parked and the
driver got out. He paid little attention to the

\
>
driver, but he did notice the man wore gloves.
boy’s interest had been focused on the car, a-——
was pretty sure it was a Mercury.

“No wonder we didn’t find prints,” Roy c
mented. “The man knew enough to wear gloves
Maybe he wasn’t a complete amateur.”

The townspeople knew of no one who owned a
maroon Mercury. But now several more residents
recalled seeing such a car in town on three suc-
cessive days, particularly in the vicinity of the
bank. The sheriff deduced the man had carefully
surveyed the town, as well as the bank.

It seemed impossible that he could pass the
road barricades. Yet the fact remained that no one
had sighted the man or car. “It could be,” said
Roy, “that a confederate is hiding him. However, a
maroon car is sure to be noticed, sooner or later.”

In Waxahachie that night, an autopsy on Wile-
mon was completed. It revealed a startling fact.
The banker had been shot in the back! There were
no powder burns, indicating that he had been shot
from a distance and therefore had not been resist-
ing. Here was every indication of wanton, cold-
blooded murder.

The officers held a brief council. “Witnesses saw
the car around Maypearl for three days,” coun-
seled the sheriff. “That means he was planning the
job. He would likely have eaten in'restaurants and
undoubtedly bought gasoline.” .

To this, they agreed. Next day, every available
deputy started a canvass of cafes and gas stations.
It was slow, painstaking work, but they stuck to
their grim task.

The robbery and murder were the chief topics
of conversation. Everyone tried to be helpful
Some vaguely recalled seeing the maroon car. But
the deputies returned that day without any tangi-
ble leads.

Next day, Cariker was nosing around in Mid-
lothian, some 25 miles north of the shooting scenc.
Checking at a gas station, he got a surprise. “Yes,
a maroon Mercury was in here,” said the owner
“Just the day before vesterday.”’

“What did the driver look like?” asked the
deputy.

“Well, kind of tall (Continued on page 38)

RED-HAIRED KILLERY

SHERIFF JOE ROY points to the license
plates the killer hid in the tree stump.

, By ROBERT JAMES GREEN

Me e APE tal

SCENE OF CRIME: The bank at Maypearl, Texas.
Killer escaped in Mercury car pictured at right.

2?

nn ee ea enn ee en es — “ ~e


uun at the bot-
d be at least two
the roots which
and keep them

be pulled up by
iD trenches, roots
‘lose together in
heads in width,
w of heads a lit-
side rows, cover
-h of a foot, and
ozen, cover with
which prevents
d thawing, and
| allow of their
juired,
of all sorts great
ed not to break
way, as mutila-
only causes de-
‘ destroys, their
This is a
ter than is gen-
d the putting
2 careless or in-
led many to
ea-are of little
erican Agricul-

piece,

Hindostan~ js
‘he jewelry she
girdle at the
ings, anklets,
ad decorations
h she has never"
band, she goes
the day of the
takes a cor-
and ties it to
_ they are mar-

usane asylum,
nd the asylum
tick, suddenly
a visitor and
tke difference
stick and rid-
“up? Why,
-8, broomstick
2ases,and the
hobby can’t,

too, fur an additional cottage, to ba
built by Georgia funds, and occupied
by orphan children,

But the most admirable part of the
institution is the living part. One
hundred fatherless children are fed,
clothed, carefully taught and prayer-
fully guided there. Tie moral tone
of the institution, and social standing
of the inmates are the highest. These
are secured by prudence in the recep-
tion the children and great wisdom
and untiring care in the training of
them after their reception. No child
is there who is not of legitimate
parentage, whose mother didnot lead
a reputable life and whose father ig
not known tobe dead. Mr. Jacobs
tells me that the same is true of both
Spurgeon’s and: Muller’s orphanages
as he learned himself from the Tips of
the illustrious servants of God and
benefactors of their race. If an un-
worthy child gains admittance, and
proves irresponsive to good training
and injurious to hia companions, he is
quietly retired. ‘fhe moral tone is
maintained at all costs. Dr. Jacobs
moves among the children asa pru-
dent and affectionate father. The
diffident and less favored receive his
special attention, and if a warmer
salutation is given to any,ithese are
sure to be the recipients. The chil:
dren visit in the best homes in Clin-
ton and their companionship is
sought,

The schoo] idea is made the promi-
nent one in the institution from be-
ginning to end. Children are ad-
mitted at six years of age, and the
course of study embraces eleven years,
At graduation, diplomas are given,
and the holders of these easily obtain
first grade certificates in the publie
schools as teachers. The mornings
are given to work and the afternoons
to study. {

But I cannot tell you, in reason-
able space, all I saw and all I felt.
As I retired from the place the. in-
most thought of my soul was, here ig
an institution foundéd in love, guided
in wisdom, blessed of God and ta
stand for the ages. ‘The benedictiong
of many ot God’s poor are upon it.

by ihe comission, as was tormerly the
case,
“Tn the matter of the jurisdiction
of the Railroad Commission over joint
rates (that is, rates over two or more
roads) tor freight traflic in the State,
the Commission would respectfully
urge the passage of law defining more
clearly their power in regard to this,
giving the full control of same.

“The commission further recom-
mends that Section 1484, General
Statutes, be stricken out and the fol-
lowing substituted for same, to be
known as Section 1484:

“Every railroad corporation shall
cause signs to be placed and constant-
ly maintained alongside of each pub-
lic road or street where the same is
crossed by the railroad on the same
level. Said sign. shall be elevated so
as to be easily seen by travelers, and
on each side of the same shall he
printed ia large letters the words
‘railroad crossing.” But this section
shall nut apply to streeets in. cities.
towns and villages, unless the corpo-
ration be required to put up such
sign by the otticers having charge of
such streets,’”

a © ee

LEARNING IN Youtu.—Daniel
Webster onge told a good story ia a
speech and was asked where he got
it, “Thad it laid up in my head

for fourteen years, and never had a |

chance to use it
said.

My little friend wants to kng
What good it will do to learnAhe
‘rule of three,” or to commit verse
of the Bible. The answer this:
‘Sometime you will need feat very
thing. Perhaps it may fe twenty
years before you can male it fit in
Just the right place some tie, Then
if you don’t have it, you Will be like
the hunter who had no Wall in his
rifle; when the bear met him\”

— —> © <a

“You have spurned me,” |
bitterly; “Twill go into the
[will fight and win.
be known and nmiy riches envi
“Then,” she interrupted, « try

until to-day,” he

My name \hball |

s io divest them, and buil
prisobs to teach them not to drink
The prohibition theory was to prohi-
bit liquor traffic, leave salaried off.
cers to arrest law-breakers, and build
prisons to teach them not to break
the law. ‘* Which is the more sensi-
ible ?”

A Harvey Netinsoruoop,—« Mr.
Jones,” began Smith, the other morn.
ing a3 they met at thecorner to wait
for the car, ‘ is it positively necessa-
ry that your son must play the accor-
deon until midnight for six pights a
week?” “ Not at all Mr. Smith,”
Was the prompt reply. « Not
any moye necessary than it ig
for your’ daughter “and her beau
beau to sit on the front steps
seven nights per week and kee
us awake until 1 o'clock in the morn:
ing.” “My daughter, sir, has a
perfect right tohave a beau!” “ And
my son, sir, bas, a legal right to play
on his aeeordeon 1?” Gentlemen,”
bezan Mr. ‘Thomas, as he came up,
“1 don’t want to offend you, for we
are all neighbors; but if you, Mr,
Jones, would clean out your alley,
and you, Mr, Smith, would poison
your nuisance of adog, I beleive I
would gain five pounds of flesh per

j Week.” Hello ! Thomas,” saluted

| Brown, from the rear platform af the

| car for which they had waited, « I’ve
| leven eS tosee you for a week
past. icur confounded old horse
sis stamps all night long and

nene of us catNget 2 wink of alee .

| Just tora chang&and to be neighe
borly, suppose yod knock him on the
head with an axe!”

Se 6 oe
Frizzle was hauged at

Texas, on November 20th,

Wm. H.

Abilene,

for the murder of his wife in Coman-
che County last June. Two days be-
| fore he requested that the Abilene
permitted to play at

Cornet Band be
“his hanging.
a © mee
See that your stock has plenty. of
good, clean. straw” for bedding. It
pays to keep them clean, comfortable
nud healthy, and makes more ma-
Ire.