The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1867-06-14
BEL AIR. IND FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE H. 1867
An Atrocious Murder and Suicide.

The New Albany Qud.) Ledger gives
the following particulars Of double MUIR
der seldom equalled in atrooity, which
occurred in Perry county, Ind, during
the present week: A man named Fran
els j. Smith, who formerly resided in
Floyd county, and for short time in
New Albany, is the murderer and sui
eide. His wife, Mary, and bis little son,
Roger, were the victims of his fiendish
malice and blood-thirstiness The mur-
dered wife first met Smith in this county
in the latter part of the year 1864 A
short courtship followed whom they were
married in 1865, and Immediately re-
moved to Perry county, near Derby,
where Smith owned farm. For short
time they lived pleasantly enough togeth-
er; but after the birth of the boy Roger,
which occurred in December, 1865, Smith
frequently beat and abused his wife in the
most shocking manner He also treated
the child with revolving cruelty, at ono
time holding it over blazing fire until it
was nearly roasted. The devilish spirit
that actuated Smith to the perpetration of
these barbarities was jealousy. He fire.
quently denied the paternity Of the child,
and accused his wife Of improper intima-
cy with man who resided in the neigh
bortood. Finally unable longer to bear
the prosecutions heaped upon her by her
brutal husband, Mrs. Smith left him and
went to New York. She afterwards re-
turned at her husbands request, and upon
his promise to do better but she was
cruelty thrust from the house, aud during
the remainder of her life was wauderer
through the peighborhood, without any
other home than that which was given her
through the charities of the people. On
Wednesday last Smith NEE his wife at the
house>of a neighbor, whittier she had gone
to seek assistance. She had concluded
to seek aid from the township Trustee,
and Smith told her he would accompany
her to that officers residence, to which |
she assented. 1t was just before noon
when they started. Smith took her by
crcuitous out-of-the-way route through
the woods, and kept her and the child with
him until near ten o'clock at night, when
he reached a dark and secluded ravine.--
Here he babe the poor, wretched, heart.
broken wife sit down at the root of tree,
The woman obeyed, and the fendsh bus.
band then told Der that he intended to
kill both her and the, child. The night
was dark and it was raining, and escape
was in vain. What pen can portray the
horror aud agony of the mother there in
that dark forest, alone with such desps-
RADIO as menaced her. There was horror
in that scene beyond all powers of descrip-
ton. Smith then proceeded deliberately
to his work of murder. He seized a
heavy stone and with single blow crush
ed in the skull of the mother. Not yet
satisfied, he seized other stones and hurl-
ed them against her head, until the vital
spark had fed. With the same instru.
ments of death he beat out the brains of
the child. When both were dead, he
took the strings from the murdered wife,
shoes, tied her feet together, then crossed
her hands over her bosom and tied them
in that position. He next took the child
and placed it alongside the dead body of
the mother, and with the mothers shawl
covered up the victims of his murderous
passion, and departed to his brothers res
idence, few miles distant. At the
brothers. house Smith wrote letter, in
which. he pretends to detail the circuu-
stances of his married life and of the MUIR
der, and told what he had done and what
was in the letter. and then, taking his
brothers rifle, he stepped cut into the
yard, placed the muzzle of the gun over
his heart, set Of the trigger with stick,
and fell to the ground dead, shot through
the heart.