New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-10-28
THE MURDER OF AN INNOCENT.
A Correct Statement.
ExoULpATIoN OF MIR. BELor.
FUNERAL OF THE MURDERED MAN,

The man killed yesterday morning about
two o'clock, at the corner of st. Philip and
Chartres streets, mentioned in last even
| ing's paper, was Leterio Barba, twenty six
years old, native of Messina, and a men,
Der OF the Innocents club. He was shot in
five places, and almost instantly killed.
While he was breathing his last Major De
IIsle, who happened to be standing near
by asked him II he had been shot by a
negro. He shook his head, being unable to
speak. Being asked if q white man shot
him he simply nodded his head. He lived
at 30 Hospital street.
Charles wagner, who was present at the
time OF the shooting states that deceased
was oa the side of Chartres street, near st.
Philip, next to the river; that the man who
killed him came along the other side of the
street armed with a shot gun, when,
without a word passing so far as Mr..
Wagner heard, the man leveled the gun
at deceased and fired, causing him to fall
dead and that the murderer Immediately
ran down st. Philip to Royal, then to Du.
maine, down Dumaine to Villere and turned
into Orleans street. where he hid himself in
q butchers stable and escaped. Mr.. Wag-
ner, who is special officer of the Canal
and Claiborne Railroad company, blew his
whistle and pursued him but no policeman
came to his assistance.
The deceased was evidently killed with
ouckshot. The suppositions are either that
an old trI'g existed between thu j ties,
or that quarrel had occurred between
them in the course of the procession.
This is the report of the Bee.
An inquest was held yesterday by Coro-
ner Avila, when the following testimony
was taken, as reported by the Times:
Charles Wagner-Last night, after the
procession, was going down Ch:rtres
street toward Esplanade, to go home. l
passed this way because Congo Square was
picketed with soldiers.
At that time l saw Belot fire with a gun
at Leterio Barba. l was at that time not
ten feet distant from Belot. He ran down
st Philip street to Royal, from Royal to
Dumaine, from there to Villere. At that
nolnt he got around the butchers stalls, and
the-e lost him.
Only one shot was fired At the time.
Barba was walking down toward Esplanade.
There had been no sign of any difficulty be
tween them until the moment he fired.
verdict of death from an unknown
party was returned by DR.. Avila and the
jury, owing to the discrepancy between this
evidence and other statements.
Mr.. Wagner, who is quite young man,
made affidavit yesterday before Recorder
Gastinel that he recognized the man who
did the shooting as one of the two brothers
Belot, Octave or Armand, he could not tell
which. He declared that he could identify
him when he saw him. The former, Octave
Belot, is member of the present State
Legislature.
1t may not be improper to state that Re-
corder Gastinel expresses doubt as to the
correctness of this statement, for it is IN.
derstood that both of the Belots together
with several other Republicans, were Sc
creted at that time to avoid the dangers
they feared from the crowd who had two
hours before then broken open A. Belot's
cigar store and destroyed his furniture. This
is the report of the Bee;
After the procession of the Innocents
Monday night had dispersed, a body of
armed men, whose identity is unknown,
broke open the cigar store of A. Belot, in
the Second District, broke up his furniture
with axes, and threw everything in the
house into the streets, the family, however,
escaping with injury. Elr.
An affidavit, It'll stated, had been made on
Information received, complaining that the
house was an arsenal for arms for negroes
and Recorder Gastinel, before whom it was
made, called the fact to the attention of
General Rousseau. This is supposed to be
the cause which instigated the attack.
Barba was killed after Mr.. Belot's
cigar store was cleaned out, but
the Crescent, with an inexcusable igno-
rance of the facts, says the accused, Belot,
keeps, or rather kept, cigar shop on Clai-
borne street, near st. Ann. The shop was
entered during the day, yesterday, by some
of the friends and avengers of the murdered
man, who sacked the store, destroying all of
its contents.
Last evening Mr.. Belot had not been ar
rested, nor is there any good reason to sup
pose that he will be.
Barba was buried yesterday afternoon,
the Innocents attending his funeral in a
body.