The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1870-08-10

Va VIZ AnhAhs LUZ uuS u6
had a father and mother in Eastern
Virginia, near Richmond, and he
would go and consult them about
his future business. So one night
he packed up his clothes and the
next morning started off, promis-
ing to come back in a few weeks.
But weeks and months, nearly a
year, passed before he was again
seen in Essex and meantime his
wife grew thinner, paler, sadder,
and though she said she often heard
from him, people began to whisper
"deserted," when her name was
mentioned. 49,, ,...~s@ -. b..
-. THE RETURN.
But he did come at last and re,
mained in Essex until February,
1S67-six months and more. Then,
to her great joy, he proposed to
take her, to his own home, which,
he said, was in the County of Hem
rico, not far, from Richmond. On
the 10th of February theyaleft the
old homestead in Essex and took
tho cars for Richmond. On Sat.
urday evening they arrived in the
city, and put up at the Virginia
House, q second class boarding
house near tho Capitol square,
70 the landlady Phillips intro
duced his companion as his wife,
and they occupied q room togeth.
er. The next morning they took
breakfast together, and were seen
at the table by several of the
boarders. She spent the morning
in her chamber, complaining OF
being unwell lie went out, and
did not return until after dinner.
She was sitting with the landlady
in the parlor, when a footstep was
heard on the porch, and che ran
out, exclaiming, "There's Jeter
now" She was never seen again
at the boarding house, and the on
ly clue to her whereabouts was q
remark made q few moments be-
fore, to the effect that her husband
was going to take her to the coun.
try to see his relations, with whom
she was upacquainted.
A DEAD WOMAN IN THE WOODS,
= Just eleven days after that Sun
day, an old gentleman Of Henrico
County, walking through his wood
ed property, found the dead body
of a woman lying almost iinmedi-
ately in his path. The spot was
an unfrcquented one--a long dis.
tance from the farm house, but not
very far from a negro cabin. No
attempt had been made to hide
the body. 1t was lying upon it's
face. and the damp garments werc
decently smoothed out. One hand
was under the head, and the other
stretched out at full length, tightly
clasped n tufe of grass. There
were. bruises about the eyes tho
nose was broken ) there were fin
ger marks about the throat and
the arms; legs and abdomen seem
ed to have been beaten with some
heavy, blunt instrument; on the
ground, just beneath the breast,
was a pool of what appeared to be
blood and water. T. b.. %
e.. AN INQUEST HELD.
The finding of the body having
been rept rted to the nearest mag
istrate, an inquest was held, and
the jury found that deceased came
to her death by violence at the
ehands of some person or persons
unknown, whereupon the body re.
ceived a pauper's burial. But the
facts being published in the ncws
papers of the day, created an ex.
element almost unparalleled
The officers of the law were arous.
ed, and every effort was made to
discover the perpetrator of a muir.
der committed under such mystic.
rious circumstances, and upon q
young and apparently respectable
woman. But all efforts seemed
unavailing, and when after two
months the murdered woman had
not been identified, new sensations
took the place of this, and the
Drinkers Farm Murder" seem.
ed forgotten by the world.
ARREST OF PHILLIPS.
Meanwhile a zealons magistrate
and an expert detective were al
work, and four months after the
finding of tho body the communi.
ty was startled by the announce
ment that q young man hitherto oi
unblemished reputation, and the
son OF an ex-sheriff, had been ar.
rested as the perpetrator of the
Drinkers Farm Murder, and com
mitted to Jail. The accused was
Jeter Phillips. The murdered wo
man was said to have been his wife
The news was the moro startling
because Phillips was supposed tc
be a single man, and at the time
of his arrest was actually engaged