Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-08-22
u n w h PIPING THE WARP.
S ARTLIN DISCLOSURES

e a 4 IN c DISCLOSURE
All the parties suspected of the mul
E der of little Willie Carter, having bee
q arrested on Thursday, except Eliza
, Martin, upon warrants issned by Jus
I tice Cassidey, with the witness Dayi
!, Martin alias Hicks, the investigation
6 was began yesterday morning at l
O'Clock. During the course of the trial
Elijah Martin was brought in by off
, Ger Sellars, having been arrested i
Brunswick county, while at work.
The Court House was crowde,
throughout the day to suffocation, al
classes of citizens manifestinp th
deepest interest.
In the prisoners box were Mrs. Car
ter, the witnesses David Martin, Eliial
Martin. and the little bows William
Henry Merrick, and Jimmy Hooper; tn,
two latter accused byDavid Martin of tn,
murder, being barely ten years of age
Mr.. Adam Empie appeared in behal
of Mrs. Carter.
The following in report of this
most mysterious and henious murder
THE EVIDENCE IN FULL:
| David Martin, being duly sworn, SAYS
The woman offered me ten dollars t.
drown Willie Carter, and | told her |
couldn't do it. She said there was no
more harm than for soldiers to kill one
another, and she could pray it all Oft.
Mrs. Carter told me this. She told me
this week before last. The first time
was last summer She said she and her
husband were all the time fighting
about the boy, and she would wish to
get him out of the way if she could. |
was in her house when she told me.
| used to be all the time playing with
the boy. She told me this when he was
gone after water She took ne into the
back part of the store and Willie was
| gone after water. She said II wouldn't
| do it she would get somebody who
about it to her. [ never told any one
about what she told me- I saw Willie
| last Monday about one O'Clock. | saw
him sitting on the bridge right by his
house. This was foot bridge over the
ditch.
He asked me to 90 in swimming, and
/ told him yes. We went down to the
| water with those two little fellows (de-
fendants) and when he went in, threw
his hat into the water, and he got it
himself, and then that littlest fellow
threw his clothes into the water, and he
most got drowned and I help him
ashore and then they pitched him over
board. / started down Monday to go
swimming with Carter, and the two (de
fendants) named Jimmie Anderson and
"Billy" went with us. Don't know
Billy's other name. We all four went
down together. We had no cOnversa-
ton about killing the little white boy.
When we went to the creek the other
three went in swimming. | stood on the
shore and threw his hat in. He said
he didn't like such playing as that. He
got his hat Jimmie threw his clothes
into the river Willie went after his
clothes, and when he came in / helped
him. Jimmie then threw his clothes
in again and he got them himself, and
then he stood on the bank waiting for
his clothes to dry, and while there jim
mie pushed him in. ] saw the boys
push him in and heard him cry please
don't, and then left. He was stand
ing on the clay bank near a pine tree.
1t was right smart deep-Over his
head. | told them [ wouldn't
STAY and see him drown. and
Jimmie said that if | wouldn't
make the so he would. l told Jim
his mother had promised to pay so to
push him in. but | wouldn't. Jimmie
said if | didn't make it he would. /
| told Jimmie that she wanted me to do
it, but wouldn't, and he said he would
make the so if | wouldn't. Billy WAS
standing there and said he wouldn't do
it for anything in the world. Willie
didn't have his clothes on when they
pushed him in. His clothes were out
| driving. Only Jimmie pushed him
| overheard. Willie was standing near
| a pine tree when Jimmie pushed him
| in When he WAS gone after his clothes,
| | told Jimmie about the ten dollars. |
saw Willie in the water when Jimmie
pushed him overheard He said ''plcasc
| DON'T, and that's all heard I went
away The other boys threw his clothes
in and | helped him get ashore. |
didn't 90 in swimming at that
time. | had my clothes on till
see Willie like to get drowned
! pulled off my clothes and went
in to help him. The water was over
| his head When we were talking about
lin. Jimmie had :: knife. 1t was a
cork k-screw knife with a long blade. 1
| didn't see him have the knife out while
L
| PLAYING "mumble de peg" with it be-
fore that. He had his knife on the
| ground there, but it wasn't open. |
| think it dropped out Of his clothes
when he was undressing He
didn't say how he was going to kill
| him. The bank is steep there, about rs
| high as the tressle. The water right
there was deep. There were stumps
| and snags there There was stump
| and a snag branched off from it. 1t was
n right smart ways from the shore.
| When Willie was pushed off, think he
| must have hit it. They pushed him
| right smart hard, and he went in slant
| ing, and the stump was near enough
| for him to strike it. 1t was about foot
under water, but the snag was sticking
| out Don't know whether the boy
| struck on the stump or not. | then
] went away. / told them that if they
meaned to drown the boy, ! wouldn't
stav and see him drown. Jimmie was
naked when he pushed the little boy
overheard. Billy had his pantaloons
on. When / left them | went to the
railroad shed and then went home. |
saw a section man on the railroad track.
told him there were some fellows out
at the creek trying to drown little
white boy, and he said he hadn't no
time to attend to it and | must go tell
somebody else. I told a little colored
boy about it:
| then told the boys mother. I told
nv ma that Willie Carter was browne
and that Jimmie drown him. The next
time l saw Willie Carter he was lying
at Smith creek railroad bridge, with one
foot on log tied by a grape vine
There was a right smart ofpeople there
II heard man say white boy was
found drowned and / went out there
The place where they went in swim
ming was about half a mile from the
bridge, near the butcher pen. MIR
Kings house was the closest and 1t was
on the other side of the track. l saw
Willis's mother the same day he got
drowned, abont 3 o'clock that day.
|