Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-08-28
DIABOLICAL MURDER.

A short time ago, Willie Carter, a little son
of one of the engineers on the Wilmington and
Weldon Railroad, was found dead under one
of the bridges on that road, in the vicinity of
Wilmington, N. G. The coroners inquest has
developed the fact that the murder was COM
mitted by several little negro boys, and that
the crime was instigated by the step-mother
of the deceased lad. From one of the Will
mington papers, we quote the following:
On Saturday afternoon, the Coroner's jury,
together with the Solicitor and Sheriff, having
in charge the negro boy, David Martin, pro-
ceeded to the scene of the murder. The place
is encumbered with a thick undergrowth.
The water is almost black, and dense foliage
encumbers it banks. The path to the spot
crosses an ancient mill site, covered with thick
underground, where but one person can pass
at time. At the spot there is an opening
through the bushes, shelving downwards some
eight or ten feet. A tall pine towers up from
The very edge of the water at the foot of the
path. Beyond, the creek stretches for about
fifty feet, flowing in sluggish current, the
bottom gradually shelving down from the
bank until it attains depth of some fifteen
feet. On the right hand is the trestle work
of the railroad, where the body was found,
distance ofsome eighty yards. Standing near
this pine, the boy described the tragedy. Com
ing down by the railroad, he says, one of the
boys stopped and sharpened the blade of his
knife on the iron of the track, little Willie
walking ahead with the other boys. As they
approached the side of the creek winding along
through this path, the same boy cut short,
heavy sapling. The other boys picked up
rocks and bricks, great many of which are
scattered over the ground. Arriving at the
spot, Willie and Jimmie stripped off and got
in the creek. The other two staid on the
shore. When Willie got tired, he cameashore,
upon which they threw his clothes into the
creek. Willie went in again after them, after
some little alteration succeeded in Chamber.
ing up the bank, and had spread them out on
the bushes to dry, when he was struck over
the head with the stick several times, also on
the shoulder. Added by the blows, he stag.
gered to the brink and then Jimmie pushed
him in. The other boy, Billy, filled Willie's
breeches legs with stones, and the boys threw
these legs around Willie's neck as he was
struggling near the bank. The weight of the
stones carried him down. The boys sat there
on the bank watching some fifteen minutes,
till the bubbles ceased to rise, and they knew
he was dead. Then they took him by the
shoulders and dragged him by the hands upon
the bank and turned him on his back. One
of the boys, fastening his foot around sap
ling on the waters edge reached down and
with his knife multilated the corps, wrapping
the separated flesh in piece Of paper and
putting it in his pocket. They then took the
body, and, carrying it as far out as they could
wade, they pushed it into the stream. They
then attached the child's clothing to the
breeches legs and flung them out opposite the
tree as far as they could and sank them there.
When Willie was first struck on the head,
David says Willie said, "I'll 60 home and tell
my ma" One of the boys said, "You ma got
US to do it." David says he sat down at the
head of the bottom close by, where large
tree had been cut down and lies, while these
things were going on. ..
The coroners jury rendered verdict "that
the deceased, Willie Carter, came to his death
at the hands of Elijah Martin, David Martin,
Jimmie Anderson and Billy Merrick, through
inducements held out by Elizabeth Carter"