The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-12-08
STILL ANOTHER.
THE TERRIBLE MURDER AT CLO-
VERDALE.
Well Worn Insanity Dodge
Enacted by the Murderer.
A VIVID

A VIVID DESCRIPTION. $500
AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE AFFAIR
BY A SENTINEL REPoRTER-wHICH TELLS
THE WHOLE STORY.
The Sentinel OF the I'd contained a telegram
giving the general facts in regard to the
murder of his wife by George Martin. a
weil-to-do farmer of Putnam county, living
fourteen miles from Greencastle. Yes
terday the inquest was held, and
the following additional facts learned:
Riley Staunton, at whose house the tragedy
occurred, testified as follows: We were all
converslng in the room, and Martin got into
a passion with his wife and made some
charges against her, which she denied. He
asked her to give him the child and he
would give her 500, but she refused to give
the child up. He then offered her $500 if
she would go to Greencastle and get a di-
vorce. and he would pay all ex-
penses. To this she made no
answer. Martin then offered me FIVE dollars
if / would take his wife to Greencastle next
morning, but she refused TO go. He gave
her some minutes to consider the PROPOSE
tons. On her again refusing, he drew his
pistol and, putting it within a
FOOT OF HER HEAD,
fired, and she died instantly. This &C.
Cured about 8 o'clock Sunday night.
1 then jumred up and attempted
to catch him, when he drew a knife and cut
through my vest and two shirts, Just
scratching the skin, and also cut me badly
on the hands, and then ran out the door.
Naomi ~Staunton, wife of Riley Staunton,
corroborated his testimony in all respects,
and added the following: When Martin
said he wanted a divorce, his wife said, ''If
gge er %ant wat to ,,g go, g0;@ HE He told told
wouldn't live with her another day or nigh t
and she should get no more of his money.
He then asked her if she had been a dutiful
wife and mother, and she said she had. He
drew a pistol and asked her to admit that
she had not been faithful, and she said: I'll
die first.
Mrs. Staunton then followed, to the same
effect as the testimony of her husband.
DIR. r. G. Huntington, of Cloverdale, who
made the examination of the corpse said:
The ball from the pistol entered the left
parietal bone and ranged diagonally to base
of skull and lodged in the right occipetal
bone. No marks of violence on the head
beside the wound. which 1 should
judge to have been made by
a wound of that kind would cause instant
death. The examination was made on Tues
day, Dec. 1.
1t was also shown in evidence that when
Martin left Staunton's he went to Tom
Morgan's, about two and a half miles dis
tant, where he arrived between 10 and IL
O'Clock. He told Morgan thai
HE HAD SHOT HIS WIFE,
but did not know whether he
had killed her, and would give
him five dollars to say nothing about it. He
would also give Morgan ten dollars if he
~r0,1I q fnI ont 20 hic uifa mos looI onI
meet him at a certain church near by and
tell him. Martin from here went to Mr..
Flanigan's, and stayed all night. He reached
! Cloverdale Monday morning and bought a
quart of whisky, on which he got drunk
and went to Mike COINS, where he was ar
rested at 1880 A. M, by John Brothers, con-
stable of the township, who kept him in the
upper story ofthe Central House. In an
WITH MARTIN
at the Jail be told the reporter the main
facts in his life. He was born in Morgan
county, KY, July ID, 1887. In 1861 he went
into the army as a volunteer in the Twenty
second Kentucky infantry, from which he
was discharged on the 18th day Of
November, 1865. He then came to
Putnam county, Ind, and shortly afterward
married a Miss Bradstreet, a young lady Of
excellent family and considerable property,
She died April III, 1872, leaving a girl baby
with his bro~ther-in-law. After her death
he hired a widow woman, Mrs. Caps
who had several children, to keep house for
him. He soon afterwards became engaged
to an old maid, Elizabeth Bule, but go
tired of her, and induced Mrs. Capps to give
him her daughter Nancy, aged Ia, for his
wife and married her on the 9th of March,
1873. He says they got along very nicely
with the exception of a few troubles with
his mother-in-law. When asked concerning
the death of his wife he played the in
sanity dodge and said she was al
home, and he wanted to go Ito her, as he
didn't like to have her stay all alone at
night. When asked why he wasin Jail with
handouts on, he came close TO the
grating in the door and whispered:
"In tell you the truth about
it. / am in here because I killed Jim. Aker
when we were playing cards at Jim.'s house
last night. He struck me first and l shot
him in self-defence,
SHOT HIN
with a revolver, and don't know whether
he is dead or not"
He talked very sensibly upon every sub
ject but the death of his wife, but the mo-
ment that was touched he played the insane
game.
Persons who are acquainted with the MUIR
derer and his late wife say that for some
time he treated his wife very well, but
since the birth of a child, about seven
months ago, he has become estrangled
and endeavored to get rid OF her by cruelty
and abuse of all kinds. Soon after the mar
riage, Elizabeth Rule, to whom he had
been previously engaged, sued him for
breach of promise and the suit was COM
promised by his paying her $500. About three
weeks ago he decided to remove to Nation,
Ill and sold his farm, but his wife would not
sign the deed until compelled to do SO by
cruel beatings. They shipped their goods to