The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1874-04-24
A SHOCKING pARRIc1DE.
A Son Kills his Father by Shooting
Him with Gun.

On last Friday evening most shocking MUIR
der occurred on the farm of Col. Geo. N. Les
ter, three miles from town. in which a son inn
bued his hands in the blood Of the author of his
being. The murdered man, Andrew Jones,
was a colored man 80 years old and tenant
farmer, and his son Andrew, II years old, was
his help. Himself wife and son, Were the sole
occupants of the cabin.
On the evening named, about o'clock, old
Andrew came home, after weary tramp, hav.
ing been out trying to buy mule to sup
ply the place of his horse that had broke his
neck the night before A nsighboring colored
woman was pl esent on his arrival, and he be-
gan to discuss the relative advantages and ais
advantages of mule and yoke of oxen which
he contemplated buying, The boy Andrew OBJ
ec,ed to buying the oxen and said he wouldn't
work them The old man intimated that he
was boss of that ''shebang"
About this time the visiting negro woman got
up to leave; they asked her to stay for supper,
but she declined and went to her cabin several
hundred yards distant, and.she had about got
home, when her husband, Blake, heard some
one calling him from the direction Of old An
drews house He went over there and found
old man Andrew PROSTATE ia the yard, bleeding
from wound to the right of the pit of the
stomach, near the fifth rib, gun was close
by him capped and loaded. Blake asked him
what was the matter and with great effort he
replied: 'My son Andrew has shot me-" He
said this three times and expired Blake car
ried the old man in the house and the old lady
was washing up blood on the floor, an indica-
ton that he had been shot in the house. His
wife and son both denied the statement Of the
dying man, and said that he fell on the ham
mer of his gun and killed himself"
Next morning they had stripped him OF his
clothes and We're preparing in haste to give
him burial. but Coroner NJ. T. Grist got wind
of the affair, and went with Drs. Cleland and
Tennent and had an examination OF the body,
The Doctors probed some six inches, and
thought it very strange that the hammer of
gun should make such deep hole. They
were not satisfied. and on opening the old man
they found several lead slugs. The old woman
was asked how come the lead to be in his
body. She in African jargon said, "She had
put dem leads on de lids OBJ de old mans eyes,
and she fore tink he musser swallow 'em -
Old Andrews clothes were then found and
there were the powder burnt holes through
them, establishing conclusive proof, with the
finding of the lead slugs, that the old man had
been shot with some kind OF a gun or pistol.
But the old negro woman said He must hab
burnt his clothes wild his pipe"
The cool Indifference exhibited by the old
woman and son was astonishing, in fact the boy
was heard to say, while the Doctors were cut
ting open his father, that "he was always max
ing trouble in de family. guess he neber do it
agin" They were persistent in their denial of
his having been shot and killed, but when an
officer took charge of the boy and was bring
ing him town, he then confessed to having shot
his father, to keep him from shooting him =
An inquest was held and the Coroners Jury
returned verdict finding Andrew Jones, Jr,
and Betty Jones as principals in the murder Of
Andrew Jones, Sr, and they were both put in
Jail.
The boy says his father was going to scald
his mother with pot Of hot coffee, and he tried
to prevent it, and his father then tried to shoot
him and he had to kill his father to save his
own life The Court will deal with the matter
and vther developments may be made.