The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-07-30
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b We published q few. fays since, In our
New Kent corresponds arshort account
| Of t6e murder 81 q citizen named Rosss 10
|IMiddlesex county. Our Middiessx CORES,
l'pondent furnishes us with the following ad-
ditienal details OF this horrible afair "a, IA
| A. deed of atrocious ard daring murder,
parallel to any ever committed IN Virginia;
was enacted In Middlesex county, Va, op
Sunday morning, duly, 49,, 1874, about .
o'clock. A man by the name of Ross, living
at Parrott's creek, visited Delghbor, about
q mile of, to breakfast: after which, as the
family desired to attend Sunday school, Ross
| lefp Go return to bis house on the creek. du
passing down path through an open ield,
ION one side Of Which were thick bushes and
underground, and about half Way to the
creek, he was shot through the heart With
nine buckshot from gun In the hands of
parties concealed in the bushes. AS Ross
was an unmarried man, and lived entirely to
himself in small house built on piles driven
down in the creek some distance from the
shore, his absence. between the time. of bis
terrible murder and the fortunate discovery
of the dead body, was not remarked. 81
THE DISCOVERY OF TIE BODY.
Tuesday afternoon following the murder
two men coming in the creek from fishing
saw just on the surface Of the water human
| foot, They attempted to pull the body up
| BY the foot, but found that it was fastened
| to the bottom Of the river. They then stuck
an oar down in the mud and made the foot
- hot snrbf
| body when they returned. They came
ashore and informed two men, Rufus Fisher
and James Wallace (Wbose names will APP
pear black and eXecrable as our narrative
proceeds), of the discovery Of the dead body.
But these men, instead of Offering their as
sistance in getting up the body, said or did
nothing in the matter, rez
The next day being court-day, the parties
! who had found the body in the river went
| to court and reported the fact, Immediately
| upon receiving the information, and bearing
that Ross was missing, Mr.. Robert q. Nc
KaW, friend and confident OF Ross, sent for
Mr.. Scott, q magistrate, and they, with the
| assistance of several other men, proceeded TO
| the creek, and securing a boat, went out to
| the dead body. After some difficulty they
| succeeded in getting it to the surface of the
| water. They toWed the body in the creek,
| and placed it in the house which Ross occu-
pied, stationing two men TO guard it until a
| coroner,s inquest could be held.
! TIE INTENTION TO DESTROY TIE BODY :.
| was clearly shown by the horrible and brutal
precautions evident upon its recovery. The
| murderers flor several are proven TO be i'm
i plicated), in order, to cover up all trace OF
/ the body and clue TO their crime, determined
4 to bury it in the river, so that the crabs and
/ fish might destroy it. An inquest was. had
| as speedily as possible, and one of the party
who assisted in bringing the body TO shore
testified as follows: We found the, body in
the river off the mouth of the creek, anchor
cd with an old plough-casting aud other
4 pieces Of iron tied around the neck, and a
rock weighing twenty five or thirty pounds,
wrapped and tied UP in a piece'o new cot;
| ton cloth, fastened TO one foot, The hands
| were tied together with a pail, Of suspendersI
and mixed flannel shirt. a pair of pants
were tied to the iron around the neck. The
articles of clothing found on the body were
easily identified as those worn by, Ross on
the morning of the murder. ;g.r.. s,r,.,.,
CONDITION OF THE BODY WHEN FOUND. 4
AS the body had been at the bottom of the
river from Sunday night Until the Wednes-t
day evening following, it was 10 a state of
great putrefaction ); besides, the crabs. bad
been feeding Oh 1t. having iaten out the eyes,
mouth, and nose. The abdomen bad been
cut open, SO that the intestines protfuded.
/ A post nlorten examination was held Uy DR..
| ". b. GatewOod, who testified as follows:
Il viewed the body Of John W. Ross after
It was taken from the water. Found nine
Duckshot wounds, from a shotgun, imme-
diately over the region Of the heart, and one
through the left shoulder. These wounds
were sufficient to produce death. Besides,
| there were two incisions Que on either side
| of the abdomen-about six inches long. He
could not have lived more than few mo-
ments after receiving these wounds"
$50 THE INQUEST.
| Great excitement prevailed throughout the
entire community as soon as the murder was
discovered. The citizens collected from fur
and near, expressing their indignation at the
committaI of so dastardly i crime in their
midst, and with the full determination to
bring the murderers to justice. coroner's
Ejury of twelve men was empanneiled and
q great many witnesses summoned. The
examining and cross.eyamining of witnesses
has been going on without intermissiou since,
last Thursday, July %. The evidence i'm
tplicates several white men and a family Of
negroes named Robinson, consisting OF three
women anda young negro man a bout twenty
years of age. Much difficulty was expert
| enced on the part of the attorney for the
| Common wealth TO arrive at The truth. But
finally, after being submitted for several days
to a rigid crosS-examination conducted by
| Thomas Jones, Esq, commemorative AT
torney for Middlesex county, assisted by
Mr.. Robert Montague and Brown Evans,
the negro Ben Robinson revealed the secret
| of this awful crime. ,----~--
| BEN RoBlNsoN'sl CONFESSION. @
| az made q statement yesterday which ]
know was entirely wrong. Now / will tell
you all about it.. met Mr.. Rufus Fisher
Sunday morning, July 10, at the red gate at
the turn of the road. MIR. Fisher said,
WE HAVE PUT ROSS OUT OF THE WAY,
aud we want you to help us tonight After
a full understanding with Mr.. Fisher !
agreed to help him TO make way with the
body. i went back home, passing directly
by where Mr. Ross body was lying con-
cealed in the bushes. When I.got TO where
L knew the body was pulled my hat down
on the side of my face to prevent me from
seeing it. The body was only a few steps
from the path, and was covered with bushes.
met Mr.. Fisher and Mfr. James Wallace at
the red gate ct IL O'Clock Sunday night, July
10, according to my agreement with Mr.
| Fisher In the morning. Went from the gate
TO where the dead body of Mr.. Ross was.
I PULLED THE BODY OUT OF THE BUSHES,
tied his hands together with his (Ross's) sus-
penders. tied bis feet together with piece
of rope. Mr.. James Wallace and myself
carried the body. down to the creek on rail,
Mr.. Fisher going short distance ahead OF
us. In carving him through the woods one