Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-05-28
A ND VALLEY ADVERTIS-
HORRIBLE MURDER.

4 : I. ss5 Il II g.
One Of the most brutal and cold
blooded murders which we have re-
corded fora longtime was pefpetrated
on the premises cf Mr.. Frank. I. Lee,
about one and a half miles from this
city, last Saturday night, .he particulars
Of which, smear as we have been able
to ascertain them, are about as follows:
Jane Coleman, colored woman en-
ployed as cook at Mr. Lees has for
some time lived very unhappify with
her husband, Richard Coleman. and
their mutual dislike has frequently pro
dnced heated quarrels, sometimes end
ing in blows 1t is said that these dis
pntes arose f1om jealousy, and also.
from the wife's habit of managing her
finauGial affairs iii her own way, and
laying I'D money for future needs, in
stead of dividing with her husband as
he wished her to do. A quarrel oc-
cured Saturday night resulting in the
horrible death of the wife. The family
Of Mr.. Lee were at supper in the dining
room, when a servant went to the
kitchen and immediately returned,
telling Mi. Lee that the kitchen was
fill of smoke. The gentleman hast
ened to the kitchen and saw, upon
opening the door, that there was a
light up stairs. Ascending the stairs
MIR. Lee saw an object wrapped in a
bed quilt, lying on the floor, and en-
veloped in flames. There were two
buckets of water in the room, and with
this he succeeded in putting out The
fire, when he discovered that the OBJ
ject was the dead body Of the cook,
wliose head had been beaten almost
into a Jelly With some heavy instru-
ment, supposed to Have been a bar of
iron, which was found lying on the
floor, though some of the cuts had the
appearance of having Been made with
a Ratchet: There were sixteen wounds
on the head; either Of which would
have been fatal, besides several on
other parts Of her bodv The quilt in
which the body was wrapped had beer
saturated With KEROSENE oil before being
set ON fire, ana one leg and one arm Of
the murdered woman were burned
almost to crisp.
The intelligence of the tragedy
spread rapidly among the negroes In
the vicinity, and considerable crowd
soon gathered on the premises Richard
Coleman, the husband OF the murder,
ed woman, is said to have come upon
the scene soon after the alarm was
given, and to have inquired with great
apparent inhecence, "what all that ex-
element was about2' 1t does not APP
pear that he eyinced any emotion from
first to last. Although he was suspect
ed of being the murderer, be was not
arrested until Sunday morning, when
large number of colored people of the
neighborhood, confident Of his guilt,
determined to hang him, without wait
ing for the slow process of the courts.
Accordingly they provided rope. and
undoubtedly have made short work of
it, had not constable arrived and
placed Coleman Under arrest. He was
lodged in the city Jail for a safe keep
ing until yesterday morning, when he
was taken to Jail at Campbell Court
House The constable thought it
prudent to summon an assistant to
bring Coleman to the city, fearing that
the infatuated mob would oyerpower
him and lynch the prisoner anyhow
A large njtinber Of them followed Cole
man to the Jail door, .yowing that
he should be hung, regardless Of con
sequences. ..
When Coleman was arrested the
evidence Of his guilt was conclusiyely
shown BIZ the spots of blood on his
sleeve and shirt bosom. Some of the
spots had the appearance of having
been lightly spriakled or spattered,
and others were much larger. He had
attempted to wash out, some of the
larger stains, but failed When it
becanie necessary to remove the body
from the floor to a bed, it is said the
negroes compelled Coleman to lift it,
and that he evinced great terror, ran
from the room, and fell on his face in
the yard. When asked to account for
the fresh blood on his clothes, he said
his nose had bled several days ago, and
that was the only way he could account
for it. s..
An inquest was held on the body of
the deceased Sunday, when the testi
mony taken was substantially as above
stated, and verdict was rendered that
the deceased came to her death by
blows on the head, inflicted with some
murderous instrument in the hands of
Richard Coleman.
Upon the redition of this verdict
Coleman was committed for trial
The murdered woman, we learn, was
a native Of Rappahannock county, Va,
where her relatives now reside. Her
remains were inferred yesterday at the
old Methodist burning ground, in
presence ola large crowd of colored