Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1879-09-12
Shocking Murder BY . Boy.

The most remarkable tragedy of the day
has occurred at Waynesville, q small Qua
ker village in Warren county, Ohio. Mrs.
HATTIE lived in Waynesvllle, with Willie
Anderson, her son by divorced husband,
a lad 1s years of age. With her were stay
ing, temporarily, her sister. Mrs. Clemen-
tine Meeks, of Cincinnati, and twelve
wear old daughter of the latter. A tele-
gram from Cincinnati. dated the 4th.
inst. says:
One week ago last night, neighbOrs of
the family heard screams issuing from the
house, but little attention was paid to the
fact. On Sunday morning the boy Willie
left Waynesville for Cincinnati. The
same day persons passing the house MOTTO
ed an offensive smell coming therefr0m.
Yesterday afternoon 1t became SO PAD that
the marshal ventured to open one OF the win
dows, when the stencil became horrible.
On entering he found the room In confu.
sion and two dead bodies, one on bed
and the other under it. A further search
revealed third body in the back room,
and all were in an advanced stage OF de-
composition, while the head of one in the
| front room bad been eaten by the rats un-
til the hair and scalp were all gone. The
bodies were unacceptable except by the
garments. The mother and child lay in the
| front room, and Mrs. HATTIE in the back
room near lounge. The latter was COW
cred with a tick, and the head was badly
mutilated. The victims had evidently re-
tired, the little girls pallet lying on the
| floor near tho window board, stained and
tumbled, while the child lay on the bed,
partially covered with clothes. The poor
mother had crowded under her bed to die.
| Her arm was Rashed with blows from q
Ratchet, as if it had been put up to protect
her head.
! Suspicion was at once attached to the
boy, whose peculiar conduct toward the
close of the week had been noticed. 1t
appeared by testimony before the coroner
to-day that he had left the house on Tues
day night and spent the rest of tho week
| at hotel. He was seen, however, several
| TIRES going back to the place, and the dis
covery of q dime novel, which had been
lent him on Saturday, lying by his mo-
theirs side shows that he must have spent
some time in the house as late as Saturday
night. aAai .es e
It appears that after leaving Waynes.
vile Sunday morning he came to Cincin-
natl, where his father, Daniel r. Ander-
son, is living. He stopped at q hotel here
over night, and visited his father. Last
I ulKuU u6 I6SO1V0A w kO U&CA w Gu0 0C0u0 VI
the tragedy, whether with the intention of
confessing the deed or of putting a bold
face upon the matter, is not known. He
had no money. and being unable to pay his
fare, was put off the train at Plainville, q
few miles from Cincinnati. He went to q
hotel, but was refused admittance, not
having money to pay for his lodging,
| Nothing more was seen Of him until
O'Clock yesterday, when he was found on
coal heap near the station with bullet
through his head, and his right hand grasp.
ing 32-calibre pistol. He had been dead
several hours.
The motive Of the lad in committing
the terrible crime can only be surmised
He was living apparently on good terms
with his mother and aunt, and was regar.
ded in the village and in the printing Office
where he worked as a peaceable boy. The
only theory which affords a clue to thu
mystery is that he acted for or with hii
father. Mrs. HATTIE was married to An
derson when she was sixteen years old.
She was pretty girl, and in her lattel
years was regarded as handsome woman
After the birth of the son difficulties arose
and divorce followed. The woman wal
married to Mr.. HATTIE, who died not long
| ago in an insane asylum. The theory o.
the detectives is that Anderson is in some
| way implicated in the murder, and that
Mrs. Meeks and her daughter were killed
because they were witnesses of the deed.