Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-03-17
aOLLY BOND
The Trial Of Ms Case...A Brief DcsCrlD.
tloR Of His Crime.

tIOR Of His Crime.
The case Of Golly Bond for the un,
provoked murder of Mr.. L. S. Hill, q
prominent farmer living some seven
miles north of Shelby depot, in this
county, is called for trial to-day be-
fore Judge Eldridgc at Bartlett. II
is stated that Bonds plea will be in
sanity. The killing of Hill, which
occurred in January, 1877, was one Of
the most horrible in all the annals Of
crime, and the murderer exhibited a
reckless brutality in regard to it which
has no parallel on record, even among
savages. Mr.. Hill had never wronged
Bond in the slightest degree. His only
offense was that he offered objection to
the reckless Bond marrying his 49,
year-old daughter Betty. The latter,
it has been stated, had been engaged
to Bond, but the young lady broke of
when her father interposed his objec-
tons. Mr.. Hill was a quiet, well-to-
do and peaceably disposed citizen, and
the people of his neighborhood held
him in high esteem. Bond, on the
other hand, was a reckless daredevil,
whose time was chiefly passed about
cross roads groggeries or in useless
purposes. Some three days before the
killing, Golly came to this city and
procured a license to marry Miss Hill.
Upon leaving the train at Shelby he
was seen to swing the license paper in
the air and say he would marry Miss
Betty Hill or he or her father would
be in hell within forty-eight hours.
Bond appeared in front of Hills
house in broad daylight, saw Betty
Hill at an upstairs window, fired
upon her with a double barreled shot
gun, missed his aim, and then shot
her father in the head through the
window down stairs with the other
barrel of the same gun. While Mrs.
Hill, who was to become a mother
within a brief period, was leaning over
the body Of her wounded husband,
Bond rushed into the house and emp
tied several chambers of his revolver
into the PROSTATE body, killing Hill
outright. He also threatened to kill
Mrs. Hill. He then took the girl by
the arm, and forced her to accompany
him on foot to the Rev. Mr.. Nickel
berry's residence, a mile or so away.
The wife of the minister, seeing the
pair approach, suspected something
wrong and hid her husband in a
smoke-house. Bond threatened to kill
the preachers wife unless she told
where her husband was. He, how
ever, became frightened at the appear
nee of a young mar named Persons,
compelled the latter to dismount, took
his horse and left for parts unknown.
1t has since been disclosed that Bond
crossed Hatchie river and afterwards
returned home, where he remained
hid for six weeks. Money was then
procured by his father, the murderer
left for Louisiana, his whereabouts
were discovered, and in November,
1877, some eight months after the
killing, he was captured, brought here
and lodged in Jail. He at once began
the role of a crazy man, and has en-
deavored to keep it up at intervals
ever since. Miss Betty Hill, the
innocent victim of the trouble. is
described as a handsome and very
worthy young lady. Her happiness
has been destroyed by the tragedy,
and is in constant dread of injury at
the hands of Bond, who threatened on
numerous occasions to kill her. She
went to relatives in Alabama after
her fathers tragic murder, and re-
NAMED there until Golly Bond was
placed in Jail, since which time she
has resided with her mother at the
homestead place.