Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-04-28
4 FIEND'S FATE.
~, BLOODY BUTCHER OF NEBRASKA,
u..,,,y ofS. D. Richards-0ne Miserable
~ !. for the Lives Of Nine Victims
whom Ne Horribly Murdered.

,,,yrr NER. April 26.-Richards,
lv.braska murderer, which so much
'.L.ar =, said about, was hung at Min
=. E.arnry county, at ll:O1 o'clock
%,J.y. He mounted the scaHold with
.,sa.lv st p and stood facing the crowd
,v,nty.fye hundred people. The
sur, Ia q been erected on the pub
r..,rarr. 5 pen OF pine boards, IL feet
-. in which the execution was to
g,IslI the law OF Nebraska making
1t, execution necessary. AT noon
l.v tle mob tore the shed down and
,sys,ut;on was public. After mount
,t. s.gtIod he spoke 10 the crowd
.-ssr.pIiurtrs. ~ saving he was not Otguilty
a.. crime under which he was con-
Il, spoke with amazing firm
,rI aStoniShed everybody who
I.,-l him. When he finished prayer was
II'.I.anI 20 the aStOnishment Of every
L,ly Richards spiritual advisers said
- Kirhards requested everybody To |
-, linn I'm singing, There isa fountain |
:rIsftb blood and two verses Of the |
Am were sung. lie was then tied with |
-. anil straps, the moose adjusted |
".l,Ta b'1rS cap drawn down, he con- |
-, -r.,iuy am the time. The sheriff |
t.s..irg,. lever and he iell six feet. His |
- va, diSlucated and only the nerv- |
-. ,vifrhing OF his legs showed any |
s.,.HH.,y. lie died in ten minutes. The |
rrwI behaved well.
The Fiend's Crimes.
D. Richards was convicted on the !
-sE.i January Of the murder OF Peter |
Anderson near Lowell, on the 10th of |
L., n,rrmher. Richards suddenly APP |
r.t,-l I'm the ugighbOrhOOd OF the muir |
H. I'm October. and went 10 work on
N. hrm Ui Mrs. Sarah HARRISON, a |
g,,,..wii0w. whose husband was iu-
sryp from Justice The relations OF /
P-bgrl, and Mrs. HarlesOn were be-
Fs.r,I tl D., the same aS man and wife. |
Af.rt tg,. Ist Oh December Mrs. Harle- !
81 ami hrr three children, respectively |
sf,br siXaud two years OF age, dlSIp- |
u-rr-l from the neighbOrhOOd, and |
RrhlriS ave out that she had taken |
,h.rhlIlrru and gone 10 rcJOin her hus-
huFfr Texas. rs she had often talked |
dloiu. this, and Richards told very |
p.u>.nIc story OF having driven them |
D. Hastings. where they took the train |
I.tlt EI>, AMI South,
The Story was Believed.
Ua the gh oi December Anderson |
called at the llarleSOn house, where !
Richard, va. living alone, and, while |
th.n., Richards gave him cup OF tea
Rrrruiu. % his home, mile and hall |
aWIy. Anderson was taken violently ill, |
an expressed the belief that Richards /
IA! poisoned him. Being recovered the |
next morning. be went over and fatty |
acu,ad Richards of poisoning him. |
Rrhari, denied il and Anderson called |
huaI.ar Richards knocked him down |
an Anderson seized an AK and Rich |
arlsa heavy hammer; both men started |
hrrrh other Richards got in a blow |
an 0 Knocked the brains out Of Anderson |
Al once. lie then carried him down in !
20 the cellar ami covered the body over |
With straw and other rubbish. There |
WI. uY eve witnesses tO the deed, but |
tbs is
The Voluntary Confession
d Richards since the trial. Richards /
then hitrhej 4 span oj horses 70 a
wagon gui began loading the hOuse- |
hJli furniture upon il with the inten- |
upu %, leaving the country, as he says
TEl men, whom Anderson hal left at |
tbr huu>r from which he had come, see
iugthr-r movements, hadtheir curiosity !
ey..trI. aud went over % the llarleSOn |
hol,. They asked Richards where !
Anderson was. and he readily replied |
that be- WIS in the house ami would be
Uut presently. They asked him what
BE- was going 10 dO with Mrs
llIr.r,uu'S furniture, andhe replied that
byirc she had left for Texas, ne had
bought % ui her, and was going 10 haul
tutuVu and sell il. The men then
vent into the house in search of Ander-
suu, ami iuund his corpse, still warm,
buried as above. They Immediately
rushed ont o. give the alarm, and found
that Richards had unhitChed one OF the
hur,', from the wagon, and was securing
away Co the southwest. Tie hal
Too Much the Start
OF them Tor them 70 catch him hut they
a. uUor gave the alarm. Andcrson's
death a. once gave rise % suspicious
t1t Mrs llJrlc>uu and her family had
been iuul.y dealt with, ami after a short
s'IrrI tIr horrible fact was revealed
thl, he hal murdered the whole family,
hat ScunVci ont q shallow grave at the
e,.r U, q straw stack, dumped the
bthrS therein and covered them partly
With straw and dirt. They hal all been
Drained with hammer or other blunt
instrument This horrible discovery
aroused the whole country, and every
prrrJU,IUu was taken 10 track the muir
urrrr, tie had gone 10 the nearest
ru.rai station ON the Southwestern
kJi. however, and had gone % Red
Cloud.
On the Republican River,
an then had immediately turned about
Atr, amt rode back through the very
senr ut his murders. The officers of
Ur Gw We're accordingly hatlled for a
onr, hut soon got on his track, and sue
''e.ei, on the 2&d of December, IN ar
resting him al the town of Mount Pleas
Sl~ His Hthcr'S home, in Eastern Ohio.
',N "alAtlI Win TWO HtlltH NNtll
ue NaN arrested, and willingly gave him
sci mp, and such had been his previous
s''l standing IN that section that lew
people would credit the terrible tales
a',nt him. lie was speedily returned
70 Nebraska BY his captOrS, and his trial
OrIa0 az Mluien. in Kearney county,
e4'y IN JanuaIy, resulting in a convlc-
s1A' January 18th, of murder in the
1'S' degree. Judge Gaslin
Pronounced Sentence without Delay,
sMhs The wretch barely the lOl days
.. nHiya the law SAYS must take before the
sl'dy party shall be executed. Richards
"a. 80 thereupon brought down 90 the
s'3'e PRISON at Lincoln, where hc has
Any N.,' Deem confined iur safe keeping.
sna,oush the murder oi the HARRISON
,L.'E VAS infinitely more horrible than
Sll, oi Anderson, the evidence WAS not
al 80 the trial and conviction was
saIt It upon the murder Of Anderson,
I.' 'he iri0l wJs merely a iOrmality,
P,,TI' ant no defense was attempted.
w".h "4n'> drmcanor alter his capture
o. U'at 90 a man who had evidently
-, ''ll>eu mus Just where he expected to