The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-03-11
.,,oc1,xNa oCCURRENcEz IN LOUISA
COUNTY.
,,ruorsE AND DWELLING BURNED
So r,'r TENANT LITERALLY BURNT uf--
''n,nsED F1ENpIsH ROBBERY, lNcEN-
r,,RIsM. AND MURDER.
rve,ortcd for the D!spatch.1
LOUISA COURTHOUSE, VA,
March lG, 1879.


March &c, 1879.
.,,oSs ond ouietudc of the Sab
,.'h.aay was broken mere !es'e'u"! 49, 49,
haih,1'Hs NV most shocking report from
c' ",~ about eight miles south OF tins
Vance! which created such interest that
place. az" citizens were soon on thciF
many ~ o| .corc Of the dreadful occurrence.
way 10 ~, was that the storchouSe ana
/ ne w. Mir. Charles H.. alton 1lao
GWeh'"S n,o,clr consumed by hre some
been co"r', saturday night. ana thae ir.
time "N't"2s hcrn literally burnt up-tne
Walton n'" .,osition being that he haa pecn
general >Hr I'D The building then hreo 10
murdc,r"' r " M the tiendi>h dcco. ~
oTdcr l" o. SoTriyrd here in quest OF liiaSls-
mc>>c. s.,5 iurv Of inquest. Accoro;hS.s
tEa'' "', W- T,lIEy. magistrate, maze nas,e
Mr.. \. - the scene, and Messrs' H. NJ.
- !tlII"r p. BeadlcS, II. =. CammacT, VI,
Da I.%noon, ". II. Young. and ): L.. jones
' l., summoned rs The jury OF ma N.Y.,
V War;, correspondent. decminS II ms "" ~,
'' ,'',,r rer,,ar correspondent here, a'>o >o'
Cor the scene OF the shocking oco"A-
renee, v,,corvi,lc about 4 o'clock.
A'I',I GREAT crowd present. drawn
we n1,. The report Of the dreadful event.
NM MY NOD Nowu, rs il by electric wire, TAT
Why" ""N Many others had come and re-
anu nI" - ,hrir homes during the day.
'"I m,' ;oo,jrcs the following facts were ell
cited: ,. p,r, DING. &C.
AZ charles X. Walton. an industrious
N'' ,,nrnri.inc merchant, Kept dry
a. 4. a,d grocery store in the building. lie
coro> III" and slept in an adjoining
N"S ',I,, .,orc-room. The house was Il
I"r,. I ", onc-alSo 4 very old one.
DISCOVERY or THE FIRE.
The fire was first discovered by coso.eu
r,a, living some two hundred YARDS OH III
,Ia,,t1 o'clock sunday morning. ne S!"'c>
nv saw the light shining on the trees III iiol'.
n the nuildirg he lives hehlau ~. "," ''
nnre recognized the fact that the ou''ai"@
waS airc. lie gave The aiaF!l sPI:u"s,
which awakened Mr.. r. y. Sn'iN'i' '''lAoH
~ Y9nccyviiIc. who, running OH Il. "n.I,
discovered the flames. lie >'Artcu ~ '"c
hn,lluc. but. remembering that Nc VI
',,.5,r WAS in the Storc-room. stocd oil
!" ,~, distance awaiting its explosion. 1t
.y,Iodri, making 4 loud report, which was
I,>srd for miles around, and scattering
.i,;ns. considerably The tire was not dis
...rret in fImc 20 allow OF any efforts 10
~tno building or any OF lis contents.
THE HORRIBLE SIGHT.
After tie building lad been consumed
and the tire died out pretty much ii most
Inrrill. si~ht met the eyes OF these pres
ont and one which was feared and ant!ci-
,.T,ad. .. Mr.. Walton had not been seen 1t
~ and il WAS known he slept in The build
inr-t.gat Of charrcd portions OF tn" body
~ iIr. Walton lying among the de5r!S.
Trr norton 0! the body from neck to waist
va. tir>, sren. Portions Of arn-bonc>, &c.
were subsequently found, and the skull,
lo,rn today. has also been found. The po-
,,jon al the body was in tie basement ltn-
,aadi9,rv under where the bed OF the de-
ra,spd stoad. face down. and TO the posi-
linn Of tie foot of The bed. The remains
were conveyed into 4 house rear by.
The inrv were sworn in and examined
tho remains. II was suggested that as the
iurv might wish 10 ask some questions
which would probably be ineXpcdicnt to
s>L in the presence Of the large asscmblagc
lrclatjve 10 the suspicion Of murder), 1t was
orlcred that the room be cleared except the
witnesses. which was done.
The iurr will return ayerdict rs follows:
The deceased came TO his death from
causes unknown TO the jury"
In support OF the theory OF foul play 1t
is strongly argued that deceased could have
certainly made egreSS in case OF the build
iug having accidentally caught. His bed
was near door. and also 4 window. lie
time Of night the fire occurred is also argued
for the suspicion Of foul play. Mr.. Walton
was peaceahe, good-naturcd man, and it
i not known that any one had any grudge
against him. It is known that he had be-
tween two and thrcc hundred dollars IN
money III the store. and 1t l. strong
IL presumed that he was murdered.
TIE store robbed, and then the building
fred II i one OF those cases, however,
where the truth is not easily arrived at-no
one being IN the building except the de-
cc,sed-aud it may ever be involved IN myS-
terry. Ii is possible that Il lamp exploded
and he was too badly burned at once to
make his escape. He is known to have sat
M till after midnight reading sometimes.
But whether an accident or the hendlsh
crime it i generally presumed to have been,
il was an occurrence most horrible to think
Of; and il the latter. it is TO be greatly
hoped that the old saving - Murder Will
out ?" may prove a faithful one in this case
and the gallowS would be too deserving for
the TEND who would commit such triple
crime.
Great sympathy and sorrow characterized
the many friends and acquaintance of the
deceased rs they gathered around the
cbarrcd and cri>ped remains. and hearts
swellcd with indignation at the bare thought
o! his having been so brutally murdered.
The feelings of the poor old gray-haired
father az he gozcd upon all left OF his dear
son, may more easily be imagined than
described.
rs before stated, nothing was saved from
ihe building The goods in the store were
Insured, am told. To what amount cam
not say. d.
PETER SBIJRG.