The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-11-06
-, enr ,ho Richmond pispalehl

y, tho most shocking ana Dendlsh c'iUNs
I,oo,yn a. Virginia annals-the premedi'
',e,IG and cold.blooded murder, for bHby
, ,s'." 90 ono Of I.ouisa's esteemed mcr-
~, cifizops. which deed was COMMITTED
-, the cover OF night IN the NlcIim's
orsr homo. his property pundered' ana
St, honSe burned down over ms NE
Is remains. The history OF ih's
crimc and remarkable case, lnclud'ng
tnil report OF the crime. The arrest Oh III
icced pevpctrstols thereof, Mhcbeh pu@,
ling course in cOnfe>sln2 cotDp"cI'! "nu
imnlicating accomplices, reiracuoh anu uew
confession, ingenious escape ifom !ln anu
si,guIar c,niure. &C., have been reported
in the Dispatch, but a resume 'neIeo, "
connection with report OF Tue execution
Is appended.
HISTORY OF THe CRIME.
Thcre is situated about eight miles south
from this town a little lace Known rs an
co,vUlc. One or two stores, 4 church Ouliu-
ia, ori.i.mill. backsmilh's shop, and q few
d~elline.houscS compose The place. IL Is
rho ln,le commercial centre. 50 TO speak, OF
,he surrounding country. For number
Of wears preceding aud up to me Time OF
the commission OF this crime Mr. Charles IA,
Walton. a bighly-respccted ana eSteeuieu
citizen, kept general nctchuhu'sc SUN
here. which chiefly supplied The neighbor-
hood with dry goods, groceries, ~ ana
was market for the country produce oI
the section. Walton was unmarried. ana
hence kpui. In common parlance, bachelors
bsu mi, store and clearinghouse were
under the same roof. The building being an
old.fashjoncd framed one. two stories high
and a basement. and containing seven or
eight rooms. He had hi, cooking done on
the PREMISES. aud bis bedroom was on the
s,mc floor with the >tOre-rOom, running
uarallcl with and opening into II. No one
1.uolly ,lcpt in the building but wal
ton. and the nearest clearinghouse
was several hundred yards oil. On
the morning Of February 3. 1879,
about I O'Clock The citizen, Of tde place ana
vicinity Wcrcawakcncd % find the fre-hend
in their midst. Waljou's building was dis.
covered 10 be in a blaze, and the fire had
made such Roadway before discovery that
an efforts ut eXiinguishing It were seen to
De ffuitloss at q glance. IL being generally
known that Walton slept in the building,
and he being nowhere seen, fears soon be-
con 10 be manifested that he was IN HE
runs: bot tue intense heat prevented any
near approach thereto, and hence no ehJrt
could be made to ascertain the fact so much
dreaded. As soon as approach TO the ruins
was possible, all eyes were concentrated on
the df}ris 10 ascertain whether these awful
fea,s we're to be indeed realized, and soon
A MOST HORRIBLE SIGHT
met The gaze OF all present That portion
Of a human body from waist 10 neck, all
burnt and charred, was seen lying in the
smouldering ruins. and there was no longer
any doubt that poor Walton had persisted.
By sunrise that morning a sufficient guam
tity Of water had been thrown on the spot
where the body Law to admit Of its being
reached and lifted ont. II was conveyed TO
a nciebbOring bar, and messenger dis
pgiched 10 this town for a magistrate snd
coroner's jury. The jury OF inquest were
sworn in and examined the body, but
deferred rendering verdict in the hope OF
furthur and more satisfactory evidence.
The know ledge OF The fact that the deceased
had several hundred dollars in the house
which he had fixed up Saturday with bis
papeTs 10 bring to this town on Monday
(c0uIt.day) to pay out and send OF,
and the fear that this fact might in
some way have been found out by some
murdtrouS villain who determined 20 pro-
cure the money, intensified the suspicion
OF foul play. and hearts swelled with lndig-
nation at the bare thought OF 50 heinOus a
crime. The feeling, OF the poor old gray
haired father rs he gaZed upon the mar
gled, burned, ana charred remains Of his
dear son, may better bc imagined than de-
Scrbed. In a few DAYS the debris Of the
burned building had been thoroughly over
hauled, and as the utmost care was OBJ
served in this To obtain some clue by which
the mystery could be unraVeiled, the result
WA, the finding OF evidence strongly tending
10 prove murder. The spring OF the pat
ent alarm cash. dTaweT was found and
demonstrated the fact OF this drawer
having been forced open, and an eighty
pound weight was found ont Nf lis place
and living near this spring, indicating that
il had been used IN forcing open the
drawer. Other circumstances OF a like
nature were observed, but conclusive evi.
dtnce Of murder was loon found in the dis
cOvery OF the tray Of the eaSh.dr@wer in an
Old field about fifty yards from the site OF
the burned building. The corOner's jury
now returned "A verdict that the deceased
came TO his death by violent means at the
hands Of some unknown party or parties.
The people OF the ncIahbOrhOod, aud, IN
fact, Of the county AT large, determined to
spare no pans OF labor 10 ferret ont the
perpetrators OF The dendi>h deed; but Tor
some weeks all efforts in this direction
seemeddOomed 10 be frustrated. Suspicion
attached to young colOred msn who hsd
frequently been employed by the deceased
on his premises, and 10 WaltOn's cook, q
cOlOred woman, but no clue could be OBJ
tanned 10 them. A circumstance occurred
during the progress OF sitting the ashes OF
the burned building which threw great
suspicion on the colOred man just referred
TO, but was not sufficient TO warrant his ar
rest This was the fact az this mans find
ing in the ashes a gold ring worn by the
deceased, which, when presented by him,
was bright, aud had no appearance OF hav.
ing been in tne fire. Many were OF the
opinion that this ring had been taken
from WaltOn's hand by this party,
add that he merely pretended TO
find it in the ashes in order to
create the impression that the occurrence
occasioning WaltOn's death was an accident.
The Governor OF Virginia offered 500 re-
ward for the detection and arrest OF the
guilty parties. Richmond detectives
MeSsrs. Knox and WTen-were obtained TO
work up the ease.
HE FIRST ARRESTS, AND MifCHELL's CONFESS
SION.
On the 22d OF March the two detectives
named, together with Captain James M. Ty-
Ter, ex-City Sergeant Of Richmond city. a
constable and special coDstaDles, arrested
i've parties in the nelghborhood OF Yancey-
Vile, Mitchell and the suspected two re-
ierred 10 william Talley and Eliza jackson
by names) being OF the number, and the
Other two being arrested chiefly TO obtain
some evidence as TO these three. The ar
rested parties bad to be hurried of to Jail,
so intense was The excitement in the neigh