The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-10-06
HIS FUNERAL rynE.
Awful Death Of n Notorious Negro -SctH
Fire 10 the jail aud II ,Durued Alive. a

RALEIGH, n. u, October 5.-Tho jill at
Nashville, Nash county, In which Jerry
Cox, notable as ono OF ihe most desperate
criminals ever known In tho State, was
confined under sentence OF death, WIS
fired by him lust night and entirely ides.
lroyed. About midnight people were
awakened by tho roar OF the flames, md
many hastened to the Jail, but on their ar.
rival they found the walls md bars glow
inE, red with heat, while tho murderer
within was screaming In his death agony.
In less than III hour, the jail was u mass Of
ruins Early this morning tho body Of
Cox was found and II great crowd stood
appalled, at tho terrible intc which bnd
overtaken tho brutal murderer. ~; / 81
Cox was ono Of the leaders in the famous
Worley murder. near Goldsl,oro, in the
early spring Of 1878. One night hu and
others Of gang Of desperate swamp ne.
gtoes murdered Mr.. Worley by beating out
his bruins, after cnticing him into the yard
OF his house. They then caught his wife
aa she run out on hearing tho dying groans
Of ! her husband, criminaly assaulted
her In tho presence Of her little children
and then beat out her brains with clubs
and left her Oh the floor OF her house in
pool Of blood. The whole State rang with
the story OF the crime, and utter Il hot pur.
suit the murdcrers were captured. Four
negroes were subsequently executed on
one .gallows ut Goldsboro, having been
convicted principally upon tho testimony
ol Jerry Cox, who, by turning States evi.
dence, escaped the gallows, but narrowly
missed lynching, and had 10 be removed
secretly by tho authorities. q L "a
For four years the whereabouts OF Cox
wins a mystery, but he finally made his ap.
peArance near Battleboro,. where, Oh No.
vember 10Th last, lie committed another
horrible murder. For n year, before that
time Cox, who. WIS a coal black negro of
most repulsivc form md figure, had lived
with degraded white woman named
Mary Hawkins. Madlencd by drink and
jealousy he on several occasions nearly
killed her, and she at all times performed
most. menial offices for him. He, having
pretended TO doubt her fai,hfulncss, met
her ono day at the house OF n negro woman.
They quarrelled, he struck her and then
went away. She followed him to where he
slept-unuer water tank--when lie took
her 10 n SECLUDED place near the railroad
trnck and cruelty murdered her. For hours
he watched by the side OF the body, and,
before daylight, placed it on the track OF
the Wilmington 4 Weldon railroad, where
the wheels OF n lightning express train
mansled it horribly, cutting of the head.
Tue station agent Saw the body, md, not
fur away, discovered Jerry Cox and the
negro woman watching. Cox, being inter-
rogatcd, said that the Hawkins woman had
walked on the track while drunk and thus
met her death. lle became greatly excited
and was ut once arrested.
At the trial the evidence OF Cox's guilt
was overwhelming, and in few minutes
after being charged the jury rendered q
verdict Of guilty OF MURDER" Cox was
accordingly sentenced to be banged at
Nashville, September 20, but took an up.
peal to the Supreme Court. While in Jail
Cox made desperate attempt to kill the
jailor. with n piece OF chain aud paddock.
lie was beaten into submission, but several
times afterward he broke chains and was
otherwise so violent that handouts could
not be kept on him. lie shouted out con.
tinually that the Lord broke his bonds.
Frequent threats Of lynching him were
made during imprisonment, rs the negroes
and whites alike hated and feared him. {;