Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-01
THE AWFUL CRIME
For Which the Negro Sandy Matthews
viii be Hanged Tomorrow
He is to Expiate
A Brutal Murder, the Details Of Which
Form One Of the Most FOrbiddiDg
Chapters in Memphis Annals.

The deed for which Sandy Matthews is to
be hanged tomorrow was, perhaps, the most
bloody in the manner Of execution, brutal in
conception and beastly in inspiration known
in the annals of crime. All the instincts OF
a brutal nature came spontaneous and die
tated and directed the deed, and Ignorance
inspired a confession which alone fastened
his guilt. Sandy Matthews is a negro, black,
of large frame Of body, and in endurance be-
trays all the impulses of his inhuman nature;
an absence of intellectual capacities, and full
development of the usual, brutal condi-
ton from which, according to the Darwinian
theory, he has progressed but step or two.
Sandy Matthews had been in the employ of
Mr.. w. w. Coleman, a prosperous farmer
living near Lucy, this county, station on
the Memphis and Paducahsfoad, some six
teen miles north of Memphis. He had for
long time been spotted as the cause Of the
disappearance of numbers of hogs belonging
to Mr.. Coleman's neighbors, and the suspi-
cion finally became SO strong as to almost
fasten the guilt upon him, which Matthews
realized, and on the 10th OF last November the
place that knew him once knew him no more.
He had business in Memphis, TO which point
he emigrated, leaving his "traducers" the
privilege of making the most OF what he lett
behind him. As soon as his absence was
discovered search of has old quarters was
made, resulting in the confirmation of all the
suspicious as to his being the champion hog
thief of the neighborhood; but the happy
radiance of SO troublesome a char
acter was sufficient recompense for all
that had been lost, and he was not pursued.
Nothing more was thought of him until on
the 4th of last month Mr.. Coleman was called
on TO listen to the details of
BLOOD cURDLING STORY
by negress named Bette, the step
daughter of Matthews, and who, accord
ing to her statement, had under compulsion
been forced to submit to his brutal embraces
made to take the place of his wife (her own
mother) whom he had driven from home.
Bette told Mr.. Coleman that Sandy Matthews
had killed Essiah Polk and buried his
remains within two hundred yards of his
cabin, in a ravine. She said that in the
latter part of last October, while she was
living with Matthews, Essiah Polk, who was
living with her mother in Memphis,
came to Lucy and called at Mstthews's
house to see her (Bettie). While there
became very angry, but made no
demonstration. He walked through the
house, asking her where his ak was. She
told him it was at the woodpile in the yard.
He proceeded through the back door to the
woodpile, secured the ak and returned
stealthily up behind Polk, who sat near the
front door, and struck him blow on the
the door and sprawling into the yard. Polk
was not killed by that blow, nor much
stunned, as she heard him exclaim,
"LoRD, HAVE MERCY ON ME! DON'T KILL
MEp
Matthews followed him UP and delivered
another blow on the side OF the head as he
lay on the ground, and she heard the crush
ing of the skull, and Polk never moved
afterward. He then called her to his assist
ance, and together they carried the dead
body into house where there was pile of
cotton-seed with which he covered it up until
that night. When it was very dark they
uncovered the body, took it down the ravine
about two hundred yards, where a sort
of levee had been thrown up to make
a stock-water pond. There he dug
hole about three and a half feet
wide by Two feet deep and attempted to
put the body in it, but found it was too small.
He took the ak, cut off both legs,
chopped the body in twain through the
abdomen, and then jammed it down into
the hole, tramping it down with his feet, and
ramming it down with heavy piece of
wood until he could cover it up with dirt.
He then sodded the hole over with the old
dirt and grass. When he had finished bury
ing the body, in all the details OF which he
compelled her to assist him, he turned to her
and with awful threats said: snow, IF you
ever tell anybody about this, I'll do you the
same way"
SHE WAS AwFULLY FRIGHTENED,
because he looked like he'was going to kill
her then. They returned to the cabin, and
Matthews set about destroying the evidences
cotton seed in which he had hid
the body and covered up all stains
OF blood on the premises. Mr.. Coleman
could hardly believe the girls story, and
mentioned it to some colored men living on
his place, and it was resolved to make search
without the girls knowledge, but her descrip-
ton of the exact spot where the grave had
been dug was not definite, and two days were
spent in making the search. Almost all of
the levee was dug away without finding any
thing to corroborate her statement, and the
search was about to be given up. One of
the party concluded to take soundings with
a stick, and in doing SO found the remains in
precisely the condition described by the girl.
Matthews was easily found in this city, hav-
ing never suspected that his secret had been
given away. When arrested he denied the
whole story, declaring it scheme of his
wife to get revenge on him for driving her
away from his home which she had dis
graced by taking up with other men. Chief
Davis, of the police force, who made the
arrest, privately related to Matthews
ALL THE DETAILS OF THE MURDER,
as given by the girl, the truth of which
was clearly manifested in the culprit's chang
ing countenance. and finally he made con-
fession, in his ignorance hoping clemency
because of confession. In his confession he
charged that his wife was the cause of all the
trouble; that he had taken Polk TO his house
and treated him like a brother, and in turn
he had won his wife's affection and estrapged
her love. His incestuous relations toward
his step-daughtsr, Bette, who informed
against him, was well known among the
colored acquaintance of the family, and
was known to be the cause of separation
between him and his wife-that the only bad
features of the wIfe's conduct was taking up
with Polk after she had been driven from
her own house.