The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-05-25
LIFE FOR LIFE,
". W. Rea Pays the Penal
ty Of His Foul Crime.
The Ti9htest Chain of Circumstan-
tial Evidence Ever Woven
IN the Annals Of Crime
in Tennessee.
The Crime and Trial.

The Crime and Trial.
I The curtain has fallen in the last
d act of a horrible double tragedy thai
has caused great cOmmotiOn in this
5 community. The readers of the
n CITIZEN have had the opening
= scenes pictured to them repeatedly,
, but it is well perhaps that we give a
short sketch in review before pre-
senting the sequel. An awful crime
has sent two mems soul into the
/, eternal, great, dark future.
, On the night of the 23rd of July,
1881, j. \. Il. Goodrum was assassi-
mated in the back room Of a store
, house at Diana, in this county. In
, che vigor and hope Of young man
hood was he brutally murdered.
He was a student, and the light of
his lamp enabled the cowardly as
sassin, who stood at his window, to
take deadly aim. Five buckshot
from 4 gun entered his body, one
Of which penetrated the heart. The
poor man cried, 20, God, I'm shot"
and those were his last words. Cir
cumstances lead to the arrest of
w. w. Rea, who was arraigned be
fore a magistrate and committed to
Jail. Subsequently in the jury trial
he was found guilty of murder in
the first degree and sentenced by
the judge Of the circuit court to
be hanged on the 3rd day of Febru-
airy last. He appealed to the SUI
preme court, when the decision Of
the lower court was confirmed and
he was sentenced to hang the 21st of
April, 1882. The governor granted
a reprieve and execution was sus-
pended until the 10Th inst.-last
Friday-when he paid the penalty
on the gallOws.
Now to give a summary of the
evidence that convicted him. The
records show that Rea was offended
at GOOdrum because of the latter's
having sworn in court, when on the
witness stand in a certain civil case, |
that he would not believe Rea on
oath. 1t was proven that Rea had |
threatened to kill him for it
Tracks discovered near the window, |
where the assassin stood at the time |
Of the shooting, cOrresponded to |
those made by No. Z shoe, the size |
Rea wore. Those tracks were traced |
to within a short distance of Rea's |
house, which is situated a few
hundred yards from the scene of the
killing. Rea had borrowed double
barrel shot gun from a neighbor
the morning before, which at that
time was loaded with squirrel shot.
When the gun was found the next
day, up stairs in Rea's house, it had
buck shot in it. He confessed to
having loaded it, and stated how
many shot he used, Investigation
proved the loads to correspond with
his statement. a tree near his
house was noticed to have been shot
with squirrel shot, and within gun
range of it a piece of paper and a
buck shot were found. This shot
corresponded in size with those
taken out of the body of the dead
man. Powder burnt pieces of paper
evidently the gun wadding, were
found where the assassin stood when
he fired. Other pieces of paper
were found in the shot pouch which
Rea had borrowed with the gun.
and which was taken with the gun
from his house. All those frag-
ments of paper, some Of which were
very small as may be supposed,
together with those that constituted
the remaining wadding in the gun
which was drawn out, preserved.
Upon scrutinizing it was ascertained
that they dove-tailed so as that
sentences, words and letters that had
been severed were rendered per
fectly complete. They were parts
Of two different newspapers (The
Pulaski CITIZEN and the Nashville
BanneT) found, as above stated. at
four different places. When they
were brought together and pasted
on glass one could read across the
numerous breaches in the paper
without the slightest difficulty.
These are the main points of proof
Other facts of minor Importance
were established, such as Rea's
action in deXtrously avoiding to
walk where his foot prints might be
easily compared with those that
were known to have been made by
the assassin. But our object at this
time is not to particularize minutely;
merely to refresh the memory of
our readers, and what has been said
will suffice for that purpose. While
it is all purely circumstantial, a
more convincing chain of evidence
can scarcely be conceived, and per
haps a more wonderful and unbroken
train of circumstances was never
before adduced as evidence in any
court. They have at least led to
the conviction and final execution
of him at whom they directed the
sword of an offended law. whose
mission it is not to avenge but to
administer justice.
Following we reproduce the letter
of Rev. w. j. Brown. the prosecu-
tor, to the American, published in
the CITIZEN of May Ith, embracing
a complete synopsis of the murder
and the trial.
REV. W. J. BROWN LETTER.
To the American.
The case of W. w. Rea is creating
so much interest, especially in (
and it is at the same
time so simple and extraordinary
in its nature, and one in which l
am impediately and directly con
cerned, that l feel it my duty to
give a brief and pointed history of
the case, with any remarks thereon '
that may naturally and necessarily
grow out of it. l will confne my
self strictly to the record. l do I
this to vindicatc myself and the :
witnesses of the prosecution in the
light of recent and utterly false as :
sertions made by Rea, and published /
in the Nashville World of the 2lst .
inst: that he is the victim of a I
plot" and to enlighten !