The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-03-15
MURDER ~ A MAD-!s1USE.'
4 Shocking Tragedy in the Asylum at
Columbia.

CoIrMEIA, March ll.-At the Luna.
tic Asylum, AZ II o'clock Yesterday, a
patient from E1geiielI County, named
Z. i. Whatlcy, sufferer from acute
| mania, while in sitting room with half
| a. dozen other male patients, managed to
free his hands from the straps which
| bound them IT, hi. "ai5t. He then tore
| off the arm OF q wooden settee and made
| Il wild attack on those in the room. lie
| struck Il patient, named James 4. Bar
rington, from Marlboro' County, III the
| back Of the head frac,uring the base Of
| his skull. lie then attacked Mat Can't
wolI, keeper, and feiIed him. Another
keeper ran up and secured Whatley.
harrington died this morning. Can't
we'll is not dangerously wounded The
| facts were not known out Of The Asylum
until TO day when an inquest was held
on BarriDgton's body.
| TIE INQUEST.
| Sheriff Rowan stood on Main street q
| little after noon to-day, and Intercepted
succcssivcly several parties Of young
men who were returning from service al
the churches, and in this way before
o'clock sufficient number Of jurors had
been obtained, aud the party with
| Deputy Coroner w. f. Stratton and
two reporters proceeded TO the Asylum.
In the office of the superintendent al.
tached to the southern wing of the new
| Asylum building the inquest was held.
| T.. Won Kohler, keeper was sworn.
He testified that about II o'clock yester-
day forenoon while doing some work in
the south wing Of the new Asylum he
heard in the next ward (thc sixth a
sudden noise. lie ran to see what was
the matter and saw two men in the pas.
sageway, one striking the other with n
club. When he came up he found that
the assailant was /. patient named Il. l..
Whatley, and that he was attacking
Mike Cantwell, the keeper Of that ward.
Before witness could reach them
THE MANIAC HAD rELLED CASrwELL
to the floor. Witness caught Whatlcy,
who struggled violently, and with tie
aid of some of the patients forced him
into his room. lie then sent for the
superintendent, aud on looking into the
sitting room opening into the passagcway
saw patient named James a. Barring
ton lying on the floor in an nsensible
condition. He asked two or three of the
patients who were standing about who
had struck Darlington, and they replied
that Whatley had done so before lie at
tackled Keeper Cantwell. There were
five or six patients in the ward sitting
room at the time of the assault. Mr..
Cantwell was the only keeper present.
The patient had been previously violent
at times. Darlington died about {!
. O'Clock this morning. He was one OF
the quictest patients in the institution.
Whatley had had his straps on just be
fore the assault, but he had in some way
freed his hands.
The strap was here exhibited. It was
M appliance designed to buckle around
the waist of the unruly patient, whose
hands we're fastened to it with strong
leather cuffs around the wrists It had
been cut through with some instrument.
The club used by the murderer was also
shown to the jury. 1t was the arm of q
wooden settee which had been in the sit
ting room, and had evidently been
v-enched off, making
= HEAVY AND FORMIDABLE BLUDGEoN.
about two feet long and three inches
thick.
A patient named Smith was allowed to
make d statement to the jury of the
affair, although his evidence of course
was not taken down as legal He de-
posed in q very intelligent manner that
he had been Mt the sitting room fire
warming himself when Whatley, whe
was also in the room suddenly jumped
up, tore off the arm Of the settee and
struck harrington on the back of the
head. lie fell in the corner by the set
tee. Neither assnilant nor assailed
spoke word. He identified the weapon
before the jury as that which had been
used
DIR. =. T.. Griffin, the superintendent
Of the Asylum, was sworn. He testified
that about II O'Clock yesterday morning
he was summoned hastily to see one Of
the attendants who was reported as hav-
ing been seriously wounded by patient.
On reaching the spot he made hasty
examination of Mr.. Cantwell's wounds
and found that he was not dangerously
hurt. He was then informed for the
first time that patient was lying injured
in the next room. On entering it he
found Mr.. harrington Frustrated on the
floor in an insensible condition with
blood flowing from his ear and nose.
From this state of insensibility it was
afterwards
IMPOSSIBLE TO AROUSE HIM.
He remained unconscious up to tn c time
Of his death, about 8 o'clock this morn
ing. His symptoms indicated fracture
of the base of the skull, which injury
almost invariably proves fatal. There
was considerable confusion en- the right
side of the neck at the back Of the head.
1t had been the rule CT the Institution
that violent patient must be confined
to his room or allowed to walk about
with some confning apparatus like the
one before the jury. This latter was
done to allow the patient the advantage
of exercise, air and recreation. In this
case all the ordinary precautions had
been takon. From the appearance of
the belt binding his leather wristlets to
his side Whntley had probably obtained
somewhere piece Of glass despite all
precautions and had scratched the leather
until the belt parted.
DR.. Thompson, one of the physicians
who had visited Whatley Immediately
before his outbreak, considered him
unusually quiet that morning. After in
vestigating the case DR.. Griffin was satis-
fed that there had been no negligence
on the part of the attendants. Whatley
had entered the asylum last October.
His victim had been under treatment for
four years. The jury inspected the
body of the deceased patient, visited the
scene Of the tragedy and looked at the
insane murderer in his cell. Whstley
stood
TREMBLING WITH NERVOUSNESS,
his hands bound In front of him with a
firm but soft bandage, and a keeper hold
Ing his arm. There was 20 expression
| In his face xrhS nh yvoo otbaru,;,o thak oe