The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-05-03
A N o T H E r!
AN OLD CITIZEN MURDERED AT HIS
OWN FIRESIDE!

On last Sunday morning the people of
Jackson were startled by the announce
ment that another foul murder had been
perpetrated, that Anderson C'Doc.'0 Lack
ey, an old, quiet and inoffensive citizen of
Franklin township had been murdered at
his own bedside. A STANDARD reporter
in company with Officer Owens, immedi-
ately started for the scene of the tragedy.
We arrived at the Lackey farm bewteen
nine and ten o'clock. Quite number of
citizens were congregated at the residence
of the murdered man, which is situated
on the old homestead farm. The building
is small log building with two rooms.
In the larger of these rooms we found the
murdered man lying by the stove, and in
front of the fireplace, where he had fallen
when shot, the night before, and more
horribly sickening scene of butchery we
have not seen in many day. He was
still undressed, had been bleeding at the
nose, and had the appearance of having
been shot in the head. He had lain all
night where he had fallen, the friends not
feeling at liberty to move him until the
arrival of the Coroner.
What a Sabbath morning scene was
this Without the house, everything
seemed home-like and happy, the pigs
contentedly grunting in their pen, a
mother hen clucking and fussing over her
brood of chickens close by the house, and
all the different scenes which go to make
up pleasant, happy picture of farm life.
Within the house, all was blood, and
horror.
In short time after our arrival Drs.
w. III. Monahan and B. F. Holcomb ar
rived, and in short time after this Cor
oner Smith and Prosecuting Attorney
Powell arrived. The Doctors Immediate
ly began an examination of the body.
After washing the body revealed two
wounds in the left side, near the region
of the heart-one wound evidently made
by pistol as large as a 32-caliber, the
other evidently made by small pistol, a
22-caliber. The smaller shot would not,
perhaps, have proved fatal.
A rude bench was brought into the
house, to be used as table by the sur
geons. The body was placed upon this,
and in a rapid and skillful manner Drs.
Holcomb and Monahan opened the body
and removed the heart, which showed
that the bullet had entered near the top,
passing downward almost to the bottom,
and out again-making wound almost
the full length of the heart. Yet with
this death wound the man did not die in
stantly. His widow thinks he lived near
five minutes, but we doubt if it was more
than one minute, at furthest before life
was extinct.
The only way to get at the real facts of
the killing is to give the testimony taken
by the Coroner, and this we give below
TESTIMONY OF MRS. ELIZABETH LACKEY.
Elizabeth Lackey, being duly sworn,
says: / am the wife of Anderson Lack
ey. Am forty years of age. Anderson
Lackey would have been fifty-seven, had
he lived until the fifth day of June, 1888.
1 have been married to Anderson Lackey
seventeen years. I was at my home in
Franklin township on Saturday evening,
April 2Sth, 1888. At the house, beside
myself, were Mr.. Lackey and six children.
This was between and 9 o'clock. The
children were Mary Catharine, aged IA
Hannah Cordelia, aged II; Lydia Jane,
aged 7; James Bertram, aged 5; Rutha
Alma, aged 2, and the baby, aged 10
months. Between eight and nine
o'clock, a man came to the window and
said Hello" Iasked him what he want
ed. He said: II want to know whether
there is a man by the name of John Smith
in there" I said: "There is no person
here but our own family" He then said
"You must open the door-we must
search the house." My husband was in
bed at this this time. There are two
rooms in the house; and my husband was
in bed in the front room-the one in
which we cook and eat. There was one
bed in that room. My husband said to
me to open the door and let them in for
they were welcome to search the house.
I then opened the door. When I opened
the door tall man was standing on the
doorstep, and he Immediately stepped in
at the door. He was Immediately follow
ed by another man, smaller in size. The
large man had on light pants, and l think
blue coat, and rather broad brimmed
hat. He was a light-complexioned man,
with a mustache, but no whiskers. He
seemed to be pale-not of fiorid COM
plexion. These men walked up to the
bed on which my husband was lying, and
as they came toward the bed he told them
that they were welcome to search the
house. The tall man, as he reached the
bed, said: "Your money! We want your
money! Each had revolver in his
hand, as they walked toward the bed. My
husband answered that he did not have
any money, that he had been sick man
for the last three years, and had large
family to keep. The large man said: 81
know better-you have got money; your
money or your lifew My husband raised
up in bed at this, and the men stepped
back. He then sprang out of bed toward
the tall man, who was doing the talking
and got hold of him, and there was mo-
mentary struggle, and then a shot was
fired by the tall man. My husband stag
gered, turned, and walked to the bed. !
went to his assistance and he said: Il am
shot," and sank to the floor. AS went
to the assistance of my husband the
smaller man fired a shot, but do not
know who he shot at. Myself and little
girl who was awake commenced scream
ing as soon as the pistol-shot was fired
and as soon as the last shot was fired the
men turned and left the house, 1 then
went to the door and screamed for ou1
brother-in-law. do not think it was ten
minutes before L sent my little girl to
Gilbert n. Lackey's whose house is about
one hundred and fifty yards distant. 1t
was fully an hour before anybody came