The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-03-03
A CONFESSION on MURDER.
Barbara Miller States That Her Hus-
band Was Murdered and Claims
That Lee Did IL.
DETAILS OF A VILE CRIME.
A Man Found Maneled ON the Rail
road Track, Killed Not by the
Cars, but by Human Hands.

WUcclS Oh Tue ctiIs tuat IL was NV iSNos-
nizable except by the cloth OF the vest. BY
this il was discovered that the deceased
was Daniel Miller. At first 1t was thought
that he was killed by the fast mail; but
suspicious circumstances were developed
that caused the officers OF the law to be-
lieye that murder had been committed.
The wife OF the dead man, Barbara Miller,
and Charles Henry Lee were arrested.
The relations OF Lee and Barbara had been
intimate. Lee came from Williams's mill,
in Lunenburg county, and for year or
more had been living in Miller's house and
working about on farms, and latterly on
the Richmond and Alleghany railroad.
THEY DENY IT.
At first accused denied all knowledge OF
how Daniel came to his end.
Barbara said to Dispatch reporter the
day after her arrest, "Nor, sir, L dunno
nothing about how he was killed." She is
of gingerbread color, tall, straight, and
thin almost rs Sarah Bernhardt or Miss
FAY. She is twenty-nine. Lee is twenty
two. He is tall, heavy, black. smooth
faced, and ugly. Deceased was about thlr-
ty-five, and on the evening OF the murder
ing to his home found Lee there, and it is
known had a quarrel with him. When the
children woke up i'm the morning Daniel
was gone, and Barbara was drying Lees
pants by the stove.
CONSCIENCE AT WORK.
Barbara ever since her imprisonment has
been suffering great torture OF mind.
Tuesday she started to make confession
TO Mr. Shaw, the ialler; that same night
she did make it TO Mr.. Shaw and to Mr..
Waddill, clerk OF the court. Yesterday
she reiterated TO Mr.. Shaw and to repre-
sentative OF this paper, who was present
by the kindness of Mr.. Thomas, the Com
monwealth's attorney,
THE CONFESSION.
Barbara's story as told yesterday was rs
follows:
NV name IN Barbara Frances Miller. l
was born in the county OF Hanover, and
am aged twenty-nine years. | formerly
belonged to Mr.. Charles Larrie. L have
six chlldren-three boys and three girls;
the oldest child is girl OF thirteen, and
the Youngest is two years old. My hus-
band and lived on Mr.. Richard Eyans's
farm, in Henrico county, near Hungary
station, on the Richmond and Fredericks-
burg railroad. We rented a house and
piece Of land Of him. On the night OF the
18th OF February last my husband, whose
name was Daniel Miller. Charles Henry
Lee, myself. and the children slept in the
house. There are only two rooms in the
house. and we all went to sleep in the one
down stairs-mysen and husband on the
bed and Charles Henry Lee on pal
let on the floor with Henry. Be
fore going to bed my husband asked
me TO wake him up in the morning at
O'Clock. We were all on good terms. We
went to bed at 0 O'Clock. / oversight my"
self, and when | woke up it was five min
utes to 3 O'Clock. Ny husband said to me,
" Barbara, thought told youto wake me
up at 4 O'clock" and / said to him, " Mr..
Miller, YOU know when | have done wor-
rying with the children all day am hard to
wake.'
HOW THE MURDER WAS DONE.
I then asked my husband to get me
piece OF wood, and he asked me for pipe
OF tobacco. l told him that l only had
fiye-cent piece, and he said he only wanted
a pipeful. He then started of after the
wood. and ] told him where there was
dry log. and he asked Charles Henry Lee to
90 with him, and told Charles TO bring the
axe along. They started off together, when
he saw the chimney was on fire, aud he
asked me for a bucket of water. | gave
him the bucket with the water, and he put
the chimney out, and handed the bucket
back to me, and he and Charles Henry
Lee went away; and in five or ten
minutes | heard my husband holler out.
Charles Henry Lee stayed so long that
when he came back / asked him what made
him stay so long. He told me that he had
killed Daniel, my husband. | asked what
made him do it, and Charles said, "Be-
cause he was tired OF my husband eating
and drinking what he bought" and that
was the cause Of his killing him; and the
next question | asked him was, "Where
did YOU strike my husband atI" He placed
his hand on the pit OF his stomach and said,
fright here" first, and in the next place
i'm the side, and then on the side OF the
head.
AvERTING SUSPICION.
7 said. "Charles, where did you leave
nv husband att" and he said he carried
him and put him on the railroad track, and
finished Killing him after he got him there.
Then he said that the reason ne put nm
ON the railroad track was that il any one
found him they would not think that any
man had killed him, but would think the
train had killed him. When the tram
came up. Charles he came out I'm the yard to
see il the train had stopped or not. rms
train only blowed twice and the Dell rang
three times. and II SACKED up NUE.
Charles then went back to the track to !
see il the train had run over my husband
or not, and when he came back TO the house
he told me that the train had dragged my |
husbands body as far from my door to the
oak tree--a distance OF forty-fye feet.
then said to Charles that he would be found |
out, and he said that II he was found out
he would not own it; and he then said he
was going home. Then L told him that II
he did he would be brought back. for
got to say that when Charles came back to
the house that morning after he had killed
nv husband, and before he had told me
ANYTHING about it, he asked me for lamp,
and I asked him what he wanted with it.
He said he wanted TO look at his pants that
he had on. told him to come in the house.
He then asked me II my children were
sleep. / told him yes. He came in and
looked at his pants, and on the right leg
there was some red mud. He took wet
rag and wiped il off. That was all the
blood that | saw. 1t was shining like blood
Inv the freight. lie then told me about
his killing my husband, and Me cause of
his going back to the railroad was to look
for his hat. 1t was SO dark he could not
find it.
THE wOMAS's FRIGHT.
When I first heard my husband holler
ont NV heart felt like it would come out OF
INV moutb. for I did not know what was the
cause OF ii [the fright.
Charles told me that the first lick that he
struck my husband that my husband ran
as far as from my house down TO John
Manson's (who lives near byb and then