St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-04-26
HORRIBLE DOUBLE MURDER.


An Aged Couple Murdered in their Bed and
Then Set Fire to in Order to Hide the
Crime-The Fire Premature1y Discovered
and the e4hastly Evidence Revealed-Snss
picion Points to the Hired Man.
NATION, ILL., April II.
On Thursday night double murder
was committed near the village of Rar-
din, in this county, six miles northeast of
Charleston. The circumstances attend
ing make it the most atrocious and mys--
FERROUS homicide ever committed in the
county. The names of the murdered peo-.
pie are A. Nehemiah Fleetwood and wife,
aged sixty-seyen and seventy respective
ly, and the man accused of the murder is
James Winkleback. The FleetwoodS
lived in two-story house, the older peo-
pie sleeping down stairs and the hired
man Winkleback sleeping in the room di
rectly above them, while across the hail
upstairs slept the grown daughter En-
ma.
The family the night before retired
early. About ten O'Clock Emma was par
TALLY aroused and heard Winkleback, she
She dropped off to sleep again, and some
time afterwards she heard another noise
below, but was not wide-awake enough
to know whether it was the sound of a
revolver or blows with hammer. She had
been loosing u good deal of sleep on &C.
count of attending to sick child, and was,
consequently, hard to rouse Again she
went to sleep, but was soon awakened by
the smell of smoke. She saw that the
house was on fire and called across the
hall to wake Winkleback He pretended
to Just wake up, and told her she could
not get down that way-the stairs lead
ing from Winkleback's room to the
chamber below where lay the old folks
but she burst through the room and down
the stairs to the old folks chamber.
She with hurried efforts put out the
fire and cried to Winkleback to run for
help to the neighbors. He brought no
help until he had been sent the second
time The fire out, the daughter found
the dead bodies of her father and mother
living on the charred remains OF the bed
stead. Their clothes were burned from
them. Stove-wood had been carried in
and placed on the bed to feed the fire.
Neighbors arrived and found that the ell
der Fleetwoods had been murdered before
the fire was kindled. The old man had
been dealt a crushing blow on his head
and his head was completely severed
from his body. The old lady had been
shot, the ball passing in at the corner OF
her eye. Her throat was also cut from
ear to ear.
Evidence points to Winkleback as the
murderer, although he denies all
charges; vet his actions have been pc
10 tod 70 COG
the well for a missing axe he protested
that he had left the axe i'll the woods,
The well was pumped dry, and in the
bottom was found Winkleback's own axe,
covered with blood and gray hairs.
Stains of blood were also found on his
pants.
This morning he appeared dressed in g.
clean shirt, and refused to account for the
dirty one he had discarded.
The Coroner's inquest is in session but
no verdict has been arrived at. Wrinkle
back has been arrested and brought to
Charleston, the county seat. A mob OF
500 people gathered at the scene OF
the murder, and it meant ven
geance. Nothing will probably be
done until the Coroner's verdict.
The object of the murder is unknown.
The old folks had no money. 1t seems
that Winkleback was in love with Emma,
and had in vain sought for her parents.
consent to their marriage, but this would
hardly give him cause to take their lives.
The two lovers were the only other per"
sons in the house at the time.
CHARLEsToN, I'LL, April II.
Deputy Sheriff Dryer arrived yesterday
from Rardin with Winkleback in charge
and lodged him in the County Jail here.
He had difficulty in getting HIM away
from the mob. He took him out through
q side door and was miles away be-
fore the mob knew of his escape.
Everything is now quiet around the jail,
although knots of men are standing
around talking about the murder. Fears
are entertained that the mob from tne
may yet come in and try to break
the jail, which is rather frail anair.
was very glad to hear the
IRON doors close on him.