Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-30
VERDICT mot GUILTY. 3"
FATHER AND son PUT ON TRIAL
FOR A QUADRUPLE MURDER.
A North Carolina Farmer and His En-
tire Family Burned with Their House,
and Their NeighbOrs Accused of the
Crime,

Crime.
from the Neao York T3aes.
AsHEVILLE, N. c., March 27.-FOr
more than fortnight the Superior Court
room in this city has been thronged with
crowd OF unusual numbers eager to
note the progress of the longest and, in
many respects, most remarkable murder
trial in the history of Western North
Carolina. The defendants, William
Hayne Jones and Franklin PinkneyJ Jones,
father and son, stood charged with the
murder Of Perrin Joyce and his family.
The prisoners are members of a
large and respectable family, and can
number distinguished relatives among
all the learned professions of this part OF
rthe State. among others the Judge Of the
Superior Court last riding this circuit,
and number of prominent lawyers,
doctors and divines. Joyce and his house.
hOlu, composed OF his daughter Margaret,
la little grandson and Mary Rice, a maiden
woman, who had lived with them for
ksome tfnne, were good farmer people, in
offensive and without enemies, 80 far
as their most intimate friends knew.
fTheir humble home was of the style com
mon among the pioneers of tins region,
being only about Is feet by "a, with
IH'lOft," as the half story is called; a brick
chimney, two doors andnO windows. Is
stood among the mountains OF the Blue
Ridge, about IA miles westward from tins
city, in a most picturesque little valley,
looking toward the northeast and holding
within it's bosom the deaHestsOf mountain
brooks. for years called, in honor of this,
.Old settler and industrious planter, Per-
rims Branch.
ON the night Of April 3, 1885, those iiV-
ing down the valley of HOminy creek,
the stream into which PERKINS, branch
flows, saw great light up toward the
Joyce farm. The next morning it was
discovered by atpassing neighbor thatthe
Joyce home and its inmates had been
lsburned up. This,information sped on the
wings.of the wind and scores OF neighbOrs
and friends floeked to the scene OF the
Tragedy, The bones of four Of their neigh
boEs hay among the sm0ulderin& ashes.
The coroner arrived at the scene ON the
follOW1pg 4 morning CSunday,1 and
IRlpanelled Jury, who returned YER
dict thai the paE9ies came to their death
at the hands Ofpersons to them unknown.
Public opinion generally cOiRcided with
the Verdict, bat months wentby without
any development OF evidence pointing TO
the perpetrators of the crime, II crime 1t
was, ~ was rau1ored that Perrin Joyee
had gold and silver, and the Ifkel hood was
thAJia robbery had been committed, and
then, arson. TO conceal the erlmes Of bur
giaFg and murder. Large rewards We're
Offered by the county ana by private indi-
Viduals. ".f''N
Spring PASSED. summer came, 4 and was
nearly gone. and the sad tragedy was be-
ginning 90 be forgotten, when the detect
| ives, in August last, arrested the defend
ants in this case, and shocked the com
mnnity by a theory Of their guilt, and the
announcement Of the possession OF evil
dence sufficient TO convict them. Ii was
rumored last summer that, prior TO the
burning, the defendants w. III. JOnes)
younger son had made feloneous assault
| upon Mary Rice, one Of the victims, and
| that she was going to have him indicted,
and that Jones said she would never tes-
tify against his son. This was the clue
with which the detectives start
ed, ana which finally led TO
Ethe arrest OF the prisoners. The
testimony for both sides has been
veIuminOus, aud the State relies entirely
on eircumstantfal evidence. The prose-
cutiOn setup this threat of Mary Rice as
the motive Cor the crime, and showed
measures Of tracks near the scene CORES
pOnding with those Of the DESCENDANTS.
! They alleged that these tracks were
pile, where the defendants had been at
work, and then led toward their nome;
| that Frank Jones was seen putting out
certain OF these tracks, aud that two or
more fellow prisoners heard one defend
ant say to the other that they ought never
to have come by The board pile, but
around the road, and then they would not
haVebeen mtstrusbed. SHchare some of
! the leading points against the defendants
Tho Ia al -
ecutiOn, by number of lawyers among
the ablest in this region, introdlced
| about % witnesses. An idea is current
among these mountainous that, If q per-
son be proved TO be untruthful, such a
person cannot testify in the courts. and
the defease showed that the defendant,
! W. H.lJ0Hes, was OF this opinion when he
said Mary Rice should never testify
against his son, as he would show her to
| be unworthy OF belief. They also con
blended that the actions OF young Jones
were not sueA as constitute a felOniOlls
assault, and mat, therefore, the motive
would, In eonseqnence, be either want
! ing or greatly lessened; that the tracks
were doubtless those of other persons, and
that the remark overheard in Jail simply
meant that if they had not been up at the
board pile they would never have been
suspected thus wrongly.
oluDo buc DcEthhAhb VI buib bFldi, on
March 8, great interest has centred in
tine proceedings, and the local papers
have been daily Tiled with the fullest re.
ports. One hundred and seven witnesses
have been examined, who are among the
best of the country population in the
neighbOrhOOd OF tne scene Of the tragedy
The jury was Composed Of the very best
men in the countrY--men Of standing and
high reputation. Ten attorneys have adj
dressed the jury, ranging in time Of argu-
ment from two hours TO eight, and at A
D. m. today his Honor charged the
! jury aud it retired. They delibeTated for
an hour only and then returned 10 the
court room. The most intense anxiety
prevailed when the jury came in. Their
short absence was thought by many to
mean that they found no trouble in arriV-
ing at a verdict Of guilty. The court
house bell was rung, and an immense and
eager thrOng crowded in. to hear the utter
ance Of the twelve men who held the olives
Of TWO of their iellOw-men in their hands.
After the usual form the jury relieved the
situation by the announcement OF a YER
dict OF not guilty and the defendants were
discharged.