The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-24
A~BOY'S HORRIBLE CRIME
Butchering his Father, Mother,
Brother and Sister,
The Youthful Assassin's Story Of
the Terrible Affair.

Particulars have just been received Of the
murder of the Sells family by its youngest
member, boy seventeen years of age, near
Usage mission, Neosho county, Kan. The
crime is one Of the most horrible on record.
Mr.. Mendel, living thirteen miles northwest
of Usage mission, was awakened about l
o'clock A. NJ. by scream, shortly followed by
another coming from the road in front of his
house. He went to the door and was met by
Willie Sells, the son of J. w. Sells, living
about a quarter of a mile up the road. The
boy cried out: 'Mr. Mendel, man is at our
house with hatchet and has hurt father and
mother. I don't know how badly" Mr..
Mendel went with the boy, arousing J. L.
Rice, another neighbor, on the way. Upon
reaching Sells house most horrible sight
met their eyes.
In the bed in the north room lay Walter,
Willie's eldest brother and bedfellow, aged
nineteen his throat cut and the entire top of
his head chopped off, exposing the brain
Passing into the main room, where light
was burning, they stumbled over the form Of
Mr.. Sells, his head crushed and almost sever
ed from his body. Near by lay Mrs Sells,
aged forty three years, her head mashed and
the southeast corner of this room lay Ina,
Willie's sister, aged fourteen, killed in the
same manner as the other three. Near Mr.
Sells head was bloody butcher knife and
on chair a hatchet, matted with hair and
blood.
The boy said that he had been awakened by
something, and looking up, saw low, heavy
set man with dark hair, cut close, standing in
the door. This man stepped in, and reaching
over Willie, struck his brother, who lay in
the back Of the bed. Willie jumped out
and dressed while the man was still
in the room. This operation, he
man rushed out of one door, while Willie ran
out Of the other, and started up the road on
q run after him. A short distance off stood q
man on horseback, holding another horse,
upon which the man vaulted, and both made
off. Willie then went on to Menders.
After the bodies had been discovered Rice
took Willie home with him, where he slept
soundly till morning A coroner's jury was
inlpanelled and an investigation begun. Sus-
picion rested upon the boy and he was put on
the stand. He swore that he had not washed
his hands since the murder, but inspection
showed that while his hands and wrists were
clean there was water mark about his wrists,
and his forear1ns were deeply incrusted with
blood which appears to have spurted up his
sleeves. Around his finger nails, also, there
was blood, and upon removing his pants his
drawers were found to be saturated
with spattered blood and his bare feet were
also blood stained. His feet fitted all the
bloody footmarks to be found.
The boy stoutly denied being the murderer,
and throughout all the trying ordeal main
tanned bold front The boy was smuggled
into buggy by Police Judge Lon Cambern
f0
in Erie, for fear Of lynching, which ap-
peared imminent On the way to Erie he
said to Mr. Cambern: ''Those fellows
tried to get me to say that did it, but I
thought it would be best not to admit it. /"
There is hardly doubt but that the boy COM
mitted the dreadful crime, though no motive
is known. MI. Sells had in his pocketbook
500 in gold and $170 in bills, which were not
disturbed, beside three watches. John Hal,
of Erie, has been appointed guardian Of the
The coroner's jury was in secret session all
day, and at o'clock p N. returned a verdict
charging young Sells with the crime. The
boy was remanded to jail, where he was
visited by a correspondent. He protested his
innocence and showed no more feeling than if it
had been so many hogs he had butchered. He
is five feet six inches high, weighing 145
pounds. He has rather intelligent face, al
though it werrs a stubborn expression. His
complexion is fair and his moderately high
forehead is crowned with a shock of light
hair. He, has hazel eyes, straight, we'll
formed nose and large mouth. His hands
and arms are large and muscular.
The Sells family were highly-respected
country people. They were all members of
the Methodist church. Mr.. Sells was school
teacher. Willie, the son, is undoubtedly the
murderer, and the only motive he could have
had was that his brother Walter had been at
tending school away from home, and he had
become jealous. Walter had just returned
from school and Willie, after numbering his
brother, probably thought it necessary to kill
the others to conceal his crime.