Montgomery County sentinel., 1888-07-06
An Almost InoredihIe Crima-A

| special dispatch from MI. AIRY TO the Baltl-
more Sun, under date of June 2Sth gives
the following:
Charles Washington, a colored boy, only
10 years old, on Tuesday displayed Grim.
inal propensity seldom seen in one of his
| age. He deliberately cut the throats of two
white children, both of whom are still alive,
but in very precarious condition. The
father Of the children is Mr.. Z. ID. Layton.
He is tenant on the farm of Mr.. Beal A.
Wartield, a prosperous farmer, who lives
about a mile south of Florence, in Howard
county.
On Tuesday afternoon the colored boy
was left by the children's mother to attend
them while she went to the home OF Mrs.
Rufus Ridgely, neighbor, where for some
time she has been nursing an invalid. 1t
was nothing unusual for the boy to be in
trusted with such a charge. The children 5
father was at work in full sight of the house,
and as he hoed his tobacco he caught fire.
quent glimpses of them as they played in
the open doorway. Late in the afternoon
he called to the colored boy aud told him
to bring him some water. The boy was
long in obeying the summons. In the mean
time Mr.. Layton had worked his way over
the hill which rises from the house and
could no longer see his children. When
the boy came with the water. He told Mr.
Layton in the most matter of fact manner
that some one had cut the throats of his chill
dren. So Incredible did the assertion seem
to be that Mr.. Layton at first declined TO
believe it, but he went to the house, and
there on the bed lay his two children with
the blood streaming from terrible gashes
across their throats, The older one is girl
three years of age and the younger is only
fourteen months old The blood had clot
ted, and the tiny hands of the little ones
ha besmeared their faces with it. Both were
unrecognizable, and both seemed 10 be In
deaths gresf The father fcr asninute WAS
at ,oss how 10 proceed He relieved the
sufferngs OF the little ones as best he could.
He then closely questioned the colored boy
as to who had committed the deed. The
boy, in straightforward manner. told him
that white man ha cut the thrOats and
had jumped over the fence and made his
escape to the woods. So thorough was he
in his account OF the affair that he pointed
out the exact place where the man had
leaped over the fence. On the side of the
fence from the house was plowed field
Mr. Layton examined this very carefully,
but he could discover no footprints, and he
was at II loss in what direction to pursue
the perpetraLor of the crime.
In the meantime Mr.. George Ellicott, a
neighbor, who had been summoned, reached
the house and made the children as com
Portable rs possible Later their mother ar
rived, and she was overcome when she found
her children so terribly mutilated The
neighbors rendered such assistance rs they
could, and DIR. Crawford, of Laytonsville,
Montgomery county, was summoned. The
windpipe oi the boy was found upon exam
ination to be severed just at the prominence
known as Adams apple His condition is
critical ard his death is hourly expe tied.
The neck of the .slrl was gashed severely ON
the right side, but no arteries were severed.
While her condition Is serious, it is not re-
gardcd necessarily fatal, When her wounds
had been dressed and restoratives applied,
the little girl rallied, and, in response "
question as to who had cut her, sne pointed
To the coiorcd boy, and said that he had
done it with Il big butcher knife, which was
subsequently found. The boy then con
fessed that he had cut the children's s throats.
and explained rs his motive that he was
tired mindiny them
When Mr.. Layton heard the confession
he drove To Lisbon, about four miles dts
tance, and swore out II warrant before Squire
Il. Nj. Owings tor his arrest The warrant
was sent to Constable Stephen Hobbs, but
when it reached him, it found him sick, and
he at once forwarded it to Sheriff Geo. ID.
Day, who went to Mr.. Layton's house this
afternoon and placed the boy under arrest.
lie was with his mother at the time, and she
was only too glad to place him in the officers
charge, as she feared that the anger OF the
neighbors would manifest itself in violence
toward the boy. He was taken before Squire
Owings, at Lisbon, this afternoon. Before
the crowd of men who gathered to hear the
trial he confessed that he ha cut the chill :
drens throats He was not at all abashed,
and while being examined he most strenu
ousy deniei that he had cut the wndpipe
of the boy, declaring that IL was done while
the neck was being WASHED. He was bright
and alert, and could not be irippei in his
cross examination He said that he did not
wish / kill the children, but he was tired
Of attending them He wanted to get them
out OF the way, and he thought he could do
il without killing them. He expressed him
self rs willing 10 60 with the sheriff il he
would treat him kindly He was committed
for the action Of the grand jury of Howard
county. Sheriff Day this afternoon took his
youthful prisoner to Ellicott City, where he
was locked up in the county Jail. He is
brght-eyed boy, but has bad face. lie Is
not black, his complexion being ginger.
bread color With his mother he left Wash
ington two or three years ago and removed
to Mr.. Laytons place. He says his name is
not Washington, but Hawkins
Beulah, the eldest OF farmer Layton's
two children, whose throats were cut by
ten year old colored boy a week ago, died
on Wednesday morning last.
.