The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-06-09
MURDER AND SUICIDE !! !!
Another Bloody Crime to
be Recorded Against
Hooking.
James Phillips, a Farmer
Murders His Wife and
then Ends His Own
Life with a POck-
ct Knife.
FULL DETAILS.

FULL DETAILS.
AS mentioned in a portion of our
last Saturdays edition, Hooking
County. on Friday night June 1,
was made the scene of another
tragedy, which for horrible concep-
tiOn and brutal devilishness of ex-
ecution, exceeds anything yet
found in the annals of crime per.
petrated in this locality. Some
weeks since the parties were
brought prominently before our
citizens by the fact that the
murdered woman, Mrs. Barbara A.
Phillips brought an action agains t
her husband, James Phillips upon
a Peace Warrant, which was heard
and dismissed by Mayor Price of
this place, as he thought the evil
dence insufficient.
The testimony at this trial dis
closed that on the evening Of April
26, last, Phillips quarreled with his
wife, charging her with infidelity,
and refusing her admittance to
their home, forced her to go to
a neighbors for shelter. This
neighbor happened to be one An
drew Bloom, whose wife is an aunt
to Mrs. Phillips. In this flight Mrs.
Phillips was accompanied by three
of her four children, and as she
averred, was followed by the un-
natural husband, with revolver,
and that one or more shots were
fired at the fleeing family. Phillips
denied that he followed them or
fred any shots.
The husband and wife then sep
arated, the husband and two oldest
children, girl of IA, and boy of ~,
removing to Benton TIP. After
this removal the wife and two
youngest children, boy of five
and an other child of about three
returned and occupied the house in
which they lived before the separa-
tion.
Three years ago the family were
in good circumstance Mrs. Phillips
having inherited about $4,000, from
her mother, part of which was at
that time invested in one hundred
and sixty-six acres of land ON Big
Pine Creek in Benton Tp., but
Phillips being of discontented
rowing disposition, the farm was
sold, and converting all their posses
sions into money, they moved west,
first to Kansas and then back to
Indiana, at which place he pur-
chased piece of land and located
his family.
No sooner were they settled in
their new home, than the husband
started on an extended trip through
the Western States and Territories
visiting many of the mining towns
in Colorado, Montana, Arizona and
New Mexico, the visit extending
over about four months, during
which time he spent near $4,000.
In February last the Indiana
homestead was sold at a great
sacrifice and the family returned
to Hooking County more than $4,000
poorer than they leftit. After this
return the remnant of their fortune
was invested in the one half, in
quantity but very much less than
one half in value, of the same land
they had previously owned.
simultaneously with the the pro-
ceeding on the peace warrant,
Mrs. Phillips had began suit in
the Court of Common Pleas to re-
cover the remnant of her property,
and Phillips perhaps dreading the
disclosures of a trial, on May IA,
joined in conveyance of the land
to Amos Kline as trustee for Mrs.
Phillips and her heirs.
Had Phillips been differently
constituted we might now stop,
but during the years he had lived
on his wife's bounty he had acquir-
ed habits of luxury and laziness,
and being now reduced to a point
that industry and economy were
absolute in their demands his viO-
lent temper was aroused, and his
only thought was to recover, by
force, what he had lost, or seek re-
venge for fancied wrongs, and
these violent passions were given
full rein and eliminated in the
hellish deed of the morning OF
June End.
The little five-year-old boy, in
childish language relates the oc'
curences of that dread night in a
manner to bring tears to the eyes
of his hearers. He relates that
"Sometime in the night after we
were all In bed / heard Pa calling
to Ma to let him in, but Ma would