The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-05
MURDER AND SUICIDE.

A Horrible Butchery in Baker County.
From, the AlbdnH (Gn) Ne,es and advertiser.
From Harry c. Kendall who travels for
Culver, Moore & Culver, of Macon, the
NetcS and Advertiser learned last night
the particulars of most horrible butchery
of human beings and the subsequent suicide
of the murderer in Baker county. Mr..
Kendall arrived in the city, just from the
scene Of the horror, at about o'clock last
night.
The story of the crime is a sickening one,
but, stripped of all establishment, is soon
told.
Yesterday afternoon a negro named
Henry Phelps went to Newton, and re-
ported that he had found Amos Grant,
neighbor Of his, hanging by rope in his
kitchen dead, and that he had evidently
committed suicide
Sheriff Galloway, S. j. w. Livingston,
Capt. j. j. Grant and a number of other
citizens at once went out TO the place, which
is about four miles from Newton, on the
| read TO Savage's store They found the
llfeless body of Amos Grant hanging by
rope around the neck in the kitchen, and it
was evident that he had hanged himself by
first swinging rope over iost, mounting
table, then securely fastening the rope
around his neck and jumping off.
Inquiry among the neighborS revealed
the fact that they were all under the i'm
preston that the dead mans family, CON
sistug of his wife Rebecca Grant, their
l3-year-old son, Thomas Grant, and the
wile's sister, Emma Harris, had gone to
Columbus. 1t was known that Amos Grant
and his wife had not been getting along
very well of late and that the wife had
avowed her determination to leave with
her sister on Monday last and go to Column
bus. On Monday morning Amos Grant was
met between his place and SaVage's store,
and he told that mis- wife and her sister and
The boy had all left him and gone to Column
bus This accounts for the prevailing I'M
preston at the time Amos Grants body
was found, that he had been left alone and
had perhaps grown despOndent in his soil
t'Ide and taken his own life. The impress
sion was evidently correct, so far as his TAX
ing his own life was concerned, but most
horrible revelation was made after little
investigation.
HE EXTERNIINATED HIS FAMILY
on the night before they were to have left
! for Columbus and the night before he shut
! fled Off his mortal coil.
! Seeing that only the kitchen where the
| dead man was hanging was open, Mr.. Ken
| dali, who had gone out with the party
! from Newton, proposed that the house be
| opened. Failing to find any key to the house,
a door was broken IN, wlen horrible sight
was discovered. On the floor, near the
middle of the room, lay the dead body of
| Emma Harris with the head crushed
and beaten almost into a jelly; on the
| bed was the mangled remains of the wife,
| Rcbecca Grant, and over on the floor, back
| of the bed, lay the bloody and lifeless re-
mains of the boy, Thomas Grant in pool
of his blood. The sight was horrible one,
and was made all the more sickening to the
| spectators by the fact that the triple Inur-
der had been committed on Sunday night,
and, after being locked up in a close room
! for -ur days and nights, the mangled
bodies had filed the place with foul and
| CHASTITY SMELL
| THE CAUSE
Amos Grant was the murderer of his fam
| lily, and it is supposed that he committed
| the deed on Sunday night, While maddened
| by the thought of their leaving him on the
morrow The weapon that he used was an
ak, which was found under the house,
smeared with the blood of the three victims.
Amos Grant went to Savage's store Mon
day morning and settled his account there.
| He was on his way home when he was met
! by Henry Phelps, whom he told
| that his family had gone away. No
| one has reported seeing him after
| he was met in the read by Henry Phelps
| about 10 o'clock on Monday morning. and
the supposition is that he returned home,
| realized the enormity of his crime, and con-
| cluded to end his own life on Monday night.
He was a well-tO-do negro farmer, lived on
rented place, but had his own stock, and
was considered very good man.
A corOneTs inquest was held, with Capt.
j. j. Grant as foreman of the jury, and
verdict rendered in accordance with the
foregoing facts