The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-10-30
VOOLFOLK HANGED
For the Most Horrible Murder
in Criminal Annals.
HE KILLED NINE RELATIVES
In Ono Night, beating Their brains
Out with a Club-Story Of tho
Awful Crimc-Dcclarcd Ills
Innocence to tho Last.
PERRY, GB., Oct. 29.-Thomas G. Wool.
folk was hanged here to-day for the
murder Of nine persone.
TIE AWFUL CRIME.

AeAhSA hVAS kS-uAN lUl Lllt
murder Of nine perions.
THE AWFUL cRlNr.
Just before dawn on the morning Of
August 0. 1887, in Hazards district,
Bibb county, some twelve miles from
Macon, nine people were brutally mur.
dered by a single assassin. The victims
OF the awful bntchcry We're: Captain
Richard F. Voolfolk, sr., his wife. Mrs
MattieWoolfolk; their children, Richard
f., IT,, aged 20; Susan, aged II; Annie.
aged 10; Rosebud, aged 7; Charlie, aged
D; Matte. aged IS months, and Mrs,
Temple West, aged 81 yearp.
The sceno OF the crime was the Wool.
folk homestead, an ordinary southern
farm house Of frame, one story high,
containing six rooms. The surround.
ipgs betokened the homo OF a well.to. do
southern planter Of the better class.
It WAS in this home that Captain Wool.
folk and his family were living at the
time OF the tragedy. On the Saturday
night preceding the fatal morning there
were ten members OF tho household
present, including Mrs. West, who was
9 visitor at tho house. Thomas 6, Wool.
folk (the eldest SOM Richsrd and Char.
lie were sleeping la the first room on the
left OF the single front room. In the next
apartment Captain and Mrs. Voolfolk
and their infant child occupied the one
bed in the room. The other three chill.
dren, Miss Pearl and Rosebud and An.
ME. and old Mrs. West occupied the
room on the opposite side Of the hall.
way from the parents room. -ss.ss :
The first alarm Of the trsgedy came
from Tom Voolfolk, the only survivor
Of the massacre. The news that a terri.
Bile crime had been committed at the
Voolfolk house spread with ph enomenal
rapldlty and soon great crowd was
gathered about the place. Hurried in.
vestigation revealed that the crime had
not been exaggerated. Nine dead bodies
were lying in horrid confusion in the
house, everyone Of them Drained with
an ordinary axe that had evidently been
secured from the yard.
THE TRAGEDY DISCOVERED,
There was nothing unusual found in
the first room on the left as one entered
the house, but in the room occupied bv
the parents, communicating directly
with the front apartment, were six
bloody corpses. The bodies of Captain
Voolfolk, his wife, their infant and Miss
Pearl Voolfolk lay on the bed in the
corner, the father and mother and babe
having been struck on the head with
the murderous axe apparently before
they wakened, whilst the eldest dauph.
ter's body had been cast upon the Ned
after death. On the floor were The life
less bodies of Richard Voolfolk and bis
younger brother Charles, welterinr in
pools OF blood. Death had been in.
aicted in each case by blows with the
butt OF an axe, save in the case Of the
little boy, whose head had been cloyen
with the axe. Not blow had been
struck except on the head Of the victims
an they lay in their night garments
where they had been struck down and
the blood and brains from their crushed
skulls had run out until the room was
sea Of sore. Three other bodies Law
stiff in death in the girls room on the
other side Of the corridor, The cornse
OF Mrs. West and Of Rosebud, the soyen-
year-old laughter, reposed where thew
had slept side by side in one of the two
beds in the room. The bouy of ten
year:old Annie Voolfolk lay near the
window as if she had been warned of the
approach Of the murderer and had
sought to escape by jumping out OF the
window. Here, as with those in the
first room, the assassin had dispatched
his victims with blows on the head with
his axe. Nv. "-''.
Nothing in the house had been dis
turbed and small amount of money in
the pockets OF Richard Voolfolk. Jr
had not been touched. There were no
indications whatever that robbery had
been the motive for the deed.
THE MURpERER's STORY.
The story told by Tom Voolfolk was
that be had been awakened by hearing
his father cry out little before dav.
Just then Richard had jumped out Of
bed and run into his fathers room. He
heard Richard knocked down and then
fearing for his own life he had fled,
jumping from window in his room and
running to Sockets cabin 10 raise the
alarm and secure help. Woolfolk's ac.
count OF the crime was unsatisfactory
and few believed it. Suspicion Quickly
fell on him as the murderer and he was
taken in custody. Investigation showed
that the only tracks about the house
traced in blood from the blood.strewn
floor were those Of Voolfolk, Tom ad.
mitted that they were his. but saii ho
made them when he went into the
bloody room alone after the murder. he
was searched and on one leg about tho
knee was found the imprint Of a bloody
hand. He had on a shirt much too
large for him when searched and after.
wards his own shirt was found in the
well, blood.stainod and clotted with
human brains. wa
CAUSE OF THE CRIME.
The motive Of the crime was found in
Tom Woolfolk's enmity for his step.
mother and his desire to have undis.
puted possession Of his fathers property.
Captain Woodfolk was twice married,
having by his first wife two daughters
and QUE Ron-Tom. On account Of Ger.
tain business complications he settled
the bulk Of his property on his second
wife first, however, giving his elder
children their share. Tom Eas moi satis.
fed with this and hated his children in
consequence.
Voolfolk was twenty.seyen yeara of
age. He had always been Of sullen