The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-03-14
DICK HAYES HANGED.
Killed His Wife and Children
for Another Woman.
HIS ConfssSion ON tho GaIIows-Hjs.
tory OF n Notable Crime aud its
Iorrtb.e q Results.

HIS Copfsssion ON the GaiIows-His.
tory OF n Notable Crime aud its
Horrible Results.
Dick Hawes was hanged at Birmingham.
Ala for the murder Of his wife and two
children.
The drop fell at 1247 o'clock. HiS neck
was broken an death was easy. The little
jiil-yard was packed to suffocatioa and many
who had tickets failed to get in.
Before the black cap was adjusted Halves
spoke briefly. He called a newspaper mau,
shook u ,nds with him and forgave him for
all false statements against him. He then
handed an Age Herotd man a written con.
fession and asked that It be published. He
ssated that hs was gull ~ 1tastly
Eniay nia q sscssssS FIX sHS nd e rs ss' Sns mem
against following In his footsteps.
Dr. Forser offsrei prayer. The drop
Tue crime for which Richard A: Hawes
paid che penalty with his life, was the MUIR
der or his wife and two children, May aud
Irene. Oi Tuesday morning. December 4,
an artificial lake at L ,st Lake. pleasure re-
sort six miles from Birmingham. 1t was not
identihs until the next day. The discovery
led to still further investigation auti thu res
idence OF Hawes was visited by several per-
| sons, who found the place deserted and ev-
dences that horrible crime had been COM
mitted. There were blood stain. on the Il >or
ani walls, AMI In corner OF o 10 OF tie
rooms bloody club was founI o. the same
day it was learued that Hawes had been
married to Miss May Storey at Columbia,
| Miss. Hs was arrested tho same nj GIT while
| passing through Birmingham on his way to
| -orgia, to spend his honeymoon. H, iien-
titled the toiy OF his child, but S ated that
| he had been divorced from his wife and sho
had gone away. The children, he said, la
been placed in the convent at Mob le, and
| he was at d loss to understand how Mays
body came to be found whore it was. Tho
psipable improbability of such story oon.
| vinced chose who heard his ssateinent oaae
|, he had murdered the rest Of the family. BY
| and the bo lies OF Mrs. Hawes aud little
Irene, helvily weighted with railroi iron,
were found ON the bottom Toe fin lin. OF
Mrs. II wes' corpse in1.mei the public
mind to a frenzy. All Efforts of the press
Ut the city and the county authorities to
| allay the excitement were futile. Ths Ill
was stormed by ten thousand persons deter
| mined to lynch the murderer, The sheriff
ordered th.m to halt, but tho mob replied
| with cries OF dersion, aud pressed forward.
| The order was given to the guard TO fire,
and a volley resulted in tho killing OF ten
persons and the woundinx OF many more.
| The spirit Of tae mob was broken, ami 1t
| never returned to the attacS, contrary to
| the expectation OF the au .horities, who had
| In the mean time telegraphed to thu gov
Brnor for military assistance. Tn. q ial OF
Hawes began on April 20, and lasted eleven
days. The jury returned verdict of guilty.
] with the death penalty, after two hours de-
liberation.
| A Kentucky Wife MUrtteror Hangs.
! Thomos o'Brien was executed at noon in
Le1ington, Ky. for aths,sIRyrdsHses Rst!ie.
F md died Protesting Innocence Ia IA min
utes ho wns declared dead. His neck was
dislocatod by ths fall.
The crime for which Thomas O'E,rien. Jr..
was hanged was the murder or his wife and
her unborn babe on the night of March 81
1859. OBrisn was % years Of age and for
several years his chief occupotion had been
gambling. One night while In this business
he shot and killed young Henry Metcalf.
but for that killing he was acquitted. Short
~ after being adjudgei free he met Bette.
ohea, beautiful girl about twenty three,
years old. She WAS employed as q domestic;
IN the family Of Mr. John s. Voolfolk. He
pei suaded the girl to marry him clandes-
timely. They went to G ncinnati and werej
married under assumed names. He contin-
ued TO vslt her as usual after their return
10 Lexington In the meantime O'Brien was
engaged to marry Miss Matte Loughlin, who
lived LII kichlnnd, Ind, and at the sains timei
was Intimate with ta!len woman nam d
Lizzie Adams, with whom he spent muchI
lime. During March it b.camo evident to
Bette Snea, that the time was fast app, oach.i
ing when her marriage must be made puplic
She oesought OBrien time and time a gain
10 acknowledge her as his wife before the
world, but he put her off on s,me rretext or
other. The time he had set to marry Miss
Loughlin was drawing near. He was also
deeply attachei Il 10 the Adams wo man. Gal
tne morning OF April last, the body OF B,t-
tie Shea, clad in her niXht-clothes was dis.
covered lying in her room by Mr.. Woolfolk's
Old oolored cook. She ha ben beaten to
death with n heavy piece of lead, which was
nfterward found aL the hCuse OF Lizzie Adams
where OBrien was arrested. Al turou.h
DIS tria! O'Brien maintained O stolid indif-
terence. lhe circumstances pointed to him
so strongly that neither the Court of App ais
nor the United States Supreme Court would
grant writ Of error.