Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-02-28
A BRUTAL MURDER.
A Man Murders His Wife and Child in
the Territory.
His Chi ct is to Get Rid of THIN So He Can
Marry, Get Claim and Bt come Rich.
Convic ed " the CrIma
specia1 to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette.
FORT SMITH, ARK, Feb. 27.-John
Stansberry was convicted in the Federal
court this afternoon of a most atrocious
crime, that of the brutal murder of his
wife on the 18th of last October near
Eufaula, 1. T. Notwithstanding the
evidence in the case was all crcumsran-
tIal 1t was SO strong that the jury
were only out a short time when a YER
dict was reached. In October, 1885, the
defendant married Miss Mollie Eubauk
in Newton county, Mo-, where the
spring of 1889 he visited the Indian
territory and became so infatuated with
the country that he rented q farm and
bought growing crop that was on it.
He returned to his home in Newton
county, wound up his affairs, and in
August last started for his new home
with his wife and child, little girl one
year old. He went through the Terri
tory to Oklahoma and then backward to
Eufaula through the Pottowattomie
Nation. In the Nation he stopped for q
time, and on the goth of September his
wife left HIN and the child to go to a
ueighboring house. When she returned
she found her baby in a dying condition
with CHASTITY wound in the head and it
soon expired.
Stansberry said it had fallen from a
chair, but his actions and different state
ments made in regard to the matter led
many to think he had killed it himself,
though nothing was done about it. After
the death Of the child he packed up and
moved TO the farm be had rented four
teen miles from Eufaula and on the 18th
of August, some time after dark, his
wife was murdered. her skull having been
crushed with the pole of an ak as she
lay on pallet in her room. Stansberry
went to the house of a Mr.. Johnson :,
near by, and reported that while he was
absent someone had invaded his home,
murdered his wife and robbed him of
some three hundred dollars in money
Johnson and others accompanied him
back home and they found the woman
as ne had stated, the bloody ak lying
near by and pan of bloody water on
the table. The wife was taken to the
house of Johnson and the next day the
remains were taken TO Eufaula aud
buried
In the meantime Stansberry had told so
many conflicting stories about 1t that
people became convinced he had COM
mitted the murder himself. and caused
his arrest at the grave. After the funeral
he was brought here and lodged in jail
where he has since been confined. It
was testimony that he had said before
the murder that if he could get
rid of his wife he could marry a woman
OF the Territory. secure right and get
rich, and this desire is put forward as
his motive for getting has wife and child
out of the way. Stansberry is young
man, and his parents and three brothers
still reside in Missouri. One OF his
brothers was here at the trial as was also
q brother OF the murdered woman.
The latter appeared much pleased with
the verdict, asserting that he had never
! had the least doubt of Stansberry 3 guilt
| not only of the murder of his young wife
| but also of the child. The pillow on
which the murdered woman's head
rested soaked with blood and the bloody
axe wers brought here to be used at the
| trial.