The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-12-23
A FLORIDA TRAGEDY.
The DARKEST PAGE IN THE TERRI
BILE Hl,?oRY OF CRIME.

DIE O1I VT
4 Mother and Ger Two Children and a
Young Lady Observation-Disclosures of
heroic Resistance on the Part OF tie
Victims.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Dec. H.
The details Of the trsgedy ne?r New
Smyrna are coming in slowly.
Packwood left home Friday moIL ~
for Maitland to be gone two days. Ars.
L. D. Hatch, a neighber aud dear friend
Of Mss Bruce, came to spend Jay and
night with her during PackHood's a5-
sence. l.. D. Hatch Is carpenter and
orange grower and has lived near New
Smyrna ior the past fifteen years. Both
he and his wife came nom Name.
IRWIN jenkins was the first to discover
the crime. He is negro who calls at
the Packwood house every Saturday to
do errands and light jobs. At 9 O'Clock
in the forenoon ne knocked at the dvor
and got no answer. He saw the rn-
dow smashed in and then called lae
neighbors, who made an inv :stisat:on
and notified the sheriff and coroner. No
positive clu: as to the murdersr has as
vet been found. Several footprints were
fosnd in the sand under the window.
Some were made with No. or S boots,
box toe, the wear on the outside of the
heel being mdch deeper than inside,
which would inuicate that the wearer
was bowiegged. 1t was first thought
that the crime was the work . cramps;
but this was subsequently tiispelled 5y
hndins trail leading arouu1 Use yard to
the north and then shrOG3n the ham
mock south to the roac country. Pack
wood has suspicious OF SOMEBODY, but
- uses to disclose them uatii the proper
time arrives. There are ruluors OF a
discarded lover, who had sworn yen-
seance and that robbery was not the
object Of the crime, but that it was rape
and murder. The murder OF Mrs. Hatch
and her TWO children was undoubtedly
| to destroy evidence of an assault UPON
and the killing Of Miss Bruce. The 4'e-
volYer and shot gun were the property
OF Packwood, and either Miss Bruce or
Mrs. Hatch had undoubtedly used them
in self defence. The negro, Jenkins,
has been arrested, but nobody believes
that he knews anything Of the crime.
The coroner's ury has not yet rendered
verdict. Two hundred armed citizens
with blood hounds, and On horseback,
are securing the country.
One of the first men to reach the scene
after the alarm had been gwen, tells
this story of the crime: when We
reached tie house we all crowded around
the broken window and peeoed in. Be-
fore our eyes was the appalling specta-
Gle. On her face by the window In
pool of blood, Mrs. Hatch Ia! with a
bullet wound in the inside corner OF her
! left eve. Her face was Diackened with
powder. The other bodies lay near her.
! When the crash came she had evidently
been near the window. When the muir
derer entered her little son, frenzled
wits fright, had probably fed, as child
would, and had sought refuge IN the bed
clothes of the ped lounge at th. other
end OF the room. He was torn from
there, shot over the left eye, and his
throat was cut in three places. His
head was almost severed from his body.
The bed clothes were stained crimson.
While the marderer was entering The
window, Miss Bruce had apparently Sc
cured an old pistol, Smith s. Wessoa,
which was handy, and fired at him. The
ball Lsok effect in the window frame.
The murderer, needless OF, this on
slaught, continued his terrible work.
BY this time Miss Bruce had gone to
the closet and secured a double barrelled
shot gun. She levelled it at the nur-
derer as he approached, butunfortunate-
| " both hammers snapped on the shells
that had been exploded many days be-
fore. He overpoTered her and accom-
plished his devilist purpose, probably
after killing her little nephew. After
this part Of the tragedy, the murderer
shot her through the right cheek, the
ball crashing through her teeth, strik-
ing the walls and falling on tae:. bed.
There must have been another struggle
for possession Of the gun. He tore it
from her grasp, and swinging il around
his head with both hands clutch;ng the
barrel. drove the stock against her face
with terrible force. The blow struck
her between The forehead and nose, md
crushed in her skull. Every bone in
her face was broken. Thea with a kee,
bread knife he stabbed her in the neck,
cutting out square section Of flesh and
finishing with two terrible gashes on
her throat.
Frankie Packwood, beautiful gold
en- haired child Of five years, was found
on the floor at the foot Of the bed with
his throat cut. His features had been
marred. The floors of both rooms were
completely covered with blood, and the
mattress on the bed on which Miss
Bruce lay was soggT with blood. The
curtains and walls were spattered free
".
when the neighbors cleaned up the
premises the blood had to be carried
from the rooms ia dippers. 1t was then
scooped up in masses and thrown out;
then the remainder was sopped up with
soap and the spots were scrubbed and
strewn with -four; but even this did not
hide evidences Of the bloody crime"
A New Smyrna special to the Times
Union says: 1.-THE conviction is grow.
ing here that the murders at the Pack
wood house were committed by some
body belonging to this neighborheod, or
at least familiar with the premises and
surrounding country. AL the victims
had their day clothes on, which shows
that the crime was committed in the day
time. The victims had evidently spent
Friday night unmolested, as the beds
remained unmade and slops were still
standing in the chamber jars. a batch
Of yeast or dough on the floor behind the
stove continued to rise till O'Clock p.
M, and in pot on the stove was,a half
boiled ham in water showing that the
fire must have gone out, leaving it so.