Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-05-17
AWFUL CRIME.
Missouri Family Mysteriousiy Murdered
and Their Bodies Thrown In q Straw
Stack-The Suspected Parties.

I a 1AlB8OuEI Eamtly MFStcEfou6ly MuEQcEG0
and Their Bodies Thrown In a Straw
Stack-The Suspected Parties.
BRooKFIELD. Mo-. May 12--This
country was in fever of excitement
yesterday, caused by one of the most
| diabolical crimes ever committed in
this portion OF the state Gus Meeks,
his wife. and two children. little girls.
| were murdered in cold blood Thursday
night. and their bodies thrown in q
straw stack for concealment.
William P. Taylor, of Browning, a
town in the northern portion of this.
Linn county, is a lawyer and banker,
| and up to the day of the murder was
cashier. He has for the past four or
| five years been arrested several times
on different charges. Last fall he and
/ Meeks, the murdered man, were ar
rested on a charge of stealing a herd
of cattle from a farmers pasture
| and driving them to Purdin, where, it
is claimed, it was their intention to
ship to Chicago in the night. Meelss
had his trial and was sentenced to the
penitentiary. Taylor gave bond and
his trial was put off and was to come
up in Milan next week in the Sullivan
| county circuit court. While in the pen
| itentiary Meeks turned states evidence,
| was anu CdLlO hOIIS anu mas
since lived at Milan with his mother
and family. He would, of course, have
been a dangerous witness against Tay-
| lor.
Thursday night William Taylor and
his brother, George, farmer living
near Browning, drove to Milan, a dis
| tance of twelve miles, in two-seated
| buggy. It seems that the Taylor
brothers went to the home of Meelzs
and called him outside the house.
Meeks went back into the house after
awhile and told his family he was go
ing away to leave the country and that
the Taylors were going to assist him,
and then the wife said 81 and the
children will go with you, Gus" They
all got ready and left with the Tay-
1ors, SO the child said yesterday.
George Taylor is prosperous farmer
living 8 miles from Browning. Yester-
day morning a little 7-yearsold girl
crawled out of straw stack on the
Taylor farm and went across the road
| to the farmhouse of Mr.. Gooch. She
pitifully told her story of how she was
awakened the night before while rid
| ing along in her fathers arms, of how
she heard revolvers go off and her
| parents scream. Then something hit
her on the head and she said she went
to sleep she guessed and when she
awol1e she was in the haystack. There
was blood on her clothing and bruise
on her head.
Before she had finished telling her
sorrowful story George Taylor at 6
o'clock in the morning, was seen ap-
preaching the straw stack with team
| and harrow and begin narrowing
| around the stack. The suspicion of the
Gooch family was aroused, and they
went out and told Taylor the story of
the little girl. Taylor at once I'M
| hitched the team, and mounting one
horse rode off on the run toward
Browning. He went to Banker lay
1or's home in Browning. and about Z
o'clock the Taylor boys were seen rid
ing out of town on horseback, going
eastward.
The bodies of Gus Meels his wife
and two children were found in the
straw stack, and upon an inquest be-
ing held it was found that the father
and mother had both been shot and
then beaten with some weapon or club.