Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1895-06-17
CHARGED WITH MURDER
Hickman Laws, Colored, In
Custody for Killing His Wife.
BEAT HER BADLY AND FREQUENTLY

AND She Died After Having Been Treated
to One More Severe Than UsuaI-He In
Held for the Coroner's Investigation
Interesting Case.
Hickman Laws. colored, aged about
80 years, is In custody, charged with
murder. He was arraigned In Municipal
Court this morning and held, without
bail, to await the action of the coroper'a
jury. The charge is that OF assault on
his WIFE, Laura, from the effects OF which
she died at 3 p. IA. last Friday
Laws was arrested by Detective Witsil
near Elsmere yesterday afternoon. He
claimed TO be on bis way to the house Of
William b Carswell to secure some
money to help bury his wife He was at
one time employed 10 the coal yard which
Mr.. Carswell managed for his mother at
Fourth and the p, w, Il B, R. 4
An EVENING JOURNAL reporter called
at the house Ne 200 Curlett street, where
the Laws family lived, this morning and
saw Charles Lewis, father of the dead
woman, and who resides at No 1908 Pine
street. He said that his daughter
was married to Laws some seven
years ago aud had two children. q son
happily. Both of them drank consider
ably and quarreled frequently, and Laws
was Ia the habit of beating her He.
Lewis, had advised bis daughter to
leave her husband, but she
had refused to do So Mr.. Lewis knew
noih hing Of the last quarrel, but said that
from the fact that his daughter had
bad brulse on her forehead and that
blood WAS on the chimney, it must have
been serious one.
Mrs eliza @ Roberts, who lives next
door TO the Laws house, said 20 the ra-
porter: On June B, about five minutes
past ! o'clock at night, | was watching
my little boy who was sick. / heard
Laws and his wife fighting and heard her
fall went into the back
yard and heard Mrs. Laws say:
You Cd s--b quit choking me.
You are killing me She called
murder three times and then cried oh
why don't some one come He Is choking
me to death He said i don't care a ---
II do III fnish you this time. Later
Laws came TO my house and
asked for lamp, saying that
Laura had fallen down stairs
said that It WAS a wonder they couldn't
stop lighting and he replied Oh that's
all right. The week before THAI he had
beaten her He said that she had been
out on walnut street and stayed late
aud wouldn't say where ale had been
Both OF them drank / saw him carry
her home July In his arms and she was
4 drunk
Next morning, last Tuesday, she
informed me that he had beaten her, and
complGined OF her side, head and back.
She went to her bed on Sunday week and
died on Friday She had q mark on her
forehead DR.. Ebert was summoned on
that Sunday"
Mrs $. 3 Robinson, who lives at
| No, 706 Curlett street. was present when
Mrs. Laws died, bat said that she said
nothing about the beating she had
received II Is understood, however,
that Mrs. Laws received another bad
beating last Tuesday night The coro-
nsr has the case In hand and will have
an autopsy made this afternoon and
TO morrow will hold an inquest
Laws at the time OF the death OF his
wife WAS employed ia cosling steamers
and tugs he Was ct times out OF work
and then his wife who was q hard
working woman, supported the hou' Q.
The case Is an interesting one