Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-08-27
BLOODY MURDER.
A Negro Brutaily Assassinates a White
Man at Gracey,

w. V. Adams, section boss on the
L. g. n railroad, Gracey division,
with headquarters near Gracey, was
stabbed and killed about 6 o'clock
Saturday morning by negro named
Jim Kline who had previously been
section hand under him.
! Cline assaulted Adams and
at once jerked out knife
and began to cut and stab the
. unarmed Adams, who was not ex-
pecting trouble, at furious rate.
Adams little son, boy about II
years old, was present and saw his
father murdered. Kline after giving
him several vicious stabs in the
breast made swipe at his throat
and severed his jugular vein. The
blood spurted out on Kline's coat and
, hat and as Adams fell the murderer
took to his heels.
Adams lived long enough to tell
the name of his assailant. He was
discovered lying by the tool house by
the section hands who also saw the
negro running away. The victims
hands were gashed, showing that he
had repeatedly grabbed the knife
blade, only to have it pulled out Of
his hands by the murderer bent on
taking his life.
The chief of police was notified by
telephone and Chief Fritz and Of
ficers Henry Layne and George
Walker took the blood hounds and
started out howard Gracey. A few
miles from town they met negro
who was walking by the wayside.
They called to him and he began to
: run and jumped over a fence into
cornfeld. The officers got out of the
7 vehicle and gave chase and after
firing several rounds at him he
{ stopped, being too exhausted to run
, longer. None of the shots hit him.
} The negro's hat was bloody. He
. said he got the blood on it "toting
beef" He had thrown away his
: bloody coat. He was taken to Gracey
) where he was identified by the little
? Adams boy and the men who saw him
leaving the tool house. He made
: several attempts to break away and
had to be tied and closely watched.
He reached town about two o'clock
and was lodged in jail.
Kline is a small, heavy built, brown
: negro about 35 years old. He was
> quarrelsome, triAing fellow and
. Adams had incurred his enmity
: by turning him off. 1t seems to
: have been a cold blooded murder,
with revenge as the motive
I Adams was a quiet, steady man,
popular with the road and we'll liked
generally. He was about 10 years
,, old, and leaves a widow and one child.
He had been in the employ of the L.
& N. several years.
THE INQUEST HELD.
The Coroner's inquest developed
the following additional facts:
W. D. Brown, NJ. D., of Julien, tes-
titled that death resulted from sever
ing the jugular vein.
7 E. G. Cravens stated that Adams
told him while dying that jim Kline
cut him.
| W. S. Adams testified that he saw
man that resembled Jim Kline
throw two rocks at Mr.. Adams and
then saw them run together and
clinch and fall
Dick, Adams, son of W. Y. Adams,
testified that he saw his father go to
the tool house and set the bucket
down and then Jim Kline jumped out
of the house and knocked him down.
He then drew the knife and stuck it
in his neck. Then he got up and ran.
A. Collier testified that when he
came to the door he saw Adams
strangling in the ditch and saw Jim
Kline leaving the scene and could
swear that it was the same man.
Tucker Lewis testified that he saw
the man leaving and that he re-
sembled Kline.
Charley Boslin testified that he
saw the man leaving and that his
form resembled Kline's.
Mrs. Adams, the wife of Mr.. Adj
ans, testified that her husband told
her it was Jim Kline who cut him.
The verdict was as follows:
We the jury summoned by the coro,
ner to look into the cause of the death
o. W. V. Adams, who died Aug. "a,
1895, at j. F. Clardy's switch. after
hearing all the available evidence,
find that he came to his death by
knife thrust, the same severing the
jugular vein, the knife being in the
hands of Jas. Kline:
JAS. ALLENswoRTH, Jr.
L. g. CRAvENs.
j. T. CLARDY.