The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-04-12
COULD NOT AGREE.
4 Mistrial in the Celebrated Meeks
Murder Case.

Murder Case.
The Jury. After SIXTY Hours. stood 40 ri
tsrst seven for Conviction aud
Five for Aeauittai-rhe
Crime and Trial.
CARRoLLroS. Mo. April i. After be.
Ing out sixty hours, the jury in the
celebrated Meeks murder trial cam,
into court yesterday morning and re-
ported that ii was impossible to arrive
at a verdict, and il was discharged by
Judge Rucller who said:
Gentlemen. is there any prospec,
that you will agree on verdict"
None whatever" replied George
Fleming. the foreman.
What do the rest of you say" asked
the judge.
There is no show whatever" sew
eral replied
DO you stand now as you stood
from the tirst?" asked the judge.
The foreman replied that the first
bahot stood seven for conviction and
FIVE for acquittal. and the result was
the same in all other ballots.
Judge Rucker ordered the clerk of
the court TO enter the disagreement,
and then he discharged the jury and
continued the case To the next term of
court
The case will be tried again in this
court in July.
Review OF the Case and Trial.
CARRoLLroN. Mo. April s.-The case
Of the state against William and
George Taylor. charged with the muir
der of Gus Meeks, was given to the
jury last night at the conclusion of
the arguments by the attorneys After
hearing the instructions the jury was
informed that they would be excused
from considering the case until :
o'clock this morning.
THE CRIME.
Early in the morning of May IL.
1894. little Nellie Meeks. covered with
blood. made her way to the farm
house of the Carter family. near
Browning. Linn county. and reported
that her father, Gus Meeks. and
mother. with two of their children,
had been murdered the night before
and buried in a nearby haystack. She
said that two men had come to their
house with a wagon and team TO move
the family. and on the road they
had shot her father and mother
to death and beat out the brains of her
little sister and baby brother with
stones. They had also beat her into a
semi-conscious condition and left her
for dead. but she had revived and got
away. A search revealed the four dead
bodies in the havstack rs she described.
The Taylor brothers, William p.
banker at Browning. and George f..
farmer. disappeared that day. and for
weeks hundreds of citizens secured the
country for miles around in pursuit of
them. Several months later they were
captured in Arkansas. and when
brought here mob started TO meet
and lynch them. The officers in charge
eluded the mob and got their prisoners
safely to st. Joseph, where they were
Kept until brought here for trial.
Aside from their flight suspicion
pointed to the Taylors because there
were number Of criminal cases pend
ing ia Linn and Sullivan counties
against them. The charges against
them are forgery. arson and larceny.
Vim. T. Taylor, Gus Meeks, and others
were jointly indicted and Meeks
pleaded guilty and was sent TO the
pcnitentiary. He was pardoned by
Gov. Stone. that he might be used as a
witness against the Tavlors, who we're.
IN consequence. anxious TO be rid of
him. 1t was supposed.
THE STATES PROOF
The state proved that George Taylor
bad driven in a wagon from his farm
to Browning on the night Of May 10.
and joined William p. Taylor. his
brother, aud that they were seen in
the wagon on the road to Milan. IL
miles north of Browning. and tina,
they went to the house of Gus Meeks
ia Milan
There Gus Meeks aud his family were
already wrapped in their cloaks, ready
to leave promptly between ii and L.
o'clock at night. and that they did
20 with the Taylors. despite the pro-
ecSlaAonS VI thc dRcu huOtner VI MeekS.
who feared some harm would come to
them. 1t was also shown by the
mother that the Taylors had offered
Meeks $500 to leave the state. but that
her son demanded 81, 900, they wanting
him out of the way SO he could not
testify against them. Bill Taylor final
ly consented TO Gus terms and wrote
Meeks a letter the day Of the murder.
telling him to get ready TO leave at 10
o'clock. Taylor on the stand admitted
writing this letter. lie. however, swore
that he was to meet Gus at 10 a. m.
but the postmarks on the letter showed
that il was not mailed until p. m,
proving that Bill was to meet Gus at
10 o'clock that night. And Mrs. Martha
A..lz...