The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-04-13
Review of the Case and Trial.

court in July.
Review of the Case and Trial.
CARRoLLToN, Mo, April 3.-The ase
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 hat they would be excused
from considering the case until z
o'clock this morning.
THE CRIME.
Early in the morning of May II,
1894, little Nellie Meelzs, covered with
blood, made her way to the farm
house of the Carter family, near
Browning, Linn county, and reported
hat 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 peat 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 haystack as she described.
The Taylor brothers, William P, a
banker at Browning, and George E., a
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 a 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 a number of criminal cases pend
ing in Linn and Sullivan counties
against them. The charges against
them are forgery, arson and larceny.
VIM. p. Taylor, Gus Meeks, and others
were jointly indicted and Meeks
pleaded guilty and vas sen to the
penitentiary. He was pardoned by
Gov. Stone, that he might be used as a
witness against the Taylors, who were,
in consequence, anxious to be rid of
him, it was supposed.
THE STATES PROOF
The state proved that George Taylor
had driven in a wagon from his farm
to Browning on the night of May 1us
and Joined William p. Taylor, his
brother, and that they were seen in
the wagon on the road to Milan, L.
miles north of Browning, and that
in Milan.
There Gus Meeks and his family were
already wrapped in their cloaks, ready
to leave promptly between IL and Il
o'clock at night, and that they did
go with the Taylors, despite the pro-
testations of the aged mother of Meeks,
who feared some harm would come to
them. 1t was also shown by the
mother hat the Taylors had offered
Meeks $500 to leave the state, but that
her son demanded i 1000, 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. He, however, swore
that he was to meet Gus at 10 a. m,
but the postmarks on the letter showed
that it was not mailed until 2 p. m,
proving that Bill was to meet Gus at
10 o'clock that night. And Mrs. Martha
Meeks' testimony was that the Taylors
were 1T her sons house shortly after 10
o'clock.
Next morning, May IL 1894, little
Nellie Meeks, covered with blood and
straw and dirt, walked up to the Car
ter farm and told the first news of the
horrible murder of her father and
mother and little sister and brother.
A nephew of Mr.. Carter went to the
haystack described, which was on
George Taylor's farm. He informed
Taylor. who was at work in the field of
the little girls story, but instead of
searching for the bodies he saddled n
horse, rode to browning and then he
and his brother, Bill, took their flight.
When the boy saw George Taylor the
latter was driving a harrow just where
it would obliterate the wagon track
running from the strawstack (where
the dead bodies we're found to the
barn lot on his own farm. And this
Eas the only track hat entered George
T~--1-H- -- IL f-1-,
the strawstack.
1t was also testified by two witnesses
that blood stains were on the bed of
Taylor's wagon, and on the running
gear IN the morning of the 18th, and
that lie was vi early washing the We