Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1895-05-03

claimed that Newton was all the while
the aggressor. He struck at first one
and then the other, until all left the
house. Then he went out and return
ed with large stone. Afterward, he
came out again with fire shovel, a
poker and O smoothing iron in his
hands and got after Frank Moore,
saying, ~ am either going to kill you,
or you have got to kill me-" The boy
retreated a short distance, and then
threw a stone which struck Newton
in the head and killed him.
The above is the composite story of
the surviving participants. Zero Camp,
colored man, who lives about 200
yards from the house in which the
trouble occurred, said that he heard the
row, and that Frank Moore came to
him to get gun, but he refused to let
Frank have it.
DR.. R. A. Bratton examined the body
of Newton. He had slight wound
over the left eye, scalp wound on
top of the head, and a penetrating
wound through the left temporal bone.
This last wound, in the opinion Of
the doctor, was made with some kind
of blunt instrument, and was the
one by which the deceased came to his
DEATH
While hunting about the vicinity of
the spot on which the dead man lay,
Sheriff Crawford found a new axe,
the back of it had not been battered.
One of the girls, and the boy Frank,
stated that when the trouble COM
mcnced, the axe was lying in the house
under the bed. Frances Newton said
that she had picked the axe up and
carried it out of the house to keep her
husband, or anyone else, from getting
hold of it. Several of the jurymen
observed that the wound on Newton's
temple was of just such shape and
nature as to have been made by the
back of an axe.
The testimony was so vague and one
sided that the jury was at loss as to
how to reach verdict; but finally
decided upon the following: "We
find that John Newton came to his
death from a blow with some blunt
instrument in the hands of Frank
Moore, on April 30th, 1895, and that
Frances Newton and Mary Walker are
accessories thereto" and upon this
verdict Trial Justice Carroll commit
ted Frances Newton and Mary Walker
to Jail.
Trial Justice Carroll went to the
Jail on yesterday TO. get a statement
from Frank Moore. The boy told
story very similar to that of his mother
and half sisters. 1t varied somewhat
from stories he had told previously,
however, and there is little reason to
doubt that he had been coached by the
others.
Newton, the deceased, was about 55
or 60 years Of age and has always
borne good reputation as quiet
peaceably disposed man. Last year he
worked crop together with his wife
and step-children, on his wife's land,
and gave lien on it. When settling
time came, his wife claimed that the
lien had been given without her au-
thorty and did not want to pay it of.
n ewton, however, insisted, and as the
result there was a quarrel and separa-
ton. Although Newton is known to
have been back several times there has
been bad feeling ever since, and it is
thought that the tragedy of Tuesday
was the result of this old quarrel. Sew
eral individuals who are familiar with
the testimony in the case, refuse to
take any stock in the story that New
ton was killed by the boy Frank
Moore. The boy is only II years of
age, and quite small, and they say it
is impossible that he could have in
ficted the wound. They are strongly
of the opinion that the wound was in
ficted with the back of the axe in the
hands of one of the women, and the
statements to the contrary are merely
CIR tn Ia