Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-16
Acquittal of the Man Who Killed
r. Colonel Parsons. =
he OFFERED PLEA OF LF-DEFENSE
Said He Thought That He Was
to Be Attacked.
THE JURY BELIEVED HIM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va, March 49,
A. Goodman, charged with the murder of
Col. H. C.. Parsons, was acquitted this
morning.
Friday, June %, 1894, the startling in
teliigence was received in this city that
Col. H. c. Parsons, builder Of the Rich
mond and Allegheny railroad, and owner
of the Natural Bridge property, and man
of national reputation, had been shot and
instantly killed by T. A. Goodman, a con-
ductor on the James river division of the
c. and o. railway, in the lobby of Gladys
Inn, at Clifton Forge, Va.
Goodman and Parsons had been on bad
te.ms for years, Parsons claiming that
Goodman had been rude and cruel in his
treatment of Miss Parsons, a daughter of
the colonel.
The Parsons family had pass over the
road, and on certain occasion Miss Par
sons boarded Goodman's train without
having the pass in her pocket. Goodman
demanded fare, and 1t is said threatened
to put the young lady off the train if she
failed to pay. She had in her possession
no morey and was forced to borrow from q
passenger. Col. Parsons resented this and
a GOODNESS sprang up between Goodman
and the Parsons family.
Col. ParsOns' Letter.
Parsons finally wrote to the Chesapeake
and Ohio authorities complaining of Good
mans conduct, declaring that the con-
ductor's manner was so offensive that
members of his family would not ride on
GCodman's train, and then said that he
had heard that Goodman was a man of
bad morals, who had carried women on
his train for improper and immoral pur-
poses, and had made improper overtures
toward Mrs. Staples. He asked the off,
cials to investigate these rumors.
The Fatal Meeting.
Steps were taken by the Chesapeake and
Ohio people to investigate, but in the mean
time Parsons and Goodman met at Gladys
Inn. The fatal letter of Parsons was un-
signed, but the absence of the signature
was conceded to have been an intentional
omission, as there was everything in the
letter to show that it was from Parsons
Goodman called Parsons out of the lobby
showed him a copy of the letter, asked If
he was the author, to which Parsons re-
piled in the affirmative. So
Goodman demanded a retraction, which
Parsons declined to make, and Goodman
then shot him down and killed him. ,-.-.
Goodman was tried in the county court
of Allegheny in August following.
Convicted of Murder.
The jury found him guilty of murder in
the second degree and fixed his punishment
at eighteen years. An appeal was taken
to the circuit court, and Judge McLaugh-
lin granted a new trial. The case was re-
moved to the county court of Albemarle,
and the second trial began at Charlottes-
vile on Tuesday, March 5.
Goodman's defense was, as he testified
on the stand, that when he showed Parsons
the letter Parsons threw it down con-
temptuously and said: II do not consider
either you or your family" or words to
that effect. That he then demanded a re-
traction and Parsons threw his hand to
his hip pocket, as though he would draw a
pistol, and, believing that Parsons was
going to kill him. he drew his pistol and
fired to prevent his own destruction.
1t is evident that the Albemarle jury
believed Goodman's statement and rem
dered q verdict of not guilty.