Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-04-11
COULD NOT AGREE.
A Mistrial in the Celebrased Meeks
Murder Case.


ang out sixty hours, the jury in the
celebrated Meeks murder trial came
into court yesterday morning and re-
ported that it was impossible to arrive
1t verdict, and it was discharged by
Judge Rucker, who said:
Gentlemen. is there any prospect
that you will agree ON Q verdict?n
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
1rom the frst9" asked the Judge.
The foreman replied that the first
ballot stood seven for conviction and
i've for aequittsl, 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.
Tie case win be tried again in this
court in July.
Review Of the Case and Trial.
CARRoLEToN, Mo, April 3.-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 z
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 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 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 q 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 fight 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 was sent to the
penitentiary. He was pardoned by
Gov. Stone. that he might be used as
witness against the Taylors. who were,
Ia consequence, anxious to be rid of
him, it was supposed.
THE STATES PROOF.
The state proved that George Taylor
had driven in wagon from his farm
to Browning on the night of May ID.
and joined William P. Taylor, his
brother. and that they were seen in
the wagon on the road to Milan, 12
miles north of Browning, and that
they went to the house of Gus Meeks
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. It was also shown by the
mother that the Taylors had offered
Meeks $500 to leave the state, but that
her SON demanded 81, 600, 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 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 r. M.
but the postmarks on the letter showed
that it was not mailed until Q 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 at her sons house shortly after 10
o'clock.
Next morning, May II, 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
horse, rode to Browning and then he
and his brother, Bill. took their flight
When the boy saw George Taylor the
latter was driving harrow just where
It would obliterate the wagon track
ruuning from the strawstack (vhere
the dead bodies were found to the
harm lot ON his own farm And this
was the only track that entered George
Taylor's barnyard, and it came from
the strawstaek.
It was also testified by two witnesses
that blood stains were on the bed OF
srsxlor,s wagon, and on the running
cesr on the morning OF the 18th, and
that he was mp early washing the We
hicle. Next day the places where the
blood stains had been were burned ana