The evening times., 1896-11-04
MURDERER At NINE YEARS
COlOred Girl Kills Her Baby
Sister.
ANGERED BY BEING BITTEN
III ettie Record Left to Mind Two
Year-0Id Mary, Knocks Her In the
Head, and Drags Her Groaning
Into Meeting of Mother
and MurdereSs.

Nine years of age and sentenced to prison
for ten years,-For what? Numbering two
year-old child.
At the last term of the circuit court in
Holly Springs, Mss, Hettie Record, u nine-
year-old cOTOred girl was sentenced to the
penitentiary for ten years for numbering
her sisters two year old child.
This is the first time in the history OF the
State OF Mississippi where child OF that
age was sentenced To the penitentiary, and
this was due to tie fact that i'll that State
there Is no house OF correction. j udge John
son, in prunounclng the sentence, remarked
that If there was in the state such an instl-
tuition she would lie sent there. He also
added that at any time the penitentiary Of
cials saw proper and felt that 1t would be
siIf,. To dis large nEr. = petition should be
sent to the governor asking for u parcnn.
Mr. e. Totten, who volunteered his ser
vices to act as her attorney, after cUrsult1-
ton with District Attorney Rcane, Cetidcd
that the best thing tnat could be done Tor
thechIld was to send hcr to the penitentIary,
where she would he cared for, as her family
We're very bitter against her, and, being
extremely poor. provided former wretchedly.
Although So young, she has had To do hard
work she Is an unusually bright child and
seems to appreciate her situation.
She is the daughter Of Edward and Ella
Record, who live on the plantation of
miles east Of Holly Springs. Her father
is a son Of old Spanish Record, negro
who was brought to this country from
Guiana. some ilfty years ago, 10y John Rec
ora's father He was quite savage III
that time, and thIrStcd for raw meat and
blood. He was Il terror TO the negroes
and white people in that n neiehhorhood-
lie would Kill cats in order to suck their
blood The Holly Springs negroes believed
that a trace Of this sdvaecry wa sdcvelupcd
in Heltie as q Hereditary trait derived from
her grandfather The kIllrg Cf the child
and the III amer in which she hid II away,
and the remarkable story she told, seemed
Ia have aboutUheIn something of her grand
fathers bluUdihirstines and savage Gun
ming.
WITH BECK AND AK.
Hettie's mother. who has a houseful Of
children was only too glad to give her t.
her sister for a nurse, and the tin : little
creature that does not look a Ga Y over six
years old. was left in charge or her sStcr's
house and her twq children, while the sister
worked in the field. She had her hands
full-thc cleaning up .f TIE house, the gath
ering Of brush from The weed for fires and
pncking Of water from the spring sCTae dis
iance away, and then She would sing a
lullaby until the Six-ILonth sold baby went
to sleep.
Mary, the two-year-old child, was
source of worry To her and had to be
Amused constantly. Mary would not mind,
and sometimes, with almost a iiendisb
delight, Hettie would slap or pinch her
until the child shrieEed with pain. Het-
tie tried her punishment once too often,
for little Mary, on the day OF her cruel
death. in seIf-defense, bit Hetties hand
This threw her into freaZy. She snatch
ed up brick and struck the child in the
face Telling her to the ground The baby
..I safR1 IIlF 10 aXR1lln4iFU Il
kill youb'' rushed for the AK, and with
one stroke crushed in the baby's head.
Now The fear of Cain took possession
OF Uettie. She must hide her victim, and
So, with the agility of cat, she caught
the pulseess hands and dragged the little
body to 4 ditch some distance from the
house and tossed ii down into the sand
The child moved and groaned.
''Ain't dead. is YOU? Tumake YOU dead"
and then Hettie fled back to the house,
threw the AK over her shoulder, and re-
turned to the ditch. The next instant the
AK did deadly work in earnest. Hettic
did not stop until the little head was
mashed into pulp. Then, with the ak IN
her shoulder, she returned to the house.
took her seat in the door, and awaited
her sister.
PITIFUL SCENES IN COURT.
Two hours afterward the mother came
from the field to nurse her baby. As she
approached the house Hettie ran to meet
her, crying eNcitedly: ''Ob, sister, Use
been so afraid Two old white mems
been here and stole Mary and took her
away, and said il l called you they
would kill me and the baby. They said
they wanted dat little niger for they
Selves
The mother. terribly alarmed, screamed
until the negroes working in the field
rushed to the house. Meantime the mother
wild with grief, was rushing through the
woods calling her child in her mad flight.
Crossing the ditch she saw the horrible
sight her dead baby.
Pressing the blood-covered form to her
breast, she staggered back to the house.
'.Hettie," she cried, you have Killed my
child!' Hottie denied the charge bitter
ly. and clunG to her mother who took
her home with her. To her mother she
finally confessed the whole horrible story.
At the inquest Hettie told of the tragedy
Just as il rad occurred. She was arrested,
and remained several months in Jail be-
fore she was tried and sentenced.
A correspondent went to the jail and had
the following interview with her:
'.Hettie," and the dirty little urchin
looked up with IL broad grin ON her face,
''will you tell me why you killed that child?'
''Cause she hit me-"
''Are you sorry"