The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-06
MURDERED FOR HIS MONEY.
f. c. GOODWIN KILLED NEAR BUR-
ROUGHs BY UNKNOWN PARTIES.

Body Beaten with RaiIs-About
$75 Taken From the Murdered
characterised After Being Shot.
Was on His Way Home After Clos
ing His store at BurrOughs-shot
While Fixing His WaeOn-BOdy
Discovered Yesterday Morning.
Coroner and Brother Went to the
Scene.
News of a horrible murder was brought
to the city yesterday morning from near
| Burroughs, a station about twelve miles
from the city on the Savannah. Florida
and Western and the Florida Central and
Peninsular railroads.
E. c. Goodwin. the proprietor of store
| at that place, had been shot and beaten to
death the night before. The report was
brought in by Mr. Pemberton, a former
partner of the murdered man, who was
the first to make the discovery of the
murder. The coroner at once left for the
scene on being notified, as did also A. p.
| Goodwin, a brother of the dead man.
on their arrival at the scene of the
murder, those who went out from the city
found the body lying on one side of the
road. Three wounds, evidently caused by
| buckshot. which apparently would have
been sufficient to have resulted in speedy
death, were found in the right side of
the head. In addition, there were numer-
Gus other wounds and bruises over the
entire body These had all been inflicted
! with two rails. that yet, bloody and part
| ly broken, lay upon the ground, one of
| them laying, broken in half, upon the
! breast of the murdered man. The ground
about gave evidence Of a struggle having
taken place before the victim would yield
up his life.
/ There was nothing to be seen that
! could be taken as a clue to the perpetra-
tors of the terrible deed. They had left
no trace by which they could be found,
care having been taken to leave their iden-
/ tity a mystery. 1t was suspected, though
for what reason could not be ascertained,
that the assassins were negroes. The pre-
sumption was that it would have been
some Of the negroes who often were about
the store at the time when the proprietor
was about to close up that would have
! been most likely to have murdered him.
! The knowledge that he often took away
! considerable sums with him was enough
/ TO incite the greed Of any numerous ma
/ lures among the crowd.
Night before last was one of those occa-
| sions on which he had money to take
home with him. 1t was his purpose to
| come to the city the following morning
! to make a deposit in one of the banks. 1t
/ is not known just how much cash he mad
/ with him. but it is thought the amount
was as much as SO or $50. The porter at
| the store saw him as he was preparing to
| leave for his home Mr.. Goodwin took
| shot bag containing the money intended
| for the deposit, and placed il in the wagon
! in which he was accustomed TO drive the
| three miles intervening between the store
! and his home. A pistol that the proprle-
tor knew TO have been unloaded was also
! put into his pocket.
! Locking up the store he then set out
! for home one mile down the road he
was fired upon from ambush. From all
| indications the unfortunate man was not
fired upon while in his wagon. He had
| gotten down to fix the wagon wheel. The
nut had run off the axle and the wheel was
/ in danger of slipping off He had run it
1 back TO its place and had probably just
/ began his search for the NUT when the
/ towards shot was fired.
! The robbers and murderers followed up
the shot by an attack. Two rails were
! seized from the fence and the victim was
/ beaten to death, hardly portion of the
| body remaining that had not been bruised
! or broken. The assassins then went
/ through the pockets of the victim, taking
| everything he had except the keys to the
store The bag of money, the tempta-
! ton they had been unable to Withstand,
| and which they had committed murder to
secure, was also taken from the wagon
About 7:30 o'clock the next morning Mr..
| Pemberton, neighbor, was passing along
the unfrequented road. He saw the horse
of his friend and former partner in bust
ness grazing by the roadside and looked
about for the owner. He had not long to
look for the animal had not strayed more
than few yards from the spot where the
deed had been done Mr. Pemberton then
examined the body and saw that every
sign of life was gone. He notified a num-
! Der of people in the ueghDorhood and at
once started to the city to inform the muir
dered mans rela of the crime.
Mr.. Goodwin was an unmarried man of
| 92 He was up to a few months ago
route agent for the Southern Express
! Company, running between Waycross and
! Charleston. He leaves an aged mother,
! whose greatest support he had been, three
! brothers and two sisters, all of whom, with
| the exception of one sister, reside in the
/ city. The brothers are a. p. Goodwin,
/ who is employed by the Plant system; L.
/ w Goodwin, in the employ of the same
/ company; and A. II. Goodwin, who is
/ street railway conductor here. One of
| his sisters, Mrs. J. L. Sundy, is a nurse at
| the Savannah hospital
The funeral will take place this after
| noon at O'clock from the residence of
| Mr.. a. 2. Goodwin, No. 12l1 Abercorn
! street. The interment will be at Laurel
| Grove.
No inquest was held over the body, the
fact being self evident to the coroner that
| the man had come to his death from
wounds administered by unknown hands.
/ The brothers announce their intention of
| Offering a reward for the apprehension
of the murderers. They believe there was
more than one concerned, as the two rails
indicate that confederates committed the
murder. They will also ask the gov
ernor to supplement the amount of re-
ward they will offer.