The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-03-25
SHOT HENRY WALL. AT FOREST
VILE IN JANUARY.
CLAIMS IT WAS IN sELF-DEFENSE
Thought His Life Was in Danger Wher
He Killed Nall Who Was Des-
perate Man-.Able Argument
by Counsel.

for the murder of negro, Henry Wall,
at Forestville on January Both. 1t natur-
ally. excited great interest, being the first
capital case that has been heard in this
county since Geo. Mills, some three years
ago. was tried and convicted of Grimm
ally assaulting and then numbering his
niece, lana Williams, near Apex
The defendant was represented by Mr..
J. G.. l.. Harris and the state py Sollcl-
tor Pou. A large number of witnesses
had been summoned by both sides.
1t took more than an hour to select
jury There were eight peremptory chal-
lenyes by the defendant and four by the
State: four set aside by the defendant
for cause and FIVE by the State. The jury
as finally selected was follows: u. a
Broughton, d. w. Register, Jas NJ. Fer
rail-. Nordeet Jeffreys, tcol.). Brod1e
Rogers, (col). A. w. Moye, w. +. Deb
nam. lcoi), Fired Mailer. Frank Wand,
T. p. BaIlentine, T. b. Strong. r. A.
Watson.
The bill of indictment was then read by
the Solicitor charging Groves with viii
fully ,maliciously and feloniousiy killing,
on the night of January Both, one Henry
Wall.
. The following witnesses were then
sworn for the State: I1onnie Massenburs,
Emma Stewart, DIR. j. Il. Powers and
John Dunn. For the defendant: J. il.
Phillips, z. w. Allen, +. p. Dunn, J. l..
Allen. w. p. Robbins, Ohio Holding,
c. l.. Watkins, +. z. Lloyd, II. A. Cha
pel Willis Martin, J. X. Harris and
Jack Young.
The first witness for the State was
Lonnie rMassenburg, colored, who gave
substantially the same testimony as that
given by him recently ON the preliminary
trial and printed IN this paper. He re-
lated how the defendant Groves went to
Wallis house on the night of January
3Oth, and asked for. Wall. and on being
told by Mary Crudup that Wall was abb
sent he went into the house and waited
for, him. When Wall came he told:
Groves he was welcome If he behaved
himself Wall then went out for some
wood and Groves began to curse, saying
that some one had been telling lies on
him. When Wall came back he told
Groves he had better leave the house and
he left, still cursing. A few minutes
later the witness and the deceased,
Robert WALL went to the house of Iur-
ner DORIAN, short distance away
Turner and Henry We're playing banjos
and the witness dancing when Groves
knocked at the door half an hour later.
Groves and Wall stood in the door and
3 talked awhile, then they went outdoors.
About ten minutes later the witness went
to the door and heard Groves say: You
didn't want me at your house tonight;
didn't treat you righty's Wall told
him he did not that he insulted him,
but it was all right now. Groves re-
piled. ITS d-n lie," and pulled out his
pistol. Wall threw up his hand. and
jumping back, said. Don't shoot me-.
man."
Just as Wall spoke the words. the wit
ness said, the pistol fired and Wall fell
Groves ran. The witness and Dorham
took Wall home, put him TO bed and sent
for DIR. Powers. This all occurred on
Saturday night Massenburg said he
saw, Groves the next day but did not
speak to him.
On cross-examinat;On, the witness said
he supposed he and Wall had been at Tur-
ner Dorl,ams house half an hour before
Groves came When Wall went out he
(WalD closed the door, and he and Groves
walked about twenty steps from the
house In about ten minutes the shoot
ing occurred.
The witness said he did not know that
Mary Crudup and the other women at
Wallis house were of bad character. He
had never heard that Groves was too
intimate with Walls wife
DIR. ]. b. Powers evidence was also the
same as it was ON the preliminary exam
nation on March 10Th, and at that time
printed i'm these columns. DIR. Powers
was the physician who attended Wall
after the shooting He first saw the
wounded man on Sunday, some twelve
hours after the shooting. He found
bullet wound in the left side over the
Kidney, in what is technically known
as the lumbar region. A probe inserted
in the wound passed easily and directly
into the abdominal cavity. On the fourth
day Wall died of the disease known as
peritonitis, or inflammation of the lining
membranes of the interior of the abdo-
men. The pistol bullet was the undoubted
cause of Wallis death.
On cross-examination DR.. Powers said
Lonnie Massenburg said at the time that
he didn't know any thing about how the
shooting occurred, and he had a dim re-
collection of Massenburg saying some
thing of his being in the house picking
the banjo when the shooting occurred.
1t was, DR.. Powers said, very dark
night and was mailing little. He did
not think man just coming out from
light could have seen five steps. The
witness said he asked Nassenburg par
ticularly about the difficulty, and he
! denied knowing anything about it.
At this point the State rested its case.
The defendant, John Groves. was the
first witness in his own behalf He said
he had been Living at Wake Forest about
five months when the difficulty occurred
and which he very much regretted
On the night of January Both, Groves
! said he went to Walls house looking
for Jack Young, for whom he had prom
ised to write a letter He and Jack left