Evening star., 1897-08-26
JOHNSON CONFESSES
The Murderer of Farmer Marshall
Gives Up His Secret.
SIGHT OF His VICTIM TORTURES Elm
improbable Story Told Of Having
Acted in SeIf-Defense.
THE PRISONERS DEMEANOR

FRANK Johnson, the young coIored man
who has been under arrest on suspicion OF
having killed Farmer John D. Marshall,
vas unable tc rest easy after he saw the
body of the victim yesterday and late in
the afternoon he sent word that he want
ed to see Detectives Lacy and Weedon.
Instead of the officers going to see him, he
Was taken to police headquarters, and
there he made full confession Of his
guilt. While admitting the shooting, he
claimed that he acted in self-defense But
his self-defense plea, the detectives say
does not show that the facts, even as he
asserts them, justified him in using his
weapon.
The farmer, he says, struck him with his
whip. while. on the other hand, it is as
serted that he had no whip in his wagon.
III he had one it was lost or carried away,
for none was found when the wagon was
searched, and the roadway in the vicinity
of the Pennsylvania avenue bridge was
carefully gone over without disclosing that
anything had been dropped by Mr.. Mar
shall. From the time of the prisoners ar
rest Tuesday morning until he made his
cor fessicn, johnson seemed considerably
frightened, and the officers felt certain
that if he had not committed the Marshall
murder he was wanted for crime III some
other place. There was evidently some
thing on his mind to trouble him. He DID
not talk freely-indeed, 1t was necessary to
do some close questioning in order to get
him to say anything.
While under the charge of Detectives
Weedon and Lacy he was not at all COM
them that he was not innocent of wrong
doing.
Confidence Well Founded.
I'VE have the murderer in custody the
detectives remarked Tuesday evening, when
they had had an opportunity to see he
prisoner and note his conduct, in addition
to having the empty shell from his pistol
and the bullet from Marshalrs body, which
fitted it.
When johnson was taken to the morgue
yesterday the view he had of the dead man
mad visible effect on him. The sight of
the pale face troubled him, and late yes
terday afternoon, when he sent for the offi-
GERS, he admitted that this had preyed
upon his mind and was partly what in
duced him to admit the shooting. He told
of how Marshalrs face was before him all
the time. Such n thing sleep was i'm
possible. When his head would rest upon
the iron bench the vision would appear be-
fore him more plainly than ever, and when
he had been tortured in this way for sew
eTal hours he felt that he could get relief
only by telling of the affair as it happened.
The relief did come, although it was only
regret what he had said. and did not care
to discuss the case. The prisoner knew Of
the complete identification of him by
Farmer Lawrence ]. Bell, and he also I'm
derstood that the bullet found by the doc
tors fitted the empty shell found in the
bull dog" revolver
1t was about o'clock in the afternoon
when the prisoner signitied an intention to
talk of the case, and he desired to make
his disclosures to the detectives who had
been talking to him before. Inspector Mat
tingly had gone home to dinner, but he re-
turned to the Office after he received word
from headquarters, and was soon closeted
with the prisoner.
The Fatal Admission.
Yes, shot him. said Johnson, who was
then anxious to relieve his mind of the
heavy burden.
Il was standing near the bridge when the
countryman came along and asked for a
match. 1 told him didn't have match.
and he said:
You - -. 1 don't care whether you
have a match or not"
Continuing, johnson said he walked out
to the wagon, and when he reached the
vehicle the farmer kicked at him and cut
him across the shoulders with mis- whip.
When he made the last kick at him John
son said, he grabbed mis- leg and shot him.
Johnson paused awhile when he said he
shot him. and the inspector asked him why
he used his pistol.
Il don't know was the answer, and the
guilty man then seemed to realize the full
meaning of what he had said.
He admitted that the farmer had not
dealt him any blows with his whip with
force enough to leave a mark on him but
he thought he had not done anything to
warrant the treatment received, and he
thought he believed it self-defense when
he fired the shot. He did not mean to kill
the man. he said, but merely intended to
in he leo hi
Denies Prior Trouble.
The prisoner denied that he had ever seen
Marshall before the fatal meeting, although
1t had been limited that there had been
trouble between them at the market. John
son admitted that he had been about the
market, and had done odd jobs for country
men, but said he did not remember of hav-
ing seen Marshall there.
When the trying ordeal was over John
son said he knew it was no use to conceal
his guilt any longer, for he was reasonably
certain the officers had enough evidence to
fasten the crime on him. He was returned
to his cell in the first precinct, where be
was afterward seen by a Star reporter.
He was found seated on the iron bench in
his cell, glancing over what seemed to be "A
religious publication. {.
In conversation with the reporter, he eX-
pressed himself IN tones which indicated
sorrow Tor having made confession, and,
fearing seNerc penalty he seemed even
more detected than he was Tuesday, when
interviewed in the dock at the Police Court
Thoughts of his mother seemed to add to
his dependency, for he knew how the
news of his trouble would affect her al
though she has not seen him for more than
three years.
His mothers name, he said is Harriet
Johnson, and she is employed as a domcs-
tic in the home of MIR. Crane, O dry goods
merchant at Tullahoma a town only n few
miles below Nashville. He repeated his
story that he had not seen any of his rela-
tives for more than three years and that
he had been on the road most of this time.
During his tramping from place to place
he says, he worked on farms as well as I'm
cities. and earned money enough to keen
him in clothes. Since his arriya! here he
has spent most of his nights in box cars