The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-12
BRUTAL MURDER NEAR BBAKELY.
a Drunken Fisherman ChOI<es and
Beats His Wife to Death.

Beats His Wife TO Death.
Blakely, Ca, April l0-Chris Luby viii
be indicted tomorrow for crime whose
gruesome details run parallel with the
most uncanny murders of the Borgias.
Luby is a fisherman on the Chattahoo-
chez, and has led sort of migratory life
up and down it's banks from Fort Gaines,
| Ca, to Columbia, Ala, with his wife as
his sole companion. For some weeks, or
perhaps months, past his tent has been
pitched on the Georgia side at the mouth
Of Colomokee creek, on the back side of
| Jim Neves plantation. Here he lived alone
with his wife in an unfreQuented spot far
from any other human habltaton.
There is a whisky stil and store a few
miles in the interior, on the Alabama side
| opposite TO Lubys camp, and there be-
ing no ferry or other line of communica-
| ton from the Georgia side to this place
parties would engage Luby to ferry them
| across In his boat, and would then make
| the Journey on foot the remainder of the
| way On Friday last Jim NeVes and an
! other party whose name the Morning
| News correspondent was unable to obtain,
took this route. Luby, In addition to pull
ing them across, concluded to so along
over to the stln himself. While there he
| filed up pretty well on whisky. On re-
turning late in the afternoon Lubys wife
was remembered by Neves to be standing
| on the bank of the creek engaged in fish
| ing for minnows. Mr.. Neves relates that
| Luby spoke to her pleasantly and con-
| tinued to paddle the boat up the mouth OF
| the creek, until a landing was made
| about 100 yards above. Here the two men
| separated from Luby, who then padded
back down the river towards the place
where he usually kept his boat moored
and on the oppisite side of the creek from
where he had put the two men out. Night
| brought on a torrent of rain, with rolling
! thunder and lurid flashes of lightning
| About 10 o'clock and while this tempest
was raging Mr.. Neves was aroused by
some one knocking on his front door, and
on opening 1t found Luby standing there
with drenched clothes and lighted lantern
On inquiry by Neves what his business
was with him at that unreasonable hour
on such a night, Luby said that he desired
| him to go with him TO his camp; that
| there was a corpse there. He then went
| on to relate how he had
! returned to his camp after fishing
with Neves late in the afternoon, and
how he and his wife retired early and
later an awaking missed his wife, felt
| around on the floor of the tent and stiu
unable to find her, lighted his lantern ana
| made a search on the outside and finally
! discovered her dead In the boat. Neves
!
| with Luby, sat under the tent the re-
mainder of the night, with the corpse
! The next morning a crowd gathered In to
| view the dead body. When it was dis
! covered that the woman had been choked
| and beaten to death and the suspicion
| attached at once to Luby that Ii had been
| done by him and in a drunken rage. The
! deep impression made by the fingers were
| still on the throat, the eyes were gouged
! almost out the back OF the head was
! beaten off and the body horribly bruised
! A broken plate and the torn up ground
under the tent indicated the terrible scuf-
| he that had taken place in the fight for
! life.
Preparations we're made to bury the
body. A rude pine coffin was thrown to-
| gether and the body placed In and taken
| to Colomokee church, some six miles dis
tant. While the suspicion that
had attached to Luby took shape
to Blakely for sheriff and coroner here.
While sitting in the church with the
corpse of his wife awaiting burial Luby
was arrested on a charge Of numbering
! her He did not seem much surprised
when arrested. in fact seemed to be In
different and when the Investigations by
the coroner's jury had proceeded far
enough to point almost conclusively to
his guilt he took the sheriff aside and ad-
mitted it, Says he: Sometimes a man
makes mistakes, and this thing slipped
up on me-" lie said that on getting back
to his tent in the afternoon of the day
| before he had fallen down upon a mat
tress and gone to sleep. That an hour or
two afterwards, upon awakening, he
found his wife still sitting up sewing by
a lamp He said something to her about
| sewing so late and commanded her to
60 to bed Something In her reply an
gered him, when he arose and proceeded
! to beat her. and beat her far beyond any
| previous beating ever administered to
her she concluded doubtless that her
only way to save her life was to escape.
| and finally break away from him and fled
| down the path leading 10 the boat landing
and fell into the boat and attempted to
Dush IL across the creek and get away
from him. Luby was close behind and
seized the boat before she could push 1t
from the shore. Already dying she sank
in the bottom Of the boat and died He
dragged her dead body back to the tent
and threw it half under, the other half
remaining on the outside in the rain, that
being the position II was in when the
negroes returned with Luby.
Luby expressed himself as ready to die
for his crime.
When brought into court here yester-
day his appearance indicated the typical
wife murderer. He has coarse, sandy
hair, short, stubby beard, patched cloth
ing and brogan shoes run down at the
| heels.
The grand jury had adjourned for the
term, but Judge Sheffield issued an order
for the jury TO reconvene tomorrow to
| INQUIRE especially into his case Justice
| will in all probability be speedily done.
and Chris Luby will pay on the gallows
the penalty of his atrocious crime.
STRUCK by LIGHTNING.