The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-03-24
CONVICTED OF
WIFE MURDER.
The Story of an Atrocious Crime in
MeckIenburg.
VERDICT OF THE JURY
The Mans Brother an Unwilling Wit
ness to the Crime and Tcstifies Of
What He Saw-Thc Body
Hid i'm Ditch.


,rbo session of the court yesterday was
taken up with the trial of Isaac Paylor
indicted for one OF the most atrOclous
murders ever committed in the county OF
even darkened the criminal annals or
thie STATE. The Commonwealth : Az
torney. r.. c. Goode, prosecuted, ana the
defence was conducted by Judge Charles
Alexander. the prosecution introouceu
eleven witnesses, ten of them giving CT
cumstancial evidence connecting w
prisoner with the crime. and one OF them
. ,.onnrer brother OF the prisoner testi-
Ged TO being an unwilling witness 10 tne
,,urder The defence offered no eNi-
dorcs The testimony was all IN at
o'clock and at half past O'CLOCK 'h'
case was in the hands Of the jury
rhis morning the jury returned YER
dict Of murder IN the first degree
4 STOLID PRISONER.
When the verdict was rsao the pIISo.'
or was unmoved From the beginning 10
the end Of the trial, he mas oeen nc g..
terized by GOODNESS and almost the ~
d,0srence of "A stole. The counsei LOT
defence moved FOR new triai; Du'
Iudco Homes promptly overruled .he
motion. and took occasion 10 say: nv
crime for which this man stahus
,.,otad ,s one OF the most cruel ana ala :
bolicol murders within the knowlsoge OF
the Court" % Toll and
,rhe prisoner was femanded 70 jan anu
Saturday. the Goth was nxeo 40 VIZ -
mon which sentence ~ death "ou'u DC
pronounced. oor,tt,
49,. eorr months ago Isaac PdNioi'
q Young negro man. not more man ~" "a
,v.Gve wears old. stalwart III pouS an,
docidedlv intelligent in appearance moN.u
win Della Paylor. his wife rom No NJ.
carolina into the lower end OF tilS
~ and engaged as farm mana 10 49, 49,.
pavlor's work and conduct were ->'',ip,
,tonalv satisfactory TO his employ, =
to"%'is ao,,,ce,ic relations were so dis-
-. W. &c IN attract the attention OF q
.,,,tor NJ norsons I'm the community
ni moro than one occasion ne Wa
,.,,a,,.n IA brutally beat his wife anu AZ
~ ,i,,o he was arrested in an sssaul.
,,,or ner with a fence rail, and al sun
a.otber time he was said to nave hIeu
ris,oI AT her from close range.
po,,lor oxpIained his acts or violence
- 80 ,reouent threats 10 Kill MS WIZ
10 his employers by charging MS WI
,r,tb Inconsistency. and with a persistence
o., nursuing him when he went out 10
visit at night.
y, ,be night of January 2lst Della Pay
Tor disappeared. 4 few days later ray
,or accounted for her absence 10 those
- rniesed her and inquired as TO her
,ybcreabouts. by saying that she had de-
sor,od him and gone back 10 North caro-
,tna On February 2ist. a gentleman was
,,alkino across a field adjoining the iarm
r.horo pavlor worked. and his attention
nc attracted TO a ditch nearby where
buzzards were gathering lie approach
ed the ditch and made ghastly discoN
erv. 4 naked body. except the heau anu
neck. was protruding from shalloN
grave. and this trunk. torn by peast anu
bird presented a disgusting ana lod,n
some appearance almost beyond descrlP-
ton. .to,o
The neighbors were gathered ana mos nos
who had known the woman thoushI ''''
thew recognized Della Paylor.
THE HUSBAND SUSPECTED.
u vas clear that a crime had beeh
committed. Isaac Paylor was -
ord arrested lie was carried 10 the
ditch and there recognized the body OF
hts dead wife. The post mortem as
closed the cause of death. \ number oil
,ronnds were found on the head and BODY.
Nfator Paylor. the seventeen-year-old
brother of the prisoner. who had been Nv
inc i'm the cabin with Isaac and ms WE
v,es arrested as an accOmpllce. BEFORE
the coroner's jury this youth told the
borrible details Of the crime. fayloI
had beaten his wife i'm their home on the
night OF January 2lst. because she IN
sisted on following him TO neighoor
house But. undaunted by his blows ana
threats when the husband left the house,
,ba Wiz pursued. Some distance from
the cabin door. Paylor procured a heavy
stick. and with his brother looking on.
heat his wife to death. lie then stripped
the body of clothing. and lifting the
bleeding and mutilated form 20 his shout
der bore IL TO the ditch. two hundred
wards away. and there buried g. as he
supposed. forever
AN UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE.
At the conclusion OF the argument In
the case yesterday. and just before the
sheriff could retire with the jury. the
prisoner arose in the box and asked the
privilege Of making a statement The
Jury paused: the judge consented to the
request: and the crowd I'm the court room
became excited and eXpectant. Paylor
was as calm I'm manner and as deliberate
fin utterance as though he had never felt
the twitching of a nerve in his body. For
twenty minutes he kept the crowd waiting
upon his every word He protested his in
nocence strongly; reviewed the testimony
skilfully: sought to cast suspicion upon
another adroitly, and pleaded for his life
pathetically
His force Of expression was astonishing.
Though uneducated. he is intelligent and
he said just what he desired with remark
able clearness and facility. He closed his
address with this sentence:
er,cpC van have M
friends; I have no relations except this
brother who has tried 70 swear away my
life. Now. gentlemen. in this condition