The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-04
TWAS MURDER MOST FOUL
CORoNER'S JURY FOUND 40 EN-
CUsE FOR KILLING or WILLIAMS.


ferent story From the One Given
the Officers Upon Ter Arrest-Jury
Did Not Hold Her as an Accom-
pIice.
The witness who. of course, knew more
about the matter than any one else, was
the woman who had been living in the
house with Moulrie az the time that
Williams was killed, who was an eye-wit-
ness of the killing and VINO had been or
rested as an accessory TO the crime. This
was Stella Williams. with whom the dead
man had once lived in adultery and who
had borne him the child that was the
cause OF his fathers death. Her i'm
prisonmenl at the station house seemed
TO have cleared her brain or some Of the
delusions that effected it when she was
first arrested and when her principal de
sire seemed to be 10 ten a story that
would incrimiuate Moultrle as little as
possible.
When she was examined at the inquest
1t appeared that she had reconsidered this
determination and was anxious TO tell the
truth, so far as she could without max
Ing out her first statement too much OF
lie Her efforts to reconcile these two
conflicting motives produced a story that
was a trhe improbable in some of its
parts, but was yet far closer to the truth
ana more faithful TO the actual facts than
the one she had previously told to the
officers.
The coroner's jury impaneled to investi-
gate the cause and manner of the killing
of Moses Williams by Jake Moultrie, on
Poplar street in YamaCraW on Sunday
returned a verdict of murder last night.
The verdict was coincident with the jurys
retiring to deliberate.
The first witness was sworn little af-
ter 9 O'Clock and it was nearly midnight
before the verdict had been rendered and
the jury discharged. An even half-dOzen
of those who had a greater or less de
gree OF acquaintance with the case had
been called upon to give their testimony,
and most of them had long, intricate and
involved stories 10 tell. They differed in
immaterials, but upon the main facts there
was no divergence and they agreed with
almost absolute unanimity and eXactness.
She said that Williams had come TO the
door of her house on Sunday morning al
about 9 o'clock end asked for the child.
She had toid him that she had been busy
all of the week and had had no opportun-
1ty to iron any of tho boys dresses and
could not fit him out in proper shape 10
visit his grandfather, which was what
Moses wanted him to do. For this reason
biC tNtuSth HIS request y niue ldltI III
the day he sent a colored woman, Evaline
Cuthbert, with message to the same eff
feet as the one he had himself delivered
and she had refused Il on the same ground.
Williams was standing across the mar
row street from the house and heard her
refusal Up TO the time that he spoke she
had not been aware of his presence, but
he seemed to be angered by this second
refusal and said that if she did not open
the door and give him the child that he
would break il down and take him He
came over to the door and repeated his
demand and she finally opened it and told
him TO gel off the stOOp He did So and
stood on the ground outside.
As she turned and walked back into the
house Williams came up on the stoop
again and followed her inside. Moultrie
was standing ON the other side Of the
room and as Williams saw him he started
in his direction. He had a small knife
open in his hand, but did not attempt TO
raise or use it, Without a word being
spoken on either side Moultrie fired three
shots, ali of which took effect The wo-
man explained the fact that they had all
apparently been fired from behind by say
ing that as the two men approached each
other they had turned and that Williams
had attempted to get OUT of the way when
he saw the pistol in the hand of Moultrie
She ran out OF che house and away from
the neighborhOod after she had seen WI
Hams fan and was arrested some time
afterwards.
Parts of the story are evidently not
true. When she was arrested she had
something to say that would lead TO the
opinion that Williams mad wanted 10 re-
new his old relations with her and that il
was not the child that he was seeking
This was demonstrated untrue by the tes-
timony Of the other witnesses. She had
sense enough to know that this story
could not be sustained and thought she
could retain just enough of il 10 excuse
Its former recital and tell enough Of the
truth to balance the matter. There was
no knife found in Williams hand or near
where he lay.
One of the best of the witnesses. and
the che VINO knew most and could tell it
best, was Lavinia Nathans. a woman who
lives across the street from the house in
which the homicide was commiuedy She
he5rd the conversations about the child
and saw Williams enter the door behind
the woman. 1t was wide open at the time
and the man stepped across the threshold
in seeming anger at sonnet hing that had
been said to him by the woman, and which
she could not understand. Almost imme-
dlately after the door was clos
ed by some one from wnh-
in, and she heard the shots. three
an number and fred in quick succession
She saw Stella Williams come out of the
house and she entered just afterwards
Moses Williams was lying upon the floor
dead, with the blood flowing freely from
the wound in the head. She Strengthened
the body and attempted to get the man
TO speak. He was stone dead.
All this time Moultrie was standing
near, loading the pistol which he held in
his hand. She asked him why he had kill
ed Williams, and he answered that he
troubled no one, and that no one could
come fighting around where he was
She stayed with The body until the neigh
bors began TO flock in and after MouIrie
had finished his pfepara tons for depart
ure and left the house. She asked him if
he were gone for good. and he replied
that If he were not ovcrtaken he was. lie
sin carried the pisto, In his hand, as he
lett the house, and was evidently prepared
Tor any emergency that might arise
The coroner's jury required only a mo-
ment TO arrive at a verdict Of murder
The members of the jury We're convinced
that stella Williams was NOT telling tine
whole truth, but they did not think there
was any evidence that would implfcate