The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-10
M'GARvE;Y HAS CONFESSED.
REMEMBER 5 KILLING HAWKINS
AND SAYS 1T WAS INTENTIONAL.

Affections of Hawking Wife and
the Husbands Efforts TO Exclude
MeGarvey. the Moving Causes That
Led to Ills Death-The Murderer
SAYS That He COnfesses because
He KNOWS the story Cannot NOW
Be Used 10 His DiSadvanIaGe-He
Expresses No Regret-The Murder
the Concluding Chapter in IA Long
story of Crime.
Tom McCiarvey. convicted of the murder
of George Hawkins and sentenced 20 the
penitentiary for life who has until re-
Gently stoutly protested that he remem
bered nothing Of the tragedy or the man
ner Of its commission. has confessed to his
attorneys that he remembers it all. and
that the bloody work was done with mall
ice aforethought.
The confession was made 10 Attorneys
AIyrick and Kline several days ago, bun
has been kept moe or less secret and
only came out yesterday, McGarvey has
told 50 many stories since the commission
of the crime and his arrest almost imme-
diately thereafter, that il is difficult to tell
just what dependence should be placed in
this one or to determine whether it is
worthy even now of credence or belief. 1t
scarcely seems possible that he would con-
Tess that he was guilty of a crime of
which be was to some extent innocent, or
TO make backer the suit of which he has
already been convicted.
Instances of such happenings are not
unknown in the history of crime, but they
are extremely rare and are referred to the
books on evidence as strange curiosihes
and wide departures from the general rule
The freaks of the human mind pass com
prehension and when in confinement
man will sometimes tell things as facts
that are the productions OF troubled con-
science or a disordered brain, and believe
them himself imp icitly, which Afterwards
turn out TO be perfect fabricauons.
However this may be, the tale that Nc
Garvey has told his attorneys corresponds
with the known facts Of the case and the
peculiarlties and criminal record of the
parties to the homicide. It is borne out
by facts that have never been discussed
in the public prints. but that have been
well known TO those who have been ia
fniliar with the story of the homicide and
have followed its development from the
time of the commission Of the crime.
McGarvey says that for a long time he
and Hawkins had lived with the wife of
he1atter, in more or less perfect concord.
The jealousy OF Hawkins finally got the
better OF his discretion, and just before
the murderer went to the war wiki The
Third IrlTnunes, Hawkins chased him over
town with a drawn knife, threatening and
attempting his life. The Quarrels npon
this subject had been renewed after his re
turn to the city, and there had been many
of them at various times and of varying
degrees of intensity and heat
On the morning of the homicide he and
Hawkins had drunk together until the lat
ter was semi-unconscious, and he himself
half crazed with drink. They had quar-
relied fercely aud long, and the wife Of
Hawkins and the fight for her possession
was the cause of the row.
Hawkins was sitting in a chair. and
finally hts head sank back and he
drowzed drunkenly. McGarVey addressed
several questions to him, but he could not
answer. He swore at him, but he made
no response. lie kicked him without pro
voking any further objection than more
pronounced snoTe.
Il was crazy with drink" said McGar-
vey to his lawyers. and the sight of the
Old scoundrel there in the chair made me
wild with anger When he was drunk. he
was a raging terror and a more powerful
man tnan 1 am. could do nothing with
him and he used sometimes to beat me
without ray being able to help il.
thought Of my money that he had spent
and CT the attempt that he had made TO
kill me months ago. He had tried to
drive me away from his wife, and l
thought of this. too. Gradually l worked
myself up 10 a wild rage and in my drunk
en- condition began to think l ought TO kill
him
"iIe was sitting in the chair with his
head thrown back and l thought how cas-
fly l could draw a razor across his throat
and send him and my troubles out of the
world Then there would be more money
for whisky and one mouth less to share it.
The old devils wife and ! would be left TO
live and drink together and he would be
out OF the way. The thought grew on me
ana | felt that 1 could not long resist it
] kicked him again, but ne did nothing and
said rolling. His silence and quiet only
added to my rage"
i passed behind him. and drew my
razor from my pocket and opened il. /
caught him by the head and drew it back
at far as l could, and then, with ali my
strength, ! dragged the razor across his
threat He jerked himself TO his feet and
started into the other room of che house.
The sight of the horrible wound that l
had made scared me, and 1 wiped the
razor on the sofa and on a piece of cloth
that was hanging by the door, and wens
out into the street. They cant hang me
now. and don't mind telling how l killed
old George L am not sorry l did it, anG
! don't care who knows it,"
The perfectly calm manner in which Nc
Garvey RECALLED his hearers with this tale
of besdality and crime was horrifyng. lie
told it as he told other of the experiences
with which his life had been filed with,
out either pride shame or emotion. Il
was just an ordinary happening that mat
tered little to him one way or the other
and he felt no conjunction, when he
knew it could not be used to his disaQ-
vantage, in giving il circulation.
When McGarVey joined the immunes
shortly after he was mustered in at Ma
con, he got on a wild tear and tried 10
XIII man, whom he chased all over
camp with the same razor with which he
finally ended the life of Hawkins and
that he carried with him constantly His
murderous passion, when aroused, was
uncomfortable and, though his hair was
hoary with age. he is as wildly vicious as
he col.d hive boon In his NnlIlh Ihnt