The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-02-15
BLANCHE HERS KILLED.
BY HER HUSBAND.
A DAWSON GIRL THE VICTIM IN
A TRAGEDY.

Her Dead Body Found by the wAtcbmsu
IN Bridge at Nashville. Her Husband
j. ID. Clark Has Been arrested. Cbarvao
With the Crime.
Mrs. j. d. Clark, formerly Miss
Blanche HERS, native of Dawson and
daughter of the late John A. HERS of
this city. was murdered in Nashville.
Tenn, few nights ago under sensa.
tlOnal circumstances.
Her husband, who belongs to
prominent Alabama family, is in Jail
charged with the crime.
AS soon as relatives IN Dawson be-
came satisfied that the murdered wo.
man was Blanche HERS they wired the
authorities at Nashville to give the
body proper burial.
She last visited Dawson about two
years ago, to attend her fathers funer>
al, and had many acquaintance and
friends in the city who will regret to
lcAA vi ueF tragic death.
The particulars of the crime are CIV
en- as follows by press dispatch from
Nashville:
All the material facts in an interest
ing murder mystery were developed to.
Gay because Of the bungling and stu>
pa efforts of the murderer to conceal
his crime. The warm BODY of an al.
most nude young woman was found it
Hyde'sferry bridge, four miles down
Che river after midnight by the bridge
Waterman, who had come out to sale
the bridge, which was covered with
sleet. young man, driving an omen
buggy, had left the bridge as the
Waterman appeared. The man had
been In the bridge over an hour tieing
ropes around the body with the evident
intention of attaching weights and
sinking it in the river, when he might
nave thrown it over and escaped de-
lection had he made his ARRANGEMENTS
elsewhere.
! The BODY was identified this morn>
ing as that of Blanche Clark, and the
arrest OF her husband, j. D. Clark. a
LUMBER buyer, occurred soon after
wards. Clark and the woman have
got along badly and testimony was
given today that she had consulted a
lawyer Saturday because he had
threatened to kill her.
Clark last night purchased two
ounces OF chloroform, which ne evil
oently used on his wife, as post NOR
tenn examination revealed that the
| heel prints on her face and other
bruises on her head were not of a ma
ture to cause death. Clark at 7 O'Clock
this morning again crossed the bridge
and stopped and looked at the sp0t
where he left the body. Driving on to
town, he put the horse and buggy IN
at livery stable and went on home.
where he was arrested about 10 o'clock
He had about $50 0 and all the woman $
je |elry in his pockets. and claimed e
had not seen her since yesterday after
noon when she had left the house, saw.
ing she was going to Atlanta.
The woman's dress aud night gown
were found in the room torn t. pieces.
Clark has been positively identified by
the druggist who sold the chlorofOrm.
by the bridge Waterman and the stable.
man, and there is no possible doubt as
tp.his guilt, 1t develops that he is
son OF Il. w. Clark, retired merchant
of Montgomery, and brother of Hon.
I. H, Clark, who was speaker of the
Alabama house of representatives in
| 1894 SO and is now assistant librarian at
Washington.
In the woman's trunk we're found old
kilograms from R, H. and w. E. HERS,
of Dawson, Ca, and it is supposed that
she was their sister. The woman had
property which yielded her comfort
able income.
The diamonds aud $500 found on
Clark when he was arrested belonged to
| her.
The cause of the crime is probably an
attachment for another woman, one If
whose letters caused recent separa~
ton. Clark will be arraigned in the
criminal court tomorrow.