The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-23
After the Murderous Stroke He Set.
Fire to the House.
BODIES BURNED TO A CRISP.
soven-Y car-old Child and Another
Younger Escaped from the Burn
ing House. and on Thcir Evi-
dcncc the Murderer Was
:arrcstcd-Fienuis!, Crime
i'm South Carolina.

RAJ,EIGH n. c., March 22.-The
n,ossr horrible crime in the history Oh
north Carolina was perpetrated gary
this morning at Garners, i've nlles east east
Of 5this CITY. when a negro Tom jones'.
commonly known in the county as
"Preacher,, Jones, murdered .ilia Jones
and her Oldest daughter, Ida Jones, anu
then set fire to the beds IN Whleh Jay
,ha hodies of the murdered victims and
ea,rr others all children, ranging in
wears from baby one montn ola 70 lile
largest hoy. VINO WIS iiol htot :
years of age.
rive work was done with an axe, the
murderer. according to the story OF nttie,
seven-vear-old Laura Jones. VINO escapsu
with her youngest sister, aelipeta.eis l,l
striking the mother four times ana tnen
makins. two heavy strokes into the ooay
of the eldest child.
The house was completely uese oS N eu
~, fro and the bones Of the four young
est children were 50 iran ia .has tl.e
are now distributed among the . iisiies.
--,,icb alone remain to tell the story ol
+I,a conflaeration The body OF ciia
tones ana of Ida, were burned beyono
recognition. and are lying on the srou'lu
ucharre to q crisp.
Tho dead are: ella Jones. the mother,
,oed ,.thirtv-three; Ida Jones, thirteen
Years old; Jessie Jones, five years, oiu,
Nancy y Jones, three years oid; CleseA
Jones. two years old; an unnamed 'o'apS'
one month old. 5+,,e
The two girls who escapeA -i!oili 80 =.
fire with their: lives We're: c;S
laura Tones. aged seven years; 5sao
Jones, aged four years. of
When those who heard the story "
the 1ourtler from the lips OF the hstie
20 gee7 negro went to Jones mouse ~
ar,est him. they found that his clotHes
bnre the stains of fresh blooo, anu iio
hands even showed spots on 'tui.tssl.
blood. Though there was tstiA aiiioa9 ms
the negroes Of lynching, no atternp. .N,.a
made to do so, and Jones Mns wa ~ Il
to t11is city and placed in jail TO avs
t.;,I for his crime The two cni!dfen
,,,,,;n,, no relatives, z were taken to rhe
oo,,nty house to be cared tor.
Inncs was arrested on the evidence Oh
a. ssayen-year-old girl, Laura, VINO eS-
aa,od from the burning house after he
b,d zone. She took with ler in her arms
nor little sister, Sid, who was sleeping III
the bed with her ana an oluer sls . ee. :
Ida. who was murdered. Ihey "eiie- ~
the house Of a neighbor half mile away
or,a told what had happened. Those who
Won't to the fire could see distinctly the
hci,ies on the bed inside the burning
building. but it was too late to rescue
them.
To-day the charred remains of the two
murdered women were taken out and
buried. The four small children, except
the baby clasped in its mothers arms,
had been entirely consumed. The child
Laura is very bright for her age; and
though she told the story Of the murder
many times to-day, she never varied from
her account of it given last night while
her home was burning.
She said: ..'Preacher' Jones came to
our house last night about g. o'clock.
went to sleep. Then I woke up-mother
woke me screaming. saw Preacher
Jones strike her four times with an axe.
Then he came to my bed and struck sis
ter twice. The blood flew in my face.
After that he struck a match and set
both beds afire and went out. After he
had gone I took Sid up in my arms and
ran out. I carried her in my arms all
the way to Mrs. Winters and told them
what Preacher Jones had done"
Tom Jones denies the murder, but he
does not undertake to explain his where
abouts at the time. He admits that he
was intimate with Ella Jones, who is not
related to him. though she bears The
same name. He says that they had quar-
relied about her charging him with the
paternity of her month-old child, and
this, it is understood, was the cause Of
the crime