The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-09-25
MURDERED THE OLD MAN
BALAAM FULLER CONFESSES THAT HE
KILLED ROBERT P0STELL
He Says He Had a Quarrel With Him
on the Morning OF Friday, September
18th, n Followed Him Down L
Smiths Creek and Killed Hfm-The
Old Nan Fought for Lite.

ored bill poster who put up the pictures
Tor years for the attractions at the
opera house, and who was committed
to Jail asst Monday on the verdict of
the jury which held the inquest over
the dead body of old man Robert Pos
tell, has confessed that he is the MUIR
derer. He confessed in jail to a party
who talked with him in his cell on last
Monday night For good reasons, the
fact that he made a confession was not
allowed to leak out.
Balaam was confined in the female
department at the Jail where he could
not be near any Of the other prisoners,
and the person to whom he talked
went to his cell while it was without
a light. There in the dark. he was ask
ed if he knew who murdered the old
man who was found dead with his
head battered IN several places, at the
botto moi the embankment on the
east side of the end of the Whining
ton and Weldon railroad bridge, on Sat
urday morning last week, and warn
ed that he need not say anything that
would NV himself unless he de-
sired to do SO. In reply he held up
both hands and declared that he knew
OIL no one WHO COulO nave nuTl d udlr
on the old mans head. When the
party left him, he told Balaam to stick
to the truth, and when he started
down the steps BALKAN called him back
and said he wanted to make a confes-
sion.
BALKAN then went ON to say that on
the fatal Friday he had a quarrel in
the morning with old man Postell at
the county home, Of which both were
inmates. He said Postell cursed him
and called him a foul name, and that
he (Balaam) told the old man that ne
Intended to Fix him. for it. He stated
that when Postel got his hoe and
bucket and went down to Smiths Creek
bridge to dig bait, he followed him, and
went down the embankment where he
was digging in the swamp for bait. He
states that he took the rice hoe away
from Postel and struck him over the
with it, but he didn't think he
/, had hurt the old man very much. The
old man, however, began to yell muir
+ der! murder!" and then Balaam say
he took a railroad bolt with a solid
nut on one end n struck him over
the head with it in a good many places.
He then left him for dead
=. After telling how he killed Postell,
BALKAN went on to say that the three
dents o nthe telegraph pole at the foot
were made by the bolt in the hands of
Postell. He says after he struck Pos
5 tell on the head with the hoe, the old
man picked up a bolt that was lying
5 near by and struck at him with it sew
eral times. He then took the bolt
e way from the old man, and beat him
over the head until he thought he had
killed him. In his confession the MUIR
derer stated that after killing Postell
r he came across the railroad bridge. to-
wards Wilmington, went through the
4 fields to the county road bridge and
q thence went hack f0 the home in order
r to avoid the possibility of meeting any
one on the railroad. He says he left
l the county road and crossed the rail-
= road track at the cattle gap a few hun
dred yards from the home and went to
the home through the field, as testified
to by James Brown, the colored in
mate who was a witness when the jury
went out there on Saturday.
The story Of Balaam bears put the
= 4 theory which was hit upon by Sheriff
: w. G. MacRae at the inquest. 1t was
> believed that Balaam followed him to
the creek and killed him with the old
. mans hoe. 1t will be remembered that
{ when the jury began the inquest at
the county home on Saturday, the next
day after the old mans dead body a
: been found, it was proven by James
!. Brown, colored, one of the inmates of
the home, that soon after Postell left
!, the home Friday afternoon Balaam fol-
lowed him down the railroad track,
walking TdplQly towards the Dr1QSe.
After hearing that statement, strong
suspicion rested on Balaam and three
of the jury were so strongly convinced
that he was the murderer that they
were ready to say for their verdict that
the deceased came to his death at the
hands Of Balaam Fuller, but three of
the jurors were not satisfied to put his
life in jeopardy on such slim evidence.
They then adjourned the inquest over
till Monday. At the inquest on Mon
day c. c. Cokeley, colored, testified
that two weeks before the murder Ba-
laam told him he was going to follow
the old man to the creek and kill him.
Considering this with the other state
ment that Balaam had been seen on
the afternoon Of the murder following
the DID man down the railroad, the jury
unanimously rendered a verdict that
on and belief Balaam Full
Ter was the murderer. He was ac-
cordingly committed to Jail.
After Balaam'S confession, Sheriff
MacRae went to h scene of the muir
der and nea the telegraph pole he
picked up a bolt. He does not think,
however, it is the one with which the