The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-23
IN THE HANDS OF THE JURY.
TWELVE MEN WILL DETERMINE
MOULTRIE'S GUILT OR INNOCENCE

riOr Court for thesMurder of Moses
Williams, Committed In Pannx-
cake Lime, in Yamacrayv, on July
2-Witnesses for State and Defense
Tell the story of the Homicide.
The Defendants Contention ana
Plea Were That He Had shot in
Self Defense-Case Lasted Until A.
ter MidniGht-Spirited Arguments
of Counsel.
Jake Moultrie was placed on trial for
his life in the Superior Court yesterday
morning. The crime with which he is
charged is the murder Of Moses Williams,
in Pannycake lane, in Yamacraw, on the
morning of Sunday, July 3
Moultrie is an itinerant negro preacher.
The homicide was committed in the house
of Stella Williams. woman with whom
Moses Williams had formerly lived, and
who had borne him a child. The prisoner
was defended by Messrs Twiggs & Oliver,
Judge Twiggs appearing for his firm and
its client. The case went to the jury after
midnight, and at an early hour this morn
ing there seems no prospect of an agree
ment
The first witness was Coroner Goette.
who testified to an examination made by
him OF the premises in which the homt-
eide was committed and of the body of
the dead man an hour or two after the
tragedy. The Coroner testified that the
man had come to his death by pistol
wounds inflicted a short time before his
q vFQG
wounds were in the back, one in the neck
just below the base of the skull, and the
other above the hips. The Coroner had
searched the room and the clothing of
Williams for weapons but had found
nothing that could be put 10 a deadly use.
other than small knife that he found.
c-Osed, in one of the pockets of the dead
man. He had, with a jury. judicialy in
vesjgated the cause and manner of Will
liams' death
Evaline Cuthbert, a negro woman, who
lived across Pannycake lane from the
house in which Williams met his DEATH
was the next witness. The woman stated
that on the morning of the homicide she
mad seen Williams in the lane and he had
asked her to go across to the house Of
Stella Williams and deliver a message for
him. Stella Williams was the mother of
Williams child, and the man wanted the
boy dressed so that he might be taken
to see his grandfather.
There were two or three messages sent
by Williams to the woman, who was the
mother of his boy, each one with the same
result peremptory refusal to permit the
enid to be taken out of the house. Then
Williams himself walked across the street
and Knocked at the door After a short
interval
and told Moses that she did not want him
about the place and that he must go
away. She showed him with her hand and
his cap fell to the ground Then the wo-
man walked back into the house, closing
the door after her, and Williams picked
up his cap and followed her
From her point of vantage across the
lane the witness swore she saw Williams
and the woman scuffiing together, and
then heard and saw the door slammed
There were three shots in rapid succession
punctuated by the screams of a woman.
an interval of deathy silence, and then
Stella Williams rushed out of the house
wringing her hands and crying. The wit
ness swore that Williams did not have
weapon when he entered the house in
which he was killed.
The next witness, Lavina Nathans. told
a story of the events leading up to the
shooting, approximately identical with
that tod by the woman who had preceded
her on the stand. She had seen Stella
Williams leave the house and had been
herself the first person to enter il. The
woman had found Williams lying on the
floor, and gasping in his death agony. He
was against the door and she had to move
his body slightly and then step across it
in order to enter.
Moultrie was still in the room. engaged
in preparations for his departure. He
had a sachel in his hand and two hats on
his head and was pushing the empty shells
from the still smoking revolver and In
sorting nov ones. She has asked the man
what ne had done and Moultrie, in reply.
had mumbled out that "he never troubled
nobody and Nose had no business to come
about here lighting" Then the slayer
had completed his preparations. stepped
hurredly through the door and walked
away Gown the lane.
Joseph Henderson, a negro man. ha
seen Moultrie as he left the scene of the
homicide, and had heard the man say that
he had already killed one -
that morning and If he was stopped would
Kill another" The witness had not been
interrogateo as to this fact at the coro-
ner's inquest and had. therefore, not given
il IN his evidence at that time.
Fatrolmen Jernigan, who led the pur-
suit after the escaping Moultrie, testified
as to is more prominent features 1t had
a. i
Moultrie had led the posse of 200 or 800
that he conducted a long and hard chase.
The man had shot at members of the pur-
suing party two or three times. He had
finally been captured in canebrake three
miles from the city, crouching on his
haurches and with his revolver in his
hand. Here the state rested its case.
The prisoners statement began the evil
dence for the defense. 1t was illiterate,
and at times unintelhgible, but in the
main cleverly worded and consistent with
itself, if not with the testimony of some
of the witnesses. He told the jury that
Williams had been threatening his life on
many occasions prior to the homicide, and
that on this account he had been forced
TO move three or four times. He had
known that Williams was a desperate ne
gro, and that when he was angry and his
evil passions We're once aroused, he would
hesitate at nothing. He told of the ex-
cited entrance of the man into the house
in which he lived with Stella williams.
and came thus to his story of the homi-
eide. He said that when Williams came