The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-21
FOUR MUST ANSWER
MURDERERs INDICTED by sUPE-
RIOR COURT GRAND JURY.
LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH
HAS WITNESSED ALL CRIMES WITH
WHICH THEY ARE CHARGED.

James williams Indicted for the
Murder of Louis Green, Philip
Proctor for That of Lyman Law
renee, Melinda Maxwell for the
Murder of Matilda Montgomery
and Sherman Richards for the
Killing of Hager RObinson-Triai
of Criminal Cases Will BE Begun
Next Week-MOtorman Avant In
dicted for Involuntary Manslaugh-
ter.
Four indictments for murder at a
single session of the grand jury of the
Superior Court! That was the record
made at the session yesterday after
noon. The defendants are Sherman
Richards, Philip Proctor, James Will
Jams and Melinda Maxwell.
All of the homicides have been COM
mitted within little more than a month.
A pistol was in every case, save one,
the weapon that produced death, and in
every case the defendant is a negro,
while the victim of the murderous as
sault was of the same race.
Williams shot and killed Louis Green
on Aug. 10; on Aug. 80, Proctor killed
Lyman Lawrence: on Sept. Is, the
Maxwell woman carved a companion,
Matilda Montgomery, to death, and on
Sept. II, last Tuesday night, Richards
shot and killed Hagar Robinson.
The indictments returned by the
grand jury afford an illustration of
the wave of homicidal mania that has
hn 10
ton of Savannah, and that yesterday
extended itself to the members of the
white race. There are seven men now
confined in Chatham county Jail who
are charged with murder.
So far as the evidence that has yet
been adduced shows, the four murders
were about as brutal and unprovoked
as crimes of this character could pos
sibly be. In no case has there been any
testimony from witnesses to Indicate
that there was any provocation what
ever, or any further reason for the kill
ing than the cold FLOODED desire on the
part of the slayer to take human life.
1t is always, or almost always no.
ticed by the police that homicides sell
dom occur singly. There are always
men who are lowering on the verge of
a crimes commission, and the COM
mission by someone else of such a
crime as their diseased minds contem-
plate, suggests to them that they car
ry out their purpose. 1t usually hap
pens that one murder will be followed
by another, but rarely that there
should be such an epidemic of homi-
cides as has swept over Savannah dur
ing the last month, eliminating in the
brutal crime that shocked the COM
nTunity yesterday.
Besides the indictments for murder
the grand jury returned one for invol-
untary manslaughter against Thomas
l.. Avant, the motorman of the trolley
car that ran over and killed little Eu-
gene M. Baker, Jr., a 5-year-old child
The motorman was held by the order
of the coroner, after the coroner's jury
had imputed blame to him for the
death of the child, and is now out on
bond
Joe Williams was indicted for the lar
ceny of a rife from Mr. Isadore Silver
berg's store at Burroughs. Tony Sal
cedo was indicted for assault and bat
terry, and Francis Lewis for the same
offense.
Criminal trials in the Superior Court
will be resumed on Monday, and from
That day on the court will be kept busy
for two weeks. at least, and possibly
longer.