The age-herald., 1901-12-29
SKELETON MAY BE THAT IF NEGRO WHO
 FEARED THE LAW Believed Remains Found in the Church Are Those of
 Winter White FORMER WIFE CLAIMS THEM Says He Was Fugitive From Justice and Asserts She Gave Him
 Quilts Found In the
FORMER WIFE CLAIMS THEM

The skeleton found in the negro church near East Lake is probably that of Win ton White, a negro who is said to have shot a man several years ago and was afterwards fugitive from justice. A ne- gro woman representing herself as Bettie Healey. once the wife of White, said yesterday that the man was undoubtedly her husband. She claimed that she was able to identify the remains by pc cullarity of the teeth, by tn knives found beside the remains and by the quilts which had evidently served as the mans bed.
 Yesterday a negro woman called at Warner and Smiley's undertaking estab- lishment and asked to see the skeleton, saying she thought possibly she could identify it by the teeth. The bones had, however, been buried in the potter's field. She then told the following story, in which she describes accurately the blank cts and knives found near the skeleton:
 Shot a Negro.
 Several years ago my husband, Winton White, shot a negro man called Fatty in a row, and supposing he had killed him, ran away. For nearly year heard nothing from him, but one night he came to my house in Gate City. He stayed a short time and left, saying he was afraid to spend the night as he might be captured. After that he visited me at frequent intervals for several months, until it began to get cold
 "One night, the last time I saw him, he asked me for couple of quilts as it was too cold to sleep without them. l gave them to him and since that time have never seen or heard of him. l did not know where he was sleeping.
 When he left the house that night he had two knives with him, one mine and one his. Both were single bladed bone handled and one was much larger than the other. The quilts I gave him were two had made myself. One of them had never been quilted, only sewn together. It was made of red, white and blue cloth of diamond and star shaped figures.
 One Foot Missing.
 "I can tell if it was my husband by his teeth. He had as fine a set as l ever saw, and every tooth in his head was perfect There was one missing from the lower right jaw. If the teeth in the skull of the skeleton was found were like that, then he was Winton White. and his brother, West White works in a sa- loon in Buzzard Roost."
 The description of the quilt talies ex- actly with one of those on which the skeleton was lying and the two pocket knives are like those the woman describes. The missing tooth and the otherwise per feet set furnished the final evidence which leads to the belief that the skeleton is that of Winton White. The difference in the name of the woman now and then is explained by her having married again. She also claims that she did not know where he was sleeping while he was visit ing her. but that he must have been in the neighborhood as he came very often. His visits were always made at night
 A better place for a criminal to hide could not be found In the neighborhood of Birmingham The church Is located in a place very difficult of access Further than that, the loft in which the body was found Is inaccessible and it was not at all probable that any one would visit 1t once in many years. as is shown by the length of time the body must have been there without being discovered.
 Not Certain About Years. The woman. when questioned, was not certain about the number of years it has been since her husband disappeared, but thinks it was more than four years ago. Others who remember the incident state that it was between three and four. Ac- cording to the woman's statement of the time lapsing after the shooting and when the man finally disappeared would make the time of his death in the winter of 1s9S-99
 The woman will be given an opportu- nity to identify the knives and blankets Monday. Should she know the articles when she sees them 1t will be taken as positive proof that the bones are those of her former husband.