The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-06-13
Little Berta Jackson Murdered
10 Hide Heinous Crime.
DEED IS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY
Victim Was an Orphan and Was
Thought to Have Run Away
From Adopted Home.-Re-
mains Found in Branch.

Flowers, dairyman, was found Mon
day morning in a small stream Of wa
ter about a quarter of mile from
Flowers home, between Decatur and
Poplar Spring, Ga, and about six miles
from Atlanta. The child had been as
saulted and murdered.
Berta Jackson, who was eleven years
Of age, had been missing since last
Wednesday, and Flowers had been
searching for her.
Monday morning at o'clock Judas
H. Parker, gatherer of ferns and wa
ter cress, discovered the body. 1t lay
in a shallow pool of water, portion Of
a creek that empties into East Lake.
Parker, having heard Of the disap-
pearance of Berta Jackson, hurried to
Flowers place and told what he had
seen. Flowers and crowd OF neigh
bors went to the creek and drew the
childs body fro mthe water. The au-
thorities at Decatur were notified and
an inquest was ordered by Ordinary
Ragsdale.
A double crime had been committed.
The child had been assaulted and muir
dered. There were evidences OF the
girl having been beaten and choked.
On one side of her throat was a cut
made by a knife, but whether before
or after her death is not known.
According to the evidence that came
out before the coroner's jury, the girl
was last seen alive at her ADOPTED faith
er's home Wednesday afternoon about
4 o'clock. She was seen by a negro
field hand, a negro who was employed
on the adjoining place, and by Flow
ers.
The negro on the adjoining lot saw
her walking away from the fielt where
she had been talking with the negro.
The negro employed by Flowers saw
her walking from the Darn to the
house. Flowers saw her go into the
house. And that was the last time she
was ever seen alive.
The terrible crimes were committed
not far from where Edward Flanagan
slew his victims, and that memorable
crime was recalled by many monday
when the murder of Berta Jackson was
being investigated.
Robert Flowers, the man wao adopt
ed the child, is young man who at
one time taught school in DeKalb
county. He later moved to Griffin and
while there went to Jackson to take
the child. Flowers is a man OF deli
cate build and seemingly OF nervous
temperament. He held his lower lip
between the first finger and the thumb
of the right hand while talking to the
coroner's jury.
The inquest was held under the su'
pervision of Ordinary w. NJ. Rags
dale. DR.. J. H. Green was the first
witness examined. With the assist
ance Of DR.. w. J. Houston. he had
made a post mortem examination OF
the body after it was carried from the
branch to the house. He stated that
it was his opinion that the girls death
was caused by several heavy blows
UPON the head and by -suffocation by
choking. The knife wound in the right
of the neck severed the carotid artery
and there had been some hemorrhage.
Flowers on Witness Stand.
R. F. Flowers, the foster father OF
the deceased, was called, and his story
in part was as follows:
Roberta Jackson is the name we
gave her upon adoption-we called her
Berta. We never knew her exact age
or her parentage. She seemed to be
about nine years old when we adopt
ed her and we set apart as her birth
day November 26th, the day OF her
adoption. We adopted the girl about
two and half years ago. My wife and
were living in Griffin at the time. We
had a baby boy less than six months
old, but my wife wanted to adopt lit
tie girl who could look after the baby
and be companion to it. Judge Car
michael knew OF this and through his
influence the child was placed in our
care by the ordinary Of Butts county
1 was made her guardian. The child
was at that time in the care OF an
old negro woman to whom she had
been turned over by the county au'
thorities temporarily.
"All that was known Of the childs
previous history was that she was
brought to Jackson from Chattanooga
by a woman named Sallie Smith. The
latter was shortly afterward arrested
and jailed and when she was released
the child was refused her because OF
her bad reputation"
cHAFFEE At MANILA.