The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1902-03-13
Smith winfield
Sellers d A
ward " Ii
Killing at Fiattiesbur


2 O'Clock there occurreda tragedy
in the waiting room of the North
eastern depot at Hattiesburg in
which Mr.. J. A. Moody, the sher-
| if of Pearl River county, was I'M
| plicated and which resulted in
the killing Of a young man named
Alb Miller and the wounding of
Earle Wright. AS near as can
be learned the particulars are as
follows: Mr.. Moody came in
from MI. Olive on the Gulf & Ship
Island train late Wednesday
evening en- route to his home in
Poplarville and at the hour of the
killing had gone to the depot for
the purpose of catching freight
tram going south, and was in the
ticket Office talking with the
night operator when Wright and
Miller and fellow named Ollie
Patterson became engaged in a
difficulty with the two Daily
boys in the waiting room adjoi1-
ing the ticket Office Mr.. Moody
went up town in search Of a po-
liceman to inform him of the
trouble, but finding none he re-
turned to the depot at which
time the trouble with the Daily
boys and the others had quoted
down. Mr.. Moody then went in
to the ticket office again and in a
few moments the difficulty was
renewed in the waiting room by
Wright making an attack on Pat
Daily. Mr.. Moody opened the
door and walked in and took hold
of Wright by the arm and tried
to stop the fight, whereupon
Wright knocked Moody down and
Patterson, one OF Wight's part
ners, took his part and they pro-
ceeded to punch Mr.. Moody's
face to pieces. Young Miller
another one Of Wright's crowd
was standing few feet away
with an open knife in his hand,
but just what part he took III the
affair is not positively known.
Mr.. Moody, seeing that he was
being doubled OH and beaten IN
mercI iully, drew his pistol and
began to shoot. One shot struck
Wright in the side and glancing,
struck the wall next to the office.
Another shot entered the wall a
few inches above the other and a
third Shot struck the ceilingover-
head. When the shooting com
menced everybody an out the
doors and young Miller was seen
to fall dead on the railroad track
about fifty yards from the wait
ing room with one bullet through
the heart and one through the
body on the right side. When
picked up he still held the knife
open in his hand. No one could
testify to the number of shots
fired, but Mr.. Moody says he on
ly fired three times ana this
sta tement is borne out in part by
the fact that only three empty
shells were found in his pistol
when arrested. In the event
that this is proven then the fact
will develop that some one else
fired some OF the shots. After
the shooting Mr.. Moody sent for
an officer and surrendered HIM
self and was locked up in jail
pending an Investigation. He
was chargedW murder and had
preliminary trial before Justice
Of the peace q. G. Robinson and
upon hearing the evidence OF the
State s witnesses he Wasreleased
on a thousand dollar bond, the
defense not considering it neccs-
sary to introduce its witnesses.
The State was represented BY
Parks & Davis and the defendant
by Shiyers & ShIvers, and n. Q.
Hill. The case will go before
the grand jury at the next term
of circuit court and the friends of
Mr.. Moody are confident that no
indictment Will be found as it was
clearly demonstrated that he act
ed in self defense, and the bruises
on his face show that murder
Gus assault was made upon him.
The affair was very unfOrtu-
nate one and we sympathize with
the parents of the dead boy also
with Mr.. Moody and his estima-
BILE wife in the sorrow that nat
urally follows a thing Of this kind.
A number Of Mr.. Moody 5
friends from this county wentup
to the trial and offered assistance
i'll every way possible.
The reputation of the young
men who attacked MIR. Moody
was very unsayory and from all
accounts they were the leaders