The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-29
FOUR FOR MURDER
SIMMONS. COHEN, WATSON AND
FARMER INDICTED.
CRIMES OF THE QUARTETTE.
ALL OF THEM COMMITTED WITH
EvER-PRESENT REVOLVER.

W. the ObfE VIC
Tins, While a Third Homicide Was
the Result of Rivalry for a Wa
mans INSTRUMENTATION Killed
His Man in Pistol Duel apd
Claims SeIf-Defense-Other Inbicr-
ments Returned-Murken and But
Ter Must Face Jury Because or
Election Day Rovv-Gates, Bath
House Thief, Charged by Grand
Jury with Larceny From the
House.
Four indictments for murder were
returned by the grand jury of the Su
perior Court yesterday afternoon. The
men who must stand trial for their
lives are Robert Simmons, Abe Cohen,
Cairo Watson and Robert Farmer. All
are negroes.
The most recent of the four homi-
cides is that for which Simmons has
been indicted. He shot and killed
George Harris on the night of Thurs
day last, it is believed, and the evil
dence indicates because of the ill-will
engendered by their mutual jealousy
of the affection of a negro woman.
Simmons himself has never offered
any reasonable explanation of why he
killed Harris. He escaped after the
commission of the crime and was cap
tured by Deputy Sheriffs Sweeny and
Hartigan as he was making his way to
mis- old home at Vaudeville, S. c. The
deputies intercepted the fleeing negro
and. catching him unawares in the
woods, had him under arrest before he
knew what had happened.
Cohen's AtrocIOus Crime.
The, crime committed by Cohen was
of a particularly atrocious character
He had been living with the woman
he killed and 1t seemed had managed
TO ALLEVIATE her affection from him by
his brutal treatment and frequent neg
lect
In tit of passion he went to the
room where she had taken UP her resi-
dence and with. no more formality than
a few preliminary insults, shot her
dead. AS the womans body lay well
tering in its blood on the floor Cohen
spurned the CORY corpse with his foot
and left it,
The killing of John Robinson by
Cairo Watson resulted from the riv-
airy of the two men for the gambling
trade of the negroes living in the west
ern section OF the city. They engaged
in a pistol duel in which other negroes
were also wounded; when the smoke
cleared Robinson had received his
death wound, from which be died as
he was being removed from the police
ambulance at the Georgia Infirmary.
Watson claims he acted entirely in
self defense and that he did not fire
until he had been several times fired
upon by the others.
For Mamie Reid's Murder,
The fourth indictment for murder.
that against Robert Farmer, charges
the wilful and malicious killing of
Mamie Reid. Like all the other hofni-
cides this one was committed with a
pistol-a moving and suggestive com
mentary upon the habit of carving
this weapon to which so many mem
bers of the negro race and others are
addicted.
There were other indictments re-
turned by the grand jury, among them
as the result of an election day row,
which occurred at the primary for the
nomination of county officers, two
against John H. Murken and one
against Alex S. Butler
Murken was indicted for assault with
intent to murder and carrying conceal
ed weapons and an Indictment for the
latter offense was returned against
Butler. 1t will be remembered that
Butler was shot by Murken on the day
of the nd hat -
own weapon drawn at the same time
The defendants in these cases are both
white and were partisans of the rival
factions.
Bath House Thief Indicted.
j. L. o. Gates. the bath house thief
who distinguished himself at Tybee
was indicted by the grand jury for lar
ceny from the house. The specific Of
Tense alleged in the indictment is the
theft of watch and 81 in money belong
ing to Frank c. Battey, which Gates
lifted while Mr.. Battey was enjoying
a plunge in The surfe
Charlie Wade was indicted for the
larceny of $50 in money from the
house of MIS-. T. S. Lamon. Two in
dictments for forgery were returned
against Chester Sexton, both based on
| forged orders for merchandise. ad.
dressed to the A. Hanley Company and
purporting to be signed by Capt. M. p
| Usina.
Guilty Gibbons will have to face a
jury for assault with intent to mnr-
| der Lizzie Jenkins, a crime he com.
mitted on June 27rwhile William Sim.
mons, alias E. A. Bailey is charged
by the grand inquest with forgery
Simmons presented a forged order for
merchandise to A. ]. Wilson and tine
grand jury says he did it knowingly
and with intent to defraud.
An Indictment for robbery was re-
| turned against Jenkins Green, also
| known to his friends as Baby" The
hopeful infant snatched a pocketbook
| containing a few dollars in money from
Mrs. F. Paulday and was caught with
/ he