Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-02-01
MURDERoUsAssAULT BY NEGRO

The wife and three-year-old daughter
Of George P. Shields, of Roanoke, are
lying in a dying condition as a result of
a murderous assault made upon them
Saturday by an unknown negro. 1t was
one of the most fearful crimes ever COM
mitted in Roanoke,
When Mr.. Shields, who is a we'll
known young business man, reached his
residence in the center of the town at
noon Saturday for luncheon, he discoy-
cred his th~ree-year-old daughter Mildred
lying on the floor of the reception hall
in a pool of blood. The child was still
alive aud the father placed her on a lounge
and began a search for his wife. In the
dining-room he found stains of blood,
which led to the second floor. Upstairs
Mr.. Shields found his wife lying in the
clothes closet with her throat cut from
ear to ear and several CHASTITY wounds in
the head. She was unconscious.
Physicians we're summoned, and after
injections of powerful stimulants Mrs.
Shields managed to gasp that she had
been knocked down in the dining-room
by a negro, who made his entrance
through the kitchen door. Further than
this, Mrs. Shields has not been able to
throw light on the crime. There was
every evidence in the dining-room Of a
terrible struggle.
The physicians have but slim hopes
for the recovery of either the mother or
child. Tue strange negro made a crimi-
nal assault on Mrs. Shields, after which
he dealt her several blows on the head
with a Ratchet, fracturing the skull in
two places. He then dragged her up
stairs to the second floor, where he took
a razor from a bureau drawer. With
this he cut her throat and threw her in
to a closet, placing a chair against the
outside knob. He then ransacked the
house, carrying away a suit of clothes
and two watches.
1t is supposed the little girl was struck
in the head with the Ratchet to silence
her cries. An infant two months old,
which was sleeping in its cradle in a
downstairs room, was not molested.
The little girl received two blows on the
head With the blunt eod of the Ratchet
The skull is fractured near the right ear,
while there is a confused wound On the
back of the head.
So far there is no clue to the identity
of the murderous assailant. Should he
be captured a lynching is not improb-
able.
Mrs. Shields before her marriage was
Miss Louise Hibarger, daughter Of E.
Hibarger, a well-known j%eweler of Roa-
noke, and a former resident of Hagers-
town, Nd. Mrs. Shields is regarded as
one Of the most attractive and accom-
plished women in Roanoke.
A crowd of excited citizens that
gathered in front of the Jail early in the
afternoon grew in numbers as night APP
preached, and at 8 O'Clock numbered
between 1000 and 800. The crowd
Was watching to see whether the officers
carried any negro into the prison and
they were not satisfied until the Jail
had been searched. Trouble is feared
and troops have been ordered to Roanoke.
II was reported in Roanoke yesterday that
the fend had been arrested and was held in
the home of the jailer throughout the night
dressed in wOmen's clothes. 1t is alleged that
he is being held for identification by Mrs.
Shields, but no police officer will admit that
he is under arrest. The feeling has not abated
in the least and scores Of men state openly
that they stand ready to lead a mob at a mo-
ment's notice.