The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1904-02-27
WORK OF A FIEND
Negro Makes a Brutal Assault
on His Wife.
USES BILLET OF WOOD
WOman's Throat Cut and Head
Beaten into a Pulp.

The little city of Milford was the
scene of a bloody tragedy yesterday
which may result in the death Of
Minerva Probasco, a negro woman,
about thirty.five years old.
Henry ProbascO, her husband, is
an inmate of the county all, where
he will be held pending further de-
velopments in the condition of the
woman.
The assault was made yesterday
morning about O'Clock, and was
one of the most cruel and brutal
crimes that has been committed IN
! Ellis county within the past year.
The woman's throat was cut almost
from ear to ear and her head beaten
iutO a pulp with a billet of wood.
The condition Of the victim Of the
irate negro's assault is critical and
attending physicians do not expect
her to recover. The details Of the
affair have been hard to obtain, not
withstanding the fact that it was
witnessed by several children of the
parties and another negro woman.
No two of them give the same ver-
sion Of the affair. Taking the state
meuts of all and sitting them down,
it appears that the trouble started
over trivial affair. PrObascO be-
came angered at his wife because
of some statement made by her to
him. He grabbed a stick of stove
wood and rushed upon her, striking
her down and then beating her head
I'm frightful manner. Three wounds,
either of which is regarded as fatal,
were Inflicted with the stick Of wood.
One blow landed on the back of the
head, another on top and one across
the temple, "a fracture of the skull
being produced in each of the three
places. After the woman had been
beaten into insensjbiiity Probasco
drew his pocket knife and cut her
throat, the cash extending almost
from one ear to the other. The other
ans rescue with "a stick of wood and
the man turned on her with his
knife, cutting her clothing and in
flicting a slight flesh wound.
Within thirty minutes after Pro-
basco had made the assault on his
vile he was arrested by Deputy
Sheriff George Singleton and locked
up in the city Jail, Last night at
1880 he was brought to Waxahachie
and incarcerated in the county jail. /
A reporter for this paper called at
the jail this morning to obtain
statement from the prisoner. Pro-
basco is a stout ,burly negro and will
probably weigh l75 pounds. He
claims to be II years old and says
he has lived in Ellis county twenty
four years.
When asked if he wanted to make
a statement for publication, the ne
gro replied that he didn't know much
abou: the crime he had committed. |
When the reporter insisted that he
could doubtless remember some of /
the details connected with the bloody |
affair he SAID:
- was beside myself with rage
when / struck my wife. She started |
the trouble and was only trying TO /
defend myself against an attack she /
was making onThe with a stick of
wood. We had been up only a few /
and had not eaten breakfast. !
/ had made fire in the stove and /
had started to go through a door |
when she slammed it on me, strik- |
ing my heel. 1 asked her whv she |
lid it. She said if | didn't let her |
alone and get out of the house she
would brain me. She bad a stick of /
wood in her hand, with which she 4
Intended 10 strike me- | seized the Il
stick and wrenched it from her 4
hands. She started to run and | Il
struck her and knocked her down. II
do not know how many times II
struck her. While she was down / Il
ised my pocket knife on her, but
nave no idea how many times | cut
Ter. Another woman came to her
assistance and l cut at her, but do
lot know whether 1 hurt her or
lot"
A conversation was had with
Milford parties this morning
" telephone and learned that the
woman was still alive, but is in a
condition. The physi.
ians who were called to attend her
ay she may possibly recover, but
Ter chances are very slim.