The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-08-06
WOMAN WITNESS
To HODGES TRAGEDY
S SHERIFF'S OPINION.
THINKS REEDS WIFE MUST HAVE
SEEN IT.

Sheriff Hendricks Came to Savan-
nah Yesterday Morning to See
His Two Prisoners in Jail Here.
Though Neither of the Negroes
Would Confess, Each One ImpIi-
Gates the other. and Some VAL
liable Information Was Obtained.
Both Are Badly Frightened.
Sheriff Hendricks of Statesboro, who
was in Savannah yesterday to see viii
Cato and Paul Reed, the two negroes
held in the county Jail here, charged
with murder and arson, in connection
with the wholesale slaughter of the
Hodges family, believes there We're
three men involved in the murders, and
that the wife of Reed who has shown
that she knows a great deal about the
crime, accompanied or followed the
murderers to the Hodges home on the
night of the tragedy.
There can be no doubt that the two
negroes in Jail here are guilty. Sheriff
Hendricks now thinks there is another
involved also. The negroes who were
arrested and who were not brought to
Savannah, are still held in the States
boro jail. and the sheriff is positive he
win be able to solve the mystery as to
the identity of the third man.
Sheriff Hendricks came to Savannah
yesterday morning for the purpose OF
getting a confession. if possible, from
either Reed or Cato here. In this he
was unsuccessful. but he obtained in
formation from them which will be of
value to him.
New Statements Now.
Both negroes changed the statements
they originally made and the sheriff
believes they are getting closer to the
truth, though he does not think they
have told the truth yet. Reed now
admits freely that he went to the
house with the men who committed
the murder. He says he stayed there
and watched for them while they COM
mitted the crime. He says Cato is
the man who killed Mr.. Hodges, the
first of the victims. He also states
that the party had planned to rob
another house in the neighborhood and
says he does not understand why they
didn't after he left them.
Cato, on the other hand, sticks to
his statement that he did not go to
the house, but now says he saw Reed
after Hodges had been killed and that
Reed told him he had killed both Mr.
and Mrs. Hodges. According to Cato,
he said the bodies had been carried
to the front porch and left. He said
ha
ally and burn up the house, as it would
not do Ito leave the job that way"
This accords with the statement of
Cato's wife, who says he came home
and watched out the window for the
fire and then remarked that he guessed
Paul had done what he said he would.
a Woman Present.
Sheriff Hendricks reasons for sup
posing Reeds wife was present when
Mr.. Hodges was killed are that she
knew too many of the details of the
affair TO have learned them from Reed
immediately after the killing. Besides,
there were tracks found in the corn
field leading TO where Mr.. Hodges was
attacked, which We're made either by
a boy or a woman as they were much
smaller than the other three sets of
tracks.
A theory is that the woman, know
ing the crime was to be committed,
followed the men. She knew abso-
lutely everything that happened UP
until the time Hodges was killed. 1t
is believed she either was frightened
and ran away when Hodges called for
his gun, or else was discovered by one
of the men and made to go home
She claims that Mrs. Hodges brought
her husband his gun. Sheriff Ken
bricks, however, says there is no doubt
that the gun had been borrowed by
Andy Bell before the killing took place.
After the gun was called for it is
thought the woman ran and knew
nothing of what took place afterwards
She is believed TO have made up the
statement about the gun being
brought.
Reeds story.
Reed says Cato got Bell to borrow
the gun in order to have it out of the
way. He claims Cato stated as they
were going to the house that he had
fixed the gun all right, and that there
was no danger.
Cato and Reed are each trying to
put the crime on the other, and il is
now thought they are also trying TO
bring some innocent parties into it,
persons against whom they have griev-
ances. Both men are badly frightened
now, and it is thought they will break
down and confess before long.