The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-24
W. I. SHEETS KILLS HIS SON:
 TERRIBLE EASTER TRAGEDY

that an inquest was unnecessary. The body was placed in an undertakers wagon and was taken to the establish
 ment of W. H. Tice on South Court l street.
 | The news of the tragedy had been
 telephoned to police Headquarters and Police Chief A. s. Gerald with Special Osicer w. F. Payne drove immediate | ly to the scene. The officers met Sheets | on Houston street near the corner of Jackson street and Chief Gerald called to him. Sheets went 70 the buggy and l said that he was then on his way to the jail to surrender himself. The buggy was turned about and the officers took the prisoner to the county jail Father Talks of Tragedy. Soon after the tragedy a warrant was sworn out for Sheets by Deputy | Sheriff N N. Waller before Justice of | the Peace John N. Browder. The pre- | liminary hearing was set for May 4 The witnesses named in the warrant are J. F. Wardlaw, w. c. Lavender and Mrs. Tom Ward.
 When the alleged murderer of his son was brought to She Montgomery County jail. he appeared to be still under the influence of intoxicants. He feigned complete ignorance of the death of his son and protested to the deputies and jailer that the shot was fired without malice.
 Sheets was given a cell on the sec ond floor of the jail. opening into the first corridor and facing on Washing ton Street. He does not have the ap- pearance of one who, in his right mind would take the life of his youngest born. There Is benevolence. almost Pickwickian, in his round face. In fact, the bald head, the chubby face, the twinkling eye. the rotund body and the short legs make rne resemblance to Dickens's character noticeable on first glance.
 Sheets talked freely through the
 bars of his cell. He was evidently la boring under intense excitement or painful remorse. His one word would be full of paternal grief. while his next would be terrible reflection on the character of his sons, at whose hands, he says, he has suffered much.
 Walter Sheets, his oldest son, is pa perhanger, about 30 years old. In reply to questions he said that by trade he was a painter and glazier. His wife, the mother of the dead young man, is living. Ills family consisted of father and mother and two sons.
 Just say. I didn't mean to do It." he almost begged, and then considering this statement, he added, but nobody will think that meant to kill my own child"
 Tears came to his eyes and for few moments he was unable to proceed.
 q was at home, this morning when the boy came in. He was drunk. He and his brother have been drunk and lying around dives nearly all the time and often they have kept me from com ing home"
 ''He had no hesitancy of speaking of the bad habits of his sons.
 He started throwing bricks at me today. I got tired of 1t and reached for my old gun did not know that 1t was loaded, but if it had been loaded wouldn't have shot him Intentionally. just wanted to scare him off didn't aim the gun and didn't know the boy was hit until was arrested.
 q haven't got a lawyer. but I guess I had better say no more. I'm in so much trouble"
 Thus. concluding the interview, he retired to his couch in the cell, which was once occupied by Russell and Dris- coll, the we'll known safe blowers.
 What the NeIghbOrs Say.
 The neighbors who live about the Sheets home say that the first knowl- edge they had of trouble in the house. hold was the report of the pistol shot which startled the quiet of the Sunday morning.
 Mrs Tom Ward, who lives next door to the Sheets residence; saw the begin ming of the end and cried to the older man to stop shooting. Her warning was not needed and at the second shot, the boy clapped his hands to his left side ana leaned heavily against the wall beside the door before his legs weakened ana he sank in heap on the porch. NO one heard him utter a word after he was shot and if he said anything prayer or curse-it was not heard. Neither did the neighbors know what had brought on the trouble between the father and son. They said that Claude Sheets was a hard working boy but that when out of employment he drank heavily. The father, they said, also drank whiskey and as to moral character, the opinion of the neigh bors was that both men were given to excessive drinking.
 Claude Sheets was deemed a first rate painter and commanded good wages He was employed last by Holmes and Ogren and his work was well regarde by his employers. He was. persons who knew him say, his worst enemy on account of the drink habit He worked two days last week and made something over $5. Half of this he gave to his mother and she took it to J. F. Wardlaw. peighbor. who conducts general store, and got him to keep 1t for her.
 Mir. WardIaw said that whatever the boys faults may have been, he had one virtue in being kind and consid- crate to hls mother.
 Sheets, the father, worked with diff ferent firms as g glazier and was esti- mated as good at his trade. He had not had employment the last three weeks and had been idle about his home. His character was considered by some as not amiable.
 Everyone expressed kind feeling and sympathy for Mrs. Sheets and said that she was much better than the father and the two boys. Claude and Walter who took after their father"
 J. F. Wardlaw, who lives two or three doors from the Sheets residence, said that he was walking along the middle of the street in front of the Sheets house when he saw a pistol thrust out of the door and fired. He saw Claude Sheets turn quickly about. as if to dodge a shot. and then saw towards the wall. When he fell to the helped another neighbor, W. c. Laven- der, pick him up. He said that Mir. Sheets opened the door and said, There's nothing the matter with him he's just drunk; he's been taking dope" The mOtionless form was taken into bedroom. he said, and laid on the bed. His mother, Mrs. Sheets, Is very deaf, he said, and she did not know any thing about the trouble between her husband and her son until she heard the first pistol shot, which was fired prob ably two minutes beSore the second one Her grief was pitlful.