The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1908-12-23
MRS. HARG|S is
ON THE STAND
Court Refuses to Allow Her to An
swer About Money Spent
For Defense.
Special to The News.

| IRVINE, KY, Dec. 23.-Mrs. Lu-
ella Hargis, mother of the defendant,
and widow Of Judge Hargis, was on
the stand again for cross-examina-
| ton when court convened this morn
ing. Efforts were made by the prose-
cution to bring out to what extent
Mrs. Hargis was using the money
from the estate of Judge Jim Hargis
to defend his murderer, instead of
prosecuting him and also to show
that not one dollar had been spent
by her to erect monument over the
grave of the dead feudal chieftain.
Mrs. Hargis was not permitted to
answer the question with reference
| to the defense of her son but was
allowed to relate the facts about the
tombstone. She said she had not ne
elected the grave but was waiting I'M
til spring to erect a handsome head
stone. The casket In which he was
buried cost $500 and she intended
to build a monument commensurate
with that. The plans had already
been drawn.
Tuesdays Testimony.
Beach Hargis was placed on the
witness stand in his own behalf at
the afternoon session of court and
detailed the killing of his father in a
dramatic fashion. He said he was
just past twenty-five years of age,
this being the first time his age has
ever been given authoritatively.
He said, in response to question
by Attorney Young that he was
drinking on the day of the killing.
He said he went to his fathers
store on that day because he had
been told by his mother that his
father intended to go to Winchester
that day.
He said he did not go to the store
until after the departure of the train,
and would not have gone there had
he known his father had failed to
leave town. He went to the store,
he said, to meet his uncle, Ebert
Hargis. He said he had absolutely
no malice toward his father.
Says Father Abused Him.
| He said his father had abused him
for years, and often struck and beat
him and on several occasions at
tempted to shoot him.
The testimony of Mrs. Hargis was
largely corroborative of that of her
son and the line of Interrogation was
almost identical with that of the boy,
Especially regarding the scene in the
Hargis home with reference to the
assaults on the boy by the father and
of the gang of armed men kept by
Jim Hargis.
! She said she had never known of
the son being disobedient to the faith
er, but that the latter treated the boy
in a cruel and inhuman manner. She
said the will Of Jim Hargis was law
in his own household and that not
withstanding the fact that she did
not approve of the manner In which
the son was raised she was powerless
to prevent it.
Begged Him Not to Kill Boy.
She said that on one occasion she
saw her husband take pistol from
the boy and level it at his head and
threaten to blow his brains out and
believed he would have done it had
it not been for Mrs. Day, grandmoth-
er Of the defendant, and herself, both
of whom begged him not to do it.
She said, however, that following
the beating administered by the faith
er on that occasion the boy was In
bed for several days. Mrs. Hargis
could not recall, on cross-examina-
ton, that Judge Hargis had ever
chastised Beach except when the lat
ter was drinking and never knew of
him abusing other members of the
family even when he himself was in
ltoxicated.
Says Boy Was Hard Drinker.
She said the boy drank much dur
ing the six years prior to the killing.
James Isom, negro, was the only
other witness introduced by the de-
tense during the day. He said he
was standing in front of the store at
the time of the shooting and saw the
father and son in a struggle just
before the shooting.
He had worked for the Hargis FAM
lily and the Day family for years. He
created much amusement by saying
that cat times he was a preacher and
of other. times worked for a LIVING ),