The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-21
William BeaII of Near Eaton,
o., Burns Property, Then
Blows Top of Head Off with
Shotgun.
THOUGHT TO HAVE HAD
PART IN WIFE'S DEATH.
Stunned for Many Years by
Neighbors as a Monster
Accused of Plotting to Kill
Sister.

LdIolly w., oCpl' ~A1A S~A'O - S-~~
ghastly murder of Mrs. William T.
Beall of near Eaton, by her thirteen
year old son. which is well remember
ed, even after a lapse of twenty-one
years, was heard yesterday when Will
liam Beall. infirm with age, sat in
chair in the exact spot where his wife
met her death and blew the entire top
of his head off with a charge from
shot gun.
Suspected of being an accessory to
his wife's murder and of plotting to
have a hired assassin murder his Sis
ter, Mrs. Finley Huffman, of Camden,
O., her husband and her two sons,
Beall had for years led lonely life,
being stunned as a monster by his
neighbors.
This fear of his former friends and
the fact that recently he had met
with financial reverses is credited as
being the incentive of the old mans
act. The farm on which Beall had
lived for years was recently turned
over to his creditors and he would
have been obliged to vacate the prop
erty next February.
Burns Property.
Yesterday morning at an early hour
beall set fire to- his barn and shed.
These together with their contents,
consisting of grain, feed, vehicles,
farm implements and several hogs.
were consumed by the blaze, entaining
a loss estimated at s2,500. Gloating
tors cheated Of this property, Beall
watched the blaze until it had nearly
burned itself out, then he walked to
the house and seating himself in a
rocking chair placed the muzzle of a
shotgun at his temple. The butt of
the gun rested on the floor. To the
trigger was attached a cord, which
Beall pulled with his foot The explo-
sion blew the entire top of the old
mans head off, scattering portions of
skull, hair and brains over the stair
door, walls and ceiling. A short time
after the suicide the body was found
by Mortified neihgbors, who had been
attracted to the house by the flames
of the burning barn and shed.
Beall had planned his suicide with
carefulness. in his coat pocket was
found a 80 calibre revolver and sever.
al rounds of ammunition On a near
by shelf was found bottle of carbolic
acid.
Story Of Wife's Murder.
William Beall had lived under the
shadows since the murder of his wife.
On November 3, 1887, John Beall, the
youngest member of the family, be.
came incensed at his mother over some
trivial matter. AS she sat in her com.
Portable arm chair, rocking peacefully
and busy at her sewing, John stole
down the stairway and shot his parent
in the head three times with a revol.
yer. The lad then secured an AK and
split her head open. The murder was
not witnessed by anyone and the lad
alarmed the neighborhood with the
tale that his mother had been murder
ed by tramps. The countryside was
secured, but no traces of tramps were
found, so suspicion was fastened or
the boy. He denied the charge, but
was indicted by the grand jury for firs,
degree murder. Later young Beall en-
tered plea of guilty to a charge Of
second degree murder and was SEN
fenced to life Imprisonment. His
youth alone saved him from the moose
After serving twelve years John Beal
| was paroled on the promise he would
never again return to Preble county
He has, so far as known, kept mis-
promise.
William Beall was suspected as be
| ing accessory to this murder for the
reason that he did everything in hi.
| power to prevent the conviction of hi.
son, and he tried to fasten the Grim,
upon Frank Pace, negro, but the evi
dence showed this man had no knowl
edge of the crime. The finger of sus
picion was then pointed at John Beal
and he was frequently accused of in
fluencing his son to commit the mur
der. Beall, however, was never ar
rested as an accomplice.
Some time after the death of hi.
wife, Beall became involved in an un
successful controversy over propert,
with his sister, Mrs. Finley Huffman
Eaton was then startled with the pub
lie statement made by Mid0letown
o.. man that Beall had hired him t.
kill Mrs. Huffman and all the member
OF her family. Beall was arrested
but as there was not sufficient evi
dence to convict him Of the charge h,
was released after serving some tim.
in jail