Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1908-02-13
NEGRO KILLED
OVER A WOMAN
Richard Jiles, Student at
Branch Normal College,
Shot and Killed Louis Nc
Pherson, Last Night,
CASE OF JEALOUSY
Dead Negro Waited For His Rival to
Call and Woman Gives Slayer Pts
toll to Defend Her-,IiIeS Is in Jail,
Mcpherson in Dead Shop.

Richard lilies. 20 years old. a negro
student Of the Branch Normal Col
lege, shot and Instantly killed Louis
Mcpherson. 40 years old. also colored,
last night at o'clock in "a room occu-
pied by Nancy Meyer, neeress. in the
rear OF No. 1920 Fourth avenue. Jiles
surrendered to Sheriff e NJ. Phi!pot
immediately after the tragedy was en-
acted. He was placed in the .teffer-
SON county Jail TO await an investiea-
ton, which will be made today by
Coroner X. d. McGaughey. who took
charge Of the dead negro.s body last
night and turned it over to Holder
ness~Fitzhugh Company. undertakers.
Jiles, who has always borne a good
Reputation. is employed as a houseboy
by w. S. Harris at No 110i West Fifth
avenue According to his story and
that OF the Meyer woman. in whose
home the killing took place. Jiles went
to her room to study his lesson.
When he reached there, he says. he
walked upon the porch and as he did
so he noticed a man who afterwards
developed to he Mcpherson, standing
at the corner Of the cabin. The man
called whose there?" and Jiles in
stead of answering him, knocked on
the door. The man approached, and
as the Meyer woman opened the door
from the inside, Jiles pushed his way
into the door and Mcpherson also
showed the door back. Notwithstand-
ing the efforts Of the Meyer woman
to prevent him from entering the
house, he almost knocked her down
as he showed his way into the room.
The Meyer woman says she saw the
Winchester rifle in Mcpherson right
hand and thought there was going
to be trouble. She quickly handed
.Jiles a revolver, which lay on her bed,
and ,Jiles fired bullet into McPher-
sons breast before he could raise the
rifle to shoot. Mcpherson fell dead.
Jiles hurried to the home Of W. S.
Harris, his employer, and made
known his troubles. He then asked
TO be taken to Sheriff Philpot and he
was later turned over to that Official
and jailed. Fred Goode accompanied
the negro to the sheriff's Office. The
willingness to tell everything and she
was released, after being ordered to
appear before the coroner's jury this
morning and give testimony.
Assistant Chief of Police Ed Francis
learned Of the tragedy almost imme-
diately after it happened and with
squad of policemen hurried to the
scene in a patrol wagon. When they
arrived there they learned that Jiles
had been arrested. Mcpherson was
lying in the room in pool of his own
blood. His Winchester rife, we'll
loaded, was lying at his side. When
his body was taken to the undertake
ing establishment, razor and a box
of Winchester cartridges were found
in his pockets.
According to Chief Francis, who,
ON one occasion arrested Mcpherson at
the Meyer woman's house, the tragedy
of last night was not the first trouble
that had been caused by Mcpherson.
Several weeks ago he threatened to
kill the Meyer woman and she escaped
from him and ordered his arrest by
the police. On other occasions, she
says, Mcpherson has threatened her.
The tragedy of last night is another
one of those in which a woman so Oft
en- figures. Mcpherson and Jiles were
both paying attention to the Meyer
woman, it is said, and Mcpherson is
believed to have gone to her home last
night with the intention of using his
Winchester with deadly effect. Cor
oner McGaughey says he will get at
the bottom of the affair in his investi-
CATION this morning.