The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-06-16
BRUTAL MURDER
soih an Axe and a Raysor We're
Used to Commit 1t.
BODY CAST I'M WELL

Worst That Ever Happened IL,
Columbia. and for Mystery Sur.
rounding it Rivals the Famous
Maud Allen Murder Case.
IN the revolving killing in the
kitchen OF her home at 611 Sumter
street. Columbia. Friday morning
about day-break, OF Mrs. Victoria
Griffin, who was struck in the head
with an axe, her throat cut from ear
TO ear and her body thrown into the
well on the premises.
The Record says the Columbia
police have a murder mystery on
their hands, which is a match for
the Maud Allen murder mystery.
which has never been solved. In
both the hand Allen and Griffin mur-
der cases the owner Of the premis-
es is a resident Of Brookland. This
| has no bearing on the case, but is
merely a curious coincidence. The
following particulars Of the crime
ewe clip from the Columbia Record:
Five men have been arrested in
connection with this mornings mur-
Ger, three OF them sons Of the dead
woman; the fourth man said to
have been on friendly terms with the
dead woman up to FIVE months ago,
when he ceased boarding at the
house. and the fifth barber named
Luke Lewis, who was visitor TO the
dead woman's oldest daughter BY a
former husband, Eula Thompson.
The three sons are Waiter, Jim and
Russell Griffin, all cotton mill opera
tives. They were all found at the
house by the police, and said they
all slept in their mothers room, the
Youngest, Russell, in the same bed.
The oldest daughter occupied room
to the 'front.' There was still another
daughter in the house, about 13 years
old. There are only three rooms and
a kitchen IN the house. The other
man in arrest is S. Wash Medlin, who
ceased boarding at the house re-
Gently, but who turaed up there
shortly after the arrival of the police
at about $50 Friday morning.
All the arrests made were made at
the house. except that of Lewis. who
was placed in arrest at his barber
shop IN the McCreery building, oppo-
site the union station He said be
was not at the house last night, aud
Eula Thompson says. though last
night was his usual night to be there.
be had sent word that he could not
come
All the children. except a daughter.
who lives in the country. were at
home. and they advanced the theory
Of suicide so strongly, in the face Of
the physical facts demonstrating
murder unmistakably. that Coroner
Walker became suspicious of them
and made the arrests as indicated.
The womaa's husband. David Wes-
ley Griffin, was a we'll known resident
of Rich!and county, and was fairly
successful IN business. He was mur-
dered in a quarrel with his partner
in the turpentine business. by man
named Dennis, about FIVE years ago,
in Georgia.
The oldest daughter says she dis,
covered that her mother vas missing
shout 5 o'clock Being awakened at
this tine and not hearing her mother
stirring in the kitchen, the daughter
left her room to go to her mothers
to arosue her. Not finding her there
she made fruitless search. The
youngest son then went to the union
station. few blocks away. and noti-
fed Officer Salter. who, with another
officer went to the house at once.
a horrible sight met the officers
gaze in that back Kitchen in the fresh
crisp dawn Of the new day. A pool
Of blood was on the floor OF the
kitchen, bloody razor, afte7waTd
claimed as his by one Of the sons.
was on the kitchen table, and in the
corner stood bloody axe. part OF
he blade being broken of and the
other half very bloody. and blood on
| The handle. There were bloody
tracks about the kitchen. There
| were also some tracks leading back
| into the room where the sons slept,
but it is thought these were made
by the Youngest boy in going out
70 search for his mother. Prints
| OF the woman's fingers On the floor
as she struggled il her owo blood
we're evident.
| Finally the officers were attracted
10 the we'll by a few blood stains on
the side of the well-box. The top
vas down, the dry bucket on the
TWO lids. Further investigation dis
closed the woman, whose body was
hished up out of about fftten feet
of water, though It was not yet
stiff.
The dead woman had a cash in
the top of her head as if made by
three licks, from the blade Of the
axe. although the skull was not frac-
,ured. The wounds on tho throat
revealed repeated hackings at 1t with
the razor, the assassin striking the
cartilage OF the Adams apple and
forcing his way through this with
fendiSh energy. A chip out Of the
| Adams apple was found on the
kitchen floor by Or. L. A. Griffith,
who aftervard conducted the post
nlortem.
The woman's next door neighbors
are negroes. They could tell the po-
lice nothing to throw any light on the
mystery.
The coroner and police found the