The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-06-25

stated that his wife had told him thai
she was getting mail under the name
of Minnie Hood and that having his
suspicious aroused he had gone 10 the
Office and called for her mail in that
name. He had received a letter post
marked Columbia. The letters was
signed Yours" 1t was addressed TO
MY Little Pal" The letter was
placed in evidence and read TO the
Jury The letter was filed with terms
of endearment and was compromising
in its nature. It stated the disap-
pointment of the writer that Mrs. Viii
/ lis had not met him al Columbia that
evening. It was filled with warnings
and requested Mrs. Willis to observe
all caution. 1t stated that Il don't
want to hurt any one and don't want
TO get hurt"
Willis testified that he had shown
the letter TO his wife and that she
had attempted to snatch it from his
hand, tearing of a corner of the en-
velope He had also shown it to Miss
Massey, who had said: Let's go up
yonder and give that post Office man
the dickens about letting him have
our mail"
Willis related how he had followed
his wife to Columbia, thinking that
he might find her with the author OF
the letter. He said that he had at
tempted, while coming up on the
train, to borrow gun from Bob Ber-
~. That Berry had promised TO let
him have the weapon but had found
that it was broken. Willis went
back to Mt. Pleasant on the same
train with his wife. The witness saw
his wife the following morning. She
called him across the street and
handed him a package containing
some underclothing and photographs.
The pictures were placed in evidence.
They were badly mutilated. The
eyes of Willis father and mother had
been marked out with a pencil, and
the pictures otherwise defaced. One
picture had Farewell KID written
on it and another bore the inscrip-
ton Eyes for Business" Willis
identified the hadwriting as his wite's.
A letter written by Mrs. Willis to
Miss Minnie Willis. sister of the de-
PENDANT, was placed in evidence. 1t
was couched in strong and vigorous
English, and was a strong indictment
of the women of the Willis family. 1t
took them TO task for attempting TO
blacken the character OF the writer, |
and abounded in expressions that
could not be termed conciliatory. |
Just look who / have married. Nun |
said" Was one expression. She re-
ferred to Willis as drunken dog,
and asserted that the bad place is |
full of such as you people are The |
writer stated that an uncle of Miss
W
count of a gate falling on him and
ventured the opinion that the gate
must have fell on the whole layout.
She twitted the Willis family on be-
ing country-bred, saying You can get
a girl out of the country but you cant
get the country out of the girl" In
this candid epistle Mrs. Willis said:
AL / ever did wrong it was in marry
ing in the Willis mess You look like
thirty cents with a hole in it, was
another far from complimentary ex-
preston Mrs. Willis promised to
meet her defamers in the court
room" Across the back of the let
ter was written please think OF
3oA'
Witness declared that in spite OF
Ill that he knew or suspected of his
vife's misconduct that he loved her
still and was willing TO live with her
ID to the very hour OF her death. He
elated how he obtained the gun with
which he took human life by saying that
le had gone to Ashwood on the Sunday
preceding the tragedy and had taken
he revolver from his sisters dresser
rawer. He then related how he had
purchased the carbolic acid from Can.
rells Drug Store, admitting that he {
i'd SO with the intention OF taking J
is own life. He said that he had
ever intended TO kill his wife until
he very moment that he pulled the trig- s
err and that he wanted the gun for
protection" He said that he had gone r
0 the barn OF his brothers house '
ut a short time before the killing T
.ith the purpose of taking his own g
fe. but that he had changed his r
lind-thinking it would be better TO ,
ait until he could interview his wife. S