Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-25
THREE SLAIN IN TRAIN FIGHT !
Crazed Man Kills Conductor and POr, !
ter and is Finally Shot Dead.
FREMEN TURN HOSE ON sLAHB
Desperate Battle at wnniu EtOn,
Del, Lasts an HOur-COacn
windows shattered ana
Traffic Suspended.
FREMEN TURN HOSE ON sLATg

wILMINToN, Del. March A-After
killing the conductor ana porter Of a Ralti-
more & Ohio train yesterday. J. c. Bethea
OF Dillon. 5. c., was finally shot dead al
the station here. but not until large
squad of police and the fire department
summoned to subdue the murderer. had
fought him for over an hour.
When the train reached Wilmington
Bethea stood on the platform. revolver In
hand, prepared TO stand off those who
might come to arrest him o. e. Wellman
Of Philadelphia, the conductor, lay dead
on the floor OF the coach, and Samuel VIII
liams, the colored porter. sat dead in a
seat with a bullet through his heart, giving
the appearance TO those on the outside of
a passenger looking from the window,
John o. Wiley, q park guard OF Whining
ton, was shot In the hand and leg, and
Matthew Haley Of Wilmington was shot
In the leg, while others were grazed by
flying bullets. Traffic on the railroad was
temporarily suspended
stands OFF Crowd.
Bethea, who had been drinking heavily,
had quarreled with the porter and shot
him through the heart killing him In
stantly. Conductor wellman demonstrated
with Bethea, who without a word shot
wellman through the heart and the con-
ductOr fell dead In his tracks.
The murderer then stood off the pas
sengers until the train reached Wilmington.
When It came into the station a hurry call
was sent to the police station and squad
Of patrolmen, reinforced by park guat1is
and a posse of citizens and trainmen, RAN
to the scene.
The police called upon Bethea to sur
render. AS an answer he opened fire at
the police and the crowd from an auto.
matte revolver. Bethea is believed to have
had at least 100 rounds Of ammunition, for
he succeeded in holding the posse at bay
from 5:17 until 6:S5 o'clock. During this
time many shots were fired on both sides
until finally all the windows OF the car
we're riddled.
When the battle had lasted about an hour
the police asked aid from a fire company
nee rby. The firemen. barricaded behind
trucks and boards. played stream Of
water upon the windows OF the car, and
Bethea, drenched with water, staggered to
the platform. The police once more called
upon him to surrender, but his reply was
several shots in quick order from his re-
volver.
AS Bethea emptied his revolver Police
Captain Evans fired a load, OF, shot into
the mans face. Notwithstanding this I'm
Boughman opened fire with a pistol and
struck Bethea in the right arm. The
desperate man tried to fire again but the
police closed in and as they took hold OF
him he fell dead in the arms OF A patrol
man.
Bethea was well dressed. While It was
believed by some of the passengers who
fled when the train reached Wilmington
that the desperate was insane other pas
sengers stated that he appeared to be sane.
but had been drinking.
BetheR PrOmine Man.
DILLON, S. c., March A-John Henry
Bethea was a well-to-do contractor OF this
place and member OF a prominent South
Carolina family, He left here Monday for
Johns Hopkins hospital at Baltimore, where
he had planned to have an operation per-
formed in the hope Of being cured OF dis
ease which had troubled him for a long
time. When he left here he seemed per-
fectly rational Bethea was about 20 years
of age and unmarried.