The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1910-02-16
KILLED SEVEN
The Murderer Of a Whole Family Electro
Gated al Richmond.
WASALL ROUND BAD man
After Numbering His Victims. Seven
in All. He Attempted 70 Conceal
His Crime by Setting Fire to and
burning the House With the Bod

At Richmond. Va. Howard Little
who murdered Mrs Betsy Justis. a-
son-in-law. George Meadows. and t.,
lat,er's wife and three children II
their home near Nurley. buchanan
county. Va. last September. was pu
TO death By electrocutioa in the pen
i,en;iary at dawn Friday withou: IN
usual incident
Most murderers are executed TO-
single murder: Howard Little ha-
seven to his account There wer'
six in the wholesale butchery To-
which he was sentenced to die in th'
electric chair here Friday man
TWO women, and three children. Th'
victims were Mrs. Betsy Justis. Geo
Meadows, Mrs. Meadows and three
children Of the latter couple one
night last fall.
Little was no ordinary Glow brow
ed" criminal. He bore an excellen
reputation in the community in which
he lived and a number OF friends til
believe In his innocence. His charac.
ter appears to have been strikinsly
on the Dr. Jeykl-Mr. Hyde order. &c
one side being attributed the afro
cious crime which brought him to the
shadow OF ignom;nious death. the
other being such a nature as to hold
the friends who stood by him until
the last.
Little is described as one OF the
handsomes: men IN the State: more
than six feet in height, weighing 23S
pounds and being. in short. more
than ordinary Ane speninea Of ply
sical manhood. He held the position
OF United States marshal for the
eastern district Of Kentucky for a
number Of years. Except for mis- as
sociation with women he declared
himself generally without reproach
He was a sort Of rural Don Juan.
however. and he himself declared
that women had been his ruina-
ton
1t was while IN the Office OF Uuitcd
States marshall that he shot Geo.
Mckinley. in eastern Kentucky. and
vas sentenced to a life term in the
Kentucky penitentiaEy.
He was pardoned after short per
iod and moved back to Virginia
where he was made foreman 81 a
large lumber company at Hurley
Buchanan county While in this pos
ition he lived with the family o.
Geo. Meadows. Mrs. Little and he:
children lived n the same house
Mrs. Little is alleged to have ben
present when the murders were com.
mit.ed, bu: she was not allowed to
testify in the case.
It was alleged by the prosecution
and believed By the jury that Little
coming home one night. killed she
three Meadow children. Mrs. Jus:is
and Mrs. Meadows with an axe and
shot George Meadows as the latte.
ran from the house.
Next morning the Meadows hoEe
was found in ashes. Dead bodies
only partly burned met the eye or
almost every side. They were il
arious postures. indicating that some
Of the victims at last had made ter.
ribIe struggles 70 save themselves.
Robbery was esta blished as the d.
rect motive for the crime. II was
known tha: the ill-fa;ed family hac
kept 4 good deal OF money in the
house. and that Little afterward:
appeared flush" II is believed thai
he intended to leave Virginia with hi:
latest woman friend. At one tim.
there was talk OF lynchins him. bu
public anger cooled. especially at Il:
tie was promptly convicted.
Originally the man was sentenced
TO die January Ith, but Goveroo'
Swanson respited him in order tha
the case might go to the court o
appeals That tribunal sustained th,
convicted.