Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-27
NO TRACE OF WOMAN SLAYERs.
Bisham and Avant Apparently Beyond
Laws Reach,

There is now absolutely no doubt, at
this end of the line, says the Colum-
| bia correspondent of the News and
Courier, that both DR.. G. c. Bigham
and w. B. Avant, who are convicted
| murderers of Mrs. G. c. Bigham, have
| left the state and will evade the SER
| vice of their sentences, for some time
at least. Thus far no reward has been
offered at the office of Governor Ansel.
1t was reported here about week
ago that Avant was at Cayce, which is
| a small station across the river from
Columbia. The information was given,
| however, after the letter was received
at Georgetown from Avant, who at the
| time was said to have been in Atlanta.
1t was also stated that some one had
called up the penitentiary and had said
that Avant would be brought in short
ly. No name was given to the author
tiles. At the penitentiary it was stated
that neither Bigham nor Avant has yet
been brought in or heard of. The case
is mysterious one.
It was at dusk on September 4, 1909,
that Ruth Crisp Bigham, beautiful
young woman not more than % years
of age, walked out upon the beach at
Murrells Inlet. She was attired in a
her shoulders. Mrs. Bigham, the wife
of the man who was subsequently
charged with the murder, was a grad
uate of Converse college, according to
those who knew her well, and she was
said to have been a very fine young
| woman.
That September afternoon was the
last day that Mrs. Bigham walked upon
the beach, for probably not more than
| one hour after she left her home her
| body was cold and life was gone. New
er was there a more mysterious killing
| in the history of crime in South Caro-
lima, from all appearances. Concealed
behind a wall of mystery, all motive,
so far as has been given to the world,
absent, the killing Of Ruth Bisham may
| for all time remain unexplained.
The picture presented to those few
persons living on the inlet, VINO came
| to the spot on the beach, where Mrs.
| Bigham lay, then in the throes Of death,
was that of two men standing over the
| body, one-Dr. Bigham-saying: "Will
Avant has killed my wife" This was
the only clue to the doer of the deed
that those witnesses had.
"They threw their arms around one
another on the beach and cried, and
Avant said: I am a murderer, / have
committed murder We went up to
the body and l didn't see anything
more of them until we got up to the
house" These were the words used by
| one of the witnesses at the trial, in de-
scribing the scene around the body of
| Mrs. Bigham.
Thus 1t was that the responsibility of
the killing of Mrs. Bigham was placed
upon her husband and his close friend
whom he was visiting at the time on
4 the inlet.
| Many other matters came out at the
trial There We're the tests made by
persons living on the inlet and nearby
to determine whether one person could
distinguish another on the beach at
the time in the late afternoon, when
the killing was supposed to have oc-
Cured.
The defense did not put up the two
defendants, but the statements made
by them were that they did not know
what 1t was walking out on the beach
and that they followed, and when nc
answer was made to their call, AVant
| fired. killing Mrs. Bigham.
This unexplained homicide resulted
in the conviction of the prisoners as &c
manslaughter only. The pitiably short
sentence of three and a half years was
given them.
| DR.. Bigham remained out of the
hands of the law under a $1,000 bond
and Avant was brought here for awhile
preceding his appeal and released or
habeas corpus proceedings. After the
supreme court affirmed the decision OF
the lower court there remained ten days
in which to send down the remittitur