The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-09-20
HANGED Them
Richmond Juies Have The Habit Of De-
ing Up Men Who Kill Wives.
TWO VERY NOTED CASES

Famous Cases in Richmond, Where
on Purely Circumstantial Evidence
Men Were Hanged, Having KILLED
One His Wife and the Other His
Intended Wife.
The suburbs of Richmond, so late,
ly the scene of the sensational Beat
tie tragedy, has furnished the setting
for two other murders that for melo-
dramic mystery equalled the now
famous Beattie case. They were
known respectively as the Jeter Phil
lips and the Cluverius cases, after the
men who paid the penalty for the
deeds, the law fastened upon them.
Like the Beattie case, woman in
most intimate relation to the accus-
ed was the victim and in further
analogy the evidence in both cases
was wholly circumstantial. Here
are the brief facts:
The Phillips Case.
Early in February, 1867, farmer
named Drinkard discovered hidden
under a brush pile on his plantation,
about five miles from Richmond, the
| body Of woman, who evidently had
been dead some weeks. There were
marks of violence ON her, notably a
bullet wound in her head. For some
months the detectives failed to iden-
tify her.
On the adjoining farm was young
overseer named Jeter Phillips. No
one knew from whence he had come
'hen be obtained his position the
previous year. At the time of the
discovery of the body he was paying
court to young woman in the neigc-
borhood and rumrr had it was en-
gasad 20 marry her.
In May, some months later a rel
ativs Of this young woman picked up
letter, presumably dropped from
Phillips pocket while on visit to
his sweetheart, wherein the writer,
a woman, addressed Phillips as her
husbard and stated that she was
getting tired Of separation and would
;oin him shortly.
It was dated in January and came
sro,u small postofie in distant
county. Inquiry then developed it
that Phillips had, the previous year,
married this woman, leaving her at
her nome while he went in search of
employment, and that she had left
there late in January to join him
Lear Richmond.
in June, 1857, more than four
months after the discovery of the
boGy, hpillips was arrested, tried and
though the evidence was wholly cir
cumstantial, he was convicted and
hanged at Richmond. Shortly before
the execution he confessed to the
Murder, his motive being to make
way with his wife that he might
marry his later sweetheart.
The Cluverius Case.
The Cluverius case was one of the
most melodramic murder cases in
Virginia's criminal annals. About
the middle of February, 1885, some
boys strolling along the en,bank-
ment Of an abandoned reservoir in
the outer suburbs Of Richmond, saw
what they thought was the dress of
a woman, floating in the water.
They reported it and the next day
there was brought to light the body
of a woman in an advanced stage
of decomposition The sudden SEN
sation died down after an exhaustive
inquiry failed to disclose any wo-
man missing either in Richmond or
any other part of Virginia.
About that time couple Of girls
came up from Yorktown, about 40
miles distant. Having an hour to
wait for their train, they strolled
to the morgue to see the body OF !
the unknown woman. The features !
were not recognizable, but the cloth
ing was in a fair state Of preserva-
ton.
THAT looks like dress Lillian
Madison used to wear" commented
one. Yes replied the other, but
Lillian is over IN Bath county teach
ing"
However on their return to York
town they casually mentioned ii
to an aunt OF Lillian Madison. The
aunt assured them that Lillian was
in Bath county, but, recalling that
she had not heard from her for
couple of months, addressed let
ter to her. 1t was returned with q
note stating that she had left just
after Christmas.
The aunt later positively identi-
fed the clothing as that Of her niece.
Around the old reservoir there ran
a high picket fence, and about this,
encircling the lake, there ran a grav-
e: walk. On the path at this point
the detectives discerned evidences of
a struggle, but all obliterated by the |
weather; but close examination dis
closed a watch key.
There was nothing peculiarly dis
tinctive about the key. But shrewd
detective observed that it had once
undergone some slight repairing, and
on this flimsy clue, without even re-
motely suspecting anyone, the fer
rets took up the trail.
They took this key to every jew
eller in Richmond, Petersburg, Nor
folk, Lynchburg and Bristol, but not
one could identify it. The spring
had passed and the summer nearly
over when these tireless detectives,
having been into nearly every town
ood villas oa IN VIRGINIA at last found |