The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-08-24
YOUNG VIRCINIAN
PLACED ON TRIAL
fOR KILLING wife
Henry G. Beattie, Jra, Scion Of
Good Family, Accused in
Court of Awful Crime.

ZS.-3uro neaueu, chewing gum uHp
smiling. Henry Clay Beattie. jr., ar
| rived at the Chesterfield court house In
an automobile at 10 o'clock this morn
ing to answer the charge of killing his
| wife in a motor car on a turnpike near
Richmond a month ago. Judge Walter
"A. Watson arrived shortly before the
| prisoner to convene court.
Beattie's aged father had reached
| Chesterfield half an hour earlier. In
| court, father and son sat side by side
and exchanged whispers. Beattie then
began to talk with his lawyers.
Judge Watson spent several minutes
| talking with the army Of newspaper
| correspondents and arranging seats.
| Beattie leaned over the old walnut rail-
ing and talked lightly with those near
him; the old father sat silent, stroking
| his gray hair. Dark circles showed un-
| der the prisoners eye. but he looked
trim and self possessed.
/, Whits Women Stay Away.
The tiny room was damned as the
| proceedings began and to discourage
| the curious and idle, the court ordered
that all disinterested spectators stand
up and remain standing. Two women
! newspaper writer's were the only white
women in the yard or court building.
The clerk formally called the case
| for the commonwealth and the prose-
cution asked that the prisoner be ar
| raigned.
| A motion by the defense for post
ponement until next Monday on the
| ground that the defense was not ready
for trial was overruled by the court.
! Judge Watson said that the matter of
continuance might be considered after
| the trial had begun. The defense then
| moved that the Indictment be quashed
| on the ground of error. Beattie was
| arraigned and entered a plea of not
guilty.
| Prisoner Sleeps Well.
| f, His jailors say Beattie slept we'll
| as he has done since his arrest more
| than a month ago. He dressed care
| fully, glanced at the morning papers,
ate u light breakfast and sat waiting
! In the jail corridor for his first trip
In the open air since his imprisonment.
Beulah Binford, the pretty i7-year-
old girl in the case" m>de no prep
| arations to leave the jan I'm Richmond.
Where she has been held as a material
witness. but Paul Beattie. the prison.
| cr's cousin, who has sworn that he
| purchased the gun with which Louise
Wexford Owen Beattie was shot, was
instructed late last night that he must
be ready to make the journey by auto
mobile to Chesterfield
Paul has said little since his incar.
| ceration. but on his testimony the COM
monwealth hopes to send his 26-year-
old cousin to the electric chair. The
Binford girl may be called as a wit
ness as the trial progresses.
With prospects OF the actual begin
ming of Beatties fight for life. Ches-
terheld county has prospective spec
| tator or auditor In every family with
male member more than IL years
old. To Virginia's credit 1t was noted
that not one white woman was in
on the indictment
History of the Case.
The first intimation of the tragedy
came on the night OF July 1S, when
Beattie drove his automobile I'D to
his home. holding in his arms the body
or his bride OF year. with their g.
weeks old baby safe in the bottom of
! the tonneau. The wife had been killed
by charge Of shot, fired at close
range.
Beattie declared that as they were
driving down dark part Of the Mid
lothian turnpike an unknown man
had sprung from the roadside and
stopped them. He had made few
profane remarks about the rights Of
the road and then, when Beattie
jumped from the car to grapple with
him. had raised his gun and fred.
Beattie said he had chased him a few
rods, not suspecting that his wife was
injured, and returned to find her dead
Evidence Against Beattie.
The story was doubted and the in
vcstlgations or the prosecutor almost
at once begun to develop evidence
against the young husband. The gun
found near the scene OF the crime was
identified by storekeeper in Rich
mond as one he had sold to Paul
Beattie, cousin Of the prisoner. Paul
admitted that he had given the gun
to his cousin, though the latter denies
that he has ever seen it.
1t Is also alleged; on the evidence Of
the doctors that the charge that
struck Mrs. Beattie had been fred
from within foot or two of ner head
and not from distance OF several
feet.
But the moat startling eyider ce that
the state will present is the ",velation
chat young Beattie has beer leading
double life. caused by infatuation
with Beulah Binford. girl of H.
whom he had known since she was
IL. They have son aged years
The girl was present at the Beattie
wedding. and then left town at
Beattie's instance, under a promise
never to return. She came back a
few weeks before the tragedy, how
ever, and Beattie had been several
offer evidence that they had even
planned to engage a fiat I'm Richmond,
where she might live and be near
him."
Sensations to Come.
This. the prosecutor declares, fur
nished the motive for the crime. 1t is
not alleged that Beattie himself fired
the shot, blu: that he and Paul Beattie
engaged some third man to do It, The
details OF this plot have never been
brought out, and will be part OF the
sensational developments expected at
the trial.
1t has also been learned that IN
n inf On 20, -
Binford girl she was far from being
devoted to him alone. She has told
of trips to Louisville and St Louis
with other men, and of being much
with them in and around Richmond.
1t is 1ntimatcd that several OF the
scions of the local artistocracy know
too much about her, and she about
them. and there Is general fear that
much of her life story will be told on
the witness stand involving these