The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-13
STATE PREP AIRED
FOR EARLY TRIAL
IN BEATT|E CASE
Continued From rirs, paeea

Continued From First Page1
became the bride OF the prisoner one
year ago. are shocking 10 a degree. On
the evening of July Is she left tho
residence of her uncle. Thomas r..
o"en' at Forest Hill, for n motor trip
over the Midlothian Turnpike with
her husband She never came back
alive. One hour after she started on
that tatai ride. Henry Beattie. scream
ing In evident anguish. shot the car
into the Owen yard--one hand on the
steering wheel and one around the
Hfeiebs body of his wife His tale that
fhe had been shot By bearded high
"hyman three miles away was not
questioned. but in q littlo while his
account OF the murder was riddled-I
tiddled even BY those who simply read
the bare recital In print 1t seemed
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
with evident emotion. yet In a clear
straightforward manner. Beattie de.
Ecribed the killing to friends In the
owen yard. ana then again TO report
ers and officers who were quickly
rushed 10 the scene. he said that there
had been words with the man in the
road: that the shot was fired into the
race of his wife at close range: that
The murderer, received smashing
blow over the nose with the butt OF the
6un-which was In reality a mere
ecratch--that he seized the weapon as
the highwaymen disappeared tossed
IT Into the roar of his car and start
ed home with the corpse. But there
was no gun. Men went in search for
It. and IL was picked up abou, day
light a few feet from the roadside.
1rncIS Follow
suspicion FIRST pointed to Beattie as
the murderer when bloodhounds,
fresh on the scene while the dew stili
fingered. refused to take the trail
They sirnply circled about the blood
spot in the road They followed no
track through the woods because the
detectives said there was no track to
follow.
But while Beattic was virtually ac-
cused of the crime forty-eight hours
before the arrest. the ownership of the
gun could not be established On the
morning OF July al Beattie went be-
fore the coroner's jury and gave tes-
Up to the noon recess he had made
good
There was q world OF work else
where. however while Coroner Loving
was seeking the truth. While Beattie
was at dinner. q detective walked in
u want you" he said. FOR murder"
Not go much AZ by the batting of an
eye did Beattie show a sign OF fear
HIS Iron nerve did not desert him But
his cousin. Paul. had meanwhile con
fessed that he had bought the idenu-
cal shotgun with which Mrs Beattie
was killed. and had delivered II toI
Beatt!e two days before the murder
Verdict Forced by PnuI.
While Paul. more like a maniac than
man, was raving nearby. Henry
Beattie, then under arrest, went hack
his life while he was being grilled.
Tho next day when Paul had testi-
fed the coroner's Jury brought In a
verdict charging the husband with tho
fendish crime. That verdict. however.
would have put guilt upon the should
srs of the unidentified. or mythical
h!ghwayman. except for the confess
sion OF Paul.
Previous TO the actual verdict, much
had been made clear Into the case
came Beulah Binford, a strip OF "a girl
only seventeen years old. but Older in
Elm. Her relations with Beattie made
a picture which one had beat forget
The mother OF his child. she had en-
tangled him in years OF trouble It
was for the love Of this eirl, and
through fear OF things more fearful
sim. that tho Commonwealth has
charged the crime TO tho prisoner.
Before the marriage OF Beattie and
Miss owen. the formers relations with
tho Binford girl had been broken off.
But again she crept into his life. and
on the night OF July II. the wife and
mother waited at home while the hus-
band and father was whirling about
the city in a motor car with his one
time love.
The young wife. then convalescing,
came to know something of the situa
ton. She was visiting a. her uncle's
home. Henry motored out in the
evenings. and took her. with the In
FAINT. for a bit of air. But his visits
were infrequent; he lived al his faith
er's home and he had engagements
elsewhere.
Knew Of Husbands Life.
The State believes that such knowl-
edge of her husbands habits and life
had come to Mrs Beattie that she had
summoned her father--living then in
Delaware-and on the fatal night Mr.
Owen was actually on his way to
I Richmond He read the newspaper
account of the murder when half of
his journey was ended
On the Saturday night prec eding the
tragedy, Henry Beattie did not see his
wife. That was the night. according
i to Paul. on which the gun was deliver
it------