Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1911-11-23
CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY
Of CASE Of HENRY
CLAY BEATT|E JR.
Who Is Under Sentence to Die Tomor
row in the Electric Chair in the
Virginia State Prison.

July Is, 191l-While returning t,
her husband. Mrs. Henry Clay Beattie
Jr., was shot and instantly killed. TIL,
shooting occurred on the Midlothian
turnpike, five miles from Richmond
Mrs. Beattie was % years old anC
had been married only one year. Afte.
the tragedy the husband returned tC
the home of Tom" Owen, an uncle. %.
his wife, with the body of Mrs. Beat
tie, saying she had been shot by tall
bearded man, whom they encountered
on the road.
July 20-At the coroner's inquest
Paul Beattie. second cousin of Henry
Clay Beattie, Jr., confessed that he
! had purchased shotgun for Henry
and subsequently three cartridges, and
had delivered them to his cousin a
day or two before the murder. The
same gun was picked up on the road,
where ii was said TO have been jolted
out Of the auto the morning after the
shooting and identified by the hus-
/ band as the one he had taken out of
the hands of the strange man in the
struggle following the tragedy.
July 22-Arrest of Henry Cay Beat.
tie, Jr.
August 14-Indictment of Beattie,
based on the testimony of his cousin
and on evidence showing that he had
been attentive TO Beulah Binford, a
girl of II, for three or four years, and
that their relations had been re.
sumed after Beattie's marriage to
Miss Louise Owen of Dover, Del, and
even after the birth of their child,
which was three weeks old at the
time of its mothers death.
August 21-Beattie pleaded mot
guilty" TO the indictment.
August 24-Commencement of the
trial. Prosecution introduced evidence
to show that Beatte had taken the
gun bought for him by Paul and Sc
GREETED it along the Midlothian pike,
at the scene of the murder. and had
there induced his wife to get out of
the automobile and shot her. Paul
Beattie testified that Henry, several
days after the murder. had confessed
to him that he had shot his wife, say
ing: I'm sorry that | did it. /
wouldn't do ii again for one million
dollars" The defense bent every eff
fort to break down the testimony o.
Paul Beattie, whom they described as
a moral weaking," and tried to
ascrbe Pauls testimony TO a desire
TO escape from the ugly fix" he was
in However. Pauls testimony was
substantiated in its important fea.
lures by other witnesses.
September 4-Henry Clay Beattie,
IT., took the stand in his own behalf |
md on cross-examination held to his
previous statements in regard to his
wife being shot by strange man who
leld them up on the road
September S-The jury in the case
eturned unanimous verdict of
guilty" This verdict was believed to
ave been influenced not only by the
trong direct evidence of Beattie's
uilt but also by the testimony of his
elations with his affinity" the Bin
'rd girl, which was supposed to have
Finished the motive for the crime.
his young woman, scarcely more
ian a child, met Henry Clay Beattie,
r, when she was but Is years old
nd two years later gave birth to 4
aid alleged to have been his son.
September 9-Walter A. Watson,
,e trial judge, sentenced Beattie to
e on November "a.
November 13-The supreme court
appeals Of Virginia denied the pet
on for writ of error.
November 1.-THE young wife MUIR
'rer's last hope OF escaping the cleo.
ic chair was wiped away when Gov.
nor Mann declined to interfere with
e sentence and issued a signed
atement in which he stated that he
ID followed the case with the closest
tention and declared his belief that
cattle had had a fair trial and mer-
I'd the punishment imposed upon
m by the jury and court.
-