The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1911-04-12
RUDGINS GIVEN LIFE TERM
BAKER COUNTY BOY CONVICTED
OF KILLING TAMPA BROKER.
The Victims Body Was Found in an
abandoned Well Wrapped in a
| Quilt. HudginS' Statement.

the jury in his case returned
verdict of guilty with recommen-
dation to merry after being out for
about an hour. Although it required
two days to get jury the actual
trial OF the case Was accomplished
in much shorter time than was an
ticipated.
One day during the month of Oc-
tober last the decayng body of a
man was found in an old well in the
middle of a Baker county cotton
patch near FlmOdel.
Jesse Hudgins, youth nineteen
years of age, was arrested for the
crime, and with him was arrested
his step-father, Joseph Leary, then
living in the suburbs of Albany, his
mother, Mrs. Joseph Leary, and
negro named Lloyd Lewis. Leary
and the metro were charged with
being accessories before the fact, and
Mrs. Leary with being accessory af-
ter the fact
Young Hudgins had previously Iiv-
ed in Tampa for a short time, and
while there went to work for Ernest
Barksdale. A short time before the
killing Hudgins is alleged to have
skipped out from Tampa. A number
OF receipted bills and checks with
Barksdale name forged thereon soon
turned up, and Barksdale realized
that Hudgins had gotten into him
for several hundred dollars.
Sought to Collect Debt.
Two weeks before the killing
Barksdale left Tampa and came to
Georgia to try to straighten out the
matter without taking recourse to
law. He went first to Leary, town
named after the father of young
Hudgins' step-father, and spent the
night there. The next day he went
to the bachelor quarters of Hudgins,
or place belonging to the latter's
mother, in Baker county. For sew
eral days he remained in the neigh
borhood, part of the time at Leary
and part of the time with young
Hudgins. He hunted and passed the
time as best he could, waiting, it is
supposed, for arrangements that
were being made to settle the debt
that young Hudgins owed him.
1t is said that the mother, who,
with Jospeh Leary, made sever
al visits to the plantation while
Barksdale was there, promised to
raise, and did raise, $500, which was
accepted in full settlement of her
sons debt, this settlement having
been offered as a compromise by
Barksdale. 1t was also said that
Barksdale was preparing to return to
Tampa, after the money had been
paid to him, and that it furnished one
of the motives for the crime.
1t was week later that Barks-
dale's body was found in the old well,
the guesome discovery setting in mo-
ton an investigation which resulted
in the arrest of Hudgins, his mother
and step-father and the negro, who
are yet to be tried.
Hudgins' Story of Killing.
The defense, after a conference
with Hudgins, placed the young pris-
OneT on the stand, and his statement
was the feature of the trial. He
spoke without the least hesitation
or embarrassment.
His statement in effect was that
while accompanying Barksdale to
AACcl1 III q OuSSy III IlldJ InSL1Ol dD1S
Saturday morning they saw some
partridges near and on the right of
the road, when he, Hudgins, was d.
rected by Barksdale to get out and
shoot them, and that he, taking the
gun, got out on the right hand side
of the buggy; that Barksdale turned
the buggy to the right, out of the
road, and had gotten out on the left
side of the buggy, and was standing
between the wheels, at which time
the birds flew up, when the gun sud-
denly and unexpectedly went off and
shot and killed his friend and more
than brother, Barksdale. He said
that when this happened he was so
shocked and dazed he hardly knew
what to do, but he dragged the body
short distance from the road, then
went back to his home about three
fourths of mile, and procured
rope and quilt, and returned to the
body, carefully wrapped it up in
the quilt, took it to the old we'll
nearby, and let it down with the
rope. Before letting the body down
he noticed the watch, papers and
money on the body of his friend, and
took them for safekeeping, hardly
knowing what to do with them, but
put them in a pile of cotton seed
at the home of his aunt. After his
arrest he told his counsel where
these things were. The money he
was seen spending was given him by
his step-father, Joseph Leary, who
had always been kind to him.
The family of Hudgins has prom
inent connections, and there was
much interest in the trial through
out this section.