The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-09-07
HAS WITNESS TO
BEATTIE MURDER
WeDdenburg on Trail Of
Missing Farmland.
TRIAL MAY BE RE0PENED

Prosecuting Attorney Receives Lette
From Youth Who Says He Saw Vir
gilman XIII His Wife on Midlothian
Pike and Was BrIbed to Leave tn,
country-Story Fits In Nicely VIII
Heretofore unsolved Problems o
States Case.
Richmond, Va, Sept. 7.-The case
OF Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., all com
plete except for the courts charge tC
the Jury, and the summing up Of the
lawyers, may be reopened for the ad
dition OF startling testimony before
Il passes to the hands of the jury.
II information which came to the
commemorative prosecutor proves tC
be true. Judge Watson will, at his re
quest, II is said, allow the common
wealth to reopen its case and put or
the stand an eye witness to the kill
ing of Mrs. Beattie on the night o.
July Is last.
So strongly does the prosecutor be
lleve in the truth of the information
he has received that he has wired tho
authorities of another city to cooper
ate with q lawyer there in the exam
ination of a man who states that he
witnessed the murder.
Today Wendenburg expects to heai
from these authorities whether or no
the volunteer witness is thought tC
be telling the truth. II a favorable
reply is received, the witness will bC
hurried to Chesterfield c. H., aud vii
go on the stand Immediately to con
front the prisoner, who. he says in 9
confession to Wendenburg, shot Mrs
Beattie before his eyes.
TalIles With Theories.
So closely do the circumstances oi
the murder narrated by this self-con
fessed eyewitness tally with the the
ories held by the prosecution that II
the witness is brought TO testify Wen
denburg will move for the exhuma
tion of Mrs. Beattie's body IA order
that physical facts may corrobor2to
the story of the witness.
The letter in question was mailed
at city the name of which Wenden.
burg withholds from publication. but
which he says is a day and a half dis
tant by rail from Richmond.
II write this because my conscience
will no longer allow me to be still
we're the first words of the letter. "l
saw Henry Beattie kill his wife," the
letter continues. land have kept my
mouth shut to this minute because |
was afraid. But | don't want him TO
escape punishment, and now | am
willing to come and testify to what
know II | am wanted" The writer
then gave his name, the address of
his boarding house in the city to
which he said he had fed two days
after the murder on money furnished
by Henry Beattie himself and the
name of the man in that city who
now employees him. Then followed
his story. This is substantially the
way lie told IL:
II was employed by (Mr. Wenden
burg withholds the name), who is q
farmer. and who has a farm near the
Midlothian turnpike in Chesterfield
county. not far from South Richmond
I was farmland. On the evening OF
July 18 last a COW belonging to Mr.
--- strayed and | was out TO hunt
for II. The COW got into the pine
woods and | followed 1t until Ions
after dark. Sometime after 10 o'clock
l am not sure just how many min
utes II was. | was in the woods or
the right-hand side of the Midlothian
turnpike as you go out from Rich
Inond, and ! saw a light. AS ! walk
ed closer to the road / saw an auto
mobile standing almost in the middle
OF the road facing toward Richmond
and there were two people in It, q
man and 2 woman. They were both
sitting in the front seat.
Couple Were Quarrellnq.
"They were quarreling. could hear
them talking loud, so ! did not show
myself, but waited behind tree
about ten feet from the edge of the
road in the thick pine woods to hear
what they said.
"The woman was pleading with the
man. She was saying that she want
ed her love back again and she did
not want the man to be cruel to her
The man aswered roughly
'At ono time heard him say. I
am tired of all this; | am going &c
end this Then | heard the woman
gay, How are you going to end II?
The man said something conldpf