The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-11-24

AS she left the home OF her friends
to go on shopping tour. Beulah
dismissed the subject of Beattie from
her mind with the words: 81 am
more sorry for Beatties father than 1
am for him"
Richmond. Va, Nov. 2i.--Life paid
for life today, when Henry clay
Bcattie, Jr., was shocked to death in
the electric chair in Virginia stale
penitentiary here.
-Four months ago, on a dark July
night, Henry Clay Beattle returned
from n ioy-ride on the lonely Midlo-
THAN turnpike with the blood-stained
body of his wife held close to his side
in his auto. But an hour before tho
couple had left the home of the girls
uncle, Thomas owen. There the body
of the dead woman was taken, and
there Beattie told story of a beard
ed highwayman who hel1 up his ma
chine in the road, after the auto ha
nearly run him down. Beattie said
that when he started his auto to run
away from the bearded stranger, wht
was armed with "A shotgun, the man
fired at the machine, killing Mrs.
Beattie.
While the family of the dead girl
mourned her death at home, Beattie.
with police officials, and private de-
tectives secured the neighborhood for
traces of the bearded highwayman.
The blood soaked auto. In which hr
had carried his wifes body was
pressed into service and Beattie Him
self ran the gruesome vehicle up and
down the Midlothian turnpike through
the night.
Just as dawn broke. on July 10,
Luther l.. Sherer, Chesapeake. and
Ohio railroad detective, brought into
the case by the girls family reached
the scene OF the crime with brace
OF bloodhounds. Then the FIRST suspi-
cion of Beattie himself took root The
bloodhounds circled wide about the
place through woods and fields. but
baying loudly they Invariably returned
to the spot where Beattie declared
his auto stood when his wife was
shot. a short time later a negro
NANNY" found single-barreled
shotgun, identified by Beottie as the
gun with which his wife was killed,
at a railroad crossing about halfway
between the scene of the crime and
the owen home.
Beattie in his stories of the killing
of his wife told widely differing tales.
He was particularly contradictory in
his description of the man whom
he accused of shooting. For three
days detectives worked with all their
energy without definite result, but
gathering a mass of circumstances
that seemed to point To Beattie. The
history of the young son OF the
wealthy merchant as Lotharlo OF
South Richmond. and his relations
with the beautiful seventeen-year-old
Beulah Binford was discovered The
detectives unearthed the story OF
Henry Clay Beattie Trout, the child
born to Beulah Blnford and Henry
Clay Beattie in 1903.
Meanwhile the body of the mur-
derod girl-wife was buried from the
church where short year before she
had been married to Henry Clay
Beattie
On the FRIDAY following, Coroner
Loving began the inquest into the
death of Mrs. Beattie. on the stand
Beattie, under instructions from ms
lawyers. Harry NJ. Smith, Jr, de-
clined to answer any question relat-
ing to his intimacy with Beulah Bin
ford. But during the morning Paw
Beattie, Henry's cousin had confessed
to the Richmond police that on the
Saturday prior to the killing he had
bought a single barrel shotgun Tor
his cousin and had turned 1t over TO
him, with three cartridges Paul
later identified the gun found on the
Midlothian turnpike as the gun he
gave his cousin.
The inquest adjouned at noon win
Beattle still on the stand ana while ne
was eating lunch at his home OF
ncers accompanied by Paul Beattle
entered the house and arrested him.
AT the afternoon session OF the IN
quest Beulah Binford took the stand
and told of her relations with Beattie'
She told of the renewal of these re-
lations shortly after Beattle's son,
Henry Clay Beattie Ill was born ana
her return to Richmond from Nor
folk where she met Beattie.
The Coroner's jury after brl'l
consideration held Beattie for the
action of the grand jury.
on August IA. the Grand Jury re-
turned an Indictment against Beattie
for murder in the first degree, and on
| August 81, he was placed on trial
Then ensued one of the strangest, bit
terest legal battle that Virginia has
ever known.
out i'm the Chesterfield county
court house. fourteen miles from
| Richmond, five miles from a railroad
| a courteous, kindly Southern gentle
| man, Judge Watson, took charge OF
| the trial. District Attorney Gregory
| assisted by Louis O. Wendenburg, one
| of Richmonds leading criminal law
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