The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-09-09


first degree is punished by death, and
the mode of exc :ution is eiectrocu-
ton. Counsel fer the defense i'm
mediately upon al nouncemeat moved
for new trial, which was turned
down by Judge Watson. No doubt
the case will be carried on to the
Supreme Courts. =.
With all the ev dence closed which
was entirely O. a cihcamstantial
character in the f;;mous murder trial
at Chesterfield, Va, of H. C. Beattie,
Jr., for the murder Of his young and
and beautiful wiSe few months ago
ON road some miles from Rich
mond, all calculat IONS were upset as
to when the case would end by Spec
ial Prosecutor T.Vendenburg's an
nouncetnent on thursday that he
may. ask the court 20 reopen the case
and admit the testimony Of man
who claims to have been an eye wit
ness to the tragedy.
Mr.. Wendenburg received the in
formation which may change the
whole aspect of tt case in a recent
mail. The writer, who until few
days after the murder Of Mrs. Beat
tie was farm hand employed on a
place near the scene of the crime,
said that he actually saw young Beat
tie kill his wife-saw him knock her
from the automobile with the butt
OF a shot gun and shoot her as she
lay insensible on the ground. He
wrote that Beattis had threatened
him when he founCt that he had wit
messed the deed nnd the following
day gave him sait of. clothes and
money with which 20 get away. ~7.-,,ss
Though. he kept quiet at first be-
cause he was afra i'd, the man says
now he does not ant Beattie to es-
cape punishment md is willing to
testify The Chesterfield farmer men
toned in the letter acknowledged
that a man by the name used by the
writer was employed by him until a
few days after, the murder, and fur
ther declared it wss a fact that the
farm hand was ch asing a runaway
COW on the night CT the murder. In
telling his story the alleged witness
said he was looking for cow when
he came upon the man and woman in
an automobile on the Midlothian
turnpike some time after 10 o'clock.
Beattie the accused husband says
that while he and ais wife were out
riding on the Midlothian turnpike,
they were held up by man, who
shot at him and killed his wife who
was seated by his side in the front
seat of their automobile. This story
was not believed, ard Beattie was ar
rested and put on trial for numbering
his wife. The Stat, had made out a
very strong case against him, based
altogether on circumstantial evil
dence, and now comes in this new
witness, who says il part:
Il was in the pine woods on the
right hand side OF the Midlothian
turnpike as you &C out from Rich
mond and I saw light. AS l walked
closer to the road ] saw al automo-
BILE standing almost in the middle of
the road facing toward Richmond,
and there were two people in it-a
man and a woman. They were both
sitting in the front seat.
"They were quarreling. l could
hear them talking loud, so | did not
show myself, but waited behind a
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 wanted
her love back again, and she did not
want the man to be cruel to her. The
man answered roughly.
cat one time Ihe&rd him say, I'm
''At one time herd him say, I'm
this Then l heard the woman say,
How are you going to end it?' The
man said something could not hear
man said something could not hear
you how I'm going o end it,
He got out of the machine and