The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-08-29
BEATTiE CASE DRACS
WEARY LENGTH ALONG
VIRGINIA'S HIGHLY SENSATIONAL
MURDER TRIAL.
Case of Young Man of Prominent Fam
lily Charged With Killing His
Bride of Year.

CQeSC6Fue1Q ~. H., fd., aug 6''
Considerable progress was made on.
Saturday by the prosecution in the
case of Henry Clay Beattie, Jr, who
is on trial for his life, charged with
the murder of his young wife at
lonely spot on the Midlothian turnpike
last month. Mrs. Beattie was shot in
the face with shot gun. Beattie con-
tended that while he and his wife
were In the automobile his wife was
killedsby a highwayman. The theory
of tt. prosecution is that Beatde'
drovahis bride of year out on the
highway and killed her to get rid OF
her on account Of his relations with
another woman, Beulah Binford. Mrs.
Binford left a 5-weeks-old baby. -
A number Of important witnesses,
including one of the detectives who
had been prominent in the case from
the beginning, and several boys, the
prosecutions strong cards, were
heard. .
There were many tense moments for
the prisoner, as the prosecution,
through the testimony of Detective
L. L. Scherer, particularly, uncovered
fragments of conversations which he
is alleged to have had with Beattle
concerning Beulah Binford, the girl
in the case.'' Plainly evident was the
hand of the prosecution today, In en-
deayoring to show the underlying mo-
tive for the murder, the fear OF Il. c.
Beattie, Jr., that mis- father might
learn of the resumption of relations
with the Binford girl and the alleged
physical ailment of Beattie at the time.
of the murder. =. -:x-....s: ...-s',I -i.,
The court, in fact discerning the,
intention OF the prosecution to unfold
this part of the mystery, asked permis-
sion from the lawyers of both sides to
defer the discussion of this point on
the stand until another occasion, when
witnesses, including DR.. Mann, whose
information in this connection was
stricken out, might be recalled.
Boy Identifies Beattie Car. :E
The commonwealth drew tight the
lines of circumstantial evidence, when
it brought to the stand, consecutiVely,
a half dozen youths, who were return
ing from a dance on the night Of the
murder and stopped at the spectacle
of the stationary car, the man work
ing on the hood and the woman stand
ing on the running board. One OF the
boys, ". B. Sydnor, identified the
Beattie car, brought to the court house
for a first inspection by the jury, as v
the identical one, both as to make and
fittings, that he and his companions
spied that night.
snydor was on the stand twice, but
it was not until the second time that
it was after the jury Inspection tnat
the prosecution asked him whether or
not the doors on tn Gears he saw were
detached from the machine. He re-
membered exactly that they were, also
identifying it's khaki-colored hood.
All six boys told the same story OF
the woman on the running board ana
fixed the hour of their passage as al
most coincident with the hour Of the
murder, and the prosecution, through
Detective scherer's testimony later in
the day added to this trend of proof
Of the claim that Beattie's wife was
not shot while seated beside him, as
the prisoner AYERS, but while standing
in the road.
Close upon this was Detective
scherer's narrative Of Beattie's incon-
sistent and varying conversations with
him in endeavoring to explain and TO
describe the appearance Of blood IN
the road. His testimony laid the
foundation for the future contention
of the prosecution that Beattie shot
his wife while she was standing on
the running board or in the road.
Besides pointing to the cumulative
testimony of the boys, the prosecution
through F. B. Adams, another boy
scored a point when the youth told OF
seeing man alone beside the macnlne
similar to the Beattie car, on the self