The Sentinel=record., 1912-06-18
COMPTON KILLS
 HIS SECOND MAN
SLAYER OF MACK FREEMAN PUTS 24 BUcksHoT INTO THE BODY
 OF HIS NElcHRoR.
Coroner's Jury of 1s Men of Mill Township Declares the Killing Was JustihabIe and Comp
 ton is Not Arrested.


 George Compton, postmaster at Pearcy,' on the south border of this county, and deputy sheriff under Hugh Hale when he shot and killed Mack Freeman in this city. late Sat urday night shot and killed his second man Tn few months when he poured 24 buckshot from double barrelled shot gun into the body of Coleman Wallace, young man who resides close to the Compton home.
 A coroner's jury of Mill township citizens held an inquest Sunday after noon at the Compton home. withdrew under the shade of giant walnut tree to discuss the meager evidence before it, and returned a verdict that Compton was justified in the killing.
 The apparent theory on which the verdict was based was that Compton was timid about the presence of un- known men on his place at night, aft ter the first killing, that he saw a man come over the fence towards his house, prepared himself, and fired two loads of buckshot without a word, and that he did not know who he had killed until friends were called in and an investigation made
 Gossip prevalent in the neighbor- hood, however, which linked the names of Wallace and Compton's daughter, together with the bit of evidence the witnesses gave about Wallace's slippers being off when he was shot, indicating his desire to creep silently to the house. must have had it's weight in the verdict. Comp tons daughter resided with him.
 Coleman Wallace was no thief, and if he had his slippers off while ad yancing steHlthily to the Compton home, the incident led none of his neighbors to believe that it was for other purpose than a clandestine en- gagement with the Compton girl.
 When Compton, as a deputy sheriff, shot Mack Freeman in the back and killed him in this city last spring, the tragedy was enacted over Oma Compton, the daughter, who still re- sides with George Compton at Pearcy Compton claimed Mack Freeman brought the girl to this city for inn moral purposes, and in company with Sheriff Hugh Hale, who had appoint ed him deputy, went to take her back home. Freeman was about the place and Compton shot and killed him. Compton in a voluntary testimony 1 before the coroner's jury yesterday connected the tw tragedies, in that | he said since the first one he had been nervous about his home, ex- pecting trouble. He stated frankly | that when he saw the form of man coming over the front fence, he pick | ed up his shot gun. When the form went around the corner of the house | Compton slipped to his back room | door, just barely poked his. shot gun | through, took aim, and when the form advanced in the dim night, fired bott ! barrels.
 Did you say anything before you fred2" asked juror.
 No" answered Compton. And then he explained his silence by saving he | thought of speaking at first, and then he thought the other fellow might get the first shot, so with his double barrelled gun loaded and aimed, he didn't speak, but pulled the triggers
 Coroner Dr. Randolph. who conduct ed the inquest, noted 24 buck shOt | WOutiuS OU NdildNCo bOAgs Ahbh' half of these were patterned about the heart of Coleman, and the other half were patterned through the ab- domen, showing the intetsines had been well punctured. Any one of probably dozen of the bullets would l have proved fatal.
 The tragedy was enacted late Sat urday night, Compton and Wallace live on adjoining farms. Compton has daughter, Oma, about IS years oi age. residing with him, which is all of his immediate family. Wallace resides about 100 yards distant, with his aged father and there are no oth- CTS of that immediate family. The elder Wallace is not only paralytio but is palsied and took his sorrow silently as he sat on the stoop of his humble country home. The tragedy had robbed him of almost everything in life.
 There may have been a whole lot to the tragedy that was not recited publicly. More than a hundred men and women of the township gathered on the scene They were about half