The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-08-08
TRIAL IN THE
BOILER MURDER CASE
From Fridays Daily:

day Thursday in the preliminary trial
Of John w. Hurst, principal, and Mrs.
John w. Hurst and Mr.. J. H. Simpson,
accessories before and after the fact,
in the murder of Louis E. Boiler late
in the afternoon of July 10, 1918, in
front of the Boiler home near the An
thony hard road, about four miles
north of Ocala.
It seems that Mr.. Boiler rented q
farm to the Hursts. and the Hursts
were to plant the farm and divide
the crop equally. The fodder had
been pulled and was being harvested,
and Mrs. Boiler sent her little son,
ivan, lad Of twelve years, to the
field to coint the bundles of fodder
so that the Boilers would get their
just share Of it, The lad said that
Mrs. Hurst said that Mr.. Hurst had
counted the bundles and his count
would have to stand. The boy de-
INJURED and he claims that she took
hold of him and shook him. He re-
turned to his home and repeated to
his mother what had occurred. In a
little while Mr.. Boiler came home and
the story was repeated to him.
The Hursts lived some distance fur
Their towards Anthony than the Boil
ers. They had borrowed light, one
horse wagon from the Boilers, and
Mrs. Boiler had requested its return
as she expected to use it the next
day AS the Hursts were coming to
Ocala after the days and weeks work
had ended, they hitched the Boiler
wagon on to theirs and stopped near
ly in front of the Boiler home, and
young Simpson pulled the wagon some
distance to the Boiler barn, where he
left it.
The Boilers heard the noise of the
wagon, and ascertaining from the lad
that the Hurst's were out near the
gate, Mr.. Boiler started out TO see
them, closely followed by the mother
and the boy. AS soon as Mr.. Boiler
got to them he accosted Mr.. Hurst
and demanded to know why Mrs.
Hurst had run his son, Ivan, from the
field, and followed up his demand
with a very offensive epithet. Mr..
Hurst demanded to know whether he
intended the epithet for him and upon
receiving an affirmative reply, both
Mrs Boiler and Ivan Boiler say that
Hurst struck Boiler. Hurst, however,
claimed that Boiler struck him the
first blow and felled him to the
ground, at the same time breaking
his eyeglasses and more or less
binding him. The second blow he
claims that Boiler tsruck him in the
mouth, knocking his false teeth out.
But before Boiler had succeeded the
second time in telling his antagonist
Hurst had got near enough to him to
cut him several times with knife,
though at the time Boiler did not
know that he had been cut. and did
not know it until he had become weak
from the loss of blood.
Mrs. Boiler and Ivan Boiler were
positive that Hurst struck the first
blow and must have done the cutting
when the blow was struck.
In the meanwhile young Simpson
had returned from the barn where he
went to put up the wagon, and at
tempted to shoot Mr.. Boiler. but Mrs
| Boiler, who is a large woman, seized
him and prevented him from carry
| ing his threat into execution by di
verting the direction of the ball. By
this time, also, Mrs. Hurst had alight
ed from the wagon, and Mrs. Bollel
claims that she struck her HUSBAND
over the head with the butt end of ;
whip.
This is about the testimony, with {
great deal of frightening details.
After it was discovered that Mr.
Boiler had been badly stabbed, Mrs
Boiler wrapped a towel around hi!
body, and with the assistance of he
son, succeeded in bringing him to tn,
Marion county hospital
DR.. E. Van Hood, physician il
charge, and DR.. H. c. Dozier, consult
ing physician, testified to the condi
ton of Mr.. Boiler when he reached
the hospital, and the operations the!
performed on him. They testified
that for three days the wounds were
apparently healing satisfactorily. but
that on the third day acute delatatior
OF the stomach set in. which is rarely
other than fatal, and the patient dice
soon after this set in.
Both physicians believed that the
acute delatation of the stomach was
caused primarily by the knife wounds
inflicted upon the deceased by Hurst,
but also stated that it was not neces-