The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-09-10
CHARGED WITH MURDER
WALKER AND son INVOLVED IN
DEATH OF HARTER.
The Testimony Brought Out Causes
Authorities to Keep Them Both in
Custody.
Custody.

The coroner's jury of inquest over
the dead body of J. B. Harter, chief
of police of Allendale, who was kill
ed Sunday afternoon at Lena, Hamp-
ton county, Monday evening render
ed verdict that the officer "came to
his death by pistol shot wounds from
a pistol in the hand Of J.]F. Walker,
aided and abetted by Ben Walker, his
son." Ben Walker the eighteen
year-old son of Joe F. Walker, was
arrested, and the coroner's jury i'm
plicated him in the shooting OF Har-
ter.
The inquest was held at Estill j.
NJ. Patterson, R. P. Searson, Jr:, and
J. Henry Johnson, of Allendale, con-
Quoted the examination of witnesses
for the coroner, while George War
ren, of Hampton, was present look
ing after the interests Of Walker,
though he did not examine any of the
| witnesses.
B. J. Peoples was the first witness.
He testified that he heard Walker
make some threat against the Allen:
dale policeman. Oscar Pasleton, j.
B. Prosser, T. J. Mcintosh and J. E.
Young, all eye-witnesses to the kill
ing, testified in substance to the fol-
| lowing state Of facts: On Sunday af-
ternoon at about o'clock Mr.. Harter
was sitting on bench on the depot
platform at Lena in company Of the
Rev. William J. Langston, Of Colum-
bia, and Octor Carlton. J. F. Walker
and his son, Ben, came walking down
the railroad from the direction Of
their home. On arriving at the
bench, Mr.. Walker demanded his pis-
tol from Mr.. Harter, who stated that
he did not have it. When the re-
quest was refused Walker hit Mr..
Harter over the head with pistol.
Mr.. Harter attempted to resist but
was pushed back by Walker repeated
ly, while Walker and his son, Ben,
kept up a continuous fire in the di-
rection Of Harter, the younger man
standing on the left Of his father.
The attention Of the witnesses was
not called to the affair until after
several shots were fired. Each Of
them swore that he did not see Har-
ter shoot at all.
After shooting the witnesses walk
ed about 800 yards to the place Of
the shooting and found Harter gap
ing and dying. There was 38-cal-
ibre pistol with one empty cartridge
in it lying half way between the dy-
ing man and the edge Of the plat
form. 1t was testified by several wit
nesses that Walker had threatened
the life of Harter because Harter had
officially taken a pistol from the pris-
oner at Allendale year ago.
DR.. Lawton, who held the post
mortem examination, testified that
four 3S pistol balls entered the front
Of the body and passed through
the body, one of them going through
the heart, and two 80 pistol balls en-
tered the left arm. One Of them was
cut out and introduced in evidence.
The doctor stated after the inquest
that he dressed slight scalp wound
on Mr.. Walker after the tragedy.
One of the witnesses stated that
wa1ker was bloody. Several teSti-
fed that Mr.. Harter never rose from
the bench on which he was sitting.
The elder Walker was interviewed
Monday and referred every one to his
attorneys, Messrs. Warren and War
rem. The attorneys, when asked for
a statement, said that the defense
was self-defense. Beyond this no
statement was given out