Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-14
Nothing Matters Now" Says
Elton T. Darden, Told of
C. M. GoddaTd'S Death.
Continued From Page One.


husband appeared in the crowded wait
ing room with a revolver.
Three brothers and two sisters of
Goddard appeared before Coroner DON
ehoo this afternoon and said they
would push the case against his slayer
Darden seems careless as to his fate.
1t is a great relief" he said to po-
Licemen who bore him the information.
"A great burden has been lifted from
my soul"
He sought to compose himself and
paused a few seconds. Then he con-
tinued:
Thank YOU" he said simply. You
have relieved me from the fortunes of
he'll. 1t is all over now; it is imma-
terial to me what happens"
Darden refused the proffer of his
friend to bring a lawyer for a confer
ence.
Death News Outlets Him.
The prisoner, a progressing man,
who says he is a graduate of two
great universities, walked his cell
ceaselessly last night, his nerves plain
ly overwrought and his reason appar-
emily on the verge of destruction. But
when the news that Goddard was dead
was brought to him he quieted and
talked freely to policemen.
He told a story of how he had stalled
Goddard for days, watching him. with
the knowledge that he had made ap-
pointments with Mrs. Darden he said.
Darden declares that he had nerved
himself to the point of deciding to kill
his wife, the man and then himself,
but had been swerved from his de-
sign by an impatient impulse which
caused him to give them the alarm
when he found them together.
His Shout Parts Pair.
Il watched Goddard yesterday, "
Darden related. He was waiting for
the Kirkwood car, and 1 knew that he
was waiting for my wife. l could stand
the torture no longer, and left him
waiting there, went to my employers,
borrowed $40, and bought a revolver.
Then l went back.
Il saw her meet him, and saw them
go together toward the Empire hotel.
First l thought that l would let them
go in, and then follow them.
IF l had, there would have been
three souls in hell today.
But the thought of their associa-
ton unnerved me, and l shouted at
them. Maybe it was better that !
didn't let them go inside.
They took alarm, and the man
broke and ran in one direction, my
wife in another. and I lost them.
knew that Goddard had gone in a sa-
loon nearby, and l waited for him.
while l was waiting / thought of
all my wrongs. I remembered that
my eighteen year-old son had come to
me with a statement by Goddard. who
said that l was a damned coward. and
that he could go with my wife as much
as he pleased.
And when ! saw him in the Union
station there was no mercy in my
heart. l shot him as soon as l saw
him, and he fell to his knees.
Showed Pistol Closer.
He begged for mercy, but l showed
my pistol closer to him as he begged,
and fired again"
Darden made no attempt to get away
after he fired the five shots into the
body of Goddard, but stood vengeful-
ly over him. with the smoking revolv-
er in his hand, while the crowd, which
had fed at the first shots, began slow
ly to reassemble
The first thought Of the crowd was
for the wounded man, who lay groan-
ing on the tiled floor, and several of
the women in the station were ready
TO battle his wounds and to attempt to
stop the flow of blood until the arrival
of the ambulance which bore him to
Grady hospital. He died there about 8
o'clock this morning.
Goddard was about 35 years old and
was employed as a stone cutter in the
quarries at Stone Mountain. He was
unmarried and the sole support of an
aged mother, Mrs. Robert Goddard,
who, with her daughter, Miss Mabel
Goddard, came to Atlanta this morning
at the first news that her son had been
shot
Darden is a civil engineer in the en-
ploy Of Mon Brothers. contractors. as
estimator. He came to the South sew
oral years ago from Vermont and set
up as quarryman near Stone Noun
tain. 1t is said that he was fairly
wealthy upon coming to Georgia, but
that he dissipated his fortune.
Darden says that he is 46 years old
and claims degrees from Harvard uni
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