The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-09-17
Alleged Murder of Redding Man al
Blockton Being Investigated.

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to the point of feverishness, which
manifested itself in the groups here
and there on the streets, where some
one in guarded tones was communl-
eating the latest rumor afoat. The
zone OF mystery widened until Mt.
Ayr, Redding and Bedford were in
Guided. The immediate cause for all
this was visit of the sheriff of Ring
gold county to Blockton followed by
a call OF the sheriff and county at
torney of Taylor county. Then a
meeting Df these same officials from
both counties, with Assistant Attor
ney General Fletcher of Des Moines
in the party.
These visits coupled with the sum-
moning by the officials of certain in
dividuals to H. L. Carr's court, fol-
lowed by the disappearance of one of
the parties who had been interviewed,
I led the knowing ones to form the
conclusion that in some way the
official visits were connected with the
mysterious death of John B. Will
liams of Ringgold county near Red
ding, which occurred in March 1913,
and for whose death his son, Arthur
Williams, is now under Indictment,
charged with murder in the first de-
gree.
To refresh the memory, it should
be stated that John B. Williams, a
prominent farmer near Redding who
was widower and lived with his son
Arthur, disappeared from his home
and several days later his lifeiess
body was found by a searching party
in a hog pasture quarter of mile
from his home. Just what the YER
dict of the first inquest was is not
available, but the current report was
that it was case of suicide as
revolver with two empty chambers
was found near the body and the in
quest revealed bullet wounds.
Officials were not satisfied with the
verdict, it would appear, and few
days later the body was eXhumed and
a rigid post mortem examination.
made, which determined that Will
liams had been shot in the side in the
abdominal region and also in the top
of the head, the bullet from the latter
wound being taken out from under
the lower Jaw. Certain suspicious cir
cumstances later led to the arrest of
the son. Arthur Williams, and his
subsequent indictment for the MUIR
der of his father.
The recent revival of the case
comes from the talk Of two young
men, we'll known in Blockton, who
state that mutual friend recently
told them that he was present when
Williams was killed and that the
crime was not committed in Ring
gold county, but within the city
limits of BlOckton. in the cave of a
well known citizen, where party,
including Williams, his son and
several others, were playing poker.
The story told does not clear Ar
thur Williams of the crime, but in
c1udes another party, the man living
in the property where the poker game
was going on. AS the story goes,
this individual got into a quarrel
with John B. Williams over the game
and slashed his throat with a razor,
then shooting him, afterward drop
ping the revolver, which was picked
up by Arthur Williams who fired a
shot into his fathers body. The
young man who told this story claims
that he had no part in the killing, nor
so far as he knew, did anyone Of the
party, except the two mentioned. In
his conversation with the two young
men he mentioned others who were
present, one of whom as we'll as the
man in whose cave the crime is al
legged to have been committed, has
disappeared and their whereabouts
are unknown.
The story evidently weighed on the
minds of the young men to whom it
was told and they had to unburden
to someone, with the result that the
officials of the two counties inter-
viewed all the parties, and secured
dispositions of the two who claim they
were given the information. In the
dispositions they state the conversa-
tiOn in accordance with the above
statement. The young man who re-
counted the story and claimed to be
a witness of the murder, when inter-
viewed by the officers, disclaimed any
knowledge of the affair denied telling
his companions any such story, and
the next day disappeared and has not
been seen since.
There have been many people in
Blockton who have thought the crime
was committed there and the body
conveyed to the place where it was
!. found, hence it is believed by many
that the story told by this young man
IN an unguarded moment is true.
Ii the story does prove to be true
it will materially change the status
OF the case in Ringgold. The loca-
zion of the place, in Blockton, where
the crime is alleged to have been
committed, is outside the jurisdiction
of Ringgold county. and this fact
would comp}icate the case against
young Williams.
The Dung men who gave the first
information of this latest phase of
the Williams murder are Arthur
Flick and John O'Connor and the
young man they claim told them the
story is William Bosch, all of Block
ton, or the immediate vicinity.
The resident of the property
where the cave was situated in which
the murder was committed, Flick and
UCpnnor claim Bosch told them was
Ed Turner, and who they state Bosch
said had hand in the crime They
also state that Bosch told them that
q man by the name of West, who
Ey,rkpI ahoJlt R1Ockt0n cOnvovod tho