The Little River news., 1917-01-17
JOHN HAWKINS
 MUST PAY 'I'HE;
 DEATIIPENAL.lY !
Continued from page I)

ly set in motion. In addition to the sheriffs force a special detective I'D. Price, was brought here from ShreYe- port and detailed with J. G. Sanderson to work on the case. Many theories and clues were advanced, but nothing came of it. The officers were also o5- serving, without the knowledge of the public, a negro, John Hawkins. Flaw kins is a young negro about own with bad reputation, who had teea a mem Der Of the Dilos sect'on gang. He had been laying of rem Tuesday before the crime and not working. He seem ed anxious to assist the officers in get ting evidence aga ;nst Eiles, himself, for the murder of lis own wife, and child He talked with the officers ire quently. Finally on Thurs@ay, Nov ember the 18th, they asked him to go alone to the scene of the murder and find the small purse, which he claim ed had been hidden nearby. Mossrs. Jim Sandorson and Price met him there and confronted him with the crime. It was sundown, and the off cers waited until alter night and notified Justice s. A. Maddox Prose outing Attorney \. D. DuLaney and two CT three others for witnesses and gave Hawkins an examining trial in which he confessed to the murders and was bound over to the grand jury The negro said he wens to the Diles home after money. Mrs. Biles was in the back yard washing. She came from the rear or the house and enter ed the house He entered at the front and was confronted by Mrs Diles, who demanded why he was there and sev- ere'y repremandcd him. He told her he wanted money. She took up the child and fled to the woods. He get the gun and followed her. When he caught up he said sic begged for life and promised that she would return to the house and give him $45 and not to tell on him if he would spare her. He said he doubted her and as she walked away from him he saot her while she was turning her head to lock back He then knocked the child in the head with the empty gun. He searched the body and finding no money return ed to the house and found the purse with $16 CT little over it He took that.
 Immediatey after the confession and t1ial that night Hawkins was rushed away in an automobile to Tex arkana and sent 70 Little Rock for safe keeping in the state prison. The town was first apprised of the capture and confession the next morning when the negro was in Little Rock.
 The Test m0ny.
 There was no demons ration of any kind here. Judge J. T. Bowling had P alked to some 250 men of the town Sunday afternoon in the Masonic hall, and had been assured there that the law would be allowed to take it's course. The crime was one of the most attrocicus ever committed here, and mob violence had been feared by many.
 The jury that tried Hawkins was composed 95 t'.a following men:
 ~3uchanan, Foreman; G. B.
 --d Wilton; o. L. Lewis, Foreman; F. B. Andersen, Foreman; J. F. Beck, Foreman; Harry Hayden, Foreman; John PlNlen. Foreman; T. 4. White Foreman; IT. W. Mccall Wilton; Hem " Reed, Eoremsn; Harry Yaugcr, Foreman; G. " Anderson, Foreman.
 Prosecuting Attorney A. D. Bu- Laney made the \open.ng statement which was in subsNance the same as the story of the criMe as was later brought in the evidenAe Judge Jas. s. Steel, who had been Appointed by the court to defend the net gxro. made brief statement asking the \ jury to carefully weigh the evidence aad ren- der an honest unbiased. truthfuE yer dict. lie called attention to the %act that a confession could not be consiN- cred as evidence when not mace in\I open court The evidence later show ed that the confession had been made in open court
 T. D. Price, the detective testified to all the evidence gathered by them, told of the confession and identified the written confession. Jim Sanderson testified along the , same lines as did MT. Price and said , that the confession was made without my promise or threats.
 II. G. Sanderson came on the stand md testified to the first confession hat the negro made. It was made to z nl alone first. Later it was again q made to J. G. Sanderson and D. T. II friee in MT. Sandersons presence, .