The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-08
Six Year Old Mystery at
ApdIachicOId is Solved
Pete Judd and Dave Fisher Are
In Jail as Result of Sick
Mans Confession.
fey staff correspondent.l

i ApaIacnlcoIa, Aug. six years ago
| Apalachicola was quivering under the
shock of one of the most brutal mur-
ders the county had ever witnessed.
An old. and much respected negro.
Dave Reeves, was driving to his home
in the suburbs on a quiet Saturday
evening, when he was set upon and
murdered. Late that night. his horse
and wagon arrived at the gate of his
| home. His wife heard the noise and
discovered the driverless team.
This frightened the woman and
she gave the alarm. A search was
made. The body of her husband was
discovered at the fork Of the Bluff
Road He had been shot and then,
rendered helpless by this wound, he
had been set upon and his throat cut
| from ear to ear.
1t was a sorry sight.
A posse was soon sworn in, and the
neighborhood ransacked. At length
two white desperadoes. already sus-
pected of another abominable crime
were arrested, examined, and finally
dismissed for lack of convicting evil
dence.
There the matter rested
Here was another OF those horrors
that chill the blood, going forever un-
punished and unatoned. Reeves poor
( wife, broken hearted. left the town
Their farm was avoided. Children
shuddered when they passed the spot
where the body was found. This fear
was not confined to the children; all the
citizens felt it in part So much so.
sfhat motor cars carrying feminine
passengers, seldom ventured after
/ sundown beyond the spot where "Un-
I le Reeves" was murdered. IL by chance
the chauffeur had some unlucky en-
, gine trouble thereabouts. every wo-
man in the car hid her rings looked
anxiously to see what might turk be-
hind the gloomy pines. and said
thankful AYE" when the engine start
ed.
And so the years passed. The mur-
der was almost forgotten. The pub
lie grew hardy of it; and cars fitted
through the grove. even on moonlight
nights. Once when the moon rose,
and the long boles of the pines girded
the sand with gruesome black bars.
the sinister aspect of the picture. re-
vived by earlier memory: and a
PItNNS NOil4tAll dshtas d. NliEAA tdi CbEn
by: II wonder if we will ever know
who killed old man Reeves?"
Never" came the confident answer.
1T will fade out like the Ross mys-
terry; the Webster murder and all
SUCH"
But the man who made that state
ment did not take into account how
finely the mills of the gods grind. Nor
the power Of conscience in the life
of the average. man. For today the
alleged murderer of Reeves and one
of his partners is locked up in the
county Jail. The murderer was a
young colored man named Fisher. and
his three associates were Pete Judd.
C. Roberts and Caldwell.
Now this man Dave Fisher. has
been living here in Apalach for years.
He has come and gone about the max
ing OF his daily bread. For a time he
was hired upon the IS. Lottie-a boat
belonging to the Cypress Lumber Co,
and one that is often generously
placed at the disposal OF the ladies
for social entertainments. AT such
times Fisher has been most helpful.
assisting the ladies in many ways. He
has always been quiet and respectful.
Just think of it," sighed thought
have cut all our throats for two cents"
No, Dave Fisher never confessed. But
this man Judd got sick-then he gJt
sicker-and he thought he was going
to die So, frightened To be- alone,
fearing everyone he confessed. Thus
does conscience make towards OF LIS
81" Nc one believed MIN. At Er1t
th..y trorght he was crazy. lie hin r
selt ssyG he had been out Of his head. /
And after arresting Fisher. the Oftl-
GERS turned him loose. But Judd had
a relapse This time the story stuck,
and the officers took him out to locate
the place where he said Fisher had
buried the weapons
Just where he told them that the
weapons were buried, the sheriff
found the pistol, the knife, the watch. ]
and all that was left of poor Reeves
old purse. This was convincing proof
of Judd's statement. The two men
are held without bond for the next |
whom Judd's confession involves
Roberts and Caldwell-left the city |
during the years OF the war. One is
supposed to be in Texas: the other in |
Charleston when last located. War /
rants will be issued for these men.
and soon justice will be meted upon |
the murderers of good old man Reeves. |
and that mystery is solved.
n. B-The moral OF the preceding /
is that il is common sense If you in
tend to commit murder. to kill your
conscience first