Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-10-08
LEXINGTON MAN
KILLED IN HIS YARD
Slain Man Under Bond For Trial
On Serious Charge Preferred
By Young Girl
Lexington Herald)

Ernest L. March, wealthy business
man and Main street furniture dealer
was shot and fatally injured in the
yard of the B1ittling, an apartment
house which he owned on South
Broadway, street, by George Rose, 6b,
years old, a constable, at AIS O'Clock
Thursday afternoon.
! March died at the st. Joseph's
hospital twenty minutes later.
Rose, following the shooting, walk
ed from the Brittling, which is locat-
/ ed at 343 South Broadway, short
distance from High street. toward t.se
police station. On his way to police
headquarters Rose met Patrolman
John Douglas on Vine street.
He Immediately surrendered and
was taken to the ploce station and
placed in a cell.
Rose refused to make any state
ment regarding the shooting. Shortly
before o'clock he was moved to the
county Jail by Detective Dudley Veal
and Patrolman Carl Woodward. On
his surrender to police charge of
malicious shooting was placed against
him, which was changed to murder,
following March's death at the hospi-
tai.
March was shot four times by Con-
stable Rose. One of the bullets pierc-
ed March's right side. The other three
bullets took effect in the head.
March was unconscious when he
fell. He died without making any
statement, never regaining conscious
nes after being removed to the hospi-
tai.
When Rose surrendered and his re-
volver was taken from him, police,
who have the weapon, declare five
shots had been fired, one loaded shell
remaining in the gun. THE weapon
used by Rose was .3S caliber.
Shortly after Roses arrest, a large
number of persons came to the police
station to see him and offer their as
sistance. Before the death of March,
Rose was closeted alone in the cell
room with his lawyer, w. c. G.
Hobbs.
The shooting which resulted in the
death of March is the outcome of an
assault which March is alleged to
have committed against Roses
granddaughter, Mary Margaret Rose,
a 14-year-old girl, on charge of which
March was under indictment in the
Fayette circuit court.
Rose, it is asserted, since the return
ing of the indictment against March,
has made several threats against the
life Of March. One one occasion he
is said to have stationed himself in
front of March's Main street store
and was taken away only after per-
sisting urging on the part of friends.
Witnesses of the shooting practi-
caly agree on all details.
J. w. Morrison, vice president and
general manager of the Lexington
Roller Mills Company, who resides at
the Brittling apartments, was in the
yard at the time the shooting oc-
CURED and was but a short distance
away from the principals.
"Don't do that" was the only excla
nation March made before he was
shot, occording OF Mr.. Morrison, who
made an effort to grab Rose after he
had fired the first shot.
In descriging the shooting, Mr..
Morrison said:
81 was standing in the front yard
and Mr.. March was at the side of the
house talking with a man from the
telephone company who was fixing
the wires leading into the house. I
heard Mr.. March exclaim, Don't do
that and looked and saw man adj
vancing across the lawn with re-
volver in his hand.
"As Mr.. March said this the man
opened fire, and Mr.. March staggered
around the tree. made grab for
the man, but missed him, and he fol-
lowed Mr.. March around the tree and
shot several times more. Mr.. March
fell to the ground and the man imme-
diate1v walked down the Streetn