The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-02-03
HISTORY OF DEATH
OF BEGHAMrS WIFE.
Deed Recalled by Recent Tragedy I'm
Florence County, Circumstances
Peculiar.

ence county in the Bigham family re-
calls q similar one in the same fam
lily September. 4, 1909, at Murrell's'
Inlet. Georgetown county, when the
wife Of DR.. Grover Cleveland Big
ham was shot to death under pecu-
liar circumstances. She was formerly
Miss Ruth Crisp, Of Laurens county,
q graduate Of Chicora College, Green
Vile. In the class Of 1907, young
woman Of sensitive and refined ma
ture, and who was popular among
those who knew her best.
DR.. Bigham practiced medicine in
Laurens county for q short while and
while there won the affections Of Miss
Crisp. Soon after the wedding the
couple moved to Harpers. now An
drews. in Georgetown county. w. B.
Avant and wife, neighbors, owned a
summer home, Sunnyside, at Muir
rell's Inlet, and the latter being i'll,
DIR. Bigham was called and with his
young wife, only recently his bride,
went to Sunnyside.
'Shoot It." Says Bigham.
Saturday afternoon, shortly before
sundown, Bigham and Avant, who
were said to have been drinking to-
gether, testified to seeing an object
moving, suspiciously from the house
toward the seashore. According to the
testimony, believing this to be a bur-
glar or some person intending them
no good, they secured a shotgun and
followed the object. From a fringe of
woods short distance from the
beach they saw a figure crouching
down near the waters edge. 1t seems
that both Bigham and Avant were
under stress of great excitement. Av-
ant cayried the gun and asked Big
ham what he must do, who answered,
"Shoot It'll" Avant then, at the dis
tance of only few yards, fired both
barrels at the object and both ran
back to the house. They shortly re-
turned with others and found the
body of Mrs. Bigham, shot through
the back, stretched upon the sand.
She had been killed instantly.
The coroner's jury brought in the
following verdict:
1--WE, the coroner's jury, find said
Mrs. Ruth Bigham came to her death
from gunshot wounds by mischance
at the hand of w. B. Avant, G.. G.
Bigham being present and accessory,
both laboring under great mental ex-
element and fear at the time.''
Avant and Bigham were arrested
and placed under bond and the case
came up for trial at the October ses-
sion Of court before Judge r. c.
Watts. =
The testimony established the fact
that the married. life Of Mrs. Bigham
had been extremely unhappy and, fur
thermore, that in a case then pending
against her husband for assault and
battery in which she was a witness,
she had declared she would tell moth
ing but the truth when called upon
to testify.
Both Jump Bonds.
The late Solicitor Walter B. Wells
represented the State in the prose-
cution of Avant and Bigham, and the
late j. Willard Ragsdale, appeared
for the defense. The jury brought in
a verdict Of manslaughter against
both defendants and Judge Watts
sentenced each to confinement in the
penitentiary at hard labor for three
years and six months. Mr.. Ragsda,e
filed an appeal. In the meantime,
being out on bond, both Bigham and
Avant made good their escape, there-
by forfeiting their bonds. The for
mer has never been heard from. the
latter was subsequently captured SER
we'd his sentence, and is today ON his
farm, living the life of an honest,
hard working citizen.
While guilty of a terrible deed
Avant was regarded merely as the
dupe of Bigham in the accomplish
ment of his fiendish design. While
the testimony clearly pointed to foul
play, the proof was lacking to con-
yict Bigham of deliberate murder,
and the verdict of manslaughter and
the light sentence imposed were con-
sidered to be direct reflection of the
shadow of doubt in the minds of the
judge and jury.