The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-08-18
PRISONERS MAKE
FULL CONFESSION
FOX AND GAPPINS TELL OF
KILLING COLUMBIA TAXI
DRIVER.

Confession to having committed one
of the most brutal murders in police
annals was wrung from C. o. Fox and
Jessie Gappins, the two prisoners tax
Ell from Augusta 10 the Savannah Jail
early last Thursday morning after an
all-night ride to avert lynching par
ty that stormed the Richmond county
Jail at Augusta shortly after Sheriff
Plunkett left with the two men.
Their statement of the killing of
William Brazell, a young chauffeur
of Columbia, whom they had engaged
to go for a ride with the intention
of robbing him, was practically the
same as that made by S. j. Kirby,
now in the South CVarolina peniten-
tiary.
Fox and Gappins were hurried from
the Augusta Jail Thursday morning
by Sheriff Plunkett following infor-
nation that party of so automo-
biles were coming to take the men.
He left instruction with the jailer to
let the lynching party in to search
the Jail. The sheriff with his two
prisoners left the Jail and started for
Savannah, stopping only at Waynes-
boro to pick up Burke county Off
Ger who was familiar with the roads
leading to Savannah.
In the presence of Sheriff Plunkett
and Jailer Kidwell the two men con-
fessed their guilt, telling revolving
tale of the murder of Braxell. The
confessions of the two men were
then signed, Kidwell witnessing the
signatures.
In their confession the two men
stated that they with Kirby engaged
the car from Brazen with the inten-
tion of driving to Lexington. They
planned to get him out in the coun-
try, they said, and take the car from
him, but at the time had TO inten-
ton of killing Brazell.
Brazell, after driving them about
for some time, stopped the machine
to buy some gasoline and one Of
the party stepped from the machine
to see how much money he had with
him when he paid for the gasoline.
It was found that he had So in his
possession.
The automobile started again and,
stopping for a few minutes in the
road, according to the statement OF
the men, Fox struck Brazell in the
head with billy. At this point the
three men attacked the helpless
driver with knives, brutally scabbing
him in the body. Brazell put up a
hard fight, but was overpowered by
his assailants, two of them holding
his hands behind his back, while
Fox plunged 8 knife in the drivers
body.
The two men admitted that Bra
zell pleaded earnestly with his as
sailants that they spare his life,
protesting that he would not turn
them up. His assailants turned a
deaf ear to his pleadings. Fox, in
a confession, admitted twisting the
knife around in Brazell's body after
he stabbed him.
The body of the dead man was
taken in the automobile and carried
along the road short distance be-
fore the slayers took it into the
woods some yards from the road.
There was very little money in the
pockets of the dead man, but after
relieving him of the few dollars he
had, they drove the automobile off.
The automobile finally broke down
near Waynesboro and the three men
deserted the car. Kirby told w. D.
Roberts of Wsynesboro, that the
the other two men had committed
q murder. Kirby then showed where
the body of Brazell had been taken
by the passengers of the murder car.
Kirby is at present under arrest in
Columbia.
Defeated in their attempt to storm
the Richmond county Jail at Augusta,
Ga, and lynch C. o. Fox and Jesse
Gappins, self-confessed murderers Of
William Brazell, 19 year old taxi
Griver, hundreds of Columbians, al
legged members of, the mob, returned
'tc Columbia to wait further develop
ments in Sheriff Plunkett's tour Of
Georgia in an effort to locate a Jail in
which to lodge the two prisoners, who
were spirited from the Augusta prison
a few hours before the masked men
arrived to demand them. A few auto
mobiles loaded with men, said to be
heavily armed, are still patroling