The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-01-27
COURT IN SESSION.
Several Murder Cases Tried.-Annd
Woodberry Convicted.

berg IN SIX years Tor Judge Mauldln.
Solicitor Gunter and Stenographer
Allen were in their usual places Mon
day morning.
AS usual, there were few absences
among the jurors, and after
| these places were filled from the five
mile box, the grand jury was organ
lied by electing J. D. Copeland as
foreman, Judge Mauldin charged
the grand jury at some length, and
his address was chara acterized as one
of the strongest heard in
the court house in some time. He ad-
monished the grand jury to protect
! the interests of the county, but eau
toned them not to allow any man
to use the grand jury to further his
own selfish ends.
The first case up for trial was that
of Anna Woodberry, who is charged
with murder in the killing Of her hus-
band, James Woodberry. James
Woodberry was shot with a shot gun
! in his home on December 9Th. 1919,
and when officers reached the place
Anna declared to them that two white
men had shot him through a window,
and the two small children Of the
couple told the same story at that
time. However, the evidence pointed
to Anna, and she was arrested and
put in jail. The two children, under
strong questioning, admitted that
they had misled the officers, and told
them their mother had shot their
father, and that she had coached
them to tell the tale about two white
men. In the meantime after Anna
had stayed in jail all night, she de-
cided that the truth would be better
for her than an untruth, so she sent
for her employer and told him the
whole story. Anna freely acknoWl-
e5dged on the witnoss stand that she
had told an untruth at first, but ex-
planned that she was scared and said
The first thing she could think Of
Several white men who knew her
testified to Anna's good character
and to tire bad character of her aus
band. 1t was brought out that he
had beat her and mistreated her and
threatened to kill her on previous
occasions. On the night in question
she said, Woodberry made toward her
with an axe, that she secured the
shot gun, with which she shot him
,'own. When he attempted to ge-
up, she got the axe and finished the
ioh by sri! ing him in the head two
or three times
Anna was found guilty of man.
slaughter by the jury.
Beacher Bryant pleaded guilty to
housebreaking hnd larceny, and was
sentenced by Judge Mauldin to IS
months service on the public works.
Bryant was charged win entering
the store of Mac Halyard, colored, |
and stealing therefrom quantity of :
merchandise. He explained to the
judge that he did not go into the
store himself, that there was LADY"
along who did the entering, but the
judge held that he was just as guilty
as if he did it himself. \The goods
were found buried by Sheriff Ray.
The next case was that of Nose
Murray, charged with the murder of
Cleveland Faust. Nose had been
tried once before, but the jury failed
to agree on a verdict. 1t appeared
from the testimony that dance was
on at the home of Faust's father, and
state witnesses testified that Nose
became boisterous and made the at
mosphere blue with cursing, and that
Cleveland Faust went to him and
asked him to desist as his father was
sick in another room, whereupon
Nose pulled his pistol and shot him.
Then Bennie Faust, brother, fired
upon Murray according to his own :!
testimony, infiicting more or less Sc
rious wounds. Cleveland jumped cut
of a window, according to the states
version, and got under the house,
being later rescued and started for
the doctor, dying on the way, how
ever.
The defence contended, however,
that there was a conspiracy between
the Faust brothers to do Murray to
death that night, and that Cleveland
Faust first shot Nose Murray, then
they crowded around him; Murray
finding it necessary to "shoot his
way out" There we're pistol wounds
on Murray, according to the physl-
clan, of two calibres of pistols. the
yorHiot f0 |