The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-05-25
1wo Will Die;
One Gets Life


rison and Glenn Treece, convicted
here this evening at SIG o'clock of
the murder of John C. Annette on the
night of May 6, heard their sentences
pronounced by Presiding Judge w. H.
Townsend, the two former to die at
the state penitentiary by electrocu-
ton on June Is and the latter to
serve the remainder of his life be-
hind prison walls. Treece was rec
commended to the mercy of the CT Irt.
There was absolutely no demonstra-
ton in the crowded court room as the
jury filed in with the verdict after
it had been out three hours and nine
teen minutes. The prisoners were
placed in the dock with a heavy cor
don of officers around them ana
Judge Townsend cautioned the aud
ience that none would be allowed to
leave until after the court had COM
pleted\its business. All doors were
then closed.
The three men were sentenced at
$50 o'clock. There was no noise to
break the calm judicial pronounce
ments of the Judge except the Sob
bing of some of the women relatives
of the condemned men. AS sentence
was pronounced they were taken to
the state penitentiary, two to be plac-
ed in death cells, and the other,
Treece, to labor out the long years
of his life in custody.
Today the trial went into it's fifth
day. 1t was coupled with. the argu-
ments of attorneys for Treece and
Jeffords and the closing argument of
Solicitor Spigener. The jury was then
allowed to go to it's meal.
On the night of May the dead
body of J. C. Annette, joint proprie-
tor with F. VI. Jeffords, was found in
a partly overturned automobile in a
lonely dell at Colonial Heights, a su-
pur5 of Columbia, with his head
crushed. The theory of the case as
developed by the state, was thai the
deed was due to a conspiracy between
Jeffords and two employees of the
filing station, Ira Harrison and
Glenn Treece, for the purpose of OBJ
tanning $4,000 in partnership insur-
ance, through which complete inter-
est in the business could be bought
by the three.
It was contended that the three
men had a conference two weeks be-
fore the commission of the deed and
decided on it's it's methods. The idea
was to entice Annette into the rear of
the filing station, slay him, take him
to a high viaduct, dump the automo-
bile containing the dead body, there
by Stimulating accident. Two attempts
to murder Annette previously had
been made, contended the state, on
two nights previous to the actual
commission.
It was contended that Treece
watched while Jeffeords and Harri-
son skunk in the rear of the filing
station awaiting the proprietor.
When he came back he was hit on
the head with a stick By Harrison,
but not felled; then Jeffords threw
Annette, choking him into insensibili-
ty.. Both men then took Annette be-
tween two automobiles, Jeffords
crushing his head into pulp with an
automobile axle, it was charged. Ar
nette's body was then thrown into
the front seat of his own car, Harri-
son getting in beside it and Treece
climbing into the rear. The car was
then driven to the point designated
in the conspiracy, but the presence
of two street cars prevented its pro-
pulsion over the bank. 1t was then,
with Treece out Of the car, taken to
the spot where found. The state then
contended that the car was rolled
slowly down a deep declevity by Har-
rison, in the endeavor of overturning
it, making the crime appear as a
notural accident.
The three men then Joined, Jef-
fords and Harrison later going back
to the filing station, setting it atlre
in an effort to destroy evidences OF a
struggle in the rear of it. The tlre
was discovered in time to prevent de-
struction of the building.
The three men were arrested snort
" after the commission of the crime
and Harrison confessed to the police.
The case has created decided inter-
est in Columbia and vicinity, and not
in recent criminal history has such
crowds thronged the Richland county