The Washington times., 1923-03-25
HEAD Of SLAIN
GIRL FAILS To
AWE SUSPECT
Sheriff Testifies He Rugged Up
GreWsome Dummy in Hope
of Getting. Man to Confess
@BuT IT DIDN'T FEAzE HIM"
Brother Of Accused to Be Tried
on Charge of Staying Wom-
an in Lonely Cabin in Texas

LIBERTY, Tex, March 3D.
While in Jail here recently in
connection with the murder of
Mrs. Annie McShaw last June,
Samuel Boyd looked through the
bars Of his cell one morning and
saw confronting him in the cor
Tidor the hideous, shrunken face
Of q woman who had been dead
for several months.
"Until i noticed the teeth ]
was not sure whose head it was"
Boyd testified in his trial here
. few days ago.
''They were Armies teeth. She
had the most beautiful teeth Of
any woman ever saw"
A GREWSOME FIGURE.
From the skeleton head there
were appended q MILDLY blouse and
skirt which had belonged to the
dead woman.
FOR three weeks the head Of
Annie McShan was Haunted before
my cell door-it was there day and
night-but knew In my heart I
was innocent Of her murder, 50
did not mind It so much" declared
Sheriff Allen Wheat asserts that
Boyd is mistaken about the head
Of the murdered woman being in
front OF his cell for three weeks.
II don't believe Sam had to look
1t the skeleton head more than,
ten hours altogether" Sheriff Wheat
testified.
We wanted TO find out whether
she had been killed by g blow on
the head, so got permission to
exhune the body and examine the
skull" Sheriff Wheat explained.
I'VE found the skull unbrolzen. with
no hole in the left temple. The
soft place the doctors mentioned
must have been due to the bad state
Of the corpse. Also, I did not
sever the head. The. skull was
loose from the body. Remember,
We dug it up in January, and she
had been dead since June.
~IT DIDN'T FEAzE HIM.
1--WE intended to let sam testify
that she had been killed, apparently
by q blow In the temple, and then
produce the. skull to show khe bones
were intact. However, We decided
We might get q confession from him
AZ we showed him the skull. We
rugged up the dummy and put IL In
front Of his cell in the corridor. It
didn't feaze him, so we moved 1t
out Of the way. where he could not
see IT. reckon he did not see II
more than ten hours In the whole
time II was ahere." "a -
THE GIRLS SORDID LIFE. d
Il was serdfd life that Annig
McShan led. From q happy. beau.
tfful cou9try, girl she had been
dragged into the depths Of misery.
Sam Boyd who was acquitted of
her murder when tried here q few
days ago, was her lover. He is
thirty six. She was ctWenty-one at
the time Of her death. There was
real affection between the two and
Sam had declared that as soon as
he could get enough money ahead
he was going to marry her. He
was a teanister for a lumber COM
pany.
Mrs. McShan had one child, now
four years old, by her husband. Nc
Shan, whom she married when
seventeen years old. She 10 a
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. j. M.
Burkett, who lived within sight of
the one-room box house where Mrs.
McSi1an made her home, four miles
north of the little town OF Cieve-
land
s second child, now fourteen
TcontF1s old. was born to Mrs. Nc
SfIan out of wedlock. Sam Boyd
admitted on the witness stand that
Ne was the father Of the baby.
THE TRAGEDY.
~ vas on the morning of June 10,
isss ear that the body of Mrs. Nc
Eh'gu was found stretched. out upon
tbt I'd in her one room home. She
had q all appearances been dead for
several days. The younger child
vas 5und beneath the house, lying
GpWp beside some hogs. The child
was in such a starved and neglected
fcndition that it was not expected
: 20 s~Evive. The four-year-old child
had oent the days by the bedside
OF her dead mother crying. There
was nDthing to eat in the house.
Mrs McShan had lived on a little
farm owned by Tinker Boyd, brother
Of Sam Boyd. Tinker Boyd also is
under indictment charged with the
murder of the young woman. He is
at liberty on SO 900 bond and Is to
here in August.
- Tinker Boyd testified that he had
hired Annie McShan to live on his
place and salt and feed his cattle,
and that after she had borne q sec.
ond child he wanted to get her off
the place