Evening star., 1933-12-14
CRAWFORD'S NOTES
LINKED IN Staying
Expert Says Handwriting,
Found Near IIsIey Murder
Scene, Is Identical.
By o stan Correspondent Of The Star.

BY stan Correspondent Of The Star
LEEsBURG, Va. December III. H.
Taylor, Navy Department handwriting
expert, testified today that four sam
pies Of handwriting submitted to him
by the prosecution in the trial Of
George Crawford, colored, accused CT
staying two Middleburg white women.
were written by the same person. The
Commonwealth contends ell are in
Crawford's hand.
One Of the handwriting samples was
note discovered in the automobile
stolen from a garage on the esr6fg
OF Mrs. Agnes B. Ilsley the night she
ana her maid. Mrs. Nina Buckner.
were beaten TO death, during January,
1882. The note bore the inscription,
Mr.. Nokes, Box 81, Herndon. Va"
Earlier in the day Commonwealth
Attorney John Galleher had put on the
stand Hammond and Rastus Nokes, who
said Crawford and another colored man
stayed at their place near Herndon on
January IL. The next day the two
visitors left and headed for Middle
burg, the witnesses said.
Gives Surprise Testimony.
Another sensation developed in the
morning session when Galleher pro-
duced surprise witness Oscar Kits,
who said he saw Crawford on the
streets of Middleburg between IL and
IL o'clock on the night Of January -.
Mrs. Ilsley, for whose murder Crawford
Is on trial. is believed to have been
Kill i L,i~ H4xx, Is %iR,o1
Kits said 'he was acting sort Of
afraid and darted toward an alley as
I went by"
In his cross-examination of Kits. De-
fense Counsel Charles H. Houston
brought out Kits never, until about
three weeks ago, had reported to Gall
leher or any officer the testimony he
gave today.
Movements Traced.
Previously the course of Crawfords
travels prior to the time of the murders
had been brought down to the hour OF
I pm. January IL, when he was seen
in Middleburg by two colored stable
boys. General Jackson and Mack Bush
rod. Both boys said they passed Craw-
ford on Windy Hill, near Middleburg,
as they were exercising horses.
Throughout yesterdays session. Cal
leher and his assistants, Capt. Frank
Wray and State Senator Cecil Connor,
had concentrated on revealing, through
more than a dozen witnesses the cir
cumstances surrounding discovery OF
Mrs. Ilsley's body and that Of her
maid, Mrs. Nina Buckner.
Chie1 testimony in this connection
was given by Paul Boeing, brother OF
the slain woman. who was the first TO
discover the gruesome crime and give
! the alarm which stirred all Northern
Virginia into a manhunt for Crawford,
a former chauffeur Of Mrs. Ilsley.
This morning the prosecution pro-
duced an array Of men who knew Craw-
, ford or remembered him because OF his
peculiarly small stature. and who told
of seeing him in Middleburg on Decem-
Der IS, 1891, the day after Mrs. 1lsley's
cottage was robbed; in The Plains and
Warrenton, Va, shortly after that. In
Richmond for a week during the first
part of January. 1882. and later return
Ing to Middleburg by way of Herndon
and Leesburg. only few days before the
murders were committed.
One Of those who testified was Q. A.
Coleman, a former officer in charge OF
a Virginia State prison road gang, whose
life Crawford was credited with saving
when another convict attacked Coleman
and cut his throat. Crawford. trusty
on the gang. rushed the officer to q
doctor after the attack. AS he faced
| Crawford in the court room this morn
| ing, however, Coleman denied the mur-
der defendant actually had interfered
during his fight with the other convict.
| The former prison oficiars testimony
related to a visit he received from
Crawford early in 1882. when the col
ored man came to his home in Lynch
| burg and borrowed 81, leaving . watch
as security.
Woman to Resume Stand.
/ Berda De Neal, Middleburg colored
| woman. who has been held for some
time as a material witness, is expected
to take the stand again today to COM
plete her story Of her relations with the
accused prior to the time of the Ilsley
murder She testified for a short time
yesterday. telling of trip she took TO
Boston with Crawford in the Winter OF
1881. She said they returned to Wash
| ,ngton together in December of that
year and parted there. The next time
she heard from him after she returned
to Middleburg. the woman said. was on
Christmas day when he sent her a note
telling her he was at the stable of
Jack Skinner. prominent Middleburg
horseman and amateur Jockey, where
he wanted to see her
She said she went to the stable to
talk to Crawford. who told her he was
going to head South to Richmond. The
court room was hilarious this morning
and Crawford appeared highly amused
when Prosecutor Galleher read aloud o
letter the De Neal woman had written
and mailed to Crawford while he was
IN Richmond. staying with colored
friend.
1t was expected the De Neal woman
would tell all she knows about a letter
i Crawford is said to have mailed to her
from Boston in March, 1882, two
months after the murders. and which
was intercepted in Middleburg by the
| postmaster and sheriff, E. S. Adrian.
Her testimony yesterday also placed
Crawford in Middleburg on the after
noon of January II, less than IL hours
before Mrs. Ilsley was killed She said
| man she did not know brought to
| her house a note signed with Crawford S
| name. asking her for food
Todays witnesses who said they had
seen Crawford on his return trip from
Richmond to Middleburg referred to
another man who was travelling with
him. None was able to give a detailed
description of the second man. In q
confession made to Galleher in Boston,
shortly after his arrest in January of
this year, Crawford stated his travelling
companion. whom he also was unable to
identify, actually had killed the two
women during an attempted robbery of
the 1lsley house. Crawford claimed he
was standing watch outside the door
when the crimes were committed.