Year: 1871

hood of Pine Grove, in this county,


was shocked by the discovery of the
lifeIess body of Miss Mollie Holt, the
youngest daughter of the late Jesse
Holt, who was an old and highly es.


teemed citizen Of that Deighborhood.
The body, we are told, was most hor-
ribly niangled, having been shot
through, two Of the fingerl badly
chewed or shot, the head badly buised
and the brains having been beaten out
with bludgeon Of some kind, believed
to have been the but of a pistol. Por
haps there were still other wounds upon
the body, but we are not in possession
of an accurate description of them.
The news Of the tragedy was rapidly
communicated from house TO house
asd from place to place, until on the
nextmorning we are informed that there
we're no less than one hundred and fifty
persons in search OF the villain who
had so inhumanly taken the life of
lovely and innocent creature who was
universally loved and admired by all
who were SO fortunate as to know her.
The citizens, from some circumstances
which to them seemed suspicious, pro
ceeded to arrest negro boy, who had
been living at Mrs. Holt's for some
time previous. An investigation salts


fed the people that he was not guilty,
Notwithstanding the fact that he had
told several contradictory stories about
the matter, and acted in such q way
generally as to create very strong rea-
sons for believing him guilty. The
main spring of a pistol had been found
near the scene Of the murder, and il
was determined that an exhibition OF
all the pistols in the possession of the
people of that vicinity should be made.
One young man was known to have
been in the possession of pistol be-
longing to another gentleman, from
whom he had borrowed ii some time
previously. When Mr.. Robert Nor.
wood, the young man who had bor>
rowed the pistol, exhibited one, Mr..
Jerome Crawford, the gentleman from
whom Norwood had borrowed pistol,
stated that the pistol exhibited ,eas not
The one he had loaned 10 Nor7cood


Norwood attempted an explanation by
saying that he had traded Of Crawford's g
pistol for this one; but the investigation
was further prosecuted until it was
ascertained that Norwood had been to
Murfreesbero' and purchased the pistol,
AZ near like Crawfords as he could find
one. A vest button had also been
found near the scone OF the murder.
This eractly compared ,cih the buttons
on NoI1cood's rest, and one ,ras missing.
The links in the strong chain of cir
cumstances that was surely coilng itself
around Norwood were being rapidly
filled up, until he actually abandoned
his attempted deception, and ro',n-
tdrily confessed tbGt lie ,ras the sole author
Of the namele@ crime.


We understand that his confession
was written out in full and preserved,
but we have not seen It. AS we hear
it, it is briefly as follows: That be-
tween himself and Miss Holt there had
long existed matrimonial engagement,
and that on account Of the opposition
of her relatives, a consummation of the
engagement had been prevented. That
on the day of the killing he had met
her at the house of Mrs. Nelson, where
she was spending the day, and had a
long talk with her upon the subject
she porsistently refusing to marry him
contrary TO the wishes Of her relatives.
That when he left the house of Mrs
Nelson he had determined to make an.
other effort, and for this purpose waited
on the roadside for her return to her
mothers. When she came he attacked
her, and she still persisting in her rafu-
sal to marry him, he fired upon her four
times, then beat her brains out with
the but of the pistol, and started off,
but fearing that there might still be
life enough in her to expose him he