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1 Tngadj Which Made a ProfoundSensation In Indiana.The Bloomington World says: “The tragic death of Lee Jones, engineer at the Mitchell electric light plant, Tuesday night, re calls vividly to the minds ofmany people In Southern Indiana, and especially Monroe county, the munlerof Thomas Moody 22 years ago in the little town of Orleans and the part L. Jonesplayed in the tragedy.On the night of Marsh 4th, 1875 Thomas Moody, a Wealthy citisen of Orange county was brutally murdered, being shot down as he was entering his own home. He had just turned the knob of the door when he was shot from a clump of bushes in the rear, and the old man fell forward in the front room ou his face dead, his body beiog filled by a load of buckshot. The crime startled the entire State owiog to its cold blooded nature, and the cltlsens of Orleans were transfixed with horror that sucha crime could be committed right within their erstwhile peaceful community. There appeared to be no clue that would assist in establishing the identity of the assassin or assassins, until the sleuth hounds of the law took up the case in a few weeks. A. B. Jones, his brother, Lee Jones. Dr. Parks Tolliver mod Eli Lowry were arrested charged with the crime. The Joneses were residents of Mitchell, Indiana, and owners of considerable sawmill -ing interests, and Lowrv was anemploye of the Jones Brothers. Both A. B. Jones and bis brother Lee had married sisters,, daughters of William Tolliver, a prominent farmer of Lawrence county. Dr. Parks Tolliver his son, and brother-in-law of the Jones boys, was the fourth man implicated in the murder. William Tolliver had married an old maiden sister of the Moodys, the Moody family at that time consisting of Thomas Moody, the victim, and three unmarried brothers. The Moodys resided on a farm near Orleans and were considered quite wealthy. It was during their residence on this farm that a team which old man Tolliver was driving one day ran away and killed him. His marriage to the sister of Moody had aroused a feeling of iesentment on the part of the Joneses and his brother-in-law Dr. Tolliver, that caused a bitter fued to exist among the two families, that ended in old man Moody moving to Orleans for safety, as on several occasions his house had been attacked during the night. On the strength of these facts the Jones boys were arrested together with young Lowry, who turned State’s evidence,implicating Tolliver, A. B. and Lee Jones.Hon. R- W. Miers was at thattime Prosecuting Attorney for the counties of Orange, Lawrence and Monroe, and succeeded in having the grand jury of Orange return Indictments against the defendants for murder in the first degree. Feeling was prettw wall divided in that section ofthe country as to the guilt or innocence of the accused. When the case was called for trial in the Orange Circuit Court, Judge E. D. Pearson granted the de fendants a change of venue and sent the cases to the Monroe Circuit Court. Judge Pearson, who was related to Dr. Tolliver by marriage, refused to try the cause, and appointed Judge John Robinson, of Spencer, special Judge to try tne case. Judge Francis Wilson, Gapt. Friedley, of Bedford, and Hon. John W. Buskirk and Senator Duncan, of this city, were employed to assist Congressman Miers in the prosecution.Of the above gentleman only two are now living, Duncan and Miers. The prisoners were defended by Hon. C. F. McNutt,now of Terre Haute, Hon. Joe Ralph Burton, of Kansas, J. Wesley Tucker and Maj. J. B. Gordon who for a short time was associated in the case. The trial attracted wide spread interest over the State and the dingy court room was packed daily by spectators desirous of bearing all the evidence.The strong array of legel talent contested each inch of ground and it has been often stated thata more determined effort badnever been made to convict or clear a prisoner. The evidence tended to prove that A. B. Jones had conspired with his brother to put Moody out of the way.They looked about for a handy man to assist them and selected young Lowery who stated he fired the fatal shot at the instiga tiou of Bent Jones. It was never proven that Lee Jones was present at the time the murder was committed but he was an ac cessory of the fact and each received a life sentence in the Prison South. Bent Jones served over seventeen years and was pardoned by Gov. Matthews, as was Lee his unfortunate brother who met his tragic death in the fast revolving pulley at theMitchell electric light plant Tuesday night. It can be said of both the brothers since released from confinement that they have been law abiding citizens of their native town. The shot gun that was used to slay old nan Moody now reposes iu the Clerk’s vaultof this city, a rusted relic of the most cold blooded nurder that ever disgraced or shocked the State of Indiana. Park Toliver was never tried for his part in the tragedy but escaped from Deputy Sheriff Lou Davis, who had accompanied him home to get some clothes one day during the progress of *the Jones’ trial. He left the Deputy Sheriff talking to his wife who by the way was a very handsome woman, while he stepped into an adjoining room to change his suit ostensibly, but instead he skipped the rear way and emigrated West where he remained for some years, afterwards returning to Elnora where he now resides.”We read in a exchange of a certain editor who wrote a long and carefully prepared article on the importance of patronizing borne industries, giving many reasons why farmers and others should patronize home mer chants rather than send off fori.hcktp Tho arti/'la mac ca
Newspaper Details
Bedford Mail
Bedford, Indiana, US
Fri, Jul 02, 1897
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert M.
USA 24 Aug 2019
Other Publications Near Bedford, Indiana
Bedford Weekly Mail
Bedford Daily Mail
Bedford Democrat
Bedford White River Standard
Bedford Independent
