Charley Marshall lived on Poison Pond road just north of Amory. He was a well liked, nice looking young man, who was always willing to lend a helping hand and almost everyone spoke well of him. The only person who said bad words about Charlie was Bob Miller, a sharecropper who lived on preacher Smoots place a half mile down the road from Charlie. Miller was a widower who had three kids. Fannie, who was 17, Leonard, who was 16, Pearl May, who was 14, and an eight month old illegitmate grandson, Burley. Fannie was Burley's mother and wouldn't tell anyone who the father was. Miller decided Charley Marshall was the father and talked to Charley several times trying to get him to marry Fannie. Charley denied being the father and refused. Miller filed a paternity suit, called a "bastardy proceeding" then, against Charley and a court date was set.
At just about 7 p.m. on the cold, rainy night of January 15, 1920, the people who lived on the north side of Amory heard a loud explosion. A lot of them ran outside to see what was going on but it was the next day before they found out. The Miller's house had been dynamited and while the explosion didn't kill any of them, someone had shot and killed Bob, Leonard and Fannie and had killed the baby, Burley, by hitting him in the head. Everyone was shocked that something like that could happen, and even more shocked when it was annouced that Charley Marshall had been arrested for doing it.
Pearl Mae was the only survivor, and according to her it was only because Charley didn't know she was there. She said she had walked by Charley's house that day, he was in the yard and they had a conversation in which she mentioned she was spending the night with a friend. Charley's trial was held in Tupelo in March and Pearl Mae was the only witness for the prosecution. Here's the relevant parts of her testimony from the transcripts.
"<b>Our home was at Poison Pond in Monroe county. About 7 o,clock that night the dogs began to bark. We were all in the the bedroom after supper, sitting by the fire. My father and brother went into the hall, then there was an explosion just in front of the fireplace. It stunned me. It splintered the floor and turned the dresser over. I went to the bed for a minute and then came to myself.
Then my father and brother came back into the room. I ran toward the dining room and saw a shot from the window and Papa fell dead. I didn't see my brother fall but I heard the shot. I was then standing behind the door that opened into the dining room, toward the meat box. Fannie was sitting on the box holding the baby.
I told her to come behind the door with me, she said she wouldn't; that Papa had been killed and they would kill her too. Just then a shot from the dining room window struck her and she fell over dead. There was a ladder behind the door that went into the loft. I climbed up it into the loft and looked down through a crack and saw Charley Marshall come up through the hole the dynamite had made. He hit the baby over the head and it rolled over dead. He then picked up an oil can, it was not ours so he must have brought it with him, and he began to spill it on the floor. I crawled through the loft, over the hall, into another room that had a ladder leading down. I climbed down, latched the door leading into the hall and climbed out a window. I then made my way to Mr. Eli Wright's home, about a mile away through the bottom.</b>"
Pearl Mae described the clothes Charley had on, including a black raincoat and, blue overalls and laced up boots. She was questioned hard and thoroughly on cross examination, and questioned further by the judge, but never changed a single word of her testimony. The morning following the killings a shotgun and still wet black raincoat were found inside Charley's house. A pair of wet, lace up black boots was found in the barn loft and a pair of blue overalls was found in a ditch behind the stable.
Charley was convicted on March 31, 1920 and was hanged on August 20, 1920. He proclaimed his innocence until the gallows door was dropped. There were, and still are, those who claim Charley was innocent and that Pearl May was somehow involved in the killings. It is a little strange that Charley didn't see Pearl Mae when she was in the room with her father when he was shot.
There are two people still alive in Amory that remember when it happened. Mr. Guy Pickle was 11 years old and Mr. Boonie Stockton, who's father was a U.S. marshal and one of those who arrested Charley, was 10.
<center><img src="http://www.findmall.com/file.php?14,file=21635"></center><center><b>Drawing of Miller house done by a newspaper from Pearl May's memory.</b></center>
At just about 7 p.m. on the cold, rainy night of January 15, 1920, the people who lived on the north side of Amory heard a loud explosion. A lot of them ran outside to see what was going on but it was the next day before they found out. The Miller's house had been dynamited and while the explosion didn't kill any of them, someone had shot and killed Bob, Leonard and Fannie and had killed the baby, Burley, by hitting him in the head. Everyone was shocked that something like that could happen, and even more shocked when it was annouced that Charley Marshall had been arrested for doing it.
Pearl Mae was the only survivor, and according to her it was only because Charley didn't know she was there. She said she had walked by Charley's house that day, he was in the yard and they had a conversation in which she mentioned she was spending the night with a friend. Charley's trial was held in Tupelo in March and Pearl Mae was the only witness for the prosecution. Here's the relevant parts of her testimony from the transcripts.
"<b>Our home was at Poison Pond in Monroe county. About 7 o,clock that night the dogs began to bark. We were all in the the bedroom after supper, sitting by the fire. My father and brother went into the hall, then there was an explosion just in front of the fireplace. It stunned me. It splintered the floor and turned the dresser over. I went to the bed for a minute and then came to myself.
Then my father and brother came back into the room. I ran toward the dining room and saw a shot from the window and Papa fell dead. I didn't see my brother fall but I heard the shot. I was then standing behind the door that opened into the dining room, toward the meat box. Fannie was sitting on the box holding the baby.
I told her to come behind the door with me, she said she wouldn't; that Papa had been killed and they would kill her too. Just then a shot from the dining room window struck her and she fell over dead. There was a ladder behind the door that went into the loft. I climbed up it into the loft and looked down through a crack and saw Charley Marshall come up through the hole the dynamite had made. He hit the baby over the head and it rolled over dead. He then picked up an oil can, it was not ours so he must have brought it with him, and he began to spill it on the floor. I crawled through the loft, over the hall, into another room that had a ladder leading down. I climbed down, latched the door leading into the hall and climbed out a window. I then made my way to Mr. Eli Wright's home, about a mile away through the bottom.</b>"
Pearl Mae described the clothes Charley had on, including a black raincoat and, blue overalls and laced up boots. She was questioned hard and thoroughly on cross examination, and questioned further by the judge, but never changed a single word of her testimony. The morning following the killings a shotgun and still wet black raincoat were found inside Charley's house. A pair of wet, lace up black boots was found in the barn loft and a pair of blue overalls was found in a ditch behind the stable.
Charley was convicted on March 31, 1920 and was hanged on August 20, 1920. He proclaimed his innocence until the gallows door was dropped. There were, and still are, those who claim Charley was innocent and that Pearl May was somehow involved in the killings. It is a little strange that Charley didn't see Pearl Mae when she was in the room with her father when he was shot.
There are two people still alive in Amory that remember when it happened. Mr. Guy Pickle was 11 years old and Mr. Boonie Stockton, who's father was a U.S. marshal and one of those who arrested Charley, was 10.
<center><img src="http://www.findmall.com/file.php?14,file=21635"></center><center><b>Drawing of Miller house done by a newspaper from Pearl May's memory.</b></center>
