Osa BUTLER

Possibly Osie Butler in the following:

*Obituary
Benton County Democrat
Thursday, May 18, 1899

BUTLER, Osie - On last Saturday morning Judge Foster received a telegram to bring the bloodhounds and come to the farm of J.C. Butler, who lived about 4 miles south of Springtown, this county, to investigate a murder case. On the way we heard that the 15-year-old daughter of J.C. Butler had been killed and that her father had been suspected and arrested. Such proved to be the case. The girl lay weltering in her own blood with two horrible gashes on her face and neck, one laying open the face across the left cheek bone, the other, which was the fatal one, half severing the head from the body. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict to the effect that Osie Butler came to her death by means of an ax in the hands of her father, J.C. Butler. Excitement ran high and there was some talk of mob violence, but the better judgment of the men asserted itself and quiet was restored. On the evidence presented before the coroner's jury Squire McIntyre bound Butler over to await the action of the grand jury. The crime not being bailable, the prisoner was turned over to Sheriff McAndrew who brought him at once to Bentonville and placed him in jail. The case as it stands now looks ugly for Butler. His testimony at the examining trial was in substance as follows: That they retired on Friday night about 10 o'clock. The two girls and a baby slept in the north room, he in the room adjoining and the boys up stairs; that between 12 o'clock and two o'clock that night he was awakened by the younger girl screaming that some one was hitting Osie with a club. He sprang out of bed, jerked open the door and saw a man climbing out of the window at the head of the girl's bed. He jumped back into his room, seized his shotgun and ran out on the back porch in time to see the back of a man turn the corner of the house and run for the back gate; that he fired twice at the man before he reached the gate; that the man continued to run and vanished in the bushes at the back of the house. He then came back into the house and found what had been done. He sent the boys away to arouse the neighbors and sent the girl and the baby up stairs. The boys knew nothing other than that they were aroused by the gunshots and came down to find their sister butchered. The girl that was sleeping with the victim says that she was awakened by the struggle and called to her father; that if anyone climbed out the window she does not know it, neither does she know whether her father answered from his room or the room where the murder took place. On the path leading from the back gate down to the spring, by way of which the supposed man ran, was found about 15 steps from the gate a round pool of clotted blood. On down the path a short distance was found a similar pool. The doctors say it was human blood. Drops of blood were found leading from the girl's room back into Butler's room. The ax was thrown out the window at the head of the bed. No substantial motive can be found for the father killing the girl, or for anyone else doing so. She bore an excellent reputation.

Contributed on 2/17/15 by wfields55
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Record #: 1062870

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