NEWSPAPER ARTICLES JOHN D. SHELTON STEPHEN LESEL SHELTON (Father of John D. Shelton) WILLIAM A. HAMMOND (Nephew of John D. Shelton) Source: "http://www.jimcsmith.net/legacy/" Jim Smith (Rootsweb Web World Connect) John D. Shelton Charged with the Murder He is Tried Before Magistrates and Now Lies in Jail Awaiting Final Trial. Jno D. Shelton, son of Mr. S. L. Shelton, is now confined in the county jail at Florence, charged with the brutal murder of his uncle, W. A. Hammonds, in Northeast Lauderdale, on Sunday the 8th instant, and account of which was given in the times last week. He was arrested on Saturday morning last by deputy constable G. W. Morrison, who held him until Monday, when the preliminary trial commenced at Lexington and continued until late Tuesday afternoon. The facts appeared to point very strongly to young Shelton as the guilty man, and the brutal character of the murder aroused a great deal of feeling in the community; so much, in fact, that those in charge of him kept him hid out in the woods Saturday night and all day Sunday, through fear of violence at the hands of the people. On Monday the trial commenced at Lexington before four Justices of the Peace, Messrs. J. A. Gower, James Whitehead, G. M. Harraway and G. F. Thigpen, with Messrs. J. T. Ashcraft and Paul Hodges representing the kinsmen of the dead man. A large number of witnesses examined, and the evidence was such the magistrates were unanimous in their decision to send the accused on for trial, without bail. On Tuesday night Sheriff Hill arrived and placed him in jail. The feeling in the locality of the murder is very strong, and the law-abiding people are intensely interested in the work of unraveling the mystery. The evidence before the Justices did not implicate any one besides Shelton, though some people believe that others are involved. Shelton, the prisoner, will be 20 years of age on the 1st of September. An interview with him at the jail Wednesday morning showed that he did not fully comprehend the gravity of his situation. He denied his guilt and several times indulged in strong language not taught in the Sunday School books. Some of the stronger points of testimony against Shelton is the fact that he had in his possession, and lost in a game of craps in the afternoon of the murder, the dead man's pistol; and that the blood-hounds tracked him to his home; that he could not prove his whereabouts at the time of the murder; and that there was enmity on his part against his uncle. At the trial on Monday and Tuesday an immense crowd of people were present; on the first day probably 500; and on Tuesday between 200 and 300. Shelton's trial will come on at the September term of the circuit court..... ALSO FOUND..... in this same issue of the Florence Times, the following is an excerpt of the article: Hons. John T. Ashcraft and Paul Hodges were called to Lexington Monday by the citizens of Lexington beat to represent the people in the preliminary trial of James Shelton, who was charged with the murder of W. A. Hammonds...............end FLORENCE HEARLD, Thursday, May 19, 1904 SHELTON IS IN JAIL HERE Alleged Murderer of William A. Hammonds AWAITS TRIAL IN PRISON CELL Pistol Said to Have Been Property of Dead Man Lost by Shelton in Crap Game. After a trial two days which was attended by hundreds of people, John D. Shelton was brought to Florence from Lexington Tuesday evening by Sheriff Hill, and placed in jail to await trial at the September term of court, on the charge of murdering his uncle, W. A. Hammonds. Suspicion was first thrown on Shelton when the blood hounds brought from Lawrenceburg Tennessee the morning after the murder followed the trail to his room where he was found sleeping. this was accounted for by the fact that he had sat up with the dead man Sunday night and he was not arrested until the following Saturday night when evidence was offered to show that he had been in possession of a pistol which had belonged to Hammonds. Shelton lost the pistol to a companion the evening of the killing in a game of craps. When the weapon was produced at the trial it was identified positively by Hammonds daughter. One witness swore to seeing Shelton entering the woods in the direction of the Hammonds place and another saw him leaving. There had been trouble between Hammonds and his brother and brothers-in-law over the division of some property and a good deal of hard feeling existed. Young Shelton remarked to a companion that if old "Monk" Hammonds had treated you all like he treated us all you would have killed him too." Despite this admission he denies his guilt and has maintained the greatest composure, except when Sheriff Hill started to jail with him, when he broke down and cried. Several witnesses were introduced by Shelton to prove and alibi, but his sister who was most anxious to clear him, failed to account for his whereabouts for two or three hours during the morning of the murder. Much excitement prevailed in the little town of Lexington before and during the trail and the guards who had Shelton in charge hid out in the woods with him two nights to prevent a lynching. The charge on which Shelton is held, that of murder in the first degree is not bailable and no attempt has been made to have the prisoner released..end *****The following is an excerpt taken from the FLORENCE TIMES, June 24, 1904 regarding the suicide of Dee's father, Leet Shelton: "When this sad news was communicated to his son in jail he was greatly affected and wept bitterly. He afterwards ate the heads of nine matches with suicidal intent, when Drs. Lindsey and Boyd were called in and applied a stomach pump. In his cell was found a letter to his family stating that he intended to kill himself." (see this newspaper article under the notes for Stephen Lesel Shelton)....................................................................................end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, September 16, 1904 The Shelton Trial The trial of John D. Shelton for the alleged murder of his uncle, W. A. Hammonds, near Arthur, on the 8th day of last May, has been set for next Thursday, the 22nd instant. The murder of Mr. Hammonds, it will be remembered, was a particularly atrocious one, he having been shot and mutilated about the head on Sunday while his family were away at church. Great interest is being taken in the approaching trial, especially in the neighborhood in which the bloody deed was committed............................................................end FLORENCE HEARLD, Thursday, September 15, 1904 THE SHELTON MURDER TRIAL Will Begin Next Thursday in Circuit Court. SPECIAL VENIRE OF FIFTY SUMMONED Criminal Docket Will be Taken Up Monday, September 19th. Other Court News. In the case against Dee Shelton for the murder of Wm. Hammonds, the defendant was arraigned and the case set for trail for Thursday morning, Sept. 22, and a special venire of fifty jurors was drawn by the court and ordered to be summoned to be present in court on the morning of the above date. On Monday morning next the circuit court will take up the criminal docket and proceed to try all the criminal cases on the docket. Defendants and witnesses are notified to be present on that day..............................................end FLORENCE HEARLD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1904, PENITENTIARY FOR LIFE Verdict Returned in Shelton Murder Case. JURY UNANIMOUS ON FIRST BALLOT. Prisoner Jokes at Sentence and is Most Indifferent Man in Court Room. The trial of Dee Shelton in the circuit court for the murder of his uncle, W. H. Hammonds, at Lexington, May 8, which commenced Thursday morning of last week, came to an end Tuesday morning when the jury returned a verdict of guilty and assessed the punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. The best legal talent in the city was engaged in the case and the fight on both sides was a stubbornly contested one. The defendant was represented by Simpson & Jones and Solicitor Sawtelle was assisted in the prosecution by Hon. Paul Hodges and John T. Ashcraft. The widow of the murdered man was prevented by feeble health from attending the trial but the son and daughter were present and testified for the state. The prisoner took the stand in his own behalf and made a decidedly bad impression. When asked why he wanted another dollars worth of "liquor" on the day of the murder, when he already had a pint, he said he wanted enough to last him through the day. The evidence though circumstantial, was strong against the prisoner, his own remarks between the time the crime was committed and his arrest, going farther, probably than anything else to convince the jury of his guilt. The evidence was concluded Saturday evening and the entire Day Monday was devoted to the arguments of counsel and Judge Almon's charge to the jury. When court convened Tuesday morning the jury sent word it had reached a verdict. As they filed into the court room Shelton was apparently the most unconcerned one present. After the verdict had been read condemning him to the penitentiary for the balance of his life he exhibited the most absolute indifference and remarked laughingly to Sheriff Hill that he was much obliged to the jury for not marking the sentence longer. The lawyers for the defense have given notice of an appeal........... end FLORENCE TIMES, September 30, 1904 SHELTON GUILTY According to the Finding of the Jury A Lifetime in the Penitentiary The Verdict in the famous Hammonds Murder Case. "We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree and fix his punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for life." These were the words that Dee Shelton heard fall from the lips of the Clerk George W. Porter Tuesday morning, as the verdict of the jury, which since last Friday morning sat on his trial and heard in detail the story of the murder his uncle, William A. Hammonds, on Sunday the 8th day of May, last. The prisoner heard the judgment of the jury with no apparent demonstration of feeling. He listened with deep interest at the dreadful judgment, but if his feelings were deeply stirred the fact was hidden from the court and spectators. The details of the murder of William A. Hammonds on the 8th of May last, were published in the Times at the time of the brutal crime. Hammonds, who had remained at his home near Arthur, while his family had all gone to church, was later in the day found dead, the back of his head battered and broken with some blunt instrument and a pistol would running from the back of his head, ranging upward and through his forehead. Suspicion almost immediately feel on Shelton, who was known to have a pronounced feeling against his uncle; and later in the week he was arrested, examined by magistrates and sent on to the grand jury. On Friday morning the case came up for trial with the following jury: C. C. Wesson, foreman, W. O. Parker, Frank Wilkes, Jr., A. J. McMeans, P. H. Olive, L. W. Northcut, S. W. Morris, W. A. Riley, J. H. Hamilton, T. L. Hipp, W. A. Broadfoot and S. L. Sherrod. Messrs. Simpson & Jones appeared for the prisoner and Solicitor Sawtelle was assisted by Messrs. John T. Ashcraft and Paul Hodges. Over twenty witnesses were examined about seven for the defendant and seventeen for the state. The lawyers on both sides fought the the case with rare ability and the speeches before the jury were able and forcible. The case was given to the jury late Monday afternoon and at 9:30 Tuesday morning they were ready with their verdict. It was said that none of the jury were for acquittal and that none favored hanging. The decision has been well received by the public. On Tuesday afternoon the attorneys for the prisoner asked a suspension of sentence in order to allow them to appeal; and, so it now appears, the case will go to the supreme court...............................................................end FLORENCE TIMES, June 23, 1905 TO BE GRANTED A NEW TRIAL Case of Dee Shelton Reversed and Will be Tried at the Fall Term of Court Was Convicted of the Murder of His Uncle, W. A. Hammonds. and Given Life Sentence Dee Shelton, incarcerated in jail here under sentence to a life term in prison for the murder of his uncle, W. a. Hammonds, has been granted a new trial. Hammonds was murdered Sunday, May 8, 1904, while his family was absent from home attending a neighborhood devotional meeting, and suspicion was directed to young Shelton, who was arrested charged with the murder of his uncle. His conviction followed, when appeal was taken by his counsel to the supreme court, which reversed the case upon the following grounds: "He has been tried for the murder by shooting W. A. Hammonds, in the spring of 1904 and given a life sentence. Among the testimony introduced was a statement said to have been made by the defendant himself to the effect that if others had know the same he did they would have killed the man too. the jury seems to have regarded this as evidence that he did the killing and convicted him on the charge. The supreme court, held, however, that this was not, in a legal sense, a confession and that the man should not have been convicted on this if it was the best evidence of the murder. Justice Anderson also had this case, and when asked about it, said it was somewhat of new ground for the court on the question of confessions and would have the effect of changing the views of some law officers on this great question. Shelton will be given a new trial and another chance for his liberty.... FLORENCE HEARLD, FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 1905 SUPREME COURT GRANTS NEW TRIAL D. Shelton Convicted of Murdering His Uncle Gets New Trial. HAD BEEN SENTENCED FOR LIFE Murder Occurred on Sunday, May 8, 1904, While Old Man Was at Home Alone. Dee Shelton, who was convicted of the murder of his uncle, W. A. Hammond, and sentenced to the state penitentiary, has been granted a new trial by the supreme court. It will be remembered that the elder Hammond was discovered in his house dead, lying in a pool of blood, Sunday afternoon, May 8, 1904. His family had been absent attending the Sunday song service, and when they returned they found the old man foully murdered and the house ransacked from top to bottom. There had been bad blood existing between for some time between the Hammond and Shelton families over litigations, and from actions and remarks by the young man suspicion was soon directed toward him. He was arrested within twenty-four hours after the discovery of the crime and lodged in jail. A the term of the criminal court in November he was convicted of the murder and given a life sentence. The new trial which has been granted Shelton will probably be held to the next term of the criminal court....................................................................end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, March 30, 1906 Shelton Jury The following gentlemen compose the jury sitting in the D. Shelton case now being tried: E. A. Perry, Lexington; W. W. Carter, Florence; R. C. Scott, Waterloo; J. A. Rhodes, Rhodesville; W. J. Tays, Centre Star; John H. Belew, Cross Roads; W. P. Romine, Rogerville; T. B. Dean, Centre Star; W. D. Hall, Cloverdale; W. L. Hendrix, Hines; W. C. Darby, Cloverdale: L. C. Moore, Florence... .........end FLORENCE TIMES, September 14, 1906(excerpt) QUITE WEEK IN COURT This Being Non-Jury Week, Only Minor Civil Cases are Being Tried The case of Dee Shelton, charged with the murder of his uncle, J. W. Hammonds, has been set for Thursday, September 20, and a special venire of fifty men drawn from which to select a jury.... ...............end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, September 28, 1906 DEE SHELTON NOT CONVICTED Second Trial For Murder of His Uncle, Monk Hammonds, Results in Hung Jury The case of Dee Shelton, charged wit the murder of his uncle, Monk Hammonds, nearly three years ago, was taken up in the Circuit Court last Thursday morning, and the taking of evidence consumed the time of the court up to the middle of the forenoon of Saturday, when Hon. John T. Ashcraft addressed the jury for the State. Hon. Geo. P. Jones, representing the defendant, followed making one of the best defensive arguments ever heard in the Lauderdale Hall of justice. Hon. Paul Hodges closed for the State. Without any fulsome praise to the attorneys, we can say that we never heard a case more thoroughly contested than the Shelton case. No point nor detail was overlooked by the contending lawyers. Judge Nathan delivered the charge to the jury late in the afternoon, and after remaining out fort hours, they reported monday afternoon that it was impossible to arrive at a verdict, either being for acquittal and four for conviction. Shelton has been placed on trial three times for the crime of murdering his uncle, the first resulting in a conviction and a life sentence, the second and third trials resulting in hung juries. The cost to the county has already been between $2,000 and $2,500 besides the incidental cost to witnesses in expenses and loss of time, yet the cost is insignificant when the fact is considered that the honest efforts have been made to arrive at the truth and vindicate not only the law but justice. In a few words the history of the crime is: On a Sunday in May, 1904, Monk Hammonds was murdered in his home while his family were absent attending services at Beaverdam Church, two miles distant, and the house robbed of a sum of money and a pistol. There had been litigation between the Sheltons and Hammonds about an estate, and ill feeling existed. After the murder young Shelton was seen to display Hammonds' pistol, or one very much resembling the one taken from Hammonds' house. Shelton, who had been drinking, was seen about the church in the morning, and on a road in the woods leading towards the house of the murdered man. Whether Shelton is now entitled to bail is a question puzzling the legal fraternity...... ......................................end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, March 29, 1907 THE TRIAL OF DEE SHELTON It is Now in our Circuit Court. The fourth trial of Dee Shelton, on the charge of murdering his uncle, W. a. Hammonds, on the 8th of May, 1904, was commenced in the circuit court here on Tuesday, when, after going through a list of about 125 men, twelve were finally selected as jurors. The commencement of the trial was delayed, owing to the absence of an important witness, Mr. Barnett, who was sojourning in Franklin County, and who had to be sent for. The taking of testimony was commenced on Wednesday morning, with a large number of witnesses present. The prisoner is represented by Mr. George P. Jones, and the State by Mr. Paul Hodges and Judge E. B. Almon, Solicitor Simpson being disqualified by reason of being of counsel in former trials of the case. The following is the jury: - J. T. Walston, J. M, Whitten, J. F. Hannab, J. W. Fowler, H. C. funk, A. H. Hamm, J. W. Hill, E. L. Marks, C. L. Smith, R. E. Angel, Wm. Whitsett and W. T. Simpson. In the first trial of this case Shelton was sent up for life, and the two succeeding resulted in mistrials......................................................................end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, April 5, 1907 DEE SHELTON ACQUITTED Ending of a Long Contested Trial for Murder After Four Hours With the Jury On Friday night of last week the jury in the case of Dee Shelton, charged with the murder of his uncle, Wm. A. Hammonds, brought the long-contested case to a close by bringing in a verdict of acquittal. The case was given to the jury between three and four o'clock, and after a conference of about four hours that body arrived at its conclusion. Shelton had been in jail since the 16th of May, 1904, and this was his fourth trial. he has returned to his home in the Lexington beat, where, he told his friends, he intended to settle down and go to work. The jury in this case had a difficult problem before them. Under the law they had either to hang the prisoner, send him to the penitentiary for life, or acquit him. the evidence was circumstantial, and the jury agreed on the latter course. The first trial resulted in conviction, the two succeeding ones resulted in mistrials, and the fourth, as there stated, ended in acquittal........................end ( ****E-MAIL from Wade Shelton, July 18, 2000 - speaking about John D. Shelton: "Someone got a letter from him several years later marked in Texas. We don't know what ever happened to him."....................................................................end NOTE, NOTE, NOTE: The mystery is solved regarding the story of Dee being ask to leave Alabama after "the" trial. It wasn't the Hammonds trial, it appears it was the trial mentioned below.............................................................................. end) SECOND MURDER TRIALS....... FLORENCE TIMES ARTICLES, Friday, August 13, 1909 DELIBERATE AND BRUTAL MURDER A Woman Strangled to Death and Left in a Open Field Robbery Appears to have been the Motive and Three Men Arrested On Sunday morning last our city was shocked at the announcement that on the night before a deliberate and diabolical murder had been committed by which the life of a woman of the under world had been wantonly taken. At an early hour in the day Walter McDonald, after a continued search for the woman, which had been commenced the night before, found the dead body, that of Mrs. Lydia Ross, lying in the hay field south of Blair's quarters at the southern extremity of Walnut and Poplar streets, and about a hundred yards from her residence. The body was nearly covered with hay from a small stack near where she was lying, her feet protruding from the imperfect covering. She was lying on her back, with the right arm thrown over her shoulder, and with no sign of a struggle visible. Around her neck, tightly drawn was a strong cord about the thickness of a pencil, the cord deeply sinking into the swollen flesh. On the night before the body was found, and near about the time the murder was evidently committed, two men, Prentice Johnson and Walter McDonald, were known to have been visitors to the house, and they were arrested within an hour after the body was found. McDonald was at the house Saturday night when Johnson arrived and ordered him to leave. This was the last seen of the woman alive. Johnson was disposed to make a row, and Florence Irvine, who lived in the house went for the police. When the officers arrived on the scene the two, Johnson & Mrs. Ross, were no where to be found. For these reasons these two men were arrested. It developed later that Johnson had tried the same night to sell a skirt that was the property of the dead woman. The officers felt sure they had the murdered in the person of Johnson, but later their faith was somewhat shaken in this conclusion by the developments, which seriously implicated Dee Shelton, who later in the day was arrested. A corner' jury was summoned in the forenoon of Sunday, consisting of O. B. Hill, J. P., and acting coroner, J. H. Blair, F. M. Hargrove, J. T. Miller, C. H. Price, W. B. Brown and T. A. Wesson; and after viewing the body, with P.S. Boyd assisting in the examination, they held two meetings on Sunday and one on Monday afternoon, during which they examined a number of witnesses. The evidence obtained by the jury was not conclusive and late Monday the body adjourned until Friday night at 8 o'clock, when doubtless definite action will be taken. The evidence before the coroners' jury has been entirely circumstantial. The strongest proof against Shelton is that on the night of the murder and the next day he had $29 on his person and had spent during the previous 24 hours about $18. According to the testimony of his wife the only money he had on Saturday was about $3. He had called at the woman's house several times Saturday , and told a friend she had in her possession $200. He had been working in the hay field near the woman's house and where she was found dead. Shelton is the man who several years ago was tried in our circuit court for the murder of his uncle, W. A. Hammonds, near Lexington, and who escaped conviction after several trials by the skin of his teeth only. The murdered woman was bout 30 years old, and belonged to a good family in the Green Hill beat. She was married to Geo. Ross, and had four children, two of whom are with their father and two were with her at the time of her death. She and her husband separated some years ago, and she ten drifted to Florence. On Monday a brother of the dead woman's husband came to Florence, and on application to the Probate Judge was given the custody of the young children, and he took them home with him. This diabolical murder created much excitement in the city, and all day Sunday, Sunday night and Monday a large number of people assembled around the court house to discuss the affairs. That the murder was premeditated, deliberate and cold-blooded there can be no doubt, and that robbery was the motive is equally certain. The verdict of the coroners' jury is looked for with profound interest...... FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, March 11, 1910 (Excerpt) "Dee Shelton, who will be tried at this term of court, will have the distinction of being tried by a jury of his countrymen the sixth time for murder, though the charges involved the killing of two people, only - and that is enough".. FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, April 1, 1910 (Excerpt) "and yesterday the case of Dee Shelton was taken up."....................................end FLORENCE TIMES, Friday, April 8, 1910 DEE SHELTON'S CASE A Hung Jury and the Prisoner Ordered to Leave the State The second trial of Dee Shelton, charged with the murder of Lydia Ross, on the night of August 7, 1909, occurred in the circuit court here last week, and again resulted in a mistrial. The jury is said to have stood six for murder in the first degree and six for a term of fifteen years in the penitentiary. In view of the fact that Shelton could not give bond, the Judge turned him loose on his own recognizance, on condition that he would leave the State and never return, and that his departure should be made before 2 o'clock on Saturday, the day after the trial. The jury had the case several hours, and they evidently considered Shelton guilty. The difficulty in convicting him, however, had become apparent, and the action of the Judge is generally approved. It will be remembered that on Sunday morning, the 8th of August of last year the body of a woman, Lydia Ross, was found in a field in an unenvialbe quarter of the city, with a cord around her neck with which she had been strangled to death. Several young men were arrested, among them Dee Shelton. The other two were soon turned loose, and the net gradually spread around Shelton, who was duly tried, and the jury failed to agree. The murder was a most deliberate, diabolical one, and the community was much stirred up about it. The evidence was entirely circumstantial against Shelton, but it was stong enough for the last jury to be convinced of his guilt. It is possible that the character of the murdered woman had something to do with the decision of the jury, which under the indictment had to decide for the first degree or acquit. it appears, as above stated, that none of the jury was for acquittal..................................................end FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1904, THE FLORENCE TIMES SELF-MURDER SEQUEL TO HAMMONDS KILLING Samuel Leet Shelton, an Old Citizen Shoots Himself to Death Father of the Young Man Accused of Murder Grows Despondent After a Visit to Florence SECOND CHAPTER IN FAMOUS HAMMONDS MURDER CASE On Sunday morning last Samuel Leet Shelton shot and fatally wounded himself at his home near Arthur, in Northeast Lauderdale. This is the second chapter in the story of the murder of W. A. Hammonds in that neighborhood on the 8th day of May, last, Hammonds, one of the best known citizens of that county, was found mutilated and dead at his home and a few days later D. Shelton, son of the S. L. Shelton, was charged with the murder and confined in the jail at Florence, where he now lies awaiting the action of the court. Since the arrest of his son Leet Shelton had been noticeably affected, and his self-murder, while shocking to the community, was what might not have been unreasonable expected. On Sunday morning Mr. Shelton had his daughter to shave him, and this unusual act aroused some suspicion in the minds of the family that the father was not in a normal condition. A little later, while the family were around as usual, he shot himself, be ball passing entirely through his body and out the front door, over the heads of the daughter and a young man named Will Wright, who were sitting in the door. The pistol used was 38 Harrington & Richardson revolver, and the ball entered the left breast and inch and a half below the nipple. Shelton fell to the floor, exclaiming "good bye." Dr. Smith of Lexington was hastily summoned, and expressed the opinion that the wound was a fatal one. The lung was penetrated, but the heart, at which the poor man doubtless directed the shot, was missed. At this writing he is still living, but with little or no hope of recovery. Shelton had written a note on the morning of the tragedy, which disclosed the fact that the act was premeditated a deliberate intention to kill himself. The note, written in a nervous hand and barely decipherable, read as follows: "this is Sunday morning, and I have out-lived all my friends, and I have decided to end it. It is death anyway. I believe God is with me." Shelton had led a dissipated life, through when not drinking was a quite and orderly citizen. His wife has been afflicted mentally for many years, and this deplorable fact added to the trouble of his son, in jail for murder, was to great a burden to be longer borne. The commencement of the troubles in this unfortunate family arose from the division of property of the late John C. Hammonds and the litigation following. W. C. Hammonds, the man murdered the 8th of May, and Mrs. Leet Shelton, were son and daughter of John C. Hammonds, and in settling the estate bitter disputes arose, and several personal encounters took place between some of the parties interested. the case lingered in the courts a long time, and the sequel has been the brutal murder of one man, the imprisonment of another and the attempted suicide of the third member of the connection. Mr. Shelton was a well-to-do farmer and stood well until drink affected him, Mr. Shelton died at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. When this sad news was communicated to his son in jail he was greatly affected and wept bitterly. He afterwards ate the heads of nine matches with suicidal intent, when Drs. Lindsey and Boyd were called in and applied a stomach pump. In his cell was found a letter to his family stating that he intended to kill himself.......end FLORENCE HEARLD, Articles regarding the murder of W. A. Hammonds and the trial of Leet's son, Dee. The following Hearld article is from the, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1904 and appears to be on page one. HAD OUTLIVED HIS FRIENDS - Successful Attempt on His Life Made by S. L. SHELTON, AT LEXINGTON Despondency Over Sons Arrest and Other Troubles the Cause. Note Giving Reasons. Another act in the horrible tragedy which is being enacted in Lexington, was added Sunday morning, when S. L. Shelton, father of the boy who is in the Florence jail for the alleged murder of his uncle, W. H. Hammonds, attempted his own life by shooting himself through the body. He was in Florence Friday and talked with a number of friends in regard to the murder. He seemed very despondent over his sons chances of clearing himself and remarked more than once that he would rather be dead than alive. Sunday morning Shelton asked his daughter Ollie to shave him and when she had finished he walked to the bureau drawer and pulled out his 88 calibre revolver. In reply to his daughter question as to what he meant to do, he placed the muzzle against his left side just below the heart, and before she could interfere, pulled the trigger, the ball passing through his left lung and coming out behind. He left a note saying that he had outlived his friends and had decided to put and end to it all. Shelton had a talk with his son in his cell Friday, but it is not known what passed between them. The boy, when informed of his fathers condition, showed considerable emotion, alternately crying and swearing, but he refused to talk....... end TRIPLES with EMMA