Randolph County AlArchives Obituaries.....Holloway, James Melvin May 15, 1949 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Linda Ayres http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007674 February 9, 2023, 7:00 pm Roanoke Leader Roanoke police Monday night secured confessions from two Negro youths that they had thrown a younger Negro boy into Waller's millpond after first beating him with sticks. The two who made this confession were Johnny B. Pogue, 20, and Sam Hill, 17. Charged with first-degree murder, they have been turned over to Sheriff T. G. Kirby for detention in the county jail at Wedowee. Their victim was Melvin Holloway, 12, who had been employed in town by the W. W. Mac 10 cents store. Melvins death occurred Sunday afternoon, May 15. The first verdict given was that it occurred from accidental drowning. At that time, however, an exam- lining physician stated that the boy's neck was broken. Inconsistencies in the reports given by boys present at the time of the tragedy caused local policemen to be suspicious and to continue their investigation. Having received word that some of the boys who were present might be willing to tell more about what happened. Chief Rookie Noles and Officers Perry Webb and Bentley Barnes looked them up for questioning Monday afternoon. The officers questioned several of the witnesses at different times during the afternoon, and all of them told the same story, now that the first ones interviewed had spilled the beans. This story pointed to Sam Hill and Johnny B. Pogue as the guilty ones. Sam, who was picked up first, placed the blame for hitting Melvin on Johnny B. After about an hour and a half of questioning, Johnny B. finally confessed that both he and Sam struck Melvin and that both threw him into the pond. Briefly, this is what happened, according to information gathered by the officers. Early Sunday afternoon, May 15, a large number of Negro boys got together and went to Wallers millpond, at the edge of town, where they played ball and went swimming. Johnny B. and Sam were the two oldest ones in the group, most of the other boys being something like 14 years old. Even on the way to the pond there was argument about who was going to ride Melvins bicycle, witnesses reported. While the boys were swimming, Melvin, who could not swim, played around in the shallow water. When the time came to leave, the argument about the bicycle hared again. Some of the boys had already left before matters came to a head. About 12 were still there. When Melvin stoutly insisted that he should ride his bicycle himself, the two oldest youths scuffled with him, both striking him across the back of his head with sticks. At first, he called for help, but apparently Johnny B. and Sam had knocked him out completely by the time they tossed him into the pond. Returning to town, the boys reported that Melvin had drowned accidentally when he turned loose a rope with which some of the others had been towing him across the deep water. Officers found a rope at the pond later, but they spotted weaknesses in the story. Not until this week would any of the boys change their story enough to enable officers to break the case. B. L. Allen, state investigator from Auburn, came up Monday to assist local officers in their questioning of the witnesses. It was late that night before the case was wound up. Additional Comments: Both Hill & Pogue were charged & convicted of murder and sent to prison. Death Cert: Name James Melvin Holloway Sex Male Age 14 Death Date 1949 Death Place Roanoke, Randolph, Alabama, United States Birth Year (Estimated) 1935 Father's Name John Holloway Father's Sex Male Mother's Name Audrey Frell Mother's Sex Female Event Type Death Source Details 10387 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/randolph/obits/h/holloway4322gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb