Newton-Hall-Morgan County GaArchives News.....(BRUTAL MURDER), ( THE LATE MURDER), (THE PITTS HOTEL MURDER) November 29, 1888 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Phyllis Thompson http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00011.html#0002524 May 11, 2005, 9:08 am The Georgia Enterprise, (Nov. 29), (Dec. 6), (Dec. 20), 1888 November 29, 1888 First Article A bloody tragedy in a bed room at the Pitts House. When we went to press Wednesday morning, of last week, and made a brief note of an assault which, had been made upon two visitors in their bed room at the Pitts House, little did we think that tragedy, which had but a short while before been enacted, would prove to be one of the most cruel and brutal occurrences that ever went down on the calendar of crime in civilized country. It is not our intention to go into a sensational recital of the details of this horrible affair, for it would be from purely circumstantial evidence, or wild rumors and guess work to do so. This crime has been, and will be fully and thoroughly investigated by our people, the coroner’s jury and the courts. Diligent officers and able attorneys will leave no stone unturned to discover the perpetrator and bring the guilty party, or parties, to the bar of human justice. The two men assaulted were Mr. T. H. THOMAS, of Gainesville, and Mr. SAMPS COHEN of Madison. They were both sporting men and known as such by some of our people. Mr. THOMAS was a short, thick-set man, while Mr. COHEN is rather slender and very delicate looking. Mr. THOMAS was thirty-two years old, while Mr. COHEN is only twenty-five. These men retired between three and four o’clock Wednesday morning, as Mr. C. H. ECHOLS, of this city, says he left the room about this time and both had gone to bed, but Mr. COHEN was not asleep. Mr. ECHOLS states that he went from the room to the hotel office, down stairs, got a drink of water, passed out of the front door and went direct to his home beyond the depot, and that the men and himself were on the friendliest terms before they parted, and had never had any differences or difficulty at any time. Nothing was known of the men having been assaulted until after six o’clock, when LEWIS BRYANT a porter, went up stairs to awake a guest who slept in an adjoining room to that occupied by Messrs. THOMAS and COHEN. The guest said: “Somebody is sick in the next room, for he has been groaning and vomiting for some time.” LEWIS pushed the door open as it was not locked, and standing n front of the mantel piece, with one hand resting on it, was Mr. THOMAS. He was in his night clothes, consisting of his knit underwear. The garments had been white, but when the negro saw them they were stained with the life blood of the unfortunate man, which still gushed in torrents from a ghastly, gaping wound between the eyes and across the nose, and another on the left side of the forehead. Mr. COHEN was lying on the bed, in a pool of blood, while to one side of the bed was a great crimson spot where he had heaved up his own blood. Dr. G. G. GRIFFIN had been called to the hotel to see a sick man, and as the alarm was given that an assault had been made on the men in room No. 6, the Doctor hurried to the scene and found Mr. THOMAS still holding the mantle. The Doctor gently assisted him to the bed. This was near 7 o’clock a. m. Dr. J. C. CLARK was then called in, and for hours these faithful surgeons did all in their power to save the lives of both men, but Mr. THOMAS was beyond the point where any human aid or skill could save him. He died at about 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, and his remains were sent to his home in Gainesville by direction of his two brothers who were at the hotel when he died. Mr. COHEN, who was on the bed opposite the one occupied by Mr. THOMAS, was wounded on the left side of the head, just a little above the ear. His left hand was also bruised very badly. His wound did not show so much from the outside, but a blood vessel had been ruptured, causing the blood to rush down his throat and from his nose and ears. The instrument which had been used to do this foul and bloody work was a wagon standard. It was made from dogwood and was about three feet long and weighed two pounds and a quarter. It had on it a knot, and it would have been all a man could do to make his fingers reach around it. Coroner OSBORN summoned a jury soon after Mr. THOMAS died, and from Wednesday night until Saturday noon the jury worked laboriously on the case, and not being satisfied with the testimony rendered, the jury adjourned over to Monday and began work on the case again, hoping that Mr. COHEN would be able to speak some word or tell something that would throw more light on the horrible affair. Tuesday morning it was evident that Mr. COHEN was improving, and yet it was uncertain if he could give any information for many days, if he ever could. At about noon the following verdict was agreed upon and the jury discharged: “We, the jury impaneled and sworn by the Coroner of Newton County, to inquire into the cause of the death of Mr. T. H. THOMAS, of Gainesville, Ga., whose body is now lying dead before us, after a careful investigation, find that he came to his death by two blows in the head, one being across the bridge of the nose and the other being on the forehead above the left eye, the blow being inflicted by a heavy stick, known as a wagon standard, wielded by the hand of some person unknown to us, while deceased was lying in a bed in room No. 6 of the Pitts Hotel, in Covington, Ga., at an early hour on Wednesday morning, Nov. 21st, 1888, and that the killing was murder. We find, however, that the circumstances point to Mr. CHARLES H. ECHOLS as the person who inflicted the fatal blows.” O. H. TUCKER, foreman...S. W. HAWKINS...........A. J. FARRILL J. W. ANDERSON..........J. J. CORLEY............W. H. HICKS J. M. DEARING...........E. P. CARR..............W. SCOTT EDWARD HEARD............S. J. KELLY.............T. D. GUINN The investigation by the coroner’s jury was commenced on Wednesday night. It has been searching and thorough, and the evidence _____ developed the following facts: Messrs. THOMAS and COHEN arrived in Covington on Sunday afternoon, and put up at the Pitts Hotel, where they were assigned to room No. 6. They were known as “sporting” men, and on Tuesday night were engaged in a game of cards with four other persons. At three o’clock Wednesday morning they returned to their room at the Pitts House, accompanied by Mr. Charles Echols, of our city. Mr. COHEN ordered a fire built, and one of the colored porters, named “SHOOG” BLOSSOMGAME, went to the room and built it. He remained in the room for something over five minutes, during which time the three gentlemen, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. ECHOLS engaged in a “social” game. The game lasted only a few minutes, when Mr. THOMAS withdrew from it, saying to the other two gentlemen that they could continue the game if they wished. They did not continue playing any longer. Mr. THOMAS pulled off his shoes and coat, sat down by the fire to warm, preparatory to retiring to bed. He soon afterward undressed and lay down. Mr. COHEN then prepared to retire also. Mr. ECHOLS was invited to remain with them. He began undressing for that purpose. Before doing so, however, he informed Mr. COHEN he was going out, and as it was getting so late he would not return to the room, as it would disturb them. He went downstairs, and into the office, where the porters were on duty. He passed over to the opposite side of the room where the water bucket sits, took a drink of water, and then turned round and walked out. This was about four o’clock. Mrs. SMITH, the landlady, heard someone walking through the hall, and thinking it was the cook, she arose, dressed herself, and went to the office, where she inquired if the cook had come. The porters informed her she had not, that it was too early, as it was only four o’clock. The discovery of the bloody pillow, on the sidewalk at the rear of the garden, was the first thing discovered, which was connected with the bloody deed. The was about daylight. It was between half past six and seven o’clock when the tragedy was discovered, as before stated. Mr. ECHOLS went to his home in Midway, and retired. He returned to his business as usual after breakfast. He is the bookkeeper for Mr. A. E. McDONALD. The foregoing is a plain and concise statement of the facts, as developed by the coroner’s investigation. Over 50 pages of testimony was taken before the Coroner’s Jury, but nothing of a positive nature could be secured. There was no direct proof as to who the guilty party, or parties could be, although circumstantial evidence pointed to one individual, who had been arrested and was in the custody of the sheriff. Some of the evidence led to the supposition that the crime was perpetrated by other parties, and that the young man who had been arrested, could not have committed the crime. But all was supposition, no positive proof, everything circumstantial, from the first page of the evidence to the last. It is needless to theorize upon this sad affair, for too much of that has already been done. We hope that the guilty party or parties who committed the deed may be discovered and brought to speedy justice, while all innocent parties who have had their names brought before the public in connection with this crime in any way whatsoever, directly or indirectly, may be exonerated and continue to be held in high esteem as they were before this unfortunate affair threw a cloud of sorrow over the lives, hearts and homes of so many people in this community and elsewhere. Justice demands that this be done and justice further demands that the guilty party, or parties, be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law, for this crime was murder, and yet, let us not lose sight of the fact that no one has, as yet, been convicted of this crime, and it may be possible that the real perpetrator has not yet been named, much less arrested. Let us be charitable until the facts are all brought out, and then let us, one and all, see that “justice is done, though the heavens fall.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Second Article The Georgia Enterprise, December 6, 1888 Preliminary Trial and Other Notes. Many of our readers feel a deep and peculiar interest in everything in any way connected with the recent murder and assault at the Pitts Hotel, and we propose to give them a sketch of what has transpired since the last issue of this paper. Mr. E. I. COHEN, the wounded man is being tenderly nursed back to life again, and may possibly be able to throw some light on the assault when the matter is brought before the superior court in March next. Mr. C. H. ECHOLS, whom circumstantial evidence has connected with the unfortunate affair, remained in the custody of the sheriff until Friday evening, when he was placed in prison. He accepted the situation without complaint or protest, saying that he was innocent of the crime but was willing to undergo confinement if the public and the sheriff thought it necessary. He has made no effort whatever to escape, neither has he ever said he would die before he would go to jail. Under all the trying circumstances he has borne up under the heavy load like a true man and has never showed by word, act or deed that he feared a thorough and full investigation of the matter. We say this in justice to a young man who can’t speak for himself without perhaps being misunderstood. Saturday morning the preliminary investigation began before Justice J. P. HARRIS and continued from 10 a. m. to 9:20 p. m., when counsel on both sides announced that they were satisfied to rest the case upon the testimony which had been rendered. Col. W. S. McHENRY, Judge E. F. EDWARDS and Solicitor General WOMACK represented the State, while Cols. J. F. ROGERS, W. S. UPSHAW and Major J. M. PACE represented the defense. The defendant, Mr. C. H. ECHOLS, was charged in the bill of indictment as being the murderer of T. H. THOMAS, of Gainesville, on the morning of Nov. 21st, in a room at the Pitts Hotel, in Covington, Ga. The testimony of the various witnesses filled 37 pages and was about the same as that before the Coroner’s jury, and was taken down by Mr. O. H. TUCKER. The defense desired to be heard and Justice HARRIS announced that he would adjourn his court until Monday morning at 9 o’clock, when it would re-convene and arguments be heard. Promptly at the appointed hour the case was called and Solicitor General WOMACK opened with an able argument for the state. He reviewed the testimony and circumstances connected with the assault, and argued that no one else save Mr. ECHOLS could have well committed the deed. Col. ROGERS followed in an earnest appeal for the defendant and asserted the innocence of his guilt. He reviewed the testimony and endeavored to show that the conflict in the evidence proved it to be unreliable. Major PACE made a strong and eloquent argument in behalf of his client, claiming that the assault was made and the murder committed only with a view to robbery, and that ECHOLS had no necessity to commit any robbery, as he was comparatively well off in this world’s goods. In the closing argument for the state Col. McHENRY stated that he would only discuss the evidence, as it was not his intention to charge the crime of murder upon Mr. ECHOLS, although the circumstances pointed directly to his guilt; however, if the defense would show who else could have committed the deed, he would devote his time, his talents and his money to convict the party, or parties named, so that the suspicion of guilt, now resting so heavily upon Mr. ECHOLS, could forever be removed. Justice HARRIS, before rendering his decision, said he had hoped that the case would have been continued until Mr. E. I. COHEN could appear as a witness, or it was ascertained that he would never be able to testify, but after a full and fair hearing the court ordered that C. H. ECHOLS be held for further investigation before the superior court. The defendant was then carried to jail. Efforts are being made to secure bail through his Honor, Judge BOYNTON. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Third Article The Georgia Enterprise, December 20, 1888 There is considerable gossip and some newspaper reports as to what Mr. SAMPS COHEN has said about the Pitts House tragedy, but whether he gave truth to the words reported we know not. The Solicitor General declines to state what Mr. COHEN said to him as to the guilt or innocence of Mr. C. H. ECHOLS. We hope no newspaper will sit as judge and jury on this case until after the courts have had an opportunity to go into a full and thorough investigation. Admitting that Mr. SAMPS COHEN has “talked and what he said is very damaging to Mr. Echols,” it will be time enough to take it as conclusive evidence when the same is delivered on oath in a court of justice. Mr. Echols is in jail and if he is found guilty of this crime will have to pay the fearful penalty with his life. Until he is given a trial before the courts of his country we think it unwise to give publication to every rumor put in circulation. However, anything and everything which can throw any true light on that unfortunate and brutal tragedy should not be withheld from the public or the courts, who want direct and positive evidence and not testimony founded on rumer or hearsay, without facts to sustain it. An application for bail was made by Mr. Echol’s attorneys, on Monday, in Atlanta, before Judge Harris, of the Coweta circuit. Judge A. M. Speer, Col. J. F. Rogers and Major J. M. Pace appeared for Echols. Col. W. S. McHenry, Judge E. F. Edwards and Solicitor General Womack represented the state. No new facts were brought out during the hearing. The motion for bail was not granted or denied when we went to press. We are told that Mr. Samuel Cohen, brother of the wounded man, has publicly said that “Samps has told enough to implicate Echols.” While in Atlanta Monday, the Journal says that “Mr. Cohen was asked many questions by his kin people and from what he answered it may be stated that Samps Cohen’s evidence will be sufficient to convict Echols of the killing of Thomas and the assault with intent to kill upon himself.” While all this “talk” is going on Mr. Echols stands up under his confinement with a patient resignation, and while he recognizes that the circumstances are against him, still he asserts his innocent and has never shown by act, word or deed that he feared a full and thorough investigation of each and every detail connected with the affair. He hopes, and evidently believes, that some way will be opened up to show and prove that he is not guilty of this terrible crime. Additional Comments: When I come across the final results of this trial, I will post it. 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