NEWS/DEATH: Bill Leonard shoots father in law William Gill, 1889, Hardin Co., KY ********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net Transcribed by: Larry&Laura wright Date: 29 Aug 2000 *********************************************************************** Taken from The Elizabethtown News Elizabethtown Ky March 8, 1889 Typed as published and submitted By Laura Frost Wright THE DEADLY SHOTGUN BILL LEONARD SHOOTS DOWN HIS FATHER-IN-LAW WILLIAM GILL Early Tuesday morning WILLIAM GILL an old citizen of this county, was shot down and killed on his own farm near red Hill, this county by his son-in-law BILL LEONARD. The particulars of the killing were brought out at the coroner's inquest held by Squire B.C. HILL, a cold blooded deliberate murder. It seems that BILL LEONARD lives on the farm of his father-in-law, and that near LEONARD"S house GILL was making rails, Tuesday , he went down on his wagon to get a load and as he drove by his son-in-laws house he saw his daughter out at the wood pile chopping up a lot of his new rails. he told her to stop cutting up his rails, where upon she began to abuse him in a violent manner, he got out of the wagon and had put one of the rails into it when LEONARD came out of the door with a single barrel shot gun in his hands and told him if he loaded another one of those rails he would kill him. GILL picked up another rail when LEONARD pulled down his gun and fired , the whole load entering GILL'S left breast. After he was shot, GILL ran toward his assasin, when within a few feet of him LEONARD stepped forward and dealth the old man a severe blow to the head, knocking him down . Someone was immediately sent to vine grove for a physician, but before he arrived on the ground GILL was dead, having expired in about an hour and a half after he was shot. The murderd man was about seventy years old and had a usually good reputation. LEONARD is not generally known, although his father, B. LEONARD one of the cleverest men in the county. It is a general opinion that there had been a bad feeling between the parties, but that we have been unable to verify. LEONARD was arrested by Deputy Sheriff SCOTT BRANCH Wednesday morning and brought here and put in jail. LEONARD"S STORY A reporter of the news came in on the train with the prisoner and he gave his side of the case. He claimed that he built a house on GILL"S property with the understanding that he was to have a permanent lease on it and that Tuesday GILL and his son came to his house with axes, that he was sick in his bed and GILL told him he must vacate the property at once. When he declined to do this, both the GILLS advanced on him with axes and he shot in self defense, and that the young GILL pursued him in the woods after the shooting. LEONARD is quite sick, but it is thought that he will be well enough to stand his examining trial Saturday.