HUSBAND TELLS OF FINDING THE DEAD BODY OF HIS WIFE

The Princeton Post, Princeton, Mo. Thu. Sep 28 1911 page 3

Three Men Testify Before Jury at Coroner's Inquest after the Murder of Mrs. Jasper E. Shirley in Harrison County. No Evidence Given to Cause an Arrest.

At the coroner's inquest, held last week over the body of Mrs. Jasper E. Shirley, who was murdered at her home nine miles south of Mt. Moriah the Sunday before, no evidence was brought out that would warrant the arrest of anyone on the charge.

The lady's husband testified as to finding the body, and two physicians reported after examination of the lady. There was no evidence of self-destruction and the jury returned a verdict that she came to her death by a broken neck received at the hands of some party or unparty unknown.

The proceedings at thevinquest are given by the Bethany Republican as follows:

At the Residence of Ed Shirley.

State of Missouri , County of Harrison: ss.

At an inquest held by the undersigned, A.C. Bonser, coroner within and for Harrison county, Missouri, in the twp., of Fox Creek, in said county, over the dead body of Amanda Lucille Shirley, who was supposed to come to her death by violence. The following testimony of witnesses was taken before said coroner and the jury, and was then and there recorded in writing, and subscribed to by the witnesses.

Jasper E. Shirley, of lawful age being first duly sworn, testified as follows:

Q. Mr. Shirley, you are the husband of the woman over whose dead body this inquest is being held, are you not?

A. Yes.

Mr. Shirley, tell in your own way the circumstances surrounding the death of your wife?

Well, I left home between ten and eleven o'clock Sunday evening and drove up near the house to two trees,at the west end of my home, and I let the two boys out and tied my team. The boys ran on to the door to open it, then they tried the two doors on the south, and found them fastened. Then one of the boys went to the other side of the house at the other door, when he came back he said, "let us in." Then they went to the window where the screen is torn off, and I says, "boys, one of you go in and open the door and let me in." I was still near the team when they opened the door. I picked up a bucket of peaches and took them in the house. The boys had gone up stairs, and when I had set the peaches down, I went up-stairs. When I got part of the way up, the boys said "mama is asleep". I went on up the stairs, and saw her lying on the floor, and my first thought was, she has fainted. I took her by the hands I saw she was cold in death. I went downstairs and phoned to my father's , mother answered and I told Manda was dead. I went to the door and I saw on the hill south, Tom Maxwell and family, and called to them to come as quick as possible. Tom came soon andasked, "what is the matter?" I told him, "Manda is dead."

We went u-pstairs together, Tom remarked, "she has only fainted, I feel her heart beating." I took her by one hand, he took her by the other as he said, "let's rub her and bring her to." I said, "no, Tom, she is dead." Well, Tom placed his head on her breast to see if he could hear her heart beat-he said he could hear her heart beat. He asked me to try, I laid my head on her breat and I could not hear her heart, and I said, "no, Tom, she is gone." We then went downstairs, Tom's wife drove up with the team, and she asked what was the matter, and I said, "Manda is dead." She says, "have you done anything yet?" and I said, "call the doctor as soon as you can. Mrs. Maxwell phoned for Dr. Saylor.

Q. Where did you go in the morning?

A. I went to my father's, first going to Mr. Utterback's

Q. For what purpose?

A. I went to take my wife's uncle's wife to Mr. Utterback's.

Q. In what position was your wife's body when you first observed it?

A. Well, she was lying on her back, with her hands outward and backward. Her lower limbs were straightened, and her dress above her knees. Our little girl about three years old was at home with her. The boys said when going upstairs, "Blanche told us ma-ma is asleep." (Signed), Jasper E. Shirley

Testimony of Dr. Saylor

Q. Dr., you may tell when you were called, and what the conditions were when you arrived, and all you know about the case.

A. Am not certain just what time I was called to Shirley's, but think it was about five or six o'clock p.m., Sept 17, 1911. Was just lighting a lamp when I came. I asked someone what had caused the death and was informed cause of death unknown. I then went up-stairs to the body, found the body lying on the back, with shoulders slightly turned to the right, head turned to the left, so that the left cheek was on the floor, with arms extended at about right angles from the body, elbows slightly flexed, hands on floor back down, and partly closed. Lower limbs extended, floor sprinkled with blood. Found her underwear loosened and around just below the hips, and underskirts up above the hips, and partly twisted around the body. I replaced clothing as found. I found skin around each wrist discolored. I then waited for Dr. Magraw, who arrived about an hour and a half afterwards. We went to the room together. After we had made partial examination of the body and surroundings, we stopped and called the coroner. At near 10:00 o'clock Sept. 18, 1911, owing to urgency for care of the body, Dr. Magraw and myself made further examination of the body, and we found no hemorrhage from the body, no wounds but found the neck broken. The only blood found on the body was on the left leg, below the knee. Am certain blood on the leg was not from the body.

Q. From your examination of the body, what in your judgement caused death?

A. A broken neck.

Q. Was there any evidence of strangulation?

A. No. In my judgement the lady has been dead three or four hours. E.M. Saylors, M.D.

Testimony of Dr. Macgraw.

My name is Jodia A. Magraw, I arrived at Ed Shirley's about 3 o'clock p.m. Sept 17, 1911. I was told Mrs. Shirley was dead. In company with Dr. Saylor, we passed up-stairs to where the body of Mrs. Shirley was. I found her lying on the floor on her back, the shoulders turned some to the right, the head to the left, the face lying flat on the floor, her arms at right angles, the elbows flexed extending above the head, the hands lying on the back and and slightly flexed, the legs seperated, with the right foot bent slightly inward: the floor was sprinkled with blood. About 9 o'clock p.m. we called the coroner, viz., Sept 18 Dr. Saylorand I made further examination of the body. We found no broken bones no open wounds but a broken neck. On the left leg below the kneevwere spots of blood. There was no part of the body that the hemorrhage came from. The dress and a skirt were above the knees, and the under part beneath the hips with one large spot of blood on them near bottom. Decomposition had set in when I first saw her, on the under side of body and around the wrists, , but on no other part of body. In my judgement, the marks around the wrists had been caused by pressure. Her drawers were unbuttoned and lowered from and below the waist. In my judgement the cause of death was a broken neck. There was no evidence of strangulation. The back of the neck had post mortem appearance. In my judgement there was no evidence of self destruction. Jodia A. Macgraw, M.D.

Verdict of the Jury:

We, the undersigned jurors, impaneled and sworn on the 18th day of September, 1911, at the township of Fox Creek, county of Harrison, State of Missouri, by A.C. Bonser, coroner in and for said county, to diligently inquire and true presentment make how and by whom Amanda Lucille Shirley came to her death, having viewed the body and heard the evidence, do find that the deceased came to her death in Fox Creek township, Harrison County, Mo., by a broken neck, received at the hands of some party or parties unknown to the jurors.

Given under our hands this 18th day of September, 1911. - E.W. Davidson, Wm. Thomas, Jacob Little, B.S. Taylor, R.A. Bond, F.S. Springer.