EXTRA!
VOL. No. XXIII, No. 12
JURY ORDERS ARREST OF
W. W. TILLEY UNO WIFE
Charges Five of Family
With Conspiracy, Murder
In Death of Wilkes Girl
CLAIM MRS. LUTHER TILLEY WROTE NOTE
TWO HANDWRITING EXPERTS, AFTER STUDY OF NOTE
AND SPECIMEN OF WOMAN'S WRITING AGREE THAT
SHE PENNED NOTE ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN FOUND
IN LEODA CHILDRESS' APRON AFTER MURDER WAS
COMMITTED.
SAYS LUTHER TILLEY RAN FROM HOUSE
NATE THARPE TESTIFIES W. W. TILLEY'S SON WAS RUN
NING AWAY FROM HOUSE AS HE ENTERED YARD
AFTER BEING CALLED OVER TELEPHONE BY CHILD
RESS GIRL.
By ALAN BROWNING, Jr.
Staff Correspondent
Wilkesboro, February 3. —The arrest of Mr.
and Mrs. W. W. Tilley, their two sons, Clyde and
Luther, and Mrs. Luther Tilley was ordered here
today by a coroner's jury following a final hear
ing into the death of Leoda Mae Childress, 20,
who was murdered at the home of W. W. Tilley,
near Benham, on December 30.
The jury directed that they all be charged
with conspiracy and murder of the Childress girl.
The coroner's verdict came as the culmina
tion Vf sensational evidence which tended to show
that \e entire Tilley family was mixed up in the
murdei and that the home of Hill Cox, brother
in-law (* Leoda Childress, had been burned down
by Tilley in an effort to destroy letters
written toNMrs. Cox by the murdered girl.
Evidence was also presented which showed
that was seen running from the W.
W. Tilley a few minutes after the girl was
killed and before anyone had been into the house.
A preliminary hearing Vr the five*
Tilleys, three of whom je.ve been
held in jail for some tim\ will be
held before Magistrate A. E\Spain
hour. Date' of the hearing iVs not
been set. \
The first witness to be called 'teen
the hearing got under way in toe
courthouse at 10 o'clock was Nsfce
Tharpe, one of the two men wlk
were first upon the murder scene thn
day of the killing. Mr. Tharpe
ted that after receiving a telephone
call for help, he immediately rushed
to the Tilley home, and that uoon
entering the yard he saw Luther
Tilley running away from the house
through a nearby field. Luther wa*
running fast, Mr. Tharpe stated, and
had a double barreled shotgun in
his hand.
Upon entering tne nome with
Kelly Brown, who arrived upon the
scene as he did, he found the girl's
body upon the floor. Going back
into the yard he said he walked to
the edge of the yard and called to
Luther: "Luther, come here quick!
Someone's killed Oda!" Tilley made
nc reply, Tharpe said, and it was
"some little time" before he came to
the house after calling to someone
in the woods who turned out to be
Levi McCann and his son Jim.
The three then came to the house
but Luther refused to go In.
Detective P. O. Sides then took
the stand to tell of having a talk
THE ELKIN TRIBUNE
Murdered
->' v ' :y. v
■S^HK
Leo *i Mae Childress, 20, who was
murder a t home of Mr. and
Mrs. W \y. Tilev shortly after noon
on Deoinber 3*.
with Lut er Tiltey in Jail Sunday.
Luther then that he was within
1 3 5 t . yard f »f the house at the time
of the He sald the dogs had
ELKIN, N. C„ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1934
Charged With Death
pp
Luther Tilley. top, and Clyde Til
ley, bottom, who were ordered held
for conspiracy and murder by a
coroner's jury at Wilkesboro today
following a continuation of the hear
ing concerning the death of Leoda
Mae Childress.
jumped a rabbit which ran in that
direction while he was hunting with
Mr. McCann and Jim McCann.
Asked why he turned and went
the other way when Mr. Tharpe
called to him he said he was scared
to come back because he feared
Tharpe and Brown would shoot him.
Tilley also stated to his questioners
that he was afraid to enter the house
although he was armed with a dou
ble barrel shotgun. ,
Questioned about his actions later
In the day, Luther was said to have
replied that he went home and
placed his arms around his wife'and
told her "something terrible has
happened over at Dad's."
Mr. Sides also testified that he
had questioned W. W. Tilley a short
time after the note was found and
that Mr. Tilley told him that Mrs.
Luther Tilley had shot the .22 rifle
with which Leoda was killed, a num
ber of times. He said she was a
good shot—that she could shoot a
chicken's head off. Mr. Tilley was
also alleged to have stated that
there was no malice in the Tilley
family against Leoda Childress.
When asked why he was holding
Experts Testify She Wrote Note
Sr //
Mrs. Luther Tilley, sketched as she sat in the coortroom at Wilkes
boro this morning: listening to evidence presented in the coroner's hearing
concerning the death of Leoda Mae Childress. Handwriting experts testi
fied she wrote the mystery note.
Ordered Held In Childress Murder Case
B IP * tfMKT
14
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■ ■;■/--.■v'' ;i " V -C
Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Tilley, whose wrest was ordered following th
coroner's jury hearing at Wilkesboro this morning on a charge of con
spiracy and murder.
back information which might aid
in clearing up the case. Mr. Tilley
was quoted as saying "I don't know
anything to tell."
E. B. Brooks, handwriting exyert,
testified that he was positive his | (Continued On Page Three)
)wn mind that the note alleged to
have been written by Leoda Child
ress, was written by Mrs. Luther
Tllley. Brooks' testimony wae backed
EXTRA!
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
EXPERT IS WARNED
NOT TO TESTIFY IN
ELDRIDGE MYSTERY
He States Luther Tilley
Wrote Andrew Eld
ridge Note
PROBABLE CAUSE
Another note, equally as myster
ious as the two which have featured
the Childress-Eldridge murder case,
came to light Friday morning during
the preliminary hearing for Luthwr
Tilley and Winfield Stanley before
Magistrate A. E. Spainhour, at
Wilkesboro.
Tilley and Stanley, charged with
the death of Andrew Eldridge in
June, 1927, were, bound over to su
perior court without benefit of bond.
The note, which was unsigned and
printed in pencil on a scrap of ruled
paper, was placed between the screen
door and front door of the home
of E. B. Brooks, handwriting expert
of Winston-Salem, who has given
damaging evidence in the case
against Luther Tilley and Stanley.
The note read as follows:
"If you know what is best (or
you you wont tell who wrote that
note. And you won't show this
note. You think you dam sharp."
Mr. Brooks testified he found the
note Saturday night following the
coroner's hearing at Ronda Wednes
day a week ago in which he was a
witness.
The Winston-Salem 'handwriting
expert, when placed upon the stand
this morning, testified that the note
presumably left by Andrew Eldridge
the day he disappeared from home
in 1927, was written by Luther
Tilley.
Upon being cross examined by
Hayden Burke, Tiller's attorney, it
was revealed Brooks was carrying a
pistol. He stated that he had se
cured a permit from Winston-Salem
police to carry a gun aftetf he found
the note. He testified that the com
munication "scared me."
Although Mr. Burke endeavored to
confuse Brooks as to his testimony
regarding the handwriting of the
Eldridge note, the expert refused to
become mixed up.
The first witness to be ca.'led to
the stand during the hearing was J.
P. Eldridge, father of Andrew Eld
ridge. Mr. Eldridge testified that the
last time he saw his son alive he left
him at the house while he and his
wife went into the fields to work. Up-
Cn returning about dusk he stated he
found the note upon the kitchen ta
ble. It lead: "Notice—l am going to
E'.kin to work. Will be back Satur
day. Andrew."
Questioned further, Mr. Eldridge
testified that to the best of his
knowledge there was no writing pa
per at his home similar to the paper
upon which the note was written.
The witness. In telling of the find
ing of his son in Klondike lake. 19
days after he disappeared, stated
that there appeared to. be a dark
welt around the boy's throat.
He became confused at one point
during his testimony when Solicitor
John R. Jones asked him to identify
the note found at his home. He
stated that it didn't look like the
note that was presumably left by
his boy. Upon being called back to
the stand, he testified that he didn't
understand the question, and stated
it was the note.
Mr. Eldridge also testified that
Andrew was in the habit of calling
his parents "Papa" and "Mama."
The note in question was headed
"Notice."
C. S. Poster, Surry county deputy
sheriff, stated that the Eldridge note
was turned over to him by Mr. Fid
ridge Monday after the hearing at
(Continued on t«at Pace)
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