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Subject: Van Buren Press, August 26, 1899
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 14:46:27 EST

Van Buren Press
Crawford County, Arkansas

August 26, 1899

GRIST FOR CIRCUIT COURT,

Will Fairchilds (colored) Dies From the Administration of Poison, and Three
are Bound Over for the Crime.

State of Arkansas
County of Crawford

An inquisition as taken the 19th and 20th days f August, 1899 at Van Buren,
in the County of Crawford, before J.C. Moore, a justice of the Peace of said
county upon the body of Will Fairchilds, a negro, by the oaths of W. J.
Martin, Ed Donahoo, W. W. Skelton, Ira Higgs, J. D. Lloyd, T L. Wallace, Dan
Hunt, H. H. Dill, F. E. Willey, Tom Arnold, John Merrill, and Will Hynes,
good and lawful jurors of said county, we being in form sworn, say that the
said Will Fairchilds came to his death on August 19 at 3 o'clock p.m. by
poison administered by the hands of Frank Moore, Mattie Fairchilds and Mamie
Bond.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 24th day of August,
1899. Signed, J. C. Moore, Acting Coroner.

The above was the verdict of the coroner's jury impanelled to investigate the
mysterious death of Will Fairchild last Saturday afternoon, after they had
heard all the evidence adduced in the case.

Will Fairchilds, his wife Mattie and her mother Mamie Bond lived in the
two-story frame building southeast of the jail, used as a negro boarding
house. Saturday Fairchilds died under peculiar circumstances and without
medical attention. Rumors were abroad of foul play, and acting Coroner Moore
decided the case was one for a jury to investigate. Trouble had been frequent
between the couple and the Bond woman over the relations between Fairchild's
wife and Frank Moore, who had been boarding with the Bond woman. Moore was
arrested and placed in jail pending the inquest. The dead negros stomach was
removed and sent to Dr. Gannaway at Fort Smith for analysis. On Tuesday the
analysis was completed and Dr. Gannaway's report showed that he found arsenic
in toxic, if not lethal, quantity. The officers thereupon arrested
Fairchild's wife, her mother and Jim Bond. The last named was Thursday
released, the rest are now in jail. Many incriminating letters were found in
Moore's trunk and other testimony adduced made a pretty strong case against
the accused.

Pierson Bond, the husband of the Bond woman died early last spring under
circumstances that lead some to think he was also poisoned, though Dr. O. M.
Bourland says the man, when he saw him, was in the last stage of consumption
and likely to die at any time. Berkeley Neal was attorney for the accused
during the inquest, and they will have able defense when their case comes to
trial.

Fran Alverson Warren

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