The Dallas Morning News
29 Nov 1893
pg 2

EDWARDS Murder Trial

Mrs. SPEARS Affirms that Accused is Not Her Son

Testimony All In,
Argument Begun and Case Will Probably be Submitted to the Jury Today. 

Sherman, Tex., Nov 28 -- The case of the state of Texas vs Dick EDWARDS, charged with the murder of Mrs. Hattie HAYNES, was resumed in the district court at 8:30 o'clock this morning.

Mrs. Tom SPEARS testified: "Have seen letters from Dick EDWARDS to my husband off and on ever since we have been married; had heard of him before we got to Denison; had understood that he and my husband were school mates. Never have heard the name of the man who went to Colberts with us."

Mrs. May EDWARDS testified: "Am the wife of defendant; was married Feb. 9, 1891, at Farmington, Utah (identified the marriage certificate). I came to Texas in October, 1891. Did not see my husband until June 6, 1892; he left again on June 12; saw him last at Colberts; never saw him again until he was brought back from Wisconsin. I had never seen any of the SPEARS family before; my people all live in Utah; they are not friendly to Dick EDWARDS and opposed my marriage to him. To my knowledge he was not in Denison prior to June 1892.  I know where defendant was May 17; got letter from him at Houston, but don't keep my letters. Both Mr. Tom SPEARS and myself got letters from him after he left Denison. I think the many who was there with Dick was named Billie. I first met him in Denison (Mr. EDWARDS was in the saloon business at Farmington, Utah). Saw the stranger the day we went to Colberts. I think, to the best of my recollection, I was introduced to him as Billie CLARK."

The Testimony of HENRY HACKNEY, as adduced and taken before the habeas corpus hearing, was read before the jury.

Sheriff HUGHES testified: "Never examined defendant's left boot; Dr. McDERMOT's Discription [sic] of Ed SPEARS caused me to make the examination of the right boot." (Described the scar he had found).

The state here suggested that the defendant could offer the best evidence on the scar. The defense objected and took an exception to the remark of the state's councel [sic].

The defendant here pulled off his boot and stocking and sat down in front of the jury. The jury made a careful examination and what they found they knew.

The witness returned; "I learned of the scar through McDERMOT's letter giving description of Ed SPEARS."

The defense stated that they had but two more witnesses, Mrs. SPEARS, mother of Ed SPEARS, and Harry DEE, to put on the stand.

The sheriff announced no word had been received of the attachment telegraphed to Bell county for DEE, and Mrs. SPEARS is old and feeble and could not come on the early train.

The defense in answer to the request of S. B. COX to be allowed to go to Paris announced that they did not intend to put Tom SPEARS on the stand and Mr. COX was allowed to go. 

The court then held that the state could proceed with its rebuttal testimony and that he would allow the defense to introduce the two witnesses named by them as soon as they arrived. To this the state agreed and the court announced a recess of twenty minutes, which the counsel used for consultation.

The state resumed with the introduction of Clarence SPEARS who said in substance: "My mother was at home with Dick EDWARDS came to Denison; I got there a little afterward, a little after 6 o'clock; I can't call the name of the other man; he stayed at my house part of the time; he ate some there, don't remember the times; don't think he ever slept there; saw the other man at Tom SPEARS' but not the day they left; that morning at 8 o'clock I saw Dick EDWARDS, who introducced me to the other man; never thought of the name after I was introduced; never knew defendant in Missouri; he was a stranger to me; I know Bob JONES; was in his restaurant in Sherman a short while after the habeas corpus hearing; told him I was going down to the jail to see my cousin, who was in jail for the murder of Mrs. HAYNES; did this because the people had been calling him my brother, my cousin, uncle, etc; this other man was a small man with dark hair and blue or gray eyes; had a round, full face with a medium dark mustache; he would weigh more the day he came with Dick; don't know that I remember Dick or anybody call this man by any name; don't remember of telling A.R. WILLIAMS that Mrs. Dick EDWARDS was my cousin; don't know what size shoe Tom SPEARS wears; I wear a six and a half; these I have on are sevens; Mrs. May EDWARDS got to Denison in October, 1891; can't tell the date.

Bob JONES testified: "Run a restaurant in Court Plaza, Sherman; know Clarence SPEARS; had a conversation with him about his going to see the defendant at the jail he told me he was going to the jail to see a cousin of his they were trying to implicate in the HAYNES murder case; I first told this last night; I was subpenaed [sic] in fifteen minutes."

Sheriff HUGHES testified: "Mrs. Annie EDWARDS did not pick out any of the jail officals as Dick EDWARDS I was there when Mrs. WILLIAMS came to the jail; the first thing she did she asked EDWARDS to stand up; she said while she could not positively identify him, that there was a striking resemblance; the defndant [sic] was not in any way pointed out to her; I know Joe PARROTT; I never heard his initials if he has any; Young WOOLSEY came with Mrs. WILLIAMS."

E. REGINSBERGER testified: "Lived in Denison for over eight years; was in Denison the night of the murders; lived next door to the HAWLEYS; was there the night of the killing of Miss Teen; saw a man shoot twice into the house by the light from the window; I have seen the defendant standing up; he compares well with the man I saw shoot into the window; it was night and I could not recognize him clearly, but the man who shot had on a slouch hat and dark clothes; I had been asleep; was awakened by cries of distress and looked out of my bedroom window; could see what it was from there and went into the parlor; while looking saw a man coming toward the north window of HAWLEY House; when he got to the window saw him raise his arm, saw a flash and heard a shot; he was standing in the light of the window; was about twenty-five feet away; after he fired the first shot he went off to the other window and fired again; this is the first time I ever testified; the man I saw was a white man; his mustache looked dark; think the killing occurred between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning; think the man had the pistol in his right hand; was looking through the glass; there was no light in the room I was looking out of."

A. R. WILLIAMS testified: "I can only place having seen Dick EDWARDS about twice in Denison; did not see any other man; It was not far from the 20th of May when I saw EDWARDS.

The state closed and the defense called Joe JEWETT back; He testified "The first time I knew defendant's name was two or three days after the killing; I had seen him for the prior eight days."

Mrs. Missouri A. SPEARS testified: "I have not been able to come before; I was sick; Tom SPEARS is my son; I had a son named Ed. It has been about eleven years since I was him; I was living in Denison in the fall of 1891, and also in 1892; have known Mrs. Dick EDWARDS since October, 1891; she lived with me and my son; she has lived at Tom's; from October, 1891, until now she has lived either with myself or Tom; had not seen defendant since June, 1892, until I saw him in prison; saw him the first time in Denison June 6, 1892; he was at my house several times; lived about two blocks from Tom's house; he left Denison on Sunday June 12; the first time I saw him it was about 5 p.m; have seen him in prison; this is not my son, Ed SPEARS; I don't know where Ed is; the last time I heard of Ed he was in Northern Missouri; I don't remember the day of the month I went to Whitewright from which place I returned home on June 6; my son wrote me on June 4 to come home by June 6; Mrs. EDWARDS came to Denison some time in first days of October, 1891; don't remember the date exactly; I had never seen Mrs. Dick EDWARDS before she came to my house; I saw a man with Dick EDWARDS whose name I can't remember; this man did not stay at my house; he ate one or two meals at my house; never saw this man until he came with Dick EDWARDS to my house; can't remember what EDWARDS called him; saw him once at Tom SPEARS'; I told Dick good-bye at my own house; he said he was going away and the balance was going as far as Red river; Mrs. EDWARDS is living at my house now; Dick EDWARDS and his wife are no relations of mine; I knew Dick EDWARDS when he was a small boy at school; he was a friend of my son, Tom; It has been about nineteen or twenty years since I had seen him; Ed SPEARS was 16 or 17 years old the last time I saw him; I first saw Dick EDWARDS in Boone Co., MO; he was going to school at Science Hill academy; I lived there between three and five years; Dick and Tom were about the same age and were school boys together; Dick visited Tom one Christmas; Tom is, I think, about 34 years old; Clarence SPEARS has always lived with me; he was a baby in Missouri; he is 22 years old; Henry is older than Tom and Tom is older than Ed; I don't remember that my husband had any folks in Missouri; I always understood EDWARDS was an orphan boy."

Joe HALIE testified: "Live in Fannin county; Ravenna is my postoffice; lived there for fifteen years. I knew Ed SPEARS in that county about ten years ago. He came to my house and hired me to go with him to Arkansas with some cattle; he went with me. I saw the defendant once before today; it was in jail. I thought I had found Ed SPEARS. To the best of my knowledge and recollection the defendant is Ed SPEARS. The jailer was with me when I saw the defendant. The officer with me did not by word or sign indicate who EDWARDS was."

A deposition was read in which a witness in West Superior, Wis., says he saw defendant continuously from the middle of September, 1892 until the time of his arrest.

The state closed and State's Attorney MAXEY began his argument. He was followed by Mr. CULVER for the defense. Mr. STANDIFER for the state will follow Mr. CULVER.  Messrs. J. D WOODS and C. H. SMITH will respectively close for the defense and state.

More info about this from Michael Ram of California:
Four women were murdered that night not just the wife of Dr. Henry Haynes. I can tell you in confidence that Hattie Haynes and and Miss Teen were two different women. Miss Teen (Miss Teenie or Teeny) was Miss Florestine Vincent Hawley (20), daughter of Dr. Charles Edwin Hawley and Alice A. Hawley.
If you can find anything on this you will see that Teenie's sister (Allie) was a witness, as she had a dialog with the murderer while he was in the house minutes before he killed Teenie. The other two murdered women were Maude Kramer and Rose Stuart. "I awoke for some reason, that I do not know, and by the light of the moon that showed through the window, I saw a man sitting on the side of the bed of Teeny (Florestine Vincent Hawley). He did not move - he was just looking at her. I raised up and sitting in the bed, and then he spoke in a firm voice and said, "keep quiet, there have already been three women killed tonight and if you don't be quiet you will be the fourth". I told him in a low tone that I would give him all the money and jewelry in the house if he would not harm us and he replied, " I don't want your money or your jewelry and I did not come to harm you, but I am going to kill your sister." By that time Teeny had awakened and sprang over me and ran into mother's room and began screaming. The man ran out through the hall toward the front firing a shot back through the room as he ran. Messars. Smith and Kellog (M. K. and T. engineers, boarding at the same residence) occupied one of the front rooms. Mr. Kellog was not in that nite but Mr. Smith was. He ran out of his room and met the man out in the hall but was not able to stop him. I followed Teeny into mother's room. Mother told me to light the gas and I did. Teeny was frantic and mother was trying to calm her and told her to sit down and just as she was in the act of seating herself, the report of a gun rang out. Teeny pitched forward and mother caught her in her arms. Blood was gushing from her side. She never spoke. The man had run around the house and shot through the window. I could not recognize him as one that I had ever seen before - but that I could not say positively."  Alice (Allie) Hawley, (Teeny's sister).....my wife's great great Grandfather's niece.

The murder occured Tuesday May 18,1892 at 207 W. Morton St. in North Denison.

Tom Boswell, a young gentleman who was connected with the McCarthy hardware store for four years or more, but whose mysterious disappearance from Denison on the morning following the assassinations, was arrested Wednesday night in Sedalia, Missouri. After leaving Denison, Tom adopted the alias of T.J. Williams, and on arriving at Muskogee wrote back to Denison asking that all the Denison papers for four or five days following the tragedies be saved up for him. On arriving at Sedalia he called at the telegraph office and made inquiry for a telegram for T.J. Williams.  In a few minutes he was arrested and jailed. Thursday night Sheriff McAfee left for Sedalia.  Boswell stoutly denies any connection whatever with the murders. (note: A few days later, Tom Boswell in route to Denison with the Sheriff jumped off the train while in motion and was killed..............Tom was possibly innocent....... rumor had it that Tom and Teeny were an item. With Teeny now dead he thought they might accuse him and fled ???? other suspects..Richard Edwards alias "Texas Jack" (was arrested with small theft of jewelry).....the murderer stole Mrs. Haynes jewelry but would not accept the Hawley's Murders don't seem connected ????? anyhow the T.J Williams might be of some clue, an alias perhaps? Texas Jack Williams?

Michael Ram
648 Palm Ave.
Holtville, Ca. 92250
760-356-4764

Remarkable Series of Murders.
Four Women Shot Dead.

[Source: The West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879 - 1954), 21 June 1892. Accessed on line at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/3036876 ]

A Reuter's telegram, dated New York, May 19, states: A telegram from Denison, Texas, announces that a series of murders were committed there during the night, between the hours of eleven and half-past three, by some person or persons who have hitherto escaped arrest.

The victims were all women. The first was the young wife of Dr. Henry Haynes, whose residence is situated just outside Denison. The lady was alone at the time, her husband being in the city. In this case the crime seems to have been perpetrated in pursuance of an attempt to rob the house, as Mrs. [Hattie] Haynes was found dead with several bullet wounds, while further investigation proved that her residence had been ransacked.

Three hours later, Miss Teen Hawley, a young lady belonging to a much-respected family, was murdered by an unknown assassin. She lived in the heart of the city, and the murderer appears to have entered the girl's bedroom, whereupon Miss Hawley, in her fright, rushed for protection into an adjoining apartment, which was occupied by her mother. She had thrown herself upon her mother's bed, when a bullet was fired through the window and stretched the unfortunate girl dead upon the floor.

The next scene of murder was a house of ill-repute in another part of the town. Here the assassin fired from the porch through a window, killing one of the inmates, named Maud Kramer.

He then apparently crossed into the next street and fired from the sidewalk into a house of the same description owned by a woman named Williams. In this case also he fired into a window and killed a girl named Rose Stavart, who was looking out at the time.

There is no clue to the author of these crimes, although several persons have been arrested on suspicion. Hundreds of the inhabitants have provided themselves with arms and are assisting the Sheriff's officers to discover the murderer.