The Whitewright Sun
Thursday, January 7, 1926
pg. 1

CASE OF JIM SCOTT OF PINK HILL CONTINUED
The case of Jim Scott, Pink Hill farmer, charged in the 15th District Court with the murder of Dr. W.C. Gould of Bells, was continued Tuesday morning to the next  term of court on the first application of the defendant for continuance.  The case was called for Tuesday morning and a special venire of 300 men from which to select a jury had been ordered.  The application for continuance was granted by Judge F.E. Wilcox, of the 59th District Court, sitting in the 15th District Court at Sherman in the absence of Judge Silas Hare, who is ill.  Veniremen were dismissed.
Judge Wilcox suspended proceedings in the 59th District Court to hear the application for continuance. For causes of continuance the defendant set up in his application that 3 material witnesses, Faye Scott, daughter of the defendant;
Nell Brown and Mrs. Engbald, were all ill and could not attend this term of court.  Miss Scott, the application stated, is afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis and is at Carlsbad, Tom Green Count, unable to attend court.  Nell Brown is also a victim of tuberculosis and her condition at present will not permit attendance on the court, the application declares.  Defendant expected to prove by Miss Brown that she sent a telegram to the deceased, Dr. W.C. Gould, over Miss Scott's signature, and that she (Miss Scott) had no knowledge of its contents, he set out in his application.
Mrs. Engbald is at Galveston, has recently undergone an operation and is unable to attend court, the defendant informed the court through his formal application for continuance.  She would testify, according to the application, that she had wired the defendant, Jim Scott, in effect that his daughter, Faye Scott, did not arrive at Sanatorium, Texas, where the witness was superintendent of nurses, until a day later than Faye Scott reported in writing to her father
she did arrive.
For the reasons set out in the application, the defendant stated  that he could not safely go to trial on account of the absence of the witnesses named.



The Whitewright Sun
January 8, 1925
pg. 1

Dr. W.C. GOULD OF BELLS SHOT TO DEATH
Sherman, January 7 - Dr. W.C. Gould, 38, died of gunshot wounds inflicted at 8:15 o'clock Tuesday night at the farm of Jim Scott, three and one-half miles northwest of Bells.
Scott came to Sherman immediately after the shooting and gave himself up to officers at the county jail, arriving before 9 o'clock.
Officers left immediately for the scene of the shooting, arriving at 9:15, where they found the body of Dr. Gould lying on its back at the bottom of the hill on which the Scott house is located.   The body was in a ditch by the roadside.  The body was about 240 yards from the house where it was said the first shots were fired.

NO EYE WITNESSES
Gould, who was a physician practicing at Bells, received a telephone call shortly before 8 o'clock, it was said, and left without stating his destination.  There were no eye witnesses, it was said, but members of the Scott family, who were in the house at the time of the shooting, left the impression that the firing began when Dr. Gould came up on the porch.
Three pistol wounds, thought to have been inflicted at the house, were found on the body, two entering the right forearm and exiting above the right elbow.  The third pistol wound was caused by a bullet entering the left breast about one inch to the left of center and one inch above the nipple line.  The ball glanced on the ribs, under the flesh, and exited under the left arm, inflicting a flesh wound only.
Neighbors heard the screams which evidently marked the doctor's trail from the house down the road.  There was a large pool of blood about six yards from the body, at which place it was thought that the wounds from the shotgun were inflicted.  One shot struck the left forearm from the rear of the elbow, tearing the muscle from the arm and touching the left thumb.  The second, and probably the fatal round, entered the back about one inch below the left shoulder blade, leaving a hole about the size of an egg, according to the statement of the attending undertaker.
The body was taken in charge by John C. Dannel and removed to Sherman about 11 o'clock.

SCOTT MAKES NO STATEMENT
Scott refused to make a statement at the jail when visited an hour after the shooting.  He was very calm and did not seem to be perturbed to a great degree, discussing many subjects relating to himself and Dr. Gould, but would make no statement regarding the cause of the present trouble.  He had known Dr. Gould since the doctor came to Texas from Witt Springs, Kentucky 14 years ago, he said.  Scott is 54 years old.
The following members of the Scott family were in the house at the time of the shooting:
Mrs. Jim Scott, wife of the man who gave himself up to officers,
his daughters, Mrs. Essie Jenkins, 24, wife of Carl Jenkins; Faye Scott, 23;
Bennett Scott, 22
Weldon Scott, 17
Bertha Scott, 13
Claud L. Scott, 8
Madeline Scott. 10, and
Mary Frances Scott 4.

Carl Jenkins drove Scott to Sherman, he said.

REFUSE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
J.H. Pennell, justice of the peace from Tom Bean, viewed the body and questioned the family.  They refused to answer any questions or make any statement, Justice Pennell, stated.
Dr. Gould is survived by his widow, Mrs. Pearl Gould; and two children, Glenden Gould, 10, and Mary Evelyn Gould, 2; his father, W.M. Gould, Witt Springs, Kentucky; his brother, F.H. Gould, Irving, Kentucky; and his cousin, Mrs. L.E. Matlock, Sherman.
The couple married in Sherman in 1911.
Dr. Gould was well known throughout the county, having spent the last 13 years at Bells as a practicing physician.
The body will be shipped late this afternoon to Witt Springs, Kentucky, his former home, for burial.
Editor's Note: Dr. William Clarence Gould is buried at Gould Cemetery, Irvine, Estill County, Kentucky
The Bells Masonic Lodge of which deceased was a member, took part in the funeral services conducted by Rev. E.L. Price of the Methodist church at 4 o'clock this afternoon.



Ft. Worth Star Telegram
Wednesday, January 7, 1925
pg. 17

FARMER GIVES UP IN SLAYING OF DOCTOR
Special to The Star-Telegram

Sherman, January 7 - Dr. W.C. Gould, a physician of Bells, 20 miles east of Sherman, was shot and killed last night about 8:30 o'clock.  The killing occurred in the front yard of Jim Scott's home, just west of Bells.  Dr. Gould was shot five times, both a pistol and shotgun being used.  His breast was pierced with five shots, but notwithstanding this, he ran down the road 200 yards before falling.  He was dead when found.  The body was brought to Sherman.
Following the shooting, Scott, a farmer came to the county jail at Sherman and surrendered to Jailer Ross Stark.  He made no statement further than to say it was caused by family trouble.
Both Dr. Gould and Scott were prominent in the east part of Grayson County.  Both have families.  Dr. Gould had practiced medicine in Bells for about 10 years.

Mr. Scott was found guilty on April 12, 1926 of Manslaughter, to which he had pleaded "not guilty" and sentenced to two years in prison.

The Whitewright Sun
Thursday, April 29, 1926
pg. 1

Jim Scott Accepts Two-Year Sentence
Jim Scott, Pink Hill farmer, convicted of manslaughter and given two years in the penitentiary by a jury in the 59th District Court March 18, after one of the most sensational murder trials held in Grayson County in several years, withdrew his motion for a new trial and accepted the sentence Wednesday morning of last week.
Charged with murdering Dr. W.C. Gould of Bells at the Scott home on January 6, 1925, Scott contended in his trial that he fired in self defense the s hots which resu lted in the death of Dr. Gould, a nd introduced testimony that Dr. Gould had assaulted Scott's daughter in a Dallas hotel several days before the shooting.
Scott remained in the county jail after March 18, pending action on the motion for a new trial, which was filed March 19.  No request for a hearing on the motion before the court was made and the motion was withdrawn by the defendant Wednesday morning.  Judge F.E. Wilcox formally sentenced Scott Wednesday morning to serve two years in the penitentiary in accordance with the verdict of the jury.

Jim Scott was carried to the state prison in Huntsville to serve his sentence.  At the time of his being processed, he was married and 55 years of age.  He was born in 1870 in Texas, his father was born in Texas and his mother in Georgia. His height was 5' 8", weighed 163 pounds, and wore a shoe size 8.  He had fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair.  He was of the Baptist faith.  He used tobacco products.   He had attended school for 7 years and could write and read. His occupation was that of a farmer

The Whitewright Sun
June 17, 1926
pg.1

Pardon Sought For Jim Scott of Bells
Sherman, June 16 - A pardon for Jim Scott of Bells, who was convicted of manslaughter and given two years in the penitentiary, will be sou ght by C.T. Freeman, attorney for Scott, in Austin Thursday, Mr. Freeman has said in letters to Sherman officers asking recommendations for the granting of an application for pardon.  He states in the letters that a number of officers have written letters  recommending that an application for pardon be granted.
Scott was convicted in the 59th District Court on March 18, 1926, of manslaughter in connection with the death of Dr. W.C. Gould of Bells at the Scott home near Pink Hill on the night of January 6, 1925.  The trial aroused considerable interest in the county.
Jim Scott left the county jail here for the penitentiary May 1, according to the jail register.
Mr. Scott was pardoned by Governor Miriam A. Ferguson January 11, 1927.

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