ACCOUNTS OF THE BILL SMITH MURDER

by Beverly French

Entry T106 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Mr. Bill Smith of the Virginia Community
north of Mullen in south Cherry County, died
on December 20, 1923, at his ranch. Few
people at first suspected his death happened
in any other than the way his wife of nearly
eleven years said it did - an accident
involving a team and wagon.

The Hooker County Tribune of December
28, 1923, carried Bill Smith's obituary. It
stated that James William Smith was born in
Wythe County, Virginia on June 30, 1875 and
was 48 years old when he accidentally met his
death. The article says, "Mr. Smith had just
returned home with a (wagon) load of coal
and was in the act of backing the load up to
the coal bin door when he accidentally fell in
front of a hind wheel which passed over his
head crushing his skull and causing instant
death." The obituary further states that Bill
"was married to Miss Lottie Jenkins at
VanMetre, Iowa, on February 2, 1913, and to
this union six children have been born, four
of them now living as follows: Jessie, Isabelle,
May and John. In life Mr. Smith was a kind
and loving husband and father and good
neighbor and his death will be mourned by
all who knew him. He moved from Madison
County to south Cherry County about 15
years ago, since which time he had followed
the occupation of farming and stock raising.
The funeral service was conducted at the
home on Friday and interment made in the
James Cemetary. The last rites were conduct-
ed by Rev. Clinton Senneff of the M.E.
Church of this city." (Several former neigh-
bors of the Smiths who attended the funeral
say it was in the Virginia schoolhouse - no
doubt the paper errored in stating it was held
at the Smith home.)

According to those who lived as neighbors
to the Smith family and who still live in the
Mullens area, it was soon generally thought
in the neighborhood that Bill's wife, Lottie
and their hired man, Clinton Smith (no
relation) were not telling the truth about the
cause of Bill's death. Lee Boyer states that
his father Charlie was a good friend of the
Smiths and was their closest neighbor. The
Boyers were the first to be notified of Bill's
death and Lee says his father realized right
away when he got to the Smith ranch that
night that the stories told by Lottie and
Clinton did not appear to be borne out by the
evidence. Lee, Ray Reigle and Howard
Huddle all remember that their fathers, after
investigating the matter, were instrumental
in getting the authorities (Sheriff Hammon,
County Attorney Heelan Deputy Coleman
from Valentine) to investigate the matter.
According to former neighbors, and Cherry
County authorities dug up the body and
performed an autopsy. In a 1924 news article
in Gussie Osborne's scrapbook - on Christ-
mas day an inquest was held by Heelan and
Coleman and the "verdict was death from
unknown causes"; and it also stated that
County Attorney Heelan was not satisfied
and arranged for Clinton Smith to be under
surveillance and procured a job for him on the
P.H. Young ranch. When Clinton sent Lottie
an invitation to visit him in Valentine written
on a postal card, and after she had made
several statements incriminating herself in
her husband's death, she was placed under
arrest as was Smith. Each then was informed
the other had double crossed the other.
Finally they each admitted that Bill had been
struck over and head and then the team of
horses led so that the wheel of the wagon ran
over and crushed his head. Both claimed that
the fatal blows were struck by the other (it
appears that the truth was never known). The
authorities in Valentine (according to news
accounts), felt Lottie's only part in the
murder was to have assisted in the planning
of it which had been done for 2 days prior.

Eventually, according to Gussie's news
article, both Lottie and Clinton pled guilty to
second degree murder and Judge Westover
sentenced each to the state penitentiary for
a period of 30 years at hard labor. Quote:
"When asked if they had anything to say why
sentence should not be pronounced, the
woman said no, and the man requested
permission to receive visits from his people
who reside in Kansas and from his wife in
Casper." This the court granted.
News item: "Mrs. Smith, since her sen-
tence, has at times completely broken down
and cried repeatedly for her children, four in
number ranging in age 2 to 11 years. She
states that she desires that they have the best
education possible and states that while her
husband was good to their children, he never
showed her any consideration and treated her
indifferently. From her early childhood she
says that she never had a day's happiness and
that the many years of lonely life on their
sandhill place so worked on her that when
this strange man came along and showed her
consideration, she became dominated by him
and thinking that at last happiness was in
store for her, she, while under his influence,
entered into the plan to kill her husband and
flee with the younger man. She had known
him for only two weeks. Her husband was 48,
she 30 and her accomplice 31 years of age. She
states that she intends to go to the penitentia-
ry with the intention of observing the rules
and she has atoned sufficiently for the crime
that she now realizes the enormity of, and
that in the years to come she may be freed.
Smith shows no emotion whatever and
spends his time in the jail singing and talking.
When his finger prints were taken yesterday
he informed the sheriff that he had served 18
months in the Federal prison at Leven-
worth." . . . "Both will be taken to the
penitentiary Sunday morning. Mrs. Ham-
mon, Sheriff Hammon's wife, will accompany
them. Mrs. Smith has been staying at the
sheriff's home the past several days."

The Hooker County Tribune February 1,
1924 had a different story to report quite
different from the one originally published in
Bill Smith's obituary. Quote: "The determi-
nation of neighbors and friends of the late
J.W. Smith to go to the bottom of a well-
founded belief that he had met with foul play,
was rewarded Monday at Valentine when
Clinton Smith, a hired man at the J.W. Smith
ranch, and the dead man's wife pled guilty to
the brutal murder in open court before Judge
W.H. Westover. The details as given before
the court after both had expressed a willing-
ness to plead guilty to the awful charge, were
contained in a special telegram to the Lincoln
Star . . . "

Two of the paragraphs from the Lincoln
Star quoted as reading: "Smith met his death
shortly after dark on tbe evening of Decem-
ber 20 last, and was buried at 3 o'clock the
following day. It was through this unusual
procedure that suspicion of foul play began
- burial having been made less that 24 hours
after his death." "Mrs. Lottie Smith and
Clinton Smith were sentenced to 30 years
each in the state prison by Dist. Judge
Westover when they pleaded guilty to second
degree murder in connection with the death
of Mrs. Smith's husband, John W. Smith, a
rancher near Mullen, Nebraska, who was
beaten with a pitchfork handle to which an
iron bar was attached."

Gussie's clipping states, "The speediness of
the confessions secured and the expedition
with which sentence was pronounced has
saved Cherry County a heavy expense and
both county attorney Heelan and Sheriff
Hammon with deputy Coleman are to be
commended for the efficient work they have
accomplished."

Lee Boyer and Ray Reigle remember their
families kept the Smith children (other
families may have too) from the time of
Lottie's arrest until Bill's brother from
Virginia came to get them. The oldest child,
Jessie, was taken to Beatrice to the home for
the mentally retarded.

Gussie and Lee remember that the Smith
family was a frequent visitor at the Charlie
Boyer's and that they were participants in
many games that were played there such as
dominoes and Flinch. Those who still remem-
ber Bill - Lee, Gussie, Ray, Myrtle Reigle,
Virginia and Howard Huddle, to name a few,
all say Bill was honest, hard working and
tried hard to succeed in life. He was a good
neighbor and very well liked in his commu-
nity. Some told of Bill singing at the church
services which were held at the Virginia
schoolhouse. It was clear Bill was liked and
missed.

Footnote: Mamie Osborn Collier of Dun-
ning, Nebraska has a news article in her
scrapbook that appears to be from Septem-
ber 1938 paper: Mrs. Lottie Smith, 44 who
was sent to the penitentiary in 1924 for the
murder of her husband, J.W. Smith, died
Wednesday morning at the state reformatory
for women, at York, Nebraska."