A Casey Family History

Newspaper Accounts Concerning the Murder of Talitha Trail Casey

From the Mount Vernon newspaper, "Optic Herald", dated 17-Sept 1915:

Mrs. Talitha Casey's son, Lawrence testified that on Oct. 12, 1891 he was hauling corn to his home with Mrs. Aaron Brown. His mother was not at home that afternoon or night and he supposed she was sitting up His sick neighbor, but when she did not return the next morning he became alarmed and instituted a search for her, and found her body in a milk box or trough in the smokehouse at her home, the door to which was locked from the outside and the key missing. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear and her wrists, arms and hands badly cut. There were signs of a struggle in the smokehouse. His mother had a pocketbook and on Saturday night before the killing he counted the money and she had $4.00 in change. The house and premises were searched but the pocketbook was never found. One dime was found in the box with Mrs. Casey's body and three quarters were found in her clothes when they were washed.

Wade Hampton, a Negro, came to Mrs. Casey's house on Monday afternoon about three or four o'clock and wanted some coal oil to make liniment to use for his rheumatism. Witnesses had never heard of him having rheumatism before that. He told witnesses he had seen a dirty, nasty , slouchy, Negro in the country and that he was afraid he would do some devilment before he left; that Mrs. Casey was a mighty good woman and he was afraid something would happen to her. Wade Hampton was arrested that afternoon. He was kept in jail while the grand jury was investigating the case, but upon failure to return a bill against him, he was released and moved out of the county and located near Jefferson (Texas). In 1911 a Negro man whom Sheriff Hose Holley had in jail here told of certain things his mother had said that caused Sheriff Holley to get to work on the case, and although many of our people had little confidence in a conviction on account of the length of time which had elapsed, the case wen to trial here Monday morning and has been the absorbing topic all this week. Aaron Brown owned the land where Wade Hampton lived at that time and still owns it. Nobody has lived there since Hampton left shortly after the killing. About four years ago Brown was plowing within fifteen steps of Wade Hampton's house and found with a radius of six feet, six quarters and two nickels. Witnesses produced the coins in court; the six quarters bore dates from 1855 to 1877 and the nickels were dated in 1887 and 1888. The jury brought in a verdict late Thursday evening (Sept 16, 1915), which was a sentence of 99 years in the penitentiary.

From the Witchita Falls, Texas newspaper, "Witchita Daily Times" dated Friday, 11-Feb 1916:

Sentence of Man Given Life Term for Murder Comitted in 1891 Affirmed

Special To The Times
Austin, Texas, February 11--The Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed the judgment of the lower court in the case of Wade Hampton, convicted in Franklin County of murder in connection with the death 25 years ago of Mrs. Talitha Casey. Hampton was given 99 years.

The case is unique inasmuch as the conviction was obtained about twenty years after the alledged murder had occurred. According to the record the naked and bleeding body of Mrs. Talitha Caroline Casey was found crowded into a box in her smokehouse in October 1891. Through the tracing of bloody footprints and the hoof marks of a horse wagon led to the defendant's lot. Hampton was arrested and placed in jail the day after the body was found. The Grand Jury, however, failed to return an indictment against him, and he was released.

Upon the presentation of additional evidence, which included the finding of buried coins claimed to have belonged to Mrs. Casey, the Grand Jury in 1914 returned a verdict against him, and he was again arrested. Conviction followed his arrest.

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© 2004-06 Lisa Casey Perry
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