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BEATTIE WRITES' CONCESSION OF 'MURDER BEFORE
WALKING UNFALTERINGLY TO DEATH CHAIR '
.. Richmond, Va., Nov. 24. r
" "I, Henry Clay Beattie, jr.,
. desirous of standing right
before God and man, do on
this,, the twenty-fourth day
"cdf No"vemb'erj 191f, ;confess
my guilt of-the crime charg-
,3 eel' against me. jl
"Much that was published
-rconcerning; the' details was
not true, but the awful fact, .
-without the harrowing cir
cumstances,, remains. : -"For
this action I am truly
sorry, and believing that I
, am at peace with God, and
fam soon to pass into His
presence, this statement is
. made.
w (Signed)'
Henry Clay Beattie, jr."
-Half an houftDefoVe he-walked,
calmly and without a tremor, of
fear, to 'his, death in. the chair,
Henry Beattie wrote- and signed
it&e above confession that on the
nht of July r 18 last he brutally
shot' to death, the mother of his
babe," Louise! Owens Beattie.
The confession was ma"de pub
file this afternoon y, by 'the Rev.
jJr Fix, who administered the
rast 'rites of the "church1 to 'the
wife slayer.' ' ; ' ' . .
,nTo his written " confession,
Beavttie added much by word of
mouth.
He 'admitted that he, in "cold
blod, made1 up ..his mind that the
beautiful wife ' who had just
borne him a son, was in the way
of his enjoyment of "life, a's lie
saw life. .
He admitted . that he -had de
cided deliberately that-life..With
Beulah Bmford or some, other
such girl, was the kind:of.jcis,t
ence which" most would please
him. - '. -
"He said that he had not in
tended to marry Beulah BinforcJ.
Marriage had not, entered, into
his calculations. " j-
He .said that in this f rame 6f
mind he planned the murde'r of
his wife. -
He said it was truethathe had
thought out the 'story of the mys
terious highwayman -in advance,
that it was true "that hetiad
thrown ' the body "of his wiife
across the seat of the automobile
as he sped back to 'he "home of
her uncle.
" He practically admitted that
his nerve and his calmhessnad
proved their sufficiency, but that
hi' had lacked cunning in his
methods.
He was glad when the murder
was committed.. He believed he
was about to be what he thought
was "free."
All these things', Beattie con
fessed to the Rev! J.' J. Fix'aVd
the Rev." Benjamin Dennis, "just
before' he "wrote a'nd" signed' th$
confession to" the actual deed.. "
The concession was the "final,
crushing; blow to the grief-torn,
gfay-haifed " father of the mur
derer. " .
Yet, Sven in "the frenzy ohiS
agony; Tlmt " father saw-clearly;
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