THE MURDER OF JOHN R. WILLIAMS and the escape of one of his killer, Charles Lennox, Still at Large
THE MURDER OF JOHN R. WILLIAMS
And the escape of one of his killer, Charles Lennox, Still at Large.
A Butte Tale of Murder
In July of 1902, Charles Lennox, along with his companion, James Martin, were convicted to hang for shooting and killing John R. Williams during an attempted robbery at Silverbow Junction in May of 1902.
Williams was an Oregon Shortline railroad brakeman who attempted to prevent Lennox and Martin from stealing a ride, according to some newspaper articles at the time.
While Mr. Martin met his visit with the noose in the early dark morning hours of February of 1904, Lennox decided to escape the holdings of his jail cell on August 9th, 1903 and was never seen or heard from again.
17 years later, a reward of $200 was still offered for his capture.
James Martin , at trial, claimed he was entirely innocent of the murder declaring it had been his companion Charles Lennox who had done the shooting.
ARTICLES FROM THE TIME
July 11th, 1902 - Kalispell Bee - Kalispell, Montana
WHO KILLED J.R. WILLIAMS
Butte, July 1oth --- James Martin, the man accused of the murder of John Williams, is now on trial for his life. The jury was secured at 11:30 o' clock yesterday morning, and after the opening statements had been made by counsel for both the state and the defense, introduction of evidence began. In the statement to the jury, Attorney Maurer, who is Martin's lawyer, outlined what the defense would be. Admission was for the first time made that Martin was present when the fatal shot was fired but the defense will endeavor to show that it was Lennox and not Martin who fired the shot that was responsible for the life of Williams. The case is expected to go to the jury tomorrow.
July 12th, 1902 - Deseret Evening News - Salt Lake City, Utah
James Martin Guilty
Butte, Montana. July 11 --- James Martin was found guilty in the first degree of murder of Fireman John R. Williams at Silver Bow Junction, May 13 last. Sentence of death will be pronounced tomorrow morning. Williams was killed while attempting to escape two holdups. Charles Lennox, his accomplice who confessed the crime, charging the killing to Martin, is next to be tried for the crime.
February 24th, 1904 - The Western News - Stevensville, Montana
James Martin Hanged
Butte, Mont., Feb. 24 --- James Martin was hanged Tuesday for the murder of J.R. Williams at Silver Bow Junction in May, 1902. The trap was sprung at 4:32 a.m. The hanging took place in utter darkness and the only indication that the trap was sprung was the thud.
James Martin, the Butte murderer, was executed yesterday morning at 4:42 o'clock. The death machine, a gallows of the "jerk" kind, was the same that had been intended for Walter Jackson and was shipped to Butte by Sheriff Pond just prior to the execution. It was cheated of Ziohir and Jackson but scored on Martin.
May 11th, 1904 - The River Press - Fort Benton, Montana
Butte Sheriff Was Hoaxed.
Ogden, May 5th -- No trace has been found of Charles Lennox, the Butte murderer, who, it was reported escaped from a deputy sheriff near Ogden Tuesday night, while en route from Nevada,where he had been captured. Sheriff Quinn of Butte, who came here to take charge of the prisoner, and the local police officials are now of the opinion that the Butte official had been the victim of a hoax, and that Lennox not only has not been captured, but that Fitzmiller was not an officer, and that the whole scheme was concocted to secure money. Fitzmiller disappeared yesterday and has not since been seen. Sheriff Quinn returned to Butte today.
June 23rd, 1905 - Kimball Graphic - Kimball, Brule County, SD
HELD ON SUSPICION
Deadwood, S.D., June 19. --- There are some new developments in the case of the Thomas Carroll, who is under arrest here on suspicion of being Charles Lennox, the murderer, who escaped from Butte, Mont. in 1903. Carroll admits that he is a cousin of Alfred Carroll, who is wanted here for the murder of Ed Thurlow thirteen years ago. He also admits that he was in Butte at the time that Charles Lennox broke jail. He is perfectly open in his statements and says that he is able to clear his name through an alibi. A good many people have been taken before him in the Lawrence county jail to establish if possible his connection with the Thurlow murder case in this county.
Note from Webmaster - guessing it wasn't Lennox or maybe it was. Who knows. Thanks go to the Library of Congress Chronicling of America website and their newspaper archive where I found the newspaper clippings for this article!
LINKS TO OTHER ARTICLES TOO BIG TO BE CLIPPED HERE
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