Lee Nutt Fires Four Shots at
Jacob Niceley, and Three of Them Find
Lodgment in His Body
HUSBAND FOUND HIS WIFE WITH
MAN WHO TOOK HER FROM HOME
Slayer Walks into Church’s Shoe Store and Without a Word
Begins Firing—Wife Tells Him He
Should Not Have Killed His Victim
“He came to my house as a relative and won my wife. He betrayed my confidence. He stomped me and my family and scorned my pleadings to give her up. So –I killed him.”
Thus ??? is the claim of Lee Nutt, son of David Sayers, of Joplin, who shot and killed Jacob Niceley, a cousin, when he found him with Mrs. Blanche Nutt at the Church shoe store , 534 Main St., this morning.
Niceley was 21 years old. He ran away with Mrs. Nutt last July. They went to Kansas and later came to Joplin.
Nutt lives on a farm near Neosho. He has three small children who were left motherless when Mrs. Nutt eloped with Niceley. Nutt had written and pleaded with her to return, and with Niceley to leave her alone.
Yesterday morning, he came to Joplin on business. He carried a revolver. This morning. He saw his wife and Niceley go into Church’s shoe store. He followed, gun in hand.
As he entered, Niceley turned, and he fired. Niceley fell and the husband rushed upon him, and fired into his head.
Lee Nutt is 30 years old. He is the son of David Sayers, by his first wife. He was reared by his grandfather Henry Nutt of Neosho, and took the name of the latter instead of Sayers.
Jake Niceley was a cousin of Nutt. His mother lives on a farm near Neosho. About nine months ago, he went to the home of Lee Nutt to board, and was taken in as a relative.
It was not long until Niceley, who was of a prepossessing appearance, proved attractive to the wife and a friendship between the two soon ripened.
The husband remained in ignorance of the condition until one day in July he missed his cousin and his wife. A search divulged the fact they had fled together. The three small children were left motherless.
Nutt was deeply cut. He had been married to Blanche Nutt ten years, but loved her the more for the children’s sake. At first he threatened vengeance. Then he forgave her and asked her to return. Relatives came to his assistance and pleaded with Mrs. Nutt, who had been located with Niceley in Kansas City to return home.
.
The illegal love would not give up, and the efforts of the peacemakers were spurned. Niceley would not give up the woman, and she stayed.
The husband located them and went to see his wife, pleading with her to come back to him and their children. Once, she promised to return, but did not. Yesterday Nutt went to Joplin on business and stopped at 1919 Main Street. Last night he met his wife on the street. Again his pleadings were refused. He went to his room last night, in a daze. The idea of vengeance was suggested by the Holbrook-Morris shooting of yesterday morning. All night, he says, he lay in unrest, fighting the problem.
This morning he went on the street. Had he not met them, trouble probably would not have ensued. But fate ordained otherwise. Nutt’s anger came rushing back upon him. His hand clutched his gun and he rushed into the store.
Barely a minute elapsed after the shooting before a morbid crowd surged at the entrance to the store, vainly seeking admission. The doors were locked; only policemen and city and county officials were permitted to enter.
Inside the scene was of horrible repulsiveness. Flat on his back on the floor laid the victim. His head was stained with blood and a thick sluggish stream of gore trickling from the gaping wounds in his face and neck and congealing in a sickening mass on the floor.
One arm was thrown out to one side as if, in his death struggle, Niceley had endeavored to protect himself from the fusillade of bullets his assailant was pouring into him The clothing of his arm was badly torn and burned, as if the pistol had been fired into the member at a close range. The lips of the dead man were parted in a ghastly grimace, while through his teeth; the blood bubbled up and flowed down over his chin.
A call was sent to the Hurlbut Undertaking Company and an ambulance was speedily on the scene. As Niceley was lifted from the floor, a bullet was found in the sticky puddle of crimson, showing the assailant had fired even after his victim was laying prostrate. This bullet took effect in one side of the neck, penetrating the jugular vein, and apparently going through into the boards of the floor. With little difficulty, the leaden missile was dug out of the floor and was given to the assistant Prosecuting attorney, Chestnut, who will use it as evidence.
No Preliminary Quarrel.
From the statements of Mr. Church and his employees, the murder was committed without any introductory exchange or heated words. No quarrelling was heard by anyone in the store, the first intimation of trouble being the vicious report of the 38-caliber revolver as it barked for the first time.
Three shots followed in quick succession, attracting a crowd from the street, but having a decidedly opposite effect on several of those already in the store, who sought a speedy exit through the rear door. Owing to the excitement incident to such occurrences, no one seemed able to give a comprehensive statement of the details of the assault.
George Church, son of the proprietor and clerk in the establishment, stated that Mrs. Nutt and Niceley had entered the store together.
“The woman had a pair of shoes which she wished stretched” he continued. “Shesat down and removed her shoes and the man took a seat beside her. I was in the back part of the store and I was paying little heed to what was going on, when I saw a man enter from the front. I told one of the clerks to go up and see what was wanting, but before anyone could comply a shot was fired and the man who had first entered fell to the floor. I am not positive whether he was standing or sitting at this time. His assailant then fired three more times in rapid succession.”
“That’s My Wife.”
“I walked toward the front. John J. Church also walked up. He asked the man his reason for the shooting and his reply was “That’s my wife.” as he pointed to the woman.We called the police station, but almost simultaneously a policeman entered from the front, and took the man into custody. The woman seemed to be very calm, all I heard her say was “You should not have done that,” directed to her husband.”
Woman is Collected
Following the murder, Mrs. Nutt displayed a rare calmness. She declined to discuss the affair, but in a very modified tone of voice requested one of the clerks to bring back her shoes. At that ??? Chief of Police ??? informed the woman that she must accompany them.
“I can’t go without my shoes” she averred, then turning to a clerk she said “Won’t you please bring back my shoes?”
Her request was complied with, John J. Church then fitting it to her foot.
Pleaded with Wife
Monday night, as police Judge Bourn was passing in front of the Tarketon hotel he claims to have seen Nutt and his wife in earnest conversation. He identified Nutt by means of the missing hand. He had noted this peculiarity about the man who was talking to the women in front of the Tarketon, and after seeing Mrs. Nutt the judge was confident that it was the same woman that he had observed the night before.
“They were in very earnest conversation” said Bourn “and it appeared the man was pleading with the woman. I did not hear any of the words, but from appearances it seemed as though the man was doing most of the talking.”
Spectators Horrified
Something akin to a horrible sensation developed after the body was taken to the morgue and placed on the table, surrounded by scores of morbidly curious. The undertakers were in the act of removing the blood from the lips of the corpse when suddenly the mouth seemed to convulse and the red slime began to bubble as if the victim was vainly trying to gasp for breath. This fearsome incident was easily accounted for by the undertaker who said that such sights were a frequent occurrence, the moving of the body having caused air to accumulate in the mouth, thus forcing the blood upward.
Nutt was arrested as he stepped from the store and taken to the police station.
Blanch Nutt was taken a few minutes later by Chief Myers.
When he was searched, the marriage certificate which had given him the right to the woman over whom he killed, was found in his coat pocket. It was issued August 14, 1898 by A. P. DeGroff, Justice of the Peace of Neosho who performed the ceremony uniting Lee Nutt and Blanch Longrave.
Nutt was locked up in the boy’s cell. The wife was taken to the matron’s room.
A few minutes after the shooting, David Sayers, the father, appeared at the station. He was permitted to enter his son’s cell. The two met in an embrace – and thenChief Myers shut the door upon the scene. Sayers remained in the cell about ten minutes, and emerged with his eyes glistening.
Blanche sat for some time in the matron’s room, expressionless, as if she were unable to realize it all. Suddenly she began to cry and for a long time, wept silently. She would talk, but little of the trouble.
Lee Nutt was injured in an explosion at Morely, five years ago, as a result of which he lost his right hand and eye.
His grandfather, Henry Nutt, was formerly Deputy Sheriff of NewtonCounty. The family is well connected. The man in trouble has always borne an excellent reputation.
Niceley is a half brother of Mrs. Jesse Short, of this city. His family is closely related to the Nutts.
Niceley’s remains are to be shipped to Neosho Wednesday for burial.
A Coroner’s inquest was called for 3:00 o’clock Tuesday afternoon.