“John William Richard Morris, aged 43, proprietor of the Star barber shop, was shot and almost instantly killed in his place of business in the Massie Block, on Market street, by Mrs. Nettie Collison Baker Shumate, aged 41, a comely grass widow, at 7:55 Wednesday evening.”
“The murder came as a sequel to repeated clashes between Morris and the woman during the afternoon. He had discovered her entertaining a young man in the corner upstairs room which she had been renting from him since Monday. Several trips made upstairs by Morris failed to rid him of his tenant and then he called police. They gave her an hour’s time in which to vacate. Scarcely had they gotten out of sight when she, now driven desperate by Morris’ attitude towards and assault upon her, hastened downstairs and avenged herself with one well directed pistol shot and to bystanders a few moments later cooly justified her deed with this laconic remark: “He is starving his own mother. It was an act of justice.””
“The killing was wholly unexpected. Morris had just finished shaving a customer. Ed Flannigan, a popular West End shoe worker was in the front of the shop when he noticed a woman appear at the screen door connecting the shop with the rear of the building. Morris’ assistant Jim Arthurs was shaving Allen Spry. The woman wanted to know something about Morris’ aged and widowed mother upstairs.”
“”I’ll take care of her, and as for you, get out of this building or I’ll kick you out,” Morris is said to have replied.”
“Undaunted the woman beckoned Morris towards her. He refused, but she insisted. Finally he, calmly smoking his pipe, moved towards the door. She opened it slightly, and with the words “I brought your mother medicine. You’re not human you — — —, nobody will buy any medicine for you,” she pressed a revolver to his chest and pulled the trigger.”
“Morris reeled, then fell forward, grasping the woman as he did so. They swayed back and forth in a clinch for a few moments, Morris looking wildly about him, then an instant later, exclaiming, “Oh, my God!” sank to the floor in a helpless and lifeless heap.”
Woman Calm After Shooting
“Mrs. Baker calmly placed the still smoking pistol on the round washstand in the center of the room, and stood over her victim’s prostrate form for a few moments, then walked to a chair near the northeast corner of the room and sat down. Allen Spry, who was being shaved fled pell-mell from the room carrying some barber towels with him in his hasty exit. Barber Arthurs stood transfixed to the spot beside his chair. Ray Taylor, a boy shoe shine employed at the place, and who was an eye witness to the tragedy, bolted from the room, running over to Bruce Hoobler’s clothing store.”
Cause of Trouble Early On Scene
“Frank Ray, a professional ballplayer, whom Morris had discovered in the company of the woman, and thereby started the trouble, was the first person to go to his assistance. Ray had been playing pool in Fred Winters’ place next door. Someone told him Morris had been shot and he rushed to the barber shop, where he grabbed hold of the barber’s outstretched arms and worked hard to revive him. Blood was gushing from a wound on the left side near the heart. Ray said Morris groaned, but he made no noise. He breathed exactly 22 times then died. Ray making a correct count.”
Ex-Policeman Gave The Alarm
“The sound of the pistol shot had scarcely rang out, when people began flocking to the scene. An ex-policeman was standing on Spry’s corner, when he heard the shot. He rushed to the barber shop, took in the situation with one glance, then notified headquarters. Chief Philipps walked to the scene and Morris was still breathing when he arrived, so he must have lived fully five minutes.”
Bitter Remark By The Woman.
“The ex-policeman who gave the alarm overheard Mrs. Baker remark as she was still bent over the form of her victim: “You won’t buy medicine for your poor old mother, and I had to spend money to get her some, now nobody will buy you any, you dirty dog.””
Woman Hysterical After The Tragedy.
“Mrs. Baker had been sitting quietly for a few moments, when she became faint and the shop attaches revived her with ice water. She was led from the shop by Chief Philipps. Once outside he informed her that Morris was dead. She weakened at once and fairly threw herself upon the patrol wagon seat, and was hysterical by the time they had reached headquarters. Seated in a chair in the police court room, she rolled back and forth in her chair. Her hair was disheveled and she seemed in a highly nervous state. Dr. W.E. Gault gave her a hypodermic injection. Spots which covered her arm, showed she had been accustomed to such treatment. She appeared to be in a sort of stupor, and Chief Philipps was sure she smelled of liquor. After an hour or so had elapsed she seemed to have regained her composure somewhat, and she was later transferred to the county jail, where she now occupies a cell.”
Coroner Robe Early On Scene.
“Coroner Dr. O. W. Robe arrived at the barber shop within a short time after the shooting. He found powder marks on both the shirt and undershirt, indicating that Morris had been shot at close range. The bullet entered on the fifth interspace, one inch to the left of the median line, near the heart, always a fatal wound. He searched the man’s clothes, but found nothing save 25 cents in change. He questioned eye witnesses of the shooting, then directed Undertaker Roy Lynn to take charge of the body.”
Wife Of Dead Man Hastens To Scene.
“The lifeless form was just being lifted from the floor, when Mrs. Catharine Meyers Morris, the fourth wife of the dead barber, appeared at the door. It had been locked and all persons barred from entering, but once she made herself known, was hastily admitted.”
“Bending over, and exclaiming “My poor Will,” and “I saw you today,” she stroked his face again and again. “Who shot him?” she asked, as she turned towards bystanders, eagerly watching her every move.”
“Then in the next breath remarked: “Well, it’s come home to him. I’m not surprised at all. He treated me like a dog, as he did everybody else who was really dear to him.””
“She consented to go upstairs and attend the poor mother, who in the excitement had been entirely overlooked, and though unable to arise from her chair because of her physical disability, was undergoing untold mental torture. She had heard the fatal shot fired and something told her that her only son had been killed.”
“There she sat in the dark, dingy looking room alone and unattended, while hundreds of people were below gazing upon the lifeless form of her son.”
Times Man Aids Mother Of Victim.
“A Times man, unable to gain admittance to the shop because of the congested throng at the door, was the first to discover her plight. Direct entrance to the upstairs apartments is gained from the Second street side of the building.”
“Who’s killed downstairs. It must be my boy,” wailed the poor, decrepit woman, her frail form shaking with emotion.”
“Morris still lay on the floor, while police and shop employees and eye witnesses of the affair were excitedly discussing the shooting.”
Ed. Flannigan Tells His Story.
“Ed. Flannigan said he was just stepping to the front door, when he overheard Morris say, “I don’t want anybody to take care of my mother.” A moment later a pistol shot rang out. He saw Morris hanging to the woman for five or six minutes, then fall. Flannigan said he moved on just as the woman seated herself in a chair.”
Jim Arthurs Tells Of Affair.
“Jim Arthurs said he was busy shaving a customer when the woman appeared at the rear screen door and called for Morris. He refused to go to her, telling her to make a sneak out of the building or he would kick her out. “I don’t have to make a sneak out to get out,” she said in reply, then shot him. Arthurs said the couple had had a falling out during the afternoon. The woman had been in the building since Monday. Morris, he said, knocked her down during one of his visits to her room and told her the quicker she went the better it would be for her.”
“He said that he did not budge from his position during the shooting. The woman, as she stood over Morris, said, “If he won’t buy medicine for his poor mother, he won’t buy any for himself now.”
Clear Version By Ray Taylor.
“Ray Taylor, the shoe shine, and who is a son of Emmett Taylor, gave a clear version of the affair. He said Morris had just finished shaving a customer when the woman pushed the screen door open and called: “Come here a minute, Bill.” He refused to go at first, but finally went over to the corner. Just then she placed a revolver to his breast and fired.”
“The boy after telling his story to the coroner, burst into tears over the tragic fate of his employer, whom he had said he really liked, for he had always treated him well. He had worked for him for two years. He begged to be able to take home Morris’ favorite pipe, and which he was smoking when he met death, and his request was granted.”
Theories As To Cause Of Murder.
“Just what prompted Mrs. Baker to take the life of her landlord may never be known, but it is thought that his bitter denunciations drove her into a frenzy. Then, too, he had struck her and also threatened to kill her, according to Ray. The latter said that no wrong doing ever occurred between him and the woman, she merely summoning him upstairs to get a couple bottles of beer for her. Morris found him there and flew into a rage at once, accusing her of receiving male visitors, and declaring that as she had not paid any rent, anyway, she had better clear out. He gave her fifteen minutes time in which to vacate.”
“Ray said that when Morris appeared the second time he came through the hallway gun in hand. He struck Mrs. Baker with his left hand, knocking her fully a dozen feet. He threatened to treat Ray to a similar dose, but Ray defied him, grabbing up a hatchet which lay conveniently near.”
“Morris then served notice on the woman to get out within five minutes. Ray says he quit the upper door when Morris unlimbered his gun to show it was loaded, and after he had threatened him again, but whilst on the sidewalk below the woman shouted to him that Morris had been up again for the third time. She added that she was making preparations to go.”
“Morris evidently was not satisfied with the way she was complying with his orders, for when he saw Captain Rome Walker and Officer George Harding passing, he called them in. He complained that the woman was entertaining male visitors and he would not stand for it. He wanted her out immediately.”
“The officers found the woman hiding under the stairway from the second to the third floor. Walker asked her to step into her room, as he wanted to talk to her. He informed her of Morris’ wishes that she move. She pleaded that she had to remain to take care of his mother. She was told that Morris had not said anything about that, and that she had better do as told. She was given an hour’s time to get out and she agreed. Walker reported her decision to Morris, and he seemed pleased. The two officers went down through the West End. They were just passing the White Bear hotel when informed by Grocer Will Dalton that Morris had been shot, and they hurried back to the Massie block.”
Weapon Used By The Woman.
“The weapon used in the killing was a new 32-calibre Ivory Johnson gun containing five loaded cartridges, one having been discharged. A box of cartridges was found in the leather handbag she carried. Morris’ revolver was found in a drawer of his backstand. He was accustomed to keeping it in a dresser drawer upstairs.”
Victim’s Mother Taken To Hospital.
Coroner Robe before leaving the scene suggested that the victim’s mother, Mrs. Cynthia Morris, now left alone in the world, be removed to the Hempstead hospital. She showed deep grief one moment and the next instant would exhibit grave concern over her tobacco supply, she being an inveterate pipe smoker. Once she learned she was going to the hospital, she had all of her pension papers brought from their hiding place and entrusted them to her young grandson, Tom Howell. She is not bright mentally. She gave her age as 50 when she is known to be over 70. She has been an invalid several years, suffering with swollen feet.”
“She said that her son, who was her last surviving child, three daughters having preceded him in death, had always treated her well, and never refused her medicine when he had money, but this is denied by others. His wife, Catherine, said he had always mistreated his mother, and this is substantiated by young Howell, who had lived with Morris three years. He said his treatment of the aged mother was outrageous at times. Howell was some squares away when the shooting occurred.”
Got What Was Coming To Him.
“”He’s got what was coming to him,” said wife No. 4, who since Morris drove her from home a year ago, has been doing housework for P. H. Moore, of Seventh street. She at first thought the murder was committed by Ella Reniger, of Aberdeen, the first wife of Morris, the gun user answering her description. “I want his picture and nothing else,” said she, as she pointed to a large crayon picture of the murdered man on the wall, and later began laying claim to some of the household furnishings. She said that while she and Morris kept house they did not have as much as a carpet, but once he installed Lucitel Lyming, a pretty West Side girl, as his housekeeper last fall, he proceeded to give her clothes and furnished his flat in elegant style. She afterwards gave birth to a baby and caused the arrest of a young West Side farmer named Piatt on a paternity charge. She is still at Hempstead hospital, suffering from an illness contracted the day Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show was here, she having been caught in a heavy rain.”
Morris Married Four Times.
“Mrs. Morris said that from what she knew Morris had been married four times. His first wife was the Reniger woman, his second Delsie Payne, also of Portsmouth, and his third hailed from Boston, Mass. Wife No. 4 is a native of West Lancaster, Fayette county, and married Morris in Jackson county several years ago. One day word came that his third wife had never gotten a divorce, and they agreed to separate, but continued on friendly terms. “He sent for me this morning to take care of his mother,” said she, as she rubbed away a tear.”
Aged Mother Was Hysterical.
“”This will kill me,” said the aged mother, just before leaving for the hospital. She said John was born eight miles from Versailles, Ky. He learned the barber trade at an early age and followed it for the remainder of his life time. The husband and father, James T. Morris, a carpenter and wagon maker, died on Carey’s Run, a few years ago. Mrs. Morris said she had been an almost life-long resident of Portsmouth, for many years occupying on of P. J. Ziegler’s properties on Second street. She did not know the woman who killed her boy, but believed her to be a mere “pick-up.” She had administered to her a couple times in the past few days, she said.”
“It was not until several hours after the tragedy that the identity of the murderess was fully established. First reports were that her name was Nellie McGraw and that she hailed from Twin Creek. It afterwards proved she is a sister of Mesdames Frank Seymour and Frank H. Shoenberger, and a young woman of prominent family connections. According to the relatives, she has been a nervous wreck since married to H. G. Baker, a jack-of-all-trades, 10 years ago, at Lancaster. Her native home is Logan, Ohio, where her 80-year-old father still resides. Baker led a dissipated life and she secured a divorce from him. Later she married a man named Shumate, but little is known of him. The second marriage proved unhappy and they did not live together very long. He is reported to have been killed in a freight wreck at Chicago a year or so ago. Some friends advised her to remarry Baker and she went to Cincinnati for the purpose, but other friends advised her against the move. Baker is said to have treated her so terribly that she became a nervous wreck and her mind became affected. Thirteen years ago at Lancaster, during one of her nervous spells, she shot through a ceiling. She previously had been regarded the brightest of the six sisters left for Mr. Shoenberger to rear after the death of their mother. She spent a full year in a sanitarium at Columbus for a nervous disorder. Two years ago she and her son, Thomas, now seven years of age, came to Portsmouth, and the relatives did everything to make her contented.”
“
“She has been doing housework for Mrs. Seymour, who is the youngest of the sisters.”
“Recently she heard that Baker was preparing to come to Portsmouth, and she feared he attempted kidnapping their boy. The woman is a blond and shows traces of former beauty and refinement.”
Career Of Murdered Man.
“Morris had been advertising for help of late, in an effort to get a companion and attendant for his mother, and it is thought Mrs. Baker had assumed those duties.”
“The murdered man had been resident of Portsmouth for the past four years. He had spent the nine previous years in the regular army as a member of Company I, Thirteenth U. S. Infantry, serving both in Cuba and the Philippines. He conducted a non-union shop on Market street, and though outwardly if an affable nature, was known to be possessed of a hot temper and given to quarreling over trivial affairs with neighbors and those nearest him. He has one child living, Myrtle Morris, aged 14, a daughter by his first marriage. He sent for her a year or so ago to live with him, but is said to have mistreated her so that she returned to Aberdeen, Ohio, last spring.”
Gun User Was Crazy For Water.
“Mrs. Shumate drank one glass of water after another while at the police station, and also at the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Eckart and wife sat up with her until after 1 o’clock and were kept busy supplying her with water. She appeared to be doped. Officers at the headquarters found a box of morphine tablets in her handbag.”
Attorney Sheppard Engaged For Woman.
“Attorney George H. Sheppard has been engaged to defend Morris’ slayer. He is well acquainted with her, she having frequently come to his grocery while staying at the home of her sister Mrs. Seymour. She got to drinking of late and absented herself from home, engaging a room from Morris in the Morris block.”
“Mr. Sheppard had not yet seen his client Thursday noon, as she was still in a desperate condition with physicians in almost constant attendance.”
“Mr. Sheppard also was engaged to look after the interests of Taylor & Company, a Cincinnati barber supply house. A representative of the concern arrived Thursday morning and sought to get possession of the Morris shop equipment, on which the firm holds a mortgage. Frank Stanton, agent of the building, and relatives of the murdered man protested against anything being removed, and Chief Phillips gave orders that nothing up or downstairs be disturbed. All of Morris’ personal property will be held intact until an administrator can be appointed.”
Mother Stayed In Apartments.
“The murdered man’s mother, who, it was learned Thursday is 75 years old and a native of Louisa, Ky., was not taken to the hospital as planned. Instead she spent the night in her son’s living apartments with his wife, Mrs. Catherine Meyers-Morris, and grandson Tom Howell. Arrangements were started for her commitment to the county infirmary, when it became known she was a pensioner. She receives $12 monthly and has been drawing $3.00 relief besides. The authorities are now taking steps towards having her admitted to some soldiers’ widows’ home.”
“It was only under pressure from other relatives present that the aged woman admitted Thursday that her dead son had mistreated her at times. Once while they lived in the Arlington hotel property, and when she rushed to the defense of young Howell, her son turned on her, knocking her down. Howell said he had seen Morris repeatedly beat his mother with a razor strop and once saw him kick her. He was abusive to all.”
Asked City To Care For Mother.
“It develops that City Physician Charles Wendelken had a run-in with Morris a few days ago. He had sent for the doctor to take care of his mother. “Dr. McKerrihan turned me down several times, but I’m going to make you take care of her,” said he.”
“Dr. Wendelken flatly refused, for with Morris operating a barber shop and his mother drawing a pension, it could not be classed as a charity case.”
Dogs Plentiful At Morris’ Home.
“Morris’ constant companions were his pet dogs, with which he was always abundantly surrounded. These hugged up close to his dead body outstretched on the floor, and were with difficulty chased from the room. He also took delight in collecting art pictures and curios, and the walls of his rooms were adorned with all sorts of collections, while the rooms of his mother were in barren and dilapidated condition.”
Government To Bury Morris.
“But for the fact that Morris was a veteran of the Spanish-American war, the city would have been called upon to bury him. A seventy-five dollar allowance is made for the burial of Spanish-American war veterans, the same as old soldiers, and accordingly, the county will bear the expense of burying the man.”
“Deaconesses from the Y.M.C.A. spent Thursday morning consoling the widowed mother or Morris, and agreed to make all funeral arrangements. Services will be held Friday afternoon, and the body will be buried in the soldier circle at Greenlawn.”
Murderess Had Very Bad Night.
“Nellie Baker-Shumate, the woman who shot William Morris, proprietor of the Star barber shop on Market street, was restless throughout Wednesday night in her cell at the county jail. Despite the efforts of the officers, the woman refuses to talk of the shooting or even answer the jail physician, Dr. W. W. Smith.”
She is extremely nervous and her condition is so serious that no one but the physician has been allowed to see her. The only time the prisoner has broken her silence since being brought to the jail was last night when one of the officers intimated she had been drinking. This appeared to anger her, and she denied drinking any whiskey, but later admitted she had drunk some beer. She has a black spot on her left cheek, and when asked about what caused it, she replied: “There is where he hit me.””
Traveling Man Saw The Shooting.
“A. S. Harland, a traveling salesman, just happened to throw his eyes toward the Massie block last night when Morris, the barber, was shot down. Harland claims he saw the gun user stealthily draw the deadly weapon from the folds of her skirt. Harland was standing in the corner of the lobby of the hotel at the time of the shooting.”1.
