This particular victim, Addison Ball Chinn, was my second great granduncle - the eighth child of twelve of my great-great-great grandparents, Dr. Joseph & Barbara (Graves) Chinn.
From the Lexington Leader, October 11, 1902, p1 c-14
A. B. CHINN IS MURDERED BY BURGLARS IN HIS SLEEPING ROOM
Robbers Enter House at an Early Hour This Morning and Murder the Popular Merchant After Demanding Money
His Son Asa Fires on the Intruders, Who Turn Their Murderous Weapons on Him, and a Desperate Fight Ensues.
Battle in the Hallway in Which the Young Man is Shot and Seriously Wounded -- A Heroic and Unequal Struggle
MURDERERS MAKE GOOD THEIR ESCAPE AFTER BLOODY DEED
Mr. Addison Ball Chinn, senior member of the well known local dry goods firm of Chinn & Todd, was foully murdered in his own home at 248 East Maxwell Street, at 3:20 this morning by two masked burglars who had entered the house through a window for the purpose of robbery, and Asa Chinn, his son, was shot and dangerously wounded.
At the time of the tragedy, the house was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Chinn, Asa Chinn, his son, Mr. George B. Runyon, brother of Mrs. Chinn, who occupied a room upstairs, and Mrs. Mary G. Runyon, the mother of Mrs. Chinn, who is now 93 years of age.
The family had all retired at the usual hour with the exception of Asa who had been to a German at the Merrick Lodge building, and did not get home until after 1 o'clock. He was asleep in bed when the robbers entered the house. LEADER reporters went to the Chinn hope this morning and from interviews with various persons obtained the details of the distressing tragedy.
DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY.
Shortly after 3 o'clock this morning Mrs. Chinn was awakened from her slumbers by the sound of some one moving in the house. She aroused her husband and told him of her fears. He replied that as some of the windows were open the noise she had heard might have been caused by the wind. Just at that moment, the door of the room opened and two masked men forced their way into the room and approaching the side of the bed, covered both Mr. and Mrs. Chinn with revolvers and demanded money, on pain of death if they refused.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Chinn sat up in bed but did not get up and told the intruders that they had no money in the house but that they could look round the house, take what they wanted and leave. Again the robbers demanded money and Mrs. Chinn began to scream. Her screams awoke Asa, the son, who was sleeping in an adjoining room, and he, springing out of bed, grasped a pistol in one hand and a small rifle in the other and ran out into the hall prepared to give battle to the men.
The house was in complete darkness and nothing could be seen of a moving figure or figures and the only opportunity that any one now living had of seeing the men was when they struck a match in the bed room for the purpose of getting the locality of the bed and its occupants. Mrs. Chinn saw the men plainly at that time, but only for an instant before the light of the match flickered out. She describes them as being two in number, short, and heavily built. Bot wore green masks which completely concealed their features, but from the sound of their voices she knew they were white men. She also describes one of wearing a soft black or slouch hat, but did not notice the other before the light of the match went out.
FIRED THE FATAL SHOT.
When the son ran into the hail and had got near to the door of his parents room, the robbers, doubtless hearing his coming, fired the bullet which ended the life of Mr. Chinn. The ball, which was of 38 caliber penetrated the breast on the right side passing through the lungs producing internal hemorrhages which caused death. The bullet deflected slightly in its course through the body and passed out the back an inch or more below the line of entrance on the right side of the spinal column. When the pistol was fired it was held within an inch of the body, as the wound bears the plain marks of numerous powder burns all around it. As soon as he was shot, Mr. Chinn sprang out of bed, saying to his wife, "Mother, I am shot," and gave chase to the robbers, who fled through the window through which they had entered. On reaching the hallway Mr. Chinn fell. When lights could be procured the body of the aged merchant was found dead with a pool of blood about it that had flowed from the wound.
SON'S HEROIC FIGHT.
Upon hearing the alarm Mr. Asa Chinn, with the pistol and small rifle in his hands, ran to the room and opened fire though the partly open door of the bed room. He emptied his pistol, firing six shots altogether. The robbers then turned and opened fire on him, the first bullet striking him in the arm, causing him to drop the rifle, but he still kept firing with the pistol. In the darkness he could see no object, but he was familiar with the hall and hearing the sound of voices convinced him that the invaders were in his parents' room, and he shot in that direction. Three bullets were picked up by the police which are now in their possession. One of the bullets from Asa's pistol struck the upper panel of the door, another struck the lower rim of the woodwork, and a third passed through about the center of the door. It is not known if either of the robbers was wounded. The young man gave it as his opinion that at least one of them was hit, but which he could not tell.
The burglars fired four shots at Asa Chinn and one at the father, thereby suggesting by inference that the weapon used was a five chambered pistol. One of the bullets struck Asa on the tip of the nose and plowed its way though the flesh portion of the cheek. Another, evidently shot from behind, entered the neck on the left side and struck the jaw bone, producing a fracture and turning inside pass through the cheek. The third ball penetrated the arm below the elbow and plowing through the fleshy parts came out above the elbow, thus, producing two wounds with the same bullet. The fourth bullet, fired downwards buried itself in the floor of the hall and was found by the police and extracted.
JUMPED OUT OF A WINDOW.
After wounding Asa Chinn the robbers made their escape by crossing the hall and passing through the room occupied by Mrs. Runyon, jumped out the window which they had left open. Mrs. Runyon, whose vision is defective by reason of extreme age, said that after hearing the sound of the shots she called to Mr. Chinn to come to her assistance, not knowing that he had been mortally wounded, and she then saw the form of a man disappearing through the window of her room. The robbers made good their escape and left no clue behind them.
Asa, bleeding profusely from his wounds, paced the hall while Mr. George Runyon, who had been attracted by the sound of the shots rushed down stairs and seeing the young man's dangerous plight went for medical assistance.
The report that one of the men escaped through the door in front of the house is erroneous, as Mr. Runyon states that the door was locked and that it remained locked until he turned the key to open it to go after a doctor. Asa Chinn never lost his feet in the struggle he engaged in with the murderers of his father. He was full conscious of all that was taking place and maintained his coolness until put to sleep through the administration of opiates.
LEFT TRACES BEHIND
While the burglars and midnight assassins left no trace of their identity behind them they left visible signs of their approach and departure to and from the house. The window through which an entrance was made is situated on the east side of the house and overlooks a driveway. The window, as previously state, belongs to the room occupied by Mrs. Runyon and is never fastened at night. On account of infirmities it is necessary that she have a plentiful supply of fresh air and following the usual custom the top sash of the window was pulled down nearly sixteen inches from the top, thereby leaving the window sashes unfastened. The burglars had obtained a large dry goods box which stood in the driveway and moving it beneath the window they stood on this to enable them to raise the lower sash with as little noise as possible. From the marks left on the sill, it is evident that a small instrument was used to pry the sash up to enable them to get their fingers under to lift it further. The instrument used was either a large nail or a knife as the scratches are discernable on the sill. Having opened the window they got into the room occupied by Mrs. Runyon, passed through the door leading into the hall, cross the hall to the room directly opposite and which was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Chinn. The door of this room was closed at the time and they opened it and entered, when the terrible tragedy as above related followed. They departed in precisely the same way as that in which they had entered after killing Mr. Chinn and seriously wounding his son. The burglars got no booty.
MOVED TO THE HOSPITAL
Dr. David Barrow responded to the call for medical assistance from Mr. Runyon and upon his arrival at the scene of the crime he dressed the wounds of the young man. Dr. Barrow pronounced the wounds as not necessarily fatal, although extremely serious. At 11 o'clock this morning, on Dr. Barrow's advice, the young man was removed to the Good Samaritan Hospital and the ambulance was used to convey him.
Mrs. Chinn, who was compelled to sit by and see her husband murdered in cold blood in his own bed, by the hand of marauding assassins, was prostrated with grief and the shock to her nervous system was so severed that her attending physician, Dr. H. Bewlay, was in constant attendance upon her. Acting upon his advice she was also taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital and followed her son to that institution. Both are resting well as the LEADER went to press.
Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes
Showing posts with label Home Invasion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Invasion. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thriller Thursday - Home Invasion Circa 1934
Home invasion, as we call it today, is not a new thing. In fact, I have two instances it recorded in my family histories. This, the second one, I note because of the number of the victims involved.
Taken from The Lexington Herald, August 2, 1934, p1 c8.
ROBBERS MURDER F. D. KNIGHT
SHOT TO DEATH AT RESIDENCE IN JESSAMINE
Prominent Landowner is Killed After Opening Safe Upon Demand of Two Masked Thugs
FOUR OTHERS IN HOUSE TIED UP BY ROBBERS
Car Used in Crime Found Abandoned on West High Viaduct Here
_____
F. D. "Dixie" Knight, 68 years old, Jessamine county land owner and farmer, was shot and killed at his residence 11 miles form Lexington on the Harrodsburg pike last night shortly after 6 o'clock by two bandits, one of whom was a cripple, who robbed him of jewelry valued at $1,500. Before slaying Mr. Knight, the robbers took possession of the residence of half an hour and tied four persons with adhesive tape and wire.
Mr. Knight was shot twice in the chest with .38 caliber steel jacket bullets. He died 15 minutes later with his wife, nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight of Lexington, and the family cook within easy hearing distance of his pitiful calls for assistance, but powerless to go to his aid.
The bandits escaped in an automobile they stole from Blackburn Knight. The car later was found abandoned on the West High street viaduct in Lexington by Motorcycle Patrolman A. F. Yates, and the clothing used by the thugs in the shooting and robbery were found in a road leading to Lincoln school by patrolman John T. Dickey.
The clothing consisted of a pair of blue denim overalls, with a deputy sheriff's badge pinned to it, and a pair of striped coveralls. The clothing was taken to police headquarters and held for evidence.
A broadcast of the slaying and robbery was made from WPET, Lexington police radio, and officers in surrounding counties late last night were scouring their territories for a trace of the bandits. However, it is believed the men, after abandoning the car and discarding the clothing they wore in the robbery, boarded a freight train headed for Ludlow in the Southern railroad yards.
Auto is Recovered.
The automobile used by the bandits in their escape from the scene was taken to the city plant on West Second street. Lieut. Dudley McCloy, in charge of the bureau of investigation of the Lexington Police department, went to the garage late last night and examined it for fingerprints.
It is considered unlikely, however, that the machine will reveal any prints of value, as both of the bandits wore rubber gloves during the time they were in the Knight residence and also, when they commandeered the machine of Blackburn Knight. The gloves and covering the thugs wore over their shoes, obviously for the purpose of throwing off any scent in the event bloodhounds were pressed into use, were found near the clothing.
Threw Clothing Away
Two men were seen to drive the automobile of Mr. Knight onto the viaduct, get out, throw the clothing over the side of the viaduct and then start running toward the bottom of the passage way and head in the direction of Valley avenue and the railroad tracks.
Although there was no apparent reason for the killing of Mr. Knight by the bandits-he had told them they were welcome to anything in the house and had even opened his safe and given them the jewelry-Jessamine and Fayette county officers were working on the theory that at least one of the pair of bandits was recognized by Mr. Knight and that he was slain to prevent possible future detection.
Carrie Ross, 31, negro, of 185 North Eastern avenue, Lexington, the cook, was the first person on the farm to see the robbers. Carrie was in the kitchen of the home preparing supper about 5:30 o'clock. She said she heard someone in the room and, turning around, saw a pair of feet covered with a cloth. Carrie said she looked up and straight into the muzzle of a gun and a man told her: "Stand still and do what you are told and you won't get hurt."
Carrie said the man, who was tall, heavy and had a thin face walked toward her, grabbed her by the arm and asked where Mrs. Knight was. Carrie replied that Mrs. Knight was out in the yard feeding the chickens.
She said the man walked her to the kitchen door, looked out and said: "Sure enough, there is Mrs. Knight." Carrie broke away from the man and ran toward the chicken house, with him giving chase. She reached the chicken house and saw the man running toward her. (continued page 2 column 1)
(F. D. KNIGHT IS SLAIN BY THUGS.
Prominent Landowner is Killed After Opening Safe Upon Demand of Tow Masked Thugs.
SHOT AFTER OPENING SAFE)
Carrie said he ran with a decided limp.
She said that he reached into the chicken house and seized her and that Mrs. Knight, attracted by the commotion looked up and then started making outcries. Then Carrie said, the second bandit covered Mrs. Knight with a pistol. The two bandits marched Mrs. Knight and Carrie into the house, where Carrie broke loose and started running toward a side entrance. Carrie gained the side porch and was starting to a large bell which is used to call in Mr. Knight and farm hands and which can be heard for a distance of two miles, when the crippled bandit grabbed her and, twisting her arm hard, cautioned her: "Don't do that."
Wife, Cook Are Bound
The bandit then returned to the house with Carrie and she and Mrs. Knight were taken to an upstairs room, where the bandits produced a large roll of adhesive tape. One thug taped Carrie's wrists and placed adhesive tape over her mouth and nose. Mrs. Knight asked the bandits not to bind Carrie too tightly, as she suffered from heart trouble and had difficulty in breathing. Then the bandit took the tape from Carrie's nose, but left her mouth sealed with the tape. The other bandit then taped the wrists of Mrs. Knight and also placed a strip of tape over her mouth.
From the time the bandits captured Carrie and Mrs. Knight, they continually asked where Mr. Knight was and when he would return. Mrs. Knight told them he was out on the farm and would return to the house about 6 o'clock. They also asked Mrs. Knight where her diamonds were kept, and she told them they were in a Nicholasville bank.
Carrie said that when the crippled man came to the door he wore no mask, but that the first time she saw the second bandit, he had a cap pulled down over his forehead and was wearing a large handkerchief over the lower half of his face. She said the crippled man placed a handkerchief over the lower part of his face after he had been about the house for approximately 15 minutes.
After taping Mrs. Knight and the cook and leaving them on a bed upstairs, the crippled bandit went down to the first floor, while the other remained in the room with Mrs. Knight and Carrie. In a few minutes the second bandit came to the first floor and he and the crippled robber started conversing.
At this point, Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight knocked on the front door of the residence and, not getting any response started walking around the side of the house. About halfway around, they saw two men in the house. One of the men called out: "Come on in and keep your mouth shut, this is a holdup."
Nephew, Niece Held
Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight went into the kitchen through a side door and were faced by pistols in the hands of each of the bandits. The thugs escorted them to a room on the first floor, where they ordered them to sit upon the bed. Then both Mr. and Mrs. Knight's wrists were bound tightly with wire and they were forced to lay upon the bed.
The bandits then left the room, "Crip" remaining downstairs and the other thug returned to the room where Mrs. Knight and Carrie were held prisoners.
In a few moments, Mr. Knight came in off the farm, walked in the kitchen and, after drinking a glass of water, called out, as had been his custom for years: "Hello cook, here I am ready for supper."
"Crip" then stepped into the kitchen and, covering Mr. Knight with his pistol, said: "This is a holdup."
Mr. Knight replied that he knew what the robber was there for and that he could have anything in the house. When he heard Mr. Knight enter the house, the bandit upstairs called out: "Hey, 'Crip,' is it all right for me to come down now?"
"Crip" replied in the affirmative. The bandit came down, and together they escorted Mr. Knight to a room in which a small iron safe is kept. Mr. Knight did not that his wife, Carrie, and Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight were being held prisoners in the house.
Agreed to Open Safe.
Reaching the room in which the safe stood, the bandits asked what the safe contained and Mr. Knight told them it contained only a few insurance papers. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight could hear plainly all of the conversation between Mr. Knight and the bandits from the room in which they were held captive.
Mr. Knight told the bandits he could not see how to open the safe without his spectacles and also would have to obtain the combination. They allowed him to get his spectacles and the combination and stood over him while he opened the safe. When the safe door swung upon, Mr. Knight brought out the insurance papers and told the bandits the papers were of no value to them and asked them not to disturb them.
Then the robbers spied a diamond stud and ring in safe and said: "Let's have those." Mr. Knight reached into the safe and got the stud and ring and handed them to the bandits.
Then Mrs. Blackburn Knight said she heard one of the bandits say: "Let him have it." Two shots followed the sentence in quick succession. Mrs. Knight said "Following the shots, the bandits returned to the room in which Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight were prisoners, robbed Mr. Knight of $4 in cash and his automobile keys.
Captives Warned
"Remain still for 30 minutes," the bandits told them, "and when the police come tell them we are negroes, or we will come back later and finish both of you. We have a man stationed in the kitchen who will stand guard for a few minutes until we are safely away."
Then the bandits went outside, ripped and cut all of the telephone wires leading into the house, got into Blackburn Knight's automobile, and drove toward Lexington.
At 6:30 o'clock Clyde Moore, 42, an employee on the farm, came in from milking and found Mr. Knight lying on the floor, dead. He searched the house and found and liberated Mr. and Mrs. Knight and Mrs. "Dixie" Knight and Carrie.
From a nearby residence, Jessamine county officers were called by telephone and Lexington police were notified. When an account of the shooting and a description of the man was dispatched from WPET, officers of the Fayette county patrol went to the Knight residence and made an investigation.
Mr. Knight at one time was one of the leading thoroughbred breeders in the state. It was on his farm that Exterminator, one of the country's greatest handicap horses and winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby was foaled. Brown Bud, a stake winner of more recent years, also was foaled there. George Smith, 1916 Kentucky Derby winner, stood at Mr. Knight's 600 acre farm for several years after being retired to the stud.
Mr. Knight is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lydia Todhunter Knight; one brother, G. L. Knight, Nicholasville; eight nephews, Henry Knight, Chicago; Joseph and William Knight, Nicholasville; Blackburn and Grant Knight, Versailles; M. L. Knight, Portland, Ore.; and Lucien Knight, Lexington; and one niece, Mrs. Howard Smith, Lexington.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes
Taken from The Lexington Herald, August 2, 1934, p1 c8.
ROBBERS MURDER F. D. KNIGHT
SHOT TO DEATH AT RESIDENCE IN JESSAMINE
Prominent Landowner is Killed After Opening Safe Upon Demand of Two Masked Thugs
FOUR OTHERS IN HOUSE TIED UP BY ROBBERS
Car Used in Crime Found Abandoned on West High Viaduct Here
_____
F. D. "Dixie" Knight, 68 years old, Jessamine county land owner and farmer, was shot and killed at his residence 11 miles form Lexington on the Harrodsburg pike last night shortly after 6 o'clock by two bandits, one of whom was a cripple, who robbed him of jewelry valued at $1,500. Before slaying Mr. Knight, the robbers took possession of the residence of half an hour and tied four persons with adhesive tape and wire.
Mr. Knight was shot twice in the chest with .38 caliber steel jacket bullets. He died 15 minutes later with his wife, nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight of Lexington, and the family cook within easy hearing distance of his pitiful calls for assistance, but powerless to go to his aid.
The bandits escaped in an automobile they stole from Blackburn Knight. The car later was found abandoned on the West High street viaduct in Lexington by Motorcycle Patrolman A. F. Yates, and the clothing used by the thugs in the shooting and robbery were found in a road leading to Lincoln school by patrolman John T. Dickey.
The clothing consisted of a pair of blue denim overalls, with a deputy sheriff's badge pinned to it, and a pair of striped coveralls. The clothing was taken to police headquarters and held for evidence.
A broadcast of the slaying and robbery was made from WPET, Lexington police radio, and officers in surrounding counties late last night were scouring their territories for a trace of the bandits. However, it is believed the men, after abandoning the car and discarding the clothing they wore in the robbery, boarded a freight train headed for Ludlow in the Southern railroad yards.
Auto is Recovered.
The automobile used by the bandits in their escape from the scene was taken to the city plant on West Second street. Lieut. Dudley McCloy, in charge of the bureau of investigation of the Lexington Police department, went to the garage late last night and examined it for fingerprints.
It is considered unlikely, however, that the machine will reveal any prints of value, as both of the bandits wore rubber gloves during the time they were in the Knight residence and also, when they commandeered the machine of Blackburn Knight. The gloves and covering the thugs wore over their shoes, obviously for the purpose of throwing off any scent in the event bloodhounds were pressed into use, were found near the clothing.
Threw Clothing Away
Two men were seen to drive the automobile of Mr. Knight onto the viaduct, get out, throw the clothing over the side of the viaduct and then start running toward the bottom of the passage way and head in the direction of Valley avenue and the railroad tracks.
Although there was no apparent reason for the killing of Mr. Knight by the bandits-he had told them they were welcome to anything in the house and had even opened his safe and given them the jewelry-Jessamine and Fayette county officers were working on the theory that at least one of the pair of bandits was recognized by Mr. Knight and that he was slain to prevent possible future detection.
Carrie Ross, 31, negro, of 185 North Eastern avenue, Lexington, the cook, was the first person on the farm to see the robbers. Carrie was in the kitchen of the home preparing supper about 5:30 o'clock. She said she heard someone in the room and, turning around, saw a pair of feet covered with a cloth. Carrie said she looked up and straight into the muzzle of a gun and a man told her: "Stand still and do what you are told and you won't get hurt."
Carrie said the man, who was tall, heavy and had a thin face walked toward her, grabbed her by the arm and asked where Mrs. Knight was. Carrie replied that Mrs. Knight was out in the yard feeding the chickens.
She said the man walked her to the kitchen door, looked out and said: "Sure enough, there is Mrs. Knight." Carrie broke away from the man and ran toward the chicken house, with him giving chase. She reached the chicken house and saw the man running toward her. (continued page 2 column 1)
(F. D. KNIGHT IS SLAIN BY THUGS.
Prominent Landowner is Killed After Opening Safe Upon Demand of Tow Masked Thugs.
SHOT AFTER OPENING SAFE)
Carrie said he ran with a decided limp.
She said that he reached into the chicken house and seized her and that Mrs. Knight, attracted by the commotion looked up and then started making outcries. Then Carrie said, the second bandit covered Mrs. Knight with a pistol. The two bandits marched Mrs. Knight and Carrie into the house, where Carrie broke loose and started running toward a side entrance. Carrie gained the side porch and was starting to a large bell which is used to call in Mr. Knight and farm hands and which can be heard for a distance of two miles, when the crippled bandit grabbed her and, twisting her arm hard, cautioned her: "Don't do that."
Wife, Cook Are Bound
The bandit then returned to the house with Carrie and she and Mrs. Knight were taken to an upstairs room, where the bandits produced a large roll of adhesive tape. One thug taped Carrie's wrists and placed adhesive tape over her mouth and nose. Mrs. Knight asked the bandits not to bind Carrie too tightly, as she suffered from heart trouble and had difficulty in breathing. Then the bandit took the tape from Carrie's nose, but left her mouth sealed with the tape. The other bandit then taped the wrists of Mrs. Knight and also placed a strip of tape over her mouth.
From the time the bandits captured Carrie and Mrs. Knight, they continually asked where Mr. Knight was and when he would return. Mrs. Knight told them he was out on the farm and would return to the house about 6 o'clock. They also asked Mrs. Knight where her diamonds were kept, and she told them they were in a Nicholasville bank.
Carrie said that when the crippled man came to the door he wore no mask, but that the first time she saw the second bandit, he had a cap pulled down over his forehead and was wearing a large handkerchief over the lower half of his face. She said the crippled man placed a handkerchief over the lower part of his face after he had been about the house for approximately 15 minutes.
After taping Mrs. Knight and the cook and leaving them on a bed upstairs, the crippled bandit went down to the first floor, while the other remained in the room with Mrs. Knight and Carrie. In a few minutes the second bandit came to the first floor and he and the crippled robber started conversing.
At this point, Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight knocked on the front door of the residence and, not getting any response started walking around the side of the house. About halfway around, they saw two men in the house. One of the men called out: "Come on in and keep your mouth shut, this is a holdup."
Nephew, Niece Held
Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight went into the kitchen through a side door and were faced by pistols in the hands of each of the bandits. The thugs escorted them to a room on the first floor, where they ordered them to sit upon the bed. Then both Mr. and Mrs. Knight's wrists were bound tightly with wire and they were forced to lay upon the bed.
The bandits then left the room, "Crip" remaining downstairs and the other thug returned to the room where Mrs. Knight and Carrie were held prisoners.
In a few moments, Mr. Knight came in off the farm, walked in the kitchen and, after drinking a glass of water, called out, as had been his custom for years: "Hello cook, here I am ready for supper."
"Crip" then stepped into the kitchen and, covering Mr. Knight with his pistol, said: "This is a holdup."
Mr. Knight replied that he knew what the robber was there for and that he could have anything in the house. When he heard Mr. Knight enter the house, the bandit upstairs called out: "Hey, 'Crip,' is it all right for me to come down now?"
"Crip" replied in the affirmative. The bandit came down, and together they escorted Mr. Knight to a room in which a small iron safe is kept. Mr. Knight did not that his wife, Carrie, and Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight were being held prisoners in the house.
Agreed to Open Safe.
Reaching the room in which the safe stood, the bandits asked what the safe contained and Mr. Knight told them it contained only a few insurance papers. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight could hear plainly all of the conversation between Mr. Knight and the bandits from the room in which they were held captive.
Mr. Knight told the bandits he could not see how to open the safe without his spectacles and also would have to obtain the combination. They allowed him to get his spectacles and the combination and stood over him while he opened the safe. When the safe door swung upon, Mr. Knight brought out the insurance papers and told the bandits the papers were of no value to them and asked them not to disturb them.
Then the robbers spied a diamond stud and ring in safe and said: "Let's have those." Mr. Knight reached into the safe and got the stud and ring and handed them to the bandits.
Then Mrs. Blackburn Knight said she heard one of the bandits say: "Let him have it." Two shots followed the sentence in quick succession. Mrs. Knight said "Following the shots, the bandits returned to the room in which Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn Knight were prisoners, robbed Mr. Knight of $4 in cash and his automobile keys.
Captives Warned
"Remain still for 30 minutes," the bandits told them, "and when the police come tell them we are negroes, or we will come back later and finish both of you. We have a man stationed in the kitchen who will stand guard for a few minutes until we are safely away."
Then the bandits went outside, ripped and cut all of the telephone wires leading into the house, got into Blackburn Knight's automobile, and drove toward Lexington.
At 6:30 o'clock Clyde Moore, 42, an employee on the farm, came in from milking and found Mr. Knight lying on the floor, dead. He searched the house and found and liberated Mr. and Mrs. Knight and Mrs. "Dixie" Knight and Carrie.
From a nearby residence, Jessamine county officers were called by telephone and Lexington police were notified. When an account of the shooting and a description of the man was dispatched from WPET, officers of the Fayette county patrol went to the Knight residence and made an investigation.
Mr. Knight at one time was one of the leading thoroughbred breeders in the state. It was on his farm that Exterminator, one of the country's greatest handicap horses and winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby was foaled. Brown Bud, a stake winner of more recent years, also was foaled there. George Smith, 1916 Kentucky Derby winner, stood at Mr. Knight's 600 acre farm for several years after being retired to the stud.
Mr. Knight is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lydia Todhunter Knight; one brother, G. L. Knight, Nicholasville; eight nephews, Henry Knight, Chicago; Joseph and William Knight, Nicholasville; Blackburn and Grant Knight, Versailles; M. L. Knight, Portland, Ore.; and Lucien Knight, Lexington; and one niece, Mrs. Howard Smith, Lexington.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes
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