FULL TEXT (Article 1 of 4): Fred R. Morton, formerly of this
city [Ft. Scott, Kansas], and son of the late F. Q. Morton, a former Fort Scott
man, was shot and instantly killed by his wife in the yard of their premises at
Pittsburg yesterday afternoon about 5:30 o’clock. The woman shot herself in the
head immediately afterward, and will probably die. She was taken to Mt. Carmel
hospital. Morton was shot in the heart, and died instantly.
The shooting was the culmination of a quarrel in which the
Mortons had engaged for perhaps an hour before the tragedy, according to
reports. The cause of the quarrel; is not definitely known. one report is that
recently Mrs. Morton went to the poor farm to visit a relative, and that
yesterday’s fatal quarrel was the result of his reproaching her severely for
the visit. Another report is to the effect that it was a triangle case.
That the quarrel, even before it reached the point of the
tragedy, was a violent one is evidenced by the fact that the neighbors called
the police. Before they could reach the Morton address, at 512 North Joplin
street, the shooting had occurred.
Mrs. Morton is 40 years of age, and Mr. Morton, it is said,
was several years her junior. Mrs. Morton has two grown daughters, one of them
married.
Morton was a Frisco brakeman, and formerly worked in that
capacity here for the Frisco. He had been in Pittsburg only about a year., it
is said, although his wife had lived there practically all her life. It is reported
that Morton was her third husband.
[“Fred Morton Killed – Former Ft. Scott Man Shot By Wife in
Pittsburg. Then She Tried Suicide – Frisco Brakeman Shot Through Heart, and
Wife Will Probably Die – Cause Uncertain.” The Fort Scott Tribune (Ka.), Aug.
22, 1921, p. 1]
***
FULL TEXT (Article 2 of 4): Girard, Kas., June 19. – The
varied matrimonial career of a Girard woman, Mrs. Georgia Brown, had added to
it another chapter today with the shooting of Mrs. Brown’s sixth husband, James
Gilbert Brown, an employe with a coal drilling company.
Mrs. Brown, charged with first degree murder, is in the
county jail awaiting arraignment, probably Monday.
Brown was found by officers shot to death at his home
shortly after midnight, following a call from neighbors who had heard a shot.
Mrs. Brown reported at that time she was awakened by the shot and found her
husband dying.
The shooting followed the return of Mrs. Brown last night
from Texas, Charles Reid, a farmer living near Girard, who had been staying
with Brown during the woman’s absence, testified before the coroner’s jury that
Mrs. Brown and her husband had quarreled within a short time after her arrival
last night.
Brown is the third of Mrs. Brown’s to meet a violent death.
Fred Morton, her fourth husband, was fatally shot in Pittsburgh five years ago
[Aug. 21, 1921]. Mrs. Brown, then Mrs. Morton, was tried for first degree
murder at that time and was acquitted.
Her first husband, Will Altember, was shot to death by a
brother-in-law at Ashton, Ark.
Altogether, Mrs. Brown has been married seven times, having
divorced O. G. Leonard in June 1919, and remarried him later the same year. he
was divorced a second time. Leonard was the third husband. The second and fifth
were Frank Ferguson and George Francis, both of whom she had married in the
district and later divorced.
[“Seventh Husband of Kansas Woman To Meet Violent End - Mrs.
Georgia Brown, Held in Jail in Girard, to Be Arraigned Monday of Charge of
Having Murdered Husband – Neighbors Heard Shot.” Springfield Republican (Mo.),
Jun. 20, 1926, p. 1]
***
FULL TEXT:(Article 3 of 4): Pittsburgh, Kans., Nov. 19. –
Mrs. Georgia Brown, seven times married, was found guilty of second degree
murder by a jury which returned its verdict at Girard shortly after midnight
last night. She was tred on a charge of slaying her husband while he lay asleep
at their home in Girard.
The jury was out nearly seven hours and reached an agreement
on conviction with the fourth ballot. Later polls were taken to determine the
extent of the crime. She will be sentenced November 27.
One of the state’s points was that the gun with which it
charged Mrs. Brown killed her sleeping husband was the same weapon which blazed
death five years ago for her fourth husband, while the couple were living in
Pittsburgh. She was tried on a murder charge at that time and acquitted on a
plea of self defense.
The state also brought out that a third husband met a
violent death several years ago in Arkansas. Mrs. Brown’s matrimonial career
has included six husbands, one of whom she married twice. Marriage and divorce
records show that on one occasion she was wedded a month before one of her four
divorces was granted.
[“Jury Says Woman Guilty In Death, Seventh Spouse – Mrs.
Georgia Brown Convicted in Court at Pittsburgh, Kan.,” The Morning-News-Star
(La.), Nov. 19, 1926, p. 1]
***
FULL TEXT (Article 4
of 4): Girard, Kas., Nov. 27 – Mrs. Georgia Brown, 45, must spend from 10 years
to life at the state industrial farm for women for the slaying of her sixth
husband, James Gilbert Brown here on June 19. sentence was passed today.
Mrs. Brown was alleged to have shot her husband in his sleep
with the same revolver that husband No. 4, John Morton, was killed with five
years ago. She was tried and acquitted of Morton’s murder.
~ Her Record is 7. ~
She was married seven times in all, twice to No. 3, named
Leonard. Three of her husbands met tragic ends, No. 1, named Altember, having
been killed by her brother.
[“Dame, Wed 7 Times, to go up for Killing Her Sixth
Husband,” The Helena Independent (Mt.), Nov. 28, 1926, p. 1]
***
***
***
***
***
For links to other cases of woman who murdered 2 or more husbands (or paramours), see Black Widow Serial Killers.
***
[500-1/2/21]
***
No comments:
Post a Comment