Murder Theory

NEVINS

Posted By: David L. Skipton (email)
Date: 2/9/2010 at 00:15:52

Source: Louisa County Historical Society.

FACTS DO NOT BEAR OUT MURDER THEORY

Although the facts connected with the burning of the Nevins residence near Grandview Sunday morning with the body of old Patrick Nevins within the building, seemed to be rather suspicious and the wildest stories of murder were rife on the streets of Muscatine, still the facts of the case failed to bear out the theory of murder and a Journal representative who was on the scene yesterday and who examined closely the testimony of the witnesses at the inquest failed to discover any circumstances that pointed toward murder. In the vicinity of the place where the Nevins lived and in Grandview there does not seem to be the slightest suspicion that the old man met with foul play.

The fact of the murder was that both men were utterly helpless from intoxication and the wonder is that the younger man escaped the flames. Tom Nevins continued to consult a big bottle, which he had hid in the barn, even while the neighbors were attempting to get the body of his father out of the ruins and he still clung to his bottle yesterday forenoon, refusing to give it up to anydoby until he was ordered by the coroner to turn the bottle over to him, which he reluctantly did, but not until he had taken one last drink out of it. He was comparatively sober, however, during the inquest and told a fairly straight story, in which he claimed that he had made every effort to save the life of his father but that the smoke had suffocated the old man and that he was already dead before he had reached the first floor with him. He was a little off in regard to the time of the fire but he was scarcely in condition to be able to tell time when the fire occurred. He stated that it was 11:30, claiming that he saw the clock at the side of the door on the first floor as he struck a match to find his way out. He claimed that he then fell unconscious and accounts in that way for the time which elapsed between the starting of the fire and the time when he notifed his neighbors. He stated to the coroner's jury that he was drunk the night before and knew nothing of what occurrd during the evening previous to the fire.

All the witnesses called gave practically the same information and was in substance as was stated in the Journal last evening. None of the witnesses felt that there had been any foul play and all agreed that Tom and his father always got along well together, never fighting or having any trouble whatever.

It was very evident from the appearance of the body that the head had not been cut off as was freely rumored yesterday. The head was missing from the body but must have been burned off from the appearance of the bones of the neck, the charred end of which were still on the trunk, every vertebrae being distinguishable to the very top of the spinal column and if the head had been cut off, it would have been severed considerably below the first vertebrae.

Tom had reported his father dead and ordered a coffin as was related yesterday in the Journal and in addition to this he also reported his mother and his brother dead. He called the coroner one day and told him that a brother, who lived in Burlington was dead and that the body would arrive on a certain train, asking the coroner to take charge of the remains. Mr. Wagner, the coroner, stated yesterday, in telling the story to a Journal reporter, that he did not fully believe the man and communicated with Burlington, receiving the answer that the brother was alive and well. On another occasion Tom came to Grandview and asked some of the friends of the family to go out to the home as his mother was dead. Several went out and the old lady cane out and opened the gate for her callers.

the family was a well known one in the vicinity of Grandview as the old man had lived there for over 50 years, locating on the farm where he met his untimely death, when the Rock Island first built its road through that vicinity. the two men have been living alone in the house doing their own housekeeping and cooking for some time and of late years having borne a reputation for continual drinking, scarcely ever being known to be sober.