Individual Details

Death

Okey Taylor was charged with the murder of one Marion Furr It seems that Furr had a short time before the unfortunate transaction of Sunday August 2 1903 in which he lost his life caused Taylor to be arrested on the charge of unlawful retailing of liquors in consequence of which it is probable that there was bitterness between them Taylor lived about seventy five or one hundred yards from the public road along which Furr in company with his wife both on horseback HH Hite and a young lady by the name of Maggie Johns also on horseback and Mrs HH Hite and two girls in a buggy were passing on their return from religious service They had been to church on the morning of that day and afterwards dined with a friend or relative in the vicinity of the church and then attended a funeral service at another place in the afternoon. As they were passing This place the buggy was first in order then came Hite and Maggie Johns while Furr and his wife were in the rear These persons except the deceased were the principal witnesses for the State They say that upon approaching the scene of the killing the prisoner was seen in his yard near his house in company with other persons but immediately arose and came out to the road and intercepted Furr and his wife at or near a pair of bars. One or more of the witnesses said that at the time of their approach Taylor was sitting down While one of his companions was apparently trimming his hair When near the road or out in the road he called to Furr asking him when he was going back to town to which Furr replied Whenever I get ready or Whenever I damned please Taylor responded that he would not The altercation continued and resulted in the fatal shooting The evidence is very conflicting as to which began the use of insulting and profane language The witnesses for the State say it was Taylor and those for the defense say it was Furr There is also conflict as to the exact position of the parties at the time of the actual encounter and as to what occurred A claim made by the defense in support of which evidence was introduced is that Taylor's object in leaving the house was not to provoke a quarrel with Furr but to go to a stable across the road and saddle his horse with a view to accompanying some of the parties who were with him on a trip which they intended to take Some say he had actually crossed the road before any violent demonstrations occurred The evidence for the State tends to prove that the prisoner intercepted the deceased provoked a quarrel and forced him into whatever combat there may have been while evidence adduced for the prisoner tends to show that Taylor was crossing the road towards the stable when Furr who had passed turned violently upon him threw one rock at him which missed and then another which knocked him down against a bank on the upper side of the road and then rode his horse up until he stood practically over him and lashed him with a cane or part of a riding or driving whip and that while in that act Taylor told him once or twice to take the horse off of him on failure of which he drew his revolver and fired three or four shots at the deceased some of which took effect and killed him almost instantly The wife of the deceased says he endeavored to get away and that the prisoner was never down on the ground but stood erect and deliberately fired without cause HH Hite's testimony is substantially to the same effect He says that upon hearing the trouble he alighted from his horse handed the bridle to his companion and went back and asked the parties to have no trouble and that Taylor said By God you keep your distance and keep your mouth shut that the quarrel continued until Furr struck with a switch but as to whether at the prisoner or at the horse he is indefinite whereupon Taylor drew his revolver and fired that the deceased turned his horse away but the prisonerer fired three more shots as rapidly as possible and that at a distance of thirty to fifty feet from the point at which the first shot was fired the deceased fell from his horse and died without a word He denies that any rocks were thrown and the tendency of his evidence is to sustain the indictment and repel the defense set up Mrs Hite was further away but she says she could see and did see the prisoner at the time of the shooting and that he was not down but on his feet She says Furr's horse was between her and the prisoner but she could see his head and the top of his shoulders just over the horse's neck She also says she heard her husband say Come boys or Boys this is no day to hav_e trouble Thompson Bell Conrad and others testified in support of the defense set up by the_prisoner There is evidence of previous threats on the part of the prisoner and of declarations of intent to kill at the time of the shooting and also of such threats and declarations on the part of the deceased It is also urged in defense that there was a conspiracy between Furr and Hite against the prisoner.

Reports of Cases Determined by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, Volume 57, West Publishing Company, 1906