Booger hole trial 1917

In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from January 29, , a few of the murders are described in their grisly detail, including:. Joseph Clark was another victim. He was sleeping in a school house. He was traced by a streak of blood to a creek nearby, but nothing further was ever learned about him.

Lacy Ann Boggs was another victim, her murder having occurred soon after she had made a remark that she knew where Henry Hargis was buried. Folks could hear people coming up the road like they were riding horses, but no one would appear. There was also a ghostly woman dressed in white with long black hair who walked the paths and howled and wailed and sobbed. Like many old towns, Booger Hole has grown.

It's difficult to find the homes of old, new ones have popped up over the last fifty years and it is all private property. Please respect the boundaries of those who lived there in the past, and also those who live there now! Potential Ghost Hunters should always respect the areas to search out the paranormal and also respect those who are still living who might be related to the dead.

Public properties may become private, or they may simply be listed with the address so you know the historical area where the story originated. Regardless, if the area is listed as private or not, please respect the landowner and do not disturb their privacy. They buried it under the house. James Moore, John Lyons and several of their family members were arrested and brought to trial. The jury considered that there was enough evidence to indict the two men in the murders of Hargis and Boggs, but in the end, neither were found guilty.

He disappeared and was never seen again. Joseph Clark, a watchmaker who stopped to sleep overnight in the Booger Hole schoolhouse, was another victim to disappear in the area. His body was never found, but a trail of blood led officers to a nearby creek. The last to die was Preston Tanner, a twenty-two year old who moved into Booger Hole with his pretty young wife shortly after their marriage.

In January, , he died in his sleep as fire leveled his shack. His wife was away, visiting her father. Charleston Mail, Jan 29, While they were there, a mob of nearly two-hundred men, their faces masked with black stockings, stormed the jail. Shots were fired into the stone walls of the courthouse. The mob had nooses prepared, dangling beneath the Elk River bridge, waiting for the accused.

The Sampsons were moved to the attic of a nearby house, and Clay County lawyer quelled the wrath of the mob by standing on the courthouse steps, making a speech on law and justice. After the vigilantes dispersed, Howard and Andrew were sent to separate jails in neighboring counties. Charleston Mail, Feb 9, The Sampson trial began on February 2.

He believed that Tanner should leave Booger Hole, and go back to the Stimson community where he was born. Preston Tanner took the stand, and told of Howard having made numerous advances to her, and that he had threatened that she would be sorry within two months if she did not agree to his proposals.