Johnson - BIrd - shot
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday, 22 October 1897
About 12 o’clock Friday night Will H. Thompson, of Darlington, shot his wife, Mrs. Bird Thompson, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson, 307 E. Franklin Street. Thompson gave himself up to police four hours after the shooting and is now in jail.
Will Thompson is a son of C. E. Thompson, the well known dry goods merchant of Darlington. C. E. Thompson is a brother of J. K. P. and David Thompson, of this city, and he himself formerly lived here. Will is now 25 years of age and has always been regarded as a wild, bad boy, although ugly motives were never imputed to him. He was regarded rather as being weak than vicious. When he was 19 years of age he was married to Miss Bird Kashner, the daughter of George Kashner, a retired farmer and stock buyer of Darlington. The two lived together happily for some time, but Will began to indulge in occasional sprees and this led to trouble. He would be off a week at a time, and during these bouts his wife would go and stay with his parents or her parents. The Thompson family apparently thought much of her and did everything in their power to reform Will. He took treatment for the liquor habit from Dr. Huntsinger, at Frankfort, about three years ago, but soon fell again. About a year ago his parents sent him to Plainfield to take the Keeley cure and for a season after his return he was all right. He was a barber by trade and had a good business in Darlington. Last May, however, he borrowed a wheel in Darlington and went to Colfax, where he spent a week on a big drunk. When he returned he found that he had lost his business and therefore concluded to leave the town. He found an opening at Middletown and went there with his wife to live.
She stayed with him as long as she could, his habits not improving in the least. Abut two weeks ago, however, she concluded that she would leave him forever, and having told him so, she departed. She arrived in Crawfordsville several days later and began a visit with Mrs. Wilson, with whom she had become acquainted during when Wilsons lived in Darlington. She did not hear from her husband but stated to Mrs. Wilson that she had endured his vagaries as long as she was able and would have to leave him forever.
George Wilson makes the following statement concerning the affair: “Mrs. Thompson came to our house to visit my wife two weeks ago. She had been a great friend of ours and we thought a great deal of her. Friday night about 11:30 a cab drove up to our door, and when I responded to the bell I found Will Thompson there. I was surprised to see him and especially at that hour. He said he wanted to see his wife, and at first I hesitated about calling her. I was a little suspicious of him, but he seemed so cheerful and friendly that I finally concluded that he was all right. He seemed perfectly sober and I think he was, too. His wife was in bed and at first she decided she wouldn’t see him. She was a little afraid of him, but finally concluded that maybe he merely wanted to see her about dividing their property, so she put on a wrapper and went down. They were talking in the kitchen so as not to disturb those sleeping in the house. I was still a little fearful, so I had my wife dress and go down where they were. She found that Will was so friendly and affable, however, that she dismissed all thoughts of danger and came back to bed. They had been by themselves some minutes when I heard a loud shot and knew at once what had happened. I ran downstairs and found that Bird had fallen at the foot of the back stairs. She had been sitting on a chair when shot, Thompson sitting directly in front of her. When he pulled his gun and fired she sprang up and staggered to the stairs where she fell. When I got down Thompson was in the front part of the house getting his hat, but he came charging back in a moment with the revolver still in his hand. When he saw me he raised it up on a level and was apparently just about to shoot when I called to him not to, that he had already done enough. He then glanced at his wife and began to back out of the house by the rear way, holding his gun leveled at me. When he got outside, he broke and ran. He looked ugly, I tell you, and I am sure he would have shot me if I had attempted to follow him. Mrs. Thompson was conscious and as soon as my wife came we helped her upstairs and onto the bed. Then I hustled for Dr. Hutchings and as soon as he came I notified the police and telephoned to her father at Darlington. Her father got here about 3:30 Saturday morning and was greatly affected. He notified the police to secure Thompson at all hazards and not to spare expense in doing it. Mrs. Thompson bled some but not as much as one might expect from the ugly wound in her breast. She was conscious all the time I was in the house, and stated that Will had suddenly pulled his gun and fired when she had refused to go back and live with him. She was sitting directly in front of him when he fired, and had no warning whatever of his intentions. She said she had never known him to own a revolver and did not dream of his having one until he suddenly jerked it out and fired.”
Dr. Hutchings stated on Saturday: “I was called to George Wilson’s about 12:30 o’clock and found Mrs. Thompson almost dead. She was about pulse less, was cold and blind. By hot applications and hypodermic injections she was finally rallied and this morning we were able to remove her blood soaked dress and night gown. The ball had entered two inches below the collar bone and an inch to the right of the sternum. As she was sitting leaning over when shot, the ball must have ranged downward, and I think must have passed through the lung. However, it may not have done so as she has not been spitting blood so far. In any event, the wound is a very desperate one and I consider her recovery as exceedingly doubtful.”