THE HENRY BULLETIN, Fri., Jan. 10, 1930
One of the most horrible shooting affairs in the annals of Henry county was the double killing which occurred at Koehler Monday evening, when Daniel Woodson Purdy, age 25, after having been jilted by his sweetheart, Mary Alice Turner, fired point blank into her body as they were in one of the rooms of the Turner home and then turned the pistol upon himself ending his life with a bullet through his head.
The couple had been sweethearts for some duration, but difficulty had arose between the two with indications that the girls was trying to jilt him in favor of other boys.
Purdy, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Purdy of the Blackberry section, had recently returned from West Virginia where he had been working. Finding that his girl friend had turned her attentions in favor of some other boy, he became enraged and made threats to kill her and the boy, too.
On the day of the shooting he went to one of the Fieldale stores and purchased a pistol. At the time of the purchase he stated to the clerk in the store that he was going to kill two other persons and the himself. That night he went to the home of Alice Turner, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Peter Turner, residing on top of the hill in a small home just above the Koehler water tank where he sought the presence of the Turner girl.
After talking with the Turner family a few moments in a normal manner, on paying his girl frequent visits, he and Alice went into another room. He told her then that he was going to kill her, at the same time flashing a revolver. While they were conversing, Iris Turner, a younger sister, entered the room. Although Alice pretended to her rejected suitor that she was not taking his threats very seriously, she decided upon a ruse in an effort to save herself. She asked her sister to bring her a pencil and paper so that she might write something for the child to read at school the next day. Before the note could be delivered, her father called for Alice to come into the other room. As she opened the door, Purdy opened fire and as her mother rushed into the room, the wounded girl fell into her mother's arms dead. Purdy then turned the pistol against his right ear and fired a bullet into his head, he dying about an hour later.
Clinched in the hand of the dead girl was the message that she had written and had tried to pass to her young sister. The message read, "Papa, Dan says he is going to kill me. He is dissatisfied with life. Try to save me."
The last rites for Mary Alice Turner, Age 17, were held at Old Center Church, near Bassett, and interment made in the cemetery at that place. Funeral services for Daniel Woodson Purdy, age 25, were held from the Koger burial ground near Blackberry Church, this county.
THE HENRY BULLETIN, Fri., Jan. 10, 1930
One of the most horrible shooting affairs in the annals of Henry county was the double killing which occurred at Koehler Monday evening, when Daniel Woodson Purdy, age 25, after having been jilted by his sweetheart, Mary Alice Turner, fired point blank into her body as they were in one of the rooms of the Turner home and then turned the pistol upon himself ending his life with a bullet through his head.
The couple had been sweethearts for some duration, but difficulty had arose between the two with indications that the girls was trying to jilt him in favor of other boys.
Purdy, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Purdy of the Blackberry section, had recently returned from West Virginia where he had been working. Finding that his girl friend had turned her attentions in favor of some other boy, he became enraged and made threats to kill her and the boy, too.
On the day of the shooting he went to one of the Fieldale stores and purchased a pistol. At the time of the purchase he stated to the clerk in the store that he was going to kill two other persons and the himself. That night he went to the home of Alice Turner, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Peter Turner, residing on top of the hill in a small home just above the Koehler water tank where he sought the presence of the Turner girl.
After talking with the Turner family a few moments in a normal manner, on paying his girl frequent visits, he and Alice went into another room. He told her then that he was going to kill her, at the same time flashing a revolver. While they were conversing, Iris Turner, a younger sister, entered the room. Although Alice pretended to her rejected suitor that she was not taking his threats very seriously, she decided upon a ruse in an effort to save herself. She asked her sister to bring her a pencil and paper so that she might write something for the child to read at school the next day. Before the note could be delivered, her father called for Alice to come into the other room. As she opened the door, Purdy opened fire and as her mother rushed into the room, the wounded girl fell into her mother's arms dead. Purdy then turned the pistol against his right ear and fired a bullet into his head, he dying about an hour later.
Clinched in the hand of the dead girl was the message that she had written and had tried to pass to her young sister. The message read, "Papa, Dan says he is going to kill me. He is dissatisfied with life. Try to save me."
The last rites for Mary Alice Turner, Age 17, were held at Old Center Church, near Bassett, and interment made in the cemetery at that place. Funeral services for Daniel Woodson Purdy, age 25, were held from the Koger burial ground near Blackberry Church, this county.
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