By Mike Simmons…available on Amazon
Here’s a glimpse…
“Wanna come?” asked Guy to his father when he was home on leave, between assignments in 1905. In the short time he had been a US Army Officer, Guy had already been promoted to Captain. Guy had been reassigned to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to survey the coastline. His 69-year-old father, Peter, who lived with his wife in Illinois, had shown an interest in surveying and engineering. They packed up their things and headed out.
When they arrived, two things immediately got the father and son’s attention – the heat and the humidity. The culture was different also. Folks wore lighter clothes, the food was lighter, and the talking was slower. It took Peter and Guy a while to get used to the changes. But the scenery! The scenery was beautiful.
“This is it,” declared Peter to his son. “This is where your mother and I are going to live.” That dream soon became a reality.
June 15, 1915, 2 AM:
The quiet was peaceful. Peter and Emily were asleep in the charming little home they had made. Due to the hot Florida summer before air conditioning, windows were kept open to catch any breeze that could be found. The Wymans also had screens on their windows.
The explosion caused by the 12-gauge shotgun woke Emily with a start. She immediately rolled out of bed to try to escape. But the second shot hit her in the breast. The next shot was in the head. Her husband never saw his wife killed. The first shot killed him immediately and tore off part of his head. Soon, the peaceful quiet returned…
Robert Oglesby kept an eye out for his neighbors, especially if they were getting on in years as the Wymans were. As he was passing by on Thursday, Robert noticed that a supply delivery that had been left on Wyman’s Wharf. He decided to check on them.
What he saw when he opened the front door stayed with him for the rest of his life. He had spoken with these good folks only two days ago, and now they were dead…at the hands of wicked people.
Soon after the deputy and the coroner arrived, Sheriff Harvell got there. The old man had seen a lot, but nothing like this. He saw Emily’s body lying on a bed where she fled. Her whole head looked like a bloody pulp. It was hard to distinguish her face from the blood, brains, and pieces of scalp. Her husband, who would have normally looked like he was lying in his bed asleep, had part of his head blown away.
It didn’t take long for the papers to put the story out and before long, the news of the horrible murder in Harris, Florida spread throughout the nation. The next three days’ newspapers were filled with dozens of stories across the United States.
The local newspapers hardly got the story out before the old sheriff made five arrests. Elder Mitchell’s big toe extended in a very unusual manner. As soon as the sheriff and deputy saw the footprint, both of them knew who it belonged to. The other four followed.
The case was a weak one. But something happens when a human life is taken. Sheriff Harvell knew this. He wisely had the suspects separated from the beginning. None of the accused – Jim Roberts, Elder Mitchell, Persley Roberts, John Barbaree, or Brady Roberts – said anything…at first.
A few weeks later, Elder Mitchell began, insisting that he only went along because he was forced to. He said, “I was skeered.”
At the first trial, the Roberts boys – Jim, Pursey, and Brady – went first. Elder Mitchell and John Barbaree were to be tried later. Circuit Judge A. G. Campbell presided, with John Stokes prosecuting and two experienced lawyers – Clark and McDuffie – defending.
The case was full of interest, conflict, and surprises. Finally, on Saturday night, July 17, 1915, the judge handed the case to the jury at 11 PM. As they say, you never know what a jury will do. Before the midnight hour, the jurors filed in. The verdict was announced – guilty.
On November 17, 1915, the jury announced the verdict in the case against Peter Wyman. – guilty with a recommendation for mercy. That meant that the judge could not sentence the defendants to death. All got life sentences.
It came down from the Board of Pardons. Even though the Florida Supreme Court upheld the death penalty, the state Board of Pardons, after receiving letters from several of the jurors, commuted the sentence from the death penalty to life in prison.
When the calendar turned over from 1916 to 1917, it was time for the final two defendants to meet their fates. John Barbaree headed for trial for Emily Wyman’s murder on Friday, January 6, 1917. Before the trial began, though, Barbaree stopped the proceedings and offered to plea to second-degree murder. The prosecution agreed, and the judge wasted no time – life in prison.
Perhaps Elder Mitchell was under the impression that, since he handed the Roberts brothers to the state on a silver platter he would get a pass – wrong. Elder Mitchell was the ring leader in the whole affair. He also had the worst reputation of all five. Finally, he was the quickest on his feet when the charges came. He quickly threw the others to the wolves in an effort to save himself.
He was smart, no doubt. But he learned something through the ordeal. He learned that the prosecutor, John Stokes was smarter. After he testified, he still received the same penalty as the others. In fact, early on the morning of January 30, 1917, the train picked up all five convicts and carted them off to the Florida State Prison at Raiford, together
Incidentally, Guy Wyman went on to start the small town where the murders took place – Navarre, Florida.