Mrs. D.F. Dellinger, white, about 28 years old, employed as a night operator in the Southern Railway offices on the third floor of the Commercial Bank building, was criminally assaulted Saturday night about 8 o’clock while she was alone in her home on the Monroe road, just beyond Briar Creek, by two negroes.
Mrs. Dellinger’s version of the attack, told after she recovered somewhat from her hysterical condition, was that, after the negroes had attacked and were holding her, she heard an automobile drive by the house and apparently stop. She had presence of mind enough to say to the attackers that she would not scream if the one holding his hand over her mouth would remove it so she could breathe more freely. When he obeyed the suggestion, she summoned all her strength and cried out at the top of her voice, “murder.”
The attackers, having heard the car stop and realizing its occupants might have heard her cry, took fright and ran out of the house. Before she could stagger out of the house and attract the attention of the persons in the car, it had driven on. Staggering out into the road, she started out to the main highway, the Monroe road, 50 yards away and was making her way to Arthur Grier’s store when another car came by. Its occupants stopped, put her in the car and ran on down to the store at Briar Creek, from which place the alarm was sent over to the city by telephone.
Mrs. Dellinger’s breast was somewhat lacerated and one of her thighs pretty severely scratched up during the struggle which she put up against her assailants.
As soon as word of the deed reached the police station, Sergeant Ed Black and a number of police officers rushed to the scene in an automobile and placed a negro suspect under arrest. Mrs. Dellinger ran from her home down to the general store kept by Arthur Grier, negro, where the Monroe road crosses Briar Creek. Although hysterical and with her clothes torn and bloody, Mrs. Dellinger made it known to the keeper of the store that she wanted to communicate with her husband, who is an employe of the Western Union Telegraph office. Word soon got to the Southern Railway offices and to the western Union office and Mr. Dellinger himself ran to the police station to inform the police, who had, however, gotten the word by telephone from another source.
Mrs. Dellinger, as soon as the officers arrived, gave at once the names of two negroes who live not far from her house, and said they were the guilty parties. The officers went to a number of houses in the neighborhood where negroes lived and searched them, finding one of the negroes Mrs. Dellinger had named.
Negro Is “Ignorant”
The negro arrested denied all knowledge of the affair except that he admitted the other negro named by Mrs. Dellinger had talked to him earlier in the evening and had suggested to him that they go and attack Mrs. Dellinger. The arrested negro said he refused to listen to the suggestion and advised the other one not to try it.
Only a few officers were at the police station when the alarm came in and the two police cars were out at the time. John Hawkins was called upon by the officers and drove them out to the place. Later Sheriff W.O. Cochran went out to join the police, all the deputy sheriffs being out on other duty at the time. The search for the other negro named by Mrs. Dellinger was kept up last night but he had not been apprehended at midnight.
The officers are not positive of the identification of the man arrested but took him in in spite of his protestations that he had nothing to do with it.
Mrs. Dellinger has been employed at the switchboard of the Southern offices for several years. She goes to work at 11 o’clock each night and is on duty until daylight. She had planned, however, not to work Saturday night and had engaged another woman to work in her place.
The house occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Dellinger is one of the two or three on the south embankment of the Seaboard Air Line cut beyond the point where the Monroe road crosses the Seaboard track and a few hundred yards beyond the Briar Creek bridge. The houses are not close together and hence a commotion raised in one house would not necessarily be heard at once with all windows and doors closed, as they probably were on Saturday night. The alarm spread soon to the other houses of the neighborhood and, after word of the crime reached the city, a considerable number of people went out from the city. Feeling was high because of the deed and it was regarded as fortunate by the officers and others that the two alleged to have committed the crime were not at hand.
It is said that the negroes went to the Dellinger home and went into the house before Mrs. Dellinger knew they were about and that they caught her as she ran from one room into another in an effort to elude them. One of them held his hand over her mouth, it is said, to stifle her cries. Mrs. Dellinger’s condition was described as rather serious. Medical attention was given her as soon as possible.
Just how much credit the police place in the assertion of Mrs. Dellinger that she knew the names of both the negroes was not divulged. It was admitted she was in a highly hysterical condition when she made the statement to them and might not be positive in her identification, but they regard the fact as significant that she did not hesitate to give two names when they asked her as to the identity of her assailants and that they later found a man bearing one of the names she gave. The negro arrested showed considerable apprehension when locked up, which may or may not have been significant.
Mrs. Dellinger, although she was accustomed to go to work at 11 o’clock at night, usually came to town before night. Her home is about a mile from the end of the Elizabeth car line.
From the front page of the Charlotte News, Sunday, Dec. 18, 1921
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