Probably a record was set in the court annals of Pasquotank Friday when two manslaughter verdicts were returned the same day and within less than five hours of each other.
The last was the verdict against Elwell Overton, negro, accused of the murder of W.R. Balance, white. This jury brought in its verdict at 3:20 by the courthouse clock, which is running a bit fast this week, and the court imposed the maximum sentence less than an hour later.
The first, of course, was that against A.E. Jones, reported elsewhere in this newspaper.
A half day behind its schedule, the trial of Elwell Overton, 28-years-old mulatto, ex-convict and World War veteran, charged with first degree murder in connection with the drowning of W.R. Balance, white deckhand on the tug Clay Foreman, on the night of Friday, February 29, got away to a flying start Thursday afternoon. Argument was concluded in the forenoon and the jury took the case following the judge’s charge at the opening of the afternoon session of court at about 20 minutes to 3 o’clock.
Elwell Overton is the negro whom a mob alleged to have been led by Evans Forbes, 43-year-old machinist with a family, residing at 18 Glade street, planned to get when it started to storm the Pasquotank County jail on Sunday night, March 2, shortly after the body of Mr. Balance had been recovered from the Pasquotank River. It is an interesting coincidence that the grand jury found a true bill against Evans Forbes on the very afternoon that the trial of Overton was begun.
Overton is represented by J.H. LeRoy Jr. of the firm of Meekins, McMullan & LeRoy, who was assigned to the defense by the court, as Overton was unable to employ counsel. This is the first case in the Superior Court in Pasquotank in which Mr. LeRoy has been chief counsel for a defendant charged with capital crime, and the young lawyer conducted his case in a manner that elicited favorable comment from older members of the bar.
Overton told his story in court Friday morning, giving substantially the same version of the drowning that he told in the recorder’s court at the preliminary hearing and as was told by Overton to a reporter for this newspaper while the negro was in his cell at the Pasquotank County jail.
This story, those who read the first account of the drowning published in The Advance or who read the report of Overton’s testimony in the recorder’s court last Monday, will remember, was to the effect that Mr. Balance hit Overton with a broom, countered with a blow to Balance’s face, that both men then began to pull and tug at the broom and that Balance went overboard when, as the heavier man of the two, he succeeded in wrenching the broom from the negro’s hands.
The theory of the State is that Overton attacked Balance, striking the first blow, and that the negro then rushed the white man to the rail where he either pushed him or knocked him overboard.
Here is Overton’s story as told in Superior Court Friday morning:
“I’ve been working with Captain Morrisette off and on for 10 years. The most time I missed in 10 years was when I was off in the war. I worked on the barges when a barge hand was needed, and when we didn’t have a tow I worked on the tug.
“Cap’n had tol’ us to be ready to leave dat Friday night at 10 o’clock. When it come time to go to the boat me and John Davis, fireman, was in Sawyertown. Before we got near the wharf we heard Cap’n blow for us and we started town to the boat half running and half walking.
“When we got to Pennsylvania Avenue where I lives I told John Davis I had forgot my gloves and to wait for me at the office while I gets ‘em. He said he would, but when I come out he was gone and when I went aboard the boat he was getting’ ready to pull his ashes from under the b’ler.
“I passed Mr. Ward on the way to the b’ler room and he says: ‘This looks like 10 o’clock; here it is half past 10.’ I goes on up to the pilot house and asks Cap’n what time it is and he says its 10:20. I tells him I’s late and I wouldn’t bother to stop for my heater that I uses on the barges when it’s cold, and he tells me all right, he don’t reckon I’ll need it. “With that I goes down to the engine room and tells Mr. Ward that his time’s wrong, that Cap’n says it’s just 10:20. He don’t make me no answer and I goes on into the b’ler room and asks John Davis what’s the matter with Mr. Ward. John Davis tells me Mr. Ward and Bill’s been talking about me bein’ late and I says ‘Bill aint got nothin’ to do with dat—dat’s Cap’n’s business. then Mr. Balance comes to the door and asks me ‘Whas dat?’ and I told him. He says:
“’I don’t like your argument!’
“’I don’t like yourn,’ I tells him.
“then he tells me to go behind him and I tells him I don’t play dat with nobody and not to say it, it’ll make trouble. “He says he don’t care if it does, and hits me wid his broom handle.
“I grabs de broom handle and jerks him to’ds me and hits him in the face with my fist. He jerks back and we tussle over the room two or three or four—maybe five—minutes. Den he snatches the broom away from me and falls back over the rail. I sees his two feet and the broom handle sticking over the rail and I grabs the broom handle. But I ain’t got no purchase and with his weight and the speed of the boat pulling against me, the broom handle slipped out of my hands and if I could a hilt it he would have pulled me overboard.
“When Bill hit de water Mr. Ward hollers to Cap’n dat Bill’s overboard. Cap’n rings fo’ bells, two to stop and two to back. He throws the searchlight behind us and I runs back on the fantail to see if I could see Bill, but couldn’t see nothing of him. Cap’n tells me I done push Bill overboard, but I tells him don’t say dat, dat I never push him overboard.
“Den we comes back to Grandy’s wharf. I goes and tells my mudder and then goes over to Sawyertown to get my suit I left there to be pressed. While I’s puttin’ it on, the police come after me.”
Little that had not been heard before was brought out in the testimony of the witnesses put on by the State Thursday afternoon. These witnesses were Captain M.M. Morrisette, first officer of the tug Clay Foreman, and Adrian Ward, chief engineer.
“I’ll mash your …. …. mouth,” Captain Morrisette testified that he heard somebody say. “A moment later I saw Overton spring out of the boiler room door and hit at W.R. Balance.” Mr. Balance, who was sweeping the deck, according to Captain Morrisette, threw up his broom in front of his face as though to ward off an attack and retreated before his assailant who continued to strike at and rushing until he forced Mr. Ballance against the rail and over the side of the vessel.
Chief Engineer Ward’s testimony corroborates that of Captain Morrisette in substantially every detail.
“I’ll hit you in your …. …. mouth,” he says he heard Overton exclaim, and a minute later saw the negro jump at the white man and strike him a blow which landed on the face or head.
“Then Overton rushed him,” testified Ward, “right back to the rail, where Mr. Ballance went overboard almost before I could realize what was happening.”
“For an instant Overton leaned over the rail, and then whirled about. Observing that I had seen what happened, he blurted out, ‘I never pushed him overboard.’”
the jury in the Overton trial was chosen from a special venire of 50 men drawn from the box Tuesday. This jury was impaneled shortly after 4 o’clock Thursday and seems to be considerably above the average in intelligence. Here are the jurors: J.J. Hughes, Edward Markham, C.A. Spruill, P.H. White, Robert M. Sawyer, W.G. Gaither, R.T. Venters, C.G. Meekins, G.L. White, J.W. Perry, J.G. Williams and C.M. Griggs.
From the front page of the Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, N.C., March 21, 1924
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