The law’s hunt for George S. Waterfield ended this week when the body of the man who cruelly murdered 17-year-old Bertha Ansell three weeks ago was found in a Cove off Furby’s Island, eight miles from Currituck Courthouse.
The body was badly decomposed, and the top of Waterfield’s head was blown off. His gun and an empty shell lay in the boat. A coroner’s jury decided that Waterfield died by his own hand. He evidently had killed himself the night he escaped after killing Miss Ansell and wounding her companion, William Tatem. For Waterfield soon realized the rashness of his act, the futility of escape, and believing all that was near and dear to him was lost, decided to end it all. The body was discovered Tuesday morning by Joe Litchifield, a fisherman.
Before making his escape from Knotts Island, he left his watch, to be given his 2-year-old son when he reached manhood, and 90 cents, all he had in the world, with his aged mother.
The shooting of Miss Ansell is said to have followed a quarrel between Waterfield and his wife, in which he accused of his wife of accepting attentions from Charles Ansell, father of the girl. The quarrel ran to a fury, with curses and blows being passed, and just at the end of this argument, Miss Ansell and her suitor William Tatem came by. Tatem started an argument with Waterfield, alleging that he had been talking about Miss Ansell, and the outcome was, Waterfield, who was then believed to have just started out gunning for Ansell, raised his gun, and shot the girl dead, and wounded Tatem.
The fears of Charles Ansell, that Waterfield would return and kill him are at an end. But he has lost a daughter and Mrs. Waterfield a husband. Whether the two will try to share their losses together is now a matter of speculation among the neighbors.
From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., Friday, Aug. 6, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83025812/1926-08-06/ed-1/seq-1/
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