Morris murders

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The Morris Murders refer to the unsolved 1879 killings of Charles Henry Morris (born May 9, 1847) and Esther Jones Morris (born September 22, 1850) in Decatur, Michigan.

On the night of September 28, 1879, in a farmhouse along an isolated country road in Decatur, Michigan, Mr. and Mrs. Morris retired to bed at about 8:30. The only other person in the house was their employee, Jennie Bull.^[1] Around 9 p.m., Mr. and Mrs. Morris were shot dead within minutes of each other and left where they fell. Nothing was taken except for a horse, used for the purposes of escape by the assailant.

Shortly after sunrise, Jennie Bull informed a farmhand employed by the Morrises (upon his arrival) that she had found both Mr. and Mrs. Morris shot to death. Charles Morris was found lying on the front porch and Esther Morris was found lying in the bedroom.^[2] A lot of stories circulated in the months afterward. The most prominent ones were about Jennie Bull (housekeeper) and Riley Huntley (handyman). The murder was shocking to the small frontier community and was immediately prioritized by the local police (as well as every other person in the area). Shortly thereafter, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was brought in, but did not solve the crime.

The story that made its way around was that on the night of September 28, Morris must have gotten out of bed because someone was at his back porch. That is where he was shot dead. Then Mrs. Morris, who must have seen the murderer entering the house (after hearing the gunshot), curiously dropped the revolver she was carrying and ran to hide in the bedroom closet. That is where she was shot dead. No money was taken. No jewels were taken regardless of the fact that the Morrises' jewels and money were found in the house and "easily visible." The killer then rode away, into the night, stealing one of Morrises' best horses and was seen by neighbor Charles Rosewarne. The murderer galloped right past him, between 9:30 and 10:00 pm, and Rosewarne told everyone about the strange rider and in particular that "He wore a funny hat." That same horse was found in South Bend, Indiana, a few days later. The horse was worn-out, exhausted, and with a "strange fresh branding on it left rear flank." It was later revealed that Mrs. Morris was pregnant at the time of her murder.

A local man by the name of Floyd Smith was accused by Riley Huntley, a handyman previously discharged by the Morrises reportedly due to his "drinking." After the authorities became suspicious of Huntley, Huntley accused Floyd Smith and swore out a complaint. On the night of December 17, 1879, Floyd Smith was taken into custody. He was arrested by Constable Botsford and assisted by another deputy named of Scott Smith (no relation to Floyd). However, before he could be placed in jail, the police were ambushed and Floyd was taken. He was not freed as some initially thought; he was taken into the woods near Decatur, strung up, tortured for hours, and told to confess. He did not confess. Floyd Smith's life was ruined and he moved away. Floyd was never the same; he had serious injuries to his neck and his wife died shortly afterward from the trauma of the incident. In those years after, Floyd only ever said he knew nothing of the Morris murder. On his death-bed he stated the same. The horrific and sensational murder was covered heavily by the newspapers across the state of Michigan and gained national attention. Although it was investigated vigorously, the murderer was never caught.

• List of homicides in Michigan

• Rowland, Oran W. (1912) [1912]. A History of Van Buren County, Michigan: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People, and Its Principal Interests, Volume 1. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1158 pages. ASIN B008OCHX1K.

• Commission, Michigan Historical (2012) [1906]. Michigan Historical Collections, Volume 4. Ulan Press. pp. 630 pages. ASIN B00AD69DPO.

• Finn, Hunter (2016) [2016]. The Morris Murders. Amazon. pp. 143–150. ASIN B01M8IW2L1.
• Kohler, William G. (2021) A Trail of Money and Death: Matteson and the Morris Murders. Amazon. pp. 287 pages ISBN 978-1737381600

^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

^{[1] [2] [3]}

• The Morris Murders, Newspaper Articles [1]
• The Morris Murders, Newspaper Articles [2]
• "The Morris Murder House", Lyla Fox Writing [3]
• "Solving the Cold Case", Roy M. Davis [4]
• "The Historic Morris Murder", John Mason [5]