Dr. Chase, Coroner, held an inquest on Tues. night and yesterday, on the body of Charles Smelzer, found dead, hung by the neck to a tree, in the Court House yard, in this city, on Tuesday night last.
The testimony of Jailor McDowell was to the effect that he had locked up the prisoners, Smelzer among them, looking well, or at least not sick, previous to 7 o’clock on Tuesday night, a little earlier than usual, and that apprehensive of an outburst from the excited populace, he had hid the keys. He was in his office about 7 o’clock when some eight or ten persons, masked, and unknown to him, quietly entered his room, bound him and locked him up. He was powerless from fright. That in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes he was released by a lady who was with his family at the jail, and that he looked for his keys and found them in his room, though not where he had concealed them. That he examined the cells, &c., and all the prisoners were safe, except Smelzer, who was gone. That he went over to the Court House yard, attracted by a crowd there gathered, and found Smelzer hanging to a tree and dead.
The verdict of the Jury (there being no further witnesses to be found or heard of) was—
“The said deceased was found dead, between 7 and 8 o’clock, P. M; Tuesday, Jan. 10th, hung with a rope by the neck to a tree in the Court House yard, by whom or in what manner is unknown to the Jury.”
Smelzer, it is stated, poisoned his wife several years ago at Bayou Sara, set fire to that town, was a thug and had murderously assaulted many good citizens here and elsewhere. He was a bad man and a dangerous character.