MO d/c 6789
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Murder and Suicide Climax to Illicit Love
Newtie A. (Spot) Johnston Shoots Mrs. Crystal, 22, and Then Self in Taylor Street Home; Sister Tells of Quarrel Over Marriage; Divorce Suit Filed by Husband at Paris
Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston, 42, fatally shot Mrs. Mary Crystal, 22, with a shotgun at his home, 414 Taylor street, about 5 this morning, and then shot himself, according to the local and sheriff.
Coroner R. H. Williams said that Jennie Trussell, 17, sister Mrs. Crystal, also lived in the four-room home and was there this morning when the two who were killed started arguing about marriage.
She told Dr. Williams that Johnston, with whom Mrs. Crystal had been living for some time, asked her to marry him if and when she was divorced from her husband, Ammon William Crystal, 33, of Paris.
Wouldn't Marry Him
Mrs. Crystal told Johnston would not marry him nor any man, whereupon Johnston reached for a 12-gauge Winchester hammerless shotgun and raised it to shoot Mrs. Crystal, Jennie Trussell told the coroner. Miss Trussell said she and her sister tried to wrest the shotgun Johnston, but did not succeed, and that Johnston shot Mrs. Crystal in the chest.
Jennie Trussell then ran out the house and ran a block and a half to the home of C. M. Davidson, 401 Farror. Davidson said Miss Trussell's cries about something about her sister aroused his wife and that she awakened him about the time Miss Trussell pounded on the door.
Davidson heard her story called the police. Policeman Bob Snidow answered the call and when he arrived Johnston was also dead.
Shotgun Near Bodies
Sheriff Amos Magruder said the body of Mrs. Crystal was lying face down on the floor in a doorway between two bedrooms and that Johnston's body was lying face down on top of body, with his head near her feet. The stock of the shotgun was between his feet and the muzzle near his neck. One shell was found lying in the bedroom and another in the gun.
Both were shot in the chest, near the heart. The wounds were almost three inches in diameter and were deep, showing that both shots were fired at close range. There was a large pool of blood on the floor where the bodies were laying.
Mrs. Crystal's body was clad in a slip and Johnston's body was clothed with overalls and did not have shoes. There no indication that there had any drinking. Neighbors stated that on occasion there had some wild parties at the home, Sheriff Magruder said. The two beds in the house had been slept in.
Two Children in Room
Also in the room when the police arrived were two children, one Mary Elaine Crystal, 2 1/2 years old, in one of the beds, daughter of Ammon William Crystal, and the other, Nola Johnston, aged 11 months, said by Sheriff Magruder to be the daughter of Johnston. Both children were daughters of Mrs. Crystal. The infant was in a crib.
The shooting did not cause the children to cry, although both were awake when police arrived.
Coroner Williams said an inquest will be held at the Mahan Funeral parlors, where the bodies were taken, at 8 o'clock tonight.
Divorce Petition Filed
Mr. Crystal married Mary Trussell Nov. 30, 1941, in Monroe county and they were separated in June, 1944, according to a divorce petition filed by husband in circuit court at Paris. The petition, which was filed Dec. 12, and notice of which was served on Mrs. Crystal by Sheriff Magruder on Dec. 20, further stated that Crystal was inducted in the army Jan. 6, that he left the United States for foreign duty May 7, 1943, and that Mrs. Crystal was the mother of a child born in 1945, of an unknown father.
The petition further stated that Crystal had not seen his wife from the time he left to go overseas until the child's birth, and that he could not have been the father.
Crystal was discharged on Nov. 23, 1945, the petition states.
The petition avers that he received a communication from his wife but once since June of 1944 and that in the one letter he did receive she wrote him that she no longer loved him and that he could get a divorce if he wanted, and that she going to dances with other men and was having dates with them. The petition also claimed that she was living with another man.
Asks Custody of Daughter
Crystal had asked custody of Marv Elaine, who was born to them Aug. 26, 1943, about three months after he went overseas.
Crystal came from Paris today and claimed his child, and also the body of his wife, which he had sent to Paris for burial.
Johnston, who himself was discharged from the armed services a little over a year ago, was hired by the city as a garbage truck driver in November, 1945, but was discharged 10 days later for inefficiency, City Manager Dean VanNess said. Johnston listed a wife and two children on his income tax withholding form.
Mary Trussell (Mrs. Crystal) was born in Paris. Surviving her is a grandfather, Kirt Gallop; her father, Charles Trussell, Davenport, la.: a brother Thomas William Trussell, who is believed stationed on Leyte; and, besides Jennie, three sisters, Betty, Wanda and Liza Lee, all younger than Jennie, of Moberly.
Newtie A. Johnston was born near Madison. Surviving him are seven brothers: Sterling, Anabel; Ernest, Shelbyville; Gregg and Griffie, Iowa; Stanley, Anabel; Hulen, Madison: and Willie, Cairo. Also surviving is a sister, Mrs. Emma Laytham, Madison.
Mr. Crystal, known to friends as "Billy," formerly lived near Middle Grove and now lives five miles east of Paris.
Mrs. Crystal was a graduate of the Paris high school.
Johnston was reared north of Madison in the Oak Grove neighborhood.
Johnston's body was sent to Madison this afternoon for burial there.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 09 Jan 1946, Wed • Page 1, Column 1 and Page 2, Column 5
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Jury Verdict Of Murder and Suicide
Sister of Slain Woman Tells at Inquest of Fatal Shooting
Murder and suicide was the verdict of the jury at an inquest last night conducted by Coroner R. H. Williams in the fatal shooting of Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston and Mrs. Mary Crystal early yesterday morning at 414 Taylor street.
The inquest determined that Mrs. Crystal met her death at the hands of Johnston and that he then killed himself.
Jennie Trussell, pretty 17- year-old sister of Mrs. Crystal, a witness to the murder, was first to take the stand.
She testified:
"I heard them arguing but didn't pay any attention to it first until he (Johnston) asked, 'You're not going to marry me?' and she (Mrs. Crystal) answered, 'No, I'm not going to marry anyone for a while.'
"Then he said, 'I know not!' and then he turned on light and he had a shotgun in his hand when the lights went on.
Tried to take Gun
"He started back to the bedroom and we (the two sisters) tried to take the gun away him but did not succeed. She thought that he was going to kill himself, but I knew he was going to kill her when he said. 'I you're not!'
"He said he wasn't going to do anything with the gun and she let go of it and told him he wanted to act like an 18-year-old to go ahead. He then levelled the gun and fired it at her.
"He said he was going to the shell out of the gun and went to the kitchen. I ran to to a phone. I didn't know where I was going. I finally stopped at Mr. Davidson's (C. M. Davidson) house at 401 Farror. He called the police."
Policeman Robert T. Snidow, 303 Taylor, testified he received the call at 5:05 a. m. and when he arrived there was no activity the home. He told of the of the bodies, how Mrs. Crystal's body was lying face down and Johnston's body was also lying face down crossing her body, with his head near her feet, that the shotgun was on the side of Johnston with the stock between his feet and the muzzle near his neck.
Two Empty Shells
He said the gun had three loaded shells in it and one empty shell and that one empty shell found in the living room.
Sheriff Amos Magruder testified that when he arrived from Huntsville the coroner, chief of police and Policeman Snidow were in the death house. He of the position of the bodies, said that the Johnston wound was directly over his heart and that there were powder burns around the wound. Albert Mahan, undertaker, testified that the wound on the Mrs. Crystal's body was half way between the end of the breast bone and the collar bone, that the diameter of the wound was at least two inches and the body in the wound area badly lacerated. He stated that in his opinion Johnston pointed the gun at Mrs. Crystal at close range and fired.
On the coroner's jury were Earl Coates, Jesse Welch, L. M. Grose, Orville Crutchfield, Marvin Dye, and Albert Brower.
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Crystal will be held at the Speed and Blakey funeral chapel, Paris, at 2 p. m. Friday, with the Rev. W. Leslie conducting. Burial will be in Walnut Grove cemetery.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 10 Jan 1946, Thu • Page 1, Column 2
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Murder and Suicide Climax to Illicit Love
Newtie A. (Spot) Johnston Shoots Mrs. Crystal, 22, and Then Self in Taylor Street Home; Sister Tells of Quarrel Over Marriage; Divorce Suit Filed by Husband at Paris
Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston, 42, fatally shot Mrs. Mary Crystal, 22, with a shotgun at his home, 414 Taylor street, about 5 this morning, and then shot himself, according to the local and sheriff.
Coroner R. H. Williams said that Jennie Trussell, 17, sister Mrs. Crystal, also lived in the four-room home and was there this morning when the two who were killed started arguing about marriage.
She told Dr. Williams that Johnston, with whom Mrs. Crystal had been living for some time, asked her to marry him if and when she was divorced from her husband, Ammon William Crystal, 33, of Paris.
Wouldn't Marry Him
Mrs. Crystal told Johnston would not marry him nor any man, whereupon Johnston reached for a 12-gauge Winchester hammerless shotgun and raised it to shoot Mrs. Crystal, Jennie Trussell told the coroner. Miss Trussell said she and her sister tried to wrest the shotgun Johnston, but did not succeed, and that Johnston shot Mrs. Crystal in the chest.
Jennie Trussell then ran out the house and ran a block and a half to the home of C. M. Davidson, 401 Farror. Davidson said Miss Trussell's cries about something about her sister aroused his wife and that she awakened him about the time Miss Trussell pounded on the door.
Davidson heard her story called the police. Policeman Bob Snidow answered the call and when he arrived Johnston was also dead.
Shotgun Near Bodies
Sheriff Amos Magruder said the body of Mrs. Crystal was lying face down on the floor in a doorway between two bedrooms and that Johnston's body was lying face down on top of body, with his head near her feet. The stock of the shotgun was between his feet and the muzzle near his neck. One shell was found lying in the bedroom and another in the gun.
Both were shot in the chest, near the heart. The wounds were almost three inches in diameter and were deep, showing that both shots were fired at close range. There was a large pool of blood on the floor where the bodies were laying.
Mrs. Crystal's body was clad in a slip and Johnston's body was clothed with overalls and did not have shoes. There no indication that there had any drinking. Neighbors stated that on occasion there had some wild parties at the home, Sheriff Magruder said. The two beds in the house had been slept in.
Two Children in Room
Also in the room when the police arrived were two children, one Mary Elaine Crystal, 2 1/2 years old, in one of the beds, daughter of Ammon William Crystal, and the other, Nola Johnston, aged 11 months, said by Sheriff Magruder to be the daughter of Johnston. Both children were daughters of Mrs. Crystal. The infant was in a crib.
The shooting did not cause the children to cry, although both were awake when police arrived.
Coroner Williams said an inquest will be held at the Mahan Funeral parlors, where the bodies were taken, at 8 o'clock tonight.
Divorce Petition Filed
Mr. Crystal married Mary Trussell Nov. 30, 1941, in Monroe county and they were separated in June, 1944, according to a divorce petition filed by husband in circuit court at Paris. The petition, which was filed Dec. 12, and notice of which was served on Mrs. Crystal by Sheriff Magruder on Dec. 20, further stated that Crystal was inducted in the army Jan. 6, that he left the United States for foreign duty May 7, 1943, and that Mrs. Crystal was the mother of a child born in 1945, of an unknown father.
The petition further stated that Crystal had not seen his wife from the time he left to go overseas until the child's birth, and that he could not have been the father.
Crystal was discharged on Nov. 23, 1945, the petition states.
The petition avers that he received a communication from his wife but once since June of 1944 and that in the one letter he did receive she wrote him that she no longer loved him and that he could get a divorce if he wanted, and that she going to dances with other men and was having dates with them. The petition also claimed that she was living with another man.
Asks Custody of Daughter
Crystal had asked custody of Marv Elaine, who was born to them Aug. 26, 1943, about three months after he went overseas.
Crystal came from Paris today and claimed his child, and also the body of his wife, which he had sent to Paris for burial.
Johnston, who himself was discharged from the armed services a little over a year ago, was hired by the city as a garbage truck driver in November, 1945, but was discharged 10 days later for inefficiency, City Manager Dean VanNess said. Johnston listed a wife and two children on his income tax withholding form.
Mary Trussell (Mrs. Crystal) was born in Paris. Surviving her is a grandfather, Kirt Gallop; her father, Charles Trussell, Davenport, la.: a brother Thomas William Trussell, who is believed stationed on Leyte; and, besides Jennie, three sisters, Betty, Wanda and Liza Lee, all younger than Jennie, of Moberly.
Newtie A. Johnston was born near Madison. Surviving him are seven brothers: Sterling, Anabel; Ernest, Shelbyville; Gregg and Griffie, Iowa; Stanley, Anabel; Hulen, Madison: and Willie, Cairo. Also surviving is a sister, Mrs. Emma Laytham, Madison.
Mr. Crystal, known to friends as "Billy," formerly lived near Middle Grove and now lives five miles east of Paris.
Mrs. Crystal was a graduate of the Paris high school.
Johnston was reared north of Madison in the Oak Grove neighborhood.
Johnston's body was sent to Madison this afternoon for burial there.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 09 Jan 1946, Wed • Page 1, Column 1 and Page 2, Column 5
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Jury Verdict Of Murder and Suicide
Sister of Slain Woman Tells at Inquest of Fatal Shooting
Murder and suicide was the verdict of the jury at an inquest last night conducted by Coroner R. H. Williams in the fatal shooting of Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston and Mrs. Mary Crystal early yesterday morning at 414 Taylor street.
The inquest determined that Mrs. Crystal met her death at the hands of Johnston and that he then killed himself.
Jennie Trussell, pretty 17- year-old sister of Mrs. Crystal, a witness to the murder, was first to take the stand.
She testified:
"I heard them arguing but didn't pay any attention to it first until he (Johnston) asked, 'You're not going to marry me?' and she (Mrs. Crystal) answered, 'No, I'm not going to marry anyone for a while.'
"Then he said, 'I know not!' and then he turned on light and he had a shotgun in his hand when the lights went on.
Tried to take Gun
"He started back to the bedroom and we (the two sisters) tried to take the gun away him but did not succeed. She thought that he was going to kill himself, but I knew he was going to kill her when he said. 'I you're not!'
"He said he wasn't going to do anything with the gun and she let go of it and told him he wanted to act like an 18-year-old to go ahead. He then levelled the gun and fired it at her.
"He said he was going to the shell out of the gun and went to the kitchen. I ran to to a phone. I didn't know where I was going. I finally stopped at Mr. Davidson's (C. M. Davidson) house at 401 Farror. He called the police."
Policeman Robert T. Snidow, 303 Taylor, testified he received the call at 5:05 a. m. and when he arrived there was no activity the home. He told of the of the bodies, how Mrs. Crystal's body was lying face down and Johnston's body was also lying face down crossing her body, with his head near her feet, that the shotgun was on the side of Johnston with the stock between his feet and the muzzle near his neck.
Two Empty Shells
He said the gun had three loaded shells in it and one empty shell and that one empty shell found in the living room.
Sheriff Amos Magruder testified that when he arrived from Huntsville the coroner, chief of police and Policeman Snidow were in the death house. He of the position of the bodies, said that the Johnston wound was directly over his heart and that there were powder burns around the wound. Albert Mahan, undertaker, testified that the wound on the Mrs. Crystal's body was half way between the end of the breast bone and the collar bone, that the diameter of the wound was at least two inches and the body in the wound area badly lacerated. He stated that in his opinion Johnston pointed the gun at Mrs. Crystal at close range and fired.
On the coroner's jury were Earl Coates, Jesse Welch, L. M. Grose, Orville Crutchfield, Marvin Dye, and Albert Brower.
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Crystal will be held at the Speed and Blakey funeral chapel, Paris, at 2 p. m. Friday, with the Rev. W. Leslie conducting. Burial will be in Walnut Grove cemetery.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 10 Jan 1946, Thu • Page 1, Column 2
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
MO d/c 6789
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Murder and Suicide Climax to Illicit Love
Newtie A. (Spot) Johnston Shoots Mrs. Crystal, 22, and Then Self in Taylor Street Home; Sister Tells of Quarrel Over Marriage; Divorce Suit Filed by Husband at Paris
Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston, 42, fatally shot Mrs. Mary Crystal, 22, with a shotgun at his home, 414 Taylor street, about 5 this morning, and then shot himself, according to the local and sheriff.
Coroner R. H. Williams said that Jennie Trussell, 17, sister Mrs. Crystal, also lived in the four-room home and was there this morning when the two who were killed started arguing about marriage.
She told Dr. Williams that Johnston, with whom Mrs. Crystal had been living for some time, asked her to marry him if and when she was divorced from her husband, Ammon William Crystal, 33, of Paris.
Wouldn't Marry Him
Mrs. Crystal told Johnston would not marry him nor any man, whereupon Johnston reached for a 12-gauge Winchester hammerless shotgun and raised it to shoot Mrs. Crystal, Jennie Trussell told the coroner. Miss Trussell said she and her sister tried to wrest the shotgun Johnston, but did not succeed, and that Johnston shot Mrs. Crystal in the chest.
Jennie Trussell then ran out the house and ran a block and a half to the home of C. M. Davidson, 401 Farror. Davidson said Miss Trussell's cries about something about her sister aroused his wife and that she awakened him about the time Miss Trussell pounded on the door.
Davidson heard her story called the police. Policeman Bob Snidow answered the call and when he arrived Johnston was also dead.
Shotgun Near Bodies
Sheriff Amos Magruder said the body of Mrs. Crystal was lying face down on the floor in a doorway between two bedrooms and that Johnston's body was lying face down on top of body, with his head near her feet. The stock of the shotgun was between his feet and the muzzle near his neck. One shell was found lying in the bedroom and another in the gun.
Both were shot in the chest, near the heart. The wounds were almost three inches in diameter and were deep, showing that both shots were fired at close range. There was a large pool of blood on the floor where the bodies were laying.
Mrs. Crystal's body was clad in a slip and Johnston's body was clothed with overalls and did not have shoes. There no indication that there had any drinking. Neighbors stated that on occasion there had some wild parties at the home, Sheriff Magruder said. The two beds in the house had been slept in.
Two Children in Room
Also in the room when the police arrived were two children, one Mary Elaine Crystal, 2 1/2 years old, in one of the beds, daughter of Ammon William Crystal, and the other, Nola Johnston, aged 11 months, said by Sheriff Magruder to be the daughter of Johnston. Both children were daughters of Mrs. Crystal. The infant was in a crib.
The shooting did not cause the children to cry, although both were awake when police arrived.
Coroner Williams said an inquest will be held at the Mahan Funeral parlors, where the bodies were taken, at 8 o'clock tonight.
Divorce Petition Filed
Mr. Crystal married Mary Trussell Nov. 30, 1941, in Monroe county and they were separated in June, 1944, according to a divorce petition filed by husband in circuit court at Paris. The petition, which was filed Dec. 12, and notice of which was served on Mrs. Crystal by Sheriff Magruder on Dec. 20, further stated that Crystal was inducted in the army Jan. 6, that he left the United States for foreign duty May 7, 1943, and that Mrs. Crystal was the mother of a child born in 1945, of an unknown father.
The petition further stated that Crystal had not seen his wife from the time he left to go overseas until the child's birth, and that he could not have been the father.
Crystal was discharged on Nov. 23, 1945, the petition states.
The petition avers that he received a communication from his wife but once since June of 1944 and that in the one letter he did receive she wrote him that she no longer loved him and that he could get a divorce if he wanted, and that she going to dances with other men and was having dates with them. The petition also claimed that she was living with another man.
Asks Custody of Daughter
Crystal had asked custody of Marv Elaine, who was born to them Aug. 26, 1943, about three months after he went overseas.
Crystal came from Paris today and claimed his child, and also the body of his wife, which he had sent to Paris for burial.
Johnston, who himself was discharged from the armed services a little over a year ago, was hired by the city as a garbage truck driver in November, 1945, but was discharged 10 days later for inefficiency, City Manager Dean VanNess said. Johnston listed a wife and two children on his income tax withholding form.
Mary Trussell (Mrs. Crystal) was born in Paris. Surviving her is a grandfather, Kirt Gallop; her father, Charles Trussell, Davenport, la.: a brother Thomas William Trussell, who is believed stationed on Leyte; and, besides Jennie, three sisters, Betty, Wanda and Liza Lee, all younger than Jennie, of Moberly.
Newtie A. Johnston was born near Madison. Surviving him are seven brothers: Sterling, Anabel; Ernest, Shelbyville; Gregg and Griffie, Iowa; Stanley, Anabel; Hulen, Madison: and Willie, Cairo. Also surviving is a sister, Mrs. Emma Laytham, Madison.
Mr. Crystal, known to friends as "Billy," formerly lived near Middle Grove and now lives five miles east of Paris.
Mrs. Crystal was a graduate of the Paris high school.
Johnston was reared north of Madison in the Oak Grove neighborhood.
Johnston's body was sent to Madison this afternoon for burial there.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 09 Jan 1946, Wed • Page 1, Column 1 and Page 2, Column 5
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Jury Verdict Of Murder and Suicide
Sister of Slain Woman Tells at Inquest of Fatal Shooting
Murder and suicide was the verdict of the jury at an inquest last night conducted by Coroner R. H. Williams in the fatal shooting of Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston and Mrs. Mary Crystal early yesterday morning at 414 Taylor street.
The inquest determined that Mrs. Crystal met her death at the hands of Johnston and that he then killed himself.
Jennie Trussell, pretty 17- year-old sister of Mrs. Crystal, a witness to the murder, was first to take the stand.
She testified:
"I heard them arguing but didn't pay any attention to it first until he (Johnston) asked, 'You're not going to marry me?' and she (Mrs. Crystal) answered, 'No, I'm not going to marry anyone for a while.'
"Then he said, 'I know not!' and then he turned on light and he had a shotgun in his hand when the lights went on.
Tried to take Gun
"He started back to the bedroom and we (the two sisters) tried to take the gun away him but did not succeed. She thought that he was going to kill himself, but I knew he was going to kill her when he said. 'I you're not!'
"He said he wasn't going to do anything with the gun and she let go of it and told him he wanted to act like an 18-year-old to go ahead. He then levelled the gun and fired it at her.
"He said he was going to the shell out of the gun and went to the kitchen. I ran to to a phone. I didn't know where I was going. I finally stopped at Mr. Davidson's (C. M. Davidson) house at 401 Farror. He called the police."
Policeman Robert T. Snidow, 303 Taylor, testified he received the call at 5:05 a. m. and when he arrived there was no activity the home. He told of the of the bodies, how Mrs. Crystal's body was lying face down and Johnston's body was also lying face down crossing her body, with his head near her feet, that the shotgun was on the side of Johnston with the stock between his feet and the muzzle near his neck.
Two Empty Shells
He said the gun had three loaded shells in it and one empty shell and that one empty shell found in the living room.
Sheriff Amos Magruder testified that when he arrived from Huntsville the coroner, chief of police and Policeman Snidow were in the death house. He of the position of the bodies, said that the Johnston wound was directly over his heart and that there were powder burns around the wound. Albert Mahan, undertaker, testified that the wound on the Mrs. Crystal's body was half way between the end of the breast bone and the collar bone, that the diameter of the wound was at least two inches and the body in the wound area badly lacerated. He stated that in his opinion Johnston pointed the gun at Mrs. Crystal at close range and fired.
On the coroner's jury were Earl Coates, Jesse Welch, L. M. Grose, Orville Crutchfield, Marvin Dye, and Albert Brower.
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Crystal will be held at the Speed and Blakey funeral chapel, Paris, at 2 p. m. Friday, with the Rev. W. Leslie conducting. Burial will be in Walnut Grove cemetery.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 10 Jan 1946, Thu • Page 1, Column 2
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Murder and Suicide Climax to Illicit Love
Newtie A. (Spot) Johnston Shoots Mrs. Crystal, 22, and Then Self in Taylor Street Home; Sister Tells of Quarrel Over Marriage; Divorce Suit Filed by Husband at Paris
Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston, 42, fatally shot Mrs. Mary Crystal, 22, with a shotgun at his home, 414 Taylor street, about 5 this morning, and then shot himself, according to the local and sheriff.
Coroner R. H. Williams said that Jennie Trussell, 17, sister Mrs. Crystal, also lived in the four-room home and was there this morning when the two who were killed started arguing about marriage.
She told Dr. Williams that Johnston, with whom Mrs. Crystal had been living for some time, asked her to marry him if and when she was divorced from her husband, Ammon William Crystal, 33, of Paris.
Wouldn't Marry Him
Mrs. Crystal told Johnston would not marry him nor any man, whereupon Johnston reached for a 12-gauge Winchester hammerless shotgun and raised it to shoot Mrs. Crystal, Jennie Trussell told the coroner. Miss Trussell said she and her sister tried to wrest the shotgun Johnston, but did not succeed, and that Johnston shot Mrs. Crystal in the chest.
Jennie Trussell then ran out the house and ran a block and a half to the home of C. M. Davidson, 401 Farror. Davidson said Miss Trussell's cries about something about her sister aroused his wife and that she awakened him about the time Miss Trussell pounded on the door.
Davidson heard her story called the police. Policeman Bob Snidow answered the call and when he arrived Johnston was also dead.
Shotgun Near Bodies
Sheriff Amos Magruder said the body of Mrs. Crystal was lying face down on the floor in a doorway between two bedrooms and that Johnston's body was lying face down on top of body, with his head near her feet. The stock of the shotgun was between his feet and the muzzle near his neck. One shell was found lying in the bedroom and another in the gun.
Both were shot in the chest, near the heart. The wounds were almost three inches in diameter and were deep, showing that both shots were fired at close range. There was a large pool of blood on the floor where the bodies were laying.
Mrs. Crystal's body was clad in a slip and Johnston's body was clothed with overalls and did not have shoes. There no indication that there had any drinking. Neighbors stated that on occasion there had some wild parties at the home, Sheriff Magruder said. The two beds in the house had been slept in.
Two Children in Room
Also in the room when the police arrived were two children, one Mary Elaine Crystal, 2 1/2 years old, in one of the beds, daughter of Ammon William Crystal, and the other, Nola Johnston, aged 11 months, said by Sheriff Magruder to be the daughter of Johnston. Both children were daughters of Mrs. Crystal. The infant was in a crib.
The shooting did not cause the children to cry, although both were awake when police arrived.
Coroner Williams said an inquest will be held at the Mahan Funeral parlors, where the bodies were taken, at 8 o'clock tonight.
Divorce Petition Filed
Mr. Crystal married Mary Trussell Nov. 30, 1941, in Monroe county and they were separated in June, 1944, according to a divorce petition filed by husband in circuit court at Paris. The petition, which was filed Dec. 12, and notice of which was served on Mrs. Crystal by Sheriff Magruder on Dec. 20, further stated that Crystal was inducted in the army Jan. 6, that he left the United States for foreign duty May 7, 1943, and that Mrs. Crystal was the mother of a child born in 1945, of an unknown father.
The petition further stated that Crystal had not seen his wife from the time he left to go overseas until the child's birth, and that he could not have been the father.
Crystal was discharged on Nov. 23, 1945, the petition states.
The petition avers that he received a communication from his wife but once since June of 1944 and that in the one letter he did receive she wrote him that she no longer loved him and that he could get a divorce if he wanted, and that she going to dances with other men and was having dates with them. The petition also claimed that she was living with another man.
Asks Custody of Daughter
Crystal had asked custody of Marv Elaine, who was born to them Aug. 26, 1943, about three months after he went overseas.
Crystal came from Paris today and claimed his child, and also the body of his wife, which he had sent to Paris for burial.
Johnston, who himself was discharged from the armed services a little over a year ago, was hired by the city as a garbage truck driver in November, 1945, but was discharged 10 days later for inefficiency, City Manager Dean VanNess said. Johnston listed a wife and two children on his income tax withholding form.
Mary Trussell (Mrs. Crystal) was born in Paris. Surviving her is a grandfather, Kirt Gallop; her father, Charles Trussell, Davenport, la.: a brother Thomas William Trussell, who is believed stationed on Leyte; and, besides Jennie, three sisters, Betty, Wanda and Liza Lee, all younger than Jennie, of Moberly.
Newtie A. Johnston was born near Madison. Surviving him are seven brothers: Sterling, Anabel; Ernest, Shelbyville; Gregg and Griffie, Iowa; Stanley, Anabel; Hulen, Madison: and Willie, Cairo. Also surviving is a sister, Mrs. Emma Laytham, Madison.
Mr. Crystal, known to friends as "Billy," formerly lived near Middle Grove and now lives five miles east of Paris.
Mrs. Crystal was a graduate of the Paris high school.
Johnston was reared north of Madison in the Oak Grove neighborhood.
Johnston's body was sent to Madison this afternoon for burial there.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 09 Jan 1946, Wed • Page 1, Column 1 and Page 2, Column 5
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
Jury Verdict Of Murder and Suicide
Sister of Slain Woman Tells at Inquest of Fatal Shooting
Murder and suicide was the verdict of the jury at an inquest last night conducted by Coroner R. H. Williams in the fatal shooting of Newtie A. ("Spot") Johnston and Mrs. Mary Crystal early yesterday morning at 414 Taylor street.
The inquest determined that Mrs. Crystal met her death at the hands of Johnston and that he then killed himself.
Jennie Trussell, pretty 17- year-old sister of Mrs. Crystal, a witness to the murder, was first to take the stand.
She testified:
"I heard them arguing but didn't pay any attention to it first until he (Johnston) asked, 'You're not going to marry me?' and she (Mrs. Crystal) answered, 'No, I'm not going to marry anyone for a while.'
"Then he said, 'I know not!' and then he turned on light and he had a shotgun in his hand when the lights went on.
Tried to take Gun
"He started back to the bedroom and we (the two sisters) tried to take the gun away him but did not succeed. She thought that he was going to kill himself, but I knew he was going to kill her when he said. 'I you're not!'
"He said he wasn't going to do anything with the gun and she let go of it and told him he wanted to act like an 18-year-old to go ahead. He then levelled the gun and fired it at her.
"He said he was going to the shell out of the gun and went to the kitchen. I ran to to a phone. I didn't know where I was going. I finally stopped at Mr. Davidson's (C. M. Davidson) house at 401 Farror. He called the police."
Policeman Robert T. Snidow, 303 Taylor, testified he received the call at 5:05 a. m. and when he arrived there was no activity the home. He told of the of the bodies, how Mrs. Crystal's body was lying face down and Johnston's body was also lying face down crossing her body, with his head near her feet, that the shotgun was on the side of Johnston with the stock between his feet and the muzzle near his neck.
Two Empty Shells
He said the gun had three loaded shells in it and one empty shell and that one empty shell found in the living room.
Sheriff Amos Magruder testified that when he arrived from Huntsville the coroner, chief of police and Policeman Snidow were in the death house. He of the position of the bodies, said that the Johnston wound was directly over his heart and that there were powder burns around the wound. Albert Mahan, undertaker, testified that the wound on the Mrs. Crystal's body was half way between the end of the breast bone and the collar bone, that the diameter of the wound was at least two inches and the body in the wound area badly lacerated. He stated that in his opinion Johnston pointed the gun at Mrs. Crystal at close range and fired.
On the coroner's jury were Earl Coates, Jesse Welch, L. M. Grose, Orville Crutchfield, Marvin Dye, and Albert Brower.
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Crystal will be held at the Speed and Blakey funeral chapel, Paris, at 2 p. m. Friday, with the Rev. W. Leslie conducting. Burial will be in Walnut Grove cemetery.
Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, Missouri, 10 Jan 1946, Thu • Page 1, Column 2
(Contributor: Pam Witherow)
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