The Murder of Joe Greer
December 24, 1892
Part 1
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Sheriff Charles H. Starks formed a posse for the men who murdered Joe Greer on Christmas Eve 1892.
(Collection of the author)
“Shot down like a dog at his own door,” was the headline on January 4, 1893 in the Paducah Daily Sun in reference to the murder of Joe Greer of the Altona community in northern Marshall County. “Everybody most in this county either knew Joe Greer personally or by reputation,” wrote the Benton Tribune. “He has lived here all his life and has not always been known as a good law abiding citizen.”
Greer was known for his abrasive and overbearing personality and “would nearly always go heavily armed, and upon the least provocation would draw his pistol in a threatening way, curse and abuse whomsoever it pleased him in a humiliating way.” On one occasion in the late 1880s, Greer was sentenced to the penitentiary for one year for the attempted murder of William Burks. After his conviction, Greer gave the jury that rendered the guilty verdict “a genteel cussing and for the time being made Rome howl in the courthouse.” After his one year sentence was completed in the penitentiary, Greer “kicked up a rumpus in Graves County and was fined $300 and lay in jail nearly a year before he paid the fine.” Upon his release, Greer returned to Altona and for the next two years lived a very quiet life with his wife and children on his farm.
But the fatal hour always comes, and so it did with Joe Greer on Christmas Eve 1892. At 7 o’clock while he was at home with his wife and children enjoying the festivities of the season, a call came from outside of the home near the road that passed in front of his house. Greer went to the door and walked out onto the porch where he saw a group of men in the road. “How do we get to Altona?” asked one of the men. With a lantern in his hand, Greer stepped off the porch and walked toward the men giving them directions to the small community just up the road. When Greer got within fifteen yards of the group one of the men yelled, “Shoot now!” Unarmed, Greer turned to run back to the house as a quick succession of shots rang out with several of the bullets hitting Greer. Severely wounded, Greer made his way back onto the porch and through the front door where he was met by his wife. “I am shot,” he yelled as he collapsed in the floor of his home. The group of men continued firing shots into the home as they rode away into the night.
With the violent group gone, Mrs. Greer lifted her wounded husband onto the bed and sent after local physician, Dr. Finley. The doctor worked on Greer, who by now had regained consciousness, throughout the night, but it was soon clear that Greer was going to succumb to his wounds. Greer told his wife and the doctor the names of the men who shot him and vowed to kill them if he survived. “It was Jesses and George Loftin,” said Greer. “I recognized them by their voices,” he concluded. Sheriff Charles Starks was soon notified and a warrant was issued for the men’s arrest. Sheriff Starks organized a posse as Greer eventually died two days later. As Greer was being laid to rest in the Story Cemetery, the entire county was searched for the two assailants.
“So ended the life of Joe Greer, whom it was said was a holy terror to the people of that section of country,” wrote the Benton Tribune following the death of Joe Greer in December 1892. On his deathbed, Greer identified his shooters to his wife and Sheriff Charles H. Starks later arrested George and Jesse Loftin for his murder. There had been considerable trouble between the Loftins and Joe Greer since 1886 when a shooting occurred at Little Cypress which resulted in the injury of William Burks. Greer was convicted and sentenced for this shooting while the Loftins were acquitted. Hard feelings lingered following this incident.
Once arrested for the murder, both George and Jesse Loftin claimed their innocence stating they were “too brave to resort to the assassin’s mode of revenge.” Friends and neighbors of the Loftins came to their defense saying the Loftins had been living peaceful lives and pointed to the fact they had been acquitted in the 1886 shooting incident.
As the investigation continued and testimony was gathered, George Loftin was no longer considered a suspect and released to his home in Little Cypress. All evidence seemed to point to his brother Jesse Loftin and another Little Cypress resident, John W. Crouch, as both had said on occasion they would kill Joe Greer if an opportunity arose. The two men were arrested and held until their examining trial in mid-January 1893.
On the day of the examining trial at the Benton courthouse, the weather was cool and cloudy when Loftin and Crouch were brought before County Judge John Dupriest. People from every section of the county crammed into the upstairs courtroom at the courthouse to hear the evidence against the two suspects. Court was called into session a little after 1 o’clock the afternoon of January 18, and as Judge Dupriest called the court to order, a surprising turn of events unfolded as the charges were dismissed against Loftin and Crouch. Just as the two men thought they were to walk free, new warrants were issued against Loftin and Crouch as well as George Loftin, Will Hicks, Joe Gero, James Alderson, and James I. King for conspiracy to murder Joe Greer.
The new events “were a great surprise to the spectators in the crowd, and fell like a clap of thunder in a clear sky to the five of the parties who were thus unceremoniously arrested.” Defense Attorneys John G. Lovett and Major Josiah Harris were speechless. The defense asked for a continuance which was granted and Judge Dupriest set the bond at $1,000 for each. All five suspects made bond and returned home to Little Cypress to await trial. As more evidence was collected, interest in the case continued to grow in what was shaping up to be the “most sensational murder trial in western Kentucky history.”
As tempers flared and passions ran high, Judge Dupriest made an early order banning pistols from the courtroom on the day of the trial. “When the trial is to begin next week I am requesting Sheriff Starks to examine every person in the courthouse, and all persons found with a pistol concealed in their clothes will be arrested,” read the order from Judge Dupriest.
With the trial date set for Thursday, January 26, 1893, the Benton Tribune reported, “The assassination of Joe Greer continues to grow more complicated as the days go by. New developments are continually being made and if there be any truth in the rumors the evidence will be of a startling nature and will be a surprise to everybody.”
The conclusion of the Joe Greer Murder Trial will be featured next week on Marshall County Daily.
