Was it Murder?
The Death of Ed Thompson
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Sensation filled the courtroom at the Marshall County Courthouse on April 13, 1916 as indictments were handed down for two local farmers Java Smith and Davis Wyatt for the murder of Ed Thompson, a well-known resident of the town of Hardin and brother to deputy circuit clerk Phillip Thompson. The mangled body of Ed Thompson was found on the right of way nearby the tracks of the N.C. & L Railroad near Hardin on the morning of Sunday, April 2, 1916.
The key witness in the case was Carl Darnall, a farmer of the Brewers community and a cousin of the victim, who had been in town on business on the night of Thompson’s death. Darnell told the investigating officials that he had witnessed Smith and Wyatt push his cousin in front of an oncoming train. When questioned as to why he did not immediately report the crime to the sheriff’s office, Darnall told his life had been threatened by Smith and Wyatt and he was told to keep his mouth shut or he would meet the same fate.
All three men at been drinking at a local establishment in Hardin prior to Thompson’s death and robbery was believed by the prosecutors to be the motive of the killing as Thompson had just been paid by the railroad for work completed on the tracks. When his body was searched, his pocket book which he always carried was not found. When Sheriff Joe Darnall began investigating the crime, he learned that Thompson and Smith had been previously been good friend but had recently been embroiled in a bitter feud as a result of a warrant that had been sworn out on Smith after Thompson charged that Smith had stolen money from him after a night of drinking in Paducah a few months prior. Smith and Wyatt adamantly denied the charges and argued that Carl Darnell, who was also a cousin of Sheriff Joe Darnall, was lying and had been “put up to accusing them.”
As the spring term of the Circuit Court opened up in late April 1916, the courtroom was packed as spectators gathered to watch the trial against Smith and Wyatt. The crowd witnessed two of western Kentucky’s most renowned attorneys, John G. Lovett for the defense and Commonwealth Attorney Jack E. Fish for the prosecution, exchanged heated words as they argued their cases. Several witnesses were called, but all eyes were on Carl Darnall who was the only eye witness to the crime. After Darnall took the stand, a dramatic series of events unfolded as he retracted his earlier statement and testified that “he did not remember whether he saw either Smith or Wyatt push Thompson in front of the train thereby contradicting statements the prosecution claimed he made in front of the Grand Jury.”
With the testimony of the only eye witness for the prosecution in question, defense attorney John G. Lovett requested charges against his clients be dismissed as there was no strong evidence or witnesses to convict them. Judge Reed granted the request and Smith and Wyatt were released.