THE KILLING OF LARKIN BENTLEY

During the decade of the "fifties", William A Mills, an elderly man, resided on Salt River, about one and a half miles southeast of the site of Goodland, in Knox County, where he kept a little country store and grocery, in which a considerable quantity of whiskey was sold.

On the 14th day of January, 1857, one Larkin Bentley, who resided in that neighborhood, went to the store and residence of said Mills to purchase some groceries and to settle his book account at the store. According to the evidence, Bentley first went into the residence of Mills and changed him with having previously said something detrimental to Bentley. This Mills denied, and then a settlement of accounts between the parties was made, after which the daughter of Mills, then claiming to be Mrs. Ray, told her father that Bentley, before leaving the premises, had taken hold of her, and that she escaped from him.

The father then met Bentley and asked him for an explanation of his conduct, which Bentley denied. At this moment the woman appeared in the presence of the parties, when, as she claimed in her evidence, Bentley rushed toward her, "with arms extended," and just then Mills struck Bentley on his head with a double barreled shot gun in such a way that both hammers entered the skull and inflicted a wound, from the effects of which Bentley died within a few hours.

Mills was arrested and given a preliminary examination before Nathan Ashby, a justice of the peace at Edina, who committed him to jail to await the action of the grand jury. On the 18th day of March following, he was indicted for the murder of Bentley, and on being arraigned, he filed an affidavit to the effect that the judge of the court was prejudiced against him, and asked for a change of venue to some other judge. Accordingly a change of venue was granted him in Shelby County Circuit Court, where after several continuances of the case, he was tried and acquitted.

(Extracted from History of Knox County, The History of Lewis, Clark, Knox and Scotland Counties, Missouri, 1887)