BANK MURDER GOES UNSOLVED
GANDY MURDER MYSTERY
TWO MEN DIE ON COURTHOUSE STEPS
Killing Follows Opening Of District Court At Crosbyton
Crosbyton, Texas, May 14, 1923 - Shortly after District Court convened this morning, Maud Rippy and J. Sweaza of Dimmitt, Castro County, were shot and instantly killed by a fusillade of .45 caliber pistol bullets as they sat on the courthouse steps.Six bullets penetrated Rippy´s body, one of the shots going into his heart. Sweasa was shot twice, once through the heart. D.L. "Poppin" Payne of Lamesa, formerly of Ralls, surrendered to sheriff John McDermett in the courthouse. Payne was taken to Lubbock, where he was placed in jail.
Maud Rippy, Dick Rippy and J. Sweaza were to be tried in court for attempting to murder Payne. Maud Rippy and Sweaza were at the east entrance of the courthouse conversing with their attorney when the shots were fired. The third defendant in the assault case was in the courthouse when the shooting began. Hearing the shots, Dick Rippy locked himself in the men´s room until Payne could be captured.
The vendetta between Payne, Sweaza and the Rippys began when Payne won their money in a poker game. The trio beat Payne with a cane-bottomed chair until they thought he was dead. The attackers summoned an undertaker to pick up Payne´s body; however, when the mortician arrived he discovered that Payne was still alive.
Knowing that Payne earned his nickname "Poppin" because he was an expert shot and fearing that he would seek revenge for his beating, the gang decided to finish the job by ambushing him as he approached a Ralls barber shop. Payne was wounded but survived this attack as well. Next, the trio fired upon him from an automobile as he worked in his garden in Ralls. Payne, although hit with buckshot, managed to grab his rifle, but his wife prevented him from firing back at his assailants. Unfortunately, she was unable to prevent today´s shooting.
Story courtesy of Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum
 |
Crosby County TXGenWeb Project
|
This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my consent.
The information on these pages is meant for personal genealogical research only and is not for commercial use of ANY type.