On April 28, 1894, 15-year-old Lottie Rowe 300 yards outside of her home which was 2 miles east of Staunton, Virginia. She was with Charles Bradford. That was when 46-year-old Lawrence Spiller saw the two. He would beat Charles insensible with a biley and would draw Lottie away.
He would bring Lottie over to a nearby field and would rape her. He said that she figured out who he was and this caused him to kill her. He would beat her head in severely with a rock. He would then carry her body to the nearby railroad track hoping that a train would destroy the body. Her body would be found before that would happen.
Lawrence would not admit at trial that he had murdered the girl, but before his execution he did. On June 8, 1894, he would be hanged, and his death would be instant as the rope had broken his neck.
SOURCES:
Legal Executions in Deleware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia pg 92
The Macon Telegraph May 3, 1894
Chattanooga Daily Times May 3, 1894
Harrisburg Daily Independent June 8, 1894
Alexandria Gazette June 8, 1894
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