This is a case on which I do not have much information at all; but it's one that caught my attention due to its cruelty and lack of compassion for the handicapped.
Like much of Eastern Kentucky was back in the day, Floyd County seemed to be riddled with violence. Almost every edition of the Floyd County Times in the 1930s-1940s reported of a murder or violent crime, in so much that the Floyd County Times stated in reference to the case that I'm about to cover "Guns were stilled in Floyd County over the weekend to the extent that there was not a bullet victim in the county, but knives came into play instead to change the method of murder..."
This is one of those stories.
Sometime around 1930, young Jesse Curtis fell beneath a train at Jack's Creek, leaving him crippled. He survived this horrific accident only to be murdered seven years later.
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| Clipped from the Floyd County Times Prestonsburg, KY, October 7, 1937. |
According to reports, on October 3, 1937, Curtis, now 17, became enraged while at the home of Lena Tackett and her 13-year-old daughter Liza. Another teen, 15-year-old Rosa Bell Hall, was also present. Allegedly the girls were teasing Jesse about another girl, enraging him. In response, Jesse began "chasing" Rosa with a crutch.
Liza was quoted as saying that Curtis attempted to assault her on the front porch of her mother's home. Rosa was reported as stating that Liza too was struck with his crutch.
In retaliation to the alleged assault, Liza attacked Jesse with a knife, killing him instantly. The knife penetrated his heart.
The mother and the two girls were all arrested by Deputy Sheriff Elson Kendrick and Constable Ep Laferty.
Not much else is known about the events leading up to the trial, but on January 25, 1938, sixteen-year-old Liza Tackett was sentenced to eight years in prison. Part of that sentence would be served in reform school until she was 21 years old.
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| Clipped from the Floyd County Times Prestonsburg, KY, January 27, 1938. |
At the time of this writing, I was unable to find anything about the outcome of the trials of Lena and Rosa.
Jesse was the son of Thurman and Arminta Pennington Curtis. At the time of his death, in addition to his parents, he was survived by three brothers and one sister. He was buried in one of the nine Stumbo cemeteries in Floyd County, but I was not able to determine which one.
