By Mike Simmons
Ebbin and Sadie Mae Hutton lived at 311 E. Lloyd Street. Their next-door neighbor, retired railroad worker William Tutt, lived at 311 ½ East Lloyd. They lived close to each other, but they weren’t close. In fact, they were involved in a dispute over the property. The 66-year-old Tutt was renting his cottage from the Huttons, and things were not working out – not at all. In May, 1950, the Huttons were in the act of evicting Mr. Tutt.
On the evening of May 25, Mr. Tutt finally had enough. He grabbed his 12-gauge shotgun, loaded it with shells, and snuck into the bushes between the two houses. Then he waited. Finally, at 6:40 PM, Sadie Mae came out to work in the garden. Tutt planned to kill both Sadie Mae and Ebbin, but the wife was the only one out there.
Tutt felt he was too far away. He wanted to be sure. He waited until she slowly worked closer to him. Finally, when she was about eight feet away, he let loose twice with the 12-gauge.
Two blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun from a distance of 8 feet would put a hole in her big enough to drive a truck through…if he could shoot straight. As it was, she was hit in the left side of her abdomen. It was enough to put her in the hospital in critical condition, but not enough to kill her.
Mr. Tutt, proud to take responsibility for the shooting, went into his house and called the police, explaining that he had just shot his neighbor and was waiting for them to pick him up. But they were already on the way because the neighbors had called as soon as they heard the shots.
When the police arrived, Tutt dropped his gun and gave himself up. Two shotgun shells were recovered from the ground and six more were in his pockets. When they arrived at the police station, Tutt readily admitted to the shooting, saying, “I would have killed the man too if he had been there.” Tutt had a $2500 bond put on him.
It wasn’t the first time William Tutt had been in trouble. In 1936, he appeared before Judge C. Moreno Jones on a charge of Aggravated Assault on his wife. When he was sentenced to six months in the county jail, he thanked the judge. Six months was a short sentence…this was the fourth time.
However, Sadie Mae Hutton didn’t die – not then, anyway. She finally died in 1969, a mother and grandmother. A happy ending.
