KYHARLAN-L Archives

From: Anne Kenworthy <>
Subject: [KYHARLAN-L] Week of Dec 19, 1924 Harlan Enterprise
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 15:46:15 +0200

This article is one that Betty "Gurley" Young
asked for, and I thought I would post it to the
list. This is not the complete article, but most
of it is here.

FRI DEC 19, 1924 Harlan Enterprise

LENA GURLEY KILLED BY JOHN WYATT


Months before the crime was committed, Wyatt
bought a marriage license and Mrs. Gurley is
reported to have torn it up. Wyatt still
persisted and she, half afraid of him, partly
accepted his love making. He again proposed
marriage and she refused him. He sent her a
letter threatening to take her life if she did not
marry him on or before a certain date.
Mrs. Gurley who was 23 yrs old, ran a boarding
house at Wilson-Berger, went to Loyal the Tuesday
afternoon that she was killed, driving a Dort
roadster. On her return trip to Wilson-Berger,
about 4:30 the same afternoon, she had to halt her
car in front of Bev. Roarks store at Frog Level,
as another car had the road blocked and Wyatt is
alleged to have been in the car that blocked Mrs.
Gurley's way. Wyatt is said to have gotten out of
the car and went into a nearby house. Coming out
of the house witnesses in the case testified that
he carried a .38 special revolver. He jumped onto
the running board of Mrs. Gurley's car and is
alleged to have said: "Now I've got you", and
fired the fatal shots which killed her the next
day.

Immediately after the shooting, Wyatt secured the
services of Charlie Ball, a taxi driver, and told
him to drive him to the Sheriffs office; that he
intended to give up. Ball proceeded to town, but
before entering the city, Wyatt told Ball to take
him to Harlan Gas, a mining town above Harlan.
Ball said that he took Wyatt to Harlan Gas and
then returned and reported the crime to the
Sheriff. Wyatt, it was learned , had gone to his
sisters house at Harlan Gas.

Leaving his sisters house at Harlan Gas, Wyatt
started his journey to escape the reach of the
law. The officers followed his trail closely,
always being just a few hours behind their man.

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• [KYHARLAN-L] Week of Dec 19, 1924 Harlan Enterprise by Anne Kenworthy <>