Rich Clyde Rancher's Brother Faces Charge

(The Abilene Reporter News, evening edition, Abilene, Texas, Wednesday, Feb 17, 1954, front page)

By Georgia Nelson, staff writer

   BAIRD, Feb, 17 - A charge of murder was filed here Wednesday morning against Ernest Windham in connection with the fatal shooting of his brother, John Windham, 69, about noon Tuesday.

   John died of a .32 calibre bullet fired through his head from an automatic pistol as he sat in a pickup truck at his ranch seven miles north of Clyde.

   Ernest is being held in Callahan County jail here.  County Attorney Felix Mitchell, who filed the murder charge with Justice of the Peace W. L. Bowlus, said Wednesday morning that no bond has been set and that the accused man has not requested bond or an examining trial.

   An investigation of the shooting is being continued. Officers investigating are Callahan County Sheriff Joe Pierce, Texas Ranger Jim Riddle of Breckenridge, District Attorney Wiley Caffey of Abilene and Mitchell.

Funeral Today
Funeral for the slain man is to be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Baptist Church of Clyde, with Bailey Funeral Home of Clyde directing burial at Baird Cemetery.

   Born Jan 22, 1885 in Oplin, John Windham spent his entire life in Callahan County and attended Simmons college at Abilene.  He was the eldest son of the late Tom Windham of Oplin who for many years was president of the First National Bank here until his death about two years ago.

   John was married in 1903 to the former Maggie Straley, who survives him.  The couple maintained homes both at their ranch north of Clyde and at 1381 Amarillo St. in Abilene.

   Other survivors include a son, James, and a daughter, Mrs. Roy Davidson, both of Midland; four brothers, Ernest and Frank, who live about 15 miles south of Baird; and Sam and Tommy of Oplin; two sisters, Mrs. Charles Straley and Mrs. John Jordan, both of Oplin, and four grandchildren.

Worth $15 Million
Acquaintances of the slain man described him as "one of the wealthiest ranchers in Central West Texas" and estimated the value of his holdings as being "conservatively between $10 and $15 million".

   In addition to the 13-section ranch on which the shooting occurred, Windham owned another ranch nearer Moran and one estimated at 30 sections south of Midland.  He made frequent land trades and in recent years has owned cattle in various places in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

   John Christian and Louis Simmons, employees of the Callahan County Farmers Co-operative at Clyde, were driving away from Windham's ranch when the shooting occurred near 12 noon.  They had been there since 9 a.m. Tuesday, unloading feed from a truck.

Heard Shot
   Christian said they heard the shot but did not see the shooting.

   This is the way Christian recounted the occurrence of the morning:
   When he and Simmons arrived at the ranch Windham drove in his pickup to get some men working for him to help them unload the feed.  Later in the morning Ernest Windham arrived at the ranch and talked with the two Clyde men while they were working.  John returned about noon without having found the employees he had been seeking.

   According to Christian, John Windham invited him and Simmons to eat lunch with him in his home but they declined, saying they had to return to work.

   Ernest walked to the pickup in which his brother was seated and shook hands with him.  John asked Ernest to go to the ranch house with him and eat lunch but Ernest replied, "No, I just wanted to talk to you."

   As Christian and Simmons were driving away they heard a loud report and thought a tire on their truck had blown out.  They alighted and while they were inspecting the tires Ernest walked toward the truck and said:

   "It was not a casing that blew out, boys. I just shot John.  I killed him, but it was accental.  It happened in a scuffle. I shouldn't have had the damned gun with me."

   Christian said that as Ernest made the last remark he pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding an automatic pistol.

   Christian said Ernest was dressed nicely in ranch-style clothing.

   John was wearing cowboy boots, a gray wool shirt and blue denim trousers and jacket.

   The bullet entered his head under the left ear lobe, emerged from the center of the right side of his neck and grazed the center of his right shoulder slightly toward the back side. The bullet was found on the floor of the pickup.