Blog post by Grace Donahue
On May 20, 1925, local auto mechanic and wrestler, Daniel Arwine “Reckless” Honeycutt Jr. was murdered. And the cause? A simple dispute over a car. Honeycutt Jr. had gone to the home of William Holder, whom he had recently sold a car to. Only Holder had not been keeping up with his payments, and Honeycutt Jr. had come to take back the vehicle. Mr. William Holder was not at home, but his wife was. And after some back and forth, and a threat from Mrs. William Holder, Honeycutt Jr. went to take back the car, but instead was met with the end of his life. Mrs. William Holder shot and killed Daniel Arwine Honeycutt Jr. with a .22 German Luger automatic revolver, one she claimed she didn’t know it was loaded. Mrs. William Holder was arrested for first degree murder, making herself the first female murder case in 20 years. But what happened to Mrs. William Holder?
Newspaper articles at the time didn’t reveal Mrs. Holder’s identity. However, they gave out her father’s name, Robert Hazel, disclosed her age, 23, and that she had three children. While no further information was given out on Mr. Holder himself, these details helped piece together the identity of Mrs. William Holder, that of Gladys Mae Hazel. Gladys was born in Monroe County and married William Holder in 1916. After the murder of Honeycutt, Gladys was put on trial on September 21, 1925. However, it’s unsure of what came of Gladys and her case. Presuming that she was employed and living in the same place as her family in the 40s, Gladys was likely acquitted. The Telephone referred to the female murder case before hers in the same article, stating that the last woman to go to trial for murder got off on temporary insanity. While we don’t know if that was the case for Gladys, she did insist the murder of Honeycutt Jr. was an accident. And maybe it was.
She lived in Indianapolis in the 40s working as a farmer, and died in Corpus Christi, Texas on January 30, 1984.
Be sure to check back next week to read about Glady’s murder trial…
Sources:
http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/165265603/person/112151597689/facts
https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/165265603/person/112151597688/facts
Bloomington Telephone, “Honeycutt, Daniel” May 20-22, 1925, page one