RALPH CASTLE DIES FROM GUN WOUND
Clyde Akers Accused of Shooting At Hill's Beer Parlor

Ralph Castle, age about 26, is dead and Clyde Akers is in jail charged with firing the shot which resulted in Castle's death.

The shooting took place at a beer parlor known as the "Rising Sun", operated by Pleas Hill, in Bridgford Addition, a suburb of Paintsville. The shooting took place near midnight, officers said, Wednesday, and is presumed to have been the result of a drinking bout.

Only one shot was fired, it is said, which passed through Castle's thigh severing the large artery of the thigh.

Dies At Hospital Thursday Morning

Castle was removed to the Paintsville Hospital sometime after the shooting but the man had lost so much blood before the flow could be staunched that he died about 8 o'clock Thursday morning. In the absence of an examination trial the full details of the occurrence can not be accurately given as all the fact are not fully known.

Several eye witnesses, both men and women, are said to have been present, it is said, and witnessed the trouble which led to the fatal shooting. Castle received only one gun wound, it is reported, although he is said to have an ugly wound in the head. Both men were residents of Paintsville where they are well known.

Akers is married and is the father of four children and resides in Bridgford. He is the son of the late Logan Akers who was found murdered on the river bank at Offutt about five years ago. Akers made no effort to escape after the shooting and was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Bridgford by Sheriff Julius Daniel and deputies Raymond Melvin and Ray Bayes. He submitted to arrest peaceably and was placed in jail. He was immediately indicted for willful murder by the grand jury which is in session this week and his trial set for this (Thursday) afternoon.

This is in line with Circuit Judge Bailey's policy to try murder cases as they occur, thus keeping the docket clear of murder cases at all times. A plea of self-defense will be made by Akers it is thought, as Akers claims that Castle was making an attempt upon his life when the fatal shot was fired.

This is the first murder which has taken place in this county for several months. Up to Wednesday night not a single murder case was on the docket of either the Johnson Circuit Court or the Martin Circuit Court, comprising the twenty-four judiciary district.

ŠPaintsville Herald

Thursday

June 13, 1940

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