Dandridge, Tenn. February 2 – A double tragedy occurred here this afternoon, which has created intense excitement among the people.

Pryor Lee and wife, were both raised in this vicinity and are well known here. They never lived happily after their marriage and recently separated. Today he went to the house and commenced taking his things away. A row of some sort ensued, which seems to have developed him into a demon of the worst sort. He seized an axe and attacked his wife with it, and after knocking her down, deliberately chopped her head off and drove the axe into her body in several places.

The scene presented in the little house was awful. Blood was scattered over everything in the house and indicated quite a conflict before he brought her down dually. This occurred about 1 o'clock, but no one was present to witness the affair and nothing wrong was suspected at that time.

Sometime after when he was met by a friend going towards the river. He asked his friend to let him have a rope. The man noticed blood on Lee's clothes and that he was deeply excited and refused to let him have the rope. Lee then went to the French Broad River and plunged headlong into the stream.

As it was known, Lee and his wife had had a great deal of trouble, their house was inspected, disclosing the scene already mentioned. His body was found in the river later in the evening and was taken to the courthouse where an immense crowd of people was soon gathered.

Source: The Knoxville Daily Journal, Saturday, February 3, 1894

Transcribed by Robert McGinnis