Special thanks to Thaxton Brown, sr. for helping to date the events in this newspaper article. Thaxton was working at Sienknecht's Store on the day of the murders. He sold a loaf of Kerns' Jumbo Bread to "Powder" for 10 cents which was to be taken to the Richards home. He remembers that Ann Richards was a bank teller at the Oliver Springs Bank that was next to Sienknecht's store. Margaret was the secretary for the Oliver Springs Brick Yard.
"MURDER - SUICIDE" A MYSTERY STILL
On Monday, February 5, [1940], Miss Mary Richards, teacher and librarian at Oliver Springs High School, had written a note to her two sisters, Ann and Margaret, with whom she lived. Miss Helen Kesterson, third grade teacher, had sent John King and Joe Ray Davis to the Richards' home sometime after lunch to deliver Miss Mary's note. Both third grade boys returned to school after being unable to get anyone to answer the door. They also reported hearing funny noises inside the house and had noticed a man with a light moving around in the basement. Miss Kesterson, often called Miss Helen, said that she hadn't thought much about it right then, but she did send two more third grade boys later to attempt to deliver the note. The boys, Charles Cox and Tommy Diggs, also returned unable to deliver the note. They had also heard strange noises coming from inside the house.
Earlier in the day, Mrs. O. P. Jones, a friend, had gone to the Richards' home around noon to deliver groceries. She had knocked and knocked on the back door but couldn't get anyone to answer. She went to the front door but still no answer. She heard the voices of two men talking low inside the house. She left and did not return. She later said the voices she had heard must have been the radio.
After school when Miss Mary had learned that her two sisters had not gone to a scheduled missionary meeting at the E. B. Phillips' home and attempts to deliver the note by the boys had been in vain, she became extremely worried and rushed home. Upon entering her home, she found her two sisters and their handyman slain. Miss Mary ran screaming onto the lawn and screamed for A. T. Hill who lived near the Richards' home. Mr. Hill, former Anderson deputy sheriff, ran to the front door and looked in. He quickly determined what had happened but wouldn't go in alone. Mr. Hill began to yell for help and the first to answer his plea was Bill Sharp, young undertaker from Sharp Burnette Funeral Home. Sharp and Hill entered the house and found Margaret, age 36, lying on the stairway landing in a small pool of blood. Miss Margaret had been shot twice. One of the bullet wounds was through the head. It had entered on the left side of the head and emerged through the right side of the back. The second bullet had entered Miss Margaret's body at the base of the throat and had come out in her back.
Sharp and Hill went into the kitchen and found Ann, age 48, lying in a large pool of blood. Miss Ann had been shot once with the bullet entering her right forehead and exiting the left rear of the head.
Leonard "Powder" Brown, the handyman, who was only 16 years old was found upstairs with a bullet hole in his forehead right between his eyes and a .38 pistol clutched in his hand on which he had fallen. Leonard's face had powder burns indicating that the shot had been fired at close range.
The two sisters had eaten lunch around noon and had sent lunch to Mary at school about 11:00 A.M. The small table at which they had eaten was still set with the dishes except for one plate that had been taken to the kitchen. It was found on the large table there. A drawer had been found open in the kitchen where Miss Ann was found. It appeared as if she may have been seeking a weapon with which to defend herself. She had suffered a large blow to the left eye in addition to being shot in the head. Hairpins and blood were found on the banisters indicating that Margaret had waged a great, but unsuccessful battle against her assailant. The .38 pistol that "Powder" was holding had no finger prints on it. None of the clothing of any of the victims had been disturbed. The gun actually belonged to G. G. Hannah which he kept in his room on a small table. It was always in sight. Leonard "Powder" Brown had carried coal and kindling up to Mr. Hannah's room around noon the day of the murders. Sometime later in the afternoon, Mr. Hannah's son-in-law, Vaughn Blanton, noticed the gun was gone. It was common knowledge that "Powder" was very timid, afraid of death, an knew little about guns. How could he have fired the four shots with unerring accuracy?
Some other theories that surfaced were that the Richards' sisters had given "Powder" and another person a suit of clothes. It was said that "Powder" became angry because his suit was not as good as the other. There had also been a beggar at the house around 11:00 A.M. There were two ex-convicts brought from the prison to Oliver Springs by Mart Goddard, taxi driver. One was to catch the 11:15 train to Chattanooga and the second was to catch a 2:00 P.M. bus to Jefferson City. The ex-cons were seen around town before the train arrived, but were not seen afterwards. W. B. Lee, a paperhanger, who had hung paper for the Richards sisters said he passed "Powder" and somebody else on the road the night before it happened. He heard the other one say that he'd get even with them if it was the last thing he did. He said that "Powder" just laughed.
It was told that "Powder" liked to talk to the ex-convicts that were turned loose over at Petros and brought to Oliver Springs to catch the bus or train. He was always asking them what they had done to get into prison.
It was told that "Powder's" mother and father both went insane before they died, and that his father had killed someone. "Powder" was an orphan an was raised by an aunt and uncle. He had not been doing his jobs very well, and the Richards' sisters had told him they would have to dismiss him and that he might go back to the orphanage. Another theory was that the two-story 18 room house was haunted. Robbery was thought by some, but the money was undisturbed.
Early on, Sheriff Bob Smith had declared the incident a "double murder-suicide." The Town of Oliver Springs was divided. Half agreed with Sheriff Smith and the other half were almost certain that a fourth had done it. On February 13, 1940, an Anderson County Coroner's Jury was held in the Richards home with Joe Richards, twin brother of Ann and only brother of the sisters, in attendance with his sister Mary. There was a parade of 28 witnesses, including Oliver Springs business men, teachers, laborers, school children, and women friends of the slain women, filed into the Richards family house.
The hearing was held in the living room of the Richards' home. The long and drawn-out hearing was devoid of sensational climax. The five hour investigation came to a close after the jury deliberated only 20 minutes. The verdict was that Ann and Margaret Richards, and Leonard "Powder" Brown and met their deaths at the hands of parties unknown. Mary and joe Richards, sister and brother of the slain sisters, both felt that a fourth party had been involved. No further evidence ever surfaced about the murders.
Mary Richards, the surviving sister, continued to live and teach in Oliver Springs for a period of time after which she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. the home was destroyed by fire and the property acquired ty the American Legion.
Mary Richards died approximately three years ago in Atlanta and was brought to the Oliver Springs Cemetery for burial. All three sisters are buried in Oliver Springs.
FAMILY BACKGROUND OF THE RICHARDS
The family came originally from Wales. W. B. Richards, father of the three girls and one boy, came from Pennsylvania. He built and operated the Oliver Springs Hotel in the days when the town was noted for its mineral waters. W. B. Richards was a prominent coal operator and merchant.
The Richards girls were the nieces of William David Richards, an executive in the magnet Mills at Clinton. They were nieces of Dr. A. K. Shelton, who was a Roane County Physician and who served as physician for Brushy Mountain [Penitentiary]. They are first cousins of Dr. Shelton's son, Dr. W. A. Shelton, who was a well-known physician in Knoxville. They were nieces of Mrs. T. Reece Thomas, who formerly resided on Oak Street. Another Aunt is Mrs. Joseph Richards who was Miss Sienknecht before marriage. Mrs. B. F. Orr, wife of Dr. B. f. Orr, formerly of Knoxville, is a first cousin. Another cousin is Henry Richards, of the Blue Diamond Coal Company.
