Janie Sharp Series # 8 - Conclusion

One of the few remaining photos of Janie Sharp



The Sharp Family after Janie's Funeral



Cleta & Don Ortloff - Niece & Grand Nephew of Janie Sharp

Janie Sharp's murder was never solved. It has now been one hundred years since her brutalized body was found just off Commodore Road in the Rural Hill Community. It has almost been that long since the unsolved murders of Ben Walker and Walter Permenter. Over that time the area has changed significantly.

Rural Hill was never more than a small village but it was full of life. Two stores, a post office, a church, a two room school and even a small mill that produced wooden spokes were the center of a small group of farms and the families that worked them. There was no railroad and no county courthouse and it was inevitable that Rural Hill would slowly decline like hundreds of other communities across Mississippi and the South. Over the years, the Post Office closed and mail delivery moved to McCool, schools consolidated and travel became quicker and easier and the need for the stores diminished as well. Today, there is no evidence of any structures except for the Church. Rural Hill United Methodist Church continues to survive and is well maintained. Memorial in May always draws a crowd of people whose ancestors founded the Church or grew up within its shadow.

RURAL HILL CHURCH 2010

Cemetery Bell at Rural Hill

Some familiar names

The Commodore Road along which Janie's body was found, was never much more than a trail. Its location is now on private property and is likely not maintained. The Neal Ray Road where the Sharp home and the Permenter home were located does still exist and although it is a very narrow, gravel thoroughfare, it is well maintained by the county. The homesteads are long gone but one can identify locations that might indicate an old homesite. There are still a few folks who can specifically identify the location where Janie's body was found. I was contacted by an individual who provided helpful information that indicated that some evidence of Janie's moss covered tracks (heel prints) may have existed into the 1960's.

Janie Sharp's grave is located in the Center Ridge United Methodist Church Cemetery. It is the tallest monument in the cemetery and located near the road. A sister who died as an infant is buried beside her.Her epitaph reads as follows:

"Sleep On, Dear Janie, Thy Work is Done

Thy Mortal Pangs are O'er

Jesus Has Come And Borne Thee Home

Beyond This World Of Sin And Woe"

At one time the monument was vandalized and the top marble ornament was removed. Since that time, gracious church members provided the means to restore the monument and attach the top ornament permanently. It has become a favorite place for teenagers to gather at Halloween and the area is the subject of many ghost stories that of course involve Janie and her murder.


Center Ridge Church

Janie Sharp's Tombstone

SwintonPermenter died on August 16, 1946 and is buried at the Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee.

There are a great deal of details and mostly hearsay about this event that were not included in these articles; some because they were merely rumor, others because they may not have been pertinent as told. One interesting bit of information not previously included was a Winston County Journal article that indicated that a set of bloody clothes were found hidden under a fallen log, several months after the murder. It stated that the garments showed much decay and were to be brought to the sheriff's office for examination. After that article, no further mention of these garments were made. It is not known by this writer if they ever existed, or were never submitted to the sheriff, or were determined to not be pertinent to the case. In any event, they were never mentioned again.

I would be amiss if I didn't give credit to two compilations about the Janie Sharp event. THE TRIAL for the MURDER of PERNINAH JANIE SHARP by Lucille Wood and TRIAL OF SWINTON PERMENTER FOR THE MURDER OF MISS JANIE SHARP JULY 21,1910 by Ruby C. Hurt. Both of these books are available for sale at the Winston County Library and I encourage those who are interested to take a closer look at these compilations of news reports and trial transcripts. They contain more details and contradictory information.

Janie Sharp Series # 7 - After the Trial

Janie Sharp had been murdered while walking home along a wooded country lane on a hot August afternoon in 1910 near the backwoods community of Rural Hill, Mississippi. Suspicions fell immediately upon a young man, Swinton Permenter, not yet eighteen himself. A two year ordeal ensued that included a trial and conviction, a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the conviction, suspicions cast upon others, the murders of two men and a second trial that was a sensation across Mississippi and the South.

When the Mississippi dust settled, no one was brought to justice for Janie’s murder or those of Ben Walker, an investigator of the crime, or Walter Permenter, the brother of the suspect. To this day, no one can say who committed these crimes and anyone who may have had firsthand knowledge of the events of the day are long gone.

The Sharp’s were convinced of Swinton’s guilt and apparently made no further attempts to find any other suspects. The lack of closure in the case fueled debate, hard feelings and suspicion not only in Rural Hill but in much of Winston County. Almost everyone was a relation or a friend to one or both families. Speculations and accusations continued for many years after the crime and in some forms still exist today.

Up until the 1970’s, students in local schools were forbidden to write about the murder for fear of opening old wounds. I was recently contacted by one individual who stated that the only thing he had ever seen his grandparents argue over was the guilt or innocence of Swinton Permenter. Emotions ran high for many years and rumors of death threats surfaced often when someone began asking too many questions.

As a result, speculation turned to rumor, rumor intermingled with truth and the story became more sensational over the years. Soon, Janie became the subject of legend; a ghost story to tell around a campfire on a cool October evening or a cautionary tale for willful young girls. It seemed that each year the story became more gruesome, bloody and fantastic - and visiting Janie’s grave is now a favorite rite of passage for local high school kids on Halloween night; kids who know nothing about the real events of Janie’s death and the drama that followed.

The people of Rural Hill and Winston County went back to their farms and businesses and continued their lives. But what happened to the principal characters in this story?

The Permenter Family apparently stayed in Mississippi although at some point, they sold their property in Rural Hill. Records show that Swinton’s parents, Edward and Anna are buried in the Hopewell Baptist Cemetery in Choctaw County, Ms. Edward died in 1932 and Anna passed away in 1942. Swinton’s brothers and sisters stayed in Mississippi as well and at least one stayed in the immediate area.

Cyrus Ray (Janie’s Uncle) and his family stayed in the Rural Hill area and most of the family is buried in the church cemetery.

Edward Permenter was killed in 1912 in Eupora. His murder was never solved. He is buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Louisville, Ms. He left a widow (Madie or Maudie) and three children. She soon left Rural Hill and moved to Kemper county and then Philadelphia, Ms. where she raised her children. She died in 1969 and is buried next to her husband.

Hewlet or Hulet Ray, one of the two men accused by Ben Walker of the crime moved to Oklahoma sometime before WW1 where he registered for the draft. He and his wife raised five children and he lived to a ripe old age in Oklahoma and is buried there. Little is known about Thomas McElroy (also accused by Ben Walker) after the trial and it is assumed that he returned to his home in Texas.

Ben Walker was killed in 1912 in the home of Elbert Vowell in Winston County. His killer was never captured or identified. Nothing is known about his past and his body was never claimed by family members, He is buried in the Smallwood or Wood Cemetery in that area.

Earl Ray, the fiancé of Janie Sharp, married in 1914 and continued to live in Mississippi and the general area. He raised several children and passed away in Choctaw County in the 1960’s.

The Will Sharp family stayed in Rural Hill for a short while after the trial, but in 1913, they sold their property and most of the immediate family packed their belongings and moved to Bryan, Oklahoma. Much of the family still live in that area today. Janie’s Father, Will, passed away in 1919 and her Mother passed just one year later. They are buried in Calera, Oklahoma. The Sharp home in Rural Hill burned to the ground in 1921.

Swinton Permenter’s whereabouts immediately after the trial are not known. It is doubtful, that he ever returned to the Rural Hill area for any length of time. Much of the following information here is not verifiable but was accumulated from various sources. It is believed that he lived for a period of time in Okolona, Ms. He entered military service during WW1. Some have indicated that he initially enlisted under the false name, Jesse Jackson. If so, this was corrected as later military records indicate his real name. There is also some evidence that he lived and worked in the oil fields in Texas and Oklahoma for a period of time but he is listed in the 1930 census as a resident of Bolivar, County, Ms. and residing in the household of his younger sister. At sometime after 1930, he apparently married a woman from North Carolina. There is little information about the marriage and no indication of children. In his later years, Swinton apparently endured health problems and may have suffered paralysis in his legs and possibly his hands. As a result, he may have spent his last years in a V.A. home in Johnson City, Tennessee as this was listed as his last address. Swinton Permenter died on August 16, 1946 and is buried at the Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Janie Sharp lost her life on July 21, 1910. She is buried not at Rural Hill but in the Center Ridge Methodist Church Cemetery located several miles east of Rural Hill. This cemetery was probably chosen because her sister, an infant was previously buried here.

Janie Sharp Series Continues # 6 - The Verdict

This two year drama began on a county road near Rural Hill, Mississippi in 1910 with the brutal murder of an attractive young woman ready to start her adult life. It was about to culminate in a packed, sweltering courtroom in the small town of Winona; a courtroom where the fate of another young person was to be decided – freedom or death at the end of a noose. Through these two years, a whole county was divided. Feelings ran high and even families were torn between their support of the victim’s family and the belief in the innocence of a young man named Swinton Permenter.

The Sharp family never wavered in their belief in Swinton’s guilt. The Permenter family likewise rallied to their youngest son, resolute in their certainty of his innocence. These two years also saw the blatant murders of two men; murders that were almost certainly tied to the case- and murders in which no one was ever brought to justice. The killers of Ben Walker and Walter Permenter were never found, no one was ever indicted for either of these crimes and these tragic murders simply faded into history.

Both sides had presented their cases, evidence was produced, rebuttals made and lengthy summations presented. It was now all in the hands of a jury of twelve men. It was late afternoon before deliberations began and at 8:00 pm, the jury retired for the night without a verdict. The crowd, the press and the defendant would have to wait for morning. By 8:30 am the next day, the jury was ready to deliver their decision to a packed courtroom. They filed into the jury box and the judge asked if they had reached a verdict. The jury foreman replied, “Yes sir, we have.” The verdict was passed to the clerk as dead silence fell upon the crowded courtroom.

“We the jury, find the defendant NOT GUILTY.”

There was no outburst in the courtroom, no gasp of despair or relief, only a low, almost inaudible murmur. The defendant sat speechless as the judge thanked the jury, the attorneys and the local community. The foreman stood and thanked the sheriff and the court for the courtesy and kindness shown to the jury throughout the trial.

As the court was adjourned, the Permenter family rose and rushed to the jury to shake hands and thank them. Swinton’s Father spoke, “ Thank God, My poor boy is free! He never killed that girl.”.
In an action that would be considered unusual today, Swinton was shortly able to address the jury as they assembled one last time in the jury room. In the presence of his family, he was able to thank the twelve men for their kindness and his acquittal.

The Sharp family’s actions were decidedly different. Janie’s Father was quoted, “It’s a crying shame that such a result could have been reached. Nobody in the world but Permenter killed my daughter and if they were to bring in another man charged with the crime, I’d say nobody but Swinton Permenter murdered her.” Lee Sharp, Jannie's brother, warned about the danger of turning such a heartless brute loose in any community.

Regardless, Swinton Permenter was a free man. Due to the emotion of the Sharp family and friends, Swinton was guarded throughout that day until he left Winona that evening. His
destination was closely guarded; all that was disclosed – "headed to some point not known. "

The Sharp’s and Permenter’s returned to their homes in Rural Hill that evening by train. Some evidence suggests that both families took the same train. The Sharps were met at the McCool depot by a large crowd who expressed their sympathy due to the outcome of the case.

One of the most sensational trials in Mississippi history was over yet there was no resolution to Janie Sharp’s murder; no justice, no punishment, no sense of closure for her family or for the communities of Rural Hill, Louisville and Winston County. The trial may have been over, but the story was not.

W. McCully