The Murder of Hiram Holladay

In the late afternoon of Sunday, May 14, 1899, Monroe A. Johnson of Greenville, Missouri, told his wife, Nancy, that he was going to St. Louis. He started off but doubled back and took up a hiding place behind a stack of wood in his back yard. 

Johnson suspected that "an undue intimacy" existed between his wife, who was "a very handsome woman," and her brother-in-law Hiram N. Holladay. Holladay, the richest man in the territory, owned a lumber mill where Johnson worked and where the 40-year-old Nancy was employed in the office. Holladay's first wife was Nancy's sister Ellen, and when Ellen died after a few years, he'd married Ellen and Nancy's older sister. He was still married to Mary, but now he'd seemingly turned his attention to the youngest sister, Nancy.  

Sure enough, about one o'clock in the morning of May 15, Johnson, watching from his hideout, saw the 50-year-old Holladay approach his house and tap on the door. The door opened, and Holladay went inside. Johnson waited a few minutes and then entered his house by a side door. He broke down the door to his wife's bedroom and found Holladay in the room with her. Not bothering about preliminaries, Johnson immediately opened fire with his six-shooter, striking Holladay four times and killing him instantly.

After the shooting, Johnson went downtown, awoke a saloonkeeper/hotel keeper, and told what he'd done. The saloonkeeper accompanied him to the sheriff's home, where Johnson turned himself in. 

Public opinion was about evenly divided between those who thought Johnson was justified in his action and those who felt he'd committed first-degree murder. His defenders said he had to resort to sneaky methods in order to "protect his home against the power of wealth." According to his detractors, however, Johnson had known about the affair between his wife and Holladay for some time, had lain in wait for his victim, and had committed a coldblooded murder.  

At his arraignment in early June, Johnson was bound over without bond to await the action of a grand jury. Later in June, Johnson was admitted to bail on $3,000 bond. 

At his trial in August of 1900, Johnson was the only witness for the defense. Taking the stand to tell his story, he admitted killing Holladay but said he not only acted according to "the unwritten rules of honor" but also acted in self-defense, since he knew that Holladay was armed when he went into his house on that fateful night. 

After 23 hours of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict finding Johnson guilty of manslaughter and assessing punishment at a $500 fine.