CRIMINAL MINDS in the MIIDDLE of NOWHE RE
Written by Lan ce McDowell
I hope you laugh, cry, shout for joy and use appropriate language as you respond to the stories in this little book. All are true and all happened in Kansas, Home Sweet Home or as some of you say, The Middle of Nowhere.
CRIMINAL MINDS in the MIDDLE of NOWHERE
Copyright© 2025 by Lance McDowell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2025902216
The Payne Murders
September 15, 1903
Every community in Kansas, no matter how big or small, has a claim to fame. Cawker City is home to the largest ball of sisal twine in the world. (Every time I drive by the behemoth ball, I break into a cold sweat because it reminds me of how many bales of hay I had to stack in my younger days.) Lucas has the fascinating (or some would say freaky) artwork of S.P Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden. There, you can casually stroll through a maze of concrete creations making you stare in amazement or scratch your head in bewilderment. You can top off your day trip by taking a selfie with the dead and embalmed Mr. Dinsmoor in a post rock mausoleum.
Smith County is home to the state song, Home on the Range. Dr. Brewster Higley penned the song while living on West Beaver Creek in the northwest part of the county. Smith County also has the distinction of being the geographical center of the United States, not once but twice. When our beloved nation had forty-six states, Washington Township and the Gardner farm were the center of it all.After the addition of New Mexico and Arizona, the center of the Continental 48 United States was pinpointed to the Figg farm, a little north and west of Lebanon. Sadly, just a few miles north of this semi-famous Center something infamous happened, a triple homicide known as “The Payne Murders”. There is an old saying, “Bad things come in threes”. Well, if there is any scientific validity to the saying, it came true in the Payne family. Bad Thing Number One: Herschel Payne suddenly and unexpectedly passed from this earth onApril 9, 1903, while at his home in Logan Township. Herschel and
wife, Eliza, were one of the first settlers to a community located eleven miles north and four miles west of Lebanon. Herschel was known by all as a hardworking, kind-hearted, and loving husband, father, and grandfather.
Bad Thing Number Two: Edith Payne Williamson, who went by the name Eda, was having a tough time. Eda was struggling through her second year of separation from her hubby, Claiborne. Claib was the son of a preacher man, yes, he was, he was, oh yes, he was. Claib became sidetracked and started loving his booze more than his wife and daughter. So, when things got violent after Claib had had one (or two or three) too many drinks, Eda took herself and her daughter, Martha, (who had the nick name of Maddie) and ran home to the safety of Mom and Dad Payne.
Bad Thing Number Three: the negative marital environment created a very tough financial situation for Eda. Needing to supplement her income, Eda took a job as a housemaid for Elmer Spurrier. There she performed the duties of cooking, cleaning, laundry and whatever else needed done for a turn-of-the-century farming operation. Elmer’s wife, Ella, had a very good working relationship with Eda and better yet, Ella had “a good impression of Eda.”
If personal problems were not creating enough stress in her life, Eda had to deal with a stressful work environment. The source of her troubles was a hired farmhand by the name of Tom Madison. The Lebanon Times described Madison as “dark complexioned, bony, dark hair, partly bald, small chin, big nose, eyes rather small and inclined to squint.” In other words, Madison was ugly as sin. Madison also possessed some bad character traits. When Madison was done with his appointed
chores, he liked to stir things up and turned into a loud mouthed, obnoxious drunk. Worst of all, he had the hots for Eda. From the first time Madison laid eyes on Eda, he had one goal: capture her heart and make her his wife. Therefore, Madison bombarded Eda with unwelcome and inappropriate flirting.
Momma Eliza was not very happy to hear about Madison’s intentions. Eda already suffered from a broken relationship with a boozer, so Momma Eliza did not want her baby girl going through another round of heartache. Little Maddie loudly objected to Madison’s attention towards her mom. Young Maddie was quick to point out ‘The Triple B’of Madison’s physical qualities: body odor, bad breath, and buck teeth. Tom Madison did not appreciate the pushback from Eda’s family, but he was a dreamer, so he kept on pushing his agenda. Madison was known to have an explosive temper when he did not get his way, so some worried he may resort to violence against the trio of Payne women. However, friends of Madison swore they never heard Tom mutter a threatening word about Eda. Well, the truth is there was a very troubled and frustrated mind lurking in the person of Tom Madison.
On Tuesday, September 15, 1903, Madison had visions of sugarplums and Eda Williamson dancing in his head. Today would be the day when he would finally fulfill his fantasy and convince Eda to be his bride. The evening started with Madison walking over to Gordon Payne’s place. Even though Gordy was Eda’s big brother, he had been a nice guy to Madison. If Madison played his cards right, maybe he could gain Gordy’s approval and an inside track to Eda’s heart. If Madison were really lucky, he would run into Eda since she lived only 300 yards from
Gordy’s place. However, Eda was not there. Madison then set out for another neighbor’s house in hopes of locating her. Madison trekked across the section to the Shaw home. However, Madison did not stick around very long because Eda was not there. So, on to the next neighborhood destination.At this point, there was a spring in Madison’s step and a heightened degree of hopeful anticipation as he headed to his third stop of the evening. Earlier in the week, there was considerable buzz about an upcoming humdinger of a shindig being thrown at the J.W. Corbett farmhouse. Madison believed the party atmosphere would increase his chances of wooing Eda into his arms. Yet, once again, after a futile search, Tom Madison could not locate Eda. Witnesses at the party noticed, “Madison became surly, would not join the party and stormed off in the direction of the Spurrier place.”As he left the party, Tom may have muttered under his breath a statement he had made recently to some of his friends, “If she won’t marry me, she won’t marry anyone.” (So much for no threatening words aimed at Eda by the delusional Madison.)
Unfortunately, Madison changed direction and headed to his fourth destination of the night, the Frank Bozarth homestead. Frank Bozarth was married to Eda’s younger sister, Selina. Here, Eda, Maddie and Eliza Payne shared a one-room house sitting only 30 feet from the Bozarth’s equally tiny dwelling. Once there, Madison peeped in a window and saw Eda asleep on a bed. Let the killing begin.
There are two very believable timelines to describe what took place the night of the murders. The first scenario has Tom Madison slipping into the Payne residence as quietly as a rattlesnake. Once inside the tiny dwelling, which was no bigger
than a large chicken coop, the villain set to work.As fate would have it, all three women slept in the same bed. This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel for the deranged Madison. His “weapon of death” was an iron cultivator shank with a corn shovel fastened to the end of the bar. This apparatus had fallen off a horse drawn field implement used in tilling a field before planting. No one knows when or where the villain came into possession of the thing. Investigators believe Madison’s first victim was the focus of his twisted affection, Eda. Madison quietly approached the sleeping woman and then, brought down the plow shank, crushing her skull and killing her instantly. Madison sprang to the next victim, Grandma Eliza Payne. One blow across her skull from his crude murder weapon left the old woman in an unconscious condition, one from which she would never awaken. The final victim in his night of slaughter was little sassy, Miss Maddie, who was sound asleep against the bedroom wall. With deadly precision, Madison unleashed his frustration on the sleeping girl’s skull. One blow from the assassin instantly snuffed out young Maddie’s life. Madison used such barbaric force during his assaults, it caused the corn shovel to come loose from the plow shank. The next morning both pieces of the murder weapon were found lying in the bed between Grandma Eliza and Miss Maddie. Investigators believe after Madison killed Maddie, he then returned to Eda’s lifeless body. Here the jilted lover drove the weapon onto her head. Over and over, Tom Madison pummeled Eda’s face until it was reduced to an unrecognizable condition.
The second description of how the murders unfolded is that Madison initially lured a reluctant Eda outside for a chat. Once there, Madison may have pleaded with her to reconsider his