WANN, John E. (d. 1924)
Chattanooga – John E. WANN, 50, member of a prominent family, was shot and killed by his brother, William WANN, on the street here. WANN, who is said by his family to have been mentally irresponsible for some years, told officers who arrested him on a charge of murder, “It’s the unwritten law. I can’t help it. It is already done. I regret it of course, but that’s all there is to it. Other people do it every day. I am depending on God and my country to take care of me now.”
William WANN was a former policeman, while his victim was night manager of a branch plant of J.H. WANN & Son, funeral directors.
William WANN met his brother on East Eleventh Street and the two men engaged in a fight, when the former drew an automatic pistol. John WANN, knowing the irresponsibility of his brother because of his mental condition fled to avoid trouble. He was pursued, until he was exhausted, when his brother approached and without saying a word, emptied the pistol into the victim’s body.
Relatives of the two men say that William WANN had been demented for 15 years, but that he had never been pinched in an asylum.
Source: Dyer Reporter, April 17, 1924.