Vengeance Is Mine: the Scandalous Love Triangle That Triggered the Boyce-sneed Feud

Neal, Bill

Vengeance Is Mine: the Scandalous Love Triangle That Triggered the Boyce-sneed Feud

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Description

The 1912 Boyce-Sneed feud in West Texas began with a torrid sex scandal at the core of a love triangle, featuring Lena Snyder Sneed, the high-spirited, headstrong wife; Al Boyce, Jr., Lena’s reckless, romantic lover; and John Beal Sneed, Lena’s arrogant, grim, and vindictive husband, who responded to Lena’s plea for a divorce by having her locked up in an insane asylum on grounds of “moral insanity.” The chase was on after Al rescued Lena from the asylum and the lovers fled to Canada. That’s when the killings began. No one who knew the vengeful John Beal Sneed doubted for … continued below

Physical Description

xvii, 306 p. : ill., ports.

Creation Information

Neal, Bill July 15, 2011.

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This book is part of the collection entitled: University of North Texas Press and was provided by the UNT Press to the UNT Digital Library, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 296 times. More information about this book can be viewed below.

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Neal, Bill

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University of North Texas Press
Publisher Info: Web: http://untpress.unt.edu/

Place of Publication: Denton, Texas

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Neal, Bill

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The University of North Texas Press was founded in 1987 and published its first book in 1989. Though it is the newest university press in North Texas, it has quickly become a leading press with the most titles in print (more than 300) and published (15 to 18 each year). The UNT Press is a fully accredited member of the Association of American University Presses. Its books are distributed and marketed nationally and internationally through the Texas A&M University Press Consortium.

Titles

Main Title: Vengeance Is Mine: the Scandalous Love Triangle That Triggered the Boyce-sneed Feud
Series Title: A.C. Greene series
Added Title: A.C. Greene Series Number 11

Description

The 1912 Boyce-Sneed feud in West Texas began with a torrid sex scandal at the core of a love triangle, featuring Lena Snyder Sneed, the high-spirited, headstrong wife; Al Boyce, Jr., Lena’s reckless, romantic lover; and John Beal Sneed, Lena’s arrogant, grim, and vindictive husband, who responded to Lena’s plea for a divorce by having her locked up in an insane asylum on grounds of “moral insanity.” The chase was on after Al rescued Lena from the asylum and the lovers fled to Canada. That’s when the killings began. No one who knew the vengeful John Beal Sneed doubted for a moment that he would go after his wife’s lover with lethal intent. Frustrated by Al’s escape to Canada, Sneed assassinated Al’s aged and unarmed father, Colonel Albert Boyce, a wealthy Amarillo banker and former manager of the huge XIT Ranch in the Panhandle during the late nineteenth century, who had been defending his son against Sneed’s legal machinations. Newspaper headlines predicted the upcoming murder trial would be the “greatest legal battle ever fought in Texas Courts.” Sneed’s well-paid legal team first earned him a mistrial. While awaiting his second trial, Sneed ambushed and killed Al Boyce, Jr., who had foolishly returned to Amarillo and was shot in the back, with witnesses present, while walking the main street. Sneed was acquitted in his second trial for killing the father, and later acquitted for the killing of son Al Boyce, Jr., as well—his legal team skillfully invoking the self-help justice of the unwritten law defending one’s marital home. Bill Neal, attorney and writer, tells the full story of this sordid affair with special analysis of the trial tactics that were so carefully crafted to resonate with the jurors of this era and ensure Sneed’s acquittal.

Physical Description

xvii, 306 p. : ill., ports.

Notes

Includes end notes (p. 273), bibliography (p. 293), and index (p. 299).

Contents: List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Prologue -- 1. The Three Families: Settling in Antebellum Texas -- 2. A Secret Too Big to Keep: "Let the Old Men Settle It" -- 3. A Man with a Plan: Escape, Flight, and Pursuit -- 4. The Gathering Storm: The Killings Begin -- 5. To the Courts: From Guns to Gavels -- 6. "The Greatest Legal Battle Ever": The 1912 Fort Worth Murder Trial of John Beal Sneed -- 7. Protecting a Home or Protecting a Killer?: The Conclusion of the 1912 John Beal Sneed Murder Trial -- 8. The Waiting Game: Ambush at the Death Cottage -- 9. "Because This is Texas": the Second Fort Worth Murder Trial of John Beal Sneed -- 10. "Making 'Em Believe in Ghosts": The Beech Epting Murder Trial -- 11. "No Trial for the Dead": The Vernon Murder Trial of John Beal Sneed -- 12. The John Beal Sneed Wars Continue: Combat in the Courts, Firefights in the Streets -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1. The Rest of the Tragic Story of Hugh D. Spencer: Miss Lillie Was a Rover -- Appendix 2. Timeline -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- Index

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twentieth century (dates CE)

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English

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ISBN: 978-1-57441-317-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011018204
OCLC: 720899816
Series Number: 11
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metadc271437

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Creation Date

July 15, 2011

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1840~/1966~

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Jan. 23, 2014, 1:09 p.m.

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May 8, 2023, 7:05 p.m.

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United States - Texas

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Denton, Texas (University of North Texas Press)

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Neal, Bill. Vengeance Is Mine: the Scandalous Love Triangle That Triggered the Boyce-sneed Feud, book, July 15, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc271437/: accessed May 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.

Vengeance Is Mine: the Scandalous Love Triangle That Triggered the Boyce-sneed Feud

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