BELLAMY MANSION MUSEUM
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

An Untold Story: How Gun Violence Affected the Bellamy Family

2/26/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureEmmett Bellamy, undated portrait
It was March 31, 1952, when Emmett Hargrove Bellamy and his assistant, Lloyd S. Elkins, boarded the seventh-floor elevator of the Charlotte Law Building in Charlotte, North Carolina. Suddenly, a gunman, later identified as Albert Raymond Reinhart, 50, stormed the elevator and opened fire using a .38 caliber revolver. Elkins was injured in the shooting, but Bellamy was killed from a gunshot wound to the stomach. Bellamy was 61 years of age and Elkins, just 25.
 
Emmett H. Bellamy was born in Wilmington on February 12, 1891, to John Dillard Bellamy, Jr. and Emma May Hargrove. Bellamy attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his law degree from Columbia University. Additionally, Bellamy served in the military during World War I and was honorably discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant.

PictureBellamy during college, 1912
Upon his retirement from the military, Bellamy practiced with his father’s law firm, John D. Bellamy & Sons, based out of Wilmington. In addition to his work as a lawyer, Bellamy was a prominent political figure in North Carolina. The Democratic lawyer was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1921 and to the Senate in 1923. Bellamy also served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from 1940 to 1944.
​

At the time of his murder, Bellamy had retired from politics and was practicing law in Charlotte. During police questioning, Bellamy's murderer, Albert Reinhart, was quoted as saying he was “incensed” at Bellamy over the handling of his case. Reinhart, a hotel owner from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, traveled to Charlotte to "show down" with Bellamy regarding the real estate deal in which he believed Bellamy had "taken advantage of" his elderly mother.

Picture
The High Point Enterprise, May 17, 1952
During the preliminary hearing, Reinhart made an insanity plea, but was ruled sane enough to stand trial upon examination by two Duke University doctors. In addition to a murder charge against him, Bellamy's assistant who was wounded in the shooting, filed a $100,000 damage suit against Reinhart. Reinhart was eventually found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Emmett Bellamy is buried alongside his wife, Lillian Frances Maxwell, in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina.

http://politicalgraveyard.com/families/19514.html
http://cdm16072.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16072coll5/id/334/
​
Written by Bellamy Mansion intern and UNCW English major, Sydney Simmons
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About Us

    The museum offers tours, features changing exhibits, and provides venue space for weddings and special events.

    503 Market Street
    Wilmington, NC 28401
    910.251.3700
    Tours:
    Tues - Sat 10am- 4pm
    Sunday 1pm- 4pm

    Categories

    All
    Events
    Mardi Gras
    News
    Restoration

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.