One is the murder of John McClain Byrd by his son, Amos Green Byrd. The reading of the trial begins Dec. 6, 1842, when Amos G. Byrd is indicted for the murder of his father. The Byrd family is one of the oldest families in Cape Girardeau County. Amos Byrd, the patriarch, fathered several children. One of his sons, Abraham, had a son, John T. Byrd, who fathered John McClain Byrd, who was murdered by his son, Amos Green Byrd.