On February 28, 1890, shortly before two p.m., the stairs leading from the eastern corridor of the House to the basement were the scene of a tragedy. Ex-Representative William Preston Taul-bee of Kentucky was shot by Charles E. Kincaid, correspondent of the Louisville Times, as he was descending the lower flight. The primary cause of the trouble was generally accredited to an account of a scandal, published about a year before in Judge Kincaid's paper, in which were insinuations of Taulbee's implication. He certainly believed Kincaid wrote the article. Two hours before the shooting, an altercation had occurred between the gentlemen near the east entrance to the House floor. The wounded man did not fall, but staggered down the steps. He was taken to the room of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, where he was soon surrounded by most of the Kentucky delegation. Kincaid was removed to the guard room of the Capitol. Taulbee died at five o'clock on the morning of March 11, 1890. The autopsy showed the ball lodged at the base of the brain. On April 8, 1891, a jury in the Criminal Court of the District of Columbia found Kincaid " Not guilty".