38 ..vad Agents and Train Robbers
yard. As required by California statute, invitations to vaitness the hang-
ing of Tiburcio Vasquez were put in the mails,
During the weeks of his incarceration Vasquez had stubbornly re-
fused the ministrations of a priest, but as the time of his execution
neared, he permitted Father Serda, the chaplain, to spend several hours
a day with him. He dictated several letters; one of them asking the for-
giveness of those he had wronged and another addressed to his fol-
lowers, pleading with them to change their ways and not to seek to
avenge his death. On the afternoon of March 19, he was led across
the crowded jail yard to the scaffold, preceded by Father Serda and
carrying a small crucifix. The trap was sprung at 1:35 P.M.
The days of Mexican outlawry that had bedeviled California for
twenty years were over. Although the state granted the reward of
$8,000 to Sheriff Rowland of Los Angeles, for the capture of Tiburcio
Vasquez, Harry Morse had done more to break up the Mexican gangs
than any other lawman. In a gun duel he had killed Juan Soto, an
even more vicious renegade than Vasquez, and dealt a similar fate to
Narrato Bartola. Over the years and without fanfare, he had run
down Jesus Tejada, Bartola Sepulveda, and half a dozen others of their
kind and hustled them off to long prison terms.
The hanging of Vasquez did not mean the ending of lawlessness;
a new type of banditry, perhaps less violent but equally spectacular, was
ready to take over.
Wit
Black Bart—Califormas
Premur Road Agent
Aurnoucs by the 1860's Wells, Fargo dominated the banking and ex-
press business of California, it owned no stage lines (with one excep-
tion), preferring to continue a close working arrangement with the
California Stage Company with its hundreds of coaches and thousands
of horses. More often than not, wherever a wheel turned in the state,
it belonged to the California Stage Company.
Notwithstanding the competition, a score of short-haul independent
lines managed to survive. Their coaches did not escape being stopped
and robbed, some of them transporting Wells, Fargo treasure and the
mails, But these were not included in the confidential list of twenty-
eight robberies the company had suffered and with which Wells, Fargo
supplied its agents in 1888, all of them attributed to California's n most
masterful road agent, the ubiquitous Black Bart.
Stage drivers became well acquainted with him over the years, either
from personal experience or through the tales they exchanged with
their fellow drivers at the end of a run. They were’agreed that he was
a rather smallish man and, judging from his resonant voice, perhaps in
his fifties. He had a routine he followed in all his holdups. First, he
chose a spot at the head of a steep grade that would slow the stage team
to a walk. As the sweating horses topped out on level ground, he would
step out of his concealment and cover the driver with his double-
barreled shotgun. In his long linen duster and a flour sack with eye-
holes over his head, he was a menacing figure. So was the business end
of his shotgun. Without being ordered to do so, the driver pulled up his
Sates
ay a
nS ONTO TEL OI ME SON ome . .
ge "4 PC TI Oger ' "Ey ae
36 Koad Agents and Train Robbers
Vasquez had been quiet, save for the minor robbery of ¢ sheepman near
San Gabriel Mission. That incident further convinced Morse that his
man was hiding out somewhere south of Tehachapi Pass in the moun-
tainous Kern County. He also realized that time was running out; that
the state would not continue to finance the expensive and so far un-
productive chase much longer.
Looking back from this distance, it is obvious that Vasquez knew
Morse was closing in on him, for he dispersed his men and ordered
them to make their way back north as best they could, hoping, of
course, that the posse would pick up their trail and lead pursuit away
from himself, It was a bold move and might have succeeded had not
the break in the case come when it did.
Morse and his party were in the Cahuenga Hills, well inside the Los
Angeles County line, when he bribed (or “induced,” as he put it) a
Mexican herder to supply him with the information he needed: Vas-
quez was in Alison Canyon in the adobe home of George Allen, better
known as “Greek George,” a fence for thieves. Morse should have closed
in on the place at once. Instead, he posted his men to watch it while
he rode into town to confer with Sheriff Rowland, of Los Angeles
County.
It was not a question of overstepping his jurisdiction that took Morse
into town; he was not only the sheriff of Alameda County but he had
been authorized by the state to pursue his search for Vasquez wherever
it might lead him. His purpose in conferring with Rowland was to
extend to him the courtesy of taking part in the capture of the notorious
outlaw. Rowland would have none of it. He declared that he had had
Greek George’s adobe under surveillance for some time, and there was
no one living there but Greek George and his Mexican woman. In the
angry confrontation that followed, Rowland advised Morse to gather
up his men and get out of Los Angeles County at once; that he was ca-
pable of enforcing the law without any outside assistance.
Some accounts have it that he went so far as to threaten to place
Morse under arrest if he didn’t comply. That is unlikely, Morse was
no man’s fool. He realized that Rowland had his eyes on the reward
California was offering for the capture of Vasquez, and that he
(Morse) had foolishly put him in a position to collect it. “There was
nothing for Morse to do but assent,” says the usually reliable Joseph
Henry Jackson. “He rode back to the Tejon, gathered his party, and
turned north the way he had come.”
ee i eR. esp
Boe YB aR Rs SB ti ne 8 a :
HA Say ar Oh RR ARI SRE PARR ES le PRR ine Ae teen le ch ae
ack A OR ARES SRA ReneS:
73
Ps
iy
Tiburcio Vasquez: Tiger of the Dim Trails 37
Rowland swore in a group of depiities at once, among them George
Beers, the Los Angeles correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle,
thus making sure that what he was doing would have the proper
amount of publicity, and they set out for Greek George’s adobe. Before
coming in sight of the house, they stopped a wagon and arranged with
the driver to take two of them, hidden under a piece of canvas, up to
the building, Undersheriff Johnson and the other man, reporter Beers,
leaped out and rushed the door. Greek George’s woman tried to block
the way. Johnson thrust her aside and ran into the house in time to
see Vasquez leap through a rear window and make for his horse. John-
son fired and missed, but ‘a blast from Beers’ shotgun, loaded with
buckshot, brought Tiburcio down. An hour later, he was behind bars
in the Los Angeles County jail, waiting for a doctor to remove the slugs
from his legs.
Being charged with the killing of Redford and Davidson at Tres
Pinos, Vasquez should have been brought to trial in San Benito County,
but since that county had no jail deemed strong enough to hold him, a
change of venue was obtained to Santa Clara County, and he was re-
manded to the San Jose jail. On January 5, 1875, he was brought to trial.
It did not take long. On January 9, the jury rendered its verdict. It was
“guilty as charged,” and death by hanging the penalty.
His lawyers took an appeal at once. He had been ably defended, a
fund having been raised to provide him with adequate counsel. Most of
the subscribers were Mexicans, but not all, for, as usually happens
when a known killer is on trial for his life, there was an outpouring of
undeserved sympathy for him. When he was running wild, the cry had
been to hunt him down and eliminate him; now sentimentalists, mostly
women, were demanding mercy and keeping him supplied with
delicacies, |
On January 23, two weeks after the verdict had been rendered, Vas-
quez was brought before Judge Belden for sentencing. “Your life has
been an unbroken record of lawlessness and outrage, a career of pillage
and murder, a synonym for all that is wicked and infamous,” Belden
informed him. “I now sentence you to be hanged by the neck until dead
on March the nineteenth.”
On March 12, word was received from Sacramento that the High
Court had denied the appeal. Sheriff Adams began preparing for the
event, Since Santa Clara County did not have a gallows, Adams bor-
towed one from Sacramento County? and set it up in the San Jose jail
pepe t
eS
sh its hcl li it. cites
ol.
\ res
teach skiing Socials
2
Td Tier gree
VASQUEQ, Tiburico, Mexican, hanged at San Jose, California, March 19, 1875.
Tiburcio Vasquez who took
pleasure in the suffering
of dying men — photo was taken
in the San Jose City Jail where
the wild killer was held
pending his execution.
“IF I HAVE A CHOICE OF KILLING A MAN OR SHOOTING .
HIM IN BOTH KNEES, I’LL SHOOT HIM IN THE KNEES!”
Tiburcio Vasquez
Early on the afternoon of 1853,
during a Spanish fiesta in the coastal
community of Monterey, a hundred
miles south of San Francisco, the
festivities suddenly ground to a halt,
and gaily-dressed Spanish ladies
fainted, when a- Mexican boy saw
blood dripping from an ox-cart that
had been festooned with garlands of
flowers and had joined a small parade
through the streets.
Horrified authorities raised a
burlap pile on back of the cart and
found the body of one of their con-
stables. He had been mysteriously
stabbed in the chest, over and over
again, and his blood was now being ©
spilled and taken up by the thirsty
dust in the street. Thus, the parade
abruptly ended and frightened folk
ran to their homes and _ barricaded
doors and windows.
It was another puzzling murder
that lawmen couldn’t solve, although
there were a few gringo Californians
who thought the blame could be
traced to a troublesome horse-thief, a
young man who went by the then
current name of Tiburcio Vasquez.
Having grown up in the Monterey
area, and knowing the woods and
coastal terrain better than anyone,
Vasquez, born on August 11, 1835,
showed none of the viciousness that
was soon to become his character until
his death in 1875. ,
There was an air of mystery
about Vasquez. He was well educated,
and his family had ample money and
security, and were highly respected.
Some said that the Vasquez tribe may
have had some royal Spanish blood.
Nevertheless, there was no reason for
this man to turn outlaw, but he made
_the decision at the age of 17 when he
met a desperado in 1852 by the name
t
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ait 6° ag ialaien +:
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of Anastacia Garcia.
Almost overnight, the pleasant
quiet character of the slightly built
and short black-haired young man
changed. He got into one fight after
another, and in spite of his delicate
appearance, was a tough brawler.
Tiburcio Vasquez didn’t become
a hunted man until the day of the
fiesta when the body of Constable
William Hardniount was found on the
ox-cart. The lawman had walked into a
tavern at the edge of town, called
there because nearby residents com-
plained of the noise and profanity.
Vasquez was involved in a fight with
another young man, but when the
constable tried to separate the pair, a
knife flashed and he went down, his
crimson blood staining his chest where
he wore his badge of authority.
While Vasquez later denied
having held the knife, the murder was.
blamed: on him. personally, and
Vasquez went into hiding while his
outlaw companion Garcia, ran away to
Los Angeles, but was caught by Vigi-
lantes and returned to Monterey where
he was hanged.
Now well skilled in the art of
robbery and horse-theft, Vasquez, as a
hunted man, took over some of the
In mid-July of 1857, Tiburcio
and his gang wandered along a small
stream near Los Angeles until they
spotted a herd of horses. They were
fine stallions, showing an _ ability
toward spirit and swiftness.
“We shall take them!” exclaimed
Vasquez, and he motioned for one of
his lieutenants, a villainous appearing
man named Juan Soto to help him
take some of the herd away quietly. It
was best to work this caper with but
two men so as not to attract too much
attention, for field workers were
harvesting 4 grape crop in the distance.
It was easy to steal the horses,
but corraling them raised a cloud of
dust, and there was a pursuit, with
Vasquez getting away, only to be
by Leo Rosenhouse
CALIFORNIA STATE ARCHIVES PHOTOS
Cross-eyed
- Juan Soto
rode with
the murderer,
Vasquez.
Hanging: Play re-en
Continued from Page Bi
but he steadfastly denied that he fatally shot Annie
when she refused his pleas for reconciliation. Wit-
nesses in his three-day trial testified that the doc-
tor was violent and had threatened Annie.
The trapdoor of the gallows dropped for Vincent
at noon, and at 12:13 p.m. he was pronounced
dead. The gallows was dismantled and shipped to
acts 1893 incident —
That’s where Vincent would have been hanged, |
Clugston said, if he’d been convicted one day later. |
California law banned public executions in counties |
where defendants were convicted. |
The gallows rope for the play will be “special” |
and perfectly safe, Clugston said. :
“If the rope doesn’t work, it'll be a one-night
performance only,” Clugston said. vis JE qS5
San Gunte Prison. ae e Ji NO GC A
pee
Se ee
Just acting. Roger Clugston, center, plays Dr. Frank O.
Weddle, left, and Corey Egan are supporting actors.
Roger Ciugston’s interest in
102-year-old hanging results
in theatrical production
" “Actor-director Roger Clugston ex-
pects to have a noose around his
neck next month, when he portrays
the first and only man legally hanged
in Fresno County.
Sunday, Clugston and others per-
formed sketches from a new play,
“They're Hangin’ Doc Vincent To-
day,” which will open at Oakhurst’s
Golden Chain Theater.
Coarsegold resident Clugston, who
co-wrote the original drama, became
fascinated with Frank O. Vincent af-
ter reading a 1969 magazine article
about the Fresno physician and con-
victed wife-killer. .
“Someone that prominent to com-
mit a murder, that was unthink-
able,” said Clugston, who described
himself as an injury-accident consul-
tant.
The Oct. 27 performance in Oak-
hurst will be held 102 years to the
day that the trapdoor opened on Vin-
cent. Proceeds will benefit Meux
Home Museum.
Vincent was convicted of killing
his estranged wife, Annie, in the
home they once shared at what is
now Stanislaus Street and Broadway.
That was on Dec. 18, 1890, Vincent’s
39th birthday, Clugston said.
The hanging was by invitation on-
ly but 1893 newspapers reported that
more than just the 600 invitees wit-
nessed the grisly event, some
through knotholes cut in a 16-foot-
high wooden fence around the tem-
porary gallows.
Five of the invitations were given
to Vincent himself — to give to his
Photos by Mark Crosse — The Fresno
Vincent in a re-enactment of Fresno’s only legal hanging. Jerry
You're invited.
Spectators don’t
need this
framed, original
invitation — one
of the three
surviving copies
of the 600
printed — to see
a re-enactment
of the hanging
of a Fresno
doctor in 1893.
friends, Clugston said. Only three ex-
ist today.
“When they finally dropped him,
he fell seven feet,” Clugston said.
“He weighed about 120 pounds.”
In a folder he showed to Sunday’s
audience, Clugston keeps portions of
transcripts from Vincent’s trial, as
well as newspaper clippings on the
hanging in Courthouse Park.
He drew from the transcripts to
write dialogue for the play.
Vincent admitted to drug and
alcohol addiction, the reports said,
Please see Hanging, Page B3
¢
\ W hen they finally dropped him, he fell seven feet. ?
Roger Clugsten, LV
an actor-director on Frank 0. Vincent’s hanging
x : Sea SRER RTA) ;
Photos by Mark Crosse — The Fresno Bee:
Just acting. Roger Clugston, center, plays Dr. Frank O. Vincent in a re-enactment of Fresno’s only legal hanging. Jerry
Weddle, left, and Corey Egan are supporting actors.
Roger Ciugston’s interest in 7Yr) G
102-year-old hanging resuits a.
in theatrical production You're invited.
an egMé ss ae se 8 ann the seu ensign ~~ | Spectators don't
By Charles McCarthy / “/ ag ae, needthis
The Fresno Bee : ¢ 4A ne framed, original
Actor-director Roger Clugston ex- | RANK ©. VINGENT — hp ab one
pects to have a noose around his | | wi its lage a dts Coney Tall we he sai Say ONE GG | vivind CODIES
neck next month, when he portrays | a. — ft of the a p
the first and only man legally hanged
in Fresno County.
Sunday, Clugston and others per-
formed sketches from a new play,
“They're Hangin’ Doc Vincent To-
day,” which will open at Oakhursi’s
Golden chan ene , h Vincent was convicted of killing friends, Clugston said. Only three ex-
oo omote the original deerme receme his estranged wife, Annie, in the ist today.
a . eS wee ~ home they once shared at what is “When they finally dropped him,
fascinated with Frank OQ. Vincent.al- now Stanislaus Street and Broadway. he fall sever, font.” Chisstan said.
ws " AOMM™N -- —~ --- i i
printed — to see
a re-enactment
of the hanging
of a Fresno
doctor in 1893.
3,8 PACIFIC -2nd= 116 (See)
WADE, Lawrence LeRoy, 32-year-old black man, asphyxiated San Quentin (Alameda County)
on April 22, 1960.
"San Quentin, April 22, 1960-Lawrence Wade, 32, died ih San Quentin's gas chamber today
for the hold-up murder of Oakland liquor store operator Edwin Sorensen two years ago,
The cyanide.pellets were dropped at 10:03 a.m, Wade was pronounced dead at 10:12 a,
m, Wade went to his death calmly, He died mumbling prayers. Associate Warden Walter
D. Acuff said there were no dramatics about the death, A,out 30 persons witnessed
the grim scene through the observation windows of the gas chamber.
"Outside at the prison gate some 50 persons carried signs to protest against capital
punishment. Many had kept an all-night vigil despite high winds and chilly tempera-
tures. They did not create a disturbance, They were one phase of a new wave of pro-=
tests by persons at meetings and circulating petitions against capital punishment based,
in the main, on the furore aroused by the 12-year on-again, off-again execution of
Caryl Chessman. Apparently referring to the new May 2 death date set for Chessman,
Achuff said 'there was very Little excitement about this one,'
Wade was the first man to be executed in California since its 60-day moratorium on
capital punishment ordered by Gov, Edmund G, Brown. It was granted to allow the State
MagXX Legislature to consider the abolition of capital punishment, The lawmakers
turned down the proposal, Wade spent his last night talking to prison guards, the
Catholic Chaplain, the Rev. Edward J, Dingberry, and sleeping. He had to be awakened
about 3 hours before the execution for breakfast of bacon and eggs, hotcakes, fruit
juice and milk,
"Wade was convicted by an Alameda County superior court jury for slaying Sorensen in
a gun duel in Sorensen's liquor store at 5636 Shattuck Ave., April 12, 1958, The jury
decreed the death penalty, It was pronounced Mar. 30, 1959, by Alameda County Super-
jor Court Judge Cecil Mosbacher in what is believed tobe the first time in the his-
tory of California that a woman jurist has levied the death penalty, By the jury's
decision, she had no alternative, It was the first execution of an Alaameda County
convict since Burton W, Abbott died March 15, 1957eseeseeWade a one-time Oakland saxa-
phone player, was moved last night to the small cell 12 steps from the gas chamber
for his evening meal, His dinner menue, which he requested, was chitlins, corn bread,
greens, sirloin steak, a quart of milk, strawberry shortcake and soft drinks. Wade's
accomplice in the robbery, Mrs, Ella Mae Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to driving the
get-away car and was sentenced to life imprisonment," TRIBUNE, Oakland, California,
page one, columnone, April 22, 1960,
Albert, Jr. han
ged Calif. (3. F. ) December 4th, 1936...
tence is
jurist.
“Yes
defend:
sible. |
DB LaOlIVE Cssko MAGA ZINE, AP RIL, 1974
by RALPH STONER
A énéios in the courtroom at San Francisco, California, was electric as
the thin, dark-haired young man stood before the judge’s bench. A few
minutes earlier, the jury of eight men and four women had brought in their
verdict: ‘‘Guilty of murder in the first degree!’’ No trace of mercy was
reflected in the faces of the veniremen; nor was there any hint of sympathy
in the stern glances of the spectators.
‘Have you anything to say before sen-
tence is pronounced?”’ asked the solemn
jurist.
‘*Yes, Your Honor,’’ murmured the
defendant. ‘'I want to die as soon as pos-
sible. I'll never stop thinking about that
girl — how I felt when I put my hands_ recalled that warm night in June, five
on her and she went limp in my arms...."". months previously.
In the mirror of the murderer's It was. 9 o'clock the next morning when
anguished mind, the green-eyed girl's the police were summoned to the neat
pathetic face, a pallid mask of terror,
floated in a kaleidoscopic pattern as he (Continued on next page)
| “I dedicated my life to
“vengeance against women.
I have outraged, ruined,
‘seduced and corrupted as
: many as | could. This.
killing is .no surprise to
i me," confessed the fiend.
‘ ) His life of debauchers
fion came to a
jolting end on the gallows!
quiet after
s playing
' anybody
one did at
t hear the
s morning,
nts in the
had heard
dinary on
had been
the bed,
‘ct order.
indicating
: Cousins’
ening had
nnants of
container
been con-
ie coroner
them was
hardened
( vicious
e medico
he young
Then the
gain! The
1 into her
mutilated
The vic-
- marks of
inds were
, got over
urderer’s
ig the red-
a sadistic
declared;
lic driven
nflict pain
It.
e to catch
a vowed.
o be very
us a Start
-gan their
ns
eR Roe sare ene ere ew
aki
Homicide investigators found the girl’s corpse in this weird position.
3
task of dusting every object in the apart-
ment in the hope of turning up finger-
prints other than those of the victim.
Other sleuths sorted through the only cor-
respondence they could discover in the
flat — letters from the slain girl’s parents
in Idaho Falls. Bo
There was nothing in these missives,
however, to indicate that Blanche
Cousins had had a serious romance, that
she had been bothered by a persistent
suitor, nor was there any lead which-
would otherwise cast light On the identity
of her murderer. ie
Completing their examination of the
murder room, the technicians reported
to the homicide investigators that they
had lifted a number of clear impressions
from the furniture, the walls and the brass
bedstead. Some of the prints were those
of the victim, while the others would be
checked with the files of the San Fran-
cisco Police Department Identification
Department and with the California -
State Criminal Identification Bureau at
Sacramento. A full set would also be sub-
mitted to the FBI in Washington.
Meanwhile, in contacting the victim's
parents, the lawmen learned that Blanche
Cousins had left Idaho Falls on June 2,
1936 — her body had been found in the
Nob Hill apartment 14 days later.
‘**The ill-fated girl took a bus from
Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City and then
she came on to San Francisco,’’ Inspec-
tor Engle: told his colleagues. ‘‘She
stayed in the YWCA for two days until
she found this apartment. Her family
doesn’t believe Blanche knew a soul in
this city.”’
Next, Inspector Corrasa, who had
been able to check the business school
from enrollment data found in the mur-
dered redhead’s apartment, reported that
the personnel director at the institution
knew nothing about the student.
‘*Blanche Cousins was taking a secretar-
ial course,’ the lawman told his partner.
‘*The teachers say she was quiet and
well-mannered. They don’t think the
young woman formed any close friend-
ships with her classmates during the short
time she. was enrolled at the school.”’
A hushed atmosphere pervaded the
apartment building as the murdered girl’s
body was carried out to be taken to the
(Continued on page 47)
TE TES ET
marks, most deep enough to draw blood!"
little house in the fashionable Nob Hill
section of San Francisco. By this time
most of the tenants in the dwelling had
heard about the murder in Apartment 5-
B, and were pressing the caretaker, Judd
Code, for details concerning the tragedy.
Detective Inspectors Alvin Corrasa
‘and William Stanton posted patrolmen
outside the building and they instructed
the caretaker to tell the residents that no
one would be permitted to leave the pre-
mises until they’d been questioned. This
done, the inspectors hurried upstairs and
entered the one-room apartment on the
fifth floor. ;
The nude, battered body of a once-
pretty red-haired girl lay stretched out
stiffly on the bed. Her wide green eyes
were bulging and her face was contorted
-in agony. There were deep crimson
marks of violence on her throat, breast
and legs.
Around the slain girl’s neck was looped
a tightly drawn beige nylon stocking. The
ends of the stocking were wound around
a spoke of the brass headboard of the
bed and was knotted so tautly that the
victim’s head was held in a grotesque
backward twist.
Strewn on the floor were the pitiful
girl’s blouse, skirt, pink slip, brassiere,
panties, moccasins — and the mate to
the silk stocking that had been used as
a garrote.
With quiet efficiency, Inspector Cor-
rasa set the investigation into motion. He
went to the telephone in the hall and
called headquarters. ‘‘Notify the
homicide squad and send the coroner to
California Street; murder by strangula-
tion is what we’re faced with,”’ he told
the dispatcher..
Meanwhile, in the murder apartment,
Inspector Stanton was interviewing the
,building caretaker.
‘*The murdered girl’s name is Blanche
Cousins. She has been living here less
than two weeks,’’ Judd Code told the law-
man. “‘She came from Idaho Falls, Idaho,
to attend business school here in San
Francisco.”’
22
The detective inspector looked up from
the notes he’d been taking. ‘‘How did
you happen to find the body?’’ he
inquired.
‘I checked the room when the tenant
downstairs in Apartment 4-B called me
this morning to say that she had heard
Suspicious noises overhead during the
night. There was the sound of scuffing,
a man’s hoarse voice and a woman’s
muffled scream. The lady in 4-B didn’t
notify me at the time because all at once
the noise stopped and then she heard the
radio playing. But this morning, when the
tenant heard no movement upstairs and
then noticed that Blanche Cousins’ mail
was still in the vestibule box,.she sug-
gested that I see if the girl was all right.
“It was a little before nine,’’ Judd Code
continued, ‘‘when I came upstairs to
Apartment 5-B. I rang the bell, but got
no answer. That’s when I used my master
key to get inside. There she was, just
as she is now. I didn’t let any of the
tenants get past the door, Nobody has
touched a thing.”’
At this point, Homicide Inspectors
George Engler and Harry Husted,
accompanied by a medical examiner,
arrived at the murder house. Upon gett-
ing the details of the caretaker’s findings,
the two murder sleuths went downstairs
to Apartment 4-B to talk with the witness
who'd heard the commotion overhead the
previous evening. Meanwhile, the
coroner began his preliminary study of
the corpse.
“It is just as the caretaker told you,”
the spinster in 4-B acknowledged. ‘‘I’m
here in my flat by myself a lot of the
time. I get to know the other tenants by
sight even though we seldom speak to
one another. The girl upstairs was a pre-
tty little thing. She must have had a guest
for dinner last night, because I heard the
footsteps of more than one person over-
head.
“Later, I heard a noise that sounded
like two people struggling,”’ the elderly
woman continued. ‘‘But you know how
noises from an apartment above you can
'
it
be misleading. Everything was quiet after
that, except for the radio’s playing
faintly. I looked out to see if anybody
came down the stairs, but no one did at
the time. Then, when I didn’t hear the
girl walking around as usual this morning,
I spoke to the caretaker.”’
Questioning of other tenants in the
building disclosed that none had heard
or seen anything out of the ordinary on
the premises} no strangers had been
prowling about the place.
Aside from the corpse on the bed,
Apartment 5-B was in perfect order.
Dishes were put away neatly, indicating
that whoever had been Blanche Cousins’
guest for dinner the previous evening had
helped tidy up afterward. Remnants of
food and cartons in the refuse container
showed that gmmeal for two had been con-
sumed. Hh,
Now the lawmen turned to the coroner
for his finding. What he told them was
so horrible that even the case-hardened
sleuths were shocked.
““This is One of the most vicious:
assaults I’ve ever seen!’’ the medico
began grimly, ‘‘First of all, the young
woman was raped repeatedly. Then the
killer bit her body again and again! The
human vampire sunk his teeth into her
throat, breast and thighs — he mutilated
her almost from head to foot. The vic-
tim’s flesh is covered with the marks of
sharp teeth; most of the wounds were
deep enough to draw blood!’’
After the homicide officers got over
their initial reaction to the murderer’s
handiwork, they asked how long the red-
head had been dead.
The crime ‘Was the work of a sadistic
killer, the medical examiner declared;
probably a dangerous psychotic driven
by an overwhelming desire to inflict pain
on his victims. of sexual assault.
‘We'll do everything possible to catch
the fiend,’’ Inspector Corrasa vowed.
‘But right now there seems to be very
little in the way of clues to give us a start
on his trail.””
paberecieohnlclany began their
task of du:
ment in tl!
prints oth
Other sleu
responden
flat — lett:
in Idaho F
There \
however
Cousins h:
she had b
suitor, no
would othe
of her mu:
Comple!
murder ro
to the hon
had lifted <
from the fu:
bedstead. ‘
7h PACIFIC 7h)
WARDRIP, Charles, white, hanged at Sah Quentin (Sacramento) on Feb, 26, 190),
"San Quentin, Feb, 26, 190l-Charles Wardrip was hanged today in the State Prison here for
the murder of Hugh Duffy at Sacramento, The drop fell at 10:30 a.m. Wardrip made no
statement on the scaffold:and met death bravely. Wardrip was taken into the death: cham-
ber last Monday, He was the first man of the 3 thus far executed here that has asked
to be taken into the dreaded place before the scheduled time, usually only a few days
before the hanging, Wardrip told warden Tompkins that he was afraid he would collapse
if he was not speedily taken to the death chamber, Wardrip-was the youngest man ever
executed in San Quentin, He was 20-years-old, ‘Two of his relatives have met the same |
fate he suffered,
CRIME:
"The crime for which Charles Wardrip was hanged was committed about 8 o'clock in. the
evening on Feb. 17, 1902, Wardrip and a 17-year-old boy known as the 'crescent Kid' and
whose home is about 8 miles from Chicago, Ill., had entered the* Bartell yard on lljéh St.,
between'G & H, when they were seen by two young men, one of whom, Frank Sexton, notified
Hugh Duffy, who resided at llth and H Streets, Duffy, accompanied by his daughter and ~
the young men, caught the boy standing guard between his fence and Bartell's house and
grabbed him, and while searching the 'Kid,' a window was raised above and Wardrip
appeared with a revolver’in hand, Wardrip jumped from the window to the ground, command=
ing* Duffy to release the boy and to throw up his hands, and upon refusal shot Duffy- in
the breast. He then rushed past the crowd and escaped, The boy struck Sexton a terrific
vylow in the jaw and escaped likewise, The moon was shining at the time and Miss Mary
Buffy, the daughter of the murdered man, got a good look at the murderer's face and form,
and Wardrips peculiar features so strongly impressed themselves upon her mind that she
picked him out easily from among different men three months later, When Wardrip jumped
from the window, he dropped his hat - a soldier's hat - and as soon as Max P, Fisher,
then police detective, saw it, he told Chief Sullivan that the same morning he had seen
a tallyoung man wearing just such a hat and that he was accompanied by a boy and two
others, ‘They were at the corner of Third and J “treets in:front of a Chinese restaurant.
Wardrip had served a term in San Quentin Prison for burglary, - After ‘shooting Duffy, he
ran up I street to 19th, then out the railroad track to cross the American River railroad
bridge, but the dogs of Bridge Watchman Fred Scott, set up a furious barking, so Wardrip
climbed down from the trestle, and swam across the river, later boarding a freight train
at a switch some 8 miles from Sacramento, He got safely away into Utah, where he joined
a gang of freight car burglars, While relating their past experiences to one another in
a cheap lodging house in Ogden, Wardrip told his companions, among whom was Karl Dalberg,
that he was no ordinary thééf, but that there was a reward on his head for killing a man
in California while being caught in a-house, Dalberg, figuring on the reward, drew more
out of Wardrip and finally exposed him to Sheriff George Naylor af Salt Lake who arrest-=
ed Wardrip. When Max: P, Fisher arrived at the Salt Lake jail with requisition. papers,
Wardrip was in the main corridor with a number of other prisoners, and Fisher at once
pointed out Wardrip to Sheriff Naylor and his deputies as the man whom he saw on the
morning of the day of the murder in front of the Chinese restaurant, wearing a soldier's
hat. Wardrip then denied that he ever told Dalberg what the latter claimed he did, and
also denied having been in Sacramento at that time and had fixed up an alibi while lying
in jail. Before the train reached Sacramento on the return trip, Fisher had learned fro
“ardrip the story of his crime, and after landing in the city prison, Wardrip acknowledg=
ed the same to Ass te Dist. Atty Wechhorst and Chief of Police Sullivan, *e also en-
lightened the detectives to a number of other crimes which he and others had committed
in this vicinity. As soon as he saw Miss Duffy recognized him, he told the Dist, Atty.
to hurry the matter along as he did not care to remain in jail very long. He said he
realized that the evidence was conclusive and he was ready to hang, preferring the death
penalty to imprisonment, Upon arraignment before Judge Hart, Wardrip entered a plea of
guilty and upon being informed by the Court what the penalty would be, said he would ra-
ther hang than serve time, Judge Hart ordered Wardrip examined as to his sanity and the
physicians found the man fully responsible for his act, The Court deemed it best to
have a jury pass upon Wardrip*s guilt and appointed C, T. Jones and lL, 7, Hatfield
defend him. The evidence against Wardrip was strong and the jury found him guilty of mur-
der in the first degree, without recommending him to the mercy of the court, His attorneys
took advantage of every technicality in the case and the case was appealed, but as it had
been most carefully tried, the supreme court sustained the verdict and a second application
for a rehearing was denied, Detective Fisher, while on the witness,stand, was subjected to
a lenghty and most rigid cross-examination in which both of Wardrip s attorneys. participa=
ted, in the hope of shaking his testimony, but without avail, They laid particular stress
upon that part of the officer's testimony that it would have been impossible for Fisher or
any other man to have remembered the face of Wardrip as that of the man whom he saw in
front of the Chinese restaurant on the morning of the day of the murder and not seeing him
again until April the llth, They also sought to discredit conversations detailed by Fisher
which the latter had with tardrip while bringing him from Salt Lake to Sacramente, The
attorneys for the defendant scored the detective while reviewing his testimony before the
jury, but now that i6 is all over, none speak more highly in praise of the ability of
Max P, Fisher in putting together a case than Attorney C, T, Jones who told a BEF repre-
sentative today:that after Wardrip saw his last home gone, he had stated to him (Jones)
. that Fisherwas corrects; that Wardrip and the 'Kid' had been on the corner in front of the
Chinese res&aaurant and at the exact time, just as Fisher testified he saw them. Wardrip ;
also told Attorney Jones that Fisher repeated their conversations correctly.
"The State Board of Examiners yesterday afternoon settled the controversy over the reward
offered for the capture and conviction of Wardrip by giving Dr. Maier of Salt Lake City
$00 and Carl Dalberg $100, Dalberg and Wardrip. lodged in Dr. Maier's barn one night, and
Dre Maier heard Wardrip tell Dalberg he was wanted in California for killing a man, The
next morning Wardrip and Dalberg stole some poultry from Maier, and the latter cuased their
arrest on a charge of petty larceny, While in jail Wardrip made a further confession,
Sheriff Thomas Naylor, of Salt Lake, ws another claimant. for the reward, but his claims were
not deemed good by the board,
"Only about 30 spectators were present at the execution, Just 3 minutes elapsed from the
time the guards strapped Wardrip in the death chamber until he dropped to his death, The
procession left the death chamber at 10:30, and at 10:23 the trap was released. Wardrip
fell five feet eight inches, At 10:39:45, Dr. P. Fe Casey pronounced life extinct, The
neck was broken in the fall, but it was some minutes before the heart stopped its pulsa-
yions, Wardrip was sigekine, to meet death and was "same! to the lst. e mounted the
scaffold unassisted, Night Guards Merritt and Chiles marched on either side of him, As
he reached the trap he gazed down upon the spectators, and SHH then up at the dangling
noose and smiled, He said nothing, however. Hangman Arbogast adjusted the noose, the sign
was given by Warden Tompkins and the prisoner, expiated his crime, Wardrip was taken into
the death chamber last Saturday night. Since his incarceration he has talked very little.
Yesterday warden Tompkins asked him if he wished to waive the reading of the death warrant.
He replied that he wanted all that was coming to him, This morning Wardrip told Capt. Swan
that he was anxious to have it all over with. P. H. Duffy, a brother of the murdered man,
was present doay, and was much affected by the execution, Just after the drop, Duffy
fainted, and had to be carried out of the room," BEE,Sacramento, California, 3206-1 190h (1-3/5)
ened,
exactly.
‘a spell
maybe
there of
found—
- of the
cht out,
us at
out the
reached
ies were
present
ounty 3
rintend-
ification
n; J. B.
Emmett
Coroner,
iv Chief
ine and
not only
in three
i twenty
empire
aw York
{ Rhode
‘rsity of
‘y desert
usticated
ity seat,
part of
DESERT DEATH SCENE—
At this lonely spot in the Mo-
jave (upper left) boys found
a battered body, mute evidence
of a brutal crime that baffled
the authorities for many weeks
Sheriff Shay headed the machine northwatd over historic
Hl Cajon Pass, through which early-day Mormons from Salt
Luke City had driven ox-carts into San Bernardino Valley,
then angled’ northeast across the edge of the ‘desert to pic-
turesque Victorville, lying in the cottonwoods along a bend
in the Mojave River.
At Victorville the party turned to the left for Daggett,
nine miles beyond, where Deputy Lucas joined the posse and
piloted the machine out over a dusty, dirt road to a spot
some five miles east of Langford’s Well, a desert oasis that
lately has become more of a watering place for motorists than
burros, At this point the road runs through a dry wash
lined with boulders and mesquite.
About one hundred yards off to the right of the road
were two clumps of mesquite, one three feet high, the other
1 little taller. Behind the latter clump was a corpse lying
partly on its side in a small natural depression of the earth.
First glance told the posse that the body had Jain there
for some time—coyotes, foxes and desert vermin had stripped
the skull bare of flesh and left a ghastly, staring death’s-head
devoid of any identifying features. Second glance told some-
thing else—there was a triangular fracture high on the left
side of the skull. The victim’s head had been bashed in with
some form of blunt instrument.
The experience of thirty-five years as a peace officer, nearly
sixteen of which he had served as Sheriff, enabled Sheriff
Shay to read much from small, clues. Without a word he set
bout studying carefully every faint detail. First he examined
the corpse; then, failing to find any dental work or identifying
characteristics, noted the position of the body, its size, the
nature of the clothing.
The victim was of slight build, about five feet, five inches
in height and around 135 pounds in weight. A small fringe of
hair at the nape of the neck was of dark brown or reddish
color, Rodents and vermin had attacked the victim and left
no possibility of getting fingerprints, but the bones indicated
that the hands must have been long with tapering fingers,
characteristic of a pianist, artist or printer.
The corpse was clothed in a blue serge suit with a knitted
‘weater beneath the coat, a white (Continued on page 98)
KILLER’S NEMESIS—Relentless manhunter, Wal-
ter A, Shay, then Sheriff of San Bernardino County,
took a tiny clue from the clothing of the desert
murder victim and followed it through to capture
and convict a callous, crafty and scheming slayer
WATTS, Joseph H., white, 32, hanged
Nee
(San Bernardino County), 10/15/1926...
' By Deputy District Attorney
San quentin Prison
'
“Shot?” the Sheriff queried.
“No—clubbed.”
“Mmmm—when?”
, “Pretty hard to say just exactly.
But it must have been quite a spell
back—maybe a month, maybe
longer.”
“And you left the body there of
course ?”
e “Right where it was found—
Los Angeles County,
As told to
JACK VAN CLUTE.
Sheriff Walter A. Shay to his office phone in San
Bernardino, California. Over the wire came the excited
voice of Deputy Sheriff Jim Lucas, stationed at Dag-
gett, about one hundred miles northeast of San Bernardino.
“Say, Sheriff, a couple of kids riding on top of an old
prospector’s wagon crossing the desert stretch out near Lang-
ford’s Well—that water hole twenty-five miles northeast of
here—discovered the corpse of a man lying behind some
mesquite brush where it had been dragged and left about a
hundred yards or so from the dirt road!”
“That so, Jim? When did they make the find?”
“A few hours ago.”’ .
38. 8
QO: the day after Christmas, a prolonged ring summoned
yes.”
“Fine. [’ll round up some of the
C lif boys at the office and be right out,
a Hy . Jim. You’d better meet us at
Daggett so you can point out the
spot.”
The Sheriff hung up and reached
‘for his uilable deputies were
his son, {1 :nett L. Shay, present
Sheriff of San Bernardino County;
O. R. Batoroff, now Superintend-
ent of the Bureau of Identification
there; Deputy Jack Brown; J. B.
Hanna, County Coroner; Emmett
Waters, Deputy County Coroner,
and C. O. Thompson, my ‘Chief
Deputy District Attorney.
Sheriff Shay and his posse jumped into a machine and
started out on a long trip. San Bernardino County is not only
the largest in the State but in the world. More than three
- hundred miles from east to west and two hundred and twenty
miles in width, it embraces 20,247 square miles, an empire
in itself. It is almost half the size of the State of New York
and more than sixteen times the size of the State of Rhode
Island! Within its boundaries there is a wide diversity of
climate and calling, ranging all the way from pioneer desert
life on the Mojave stretches to the east, to sophisticated
metropolitan existence in San Bernardino, the county seat,
with its industries and orange groves, in the western part of
the State.
color
no p
that
chars
Th.
swent
sp SRO SB RE ad a + Riek
NOTORIOUS
BANDITO
Mexican bandit Tiburcio Vasquez had
grandiose plans to overthrow the gringos in
California. But to finance his rebellion, he
needed a major windfall—and he did not
care who it came from.
By Russ McDonald
man Cleovaro Chavez announced their arrival with
a volley of rifle shots into the Coyote Hole Stage
Station. The message was clear and unmistakable to the people
in the isolated station at the junction of the Walker Pass Road
and the Los Angeles Bullion Trail east of Bakersfield. Moments
later, Mrs. Billy Raymond, wife of the absent station keeper,
stepped out, followed by six men, their hands held high.
Vasquez nonchalantly introduced himself over the barrel of
his Henry rifle. When he was satisfied that they knew who he
was, he added: “It is the position only that I want. I am going
to rob the stage when it arrives.”
Vasquez needed little introduction. His reputation in
California had long since preceded him. Born in Monterey on
August 11, 1835, Vasquez had parents who were well-respected
members of the community. He attended school regularly and
soon learned to read and write, his handwriting bold, his let-
ters carefully formed.
Unfortunately, in 1853, Vasquez began his outlaw appren-
ticeship under the guidance of Anastacia Garcia. At a local
fandango, Garcia killed Constable William Hardmount, and
Vasquez fled with Garcia to Los Angeles. Garcia was later
apprehended and hanged by vigilantes.
Vasquez began his own life of crime in 1857, teaming up
with Juan Soto to commit several minor robberies. In July, they
rustled a herd of horses from a Santa Clara River ranch in Los
Angeles County. Vasquez was captured and tried and sen-
tenced to San Quentin for five years. During the second year,
he escaped. In Amador County, he stole more horses, was
apprehended and returned to prison. He was released August
13, 1863.
Vasquez quickly turned to unsuccessful gambling at the
quicksilver mines at New Alamaden in Santa Clara County.
An Italian butcher was found stabbed, with $400 missing. The
sheriff of Santa Clara County ironically hired Vasquez to be
the Mexican interpreter at the inquest. Unsurprisingly, the
statement rendered into English by Vasquez was not enlight-
ening. Immediately afterward, the erstwhile translator van-
ished. An informant then told the sheriff that Faustino
Lorenzano and Tiburcio Vasquez had committed the murder.
In 1867, Vasquez tried to steal a herd of cattle in Sonoma
County. He was promptly sentenced to San Quentin until
June 4, 1870. After serving his time, he returned to San Juan
in Monterey County to visit an old friend named Salazar. He
became smitten with the beautiful young wife of Salazar,
abducted the willing Mrs. Salazar and took her to Natividad.
42
O n February 25, 1874, Tiburcio Vasquez and his hench-
DAN MIEDUCH
VASQUEZ, Tiburice, His, hanged Sen Jose, CA March 19, 1875
But he soon tired of her and left her with a comrade. He was
later confronted by Salazar and wounded in the ensuing gun-
fight, but escaped into the Panoche mountains.
In 1871 Vasquez, along with “Red-handed Dick” Procopio
and two associates named Barcenas and Rodriquez, held up the
Visalia stage at Soap Lake. Later that day, they robbed Thomas
McMahon of $700 on the San Juan Mountain grade but failed
to discover an additional $500 hidden under McMahon’s
buggy seat.
Sheriff Tom Wasson organized a posse and located the out-
laws’ camp. In the ensuing gunfight, Vasquez, Procopio and
Barcenas escaped, but Rodriguez was captured and given 10
years in San Quentin.
Vasquez and Barcenas separated from Procopio and fled in
the direction of Santa Cruz. But Marshal L.T. Roberts was
waiting in the mountains a few miles from Santa Cruz. He
killed Barcenas and wounded Vasquez, the bullet striking
WILE WEST, October, 1993
below Vasquez’
shoulder. Vasqu
marshal. He the
Cantua Canyor
Vasquez next
began to plana:
also recruited /
Leiva, his wife R
in the La Cantu
liaison with Ro
with her husban
Vasquez learn
was to deposit a
raid, Vasquez’s g
Romulo Gonzalc
When they a1
found that Mille:
ner of Lake Tulare
‘oaching darkness.
‘no left them and
- Valley. South of
2 remained behind
ch to join Rosaria
osaria moved from
ttle Rock Canyon,
bout his wife and
n to replenish the
yser ranch and hur-
j. He surprised the
isquez, but Chavez
Va wanted to duel,
-y separated. After
iorning Leiva took
ke. He surrendered
ce against Vasquez.
he willing Rosaria.
npoint.
his banditti sacked
.in the thick brush,
divided into groups.
nore than 35 men.
. Epstein’s General
aoment. At Sweet’s
hots that forced the
one bandit named
wounded. The raid
welry. Vasquez sent
hideout on the Posa
1 of Tulare Lake.
<en over the Coyote
, Vasquez was worth
ilifornia Legislature.
horse theft, Vasquez
men unl 1870.
<soeeRe RI RREERENEE Er
«
w
~
a
w
oa
w
°
4
At the station, Vasquez discovered sev-
eral men hiding in the stables and sent a
fusillade of shots into the building. When
the men filed out, he ordered them to sit
down while he searched them. One man,
visibly drunk, drew his revolver and fired
a wild shot. Vasquez’s rifle barked, the
shot catching the man in the thigh. He
promptly sat down.
Vasquez stood over him and spoke in a
low, exasperated voice: “I could have
killed you if 1 had chose to. Next time |
give an order, you obey it, pronto.”
Leaving the wounded man in the
stable, Vasquez and Chavez marched
the others to a small sagebrush-covered
hill and secured them with ropes. The
two bandits took positions where they
could watch the stage road from Walker
Pass and keep an eye on the party on
the hill.
After a two-hour wait, the Concord
stage came rocking up in a cloud of
dust, the four horses exhausted after
the long run from Havilah. Beside the
driver sat Mortimer W. Belshaw, so-
called silver king of Cerro Gordo, home-
ward bound from San Francisco. Belshaw
was not a man to easily loose his cool,
but two bandits with Henry rifles
aimed at his chest were enough to make
him cautious.
The driver was about to lay whip for a
dash to Indian Wells when Vasquez
called out: “Stop! Hold up your hands!”
Belshaw advised the driver to halt.
Brake blocks screeched, horses reared
their heads and the coach lunged to a
stop. “Tell the other passengers to come
out!” Vasquez ordered, stroking the barrel
of his rifle.
The two passengers quickly alighted
from the coach and, on command, squat-
ted in the dirt. One man, having con-
tributed $5 cash and $10,000 in mining
stock, objected to Vasquez’s demand to
turn over a new pair of gloves. He said he
needed them to keep his hands warm in
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY
eS ro
Be diicss pai re dinner at San’ Quentin prison in 187 ts Off and on during ag early
years as an outlaw, Tiburcio Vasquez did time there between 1857 and 1870.
the cold weather.
“Very well, Seftor,” Vasquez said, smiling broadly, “I'll buy
them from you for two dollars.”
Vasquez took the gloves and handed the passenger two of the
five dollars he had robbed from him. The other passenger had
managed to hide his watch in his overshoes. He was attempt-
ing to stash $40 in gold when Vasquez relieved him of the gold
and a fine spyglass. Belshaw surrendered a silver watch, $20 in
gold and a new pair of boots.
Vasquez was irritated over the meager haul and even more
disappointed in the Wells Fargo box that contained only a set
of law books. The two bandits ushered the stage passengers to
the hill where the other prisoners were tied up and then
returned to the stage house in time for the arrival of two north-
bound Cerro Gordo freight teams. Confronted by the gun bar-
rels of Vasquez and Chavez, the weary skinners quickly turned
over their coin.
Vasquez issued a warning against any attempt to follow,
then rode away with Chavez leading the eight stage horses.
Vasquez scattered the mining stock to the winds as he gal-
loped southward.
There was little need for haste. The unarmed men at Coyote
Hole Stage Station were not anxious to pursue well-known
Mexican bandits. Belshaw and two others began gathering up
the scattered mining stock certificates and found the missing
station keeper bound and gagged in the sagebrush
The outlaws pushed across the Mojave Desert and reached
Soledad Canyon two days later. At what is now Ravenna
Station they held up the Los Angeles-Havilah stage. Leaving
the passengers securely tied, they made off with more than
$300, then rode boldly into Soledad. There they took a wagon
and six horses from the livery stable. Outside of town they held
up another freight team from Cerro Gordo and relieved them
of a few dollars.
Having made a clean sweep, Vasquez went into hiding in the
familiar brush-covered hills of Soledad. Many times he had
retreated to these hills when northern posses pressed too
closely. His brother Chico lived in Soledad, and certain doors
were always open at Elizabeth Lake and Tejon Pass. He now
became enthralled with a vision of recruiting an army of per-
haps 200 men and, in the coming spring, striking Los Angeles,
45
a comrade. He was
n the ensuing gun-
tains.
led Dick” Procopio
driquez, held up the
ney robbed Thomas
ain grade but failed
under McMahon’s
nd located the out-
quez, Procopio and
tured and given 10
’rocopio and fled in
il L.T. Roberts was
ym Santa Cruz. He
the bullet striking
below Vasquez’s right nipple and emerging under his right
shoulder. Vasquez stood his ground and managed to wound the
marshal. He then mounted his horse and rode 60 miles to La
Cantua Canyon, where he remained until he recovered.
Vasquez next befriended Cleovaro Chavez, and the pair
began to plan a series of more daring and ambitious crimes. He
also recruited Abdon Leiva, a Chilean, into the banditti.
Leiva, his wife Rosaria and two children lived on a small ranch
in the La Cantua. Vasquez was quick to establish an amorous
liaison with Rosaria, but he cautiously kept in good graces
with her husband.
Vasquez learned that Henry Miller, the famous cattle baron,
was to deposit a $30,000 payroll at Firebaugh’s Ferry. For the
raid, Vasquez’s gang included a Frenchman, August de Bert,
Romulo Gonzales, Theodoro Moreno, Chavez and Leiva.
When they arrived at the San Joaquin River town, they
found that Miller had failed to deposit the money. Deciding to
rob the store, they tied up 12 persons, took their money and
jewelry, and left them on the floor. They also emptied the safe.
Vasquez worked out a spy system with the local natives to
keep him informed of posse movements. They cooperated out
of fear and because of the friction existing between the native
Californians and the gringos.
In the summer of 1873, Vasquez planned to derail and rob the
Southern Pacific payroll train between San Jose and Gilroy, but
failed. To compensate, he and his cronies raided the Twenty-one
Mile House, a hotel and restaurant on the railroad line. The six
Mexicans rode up, watered their horses, and entered the bar.
Drawing their pistols and ordering everybody to be quiet, they
tied up two farmhands and a machine salesman. When he
bound Finley, the manager, Vasquez held a knife at his throat
and threatened instant death unless money was forthcoming.
A second demand was unnecessary. Netting about $155 and
four watches, the outlaws had a casual drink before riding off.
43
Lab
After returning to Leiva’s ranch, Vasquez began planning a
robbery, which was to take place at Tres Pinos in San Benito
County. He talked Leiva into selling his ranch and moving his
family to Jim Heffner’s ranch in Los Angeles County. He
wanted to make sure that Rosaria would fit into his future plans.
On August 26, 1873, Leiva and Gonzales entered Snyder’s
store in Tres Pinos, ordering drinks and cigars while they
looked the place over. Theodoro Moreno entered, drew his
pistol and ordered everyone to line up against the bar. Leiva
and Gonzales tied up Andrew Snyder, John Utzarath and a
small boy. Vasquez and Chavez entered and sent Moreno out-
side to guard the horses. An unfortunate Portuguese sheep-
herder named Bernal Berhuri appeared on the street. Failing
to comprehend Moreno’s order to halt, the man continued
walking. Moreno killed him with a shot to the head.
A deaf teamster, George Redford, drove up with a load of
pickets. Vasquez, now outside, covered him with his Henry rifle
and ordered him down. When Redford panicked and ran,
Vasquez shot and killed him as he reached the stable door.
Next-door in the hotel, the proprietor, Leander Davidson,
heard the gunfire and attempted to close and bolt his front
door. Vasquez shot through the door, hitting Davidson in the
chest. He fell backward against his wife and died instantly. The
bandits took $200 cash and plundered the merchandise, cloth-
ing, tobacco, whiskey and food. Eight horses were taken to
carry the $1,200 of stolen goods. Under cover of darkness the
outlaws made their escape up Tres Pinos Creek.
The public was shocked and outraged. Vigilantes were posted
at various approaches into Hollister. The three Tres Pinos mur-
ders were reported at great length in newspapers throughout
the state, undoubtedly contributing to public anxiety.
A Captain Adams was in Gilroy when he was informed of
the robbery; he left at once for Hollister, where the towns-
people, either fearing reprisal or afraid to leave the town unde-
fended, declined to form a posse. Adams was eventually joined
by Sheriff Wasson of Monterey and four other men. Adams led
them up Tres Pinos Creek and approached La Cantua Canyon.
The posse followed signs to the northwest corner of Lake Tulare
before losing the scattered tracks in the approaching darkness.
As the outlaws moved southward, Moreno left them and
hired out on a sheep ranch at Bitterwater Valley. South of
Bakersfield, Gonzales’ horse gave out, and he remained behind
while the others went on to Heffner’s Ranch to join Rosaria
Leiva. Vasquez, Chavez, Abdon Leiva and Rosaria moved from
there to a secluded brush-covered camp in Little Rock Canyon,
safe from the posse.
Leiva developed a gnawing suspicion about his wife and
Vasquez. When Vasquez sent him by wagon to replenish the
supplies, Leiva obtained the goods from a closer ranch and hur-
ried back two hours before he was expected. He surprised the
couple in flagrante delicto.
The enraged Leiva drew his pistol on Vasquez, but Chavez
interceded with a threat to kill Leiva. Leiva wanted to duel,
but Vasquez ordered no gunplay until they separated. After
that it was each man for himself. Next morning Leiva took
Rosaria to Heffner’s ranch at Elizabeth Lake. He surrendered
to the authorities and turned state’s evidence against Vasquez.
Vasquez rode to Heffner’s and carried off the willing Rosaria.
She would later swear she was taken at gunpoint.
On December 26, 1873, Vasquez and his banditti sacked
the town of Kingston. Staking their horses in the thick brush,
they crossed a wooden footbridge and then divided into groups.
In 10 minutes they tied up and robbed more than 35 men.
They held up Reichart’s Hotel, Jacob & Epstein’s General
Store and Sweet’s Store, all at the same moment. At Sweet’s
Store, J.W. Sutherland loosed a volley of shots that forced the
bandits to retreat. As they prepared to ride, one bandit named
Monteres was captured, and Chavez was wounded. The raid
netted them some $2,500 in cash and jewelry. Vasquez sent
Gomez to assist the wounded Chavez to a hideout on the Posa
de Chane and led the rest in the direction of Tulare Lake.
By the time Vasquez and Chavez had taken over the Coyote
Hole Stage Station in late February 1874, Vasquez was worth
$13,000 alive and $12,000 dead to the California Legislature.
Joe Beeler shows Mexican cattlemen at work in South Texas, 1870. After doing time in San Quentin Prison for horse theft, Vasquez
tried his hand at cattle rustling in California's Sonoma County in 1867. He was caught and returned to San Quentin until 1870.
44
JOE BEELER
At the station,
eral men hiding
fusillade of shots
the men filed or
down while he s
visibly drunk, di
a wild shot. Va
shot catching tl
promptly sat do.
Vasquez stood
low, exasperate
killed you if I h:
give an order, yc
Leaving the
stable, Vasquez
the others to a
hill and securec
two bandits too
could watch the
Pass and keep «
the hill.
After a two-h
stage came roc
dust, the four |
the long run fri
driver sat Mort
called silver king
ward bound from
was not a man t
but two bandi
aimed at his che:
him cautious.
The driver was
dash to Indian
called out: “Stop
Belshaw advis
Brake blocks sc:
their heads and
stop. “Tell the ot
out!” Vasquez ord
of his rifle.
The two passe
from the coach ar
ted in the dirt. (
tributed $5 cash ;
stock, objected t
turn over a new p:
needed them to k
the cold weather.
“Very well, Sen
them from you for
Vasquez took th:
five dollars he had
managed to hide |
ing to stash $40 in
and a fine spyglass
gold and a new pa
Vasquez was irri
disappointed in th
of law books. The
the hill where th
returned to the sta;
bound Cerro Gord
rels of Vasquez and
over their coin.
Vasquez issued
then rode away w
Vasquez scattered
loped southward.
VASQUEZ, Tibarico, Mexican, hanged at San Jose, California, on March 19, 1875. ae
by Joseph Kennelley
WHEN BANDIT VASQUEZ —
MET HIS MATGH
“WESTERN FRONTIER MAGAZINE, May, 1976.
“eT AM TIBURCIO VASQUEZ,” the tall, unshaven man
said in a menacing tone. In very bad English he
continued, “I come for money you just received...”
Little did this famous California bandit know, as he
' faced the slender, fair woman, that he had met his match.
Little did he realize that Charlotte Rowland would stand
up to anyone, and that here was a woman more quick-
witted than any woman—anywhere—Vasquez had ever
known!
Vasquez had come to southern California with his band
of robbers in the summer of 1872. The huge La Puente
Rancho, owned by Charlotte’s husband, John Rowland, was
one of the first places he visited.
Vasquez was a brazen bandit. Nothing sly or undercover
about him. When he wanted money or jewels, or women,
he simply took them. Of:course, plenty of his men were
always standing close by to keep a lookout.
Charlotte, whose husband was one of the wealthiest
ranchers in California (his cattle land and sheep meadows
covered nearly 38,000 acres!), knew how to handle men.
-Rowland employed over 50 of them—as vaqueros, men-
servants, and handymen—on his rancho.
“Give me the money!” Vasquez demanded again. “I have Bandit Vasquez tried to bully Mrs. Rowland.
Charlotte had “that certain look” in her eyes. _ men outside guarding servants ...so you no call for help—”
Charlotte’s husband had gone to Monterey with cattle.
Several of his employees had traveled with him. Many were
working on the northern edge of the rancho, near Rancho
Azusa, some nine miles away.
While in Monterey Rowland had sent a large sum of
money, the proceeds of the cattle sale, to Charlotte by a
trusted Mexican employee, Ramirez. Charlotte had put the
money in an old, decorated tin box in the center of the
parlor table, then placed a prayer book on top of the box.
She had been startled when this stranger walked, unan- a |
nounced into her parlor. He had first seated himself in one an
of the big chairs nearby. When she stood up and placed her
sewing on the edge of the table in the center of the room,
the bandit arose.
Charlotte was about to upbraid him for his rude intru-
sion when she caught sight of the surly features and steely ae
eyes of her visitor. : Se
Intuition must have warned her that the man was no
mere intruder. He was a dangerous character. The money
being so nearby caused her instant apprehension; but
Charlotte had nerves of steel, and she cleverly concealed
her uneasiness. She smiled at her visitor. Then, because he
was Mexican, spoke to him in fluent Spanish. .
“T have no money,” she said. ,
“You have money,” he insisted. “You give me the money. ae
I go away with my men—”
Charlotte’s grandchildren today tell of her courage, her
sheer determination in anything she undertook. Here was
a challenge, facing her point blank!
Without looking in the direction of the table, she coolly
faced the bandido and took a couple of steps forward.
She said in Spanish, “Senor Vasquez, do you suppose that
a iia. Me.
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.colonists he had brought from Portland
to help him found Port Orford had been
killed by the savages.
Tichenor returned to San Francisco, be-
lieving that the nine were dead. Newspa-
pers of the day, upon receiving word of
what had happened, printed bloody ac-
counts of the “massacre at Battle Rock”
giving the names of the victims. ;
Meanwhile, Captain Tichenor was busy
recruiting a stronger force of men to re-
turn with him to Battle Rock, and assist
him, in his plan to establish a settlement
at the site he had chosen. He had no diffi-
culty finding adventurers enough among
the discouraged miners in San Francisco.
When the Seagull passed out through the
Golden Gate, there were 65 volunteers
aboard, plus six persons who had a finan-
cial interest in the venture, and several
Other agents and a few speculators.
There was also an assortment of arms
on board, including a half-dozen field
pieces, six pounders, and a number of
small weapons. Captain Tichenor had re-
versed his former opinion of the Indians
along the southern Oregon coast, and had
prepared his party to wage an offensive,
or defensive war, whichever the case
might be. :
Upon arrival at the site of Battle Rock,
a fort was erected onsthe point, just above
the rock. This fortification, called Fort
Point, was surrounded by pickets, and
two blockhouses of heavy logs were erect-
ed. Further difficulties with the local In-
dian tribes were soon resolved, and ‘on
May 9th, 1852, Captain Tichenor brought
his wife and their three children to live
in the new settlement.
A means to connect themselves with the
. interior mining districts became the first
major concern of the new settlement. Due
to the ruggedness of the coastal terrain
and a general lack of mountaineering ex-
perience among the men delegated to carry
out these missions, several expeditions set
out, only to become hopelessly lost along
the reaches of the many confusing moun-
tain streams. A satisfactory trail was never
opened between Port Orford and the inland
places.
The harbor town was destined to sit
quietly isolated until early 1854, when the
small community sprang suddenly to life,
becoming a boom town almost overnight.
Gold had been discovered in nearby places,
and in the dark sands of the lonely beaches
above and below the town.
But the town’s new glory was short-
lived. By 1856, the gold had played out,
and Port Orford. went into a decline.
In 1868, the same year that Captain
Tichenor left the sea, to settle down with
his family, in his Port Orford home, a for-
est fire raged along the coast, destroying
most of the town’s buildings, and countless
acres of valuable Port Orford cedar, sur-
rounding it.
In 1880, Captain Tichenor plotted, and
officially named the town after Sir Robert
Walpole, the first Earl of Orford, for whom
Captain George Vancouver had named
Cape Orford in the late 1770’s. Vancou-
ver’s name, Cape Orford, fell into disuse,
in favor of the name, Cape Blanco. The
name Port Orford, revived by Captain
Tichenor, was also given to the roadstead
where the city and Battle Rock stand.
Battle Rock is, today, one of Oregon’s
historical state parks, and is located within
the city of Port Orford. Although the
siege of Battle Rock took place well over
a century ago, present day residents of
the town re-enact the battle each June as
part of a celebration commemorating their
harbor city. e
WHEN BANDIT VASQUEZ MET HIS MATCH
(Continued from page 13)
pioneers of Los Angeles County—a man
whom Californians and Mexicans fondly
referred to as Don Juan Rowland.
Charlotte seems to have been as shrewd
a businesswoman as John Rowland was a
businessman, Together they increased their
fortune, developing one of the most pros-
perous ranches in California.
Then a great flood swept La Puente Val-
ley in 1867. The raging San Gabriel River
broke its banks, inundating hundreds of
acres, Charlotte and her family survived
the flood, but it was during this crisis that
she once again displayed her indomitable
spirit. She quickly gathered the servants
and their families—also Indians from a
small camp nearby—and packed them into
every upstairs room in her house. She led
them in singing hymns in Spanish to keep
up their courage as muddy waters tore
wildly across the first floor of her beautiful
home for two days and a night.
It happened that Rowland was away,
at the time of the flood, and Charlotte was
in charge of the rancho. After the waters
subsided she went downstairs to survey the
damage. Her heart sank. Entire chunks of
adobe had been swept away from the
foundations of the house. Her luxurious
Carpets and expensive furniture, most of it
imported from Europe, were all but
ruined.
But in a few minutes she was giving or-
ders to the servants and hands to clean up!
“Let's get this place spick ‘n span again.”
she commanded. “Let's have it just as it
was when Senor Rowland left. We must
not allow him to become disheartened at
what we see here.”
Adversity again hit Charlotte six years
later when the grand old “Don Juan” died - Z.
0 2 sags, |)
suddenly. Bracing herself, she buried him
in ‘a friend’s private family cemetery—a
beautiful little spot called “The Little Acre
of God” located about three miles from
her home—and faced the future alone.
Two weeks after Rowland’s death an
old Indian man, long a trusted and de-
voted servant of their household, died.
Some said the old Indian had died of a
broken heart. Charlotte took respite from
her grief to respectfully bury the old In-
dian just a few feet away from her hus-
band’s grave.
In 1921 a biographer named John Mc-
Groarty wrote about Charlotte: “It is im-
possible to do justice to the admirable ,
character of Mrs. Rowland. This noble
woman was one of the first American
women to reach southern California. She
was a real pioneer. Her sweet disposition
and refinement won for her the esteem of |
the entire community. She spoke Spanish
fluently, and the hospitality of her home
became household conversation. Her home
was .open to American, Spaniard, and
Mexican alike. She encouraged friends
when they were despondent, consoled them
in sorrow, rejoiced with them in success
and happiness. She it was who sat most
often by the cradle of the newly born,
even those of the Indian ranch-hands, and
it was she who most often softly closed the
eyes of many who had fallen into their
last, long sleep.”
Sadness, happiness, despondency, fear,
hope: all the human emotions had passed
through Charlotte Rowland’s life. With
them she grew stronger and more coura-
Author’s Photo
The Rowland mansion still stands.
geous; and learned to endure the harsh-
ness of Western life, the hardships which
faced a pioneer wife and mother, with
resolute determination. She didn’t know
the word defeat.
For 22 years following Rowland’s death
she operated Rancho La Puente alone,
and gained the respect of every family for
many miles around. Old Pio Pico, the«last -
Mexican governor of California who re-
tired in poverty to Los Angeles, often
‘spoke of her as “The magnificent Char-
lotte Rowland” She raised her three chil-
dren by John Gray, three of Rowland’s by
his first wife, and three children whom she
bore to Rowland. In addition she “adopt-
ed” several Mexican and Indian children. .
Had the bandit Vasquez known before-
hand the formidable opponent he would
encounter that warm day when he called
at Rancho La Puente to demand money—
and try to frighten a trembling lady into
submitting to his demands—he probably
would never have bothered to make the
trip.
In fact, he must have had no hint at all
that he’d meet the magnificent Charlotte,
who trembled before no man, and who had
long before discovered that a cool head
was a woman’s best means of defense.
When any man faced Charlotte Rowland
and made threats and demands, or tried
to bluff and frighten, he came away not
with the prize he sought, but departed
empty-handed and defeated. No matter
who or what her adversary happened to
be, Charlotte Rowland seemed always to
emerge the victor—all her long life. cE)
51
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Tiburcio’s name next appeared in Sonoma,
Mendocino, and Contra Costa counties, where
he was wanted for horse and cattle stealing.
(continued from p. 27)
lieved the passengers of three hundred
dollars. They then were unheard of for
several weeks.
Governor Booth appropriated funds
from the legislature to supply Sheriff
Morse of Alameda with supplies for an
expedition. People who knew the law-
man knew the end was drawing near for
the road-agent and his gang.
Morse believed Vasquez to be in
Southern California, even though it was
widely rumored that he had migrated to
Mexico, :
Vasquez made a raid near San
Gabriel Mission, demanding an eight
hundred-dollar ransom for a wealthy
sheepherder he tied to a tree. The vic-
tim, a Mr. Repetto, sent his nephew to
Los Angeles for the money, where the
withdrawing of the monéy drew suspi-
cion, causing questions to be asked. The
nephew broke down and told the whole
story, calising a posse to be dispatched
to the scene. They arrived just in time
to see Tiburcio and his men riding out
of the valley.
Sheriff Morse was closing in and, still
believing Vasquez to be in the South,
entered the Tehachapis near Los
Angeles. He received word that Vasquez
was hiding in Alison Canyon in the
Cahuengas. He was in an adobe house
owned by a Mr. George Allen, alias
Greek George. Morse, thinking it only
proper to let the local authorities in on
the capture, left his men in the Tejon
Pass and rode into Los Angeles.
Sheriff Rowland of Los Angeles had
different ideas of courtesy than did
Morse. He said he didn’t believe a word
Morse had told him and that he didn’t
like the idea of Morse’s showing up in
his jurisdiction. He told him that he,
Sheriff Rowland, was competent to han-
dle any and all events that took place in
his domain. He further informed Morse
that he was to gather his men and leave
the county. Morse reluctantly did as he
was told. Sheriff Rowland then gathered
a group of deputies, enlisted the aid of a
reporter from the Chronicle, and set out
for George’s cabin. En route they stopped
a teamster and persuaded him to drive .
them to the house, hidden in the
back of the wagon. Upon reaching their
destination they leaped from their cover
and surrounded the house. Deputy
sheriff Johnson went to the door. A
woman opened it and then shouted a
warning as she tried to block his way.
Vasquez jumped through a window and
sped toward his horse. Several shots
were fired but it was the blast from the
reporter’s shotgun that brought ‘him
down. They hurried him off to jail, and
_a few weeks later the Sacramento papers
carried the story of how the State Con-
troller had drawn a warrant for eight
thousand dollars in favor of Sheriff
Rowland, for his role in the capture.
Because of inadequate jail facilities in
Los Angeles, Tiburcio Vasquez was
transferred to San Jose with his trail
being set for January 5, 1875. ,
The jury deliberated only briefly be-
fore returning the verdict of guilty.
They assigned the penalty of death and,
on January 23rd, Judge Beldon sen-
tenced him to hang on March 19th,
1875S. .
An appeal was made to the State
Supreme Court but was denied.
A gallows was borrowed from Sacra-
mento and then at 1:20 P.M.,on March
19th, Sheriff Adams read the death war-_
rant to the prisoner. He then led him
from his cell and outside to where the
gallows sat waiting. Tiburcio Vasquez
mounted the steps and stood quietly as
Father Serda placed a white robe over
his shoulders and spoke with him. The
robe was then removed and the noose
fastened snugly around his neck. His
arms were placed behind his back and
straps were fastened at the elbows and
wrists. His legs. were strapped together
at the hips, knees, and ankles. At 1:35
P.M., the trap was sprung and the career
of one of California’s bloodiest outlaws
came to an end.
re
pA Labatie
~~
The magnificent Charlotte
trembled before _
no man. She. knew that
a cool head is a
woman’s best defense
my husband would send money all the way from Monterey
and not bring it himself?”
Vasquez seemed to be somewhat delighted that this blonde
‘lady, so well-dressed, so well-mannered, so calm, could
speak his language so well. Charlotte thought she detected
a faint smile come over his lips. :
“Why would he do a ridiculous thing like that?” she
continued.
Vasquez appeared puzzled. “But I hear that he has sent
it,” he said. “—And I must look for it.”
“You will search to no avail,” Charlotte bluffed. She was
about to gather up her sewing when Vasquez suddenly asked
for a drink of water.
Feeling that if she found an excuse for not leaving the
room she would give a clue to Vasquez that the money must
be there, Charlotte unhesitatingly turned and walked direct-
ly into the kitchen. She took a dipper of water from a pail
and returned to Vasquez, handing the dipper to him.
have some biscuits?”
The bandit gulped the water and replied, “No, Senora,
no biscuits...”
shoved him. Charlotte heard cursing.
Vasquez advanced toward her.
“Take your men and leave,” she demanded softly, but
firmly. “There will be trouble, and someone will be hurt.
If that happens, my husband will hunt you down and kill
every last one of you.”
Vasquez merely smiled.
Charlotte went on. “We have no safe in this house, and
we are not accustomed to keeping money in the house. You
will search for many hours and still not find one coin.” She
looked him directly in the eye. “So why don’t you leave
{ this minute!”
ei Vasquez hesitated, then walked toward the kitchen as
if he were going to start the search. Then he turned and
came back to the parlor.
“It would take too long to find the money,” he said
angrily. “I would search all day and not find it. You probably
have buried it somewhere in the yard.”
“I have buried it nowhere, because the money is not here,
Senor. Please leave!”
Vasquez strode past the table, turned, picked up a napkin-
ring which lay inches from the tin box and shoved it in his
pocket. Then he walked out. Soon he and his gang were
gone. Charlotte calmly sat down and went on with her
/ sewing.
' fh ios courageous woman had known fear before. She had
learned that a cool head was the best weapon a lady
could employ in time of fear. ;
She and her first husband, John Gray, had left Kentucky
in a wagon train with their three small children. and had
arrived in El Paso, Texas. They remained there two weeks,
: then headed for California with the wagon train. Three days —
:
out of El Paso the group pitched camp. For some unknown
. reason her husband left the camp alone and was killed by
z Apache Indians.
Again in Spanish she asked, “Are you hungry? Will you
Voices were heard outside. A Chinese cook, called Ting,
had made a sudden movement and one of Vasquez’s men had
Two young boys in an organized search party found the
body. One of the boys was John Gray’s nephew. .They took
a piece of his shirt back to Charlotte. She was stunned that
they hadn’t brought back the body of her husband.
“Could you have not carried him back to me?” she asked,
perplexed. ;
“Aunt Charlotte,” her husband’s nephew said, “we buried
him. We spared you more grief, because Uncle John had
an arrow in his neck.”
Through her tears Charlotte said, “I must go to him. I
must see his grave.”
But the boys and the menfolk succeeded in talking her
out of that notion. “The Apaches will kill you too. You have
children to think about.”
At dawn the next morning the wagon train started out
again for California. Charlotte and her children rode in
the fourth wagon with Tom Cuddeback. (These facts were
recorded in a diary by Susan Thompson Parrish, who came
to California on the same wagon train. Excerpts from the
diary were published several years ago by Mrs. Parrish’s
granddaughter. )
The young, energetic lady with nothing to her name but
determination arrived in El Monte about sixteen miles east
of Los Angeles. There were opportunities for work, for
El Monte was a thriving community of ranchers, farmers
and merchants. She woufd be able to make some money and
support her children.
Charlotte worked at odd domestic jobs in El Monte,
picking walnuts, and making beds and cleaning rooms in
the Willow Groves Hotel. One day her employer sent her
on an errand to John Rowland’s rancho seven miles from
El Monte. There she met the owner himself. Rowland was
a widower with three small children. His first wife had been
a young Mexican girl whom he’d married in Taos, New
Mexico. ef
Soon Charlotte became the wife of the wealthy and in-
fluential Rowland, one of the (Continued on page 51)
John Rowland, rich California rancher.
4
13
-,
‘mal only so far as his personal life
was alfected. Conflicting sexual ten-
dencies, he said, might result in rest-
lessness and nervousness. They might
lead to suicide, but they were not
cause for insanity.
Needless to say, I regard this opin-
ion as being altogether too conserva-
tive. Doctor Mullens rules out sex
insanity as a specific malady, but I
do not.
Doctor Frank Sheehy described
Walter as a person with “bad heredi-
ty, a bad start in life, precocious sex-
uality, growing up to be a common,
ordinary thief, a nomad traveling
around the country to find persons
sexually abnormal like himself—a
person falling in a class with hoboes,
tramps and prostitutes, but not in-
sane.
T= views of Doctor Joseph Poheim
closely resembled those of Doctor
Sheehy. They were in line with a
strict medico-legal interpretation of
the problem. The accused laughed
loudly at both experts.
McDonnell, for the defense, then
called Doctor Mervyn Hirschfeld,
alienist, who stated cautiously that it
was impossible to determine at this
time whether Walter was sane or
insane.
“Let it go at that,” the prisoner
called irritably to McDonnell. “I
don’t want to hear any more of that.”
The case was given to the jury of
eight men and four women on July 2.
They deliberated for only 23 minutes
and brought in a verdict of guilty.
Judge Jacks immediately sentenced
Walter to be hanged on September 4.
Sobs were heard all over the court-
room, but the convicted man hunched
name to the child. No provision had
been made for the child, either.
For sixteen years Mrs. Olson brooded
over the injustice and the unfairness
of men. It became an obsession with
her. She blamed her poverty and the
futileness of her life onto men. -Her
hatred for all men was well known,
especially for any men who paid at-
tention to Rose. She was afraid that
her daughter might be betrayed, as
she had been. She was fearful that
her daughter might grow up and have
to face the shame ‘and the miserable
poverty that she had faced through the
years of her life.
ATIER hearing the story, I thought I
knew the reason for the mother’s
listless resignation to her fate, and the
bitterness with which she viewed
things. She apparently lived only for
her daughter. and now the girl had
disappeared.
I vowed to myself that I would find
the girl. I was determined that the
poor little mother should not have to
suffer any more than the great share
that already had been visited upon her.
Sunday evening, August 23, I went
back to the road along which the
shanty was located, to find if the
deputies had learned anything.
“Haven't spotted a thing yet,” Allen
informed me. “That darn dog ‘is rais-
ing the devil with us, though,” he com-
plained. “Every time we get up in the
woods he comes sneaking and snarling
around. I’m afraid he’s going to bite
someone.”
The dog, a surly beast, slunk around
the side of the house growling. His
fangs bared into a snarl that gave him
=e the look of a wolf than a police
og.
I called to Mrs. Olson.
“I’m afraid your dog has my depu-
ties scared,” I told her with a laugh.
“He’s got some bones buried back
up in the woods,” she explained. “I
guess he’s afraid you were going to
disturb them.”
“That’s it,” Allen pointed out. “It’s
only when we go up in the woods di-
rectly back of this place that he really
gets vicious.”
“Call him inside for a few minutes,”
I told Mrs. Olson.
Allen, Henry and I picked our way
44
his shoulders and spoke passionately:
“That’s what I wanted! I only wish
it could be sooner!”
As the judge started to leave the
bench, Walter advanced towards him
with outstretched hand. “I am _ too
—— to say what I think,” he
said.
AN OFFICER started to drag him
back, but Jacks leaned over and
shook hands, replying grimly:
“IT. am sorry about this whole
affair.”
Walter left for San Quentin under
guard exactly half an hour after he
was sentenced, and 9 minutes later he
was in a cell in the death-block. An
automatic appeal to the State Su-
preme Court delayed his execution
beyond September 4, but probably not
for long. Public opinion is bitter
against him. By the time these words
are in print, the death he courted will
be waiting just around the corner.
In appraising Albert Walter, I find
that his chief obsession was the
hatred of women, growing out of bi-
sexual impulses with which he was
born, and out of the later ravages of
syphilis. He also showed himself to
be an exhibitionist of the most mor-
bid sort. His heroics in connection
with his confession and trial should
not arouse sympathy for him. Like
all lust murderers, he revelled in the
limelight. In his case, exhibitionism
took the form of pleading for the
rope, knowing as he did that he was
sure to get it anyway. The person to
be sorry for is poor Blanche Cousins,
polluted and slain by this monster on
the threshold of the larger life she
had come to San Francisco to find.
It is a fact of great interest that
Sigmund Freud and other modern
psychiatrists hold that syphilis plays
an important part in causing sexual
abnormality. Freud found that 50
per cent of his sexual pathological
cases sprang from this disease. Un-
questionably it can lead to woman-
hating, or misogyny, to give that
mania its scientific name.
Doctor Iwan Bloch, a follower of
Krafft-Ebing, has a valuable chapter
on misogyny in his book, The Sexual
Life of Our Time. He points out that
male homosexuals are wrongly re-
garded as “woman-haters,” since those
perverts concentrate on their own sex
and merely ignore women.
T= true misogynists, writes Bloch,
are men who need women, but think
they have a grudge against them.
They develop into sadists, and desire
to injure the beings they have en-
joyed. Some world-famous figures
have lent their genius to the spread-
ing of this hateful doctrine.
Bloch names the Marquis de Sade
himself as having been the first im-
portant modern advocate of woman-
hating. Sade had an extremely un-
happy married life, was deceived also
in a love relationship and nourished
his loathing of the opposite sex by
constant debauchery. He was given
to slashing prostitutes with a knife,
after they had served him in repulsive
orgies. Finally he was sent to an in-
sane asylum, from which he escaped
during the French Revolution. He
had written the series of obscene nov-
els for which he is notorious. When
Napoleon became head of the Govern-
ment, Sade had a set of his books
specially bound and presented them to
him. This act of foolish vanity was
his undoing. For Napoleon had the
works destroyed and recommited the
author to the madhouse, where he
died at the age of 64.
The German philosopher Schopen-
hauer is noted for his contempt for
the female sex. This passes for ill-
humor in the books by him which are
- ordinarily read. The public does not
realize that his lesser works contain
scandalous attacks on normal rela-
tions. Bloch asserts that Schopen-
hauer was affected by the antipathy
which existed between himself and
his mother. Again, he had contracted
syphilis when a young man, and never
fully recovered from it.
August Strindberg, the mad Swed-
ish dramatist, was another sufferer
from syphilis, which accounts for the
ferocious scorn for the feminine na-
ture expressed in his plays and short
stories. Several years of his life were
spent in asylums. Read his Confes-
sions of a Fool, and you will realize
what mental torture he endured. He
admitted that only his absorption in
literary work saved him, during his
wilder periods, from becoming a
murderer of women. He died in 1912.
Schopenhauer and Strindberg were
thinkers and serious-minded men, who
did not want to turn into criminals.
They would have helped others af-
flicted like themselves to resist homi-
cidal impulses—if they had had any
solution to offer. They did not know
about sterilization. Even Doctor Iwan’
Bloch came too early to include it in
the vast scope of his studies.
But we of this generation have
scientific proof that the treatment ex-
erts a calming influence. Let us ap-
ply it universally in the war against
crime!
Clew of the Death-Kiss (Continued trom Page 33)
through the woods, looking for any
trace that might lead to the girl. This
would have been a perfect place for
an assault, we noted. The woods were
heavy, screening the road from view.
It was just getting dusk. “A perfect
place for a murder,” I joked.
“Look!” It was Henry. He was
pointing to a freshly dug mount ‘be-
tween two trees. The place was about
two feet wide by six feet long.
“A grave!” Allen exclaimed. He had
voiced my thoughts, too.
We bent over the fresh earth and
began to scoop it away with our hands.
A foot under the soft dirt we struck
a blanket.
Instinctively none of us had a doubt
of what was in the blanket.
Allen ran back to the house for a
shovel. We dug the earth away, and
lifted the body in the blanket to the
side of the shallow grave.
The blanket was bound with wire.
We pulled it loose.
A gruesome, horrifying sight met
our eyes. The body of a young girl,
nude except for thin silk panties and
a brassier torn and pulled from her
pointed breasts, was in the blanket.
A deep gash had split the skull open.
A huge slash across the throat opened
a yawning slit.
Streaks of dried blood stood out
against the white of her cheeks.
But even with the brutal disfigure-
ments, I could recognize that it was the
girl Rose whom I had seen in the pic-
ture her mother had given to me.
The three of us stood transfixed,
staring in shock at the revolting spec-
tacle of what had once been a beauti-
ful young woman.
It was Allen who broke the silence:
Sheriff William Severyns and Chief Criminal Deputy O. K.
Bodia, co-author of this story, inspect scenes of the crime. At
right they examine the bed in which the girl was murdered
and at the left they are looking into her shallow grave
“What’ll we tell her mother?”
I thought of the frail, nervous little
woman. The shock of seeing her only,
beloved daughter like this would prob-
ably cause her to break down com-
pletely.
“We can’t tell her now,” I said. “She
would want to come up and see the
girl. We'll get her away from here
and wait until the body has been taken
to the morgue and fixed up a bit.”
I had an idea how we could get the
mother from the house. I would ask
her to. go to the aunt’s place in the
village of Richmond and stay there for
the evening so I could reach her by
telephone. I would pretend that I was
on a “hot” lead and might need her.
It would be dark in a short time and
the morgue wagon might not be noticed
coming to this isolated spot.
The mother agreed to go to the
aunt’s home. I-went into town to a
pay telephone in a drug store and from
there called the coroner and his au-
topsy surgeon.
While we waited for them to arrive
at the scene, Allen, Henry and I stood
over the mutilated body and tried to
figure out some answer to the unac-
countable mystery.
The fact that the slim, shapely body
of the girl was nearly nude, except for
the panties and the crumpled brassier
which were flecked with blood, seemed
to point to the solution ‘of attack and
murder.
Going on my former premise, the
girl must have met someone she knew
in the car. The attack could have been
made either in the car or in the woods.
It was more than likely made in the
woods, for if it had been made in the
car the body probably would have
been taken someplace else for conceal-
ment, farther away from the girl’s
home.
|* ANY event the murderer must have
taken the girl’s dress, stockings
and shoes away with him, for they
were not buried in the shallow grave
with the body, and we could not find
them anywhere in the same wooded
section.
This looked to be our big clew.
There was only one thing wrong
with our deduction, though. The girl
undoubtedly had been hit on the head
HEN I WALKED INTO San Francisco police head-
quarters and told them I had choked a girl to
death, they didn’t believe me at first.
When I stood before the judge, charged with first degree
murder, and told him | wanted to plead guilty and be put out
of the way as soon as possible, he refused to accept my plea.
The public defender, whose services J didn’t want, tried to
save me against my will by claiming that I was insane. I
am not insane. At the insistence of the public defender, I
sat through a trial and heard three state alienists declare
that I was sane, and had the satisfaction of having a jury
find me sane in short order.
] am greatly indebted to those jurors. They gave me what
wanted—death.
Wik STORY—TIIE STORY of my road to the gallows—started
years ago, when I first began to make a mess of my life,
The immediate story—the last few miles of that road—
started last June 2, on a burning hot day. in Salt Lake City.
I was crossing the continent on a Greyhound bus. I had
left New York on a sudden impulse, given up a good job as
. restaurant manager, lefi my wife behind, and was coming to
San Francisco. That city has always attracted me; this was
ny seventh trip there since ] spent some months attending
night school there in 1926.
After a brief stretch in the sunlight at the Salt Lake depot,
| climbed back aboard the bus. I noted that we had acquired
a new passenger. She sat a few seats away from me. She
was an auburn-haired girl with large dark eyes that seemed
full of life and curiosity about life. She was staring raptly
14
WALTER, Albert, Jr., white, hanged CASP (San Francisco) December 4, 1936
out the window, taking in every detail of the busy depot
scene. She was alone, as I was,,and I somehow felt a com-
radeship with her.
At the next stop, out in the blazing Utah desert, I ex-
changed a few words with her about the scenery, and when
we boarded the bus again I took a seat next to her. We
talked infrequently ; she was reading a book. But that casual
conversation meant a lot to a fellow as lonely as I.
The next day, as we crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
she laid her book aside and joined me in admiring the rugged
mountain country.
When the bus stopped for the lunch-hour in Sacramento,
California, I invited her to join me at lunch. She accepted.
It was then that I first learned her name. She was Blanche
Cousins, she told me, and came from Idaho Falls, where she
had been a bookkeeper in a hospital. She was going to San
Francisco to attend a secretarial school, and hoped to find
work there later. She wanted to make her home there.
“Tm planning to stay there a while, too, and look for
work,” I told her. ‘“Would—could I see you after you're
settled? I haven’t many friends in San Francisco.”
She looked down at her fork.
“T hardly know you, Mr. Walter,’ she said. “But then
[ll have to start making new friends. | only know one or
two people on the coast.”
“How about having dinner with me tomorrow night ?”
“All right,” she agreed hesitantly. “I’m going to stay at
the Y. W. C. A. Hotel for the time being. You can call for
me there.”
Her acceptance of my invitation cheered me immeasurably.
Now that | had someone to talk to, I felt that I might lift
myself out of the depression and restlessness that had driven
me to leave New York. She seemed to be a wonderful girl,
and I resolved to try and see if J could not shake off the
cynical and embittered attitude | have adopted toward most
women.
I left her at the bus depot in San Francisco, and went to
a small hotel on Mason Street, downtown.
REAL DETECTIVE, MA¥¥XX October, 1936
Wh
the:
ALBERT WALTER, Jr.
Convict Number 59166 in the
San Quentin Prison Death Row
as told to
Edward 8. Sullivan
What did women do to this youth to cause him to hate
them ... finally to kill an imnecent youns od
and now to wish for death on the gallows?
15
The following night, as I waited for Blanche at her hotel,
[ found myself asking: What am I doing here? Why am
I going out of my way to take this girl to dinner? I, who
despise women; who left New York to make a fresh start
out here, by myself. 1 concluded that it was my loneliness
that had driven me to seek her companionship.
When Blanche came tripping down to the lobby, her eyes
alight with life, all such morbid thoughts were dispelled from
my mind. We went to a cocktail lounge nearby, and had
two Martinis. She told me she didn’t drink very much. I
liked her for that. Then we took one of the picturesque
cable cars that climb dizzily up San Francisco’s steep hills.
{ felt more lighthearted and carefree than I had in many
years, as we skimmed over the hills above the Bay, and I
found myself slipping into the Same mood as Blanche, when
she exclaimed ecstatically at the red sunset over the Golden
Gate, and the graceful arches of the great bridges.
“Look at the sunset-glow on Alcatraz Island,” she pointed.
“It’s so beautiful. It’s hard to believe that that lovely island
16
is filled with such terrible
men—men like beasts—’”
“It’s beautiful,” I agreed.
I did not tell her that I my-
self had spent a term in
prison on that grim rock, in
1933, when it was an army
VICTIM OF MAD LUST
"I took one of her silk stockings
and tied it tightly around her
throat, where the marks of my
fingernails made dark red spots.
| fastened the other end to the
rail at the head of the bed.”
disciplinary barracks. I was punished for deserting from
the army medical corps.
It was then that I resolved I would treat this girl as she
deserved, and would not betray her trust in me, as I had
betrayed many other women in the past through my bitter-
ness and selfishness.
I would be her protector, her friend, I resolved.
We chatted gaily as we dined at Lucca’s, an Italian cafe
near Fisherman’s Wharf. We had no more to drink. I took
her home early, and left her
a date to dine together again
at the door of her hotel, with
a few days later,
I saw Blanche often in the succeeding days, while she was
STRANGLED WITH STOCKING
(Continued from page 17)
And his wife testified, “I have brought
some letters Albert wrote me which
show he hasn’t always been quite nor-
mal.”
One letter in particular had been
mailed on an eariler occasion from a
distant point during one of his inex-
plicable and unannounced wanderings.
“Why I do these crazy things is beyond
my comprehension,” it said. “Only
when my sanity returns do I realize
the consequences of my foolhardiness.
In my depression, I can do nothing but
run away to relieve my mind of its
many burdens. Believe me, I have no
malicious intent.”
| aa the authorities had not stopped °
their investigation into his past.
And now things were turning up that
disputed him in his claims of lack of
maliciousness.
They discovered, for instance, that
~
Albert Walter had been in San Fran-
cisco only six months before. At that
time he had been befriended by a
wealthy California importer who had
entertained him in his luxurious home.
“But he was a very bad guest,” the
importer said. .
Walter had repaid his kindness by
attacking him with a club, stealing his
gold watch, and making his getaway,
leaving his host knocked unconscious
on the floor.
When Inspector Engler visited Wal-
ter’s cell with that story, Walter admit-
ted its truth with cold unconcern.
Again and again, his relatives visited
him, but he showed no interest in these
visits beyond the fact that he consid-
ered them a cause of irritation.
Never once did he swerve from his
intent to go to his death undefended.
It was thus that he entered the Superior
Court to stand trial.
His father and wife both took the
stand and fought desperately to tem-
per his punishment by showing his lack
of mental balance and responsibility.
He listened with cold indifference,
When the defense alienists took the
TEACHER THUMBED A RIDE
(Continued from page 8)
statement that as he drove away from
the telephone booth and Pat Burdick he
saw headlights coming along the high-
way some distance behind him. These
lights were visible for a while along
Route 77, and then they turned off.
Since the shopper and his wife had seen
the girl at eight-thirty, and traffic was
usually light on the highway, the police
decided the auto the shopper had ob-
served must have stopped and the girl
probably had accepted a lift in it. They
questioned the shopper at length, but he
could not definitely locate the point
along the highway where the car had
turned off. a,
While this investigation was going on,
a foot by toot search of the wilderness
along either side of 77 was in progress.
Enlisted men from the radar base at’
Grand Marais, coast guard volunteers,
men from lumber camps and other citi-
zens had ‘joined the state police. Con-
servation officers, a helicopter from the
Kinrose Air Force base and a CAP
plane in a gigantic search of the area
north of Seney. The tiny village, once
a lumber boom town, had once been
described in a book, Holy Old Macki-
naw by Stewart Holbrook, as so tough
that a stranger could find his way to
the doctor’s office by following the
constant trail of blood. More than one
hundred searchers were looking now
for a missing girl, and there was no -
trail whatever to follow.
A heavy crust of frozen snow, de-
scribed as “like concrete” covered the
40
stand he wore an arrogant smile. At ‘g
Dr. Marvin Hirschfield’s quiet testi-
mony: “I find the defendant to be a
psychopath with psychotic episodes,”
Walter interrupted with a loud guffaw. @
Openly he ridiculed the psychiatrist’s
testimony.
He was much more respectful to the 4
experts called by the state who con-
tended that he was entirely sane. And
the jury soon concurred.
After only half an hour of delibera-
tion, eight men and four women
brought in their verdict of guilty. Wal-
ter remained expressionless as Judge
Jacks intoned the sentence of death.
He turned his back then on his sobbing
wife and weeping father and éagerly
joined the waiting guards. The noose
was waiting for the man who wanted
to hang.
Transferred to death row at San
Quentin, he continued his frosty un-
concern. To everyone who saw him he
said only, “I want to die as soon as
possible.”
He hadn’t long to wait. On Decem-
ber 4th, 1936, the merciless strangler
of Blanche Cousins was hanged. +
softer snow and was strong enough to
support a heavy man. Searchers wall
ing on this crust found their feet wr
meant that the girl and her possible‘
abductor could have gone in any direc-
tion without leaving a trace of their
passing. .
The pilot of the Civil Air Patrol
plane reported in that it was too dark
in the wooded forest; visibility down
through the tree foliage was virtually
impossible, even from the hovering
helicopter. After criss-cross aerial. sur-
vey, both ships covered a 26-mile area
and returned unrewarded to their bases.
Ground search parties had already
pushed in as far as possible by car,
then had taken up the hunt on foot.
With darkness, all search efforts were
temporarily stopped. All reports were
negative.
“We've already gone in beyond the
deer trails and fire lines around Seney,”
State Police Sergeant John Mongiat
said. “The planes will take to the air
again at daylight. We'll begin a new
walking search on both sides of the
highway between Seney and Grand
Marais.”
Thus did the first day of the search
end. With no word from the missing
girl, the police were convinced that
Pat Burdick was the victim of foul play.
Investigation of another type rolled
into motion. Assigned to the detection
end of the case were State Police Ser-
geant Anthony Spratto, winner of 21
citations for bravery and police. work,
and Corporal Ray Zeni.
These men tackled their jobs. by
assuming, first of all, that something
had happened to Pat Burdick, even
though definite proof of such happen-
ing was not at hand. They requested
reports from prisons in the lake area
id... on ‘recently discharged convicts; they
not sink in—did not leave tracks. Thig*
asked for a list of local men with police
records, or with histories of sex crimi-
nal nature. When a pretty girl dis-
appears the possibility of sex crime is
strong. But there were other possibili-
ties, and Spratto and Zeni plunged into
these by obtaining all the information
they could about the missing Pat
Burdick. age see
Her description had already been the
subject of wide broadcasting through-
out the area police system. Pat was.
five feet, six inches tall; she weighed ~
135 pounds. She had a fair complexion,
brown hair and :blue ‘eyes. When she ©
left the Burdick home to begin her
hitchhike journey to Grand Marais,
Pat had worn a red wool coat, blue ~
scarf, a sweater, dark tan slacks, thick
crepe-soled black oxfords. She had been
carrying a Sampsonite suitcase heavily
plastered with English travel stickers—
the result of a trip to England with her A 3
mother three years ago,
Spratto and Zeni learned
Burdick had planned a visit to Europe
with a student group in July. Her_pass-
port had arrived in the mail on Mon- -
day, the day after her disappearance. —
Pat had been saving money for this —
tour through Europe, and for her edu- ©
that Pat ie. "
tia Thine Gs Sack aot.
cation. She had completed three years
college work at Michigan College of
Mining and Technology, in Sault Ste.
Marie, and at Ypsilanti State College.
She had taken the job teaching in the.
kindergarten and the first-grade a
Grand Marais to secure money for he
fourth college year and degree. Accord
ing to Pat’s mother, the girl had not’ ™
been happy with her teaching. job in
2S OO m tm oe
A<SOrnoH ™ hy
a Lee ee
ee haem
SLE LID
RTO aN here MEL | ON,
a
“I’m Albert Walter Jr. Her name is Blanche Cousins.
I met her on a bus in Salt Lake City two weeks ago when I
came out here from New York.”
He seated himself calmly beside the bed where the dead
girl lay, in obvious readiness to answer questions. He was
28 years old, he said, the son of a real estate broker in
Boston. The girl victim was the daughter of an Idaho Falls
rancher. She had been attending a business college in San
Francisco. That was all he knew about her.
Now Inspectors Harry Husted and George Engler of
the Homicide Detail, accompanied by Assistant District
Attorney John J. McMahon, joined the little group and for
a brief period questioning ceased while the officers inspected
the apartment. :
The bed was of the folding, in-a-door type. A pink slip,
a blue wool sweater, and a pair of brown slacks were strewn
about as if her undressing had been hasty. Dark, ugly marks
on the throat of the corpse showed where vicious fingers
had bitten deeply into the flesh.
“Why did you kill her?” Inspector Engler asked.
Walter shrugged. “I hate women,” he said softly. “I’ve
always intended to kill one some day. And now I’ve finally
done it and I want to be hanged.” He leaned back and
crossed his legs, appraising his interrogators.
“Perhaps it would be simpler if you'd let me tell the
story my way,” he went on. “I had been managing a res-
taurant in New York City, and I got tired of it. I used to
live in San Francisco, and I decided to come back. So I
took a bus.
“Like I said, Blanche got on at Salt Lake City and we
«got to talking. I invited her to dinner after we got here
and called for her at the YWCA. We had a couple of din-
ners together and then she moved into this apartment. The
The victim died fighting her maniacal attacker.
16
We.
The killer concealed strange quirks from his family.
very first night she cooked dinner for me here. Last night
she invited me again.
“I got here about seven, we had a couple of cocktails,
ate, and then I helped her with the dishes. Afterward, we
just sat and talked for a while. Everything was all right
until I tried to make love to her.
“Then she fought like a wildcat. I got mad and grabbed
her by the throat. I don’t know whether I killed her right -
then or not, but all of the fight went out of her. I tore off
her clothes and raped her. Later I tied her up the way
she is now.” '
“Why did you do that?” McMahon asked. “She was
dead, wasn’t she?”
“I wasn’t sure.” Walter shrugged again. “I guess she
was. I don’t know why I did it.” For the first time he
seemed to lose a little of his self-assurance.
However, he continued his story with only a moment’s
hesitance. A little before midnight he’d left the apartment,
visited a couple of cocktail bars, then bought a bottle of
whiskey, and gone to his own hotel. Later, a little restless,
he had gone out and walked the streets for several hours.
“Conscience bothering you?” Engler interrupted.
“No! But I was annoyed at myself for getting into a
mess of this kind. I was making up my mind about giving
myself up. But I wasn’t sorry on her account.”
“And you killed her just because she wouldn’t give in
to you?” Corrasa inquired.
“I killed her because I hate women. It was sort of a
matter of revenge.” ae ‘3
“Revenge for what? What had she done to you?”
“She? Nothing. But when I was 14 another woman gave
me a disease that nearly wrecked my life. Now I'll be
hanged and forgotten. It’s better that way.” ene
’
ee ee anne
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ee ee ee ee ee eee cee
ett RPE ie Rabie ede tee
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ae RTE SS
NHORTLY afterward the body of Blanche Cousins was
Ss taken to the mortuary, and Albert Walter was lodged
in a cell in the city prison. Guards were stationed in the
corridor outside to make certain that he didn’t commit
suicide. He laughed at this precaution.
“Don’t worry,” he jeered at them. “I have no intention
of committing suicide. I did that when I turned myself in.
The sooner you hang me, the better I'll like it.” He lay
down on his bunk and soon was sleeping peacefully.
Meanwhile, the inspectors’ bureau was a center of fever-
ish activity. Engler, Husted and the assistant district attor-
ney were telephoning, teletyping, checking Walter’s fan-
tastic story.
From Boston and from New York replies to inquiries
were pouring in. In New York’s Greenwich Village it was
learned that Albert Walter had married only ten months
before.
On being interviewed his young wife expressed complete
disbilief in his confession. “I can’t imagine it,” she said.
“He did do strange things sometimes,” she said. “This is
the third time he has left home without a word, but he’s
always come back and everything’s been all right.”
From his father in Boston came further confirmation of
Walter’s wanderlust. Most of his adult life he had been on
the move, switching from job to job. He had been a law
clerk, a ‘salesman, a soldier, chef, lumberman and butler.
But, except for one disciplinary term when he had been
in the army medical corps, his record was clean.
Harking back to his story of the disease which had made
him hate all women, the authorities subjected him to a
thorough medical examination. There was no trace of any
disease. Even when confronted with this falsehood in his
story, Walter refused to change it. “What difference does
Public Defender Gerald Kenny (r.) found his client ready and willing to hang for his brutal crime.
it make?” he asked. “I’m going to plead guilty to murder.”
He was reminded that a guilty plea, without benefit of
a jury trial, would automatically mean the gallows.
“T know that,” he said. “I want it that way. I don’t want -
any defense.”
Now Walter was questioned about other sex murders,
but he denied them all. “You're confusing the issue,” he
said. “One killing is all I need.” He refused to say more.
But the business of getting himself hanged was not as
cut and dried an affair as Walter expected. Despite his
spurning of all attempts to defend him, the court assigned
Public Defender Gerald J. Kenny to the case. In Superior
Court, facing Judge Lile T. Jacks on a first-degree murder
charge, Walter ignored the defense attorney’s presence.
Without flinching, he raised his eyes to the judge and said
unemotionally, “I plead guilty.”
Kenny stepped forward. “Your Honor,” he said, “I ask
that the defendant’s plea be set aside. Instead, I should
like to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.”
Walter angrily protested, denying'in so far 4s he could
that the public defender had any right to speak for him.
But the judge nodded to Kenny’s request, accepted the not
guilty plea, and set a date for the murder trial in Superior
Court. “We, in this court, cannot risk sending an insane
man to the gallows,” he decided with finality. “The de-
fendant’s own wishes have no bearing on the matter.”
News that his wife and his father were on their way to
aid in his defense disgusted him even more. “I don’t want
to be helped,” he insisted. They flinched at his harsh words
but refused ta,be repulsed. :
The elderly, kind-faced man asserted, “He suffered in-
juries as a child which may have carried into his adult life.”
(Continued on page 40)
102
bearing on the case except to prove that
the suspect had coached the sender what
alias to use in addressing him.
Aboard the train en route to San
Bernardino, Sheriff Shay made no accusa-
tions. He gave the suspect every oppor-
tunity to tell voluntarily what he knew
about the case. But the man remained
moody and reluctant to talk.
“I don’t see why you refuse to talk,”
said the Sheriff. “Generally, when a
man’s innocent, he has nothing to fear
from talking.”
“Yeah? But I knew a man who talked
too much and got jobbed for life,” the
suspect mumbled. ;
“Well, we don’t do business that way
down in San Bernardino “County,” the
officer assured him. But the suspect still
refused to talk. 4
When lodged in the old county jail at
San Bernardino, the prisoner’s attitude
was that of a caged coyote expecting an
attack from every side. Like a cornered
animal he brooded, eyed the attendants
and kept silent.
| Bagh on machinery moved to dispense
with preliminaries and bring the sus-
pect to an early trial, which was set for
April 10th. Before that date, however, the
Sheriff, accompanied by his son Emmett,
Superintendent Batoroff, Deputies Lucas
and Jack Brown and Deputy County
Coroner Waters, revisited the murder
scene, exhumed the body of the victin—
which subsequently was brought _ to
undertaking parlors in San Bernardino
for re-burial—took more photographs of
the corpse and the grounds and collected
more samples of the blood-stained sand.
Although this trip was made long after
the body was discovered out there in the
desert isolation, the arid climate had pre-
served the splotch marks on the sand.
The sand samples were taken to Pro-
fessor Samuel Levin, graduate of the
New Russian Imperial University and
director of the Pacific Wasserman Labora-
tories, Los Angeles, who was asked to
make tests for human blood. Checks
written by J. H. Watts and signed “Wil-
fred Hey,” together with the postcard he
had sent from Chicago to Mrs. Forest,
Detroit landlady, and the page from the
hotel register in Ogden, were turned over
to J. Clark Sellers, Los Angeles hand-
writing specialist, who later was to be one
of the expert State witnesses at the trial
of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, convicted
in the Lindbergh ease.
Watts’ attitude changed little before
the trial. He did admit to jail attendants
that his true name was J. H. Watts and
that he had known Wilfred Hey once,
but refused to comment on the circum-
stances.
I was District Attorney of San Ber-
nardino County at that time and took
personal charge of the prosecution. I had
visited the murder scene several times
and reviewed the evidence. I realized that
with no eye-witnesses to the slaying and
no confession from the defendant, it was
a case of purely circumstantial evidence
which would require well organized
prosecution if the suspect were convicted.
Accordingly, I organized my work with
the determination to use every legitimate '
and fair method to send J. H. Watts to
the gallows.
The death weapon was never found.
may have been a club, automobile
crank, jack or leaf spring which later was
hidden by the slayer. Neither had the
automobile been found though, as testi-
mony developed, the defendant had
stated that he came to Los Angeles in
-his own touring car,
In my opening remarks to the jury I
briefly reconstructed the crime as borne
-
M
Xi 2 ea
c Pe coed
True Detective Mysteries
out by evidence at hand. Important
State’s witnesses included Howard Way,
Deputy County Surveyor, who introduced
a map he had made, showing the country
around Daggett, Langford’s Well, Silver
Lake and the principal highways through
the country; Deputy County Coroner
Waters who gave detailed testimony as to
the condition of the corpse; Professor
Levin who stated that his tests revealed
traces of human blood in the: sand
samples.
Sellers corroborated Prof. Levin’s find-
ings by testifying that he had made a
microscopic examination of the same
samples and found them to contain
human blood. Sellers also stated that
handwriting on checks written by Watts
was identical with that appearing on the
hotel register signed by the defendant,
and on the postcard he sent from Chi-
cago to Mrs. Forrest in Detroit.
Besancon told of Hey’s business at the
Detroit bank and the forwarding of funds,
per telegraphic request, to Los Angeles.
Cashier Dye of the Ogden bank, and
Mrs. Sullivan, the Western Union book-
keeper in that city, identified the defend-
ant as the man seen with the victim in
Ogden. Mrs, Silloway, Western Union
employe, Los Angeles, ‘also told of the
defendant’s telegram. for transfer of the
victim’s funds, and identified him.
Symonds and Stanton of the Bank of
Italy, identified the bank’s transactions
and also testified that the defendant had
posed as Hey.
Then came two surprise witnesses, The
first was B. Harrod, Bakersfield insurance
man, .
“On November 24th, I motored out
near Las Vegas, Nevada, to look over
some mining property,” he said. “My car
broke down about twenty miles west of
Las Vegas and I stopped off at Silver
Lake. On the night of November 25th
took care of "Widaeue garage at
Silver Lake. That evening the defendant
Watts walked into the garage after a can
of gasoline for his car which he said had
stalled down the road. I walked part way
down the road with him and saw that
his traveling companion was a man who
answered the official descriptién of Wil-
fred Hey.”
‘DP he say anything about his travel-
ing companion?” I asked.
“He did. For no apparent reason he
said to me, ‘I’m riding with a dead one,.’”
That remark was important in that it
placed the defendant and the victim
together on November 25th, about an
hour's ride by automobile from the spot
PLAGIARISM
Any one submitting a plagiar-
ized story through the mail and
receiving and accepting remuner-
ation therefor, is guilty of the
Federal offense of using the
mails to defraud.
The publishers of TRUE DE-
TECTIVE MYSTERIES are eager
—as are all reputable publishers
—to stamp out this form of lit.
erary theft and piracy. We ad-
vise all magazines from which
such stories are copied of such
plagiarism and co-operate with
the publishers thereof to punish
the guilty persons.
where the body was found. And _ the
corpse which was discovered on December
26th, must have been in the desert, about
a month, the Sheriff estimated.
The next surprise came from none other
than R. W. Watts, brother of the defend-
ant, who had guaranteed the “Wilfred
Hey” signature at the Bank of Italy,
thereby making it possible for the defend-
ant to cash in on the victim’s Detroit
bank account. Before the trial date
arrived this R. W. “Bob” Watts, whom
the Sheriff had tried to check up on at
the Leighton Avenue address in Los
Angeles, had gone north too, then had
en arrested at the instigation of Los
Angeles officers and convicted on a grand
larceny charge arising out of his partici-
patie in the Bank of Italy deal with his
rother. He was brought down from San
Quentin to testify at the trial. I was not
sure just what he would say when he went
on the witness stand, but I did not have
long to wait.
“M* brother, J. H. Watts, the defen-
dant in this case, used the name of
Wilfred Hey at the Bank of Italy because
‘he had had domestic trouble back east,”
he stated. “When he arrived in Los An-
geles he told me that he had come in his
own four-passenger touring car.”
That testimony, brother against brother,
nailed the case.
A fitting finale in the proceedings was
the testimony of Sheriff Shay. In simple,
logical manner he briefly outlined the
investigation from the day the body with
the tell-tale bit of crumpled paper in the
pocket was found out in the Mojave
country, on down to the arrest and jailing
of the defendant. The officer’s testimony
was clear, convincing.
Sullenly, his heavy features a mask of
indifference, the defendant slumped in
his chair throughout the trial, never once
showing more than passive interest in the
proceedings. He neither went on the
witness‘ stand nor offered any defense, a
gesture which to my way of thinking was
an_ admission of guilt,
he jury did not ponder long behind
closed doors. J. H. atts was found
guilty of murder as charged. And if the
listeners expected the clerk to read a
recommendation for mercy, they were
disappointed. The simple verdict was all
the jury had to say.
atts took the conviction in dogged
silence, his stolid features showing not a
trace of emotion.
As he was led away he saw his brother
in a cell on the ‘second floor of the jail.
“Well, Bob, they give me the rope,” he
greeted flatly.
Then followed appeals for a new trial,
delays and postponements. Finally the
appeal for a new hearing came before
the Supreme Court. After thoroughly
reviewing the case, Frank G. Finlayson,
then presiding justice, pro tem, upheld the
conviction. His findings were concurred
in by Associate Justices William « H.
Waste, John W. Shenk, John E. Richards,
Jesse W. Curis and Emmet Seawall, and
a new trial was denied.
Finally on Friday, October 15th, nearly
two years after the murder, that appar-
ently insignificant bit of wadded paper
found in the victim’s’ pocket sent J. H.
Watts up the gallows steps at San Quentin
Prison. Until the moment when the
heavy noose slipped down over his head,
it was expected that he would make a
statement. But his lips only tightened
all the more and his features fixed in a
deeper scowl, Without a word he plunged
through the trap and the brutal murder
of Wilfred Hey was avenged,
Today the case is frequently referred to
as an outstanding one covering the law
of circumstantial evidence,
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When murder stalked the Mojave Desert a
scrap of paper was the only clue. In this
amazing story a keen-witted sheriff played
with the jig-saw puzzle of life and death,
found the missing piece in the pattern
and brought a cruel killer to justice.
‘
Jenned the |S aaemaataaal® Chall ite ees efforts of’ Sheriff Walter A.
iis mistake, ” mare Shay to:ttall Ww will-o-wisp slayer, fnaliyzes ¢
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seat ase
George H. Johnson, district attorney of San
Bernardino county, California, prosecuted the
slayer successfully in an outstanding case of
circumstantial evidence. Johnson now is dep-
uty district attorney of Los Angeles county.
Wrinkled and soiled, this tiny scrap of paper
which bore five words, four numbers and a
dollar sign, led officers on a chase across a
continent and an ocean and eventually to the
solving of the mysterious desert slaying.
30
and cacti. Cactus Pete was content. The few
grains of gold he had wrested from the desert
country were enough for another “grub stake.”
Soon he would see the bright lights of town again.
Suddenly Pete sat bolt upright. Something had
stirred off at the side of the trail. He halted the
weary burros, and stood up to get a better view
of the object which had attracted his attention.
Sure enough there it was again, a bit of cloth
fluttering in the breeze. Senses trained by long
years on the desert alone told the weatherbeaten
old prospector that something was wrong. An odor
of death was in the air. Pete clambered down from
his wagon while the patient burros stood in their
tracks, their heads drooped low.
The gravel and sand of the desert floor crunched
underfoot as Old Pete made his way down a slight
slope to a clump of chaparral in the bottom of a
natural depression, typical of the rolling desert
country. Rounding a clump of brush Pete started
back. Grim desert wanderer that he was the sight
before him was enough to cause even the grizzled
prospector to shudder. He had found skulls bleached
on the desert before, mute evidence of tragedy,
but this was different. An air of weird oppres-
sion seemed to engulf the valley. A grinning skull
gazed up at the sky but it was not the skull that
attracted Pete’s attention. It was a rough, splin-
tered, jagged hole in one side of the temple that
mutely told a story of murder,
HE skeleton was fully clothed. The heels of
the shoes dug down into the sand at a point
where two deep furrows ended. Pete looked
closer. The furrows led off toward the road.
Taking care not to disturb. anything the old pros-
pector made his way back to his outfit. Carefully
he set a stake beside the road then climbed on the
wagon and urged the plodding burros forward once
more.
Several hours later Deputy Sheriff Jim Lucas
‘of Daggett, an obscure desert hamlet, listened to
Old Pete’s story. Carefully he made notes of the
observations the prospector recounted. Then he
telephoned Sheriff Walter A. Shay, veteran law
enforcement officer of San Bernardino county at
the town of San Bernardino, county seat.
“Hello, Sheriff?” he spoke into the transmitter
as his connection was completed. “Say, there’s
been a murder up here at Daggett. An old pros-
pector just came in. Says he found a body about
25 miles northea
Langford’s Well.
while. He didn't
came on in here :
You'll be right uy
for you.” Lucas
and turned to Ca
“You'll be aro:
you ?” he queried.
Pete replied th
‘deciding he had b
done stalked dowr
a restaurant and
- Down in San |
of the great de
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nia a pale ies
C. FRANKLIN CRAWFORD
ACTUS ‘PETE, typical old “desert rat” prospector, lolled
| back on the high top of his prospector’s wagon and clucked
a
Ro
The youth ab ught' he: p
perfect crimé but’ he..discovered his mistaka,
‘he
when a, keen-eyed sheriff found a tin
which golved the riddle of
4 2 KS shea
32 noaa Agents and Train Robbers
counties, north of the Bay, thousands of cattle were being fattened for
the San Francisco market. A small herd could be rustled almost as easily
as a dozen head. Vasquez bought the idea; there was nothing he wanted
more than to make a big score that would establish him as a bandit
leader.
When they were ready, they slipped out of Monterey. Several days
later they crossed the Sacramento River at Vallejo without being ques-
tioned and lost themselves in the gentle valleys and hills of Sonoma
and Mendocino counties. The country was not unfamiliar to Tiburcio
Vasquez. Two years back, following the stabbing to death of a man in
Monterey, of which he had been accused, he had hidden out in
Mendocino County until the charges against him had been dropped.
Cattle were now to be found in every direction, but the climate had
changed in his absence; ranchers had largely supplanted their vaqueros
with young Texans, who took a dim view of rustlers. Ignoring the
changes that had taken place, Vasquez and his companions made their
strike and were quickly apprehended.
San Quentin, California’s new prison across the bay from San Fran-
cisco, was waiting to receive him. He had served less than two years of
his five-year sentence when he escaped in a prison break. In the re-
markably short period of two months he was back in San Quentin, this
time on a larceny conviction in Amador County. He served a year on
the larceny conviction, plus the three years he already owed the state,
and was discharged on August 13, 1863. He was back again a short time
later on an armed-robbery conviction. It was not until June. 4, 1870, -
that he walked out a free man. The prestige of being a three-time loser
elevated him to a position of prominence among California's despera-
does. '
An Italian butcher employed at the New Almaden Quicksilver
Mines, near San Jose, was shot and stabbed to death in his bed. The
four or five hundred dollars he was known to have had in his posses-
sion was missing, indicating that robbery was the motive. On whatever
evidence was found, the authorities charged Vasquez with the crime.
When they began looking for him, he was safe in his lair in the Arroyo
Cantua, deep in the Coast Range mountains.
To relieve his boredom, he began putting a small gang together.
Francisco Barcenas and Garcia Rodriguez, with whom he had become
acquainted in San Quentin, were the only members who were known
outside Monterey County. Led by Vasquez, they made a number of
Be ashes OR had Haig Ne ORLY AER RG Re RR TERED che We IER A ak Mia dir
Tiburcio Vasquez: Tiger of the Dim Trails
Oe dl
forays, robbing country stores and inns, on the stage roads. Early in the »
summer, they held up their first stage 4 few miles north of the town of
Hollister. The driver pulled up his horses when ordered to do so. After
making sure that the stage was not transporting treasure of any kind,
passengers were ordered out and lined up at the side of the road,
hands raised. After they had been stripped of their money and other
valuables, they were made to lie face down in the dust with their hands
and ankles tied. This treatment of passengers became a Vasquez trade-
mark when the victims submitted without resistance.
Congratulating themselves on the haul they had made, the bandits
were jogging along a few minutes later when Thomas McMahon, the
prosperous Hollister groceryman, came riding down the road. He was
returning from a business trip to nearby Gilroy. This was an un-
expected prize. McMahon had plenty of fight in him, and when
the bandits began going through his pockets, he objected strenuously.
He knew Vasquez. Unmindful of the danger he ran, he gave him a
tongue-lashing in Spanish, a language far more expressive than English
at such moments. Vasquez had killed men on less provocation. But he
just laughed and galloped off with some seven hundred dollars of the
storekeeper’s money in his saddlebag.
But the day was not over yet. The sheriff of San Benito County was
thirty-some miles away in Monterey. With him, by chance, was that
formidable man-hunter, Sheriff Harry Morse of Alameda County.
When word of the double holdup reached them, they picked up a Santa
Cruz constable and the three set out to intercept Vasquez and his
companions. The officers, believing that the bandits would be heading
back to their sanctuary in the Arroyo Cantua, were successful in cut-
ting their trail. There was a brief fight. The constable killed Francisco
Barcenas; Vasquez and Rodriguez, both seriously wounded, made their
escape. Rodriguez was captured two days later and was returned to San
Quentin, where he died a short time later. Tiburcio. Vasquez was safely
back in the mountains and slowly recovering from the gunshot wound
in his chest. es see
It was not until the spring of 1873 that he began scourging the
country again. He had put together a new gang, with José Chavez, an
experienced outlaw, as his lieutenant. One of his men, Moreno by
name, had a wife living in the Mexican barrio at Hollister. The story
goes that Vasquez risked capture by visiting her on occasion. When
Moreno learned how matters stood, he went out to get Vasquez. That
9
el
Copyright © 1973 by Harry Sinclair Drago
| tights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without permission in wiiting from the publisher
Printed in the United States of America
Foreword
WEsTERN ouTLAWnRy has claimed the attention of a far greater number
of writers, magazine commentators, folklorists, and competent historians
than any other activity connected with the settling of the West. It has
produced an endless miscellany of articles, pamphlets, and books, No
matter how minor the outlaw may have been, someone has put him into
print,
Although most of such narratives can be dismissed as trash, they
have aided the researcher in weeding out fact from fiction. As a con-
sequence, readers interested in the history of banditry, beginning
with the road agents of California and ending with the horseback out-
laws of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the other prairie states, have
become as critical and discerning as those in any other field.
From year to year, reader interest in matters relating to the coming
of age of the American West continues to grow. It is our greatest story
and needs no embellishment; the truth is sufficient. For half a century
and more I have been trying to tell that story, presenting what I found
to be the truth, even though it has meant contradicting many of my
peers. OF all the fan letters I have received I have always treasured most
one from an old Kansas cowman, who wrote: “I like your books be-
cause you try to tell it as it was.”
I have written this book about road agents, ban’k and train robbers
without any thought of glamorizing them. Some were men of great
courage, strangers to fear; others were savage brutes who killed when
there was no need for killing, All, or nearly all, were ignorant men,
devoid of any trace of education. But whatever else they were, they
were criminals and deserved the fate that overtook so many of them. A
little army of sheriffs, United States marshals, Wells, Fargo detectives
and other special agents tracked them down and in shootouts either
killed or captured them and hustled them off to long terms of imprison-
*
Tiburcio Vasquez:
Tiger of the Dim Trails
Avrnoucs in the decade and a half following the discovery of gold
on the South Fork of the American the population of California had
soared, the life-style of a great part of the state had not changed. In
Spanish-speaking southern California the old manners and customs re-
mained largely what they had been, That was true in lesser degree south
from San Francisco Bay, down through San Mateo County and the Coast
Range counties to Santa Barbara, where the scattered inhabitants were
predominantly of Mexican origin. California, once their homeland,
was no longer theirs. Not only had it been wrested away from them
but they had been branded an inferior race.
In the main they were good people, humble, generous. Accustomed
to making do with very little, they had neither the means nor the will
to fight back. Among them were exceptions, of course—reckless young
men who were determined to right the injustice that had been done
their people. Setting out with that high resolve, they soon found there
was only a thin, often indistinguishable line between their marauding
and outright outlawry. As could have been predicted, they crossed it
and became hunted men with a price on their heads.
The rugged fastnesses of the Coast Range, inhabited only by sheep-
herders and cowboys, offered them a safe*and handy hideout. They
struck without warning, robbing and killing and then disappearing
into the mountains, where few sheriffs and their deputies dared to
follow. When nothing else offered, they raided the little villages and .
ee ee ec eee ee
OM Oe ree Late ee re Oe ee
Wi
RR Oleh Manik, Me thak heey bo ay
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ae ee ee
Tiburcio Vasquez: Tiger of the Dim Trails 3
plazas along the coast seemingly for the pure hell of it, plundering the
ricos and sharing the spoils with the poor.
Half a dozen or more Mexican bandit leaders surfaced briefly during
the 1860’s and 1870's, only to be quickly eliminated by gunfire or
hustled off to prison. It was a different story with durable Tiburcio
Vasquez, the tiger of the dim trails. He was a rather small man, weigh-
ing not more than 140 pounds, with a cruel face and blazing dark eyes
that held no mercy even in repose. He successfully jousted with the
law-enforcement agencies of California for fifteen years before life was
jerked out of him in the jail yard at San Jose on March 19, 1875.
Born of an Indian mother, Vasquez was a half-blood. Although there
are conflicting accounts of where and when he was born, the consensus
is that he was no more than fifteen when Joaquin Murrieta was be-
lieved to have been killed at Panoche Pass by Love and his rangers.
Despite the disparity in their ages, some accounts have it that the two
men were not only friends but that young Tiburcio. Vasquez’s cam-
paign to end the oppression of his people had been inspired by Murri-
eta. That is utter nonsense; Vasquez was a loner; all that his bloody
trail did for the Mexican gente was to cause it deeper humiliation.
With horses being the equivalent of legal tender in California, he
began his lawlessness as a horse thief. He must have been fairly suc-
cessful, for when he showed up periodically in Monterey, the Mecca
for men engaged in the outlaw trade, he always had money to spend in
the cantinas and brothels. He fancied himself as a lady killer and did
not confine his quest to the women whose favors were for sale. Too
many tales are told of his kidnapping the daughter of a Mexican
rancher in the Livermore Valley for there not to be some truth in them.
The most believable agree that the father of the girl pursued and over-
took the couple. A bullet from the father’s gun shattered the young
bandit’s right arm, and he fled.2 :
Having been put out of action for several months by his injury,
Tiburcio slipped back into Monterey and spent his enforced idleness
with a minimum of discomfort. It was at this time that he struck up a
close acquaintance with one of the numerous Garcia brothers, either
Miguel or Juan, He was associated with both at one time or another.
The Garcias were small-time cattle thieves. Still, they could talk to
Tiburcio as equals. They were presently obsessed with one of those
“great” ideas that afflict their kind from time to time, usually with
disastrous results. The gist of it was that in Sonoma and Mendocino
RANE en «me NIN aa ees aoe
eee
man tegen epg
ee ee
34 noad Agents and Train Robbers
was his mistake. He was not scen again, and the supposition was that
Tiburcio had killed him and tossed the body into a handy ravine.
The new Vasquez gang made its first strike far up the San Joaquin
River, at Firebaugh’s Ferry, early in July, looting a general store and
making off with a sizable amount of goods and money. For the re-
mainder of the summer they scourged the San Joaquin Valley, robbing
stores, waylaying travelers, and stopping stagecoaches, On August 26,
they staged what began as just one more of their routine store rob-
beries, at Tres Pinos, a San Benito County settlement, a few miles south
of Hollister. It proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as far
as the State of California was concerned. When the robbery of Andrew
Snyder’s Tres Pinos store appeared in newspaper headlines as “The
Tres Pinos Tragedy—Three innocent people killed and several seriously
injured,” Governor Booth decided that the state had had enough of
- Tiburcio Vasquez.
The robbery of Snyder’s store began as so many others had. Two of
the bandits entered and engaged Snyder’s clerk in conversation. A few
moments later, five more of the gang arrived. After tying their horses at
the hitch-rail, three of them, including Vasquez, stationed themselves
outside the door; the other two went in. Leveling their pistols at the
clerk and the several customers (including a young boy), they ordered
them to lie face down on the floor and then proceeded to empty the
till, strip the victims of their cash and valuables, and finally to ransack
the place, taking whatever they fancied. «
The four bandits were ready to leave when there was a burst of gun-
fire outside. A sheepherder, William Redford, unaware of what was
happening, had turned in off the road and was walking toward the
store, when Vasquez ordered him to stop. The herder, confused or not
understanding the command, did not obey. Guns blazed and he fell
dead. Two teamsters, busy at their wagons a short distance away, had
not been molested, but they ran up to the store now to learn the
meaning of the shooting. Vasquez clubbed one of them unconscious
with his pistol, and as the other, James Riley, turned to run, shot him
through the heart as he was dodging around the corner of the building.
Between Snyder’s store and the hotel, both on the same side of the
road, there was an open space of some seventy-five yards. When a man
stepped out on the wooden porch of the hotel, Vasquez snatched his
rifle from its saddle scabbard and fired. The man on the porch leaped
lh thc a hei asia WR
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Be Sees os an
FES CLD ORE Re oe era gL CE Re en ttt en ee a
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Tiburcio Vasquez: Tiger of the Dim Trails 5
back untouched, but Vasquez’s slug; killed an elderly man named
Davidson, who was standing with his wife just inside. |
A young boy, the brother of the one who was lying on the floor,
shoved his head in at the back door of the store to see what was taking
place. Chavez saw the lad. Chasing and overtaking him in the stable
yard, he clubbed him unconscious with the barrel of his pistol.
When Vasquez and his gang jogged out of Tres Pinos, laden with
plunder, they left behind them three dead men and a man and boy
hovering on the brink of death, The tragedy horrified the public.
For two months, hastily organized posses rode up and down the San
Joaquin Valley and trailed through the Coast Range. They saw nothing
of Vasquez. The rumor spread, hopefully, that he had left the country.
Actually, he had, and was safe in the Cahuenga Hills, just north of
Los Angeles, a region he had never molested in the past.
In December he surfaced again, after lying low for weeks. Riding
into the little Fresno County town of Kingston at the head of his
gang, he robbed both stores there. Ten days later, he and his lieutenant,
José Chavez, held up the Los Angeles and Owens River stage. Other
robberies followed. ,
In January the state acted, offering a reward of $3,000 for the cap-
ture of Tiburcio Vasquez, dead or alive. Newspapers denounced the
sum as inadequate, and the Legislature upped the reward to $8,000.
Now, at last, it seemed that a united, organized effort was to be made
to run Vasquez to earth. Harry Morse, the formidable sheriff of Alameda
County, was put in charge. A better man could not have been found.
He was shrewd, indomitable, and tireless) He had been watching
Vasquez for a long time, filing away for future reference what he was
able to learn about the man.
Among the Mexicans in Alameda and the adjoining counties Morse
had what he termed “sources,” who passed bits of information on to
him. Before starting out on the big hunt for the bandit, he was con-
vinced that Vasquez would eventually be found far to the south. But
when he set out with his handpicked posse, he spent weeks combing the
Coast Range before he turned southward, making sure that his man
was still somewhere ahead of him and not behind. In a book he pub-
lished later, Morse wrote that between March 11 and the first week in
May, 1874, he and his men rode more than 2,700 miles.
It is safe to say that by the middle of December the posse had logged
twice that many miles. In all that time, nearing ten months by now,
— ne ne
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page 40)
of Doc Vincent that bleak October day in 1893, when one
of the last public executions in the state of California was
held in Fresno County's courthouse park, adjoining the old jail.
Perhaps “public” isn’t just the word for it, since the invita-
tions permitted only a chosen few—friends and relatives of the
officials and bigwigs from all over the state—to witness the
event that went down in history as‘ the fertile San Joaquin
Valley’s most bizarre attraction.
A high board fence was erected in the rear of the county
courthpuse, and early birds hawked knotholes for as much as
five bucks a crack to those who had no invitations.
Doc Vincent—christened Frederick Oscar Vincent—had been
one of Fresno’s fops and was a respected and prosperous physi-
cian until liquor got the best of him and his patients grew tired
of consulting him in his favorite saloon. He was a handsome
devil, with bushy red hair and a flaming beard. Tall, broad-
shouldered and pleasant enough when he wasn't drinking hard,
he had been more than a little popular with the women. Doc
was known as a cool sort of character, pretty much without fear.
Finally trouble came with his wife of ten years—a quiet, un-
assuming little lady who made and sold dresses for money with
which to pay her husband’s bills. Eventually Mrs. Vincent
kicked Doc out—frock coat and all—and sued for divorce.
The result was that Vincent, after several futile attempts to
get his wife to change her mind, shot her five times, in the
presence of witnesses—women customers who wert waiting for
a fitting. They said Doc first tried to force his estranged spouse
to drink a vial of poison and, when she refused, drew a gun
and let her have it.
He ran from the house, the smoking weapon still in his hand,
smack into the arms of’a police officer who lived next door and
had been aroused by the shots.
Now killing in those rugged days was considered ethical if
it were done in self defense; even murder during a stickup was
condoned at times; but wife slaying was an-unpardonable crime.
The jury lost no time in convicting Doc, and he was sentenced
to hang. However, he appeated, and the case dragged through
the courts three years before his execution date finally was set.
From far and near came bearded farmers and booted cow-
boys to see Doc Vincent die. The crowd inside the enclosure,
admitted by cards which read “You Are Invited To Doc
Vincent’s Necktie Party,” were jammed like sardines.
Toro ISSUED neatly engraved invitations to the hanging
Necktie
arty
_ Outside the common herd milled, some standing on ladders
and buggies, and others with their eyes glued to the $5 knot-
holes.
Under the park trees mothers with babes in their arms and
toddlers clutching their voluminous skirts unpacked picnic lunch-
boxes to spread the food that must await the pleasure of the
_ menfolk. No women, of course, were admitted to the execu-
tion. That was strictly a stag performance.
A carnival spirit was in the air. Even on downtown streets,
blocks away from the courthouse, it could be felt, and half the
merchants closed their doors. Not in the 20 years of its ex-
istence had Fresno produced such a gala spectacle.
The hanging was scheduled at noon. All morning and the
evening before scores of women—their initial wrath at the
uxoricide dissipated—filed through the jail corridors for a last
look at and a final word of cheer to the condemned man.
Doc enjoyed the attention. “I like it,” he answered a reporter
who asked him whether the visitors bothered him, “I always
was a family man, and I like to have women around.”
Vincent’s jailmate was the notorious Chris Evans, one ot
the West's most infamous badmen. He was a member: of the
Sontag and Evans gang which had held up trains with such
regularity the engineers could almost set their watches by their
appearances. Evans was awaiting trial for murder. He later
escaped, was recaptured, and was sentenced to life imprison-
ment. While the train robber was holding receptions on the
ground floor, Vincent entertained on the second tier.
Always the epicure, Doc’s last breakfast included quail on
toast, fried potatoes, hot cakes, rum omelette, hot biscuits and
coffee. Vincent said goodbye to Evans wished him better luck
than he had had, drained the last of several potions of whisky
with which, contemporary newspaper accounts said, he had
been provided, and strode cockily from his cell to the awaiting
gallows.
The gibbet was a homemade, mobile affair, owned by the
county of Santa Barbara and had been used several times. Seven
murderers, including three wife killers, had been hanged on it.
Resplendent in frock coat, his flowing red beard concealing a
natty bow tie and stiff white shirt, his gray striped trousers
sharply pressed and his buttoned shoes neatly shined. Doc Vin-
cent presented a dashing figure as he stood on the gallows. The
sheriff gave him permission to say a few words.
They were few indeed. “God bless my friends, and God damn
my enemies!” Doc shouted. “Let’s get going!”
He insisted the knot be placed just so, so that his neck would
be broken and he would not strangle. He also gave instructions
as to how tightly the noose was to be drawn. When the black
hood was slipped over his head, he still was smoking a long,
black cigar. He was cold and calm to the last—and just a trifle
disdainful of it all.
The trap was sprung at one minute after noon, October 27.
1893. Doc’s body dropped and then quivered spasmodically for
10 minutes and three seconds before two of his former profes-
sional colleagues pronounced him dead.
It was Fresno County's first, last and only legal hangar
and one of the last county hangings in the state. Not long
afterward the law was revised to provide for all executions to
take place in either San Quentin or Folsom prisons, where there
were no knotholes in the grim, gray walls. —Jor SMITH
a eee.
hon (IVE
“; white, hanged Fresno, C,lifornia, on Ogtober. 2
ghee die
Paul Vandor, HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY, I, 378. 02 0
Raza HISTORY. OF FRESNO COUNTY:
? _ <. “EM Killing of Fiske °° tg BR a
2 John D. Fiske was killed July 26, 1890. “J. L. Stillman shot-him. thrice
3 in the back. He pleaded insanity on his trial but was found guilty ‘and sen-
tenced to life imprisonment... The homicide followed a wrangle and. demand
for royalties on a car-coupling patent. Fiske was a. promoter.in the early
days of Fresno City, conducted the Fiske Theater and for him was named
~ the showy and-cheaply constructed building on the Mariposa and -J present
site of the first “sky scraper’.in the CY hah OU Sipe Near eer Oe RR
Hanged for Wife Murder © © 2s) ve ye
~~One man and one only was ever legally hanged in this county, He was
Dr. F. O. Vincent and he was hanged in the court of the county. jail in
the courthouse park at noon October 27, 1893. Jay Scott was the sheriff
in office at the time and F. G. Berry—not Fulton G—was the under sheriff
that made the return on the death warrant that the order and judgment of
_- the court: had been duly executed. The death sentence has been only three
- times pronounced in the county for the crime of murder; first time on Vin-
cent in April, 1891, second time on Elmer Helm in 1906 and third time in
1908 on Charles H. Loper. After the Vincent case, the law was changed to ~
make the warden at the state penitentiary the state executioner. Before
that, the sheriff was the official to carry out the death penalty onthe mur-
derer convicted in his county. Vincent’s case is No. 651 in the register of
Oe criminal actionsin the superior court of the county. He was informed against
one December 31, 1890, for ‘the murder of wife, Anna L., on the 18th of the <3}
month. The trial before the late Judge S. A. Holmes opened March 11, 1891,
continued for eleven days and ended March 24. Sentence of death was pro- |
‘nounced April 8, 1891, and two days later the death warrant was delivered |
to the sheriff. Appeal was taken, judgment affirmed August 25, 1893, and -
fixing time of execution under the original sentence was on September 21,
1893. On hanging day people climbed the trees around the jail for.a view ..
of the spectacle in the little court yard of the jail. The indecent curiosity ~
of the populace was editorially commented upon in the newspapers of the
day and rebuked. The record in the Vincent case is sufficient as to. the pro-
crastinations of the law in the prosecutions of that day. The attempted
defense on the trial was that the act of homicide was not premeditated because
the accused was an irresponsible dipsomaniac and drug user. The late
ria County Recorder W. W. Machen was the foreman of the jury.. There was
little brought out at the trial to arouse sympathy for the prisoner.* On the
contrary, the showing was that the married life of the Vincents. was any-
thing but a happy one and that the suffering wife had been for years the
victim of his cruelty and harshest treatment and neglect. There was not an
extenuating circumstance in the case. The Vincent case is a notable mile-
stone in the criminal annals of the county. - oie, Bin ait Te a ta
Assassination or Suicide? oF EN?
Cause celebre was that of Richard S. Heath indicted March 16, 1893.
for the alleged assassination of Louis B. McWhirter while entering his home "3
at the rear entrance on the night of August 29, 1892. The case attracte¢ .B
widest attention as it was claimed that the assassination was’a political on¢
on account of the division in the Democratic party in the county at the time —
over the presidential candidacies of Cleveland and. Hill.. McWhirter .was ? _
Tennesseean who a few years before had come to Fresno, engaged in, the _
practice of the law in association with M. K. Harris, made a: failure of the
law and as an erratic Bourbon reform Democrat was engaged: as editor os
writer for the Evening Expositor. He had been a, reform politician in Tem,
nessee which state he left to come west after a homicide, also growing out
of political dissensions in the Democratic party. Much feeling’ was arouse’:
over the McWhirter case here because at the time the <Tennesseean Wie
ee
; Michael Campbell
IBURCIO Vasquez was
an admitted murderer,
rustler and stagecoach
robber, hung in 1875
for his celebrated
crimes. He was no different from
the mythical Joaquin Murrieta,
who preceded him in the 1850s,
or the infamous Black Bart, who
would follow.
What made Vasquez different
was he was a native Californian, a
Californio. Vasquez’ grandfather
had helped settle San Jose in
1777. In 1870s California, a time
when the growing state began to
examine and romanticize its past,
this lineage elevated him head
and shoulders above others who
lived outside the law.
Most people have the impres-
sion eg swiped by the Use
California's huge Hispanic pop
ulation became an oppressed un-
derclass, and Mexicans were
denied access to their promised
land. Essentially that is the truth,
but a complex truth.
In the 1840s, California's His-
panic population could be
counted in the thousands. There
were many American and British
foreigners, and Mexico City had to
force people to come here, often
emptying jails for the purpose.
Under Spain, beginning in
1769, the Catholic missions had
destroyed the Indians, and the 25
years under Mexico found them
quasi-slaves on Californio ran-
chos. Many of these rancheros
were light-skinned Hispanic;
some, like Pio Pico, were black.
Californios overwhelmed
What happened to California's
Hispanic population after the U.S.
takeover in 1848? Vasquez and
his Californio countrymen were
completely
Dark-skinned Californios, like
Vasquez, were despised by most
whites, and light-skinned
landowners often fared no better.
Many lost their vast ranchos to
sent a boy to Los Angeles to cash
it. Bank officials caught on, and
soon the law had pursued Vas-
Yankee lawyers, squatters and tax quez back through Tujunga Pass.
liens. Title litigation in Wash-
ington, D.C. to retain land granted
by Mexico City took a decade.
A Southern California drought
in the 1860s ruined many. Pop-
ulation in the Anglo-dominated
north outweighed the thinly set-
tled Hispanic south, blocking
their access to state government.
On the other hand, many Cali-
fornios welcomed the U.S. take-
over and the order and stability it
provided. Mariano Vallejo of So-
noma, a gringo favorite, was active
in state politics. Others dabbled in
real estate. Many Californio
women married Yankees familiar
with the U.S. law, ensuring their
family lands protection.
Criminal star rises
It was in the early 1870s that
Vasquez’ criminal star began to
ascend, and it was his capture
that made him famous. According
to Harris Newmark, a German-
Jewish immigrant who wrote an
eyewitness chronicle of early Los
Angeles, the story went something
like this: ;
Vasquez and his group bungled
the holdup of a Southern Pacific
pay car near Bakersfield, then
headed north into the mountains
to the village Tres Pinos, below
Hollister. Here they robbed several
storekeepers and killed four men.
On their return south, they plun-
dered the village of Kingston in
Tulare County.
With several sheriffs behind
him, Vasquez hid in the moun-
tains outside Los Angeles, suppos-
edly stealing the wife of one of his
men. According to Newmark, the
‘eeved husband finked on Vas-
uez and his methods, helping out
over-
whelmed S
by the hun- The pres
dredsand was full of
thousands
of whites, romantic
Asians,
ww Officials.
In the meantime, Vasquez
irced Italian rancher Alessandro
epetto to sign over a check, and
blacks and quotes from
Mexicans ”
one the bandit:
poured into
6
the state lama
during the
1849 Gold cavalier with a
spe cavalier’s heart.
There
was no —_—
“ethnic
cleansing” by the U.S. against the
Californios (that would be re-
served for the Indians who were
left), but unfamiliar laws, lan-
guage anda brand of racism dif-
ferent from the Mexican kind
made the transition painful.
A posse would later catch up with
him in today’s Hollywood Hills.
In aLos Angeles jail, waiting
transport to San Jose, Vasquez
gave interviews to the press. To
the Spanish-speaking Los Angeles
Star, he vented his anger at
gringos, telling of how Americans
rudely crashed fiestas, ignored
Latin tradition and stole women.
He told of how he consulted his
aged mother, and vowed to avenge
his people. How much of this was
good journalism is hard to tell.
Vasquez as box office draw
During his Los Angeles jail
stay, the city went into an orgy of
Vasquez-mania. The press was
full of romantic quotes from the
bandit: “Iam a cavalier with a cav-
alier’s heart.” A burlesque on Vas-
quez was quickly staged at the
Merced Theater. Vasquez was
good for business, according to
one local merchant: “Vasquez
says that Mendel Meyer has the
Finest and Most Complete Stock
of Dry Goods and Clothing...”
_ While waiting for his trial in
San Jose, Vasquez posed for sou-
venir portraits in a loaned suit,
and played the part of a dashing
bandit chief. He painted himself a
patriot defending the honor of his
countrywomen: ‘The last of the
caballeros,” he told the Associated
Press. And so he was hanged
March 19, 1875.
California historian Kevin
Starr points out that had Vasquez
been caught a decade earlier, he
would have received a quick
lynching. In 1870s Los Angeles,
however, a city mending its repu-
tation just four years after savage
anti-Chinese riots, Vasquez was
looked upon
as a native
son gone
bad, and
sent to the
gallows
with senti-
ment.
Vasquez,
in astory
most likely
fabricated
by eager
white re-
porters, re-
called
saying fare-
well to his
mother and
setting out to avenge Yankee in-
justices. And it doesn’t take much
digging to find Yankee injustice,
anti-Mexican mining laws and un-
sympathetic judicial system, and
loss of land. For modern Vasquez
apologists, this is the end of the
story. For a broader answer, a look
across the border is more telling.
Organized crime
At the same time Vasquez ter-
rorized Californians, Hispanic
and Anglo alike, armed bandits
also gripped much of northern
Mexico. These bandit chieftains
controlled their territorial niches
much like modern organized
crime bosses.
Perhaps not so coincidentally,
California banditry ended around
the same time the dictator Porfirio
Diaz took firm control of Mexico's
northern frontiers.
When the railroads filled the
vast emptiness of California with
settlers, cities, and the superior
communication and law enforce-
ment that came with them, stage
coaches and isolated hamlets
were harder to rob and the law
was quicker.
Vasquez story recalls the gang
sters of the Midwest during the
Great Depression of the 1930s, ex-
plaining their actions as retalia-
tion, in this instance against
banks that had repossessed the
farms and lost the savings of
“their people.”
Elderly residents of Texas and
Oklahoma still have kind words
for Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy
Floyd and Baby Face Nelson.
Just as it takes no effort to find
examples of Yankee injustice in
early California, it takes even less
effort to find outstanding exam-
ples of Hispanic achievement:
Statesmen Mariano Vallejo or An-
tonio Coronel; early newspaper
editor Francisco Ramirez; and of
course, Cesar Chavez, after whom,
several California schools already-
are about to be named, a month
after his death.
Michael Campbell is a social
studies teacher who lives in Liv-
ermore.
NO APPEAL
VILLON, Dick, Filipino, 29, Hanged at Folsom (Santa Clara) on December 1, 1933.
'a San Jose murderer was hanged at Folsom prison yesterday when Dick Villion, 29-
year-old Filipino, was dropped through the death trap there at 10:0) am. and pro=
nounced dead 12 minutes later. Villion, with three other companions, held up a
Chinese gambling joint here September 22 last yeare In the shooting that followed,
the proprietor, Wong Sun, was killed, Attorneys for Villion, N. L. Menard and 2, R,
Malovos of San Jose, made unsuccessful efforts to secure a commutation to life
imprisonment of his sentence from Governor James Rolph, on the gpounds that it was
not established which robber killed the Chinese. Rolph granted several reprieves in
the case to permit a thorough investigation and refused commutation on the advice of
Jess Hession, deputy state attorney general, that Vallion's trial had been fair.
Villion walked to the gallows with a firm step and glanced cooly about at witnesses
before the black hood was placed on his head. He was accompanied on his death march
by the Rev. P. Je Cronin, prison chaplain, and made no last requests or statements
peyond a casual ‘adios! to the eight other men in the prison's condemned row as he
left his cell, Villion, Francisco Gonzales and Thomas Pato escaped from the holdup
murder here, but their companion, Joe Corpuz, was arrested, tried and sentenced to
life imprisonment. Angered at being the only one to 'take the rap,' he revealed
the whereabouts,.of his partners in crime, Villion was convicted by a jury here last
June 9, Pato , d Gonzales drew life terms. Villion was hanged at Folsom beetead of
San Quentin becuse he had threatenkd to k ill his three companions who are confined
at the latter prison, MERCURY HERALD, San Jose, Califonnia, 12-2-1933 (II/1/3.)
think ahe sald something about not be
_ ing too hasty. I became passionate.
“Partly from Pp. partly from
hate of women, § grabbed ber by the
throat and choked her. I just went on
choking until she didn’t resist any
more, T took down the folding bed and
lifted her onto it. I stripped off her
clothes and threw them on the ground.
I ravished her. By ravishing, I mean
what the word says and means. I don’t
know whether she was alive or dead
when I did it.”
No reason having been given for the
stocking tied around Blanche’s neck,
the murderer was asked to explain
that sadistic touch.
He retorted contemptuously: “Why
does one do mad things?” The silken
noose had been meaningless, for he had
felt the girl’s pulse, put an ear to her
heart and realized she was dead. It
had seemed appropriate to leave her
looking as if she had been hanged; that
was all. So he had taken a stocking
from one of her legs and arranged the
knot “artistically.”
He then went to his own hotel,
checked out and moved to a new hotel
on Mason Street. He roamed from bar
to bar, drinking pretty steadily until
nearly 5 o’clock in the morning. He
bought a bottle of whisky, took it to
his room and boozed some more.
Eventually, he fell asleep. Awakening
around noon, he walked through
Chinatown and the Barbary Coast,
wrestling with the problem of whether
he should leave town or surrender.
“I decided I didn’t want to live any
longer, so I gave myself up,” he said.
“Remember, I could easily have run
away. Blanche didn’t have a single
connection in San Francisco. I was not
known to be here.
boarded a bus any time today and have
Said Walters: “I married, hop-
ing she would make me normal”
20 °
I could have’
been far out of reach before the body
was discovered. I doubt if the murder
ever would have been pinned on me.”
Hut, in aplle of tila “eonmelenoe,” he
had been calculating enough to sell or
awn his spare clothes and the con-
nity Of his sullease, He used the few
dollars for liquor. He walked into the
Hall of Justice and unburdened him-
self to Inspector Corrasa only when
his last dime was gone.
u At you claim you came in be-
cause your conscience bothered
you?” probed McMahon‘ sarcastically.
“You misunderstand me. Well, that’s
not surprising,” answered the extra-
ordinary monster. “I wasn’t sorry at
all for killing Blanche Cousins, and
I’m not sorry now. She had excited
my passions, then refused to satisfy
them. It was one affront too many
from the poisonous breed of women.
So I destroyed her. But I felt a sort of
horror at my own life. I’ve been dan-
gerous even to those who were good
me.
“Let me tell you something. I have
a wife in New York. I married hoping
that she would make me normal. She
did her best, yet every so often I’d be
tempted to murder her. I left her be-
cause the temptation was becoming
more and more frequent. Then this
girl—this Blanche—pushed me over
the edge. I thought: ‘What’s the use of
going on? I’ve had my vengeance now.
The next woman I kill might be a bet-
ter sort, and she ought to be protected
from me.’ That could be called an
impulse of conscience, couldn’t it?” .
McMahon and the detectives did not
stop to debate Walter’s warped phil-
osophy. They took him to the County
Jail and locked him up, charged with
homicide.
"| Was Fourteen When She Infected
Me...lI've Roamed the United States
Longing to Shed a Woman's Blood!"
Acting on hints dropped by the pris-
oner, who appeared to hope that his
relatives would not be drawn into the
scandal, the police telegraphed Boston
and New York. In 24 hours, they had
a fairly complete picture.
Albert Walter’s father was a Har-
vard graduate who had made money
in real estate, but had been most un-
fortunate in his married life. He ad-
mitted that his wife, Albert’s mother,
“had been wholly irresponsible and
promiscuous with men,” finally aban-
doning her family.
His son had always had “unnatural
impulses,” according to the elder Wal-
ter. “He learned pernicious habits from
other children. We first became suspi-
cious of his propensities in 1921, when
he became involved with the Superin-
tendent of Schools, who was shortly
afterwards convicted of corrupting
youths.”
So Albert, the woman hater, had
been a homosexual pervert before he
was infected with syphilis by a woman,
In 1921 he had been thirteen. Accord-
ing to his own statement, which his
relatives confirmed, the venereal dis-
ease was acquired in 1922. He did not
receive proper medical treatment,
though quack remedies dried up the
exterior symptoms by 1924. Seven
years later, in 1931, he passed a physi-
cal examination and enlisted in the
United States Army. He was utterly
unsuited to a military life, deserted,
was captured and drew a short term on
Alcatraz Island, then an Army prison,
In connection with his dishonorable
harge from the service, the record
notes that he “suffered from veneréal
disease (syphilis), and from a consti-
tutional psychopathic inferiority com-
plex with nomadic tendencies.”
It is clear, therefore, that Walter had
a relapse, perhaps several of them,
during the brief period when he was
a soldier and prisoner. This was in-
evitable. Unless cured within two
years after it has. been contracted,
syphilis always reappears. Even when
latent, its work of destruction on brain,
spinal column and nerve system is go-
ing right ahead. The patient slowly
becomes an idiot. If his original im-
pulses are anti-social or violent, he
may become homicidal as well.
How terrible that the Army should
have turned Albert Walter loose, un-
healed and unhealable! As the law:
now stands, it was none of the Army’s
business. But there should be legisla-
tion compelling Federal departments
either to place such cases in national
hospitals, or to transfer them to state
authorities.
ALTER’S haunted life divides it-
self into two chapters: before the
Army and after the Army. His father
is the best witness concerning the
earlier stage. It proved impossible to
give young Albert a college education,
because he was erratic, lazy and sex-
ually abnormal. He would not stay long
on any job. He was a clerk in a Boston
law office for a short while. Then he
veered from salesman to waiter, but-
ler, cook, lumberjack and orderly in a
hospital. He traveled in all parts of
the United States, sometimes as a
tramp consorting with prostitutes and
thieves, but more often riding on buses.
He made ten trips to California. In an
attempt to justify himself, he once
wrote his father:
“Why I do these crazy things is be-
yond my comprehension. Only when
my sanity returns do I realize the con-
Said Angela Walters: “His
personality gets him by”
sequences of my foolhardiness. In my
depression I can do nothing but run
away to relieve my mind of its many
burdens. Believe me, I have no mali-
cious intent.”
The father worried mainly about his
son’s tendency to commit petty larceny,
which he rather naively ascribed to in-
juries Albert had received in child-
hood. “It was impossible to teach him
not to steal,” he said. On many occa-
sions, the older man had had to square
accounts with some victim to save the
boy from going to prison.
T= second chapter was marked by
a frenzied pursuit of women. His
vengeance obsession had reached its
apex. Tragically, he was attractive to
the opposite sex. He played up his
ability to strike up easy affairs with
girls he met on buses and in cheap
rooming houses for all it was worth.
During the early Summer of 1935,
Walter got a job in a New York restau-
rant. The manager there was Angela
Haskins, a tall, statuesque young
woman. He persuaded her that it had
been love at first sight. She insisted
on marriage, and strangely enough the
psychopathic drifter agreed. They went
to live in a flat in Greenwich Village,
and were together about nine months.
Located by newspaper reporters the
day after the murder of Blanche Cou-
sins, the stunned wife said that Walter
had never been brutal with her.: But
he had been given to starting senseless
quarrels, to weeping and complaining
of melancholia, Before his final disap-
pearance, he had twice left home with-
out a word.
“But he came back,” Angela sobbed,
“and everything was all right. This
time, he had almost no money. I didn’t
fret about that. His personality gets
him by.”
A telling admission! Walter had
never lost a chance to bleed women for
money, meals and lodging. That, no
doubt, was what his wife meant by his
personality “getting him by.”
The San Francisco police concen-
trated upon learning who Blanche
Cousins had been, and whether Walter
(Continued on Page 48)
AD4
a
‘Crimes of Malignant Love
Albert Walter — Warped Woman Hater
By Richard Hoyt
Expert in Psychopathic Crime Research
There may never again be a crime which so fully exemplifies the menace
preached against.in this series as the dreadful affair I am about to describe.
I hope that there will not be. But we know too well that there is no limit to
human depravity if the individual’s brain, glands and blood have been poisoned
by a virus that destroys the moral sense.
of syphilis and gonorrhea would make
Let me put it this way: The conquest
impossible a repetition of the Albert
Walter atrocity. Otherwise, it may be equalled, certainly it will not be surpassed,
In using the term “malignant love” to characterize my cases, I have an
exact meaning to convey. I am not dealing with the acts of congenital imbeciles
or perverts. I ignore delinquents who are wholly insane, even if venereal
disease has been one of the causes of their condition. For such persons are
incapable of deceiving their victims wit
of controlling them is to keep them loc
h the illusion of love, and the. sole way
ked up in an asylum. Sometimes they
become homicidal rapists—mass murderers, should they last that long. The
problem reduces itself to hunting them down, as one would hunt a dog marked
plainly with the symptoms of rabies.
But for every maniac there are thousands more lightly scarred by syphilis
and chronic gonorrhea. These constitut
peril and a more subtle one. Though t
signs, they are not in their right minds.
e, by sheer weight of numbers, a greater
hey may not show any of the outward
They are embittered, vengeful. They
find it an easy step downward into the morass of inhuman crime.
That is why I insist that the splendid campaign now being waged by the
United States Health Service under Surgeon General Thomas Parran, and spon-
sored by President Roosevelt, should recognize the venereal diseases as a major
factor in lawbreaking. It is necessary to clean up the health of the nation,
and incidentally this campaign will reduce crime.
Yet why not take all the angles into account, while the fight is on? By
turning over data to the Department of Justice, for instance, the Health Service
could be of great assistance in capturing murderers. By listing potential killers
among the physically tainted, many a deed of violence could be thwarted.
General John J. Pershing has agreed to serve as chairman of the American
Social Hygiene Association’s national anti-syphilis committee. In announcing
the appointment, Doctor Ray Lyman Wilbur said:
“Consideration was given the experience of his successful leadership 20
years ago in the campaign which brought cantonment and community in close
cooperation to reduce these diseases to such low figures among the military
forces that world admiration was evoked.”
No one knows better than Pershing that there is a direct connection between
syphilis and crime. He made the A. E. F. one of the most orderly armies in
history by eliminating syphilis. This may well have influenced the distin-
guished General to enlist in the present fight.
LITTLE after 9 o’clock on the
evening of June 17, 1936, a
quiet, well-dressed young man
entered the Hall of Justice, San Fran-
cisco, and told attendants that it was
important for him to talk to some high
police official. They took him to the
Bureau of Inspectors, what would be
called Detective Headquarters in other
cities. He stood unnoticed for several
minutes beside the desk of Inspector
Alvin Corrasa. The visitor presently
remarked coolly to anyone who hap-
pened to hear:
“I’ve killed a girl. I'll show you
her body. I want to give myself up.”
Corrasa glanced up, startled. He
was accustomed to cranks, but this.
man did not look like one. The caller
was slim, rather handsome in the col-
legiate manner, neatly attired in a
brown suit and white sport shoes.
“You say you’ve committed a mur-
der?” asked Corrasa slowly. ‘ ~
“It was impossible to teach “him,” said Albert Walter, Senior,
when he conscled Angela Haskins Walter and his son, Walter,
Junior, shown above, and with his family below at left
“Yes—last night. I strangled the
woman with my hands and then vio-
lated her.”
“Where?”
“In her apartment at 840 California
Street. She lived alone, and nothing is
likely to have been disturbed. Let’s
get going. I want to be done with
the business.”
“What makes you confess?”
“My conscience has been troubling
me,” said the young man in clipped
Bostonian English. He yawned.
HE Inspector drew a pad towards
him: “Your name?”
“J am Albert Walter, Junior, orig-
inally of Medford, Massachusetts.
Lately I’ve been managing a restau-
rant in New York City. I came here
two weeks ago to look for a job.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
Corrasa did not ask the victim’s
name, or inquire about a motive. He
did not believe there had been a vic-
tim. The man was too matter-of-
fact, too self-satisfied, too calm. He
wasn’t in the least the murderer type
It must be a hoax.
“Well, we'll go and take a -look,”
said Corrasa, rising from his chair. . He
called Inspectors George Engler and
Harry Husted of the Homicide Squad.
On second thought he decided to
notify the District Attorney’s office and
was told that an assistant would be
sent to the address given. He added
Inspector Walter Stanton to the party.
Corrasa, Stanton, Engler and Husted
—still unconvinced—drove in a cab
with Walter to No. 840 California
Street. It was on Nob Hill, formerly
the residential district of the Gold
Rush millionaires. The building was
one of small furnished flats, the typi-
cal setup for transients in San Fran-
cisco.
They mounted to the third floor,
where Walter pushed open a_ door
which was closed but not locked, and
walked through the tiny living-room
and kitchenette into the bedroom.
Corrasa could hardly believe his
eyes. Accustomed though he was to
scenes of tragedy, this was too much.
AD4
The “dude.” as he had dubbed the
stranger, had not lied.
The nude, discolored body of a
young red-headed girl was stretched
on the bed, a brown silk stocking
knotted about her throat and tied to
the brass rail above. Her eyes were
protruding, her mouth clamped and
twisted into an expression of anguish.
Two large yellowish-green marks at
the base of her neck showed where
the slayer’s knuckles had dug down
to the windpipe and throttled her. His
fingernails had torn the skin. There
were bruises, too, upon both arms.
A PINK slip, a blue sweater and
brown slacks were strewn on the
carpet beside the bed.
“Who is she?” barked Inspector
Corrasa, swinging into action.
“She is Blanche Cousins, from Ida-
ho—the daughter of a rancher near
Idaho Falls, she told me,” the con-
fessed killer answered, his poise un-
ruffled. “I met her a couple of weeks
ago on a bus at Salt Lake City. We
were both headed for San Francisco,
and we struck up a little affair.”
Walter sat down and lighted a ciga-
rette with steady fingers. He was
within a few feet of the contorted fig-
ure on the bed, and as he talked he
glanced at it now and then, scornfully.
Assistant District Attorney John J.
McMahon arriving at that moment,
Walter included him in the conversa-
tion with a wave of his hand:
ADS
“Listen carefully, men. I’m ready to
tell the whole story, but I’m not going
over all this a second time.”
Corrasa jumped him. “You'll answer
any questions we ask. How did those
marks get on the girl’s neck?”
“It’s obvious enough. I bruised and
choked her with my own hands. Man-
ual strangulation.”
“You talk like a doctor. Manual
strangulation is a technical term. What
do you know about it?”
“Oh, I worked in an eastern hospital
for three years! I’m familiar with
medical terms.” Walter twisted in his
chair, annoyed at the interruption.
“Can’t you cut this short? I’ve given
myself up because I want the State to
hang me. What do the details matter?”
“They matter plenty. Are you try-
ing to say that you killed Blanche
Cousins so that you could be put to
death?” ‘
“Not exactly. I killed her out of re-
venge against her sex. I hate all
women. I’ve always known that I
would some day kill a woman, and
now I’ve done it. This girl wasn’t any
worse than the rest. I was only a boy
when I learned to hate women.”
“Why do you feel that way?” de-
manded Assistant District Attorney
McMahon slowly.
It was then that Albert Walter made
the crucial statement that sets his
crime apart as the well-nigh unique
act of a damaged soul, a haunted life.
Suddenly vitriolic, he snarled:
‘
“I was fourteen when I was seduced
by a woman much older than myself.
She was my first woman.
“She infected me with syphilis and
I’ve never been able to cure it. I have
been tormented by it. I swore at the
time to get even. My life has been
dedicated to vengeance upon women,
I have outraged, ruined and corrupted
as many as I could.
uw As I told you, this killing was no
surprise to me. I’ve roamed the
United States longing to shed a wo-
man’s blood.” .
The words were those of an obsessed
wretch, and as I shall show, Walter at
fourteen had been by no means the
lily-white innocent he pretended to be.
But we cannot get away from the
fact that syphilis—from which he actu-
ally suffered—was the cause of his
mania. Society must share the blame
for allowing him to be at large, un-
treated. His malady can be prevented
and it can be healed. There is no ex-
cuse for the loose control, the prudish
distaste for the subject, which has
marked the public attitude towards
venereal disease in the past. Sick
bodies were allowed to rot and die.
The malignant impulses of sick brains
were ignored. We may thank God that
at last there is a change.
After Walter had made his appalling
declaration, the officers allowed him to
complete the confession in his own
way.
Blanche Cousins, the loneliest girl in the world, was already
dead when her slayer tied this artistic knot around her neck
Earlier Recognition of President Roosevelt's
Campaign Against Social Diseases Would
Have Prevented This San Francisco Atrocity
He said that he had left New York
the last week in May, and had encoun-
tered Blanche Cousins on June 2. She
told him she was going to San Fran-
cisco to attend a business college. He
took her to lunch in Sacramento, in-
vited her to have dinner with him the
following night. She accepted, giving
him the address of the Y.W.C.A. Hotel.
“In time we got to San Francisco.
I called for her. We had a couple
of cocktails and went to Lucca’s Italian
restaurant, North Beach, for dinner.
We found we had a lot in common.
Neither of us had any friends in San
Francisco. I told her I wanted to see
her often, and I did.”
In a few days, after she had started
her studies at the college, Miss Cousins
moved to the California Street apart-
ment. Walter helped her to get settled,
and she cooked dinner for him the first
night, calling the occasion a “house-
warming.” They often ate there to-
gether after that.
“Last night, June 16, she had invited
me up for dinner,” stated Walter non-
chalantly. “I arrived about 7 o’clock.
We fixed some cocktails. Then we pre-
pared the meal. After dinner, we sat
and talked about my prospects of find-
ing a job and the line of work she
hoped to get into. I helped her with
the dishes. We had another drink.
“Then we sat on the couch here and
began petting, you might say. I made
love to her, and it wasn’t the first time
I had tried it. She repulsed me. I
19
nA oo cc Re eat Ne NC ale aaa
quest of the insurance company. ‘This
was done on a day when Mrs, Combs
had her own chest tayed heenuse of
a cough.
Tosaw Chavles Th Kerr, on hardware
deader, who sate fhiat Mars. Combes dat
tricd lo buy a gun there, but that the
ones he had in stock were too small.
Toyprotatiidhevits frome tama, Walla A,
Bote, the agent for the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company, and from
Doctor Vaughn and returned home.
Mrs. Combs had tried to bribe all of
them except Kerr, the hardware
dealer.
Before T left for Nokomis, T had
asked Housley to wire Chief of Police
Cahill in Cheyenne for a copy of the
record signed by “Mrs. FE, J. Burke”
when she bought her gun—the murder
gun,
George King, Denver examiner of
qucstioned documents, identified the
writing as Mrs, Combs’. Housley rushed
her picture to Cahill, who showed it
to the pawnbroker, George Goldstein,
and he identified her as “Mrs. Burke.”
She had purchased the gun May 12,
the day the family returned from
Nokomis.
Housley had these last links in the
case waiting for me when I returned.
They gave us a complete circum-
stantial case. We had the gun, the
owner of the gun, and $80,000 worth of
motive. All we needed was a con-
fession.
My conversation with the insurance
agent and with a childhood friend of
Mrs. Combs back in Nokomis and
Llillsboro, Lllinois, revealed that tlazel
Combs was such an excellent shot she
could bat ean Hhrewan gate the aan aes
targets.
Tov cshowt, cclee dase tie beacon fe dred
Shey sts Gites exceph ver a pre ttre
of vengeance for some gricvanee.
Further, she divorced hier first liu
Ieunel, Plenty Whay. im TPG) ter sen
ond husband, Hurley Atwood, died in
1922, leaving her $32,000 in insurance;
her third, Llaven Hall, she divorced in
1923, shortly before her marriage to
Combs, her fourth husband, who had
died leaving her $80,000 in insurance.
We now believed that Mrs. Combs
had gone oul of the house with her
husband, or followed him immediately
by way of their bedroom door. She
went with him to the gate, possibly
quarreling about whatever grievance
she had against him, emptied the gun
into him and ran to the outhouse.
She may have hidden the gun at
once or waited until morning. Cer-
tainly, we believed that she got back
to the living-room-kitchen quickly
enough to keep Bert from getting sus-
picious. Mrs. Sevier said that 20 min-
utes after the car drove out, she talked
to Mrs. Combs and moved into her
room.. We believed 20 minutes was
time enough.
In addition to the actual commission
of the act of murder, we had Mrs.
Combs on what we considered ade-
quate premeditation: Her efforts at
bribery to be sure Stanley was given
his insurance policy, the attempted
purchase of a gun in Nokomis and
the final purchase of a gun in Chey-
enone dimediately after they retired
One Dak powrt tad been the very dry
cigarette butts around the car. Sevier
cettel Cleat thie fee i Pie Peeebrann woes
tiotothtect fort ane that ds
used it to dtunp his cigarettes, Mrs,
Conihe: dad said) that she Tit the stove
Hoth tb ceb de chimaped: the tres.
the following morning. We could
only assume two things from this:
When she went out to kill Stanley she
took some of the too-dry cigarette
boths with her and deliberately seat
tered them around the car to throw
suspicion wherever it might fall, and
she lit the fire to burn the ploves we
were sure she had worn.
That sewed up the case for us—Dbut
not for Hazel Combs.
She was given a preliminary hearing
on September 16, 1934, and was or-
dered held for trial on January 7, 1935,
for the murder of her husband.
On the day following the prelimi-
nary hearing she called me to her cell
and _ said:
“Iam willing to plead guilty to sec-
ond-degree murder, Sheriff, to get this
over with.”
“We can’t do that, Mrs. Combs,” I
told her.
January fourth, after washing and
ironing some personal clothes in her
cell, Mrs. Combs said good-night to
my wife and me about midnight. It
was a cheery, smiling farewell.
Early the next morning Joe Bruno,
a trusty prisoner, climbed the stairs to
the second floor of the jail bearing a
wo dott.
tray of food for the prisoners who, un-
ihe himself, could not be ont of thes
celts
“Hello, Hazell? he ealled to the fig-
Combe cell
lice
teen the clown ot Ma
ee
that she hadn't answered.
Retrdeine dis steps, he spoke chid
veely
“Why don’t you answer a fel—”
The question froze on his dips. Te
found his mouth suddenly dry ana
heard his heart drumming in_ his
COs
Mrs. Combs was suspended from
the transom by a heavy electric cord
the ironing cord that was nooscd
about her neck. She was dead.
Her murder trial, whieh was to have
begun two days later, was not neces-
sary. I believe she tried, convicted
and executed herself.
The insurance company in contest-
ing payment of the $80,000 claimed on
her husband’s policy by her brother,
Forrest Banion, who was executor of
her estate, tried her posthumously on
the murder charge.
The company had all the letters, al-
legedly written by Combs during ne-
gotiations for the policy, analyzed by
King in Denver and Albert D. Os-
born, the famous New Jersey hand-
writing expert. They testified that
Mrs. Combs, not her husband, had
written Ietters and signed his name.
The trial, held in United States Dis-
trict Court at Casper, resulted in a
hung jury. A new trial has been
granted.
Crimes of Malignant Love (Continued from Page 20)
had perpetrated any previous horrors
in the Bay City.
In the dead girl’s flat, there had been
found several books dealing with eti-
quette and “the development of
charm,” a letter of recommendation
from the Latter Day Saints Hospital in
Idaho Falls, Idaho; receipts for fees
from a business college and an em-
ployment agency, both in San Fran-
cisco, and letters from home town
friends. Dorothy Edmonds, dietitian at
the Idaho hospital, had written to her
several times.
Summoned to identify the body, Miss
Edmonds came by plane. She said that
Blanche had been a bookkeeper at the
Mormon institution for seven years, the
only job she had ever held. The move
to San Francisco had been in the hope
of fitting herself for a better salary and
a larger life. Her age had been 24.
“She was one of the loneliest girls
in the world,” the dietitian commented.
“She never had many dates. She didn’t
seem to care for men. Whenever we
went out on a party, we’d have to get
her a man. We were amazed when
she wrote us that she was enjoying
herself immensely here, and that it was
a case of ‘we.’ I asked her to tell me
about the boy friend, but she didn’t
answer.”
Working on the angle of Walter’s
record, Inspector George Engler, who
had been present when he confessed
over Blanche’s body, was struck by the
strange similarity between that crime
and a recent unsolved mystery.
On the night of May 13, 1934, the
body of a red-haired girl had been dis-
covered in Golden Gate Park, San
Francisco. She had been raped and
strangled with the belt from her coat.
Engler had established that she was
Louise Jeppesen, 23, of Ogden, Utah,
that she had arrived by bus a few days
before, that she had no friends in the
city, yet had been seen in the company
of a good-looking blond young man.
Like Miss Cousins, she had come to
the Coast in search of work.
“Were you in San Francisco in May,
1934?” Engler demanded of Walter.
The prisoner reflected, answered
“Yes,”
“Did you ever know a girl named
Louise Jeppesen?”
Walter laughed mirthlessly. “I know
what you’re driving at. I remember
reading about that murder. No, I had
nothing to do with it. Isn’t one murder
enough for you?”
48
“Well, what was your address when
Louise Jeppesen was killed?”
“Alcatraz military disciplinary bar-
racks. I was in jail.”
Engler checked and learned that
Walter had been released from Alca-
traz on July 26, 1933. “You’re a liar,”
he told the prisoner grimly. “You’d
been free ten months at the time of
the Jeppesen business. It happened in
May, 1934, and you said you were here
then.”
“I had a lapse of memory about the
dates,” replied Walter, closing his eyes.
NABLE to prove anything, Engler
dropped the matter.
Suddenly, however, a new accuser
came forward. He identified Walter
as an ingrate and robber. This man
was Harold L. Blum, a prosperous San
Francisco importer. One night in De-
cember, 1934, he said, he had been
touched by a sob-story told him by a
drifter whom he had taken to his
apartment. They had been indoors
only a few minutes when the guest
seized a flatiron from the kitchen stove,
felled him with a blow on the head
and decamped, after relieving him of
a gold watch and cash. He had recog-
nized Albert Walter from newspaper
photographs as his assailant. At Police
Headquarters, he unhesitatingly picked
the murderer from a lineup.
The demented creature seemed
wholly sincere in his eagerness to be
executed. He tried to plead guilty in
Municipal Court two days after the
murder of Blanche Cousins, and flew
into a rage when Judge Daniel S.
O’Brien changed the plea to “not guilty
by reason of insanity,” and assigned
Public Defender Gerald J. Kenny to
represent him at the trial set for
July 1.
On different occasions, Walter said:
“When my mind is made up, it is
made up. They can set up any sort of
technical defense they wish, but the
jury will get the idea from my atti-
tude...
“I have tried to end my life two or
three times, but found I didn’t have
the nerve to go through with it. I’m
going to let the State do it for me...
-“You ought to help me to die. Re-
member, I killed Blanche Cousins be-
cause she was a good girl, because she
resisted me. Her virtuous attitude was
what-drove me crazy with anger. If
she hadn’t. been a good. girl, she’d be
alive today... .
“Hatred of women kept cropping up
in me, even though I couldn't stay
away from them. From my point of
view, this thing that’s happened is for
the best. I’ll be hanged arid be forgot-
ten.”
When he came before Judge Lile T.
Jacks in Superior Court, Walter
promptly shouted, “I plead guilty!”
“This court cannot risk sending an
insane man to the gallows. His own
wishes have nothing to do with it,” his
defender argued imperturbably. “If he
is really insane—and I can’t believe,
after watching him fer hours, that he
is in his right mind—he cannot hang.”
Judge Jacks ruled that this was the
proper legal attitude, appointed alien-
ists and ordered the trial to proceed.
Walter’s wife and father appeared
as witnesses for him. He told them
coolly: “I didn’t want you to come.
Now that you’re here, I’m glad of it,
though you can’t do anything to help
me. ” bs
Because of the defendant’s attitude,
the trial was a perfunctory ritual. The
alienists, of course, contributed impor-
tant testimony, and that was about all.
Doctor Frank Sheehy for the prose-
cution aptly described Walter as a per-
son with “bad heredity, a bad start in
life, precocious sexuality, growing up
to be a common, ordinary thief, a no-
mad traveling around the country to
find persons sexually abnormal like
himself—a person falling in a class
with hoboes, tramps and prostitutes,
but not insane.”
For the defense, Doctor Mervyn
Hirschfeld began by hedging. He said
that it was impossible to determine at
the moment whether the prisoner was
sane or insane.
“Let it go at that,” yelled Walter to
his attorney. “I don’t want to hear any
more.”
Hirschfeld went on to describe Wal-
ter as “a psychopath with psychotic
tendencies,” and Walter laughed loud-
ly at what he considered a pedantic
phrase.
So Albert Walter, Junior, got his
wish. The jury of eight men and four
women found him guilty of murder on
the second day of the trial, and he
was given the death sentence.
“I only want to die as soon as pos-
sible,” he declared stolidly, as jailers
led him to a cell. In San Quentin, he
refused to the end to make a truly
clarifying statement.
It is deplorable that the syphilitic
aspect of Walter’s pathology was not
emphasized in court. It explained
everything, yet the prosecution was
content to mention the disease as proof
of his moral depravity, and to state
that the latest medical examination
had failed to reveal active symptoms.
The truth is—if we are to believe the
prisoner’s story, in which his father
concurred—that contracting syphilis
was about the least depraved act of
Walter’s life. He was victimized at the
age of fourteen. And the negative state
of the malady in 1936 did not eliminate
syphilis as a factor in the murder of
Blanche Cousins. The-harm had al-
ready been done to the killer’s brain.
We need a scientific attitude on the
part of law-enforcement agencies, as
well as complete candor in discussing
the venereal diseases, or the fight will
never be won. Encouraging progress
has been made in the past year.
At the general convention of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, for ex-
ample, held in Cincinnati last October,
the House of Deputies, or lay body,
passed: a strong resolution endorsing
the campaign against syphilis now be-
ing conducted and urging church peo-
ple to help disseminate information on
the subject. The House of Bishops gave
its approval, but balked at agreeing
with the Deputies in a resolution to
require medical certificates from cou-
ples showing freedom from venereal
disease before they can be married.
I cannot imagine any of the more
conservative church bodies deciding,
even five years ago, to disseminate in-
formation on syphilis and gonorrhea.
In Massachusetts, the Public Health
Department was granted extraordinary
powers at the last session of the Legis-
lature. The State had long had a pro-
gressive policy and had kept statistics.
But as a result of the new type of war-
fare it was possible to report in a few
months that syphilis had been beaten
back. There had been a 70 percent
reduction, over the figures of fifteen
years before, in the infection of preg-
nant women; a 30 percent reduction in
admissions to clinics; a 30 percent
reduction in the prevalence of “early
syphilis.”
The Albert Walter variety of sinister
murder will continue to occur until the .
United States listens to such men as
General Pershing, General Johnson
and Surgeon General Parran.
For more pictures with this story see
Pages 49 and 51.
ADM
LER JR.
Pachairman
fa pregame fea-
fart in the half-
at lat at least a
mbering more;
Ss ool’ musielene!
@itter in colorful
q night. Dazzling ;
SAV drum majors;
marching team
iv Shrine Club,
» just a part of
a@sident of the
Club, has
uittee con-
Hunter, -gen-
Jarold Taber;}
Pabairman: Jack
Ay: Emil Reed,
ee sper, — officials
Stramler Jr.,
sam, grounds;
transportation:
@aishers; Hayes
=; Roy Foster;
d, concessions; |'
bakers’ bureau,
awards.
Potato Bowl!been ‘
apidly accord-
1 headquarters
ere they may
‘ations can be
ig FA 4-4454.
of the annual
ghlights of the
ty. go to the
children and
spital for Crip-
Los Angeles,
‘n youngsters
celving treat-
~ 1ents,
UNCIL
safety parley
ncil’s. ‘Safety
size gray bull
FROM REGEN PAGE
ne borrewed a revolv er that fate-
ful Aug. 18 night and went to the,
Parrig home in Tamont where,
his estranged wife had been stay-
Ing since thelr separation early
this year, | ag
}
¥: atal Shots
Thwarted when Bobbie ran
from) the house and hid, Ward:
fired | point blank into the heads :
of Mrs. Parris. and
Brenda way’ holding the Ward's.
two- yeur- old son,
she fell mortally wounded.
hoy 'slipped from her dying grip
to the ground but was .unhurt.
GAS CHAMBER |
Aeiusing his mother-in-law of
Interfering with hig domestic re
lations, Ward was quoted in the.
psychiatrist's report as saying.
Whatnick
| ntrigues
Observers
ot fore?
ew,
epee thal UO et
te) Talae.
Ap fi)
Any, hisine «
in the pr
rn ee
Senter. |
peel
+
Le)
terday, Dist Atty. Kit
who successfully prosecuted w hat jof trying the case under the new!
is believed. to be the first. trial tFin-l law which went into effect
under the state’s' new 3-in-] mur-iSept: 11, three weeks after the.
der trial law, introduced’ as his‘ ‘commission of the crime.
only witness, Dr. Antonio‘Perelli-{ Should the state Supreme Court!
iMinettl, one of tWo- psychiatrists | affirm the conviction, if becomes
appointed by the court to ex-{/incumbent’ upon Judge Gordon
amine Ward prior to the trial. jHowden to fix the date of execu-
His testimony indicated that tion, that date being not less than!
while Ward might have been mal-(|60 day's and not more than 90 days:
adjusted, he was not insane and;@fter notification that the een
Bakersfield sin gus wens were chairman at’ FE
“They asked for it, they got it,’ intrigued todas ter oa “What- ,dio station-at
they: pushed me to ft.” ; nick” which was observed ‘on. - suena
the surface. of the sun nefdre
While on the stand, Ward in| the surface of thes A
pr BOOT. - fate uP 4
“Sisted \he” couldn't recall firing Tie. Bakerstield iCalitornian
‘the revolver, his ade: ree: a received. several vatis from
> af La
confession, or even. being in jai Ly chipluata’ olsbes ere fet seer 0
‘that night following.the shogting. : ny
Brenda. | . a.m, aad hoon :
ve ne Fee ssihe ged Tesh eet The “Whatnick “ edie (i: Ti '
n 2ateny « ¢ tp
terday, Judge Howden announce ed’ seen thruugn a darkened glass | ¢. er i:
a % f
. % f i H he ay. ula
bate sy Boe, ne CR ike ah mole ere aa or fi) umn newer VAS Fused a4 a that Jes e oa
4 rial by the defense counselors at gee ia a gah
=| 9:15 am Monday. Considered: dopmahs to osce kihetiig ef as a datk nas Ss: Raed a
fe } Spot on ibe lower Fight of the tthe Oet. 19
routine legal procedure, the: ieeh : me \ Fiche Tow Ls
a" . 8 . at, *% $F S>,
During the ‘sanity hearing: yes- ition will be based on Statutory} According to 1 he raggveliie Ore United
Nelson, |#rounds, and namely the legality’ P Se
t
Lav son We
Sputnik wax nut dive over Bak- ‘he went to t-§
u ' ersfield at the time of the sight- | Jannicter, pe
ings. N. A. Pananides, instruc- during a pos’
, tor-of astronomy at Bakerstield Herndon re-
i leased wire services the Russia
is
, Cobege. was preparing to it- (3: gest om inf
; vestigate the reports with «he tnoching of th
| college's Ginch telescope. Pan- jhe -adm:tted
anides said that jast month ISt ‘robbery. Late ®
‘SUD STARS occouured and 110 ‘deniy switche E
‘in Juis.: He pointer? out that a j mitted he fir
new sun spot i began last }Lawsen, Hern
PAGEwas |
Was capable of cheek pean
from wrong. Saar eee
“ Defense Witness SEM
‘Court appointed defense: attor-
neys Robert Farrell and J. Rich-
ard Thomas called only one wit-
ness dn the final hearing. The. wit-
ness, J. C. Reynor, employed at
the Smoke House Cafe: in Lamont,
tuld of seeing Ward in that es-:
tablishment not: long before’ the
‘Upset and not himself. ee
ment that. Ward may not have
‘his normal self,” the dis-
trict attorney sald he doubted
that anyone planning to take the
life of another: beeen Appear
normal.) 05
“But we are talking ‘abou: a
deranged mind,’ he told the
jury, “not. just an Upset con-
science.”? -
While deliberate. the: ‘sanity
issue, the jury returned once to
the courtroom to request reading
from the record testimony of
three witnesses who had: been
with Ward about. an ne phe
to the shooting,
At one point, Dist. ‘Atte: ‘Nelson
read Into the record one sentence
taken from a~ report submitted!
by a second examining psychia-
trist, Dr. Alexander ‘Augur, re-
slogan ‘Don’t
shooting and described him as,
* Conceding in his final argu
Was unsuccessful. ey,
New Procedure.
Under the previous murder:
trial procedure, the jury dec ied
Only the guilt or innocence of a
defendant, but by its. failure ta!
recommend leniency, in. effect:
imposed the death penalty. By
law now in: effect. the jury de-
cides in two separate trials ail
or -innoc ence and penalty.
event of an insanity plea, abe,
same. jury determines the de-:
fendant sane or insane
third consecutive trial. oe
Ward is the 14th man fe hs sen-
tenced to death in Kern County |
court history. Of those, only one.
was executed in the gas chamber. |
Nine were hanged and two others ;
ie the |
escaped execution when their sen-!
tences were changed to hfe im-
ETisonment. :
escape the gas chamber and gain!
eventual freedom was W bert’
Baker. 48-year-old Bakersfield!
man who slew hig wife with an
ax. five ‘years ago. He. spent. a
year on death row. before. the
state Supreme, Court reversed
the lower court's verdict and de-
clared him insane... 2-105
Baker. was freed early. this!
month : after authorities at Atas-
cadero’ State Mental Hospital de-}-
clared. his sanity had bees. re-
lating to- Ward's’ reason for: the
slayings, ,
¥ \
stored. | >
t recekt convicted ilier ‘to!
{ a.m, Thursday in the 1800 Pr
year and. that increased num-
: bers of the spots can -be ex- after a mant
pected. He said that the sun-
‘spots occur in uieles. of 114
| years. eh Ute Qe ca ed
Judge Fines
: Driver $250
Leonard Duane “Williams, 124
arth | Bakersiiel dd.)
i
i Woodrow | he RE
;Was. committed to jail yesterday!
: taker’ ‘being found suitw In Bak-
fersfield © municipal. court, on
‘charges of drunk driving and fail-;
sure to have. his operator's card;
tin his possession,
i He was assessed a fine of S230
ior 50 days in jail on the drunk
driving count, and one. day for
Hailure to have the lcense card, ,**
;He ako was assessed the manda-;
jtory state penalty of $13 for the.
,ariver education fund. This fee:
is assessed on the basis of =
for every $20" of fine... ©.
CA. third charge, driving with}
wilful and wanton disregard for)
the safety of others, was dropped
by Judge Dorle Miler. He was!
arrested by city police at 12: oc
fee hd
ea: t
of ist Street . Be: ae Cia a2
FROM ‘PRECEDING PAGE
the robbery, CE
“and shooting
‘Carey Sue.»
tomorow me
i uae
Hidden wash
iCentral Ore: 8
jot Bakersfieid E
captured short
aT. BI
.Servicd
‘Theodore BE
‘ksoan. in Pp
‘Idaho, Utah «
_in a foeal hes
Mr. Nateche:
duce business
‘Watsonville
‘dolph Marke:
gceles in ISTE
affiliated with
eral State” wali ‘
During. the 1
manager ‘for
and Produce
xears was allf
Farms in AE
'Skone Co. in
He was anf
the BPOE. 3
ivived by. hk Be
two bere
t
Services. wip
“is in:
per te; INE W AAKY FAKK KUAS* Floyd Ming, Third District super- access woad. The Hart Park Road. which ist
¥ cor) visor, inspects recently completed bridge on the new Alfred tion, will speed Kern County’s outdoor en
Oe Harrell Highway. Ming is sees on a |Property owners’ area's most popular picnic spot.
Sue to ee i
e KERN PAGEANT Mec
ale Cham er WIS,
ian
Iso
= «Industry Exp Me rine General to Fu
tee nausi ry £X er : unera
| att * t
“eto Speak T | Lead July.4 Fete ‘Set Ss
sazito Speak Toni ;
rt! : ' in- t unera
& oo pyemes Gofourth, one ai Marine Corps Gen. James P, Berkeley will serve and gray
{| . |dustrial deyelopment for the Call-| marshal and guest of honor at Bakersfield’s 1979 4( firey orks ‘Chapel for <
|, |fornia State Chamber of Com-/ pageant, reports Fire Department Capt. oe na -
“sie
-ona-
ifter-
‘sons
cOro-
> un-
ento,
Wile
+e to}
city,
ontry
ison,
Jopment problems. §*.~’:
merce, will address Kern County
industrial leaders this evening at
the Chicken House _ Café: His
topic ‘will concern. ‘practical
methods for , ‘bringing industrial
development to the small cam
nity. The meeting will be fs
at 7 o’clock. Sea ;
Arrangements for the é;
and talk were made by. the
{dustrial Gevelopment depart
lof the Greater Bakersfield Cham-
ber of Commerce. Presidents,
secretaries and. industrial chair-
men of the county’s chambers of
ited to attend.
meeting. is an open one
persons - interested ‘in ph
the work,
In addition to Gofouwth
the meeting will be an'o portu-
nity for chamber industrial lead-
ers to compare notes and discuss
aspects of their respective pro-
grams. The meeting will be the
second quarterly theeting. held
for discussion of ade devel-
‘Bakersfield was selected ;:
site for both sessions dueffto its
geographical convenience epre-
sentatives from Taft, fter,
Wasco, Arvin, Buttonwil Mo-
the Pacific, Gen. Perkeley began
his Career as an cpenied man in
1927. |
- A veteran of sea duty and ex-/
general chairman. _
Staged at Memorial
spectacular display of wehiteaey
in the San Joaquin Valley.
py Now serving as command! ng
peneral for the Depariment of;
ene iste
“GEN. JAMES P. BERKELEY
«+ + Special July 4 guest”
ran
‘Continued on Next
laiascoa on Next Page
Stadium by the |
lief Association, the big pyrotechnic show is reputed to be the most
rsfield Firemen’s Re-°
§3,
‘Bakers field's
school lunch
Tu toa
Cecil Ward
Execution
Tomorrow
‘SAN FRANCISCO UPI -Con-
victed double murderer Cecil
Herman Ward, 25, lost a bid |
Yesterday to avoid: execution |
Friday in the San Quentin gas
chamber,
US. District Judge Louis FE,
Goodman denied a petition for |
rejecting the.
habeas corpus,
Bakersfield man's claim that he
was unconstitutionaly sen-
tenced under terms of a law
Passed after the crime. - —
Ward, an oilfield worker, was
convicted of killing his mother
in-law, | Mrs. Neil Parris, 43,
and her daughter, Brenda, 13,
at the climax of a quarrel wkh
his estranged wife, Bobbie, 21.
‘The law provided for a sepa-
‘Tate jury trial ‘on the issue of
penalty. Judge Goodman said
Continued on Next Page
Haass
she married:
in 1S). Thev &
and
| Paymaster fork
'
murch which
ri Villaeke
r. Murdoc ve
ae the first
,Of Bakersfield
swith Kern Ci
Survivors
Elizabeth; }
Robert Kelton
Bakersfield;
iJohn E. Greerf
{Mrs. ‘Robert
§
'Mrs.: Billy Cc
sm
W outlet stated that a Sep:
tr target date has been set’
Hig hways
“emmning Programs of the’ A number of contracts for road
“Channel 17. will be an First Jury Trial mproversent were’ anproved by
e né ABC Television the Board of Supervisors this
ck, ! pians have been? The first jury to hear a trial week. eae :
ted to give local res: ‘dents in the new Civie Center has or-- The Healy Construction Co:
improved coverage of ban) ‘ed Job E. Hubble and Kath-
| submitted the low bid of $75,260°
-rograms. rine Hubble to pay the Boy
truction of downtown: pul Realty Co. $1,337 as the res
nd Offices . will begin im-|a breached con: ract t6. sell
ely, with temporary. broad. home. ese
rcilit lés to be installed in! The aeman an a six-worn
tel El Tejon. | ;jury received the case from Mu-
nel 17 plans to air ¢ the fo}. nicipal | ‘Judge Doyle Miller - -at
programs. many of 1 Which | +: 30 p.ln, ‘Tuesday and deliber--
seen in this area for the. ated two hours before assessin
‘me locaily: Wednesday damages and co
Fights, 77 Sunset | [ Strip, against the Hubbies.
—-- =—|" The suit filed by John E. Boyd. «
Stun and C. E. Boydstun, realtors,
ra r id n to {charged that Mr. and Mrs. Hubb!
failed to pay them the $1,337 com
Ar a ae ona Property sale involv.
rraigned [see
Friday
| when the Hubbles, the jury con- recom-
Thair: 51. ~ 1410 cluded, sold the property through naw Kina cae low bids
‘St, Delano, will appear another realtor after the buyer ;
ult. of- mond Boulevard. .
‘nelr The Board approved Road Ses
mi issioner Vernon
of Date and Elm streets and Air-
8 bid of $37:000. 2 25
surfacing Campus Drive.
le. for the surfacing of various por-
tions of Country Club Drive. Fern-
‘Camino Real was also abner ey
zie civil. ‘suit involving: three It was for $11,340. ~~
real. estate companies resulted
ence
: T by the J..F. Peterson Co. for
wm. Friday in municipal had already hegotiated with the construction of two pubic build-
for raignment on a: “Boydstun Corset Sings:
of ging Hquor to a). The’ defendants argued that. the
: They were $4.75 for a commu-
here nelsonets are in the! ‘original listing and contract ina one
of officers. the plaintiffs had elapsed. laid - $17 ‘BUS fab “constructions oe
harges grew out at a “a The Boydstuns were repre-
a dining room and kitchen in the
filed by Delano Police: aed ar an Re a Patterson ‘Tehachapi Mountain Park. The
Bs i MacClure that Thair, am
Soe ret sat ' ilast was the lowest of six bids.
rian, furnished wine to:
's in the Delano city jail. FROM PRECEDING PAGE
also faces a misdemeanor
of communicating jvith!- INDUSTRY EXPERT
<% jave,. North Edwards, Bakers-
at 5 one on $500 bail, field, Boron, Randsburg and La-
ill be represented before jmont have indicated they will
al-Court Judge J. D. Jel-‘attend. Approximately 30 persons
¥ Atty. Jack Hourigan. fare expected to attend.
FROM PRECEDING PAGE
CECIL WARD
such ex post facto laws are un-
Constitutional oniy when they
change the Situation to the dis-
advantage of the accused.
W3:un for grading ard. paving Rosa- 4
Smith’s recorn- |
an mendaticn that the Grjffith Co.
be authorized to begin surfacing |
port Road. Their’s was = low
A Nays
mart, COsts Lartos: & Volpal: Tue nee
ee ‘mitted the. contract of $14.750 for
Phoenix Construction Co. bid
ste nile
dale Road, Crestline Drive and.
Public Works Department - Die
nity building in Rexland Acres —
Se ath W
4h, mostiv. ‘inis
@ bopular; because
easily accessible
4 river ahd on
i aaee ae cars, a
ap and ieee
4.2 Aiko ketch
and then despite
ab” of ibe stream
’ ira Nest
iia walked along
-qjappened to cast
ds to a stream
FF he saw a bird
Hind on reels but
nest, It was no
Ht . the haby birds
gence flown, but
Sfilaments about
@his attention and
Gr tree. He was
at he saw.
Hy cut the nest
all branch and
town to show
m, ay The Cali-
; ee ic depart-
gast man on the
@tamera and an
yade a pic-
is nest be-
Wpat an eve and
1 the bird’s nest
| sewhere on this
“Glamor”
ests are a dime
routine run of
nd to. evoke
est a nest must
4a under the hood
“iile, on a street
mailbox, or
that “before a
terested in it.
ay years of news-
a@ihave seen my
agnests and have
Oshed a few my-
et Page
os
“i,
d
$1.72, the Council « es timated.
The Council trimmed another |
$52.000-from the preliminary $10%y | <
million budget figure yesterday
after having sliced $17.,000 from
city department requests Wednes-
day. However, councilmen were
unable to hold to their plan of,
cutting all department» ug pets |
by 10 ee cent. 45
ae
1a Cioees esti-
ie if fhe $1.72 rate is
‘1 at Monday night’s regu-
| Continued on Next Page
Ward Scheduled
0 Die Today
at San Quentin
2 BULLETIN
SAN QUENTIN (UPI)—Cecil
Herman Ward, 25, Bakersfield
double-slayer, went quietly to
his death in the San Quentin gas"
chamber today. He was pro-
nounced dead at 10: 13 a.m.
(PDT).
SAN QUENTIN ae Vine
series of appeals apparently had
e.ded: for Cecil H. Ward, 26,
whose execution in San Quentin
Prison’s gas chamber Was. set
for 10 a.m. today. |
The one-time Bakersfield oil
well worker and truck driver was
given two death sentences for
einer nebetsihs tgp: sanpecnecinisehs
th: Aug. 19, 1957, pistol slaying| §
of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Nell
Parris, 438, and her “daughter,
Brenda, 13.
Gov. Brown Thursday night re-
fused to commute Ward’s sen-' §
tences.
The shooting took place at La-
Continued on Next Page
age PP ante, ba wa
PBurning wreckage of truck and car in n fo
sullding
tudying V
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72 Accert No Sunsriturss!
ce es, ‘
Py Wa SY per ve
ARSE a: jh
fitted the bulletin description of J. H.
Watts, Tally said.
San Francisco officers were spurred in
the hunt for the murderer by this report.
Two of them, Detective Sergeants H. C.
Kalmbach and G. H. Richards, were as-
signed to post office duty. In plain
clothes they loitered about the lobby
watching for suspects for one thing and
another. Into their hands came the cir-
cular about Watts, alias Hey, alias
Cregar. Almost as strange as other
phases of the case was this unique de-
velopment. Glancing up from the circular
they had just received in bulletin form
both officers’ eyes fell upon a person who
answered the description in every par-
ticular. He was standing in line at the
general delivery window.
Casually the two detectives moved
nearer. Up to the window stepped a well
dressed, smooth-faced young mran, De-
spite an air of unconcern his eyes shifted
nervously,
“Any mail for James Cregar?” he
asked,
Bott officers heard. The window
clerk glanced through the “C” box
and tossed out a letter. Cregar picked
up the letter and started out. The two
detectives swung into stride on either side.
“You are under arrest,” they informed
him as they ange him into a waiting
police car. he suspect maintained a
stony, sullen silence.. At headquarters he
still had nothing to say. Persistent ques-
tioning and cross examination elicited no
information from the stubborn prisoner.
He would admit nothing, not even that his
name was Cregar.
“We don’t think you are Cregar at all,
we think you are J. H. Watts,” Detective
Richards told the man,
’ There was no answer,
“Ever hear of Wilfred Hey?” the officer
shot at him.
Unconsciously the man’s head moved.
“Oh you did eh? When did you see
him last?”
There was no answer.
The next day Sheriff Shay arrived in
San Francisco to take over the prisoner.
Back at San Bernardino legal machinery
moved swiftly.
But with the arrest of J. H. Watts, alias
Cregar, alias Hey, the work of the sheriff
was far fromdone, Before the case could
go to trial much evidence had to be put
in shape for presentation. Samples of
sand taken from the spot where the dead
man’s head had lain and blood had soaked
the ground, were submitted to Professor
Samuel Levin, graduate of the New
Russian Imperial University and director
of the Pacific Wasserman laboratories.
He checked the sand for human blood.
Checks written by the suspect and
signed “Wilfred Hey” were taken along
with the register sheet from the Ogden
Hotel and bank signature records of the
Detroit bank, to J. Clark Sellers, Los
Angeles handwriting expert, who is today
one of the leading experts in his field in
the world and who has been a star wit-
ness in a score of sensational cases during
the past decade,
Watts remained surly during the prep-
arations for the trial. He admitted that
his true name was J. H. Watts, however.
It was the only admission he ever made.
While Watts was being held in the San
Bernardino jail officers still were looking
for his brother, R. W. Watts. He was
located in Los Angeles and arrested on a
charge of grand larceny. Evidence un-
earthed by the tireless Sheriff was so con-
vincing that a jury deliberated only a few
moments in finding him guilty of aiding
his brother in the fraud practiced when
he (J. H. Watts) stole the identity of
Wilfred Hey, the man he had murdered.
R. W. Watts was sentenced to San Quen-
tin state prison. Later he was returned
and proved a valuable prosecution wit-
ness against his brother, J. H. Watts.
The trial hinged largely on circum-
stantial evidence and drew much at-
tention when it opened in the old San
Bernardino courthouse. Both Sellers and
Prof, Levin gave conclusive evidence in
the case. Sellers’ testimony proved with-
out a doubt that J. H. Watts had been the
writer of checks written on the Los An-
geles bank and signed with the name of
Wilfred Hey. Symonds and Stanton, of
the Bank of Italy, also identified J. H.
Watts as the man who had posed as Hey.
Mrs. Forrest, the Detroit landlady, came
all the way to California to give her testi-
mony in the case proving that J. H. Watts
and Hey left together in an automobile.
Utah officials were called to show the men
‘were companions while yet in Utah.
Then a surprise witness took the stand.
He was B. Harrod, Bakersfield insurance
broker who told of meeting J. H. Watts
at Silver Lake not far from where the
murder was committed. He said that
Watts had remarked that he was “riding
with a dead one.” The remark’s sinister
significance did not come to him until he
read of the murder in the vicinity later,
he said. He established that the men
by together as late as November 25,
1924,
But by far the most damaging witness
of all for J. H. Watts was that of his
own brother, brought from San Quentin
to testify. Before a tense and crowded
court room the man who had vouched for
the signature of “Wilfred Hey,” at the
Bank of America in Los Angeles, told the
court that his brother had adopted the
nanie of Wilfred Hey because he had been
in domestic difficulties in the east. If
anything had been lacking to convince
the jury of the guilt of the defendant, it
was removed,
ATTS refused to take the stand in
his own behalf and sat sullenly
throughout the trial. The jury deliberated
only a few minutes and returned a ver-
dict which found “J. H. Watts guilty of
murder as charged.” There was no rec-
ommendation for sentence,
The verdict with, its accompaning sen-
tence of death by hanging, failed to move
the stolid Watts. Without emotion he
accosted his brother on his return to a
cell. His only comment was, “Well, they
gave me the rope.”
Despite the pleas of his corps of law-
yers, the verdict which sealed Watts’
fate stood, and the lengthy decision
written into the records was concurred
in by Justices William H..Waste, John
W. Shenk, Jessie W. Curtis, Emmet
Seawall and John E, Richards. A new
trial was denied,
The final chapter of Southern Cali-
fornia’s so called “perfect murder” and
the most outstanding circumstantial evi-
dence case on the state record books was
written Friday, October 15, 1926, more
than a year and a half after the murder
of Wilfred Hey on a lonely desert road.
Joseph H. Watts, the man who was led
to justice by a tiny scrap of paper bearing
five words, a dollar sign and four numer-
als, walked up the thirteen steps of the
gallows at San Quentin prison.
Atways Insist on THE ApvERTISED Branp!
bank in Sala, withd
placed the money. ins
off for the quarry abo
town. As had been h
he rode a bicycle and
thought of robbery
occurred to him, for
ever been committed
This was Sweden,
Chicago.
- Peterson wheeled
bright sunshine, nc
tances, He had cov
distance when the in
Several persons in
had just passed saw t\
automobile and drag
bicycle, Although tz
awares, Peterson {
clinging to his preci:
the onlookers could «
heard four shots.
The holdup car dr
neck speed. Peterso
the side of the road.
He was carried in
placed upon an oper
One bullet had _ ri;
stomach. He hover:
death as the news o
over the country—a c
the entire history o
holm’s most influen
The Aftonbladet, ran
ried the headline, “
Murder Is Model for
ETERSON, his li
given a blood tran
period of consciousn
tell something of wha
information was mea
say that his assailant
and that he would su:
were he to see them a
But soon he lapsed
died the following m«
“I have just receiv
bullets extracted from
trict attorney conclud«
from a 6.35 millimeter
Fantastic indeed sec
all these crimes, ru
period of almost six
been committed by th:
had they been able too
out detection? Surely
had remarked, this bar
be directed by an unus
mind, The absence
time, not only in the
minor crimes attribute
hardly be set down as
With the death of
thorities immediately
2,000 crowns, and Sti
by the Stockholm offi
of tracking down the
bined efforts were tc
of the most amazing
history of crime.
Witnesses to the f:
ready furnished sever
thing, two of the robb
white or light gray ca:
mechanics’ overalls,
Sa
By BRADFORD JONES ©
OHN SYKES’ overloaded truck
groaned and. spluttered across
the sun-baked California desert.
It was the day after Christmas,
but the Sykes family was’ too
excited with the prospect of living in
a new home to think back upon the
holiday. f
Wide-eyed with adventure, 11-
year-old Lonnie Sykes perched high
on a pyramid of swaying furniture in
the rear of the truck, his eager glance
absorbin every detail,: from the
smoky blue mountains chaining the
horizon to the purple sagebrush fring- -
ing the side of the road.
Suddenly, his eyes
welled with fear. Hor-
ror contorted the youth-
ful face. “Papa!” he
screamed. ‘Papa!” The
truck rumbled to a slow
stop and John Sykes’
head poked through the
cab window. “What’s the
matter now?”’
Lonnie pointed into the
desert at his right. The
words burbled in his
throat. “There’s a man
out there—a dead man.”
Sykes snorted. “You
and your daydreams. If I
have to stop this truck
once more because of
your silly notions, Pll
warm the seat of your
pants.” He ducked back
into the cab and the
gearshift ground tor-
turedly into first.
_As the truck began to
roll, the youngster broke
into a shrill wail. The
truck jerked, then
stalled. John Sykes
climbed out wearily.
The boy began to
whimper. “Honestly, Pop,
I wouldn’t fool you—I
did see a dead man out
there.” Sykes studied the
boy intently a moment,
then swung himself up
on the truck and peered
out into the desert. His
jaw dropped in astonish-
ment. A hundred yards
away stood a clump of
cactus. From behind one
end protruded the lower
portion of a man’s
clothed body.
“Stay where you are!”
he warned Lonnie... He
jumped to the ground
and ran to the body. d
It was fully clothed, from tan mili-
tary shoes to blue-serge suit, and
looked quite like an ordinary corpse,
except for one thing—coyotes. had
eaten away the face. All that. was left
was a grinning skull.
Sykes shuddered, then wheeled and
hurried back to his truck. He looked
up at Lonnie and his eyes grew soft.
“Want to ride up front with me and
your ma?” The boy nodded and
ay Hg down from the pile of furni-
ure. : :
“It’s about 29 miles to Silver Lake,
the nearest town,” Sykes said, climb-
ing into the truck cab. He let out the ~
clutch and the truck picked up speed.
After hearing Syke’s story, Silver
‘Waters,
. The : killer found
‘, tough to pas
‘when you
_ dental work. The
Lake’s deputy sheriff, Julius Meyer,.
wired Sheriff Walter Shay at San
Bernardino. Neither Shay nor Meyer |
_considered this more than a formality.
“San Berdoo,” the county seat, is over
100 miles from Silver Lake, and for
every practical purpose, the deputy
reign as undisputed law-enforce-
ment officer in his area.
Next, Meyer got hold of -Emmett
Silver’ Lake’s undertaker.
“Better bring along a coffin and
shovels, Emmett. It’s a rare day when
anyone claims a body found in the
desert. We usually bury ’em right on
the spot,’ ot :
An hour later the officials parked
their car and approached the body.
out the hard
- Waters stooped to examine the sun-
bleached. skull. “The coyotes sure
picked this one clean.” He leaned
closer, then pointed at the skull. Two
long, jagged fractures had crushed the
glistening bone at the crown and rear.
Meyer whistled softly. ‘This man’s
been murdered!”
As they examined the body, the
deputy .sheriff penciled a few notes.
The man -had stood about five feet
three, and judging from the little
flesh the coyotes had left, had weighed
about 115 pounds. came ay for a gold
crown on the canine tooth in his upper
right jaw, his mouth contained no
é present condition
of his teeth and blue-serge suit indi-
-said, and quick]
way that it’s
oneself off as an Englishman
‘Spea with a soft Texas drawl
cated that he had been dead about a
month.
Meyer ran deft hands through the
dead man’s pockets and examined the
‘lining of his coat. All identification
marks had been removed.
When the grave had been dug, the
two men gingerly lifted the body into
the plain wood coffin and prepared
to close the lid.
“Once more just to be sure,” Meyer
searched the pockets -
again. He could find nothing. As he
pa Fem gp up, he spotted. the ser-
rated, silver-plate watch stem pro-
truding from a pocket directly below
Waters’ belt. He reached down and
fumbled along the dead man’s belt
to a watch pocket hidden
among the folds of the
trousers. His fingers
probed deep into the
pocket and pulled out a
slip of folded paper. It
was a note, scrawled in
indelible pencil. He read
it aloud:
“Telegraph bank_bal-
ance on account. Waive
identification. Will write
regarding sale of British
war bonds and transfer
of money when I reach
destination.” It was un-
signed.
“From its terse word-
ing,” Waters commented,
“T’d say that this was the
_ preliminary: draft of a
telegram. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t reveal the wri-
ter’s name or the desti-
nation of the telegram.”
Meyer studied it a mo-
ment, then repeated the
phrase, “ ‘When I reach
destination.’ ’'d say that
meant that the writer—
probably the murdered
man—was taking a long
2 al He and_ his
iller must have been
traveling by car, which
means that immediately
after the slaying . the
_murderer got as far away
» from here as he could.
“Tll make an investi-
gation around Silver
Lake, but I don’t expect
it to do much good—this
is a job for the sheriff.”
Waters shrugged his
shoulders. ‘‘Let’s get the
burial. over.”
ie
ACK in Silver Lake,
Meyer wrote and
mailed the sheriff a
report. He enclosed the
note in. the same envelope. He then
began his own murder investigation.
The deputy knew every inhabitant
of the desert village, and there wasn’t
one he considered capable of murder.
In order to discover whether any sus-
picious characters had passed through
about the time of the killing, he
visited every house and store in town
without success. Finally he reached
Jud Gray’s filling station, the last
building at the edge of town before
the highway plunged straight as a
plumb line into the vast nothingness
of the desert.
“Can’t say that I recollect anyone
suspicious,’ Jud answered his ques-
tion. “Now that you mention it
‘
~~.
t
’
| the startling information that Watts had urchase is fictitious. There is no such ,
ye eae been “down and out” when he had been eg Now why do you suppose he did YOU MUST HAVE
tion ob- picked up late in September by. Hey. The that?” : . A CAST-IRON
returned two had shared Hey’s room and Hey had Sheriff Shay had a good idea about it, STOMACH TO
he wires aid Watts’ bills until they decided to but he didn’t want to say so yet. He re- EAT THE
Through eave for California. Hey had urchased mained silent. Weeks had sped by since Ss RICH FOODS
: the De- the automobile in which they eft. The the body was discovered and little had you DO.
tarted a decision to motor west was reached late been learned except that the body had *
ien, Hey in October, Mrs. Forrest recalled. After been identified tentatively as that of Wil-
they left, she said she had heard from fred Hey. But now there was some doubt \, NOT AT ALL.! EAT
came in- them once when Watts wrote her a card about that point, Bank records showed THINGS 1 LIKE.
+ link in from Chicago. that Wilfred Hey was still doing business I THEN IF t GET. ACID
is slowly With the Los Angeles angles now be- with the instituiion at Los Angeles. The } iNDIGESTION,! CHEW
per clue. fore him, Sheriff Shay started work near whole case might yet go down in history 4 TUMS AND THEY
that Wil- home once again, He and his officershad along with hundreds of other unsolved FIX ME UP QUICK.
k account ve the threats ot ponies eer -~ ae in Oe eh ting,” S - i ’
troi i United States and back. Indeed, ? € ‘Yes, it certainly is puzzling, Syme 4
eek bond i ir included the oe mused. '} does — wares =. Watts HERE’S PROVED RELIEF
icon, wh crossed the At antic ocean to ngland. could shed any lig on the matter— |
mn depert- Going to Los Angeles Sheriff Shay went “Watts? Watts?—Did you say Watts?” FROM ACID INDIGESTION
id owned to the Bank of Italy at Seventh and Olive Sheriff Shay interrupted the bank official nina
— streets, “There he was intra teetieation, Why yes, Ae, R. W. Watts, of Leight BS cctamacine quick raft from indiges
. Symonds, an official e institution, “ es, Mr. R. W. Watts, of Leight- ]
; and Lined from him that Wilfred Hey on bas "He is an old customer here, pra em tae » oe stomach, gas, ant ene
he bank by a has done business with this bank for many g Dy exces Dapodk be se
Watts de- had been recommended at the dane ot as : work on the true basic principle. Act unbeliev
Hey had , client of long standing. After his identity years,” the banker explained. ably fast to neutralize excess acid conditions,
L ey, ” had been established to their satisfaction Sheriff Shay pondered a moment, Acid pains are relieved almost at once. TUM
sate it he had ordered transfer of approximately “Can you give me a description of Wil- contain no laxatives; no harmful drugs, Guare
ih idee el $1,100 from the People’s Bank of Detroit. fred Hey?” he asked. enteed tocontain nosoda.Over174 Dillion
n Septem- : : . already used—proving their amazin benefit.
from banit The money, it was understood had been The banker not only could but did and Try UMS todas. Only 10c for 12 SUMS —
Paci received from the sale of British war once again Sheriff Shay smiled in satis- all druggists. ioc economical relief. Chew like
‘ . ey e bonds. Telegraph fees, transfer charges faction. For the description of Hey given eandy mints. Get a handy 10c roll today, or the
sf M ovieh and other costs had cut the amount from py the banker was not the description three roll economy package with metal corr
a te ca approximately $1,250 to $1,100 it was €x- of the murdered man nor of the Hey de- | tainer for only 25c.
ie Detrdit plained. _ scribed by others, but it was the descrip- HANDY O-ERy
fore he left “Where is Hey living now—does he tion of J. H. Watts! i
which had still do business here?” Sheriff Shay in- Had Hey’s traveling companion, the
raphed for quired. A jnan whom he had befriended, taken into
“Why — is tring on Leighis pain pe] his room and fed sae wren, him? Pgs
at here in Los Ange es,” Symonds rephie this man, J. H. atts, bludgeone is
pete: Wil. and volunteered the information that the friend ides death on the desert and as- PCG Spmucesse for RP iy 0
the desert account was still open. sumed his identity in Los Angeles? It FREE satay 7 hatnapens Hat.
e unknown still seemed almost too fantastic to be tee Send conmnip fee t semana ced postage co
true. rn Ys -B-10, 5% *
n from De- We a hurried “thanks” Sheriff Back to Leighton avenue went Sheriff
med Capt.
h later rec-
Shay took his departure and_went Shay to find Watts. This time he was ;
to the Leighton avenue address, Either looking for R. W. ‘Watts, whom, bank Stat POTATO CHIP
i something was badly wrong or the case officials said, had been a customer of
ak ar was about to “break” the officer thought. theirs for years. , But Watts had moved. BUSINESS
d been re- 4 If Wilfred Hey was the man in 98 Neighbors didn’t know where he had §N YOUR KITCHEN and
- the West. : Angeles then he was not the murder vic- = gone. His brother had arrived to visit MAKE MONEY/
28 had been ; tim. But the end of the long trail was him they recalled, : as be Potent Pay # ly, ake
ver 29, when not to be reached easily. Sheriff Shay switched his activities 3 Nagratond Be a areanee
m Los An’ Arriving at the address Sheriff Shay from the bank to the post office, From B5e at Wo. ideal. business for
ney sent to found no one at home. Inquiries among ee authorities he learned that R. W. Time. gman invariant buys
reles. After nearby neighbors failed to reveal anyone atts who had resided several years in Pater Pah ol haw Men you now tor make
ed from the q who knew Wilfred Hey. | Leighton avenue and a J. H. Watts, a | profit nrst Beta Ml tera eepiceh tc o th terme
-y had been Returning to the bank the sheriff, with new arrival in the city, had on December "tome Business O ppartunity, Feed Display Machine Corp.s
ficials said. Symonds’ aid, started a systematic check 8, left a change of address directing all
ted by Sher- of the Hey account. Bank officials were mail to Lancaster, Pa.
rew a doubt eager to assist the officers in untangling Pp y. NT
victim. Ac- q the strange murder. Bank records re- Other men have read and profited b
ig the man- ‘ vealed that a week after Hey had de- M ORE and more clearly the mass of Pa cy RL el Erosestiens. | Deny,
ie desert had - posited the money in the bank he had circumstantial evidence pointed to tore and illustrates important Pcchgnicad
If this were withdrawn $900 to purchase a servic€ the murder of Hey by ae, 8 Watts. principles. With book we,als0, sens | free
-e been mur- ‘tation on Western avenue, The $900 Sheriff Shay returned to San Bernardino, | service reasonable fees. deferred, payments, thirty-nine
- been in Los ; withdrawal had been made on December Checked and rechecked all his evidence eo Victor Je Evane fo. Tetased Fatone 7
fornia sheriff 7, Then a check was discovered made and then decided to issue a murder war- cys, 24-B Victor Building, Washington, D. C-
| of evidence out to H. U. Thomas in the amount of rant for J. H. W tts’ arrest.
+h it pointed. $3.20. The check had been cashed at With this step, one of the greatest gen- TRAIN
Detroit once Carruthers, a small town near Fresno and eral: man-hunts in the state was launched. FOR
ra check on more than 200 miles north of Los Aid of the motor vehicle department was
Again the Angeles. ; enlisted in an effort to trace the automo-
rming in the ~ “Say, this is rather funny, don’t you bile which Hey and Watts had driven. i
onfirmed and think?” Symonds said. “Here Hey draws Descriptions of both J. H. and R. W. Pictarensas atom, Wigston
-ircumstantial $900 out of his account to purchase a ser- Watts were broadcast. All officers along ores ater See as
Capt. Fox re- vice station here and two days later is the California coast and in inland cities a “Bena Rar Bier ble. Pace hae io" and TELE
4 at an apart- writing checks near Fresno.” were asked to keep a close watch, for Vain Se eceeeenee ee
t operated by Sheriff Shay agreed that it was strange. checks signed by “Wilfred Hey.” Aid of 1H. C. LEWIS; President, adio
iestioned, she Just then a bank clerk appeared with an- bankers ‘was solicited. ‘Bulletins were #500 S, Paulina St., Dept. 28-9C,Chicago, Tit,
a description ‘other notation on the Hey account. sent to all points. ; 5 Dear Mr, Lewisr your Special rig Bree Hoe ;
: with that of Symonds gave a gasp of astonishment, Then another “break” came in the case. i about yous “Pay ‘fev Graduation” Plan.
fojave desert. “This thing is certainly getting to bea From San Francisco came the report that ‘
stion of Watts puzzle,” he declared, his brow wrinkled James A. Tally, manager of the Pacific beans nni drseninnrndstigeihne eS
given Sheriff Vi thought. “Why, here is a report which Coast Club, exclusive organization, had | 4 Address....+++++++ secccsscccccccescecseooasess
hoden, at Og- shows definitely that the address given casheda check made out to James Cregar : Chek ever ites pe aay Wanbr case
. Forrest came us on the service station Hey planned to and signed by “Wilfred Hey.” Cregar 4 -
Wun ANSweRine ADVERTISEMENTS, PLEASE Mention Fenruary STARTLING Detective’ ADVENTURES 71
>
K
tA
Cc,
.@]
~”
eph H., white, hanged CA (San Bernardino)
WOMAN IN GASE—
She sat in car while two men walked into
the desert to settle their bitter feud:
The conclusion was the body at the right.
UNCENSORED DETECTIVE, October, 1949
October 15, 1926
base
excited
a new
holiday
Wide
year-ol
on a p’
the rea
absorb!
smoky
horizor
ing the
Su
welled
ror co
ful f
scream
truck
tzu c
stallec
climb:
exce]
eaten
was
Sy!
hurri
up at
“War
your
jumr
ture.
“Tt
the 1
ing i
clutc
Af
pore
hhever been acknowleged, and Hey’s
he drew out the proceeds, amounting
to $3,000, and skipped town.”
“How do you know that it wasn’t
Hey?”
“According to the teller who let him
have the money, the man had a dis-
tinct Southern drawl.”
“Why did the bank let him have
the money?”
“They didn’t know that Hey was an
Englishman. In addition, he not only
had all of Hey’s identification papers,
but was identified as Wilfred Hey by
one of the bank’s regular customers,
a fellow named Joe Barnes.
“It looks like a carefully planned
job,” Lloyd continued. “I went to the
roominghouse where the men had been
living, together with a woman they
called Mrs. Hey. The couple, along
with Barnes, had checked out the same
day they drew the money from the
bank. The landlady said that the
Heys had arrived from the East on
December 1; Barnes had been living
there several months.”
Shay asked, “Do you think that the
man who now calls himself Wilfred
Hey is George Smithers?”
“I believe so. According to reports
he’s about the same height as Hey and
Smithers. I also checked up on Joe
Barnes. Strangely, he’s a Southerner,
too; drove a laundry truck. His em-
ployers said he’d been steady and re-
liable, although he’d only worked for
them a few months.
“Soon after Barnes and the couple
skipped Los Angeles,” Lloyd contin-
ued, “Barnes cashed a check at a
bank in Carruthers, closing out his
account at the Bank of Italy.’ The
teller who cashed it said that he was
accompanied by a little man who als,
talked with a Southern drawl. He sai
he noticed that the two of them drove
away in a new Ford automobile.”
“That means they’ve either sold the
Overland or wrecked it,” Shay said.
He then requested Lloyd to search all
junkyards and secondhand car lots in
Los Angeles for a red-bodied Over-
land with yellow wheels. He realized
that regardless of what alias Smithers
or Hey might be using, the name on
his driver’s license and owner’s cer-
tificate must be the same for both
cars; unless, of course, the suspect had
stolen or fraudulently secured another
set of papers.
HAY had checked with the Michigan
S Motor Vehicle -Bureau. While
George Smithers had registered
his car under that name, Shay believed
it to be an alias. He believed, how-
ever, that. it would be easier to trace
and identify him through the con-
spicuously painted Overland than
through the new Ford.
He believed that the suspect had
purchased the Ford ne agg just
as he had the Overland. He appeared
too shrewd to jeopardize his freedom
by driving a stolen car. As a pre-.
caution, however, Shay sent out a
state-wide alarm requesting a report
on any new Ford that had been stolen.
He also asked police to search all car
lots and junkyards for the Overland.
The sheriff now received a letter
from Wilfred Hey’s brother-in-law,
Edward Davies of Warrington, Eng-
land. Davies wrote that he had cabled
85 pounds to Hey on October 22, and
an additional 267 pounds on October
31. Receipt of the last amount had
family had only heard from him once
since then. He had written from Salt
Lake City that he was driving to
California with his roommate, George °
Smithers,
Smithers, Hey had written his fam-
ily, was an American who had ‘served
in the famous Canadian Black Watch
Regiment during the war. Hey had
also served in the British Army, and
this mutual experience had drawn
them together when they met in
Detroit.
Davies ‘said that his brother-in-law
had never mentioned the woman
named Beverly. He added that Hey
stood five feet three inches tall,
weighed 8 stone three pounds (115
pounds), and wore a gold crown on
the incisor tooth in his upper right
jaw. He-enclosed a snapshot of the
Englishman.
Davies’ mention of the gold crown
almost convinced Shay that Hey was
the corpse in the desert. He immedi-
ately forwarded a copy of the photo
to Lloyd, then wrote the Minister of
National Defense at Ottawa, Canada,
requesting a list of all Americans who
had served in the Black Watch
3 eaclosed Kerein have been asigaed to the ad .
pused on Motor Vehicle indicated in description belo
‘other, for the period ending January 31, 1925.
BE IN PLAIN SIGHT IN DRIVER’S COMPARTMENT
54 - es
ENTAL HOTEL
SCO.
"Cfo CONTIN
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tneweserrecnnw eee ere
194.598
Enctng No..
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FORGERY—
A copy of the killer’s fraudulent auto
‘BACK EIG FINA NCE CO doe
AOU OM
i tal tte eb a
VICTIM’S LAST RIDE—
After exhumation the victim’s body is
registration which fed to his arrest. ready for long trip to San Bernardino.
Se
Regiment
Shay had :
to trace Ge
come convir
had no crin
under anoth
ten to the ¢
fense only
While sitt:
some reports
eall from th:
police. On th:
said, a man
Wilson had
ear with red
DESERT PREY—- I
en}
though, I had a young feller by the cross over before walking into the trace'the telegram, declaring it against He in
name of Bert Herrod who worked for desert. ‘ their policy to reveal the contents of sheriff's
me—and he did. It was just about a The writer of the note owned British messages. But Shay remained ada- State Baz
month ago that a car ran out of gas war bonds. That meant he was aman mant. He took his fight to the top Departme:
a little ways up the road. The driver of some financial means who probably management and fina ly won. The
come down here, and he and Bert carried a large sum of money when company began an investigation to ORD so
Herrod lugged back a couple of cans traveling. If he were the dead man determine whether any Western Mohlma
a of gasoline. When they got there, the he had doubtless been robbed. But Union office had sent or received a Sheriff
i driver started arguing with another Shay wasn’t certain this had been the. message similar to the one in the note. Mohlman :
@ fellow in the car.” motive for the killing. If the killer Meanwhile, Shay sent out a nation- Englishma:
‘A “What about?” had known his victim soon expected wide Missing ‘Persons alarm. He also ward in ar
‘ “It had something to do with a the transfer of a large amount of contacted the British Embassy in another m
3 pretty brunette girl who was in the money, would he have committed the Washington. called Bev:
4 car.” murder before he received it? And Ever since he had first read the red with 5
“Did Bert tell you anything else? would he have left the telegraph mes- _note’s reference to British war bonds, down in
r What kind of car they drove, or what sage in his victim’s ‘pocket? Shay had believed that the writer stranded t:
4 they looked like?” hay wasn’t’sure. Maybe the killer himself was British. Who-else would to the 23rd
“No. He said they filled up the gas had been a hitchhiker who Picked up be so likely to invest in the Empire’s The gar:
tank armi drove off, still arguing.” a ride with the victim, then robbed securities? And if he were British, reported 1)
Hf “Where’s Bert Herrod now?” and murdered him for the money in and missing in America, his Embassy Hey’s tray
a “Last time I heard, he was working his wallet. Such an explanation would would: probably have been asked to Smithers.
f somewhere-near Bakersfield.” not, of course, account for the woman __ search for him. Smithers
1 The deputy made a memo to trace in the car, but the sheriff had no feel- But before Shay’d had time to hear three inch:
Herrod, then returned home. ing of certainty that the three people from Washington, he received his first spoke wit)
seen by Bert Herrod were involved in real break in the case. Western Union Hey was
N SAN BERNARDINO Sheriff Shay the murder. . Notified him that the previous No- He had rer
studied the note found on the body Shay realized that wiring bank bal- vember 20, a telegram almost identical tween thei:
and wondered whether the ‘message ance reports is such common practice in wording to the note on the dead they had
had actually been telegraphed. If it that it would be impossible to trace “man’s body had been sent from Ogden, about the «
had, were the same words used in the one specific message; if, indeed, the Utah to the People’s State Bank in to pay the
transmission? message had ever been sent. But ifthe Detroit, The sender had signed His Mohiman
Meyer had reported that the Sykes telegram were worded exactly like name Wilfred Hey. that he wa:
family were headed west when the the note, with its reference to the sale Shay was electrified. He realized But it also
boy discovered the body to the right of British war bonds and the transfer that if Wilfred Hey had left Ogden Smithers .;
of the road. To Shay, that meant that of money, there was some chance of _ several days after he sent the -tele- about the ;
3 the killer and his victim had also been identifying both the message and.its gram and had traveled west, he would man, eithe:
travelling west. They would naturally sender. He promptly contacted Wes- have been in the area where the body victim. _
have stopped their car at the right side tern Union. mes 3 was found on the estimated date of the While Sh
of the road, and not been li ely to The company at first refused to murder, a more defi:
the victim’:
mail deliver
ports from
Detroit po!
Bank.
The Emb:
fred Hey, ar
the letter a
envelope f:
i The inform:
f -firmed what
f from O. H
however, t¢
i George Smi
i; in a roomin
Detroit. On
} théy had st
\ the girl, Be.
; lady hadn’t
j Shay open
came from |}
of the Fore
. State Bank
had received
‘den on Nov
his bank ba!
the first of I
him from Lo
he direct th
chester at \
sell his war
proceeds to +
Angeles. Thi
Shay grew
If Hey had
on Decembe:
been murde
desert. Was
all? Or did t)
unidentified
Shay knew
tim remaine
veStigation «
than guessw
SHERIFF WA
i RE NE I eC. WILERED HEY-— ae
The body as it was found in the desert. Coyotes had eaten away the face making. His telegram to a bank in Detroit was
identification impossible. The two fractures in the skull. old of bloody murder. the first important clue in the case.
‘
}
Masterminded
complicated c
%
10
”
it against
mtents of
ned ada-
) the top >>:
fon. The.
gation’ to
Western
ceived a
the note.
a nation-
He also.
oassy in
read the
air bonds,
e writer
se would
Empire’s
British,
Embassy
asked to
» to hear
| his first
-n Union
ous No-
identical
the dead
n Ogden,
Bank in
gned His
realized
t Ogden
he - tele-
1e would
the body
te of the
. State Bank,
yun yok
He sasriadaraae “contacted the
sheriff’s office in
Department.
were ‘soon flashed back from O. H..
Mohlman,, Chief Criminal Deputy
Sheriff of Weber. County, Utah.
.Mohlman reported that Hey, a young
Englishman, had been traveling west-
ward in an Overland touring car with
another man and a young: woman.
~ called eevee The car, hand-painted
ow wheels, had broken |
red with yel
down in Ogden, leaving the part
stranded there from November 20
to the 23rd... ae
' The garage mechanic who fixed it
'. \ reported that the car belonged to
Hey’s traveling companion,
Smithers. J
Smithers were -both about five feet
eorge
three inches tall, but that Smithers .
spoke with a Southern drawl while
Hey was obviously an Englishman.
He had remembered the contrast be-
tween their accents so well, because |
they -had quarreled bitterly, both
about the girl, Beverly, and who was >
to pay the garage bill. : 23
Mohlman’s report convinced Shay
‘that he was following the right trail.
But it also complicated matters. Since
Smithers and’ Hey both measured
about the same size as the murdered © -
man, either could be the unidentified 7
to establish.
victim, i
‘While Shay was tryin
den, the People’s’.
State Bank, and the Detroit Police
He said that Hey and.
the uncertainty, the Union
Bank: of Manchester, requesting them
‘to contact Hey’s relatives and find out.
if he was missing. Next, he phoned
‘Detective Lieutenant. Chester’ Lloyd
of the Los Angeles Police Department
and. explained that Hey, ‘or someone
‘using his name, had opened an account
at the. Bank of Italy. Lloyd: promised
to-look ‘intositi oie meen, uy a)
. The detective ‘called back the next
a more definite means of determining ~“
the victim’s identification, the next
mail delivery arrived. It included re-
ports from the British Embassy, the
Detroit police, and the People’s State
Bank. ..
‘The Embassy knew nothing of, Wil-
fred Hey, and Shay impatiently tosséd
the letter aside and ripped open the
envelope from the etroit police.
The information therein largely con-
‘firmed what he had already gathered
from O. H.’Mohlman. He did learn, .
however, that ‘Wilfred Hey and po
George Smithers had lived together-
in a roominghouse at 1368 Perry St.
Detroit. On the fifteenth of November,
théy had started for California with
the girl, Beverly. Their former land-
lady hadn’t heard from them since.
Shay opened the third envelope. It
came from Roderick Fraser, manager
of the Wheto Dept. of the Péople’s
raser confirmed that he
had received Hey’s telegram from Og-
‘den on November 20, and-had wired ;
his bank balance. He added, that. on
the first of December Hey had, wired
him from Los Angeles requesting that
he direct the Union Bank of Man-
chester at Warrington, England, to
sell his war bonds and transfer the
proceeds to the Bank of Italy at Los
ma, nora This had been done.
Shay grew more puzzled than ever.
If Hey had wired from Los Angeles
on December 1, he had obviously not
been murdered while crossing the
desert. Was Smithers the victim after
all? Or did the corpse belong to some
unidentified third, party?
Shay knew that as long as the vic-
tim remained unidentified, his in-
vestigation could amount to no more
than guesswork. Determined to end
SHERIFF WALTER SHAY—
Masterminded investigation into the
complicated case and won conviction.
re
“day, his voice edged with excitement. .
“Tt looks like there’s ‘not only been a!
-~ murder’ but a bank fraud.” See
- “What do you. mean?” afi
», “On the first of December, somebody | -
_ ‘representing himself to be- Wilfred Hey ;
established an account at the Bank of y
-Italy and ordered the proceeds from .
“the sale of some British war bonds
'.transferred’ to that account. Two
. ‘weeks later, when this had been done,
i
Beis :- igs * if , ; 4
: $ |
‘ ‘ 4 “ ’ a
raya
ided that Hey
inches | tall,
pounds (115
sold crown on
S upper right
1apshot. of the
1e gold crown
that Hey was
.. He immedi-
of the photo
1e Minister of
tawa, Canada,
\mericans who
Black Watch
1
tim’s body is
. Bernardino.
Regiment during the first World War.
Shay had made every possible effort
to trace George Smithers. He had be-
come convinced that the man either.
had no criminal record or was living
under another alias, and he had writ-
ten to the Canadian Ministry of De-
fense only as a last resort.
While sitting at his desk going over —
e received a telephone
some reports,
call from the Long Beach, California
. police. On the twelfth of January, they °
said, a man calling himself Jordan R.
Wilson had sold an Overland touring
car with red body and yellow ‘wheels
Mu repens
to a second-hand car lot.’ From the lot
owner’s descriptio: hay knew be-
yond a doubt that Wilson,. George
‘Smithers, and the man who had-with-.
drawn Wilfred .Hey’s bank ‘balance, -
were all one and the same. Since the
suspect had originally * bought . the
Overland under the name of Smithers,
Shay, realized that he had forged his.
driver’s license and owner’s registra-
tion before peas chat car under the
name of Wilson. And the sheriff knew
that if he had done it once, he could.
do it*again oe By aii si
Shay now heard from Lt. Lloyd. '
,
Both the bank teller and the rooming-
house keeper had agreed that the
snapshot of Wilfred Hey was not of
the man who had used his name in
Los Angeles. There was no further
doubt in the sheriff’s mind: George
Smithers was the killer, Wilfred Hey
- his victim.
EFORE he could pursue the fugitive
further, Shay received from Ot-
: tawa a list of the small group of
Americans who had served in the
Black Watch. As he scanned the list,
his detective’s steel-trap memory fo-
cussed upon one name. It was Joseph
Watts.
. Watts, according:to the accompany-
‘ing description, was a short, slight
“Texan. whose military career “had
- ended in dishonorable discharge from
‘the Canadian Army.
;. Shay studied the name. He couldn’t
quite place it, although he knew he’d
“seen it somewhere in connection with
police activity. He quickly contacted
the state parole board.
Joseph Watts, he learned, had
_ served a term in San Quentin for rob-
bery. Nor was‘he too surprised to
learn that Joseph had a_brothe
named Robert who’d also been in
trouble. .
He obtained photos of the two, and
forwarded copies to Smithers’ former
landlady in Detroit; Deputy. Sheriff
Mohlman in Ogden, Utah, the Bank
of Italy in Los Angeles, and the
second-hand car dealer in Long Beach.
' Within three days, the Watts
brothers had been positively iden-
tified ‘by everybody who’d seen their.
photos: under the name of George
Smithers, Joseph Watts had traveled
from Detroit to California with Wil-
fréd Hey, stopping en route in Ogden;
Utah to have his car fixed; Robert,
Watts had opened an account at the
Bank of Italy under the name of
“hoe Barnes, then introduced. his.
brothed at the bank as Wilfred Hey;
while posing as Hey, Joseph Watts had
ordered the sale of the Englishman’s
war bonds, ordered the proceeds
transferred to the phony account, and
then withdrawn them. Watts had then
forged the fictitious name of Jordan
R. Wilson*on a car owner’s certificate
_and fraudulently sold his Overland
under that name.
Shay immediately mailed circulars
with photographs of the Watts boys to
all police units.
To Detective Sergeants H. C. Kalm-
bach and G. H. Richards of the San
Francisco police, the arrival of another
circular on the Hey murder had no
particular significance. The case had
grown cold and it was doubtful
whether Joseph. Watts could be found,
much less proved guilty of murder.
Nevertheless, they once more began
~ the rounds of all Ford dealers, auto
finance companies, and garages.
After covering most of San Fran-
cisco, the detectives finally arrived at
the Pacific Finance Corp., 660 Market
St. They showed the manager, J. L.
Travis, the photos of the Watts boys.
Travis led them to a garage in the
rear and pointed to a new Ford sedan.
“Only a week (Continued on page 56)
HANGED—
The woman he had killed for, testified
against him when he was put on trial,
13
ct a cca thane inser peatland ie ree se
+
nity
ling youth appeared. It was Bert Her- —
rod, Jud Gray’s former filling-station -
attendant-in Silver Lake. Herrod had |
been traced and found. in Bakersfield...
Now, his gray eyes swept the line-
up. He ambled along the single file
till he came to Beverly Nichols. He
stopped and pointed at her. The young
woman turned ashen. Her painted
cheeks glowed against the pale eathly
skin like fever spots. a)
Herrod continued along the line-up.
Abreast of Joseph Watts he turned to
Shay and said, “This is the man_ for
whom I carried gasoline on the night
of November 25th. When I arrived at
the car, that woman there was sitting
in it with another man—the man
whose photograph identifies him as
Wilfred Hey.’
Joseph Watts stood unflinching, gaz-"
ing past Herrod with apparent indif-
ference.
Quickly, Shay ordered Watts to his’
cell. He asked Beverly Nichols into his
office.
The sheriff and his deputies began
to barrage the woman with questions.
At first she flared back defiantly. But
the strain of hours of past grilling
proved too much. She su denly began
to weep and babble out.the details of
the murder. j
s
- Hey and Watts, she admitted, had
been. arguing over ‘her and their
finances since they first left Detroit.
After driving away from the gas‘sta-|
tion at Silver Lake that night, the
argument grew bitter. Finally, Watts
stopped the car ‘and the two men
stepped into the desert to settle their
differences. Ba NEAT) ge
Before climbing out of .the car,
Watts reached into the back seat and
seized a tire iron. Holding it behind
his back, he followed the unsuspecting
Englishman into the desert. |
Miss Nichols insisted that she had
stayed in the car and neither seen nor
heard anything. Five. minutes later
Watts returned alone. He climbed into
the car and drove off without saying
aword. -
Although Robert Watts continued
to deny knowing anything about the
murder, he and Beverly. Nichols re-
luctantly testified for the prosecution
at his brother’s trial. Joseph Watts
neither confessed nor denied the kill-
ing, and his attorney did not place one
- defense witness on the stand in his
behalf.. The. circumstantial evidence
against him was overwhelming, and
he’ was quickly convicted of. first-
degree murder. He was hanged at San
Quentin prison on October 15, 1926.
NEVER BRAG ABOUT MURDER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
the ‘identifying characteristics of the
slain youth.
“Bruce left the house about six-
thirty on Monday evening,” his father
added. “He didn’t say where he was
going. We didn’t worry about him
when he didn’t return home that night.
He often stayed away overnight when
he visited friends. But when we saw
the papers ..
he cleared his throat’ huskily.
Miss Pearson, a slender, thin-faced
woman with sharp features who wore .
her hair in a knot pulled tight at the
-back of her head, was scornful.
“My brother has been missing, two
years,” she said bitterly. “That's bad
enough. Now, when I finally find him,
these people are attémpting to take
him from me. I don’t know why,”
she snapped angrily “but they can’t
get away with it. That poor boy
lying on that mortician’s slab is my
brother, Raymond Pearson.”
The three claimants were subjected
to’a series of questions which involved
a knowledge of more intimate physical
characteristics of the slain youth in an
attempt to establish the correct iden-
tification. .
The claim of Miss Pearson was final-
ly ruled out. She was vague on too
many points and her description of the
burn on the victim’s foot did not match
the shape of the actual burn. Bell and
Heeger were convinced that she had
obtained the details from the news-
paper accounts of the crime. When
officers learned that she had been at-
tempting to collect on the inheritance
of her missing brother for’ the past
two years, they were convinced that
she had conceived the scheme of
claiming the victim, and thus estab-
lishing his death. She would then
have a clear claim to the family in-
‘heritance.
Confronted with the suggestion,
Miss Pearson: made no attempt to
deny it. With a flounce of her head,
”’ His voice broke and -
she stormed from’ the office.
The claims of the Claiburnes and
_Mrs. Johnson could not however, be
eliminated.
guard of Gilbert W. Hoffman, as-
sistant to Merle Weisinger, while
the two families, still quarreling bit-
terly over the identity of the corpse,
filed court claims for. its possession.
’ “The FBI. fingerprint identification
Tex BODY was’ placed under the |
is our only hope,” Heeger told his’
chief as the claimants for the body
. departed.
‘That hope was blasted the next day
when the F.B.L fingerprint bureau in
Washington reported that the prints
of the victim were not on file ‘in their
office. 3
Heeger ‘did not give up. He called
the Claiburnes and Mrs. Johnson for
additional information concerning the
-missing man. Albert Johnson, he
learned, had served in the army dur-
ing the first World War. Bruce Clai-
burne, however, had not been in
service.
Heegar promptly dispatched a du-
-plicate set of the victim’s fingerprints
to the War Department. “If the man
is Johnson,” he told Bell, “his prints
will be on file with the War .Depart-
ment. If the prints aren’t on file, then
we can be pretty certain the man is
all that remains of Bruce Claiburne.”
Meanwhile, John Welton, owner of
the abandoned Chevrolet which police
were convinced was the murder car,
reported to Chief Bell. He,was taken
around to the police garage where he
stared for..a long, sad: momeént at thé
smashed automobile and finally iden-
tified it as belonging to him.
“T used it the last time on Sunday
evening,” he told police. “It wasn’t
until late Monday afternoon, when I
returned from work, that I noticed the
garage doors open and that the car
wasn’t there.” :
\
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I got sick. I don’t know wnere that
was, though.
“The next day I read a description
of the killer in the papers. I didn’t
think it fit me. The night before I
had $28 when I started out..The next
day I only had $3. I was sure I
didn’t spend $25 drinking. I’m all
mixed up.”
However, police soon built a strong
case against Yeager. Mary’ Ashton
led them to a. 30-foot wall in the
Squirrel Hill district, and in weeds
beyond the wall officers found Betty
Schleigh’s bloodstained clothing.
Here also was discovered the neck
of a broken beer bottle. :
Miss Ashton told police that Joe had
admitted to her that he struck Mrs.
Schleigh with a bottle.
In the flat where Yeager had lived,
searchers came upon a pair of ear-
rings and a purse which were identi-
fied as possessions of the murdered
woman.
Faced. with the evidence against
him, Yeager admitted that it pointed
to him as the slayer, but at the end
of a four-page statement he said
merely, “I can’t believe I’d do that.”
Qn June 9 he was charged with
murder and was turned over to the
coroner to await. a formal inquest.
In the eyes of the homicide men from
Station No. 6, the slaying of pretty
Betty Schleigh was solved.
KILL FOR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
A WOMAN
ago, we repossessed that car from the
man your photo identifies as Joseph
Watts—only he had registered the car
under the name of J..D. Woodall. He
still owed $386.21 on it, and when we
tried to collect he refused to pay. We
took the car away from him.”
Travis added that Watts, or ““Wood-
all,” had given his residence as the
Continental Hotel. Kalmbach immedi-
ately Rrnaee San Francisco police
chief, D. J. O’Brien. The chief prom-.
ised to meet the two detectives there
with a squad of picked men in ten
minutes.
HILE O’Brien and his men posted
W themseives at the doorways of the
~ hotel, Kalmbach and Richards ap-
proached the registry desk. Richards
flashed his badge and inquired for J.
D. Woodall.
“Sorry,” the desk clerk said, ‘Mr.
Woodall, his wife, and. their friend,
Mr. David Mayes, checked out of the
hotel just ten minutes ago.” |
“Where were they going?” Richards
demanded. 1
“They didn’t say—but I overheard
Mr. Mayes mention something about
Oakland.” ° :
He turned and yelled to O’Brien.
Seconds later, the echoes of police
sirens reverberated the length of Mar-
ket Street,
Slightly in the lead, Kalmbach and
Richards screeched to. a_halt before
the Oakland ferry terminal. As they
dashed into the terminal toward the
waiting ferry, they barely glimpsed
the now-familiar features of. the
Watts brothers disappearing into the
cabin of the ferry. At that moment the
entrance gates lowered, the ferry
shuddered, churned water, and began
to edge out of the slip. -
Like a pair of hurdlers, Kalmbach
and Richards cleared the gates. Then,
with leg-splitting leaps, they bridged
the widening chasm and sprawled on
yak apronlike stern of the moving
erry.
startled passengers, they pushed their
way on to the long, narrow cabin.
There sat Joseph and Robert Watts,
and Beverly; the beautiful brunette
who’d been with Joseph-since the day
he started from Detroit. with the ill-
fated Wilfred Hey.
The trio regarded their captors with
dumfounded amazement.
-At the detectives’ orders, the ferry
reversed engines into the slip. The
4
|
Kalmbach didn’t wait to hear more. .
Ignoring the hybbub raised by |
‘of the three pi
_ spectacle in which a motley assembly
°
three men were then hustled off to
Police Headquarters.
At first; Joseph Watts denied his
identity. Gradually he broke down
under. the weight of accumulating evi-
dence, confessing that he had forged
the automobile registration and driv-
er’s certificates, and withdrawn Hey’s
account from the Bank of Italy. A
little later he admitted that he had
started out from Detroit with Hey,
winding up in California with the
dead man’s identification papers. He
covered this with the flimsiest of
alibis. Hey, he explained, had left the
party in Salt Lake City, forgetting to
take along his identification papers.
Watts didn’t particularly ask that any-
body believe this alibi. Rather, his
attitude seemed to say, ‘““You can’t pin
this murder on me unless you prove
that I was there.”
The beautiful brunette, who identi-
fied herself as Beverly Nichols, con-
firmed his story. No charges were filed
against the girl. Robert Watts was also
held and later convicted of grand lar-
ceny for fraudulently introducing his
brother as Wilfred Hey.
The accused killer’s self-confidence
seemed somewhat shaken after Sheriff
Shay arrived in San Francisco to take
the trio back to San Bernardino. The
sheriff’s quiet, grim confidence prom-
tsed no good for the murder suspect.
Back in San Bernardino, the Los
Angeles bank teller identified the
brothers who were quickly indicted.
Joseph Watts for both grand larceny
and murder.
The little ex-convict regarded the
proceedings with a sneer. His girl
friend, Beverly, maintained a frozen
silence.
Meanwhile, authorities disinterred
Wilfred Hey’s body and performed an
autopsy. The finding confirmed Em-
mett Waters’ original report. Wilfred
Hey’s death had resulted from two
fractures of the skull caused by an
unknown blunt instrument.
OW, at the San Bernardino County
Jail, Sheriff Shay presented a
drama which he had been planning
since early in the search. for Wilfred
Hey’s. killer. Unwittingly, Joseph
Watts and Beverly Nichols played two
rincipal roles. in this
of men and women prisoners played
other roles in the drama.. :
The- scene was corridor of the jail.
Everybody was lined up against the
wall. A door opened and a tall, gang-
ling yout!
rod, Jud |
attendant
been tract
Now, !
up. He ;
till he
stopped al
woman
cheeks g!
skin like !
Herrod
Abreast «
: Shay and
q whom I «
of Novem!
the car, t!
in it wit!
whose ph
Wilfred H
Joseph ‘
ing past }
ference.
Quickly
cell. Hea
office.
The sh
to barrag
At first st
the strair
proved ti
to weep
the mur
the ident
slain youl
“Bruce
thirty on
added.
going.
when he
He often
he visitet
the pape:
he clear
Miss P«
woman \
her hair :
-back of h:
“My br
years,” s!
enough.
these pe
him fron
4 she snap}
get awa)
lying on
brother, }
The th:
to'a seri¢
a knowle
character
attempt 1
tification
The cle
ly ruled
many po!
burn ont
the shape
Heeger w
obtained
paper ac
officers le
tempting
of her m
two yea!
she had
claiming
lishing }
have ac
‘heritance
Confror
Miss Pez
deny it.
TT TET PRT
Y THING
LLY!
r THE AE THOR
jUCK-
ively in-
dy and
ult for
‘in
a has
us radio
ms and
nsively
uckiand
nerica’s
> occult
one of
ities on
me has
| refeir-
, Who's
Interna-
Writers
tionary
phy.
,
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th? Well, look at the case of Peggy P.'s
yourself.
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d of an express train. Using a protective
y emerged from the tornado unscathed —
ynly house left standing for blocks around!
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from page 25
ing his victim nearby, Molina escap-
ed detection for some years, but
when the remains were rooted up
by some hogs, the killer was soon
apprehended. Local deputy sheriffs
who investigated the case found
that the prisoner had a very dark re-
cord, as noted in the San Francisco
Morning Cal/ of May 4, 1897:
“According to information in
the possession of the officers,
Molina was a member of the
Vasquez gang of outlaws
which terrorized California
some years ago. Vasquez was
a head of a large gang of Mex-
ican brigands and though he
perpetrated awful cruelties on
many of his victims, Molina is
said to have been too blood-
thirsty for him and later ex-
pelled the man... from his
gang.
“From some of the old Mex-
icans who knew Molina at that
time, it is learned that he was
reputed to have killed twenty-
six men in his career of out-
lawry...”
The trial began on May 3rd, and it
was easy to believe stories told of
the old outlaw. His attorney based
his case on a self-defense plea, and
while Molina was testifying in his
own behalf he held up his hands
which were scarred, he said, when
Parra repeatedly tried to stab him
during their fight. A Fresno Expos-
itor reporter called attention to this
aspect of the defense, however:
. There was no proof that
Mr. Molina is an aggressive
man, except that there is hard-
ly a part of his body that is not
scarred by ugly gashes of
knife or other cutting and stab-
bing instruments. . .”’
Convicted of manslaughter and
sentenced to ten years at Folsom
State Prison, Molina became No.
4091 and began serving his term.
Fifty-two years old at the time, pri-
son life was hard on a vaquero who
had spent his life in the open. He
died in January of 1902, and except
for the ones who went straight, Mol-
ina was probably one of the last of
the desperadoes who had been rid-
ers with Vasquez. RW
from page 39
Buzz Barton, once billed as the
““freckled-faced Cyclone” by FBO
‘during the late 1920s, was signed
with World Bros. in 1933. The fol-
lowing season found him with Gor-
man Bros., and in 1935 with Walter
Main Circus.
Even film comic sidekick Smiley
““Frog’’ Burnette decided to take a
fling with the Bailey Bros. Circus.
He toured only for a few days, per-
haps the shortest stay of all the
stars.
Kirby Grant, who gained fame as
television’s ‘‘Sky King,’’ traveled
with the Barnes and Bailey Circus
in 1964. From 1965 through .1970:
he was still a favorite with the Car-
son & Barnes Circus.
There weren't all male western
stars who became feature attrac-
tions with the circuses and Wild
West shows; there were several fe-’
male stars as well. One was little,
Betsy King Réss, who was billed as |
the “Texas Tomboy.” Betsy once |
co-starred as a juvenile star at Mas-
cot Pictures, playing in several’
westerns and serials opposite Gene |
Autry. She pooled her talents as a
trick rider and sharpshooter with the
Gorman Bros. Circus in 1934. For
the next several seasons, she tour-
ed with different outfits, ending up
with the Bud Anderson’s Seal Bros.
Circus in 1936.
Mable Ward, who became Mrs.
Tom Mix while performing with his
circus, performed as a high-wire
aerialist with a number of shows. In
1952 she ended her career with the
Hagan Wallace Circus.
There were lesser western film
personalities who took to the saw-
dust trail during the “‘golden years”
of the traveling circuses and wild .
‘west shows, but | have only concen-
trated on the people who were read-
ily recognized by the average B-
western fans.
In conclusion, in my own exper-
iences | was fortunate indeed to
have been in this glorious era where
| was able to view and meet many
of these great western movie aces.
Fortunate indeed, for many of the
stars as well as the shows and cir-
cuses have become “‘golden mem- |
ories.” RW
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WERE FIGHTING FOR YOU
to the cattleman John Sutherland and left—in 1873, several
‘authorities say—although he was reported present on
December 26 of that year.
James Edward Denny suggested the name for the post
office, became the first postmaster, and kept a trading post
“1 connection with the office. Biographical sketches state
that he purchased a ferry and operated it for about four
years in partnership with W. G. Sanderson, and that he went
to Visalia in 1864. Bliss’s connection with the ferry during
these years is not clear. Possibly he owned it and leased it
to the other men.
For many years Kingston was an important trading point,
to which freight was brought by wagon from Stockton. The
post office was discontinued in November, 1862, but was re-
established in April, 1866. The Overland Mail had been
removed from the southern route in 1861 because of the
Civil War. A plat of the old village showing several streets
running east and west intersected by several running north
and south, makes it look like a good-sized town, but most
of those blocks contained no buildings. The last structure
to remain was the old barn which stood until about 1930 on
the south bank of the river near where the old bridge piles
may still be seen—about a half-mile below the present Laton
Bridge.
An idea of what Kingston was during its prosperous years
may be had from the story of an exciting robbery which took
place there on the day after Christmas in 1873.° Just after
dark the bandit gang of the notorious Tiburcio Vasquez left
their horses under guard north of the river and crossed the
bridge on foot. Meeting Mr. Bliss near the bridge, they
tied him and left him lying on the ground. He complained |
3Details given here follow substantially the account as told by Mrs. Florence Morton,
deouhear of Pecey C. Phillips. She has the distinction of having been the first white
child born within the present limits of Kings County. She was born in 1860.
44
a
ty
ee BOR Aesth bln RIN Pate a
wt, . »
that he was not comfortable, and one of the bandits took a
blanket from a wagon and placed it under his head. They
met and tied John Potts, Presley Bozeman, and Milt Woods
—and robbed them, of course. They placed guards at the
store of Jacobs and Einstein, at that of Solomon Sweet, and
at Reichert’s Hotel. In the barroom they tied down and
robbed ten men, collecting about four hundred dollars. In
the sitting room of the hotel Ed Douglas of Visalia refused
to be tied; but a bandit struck him on the head with a re-
volver, knocked him down, and relieved him of his valuables.
In the dining room a girl waitress screamed as one of the
Mexican bandits entered. (Some of the gang were not
Mexican.) Launcelot Gilroy, who was at the table, think-
ing that the man had insulted the girl, struck him with a chair
and knocked him down. The bandit was soon up, and, swing-
ing his revolver, dealt Gilroy a stunning blow on the head,
which ended his resistance. According to one version three
members of the gang were in the clash with Gilroy.
A clerk in Jacobs and Einstein’s store shouted an alarm,
but by that time the bandits had the situation well in hand.
They demanded the keys to the store safe.. Einstein denied
having them; but, on being threatened with death, gave them
up. The safe yielded eight hundred dollars.
While they were looting the Sweet store, a guard outside
yelled that he had been shot. James W. Sutherland and
James E. Flood, who lived near the village, had seen or heard
things that made them suspicious. They collected a few
men and went to investigate, but one man in his excitement
fired prematurely the shot that sent the bandits on their way.
They had collected twenty-five hundred dollars in money and
jewelry in the little town.
A posse of local men took up the trail the next morning,
but the gang was not found. They caught one Mexican at the
45
THE STORY
OF
KINGS COUNTY
(7 CALIFORNIA
By
“: J. L. Brown
SS a ane
4
Printed by
LEDERER, STREET & ZEUS COMPANY, INC.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
In cooperation with the
ART PRINT SHOP
HANFORD, CALIFORNIA
1726
"SLOT *61 your SetusoszTeO Sesor ueg peSuey ‘ueotxey Sootanaqty ‘ZanOSVA
time, but ultimately at least three men served penitentiary
terms for participation in the hold-up. Vasquez, the leader,
who was guilty of many crimes, was captured about a year
later in southern California. Although he was not regarded
as a killer, he was convicted of murder—possibly the only .
murder of which he was guilty—and was hanged on March
19, 1875. .
The building of the Santa Fe railroad resulted in the be-
ginnings of Laton, in Fresno County, and was the death-
blow to Kingston. The old bridge, the second at that spot,
fell long after the decay‘of the town, and a new one was built
a half-mile up-stream. Kingston, off the main road, became’
only a memory. alt
In the meantime Grangeville had risen to prominence, and
was already on the decline. The post office was established
there in September, 1874. The mail was brought by stage
by way of Kingston, from Kingsburg, through which the
railroad had been built two years earlier. The Grangeville
post office was in existence for nearly forty-six years. It was
discontinued in 1920, long after rural delivery was in opera-
tion. ms
ASituated in a particularly fertile area, Grangeville gave
promise of being the principal town of all the western plain
between Kings River and Tulare Lake, but the railroad
shunned it, and other towns superseded it. When the South-
ern Pacific was securing its right of way from Goshen to
the west, the Grangeville people thought and hoped it would
pass through that place. Sufficient attraction was not offered
the company, however, and the road went by two miles too
far south. Again in 1889 when the West San Joaquin Val-
ley line was being projected, there was hope, but this time
the road passed too far to the west and added life to the new
town of Armona at the junction of the two branches.
46
ae
ae a
Settlement in the Grangeville—or Mussel Slough coun-
try, as it was called—began in the sixties, and soon after
1870 it was sufficient to give rise to the beginnings of a town.
The first store was opened in 1874, or possibly earlier.
Within a few years there were two general stores, a black-
smith’s shop, a drug store, two:-harness shops, a hotel, and
two saloons. There was even a steam-driven flouring mill.
-The name. Grangeville became attached to the place
through the naming of the post office, but it came from the
Grange, an organization of farmers, which had built a hall
that was also used as a schoolhouse. Although the date of
its founding may not be given positively, the concensus of
opinion among early residents is that it is older than Le-
moore.
The Methodist Church of Grangeville is the county’s
oldest religious organization with continuous existence in |
one locality. Its Methodist recognition was in 1876, but it
was probably functioning as a group before that. For many
years there was a strong Good Templar’s Lodge, which be-
gan in 1876. Somewhat later a unit of the Ancient Order
_ of United Workmen was formed.
A portion of a letter addressed to a Visalia newspaper is
included here for the picture it gives of the community and
for its revelation that the town very early became aware of
its doom.
“Grangeville,
‘March 5, 1877.
“Editor Times—Sitting here alone this evening, I
thought perhaps you would like to hear a word from our
Mussel Slough country this dry season. We have been
anxiously gazing toward the bright blue sky for a long time;
still no genial showers descend to gladden our hearts and
relieve our anxieties, except one or two light showers. The
47
was empty, the bed made up to look
as if a figure was lying in it. An iron
bar in one of the square windows was
missing!
Footprints outside indicated how the
prisoner had walked across the soft
ground to her flower garden, where
she had dug up a length of iron trellis
which had been secretly buried there.
It was exactly like the one she had
trained the roses on. A quick exam-
ination showed the Warden that she
had fitted the two trellises together—
they made a slim iron ladder twelve
feet high. There it stood leaning against
the curve of stone wall!
Amt three feet to the right a low
wooden bench was backed up
against the wall. On it were a basket
and two wooden fruit boxes loaded
with stones. Wrapped twice around the
bench was a long rubber hose. It hadn’t
been long enough to reach to the
ground, so Lyda had braided a rope of
strips of blanket and mattress cover
and joined it to the rubber hose. On
these she had climbed to the top of the
wall, then lowered herself with lengths
of the improvised ladder that hung
down the outside wall.
Warden Thomas hurried back to his
office to spread the word throughout
the surrounding country that the mur-
deress with the hard blue eyes had
escaped. It was soon established that
a trusty named David Minton had
made the trellis, and that he had been
released two weeks before. Also that
he had purchased a car.
The police and_ sherriff’s posses
worked tirelessly—but they did not
capture Lyda! Several people told
of seeing a man answering Minton’s
description seated in an old Hupmo-
bile roadster on the outskirts of Boise,
near the prison, just a few hours be-
fore the escape. Clews poured in,
but they all proved valueless.
As Colorado was Minton’s old stamp-
ing ground, a special search was made
there, but no trace of the couple was
found. A year went by. The Warden
wondered whether Lyda had poisoned
Minton by this time. Then, on the
night of May 3, 1932, Minton was
suddenly arrested in Denver. He ad-
mitted helping Lyda escape but in-
sisted he had no idea where she was
hiding.
i Chief Clark of Denver pleaded with
im:
“Minton, that Southard woman is
dangerous,” he said. “For heaven’s
sake if you know where she is come
across!” 5
But the ex-convict only shook his
head. ‘
Meanwhile, in the bedroom of a
pleasant home in Denver, a little
boy lay dying. A steely-eyed woman
bent solicitously over him, her blue
eyes gleaming as she urged: .
“Here, Buddy, take this milk. It
will make you feel better.”
She held the glass to the small
child’s pale lips and he obediently
drank it. Immediately afterward he
was in terrible pain. The sound of
his moans brought a tall man to the
doorway. With frightened eyes the
.man stood beside the bed, whispering
excitedly to the woman:
“Can’t we do something I’ve just
talked to the doctor, and he doesn’t
understand Buddy’s condition. He says
he’s doing everything, and the child
should be well by now.”
The woman slipped a warm hand
sympathetically into that of the man,
and they both regarded the white-
faced, thin little boy on the pillow.
The man said softly:
“You look tired. Go downstairs and
get some food, I’ll stay here and watch
him.”
But the woman shook her head.
“No, I’d rather stay with him. He’s
pretty sick.”
Slipping an arm about her, the man
said tenderly:
“No child ever had a better step-
mother. I’m grateful to you, Fern.”
She was looking at the little boy
as she said: “By the way, dear, did
you remember to apply for the insur-
ance?”
“Yes, I did it this morning.”
Of course it was Lyda. We learned
all this later.
War the couple watched over the
sick child, the Denver police were
trying desperately to get Minton to
talk. Wide publicity had been given
his arrest, and he assured them that
Lyda herself would show up before
long. She had promised that if ever
he was captured she would come forth
voluntarily to aid him. It wasn’t until
it became apparent to the convict that
she didn’t intend to keep her word
that he, sore and disillusioned, finally
told the authorities they would find
her at No. 731 Elati Street, Denver,
married to a man named Harry Whit-
lock who had a small son.
Detectives hastened to the address,
where Mr. Whitlock identified Lyda’s
Nene ee re
picture as that of his wife, whom he
had known as Fern Zeller Rains. He
was too stunned of what they told him,
to speak. Lyda had left hurriedly (the
day Minton was arrested) saying she
had had a wire from her mother in
Akron, Ohio, and must hasten there.
He had put her on the bus and given
her money; she was to let him know
her address later, but he had received
no further word.
HE had come to the house after his
wife died to act as housekeeper
and care for his bed-ridden mother
and small son. After his mother’s
death he had married her, and found
her to be a good wife and splendid
mother for his boy.
His face went deathly white as he
told the police of the terrible illness
of his little boy, and of how the child
suddenly had recovered after Lyda
left on the day Minton was captured.
He also told about applying for in-
surance. He agreed to aid the author-
ities in capturing her.
The following day he received a
letter from Lyda, asking him to send
her money to general delivery, Topeka,
Kansas. When she called for the ex-
pected reply, Topeka detectives arrest-
ed her and she was returned to the
Boise Penitentiary, where she will un-
Somes spend the remainder of her
ays.
Minton was sentenced to from one to
‘five years in the Idaho Penitentiary,
and in Denver Harry Whitlock began
court action to annul his marriage to
Lyda_ Trueblood - Dooley - McHaffie -
Lewis - Meyer - Southard - Whitlock —
alias Madame Bluebeard.
Sterilization — Albert Walter, Woman-Hater (Continued from Page 31)
steadily for hours. Finally I bought a
bottle, took it to my room and finished
it. When I recovered from the effects
of the booze, I gave up to the law, so
that my problems might be settled for
me. That could be called an impulse
of conscience. It’s my way of com-
mitting suicide. I want to hang.”
HE confession was long-winded, as
a result of Walter’s anxiety to make
every shade of meaning clear. It will
be best to summarize what the police
learned from this and other sources.
Albert Walter, Junior, was brought
up in and around Boston, where his
father was a well-to-do real estate
salesman. The elder Walter was
graduated from Harvard in the class
of 1902, but young Albert had not re-
ceived a college education. He was
eccentric, shiftless, and he refused to
settle down to any permanent way of
living. For a short while he was a
clerk in a Boston law office. The job
he had held longest was that of order-
ly in an Eastern hospital, for three
years. He had been a salesman, a
chef, a waiter, an assistant cafe man-
ager, a butler and a lumberjack.
A drifter by nature, he traveled
back and forth across the United
States senselessly. He visited Cali-
fornia ten times and Florida twice.
On these jourreys, he consorted with
tramps and prostitutes, and had more
than once been accused of petty lar-
ceny. He was attractive to women—
unfortunately for them!
In 1931, he enlisted in the United
States Army, but soon deserted. He
was apprehended, given a short term
in Alcatraz Federal Prison, California,
and dishonorably discharged. Army
records concerning him state that he
“suffered from venereal disease, and
from a constitutional psychopathic in-
feriority complex with nomadic ten-
dencies.”
In the Spring of 1935, Walter got a
job in a New York midtown restau-
rant, the manager of which was Ange-
la Hoskins. He proposed to her, pro-
fessing to have fallen deeply in love.
The poor girl was swept off her feet.
Before long they were married and
took an apartment at No. 84 Jane
Street, in Greenwich Village. During
the ten months they lived together,
Walter would unaccountably vanish
and reappear. He suffered from mel-
42
ancholia, often wept and started quar-
rels without due cause. Yet he was
not actually cruel to her. Her friends
thought him “peculiar.”
Early this June, he left for the
Coast without warning. “He didn’t
have much money,” Mrs. Walter told
a New York reporter. “But he didn’t
need it. His personality gets him by.”
He had what his wife meant by
“personality,” all right. It worked
fatally for innocent Blanche Cousins,
when she got aboard the same bus at
Salt Lake City. Miss Cousins, 24, was
the daughter of an Idaho rancher. For
the past seven years she had been
bookkeeper at the Latter Day Saints
Hospital in Idaho Falls, the only job
she ever held. She went to San Fran-
cisco to make her dreams come true.
Her friends said later that she always
had believed a big city would give her
the happiness other people enjoyed.
She loved many things she could not
get in Idaho Falls, especially the
theater. .
Albert Walter courted her with
cunning on the journey, and kept it up
after they reached the Golden Gate.
It is a shameful fact that, broke, he
accepted her hospitality at the little
furnished flat she rented on California
Street. He dined there several times,
and on the night of the murder she
had paid for cocktails as well as the
meal. We know the climax.
POLICE found in the apartment sev-
eral books dealing with etiquette
and “the development of charm,” a re-
ceipt from a San Francisco employ-
ment agency for an $18 fee, a letter
of recommendation from the hospital
in Idaho Falls, and some letters to
Miss Cousins from home friends. One
of the last named had written:
“I’m so glad you are enjoying your-
self so much. But what do you mean
by ‘we’? Who is the boy friend?”
Miss Dorothy Edmonds, dietician at
the Latter Day Saints Hospital, ap-
peared to have been closest to the
victim. She was asked by telephone
to come and identify the body, and left
at once by plane. She broke down in
the morgue.
“Blanche was perhaps the most
lonely person in the world,” Miss Ed-
monds said. “She never had many
dates. She didn’t seem to care for
men. Whenever we went out on a
party, we’d have to get her a man.”
Wires had been sent, of course, to
Walter’s wife in New York and his
father in Boston. Both were near
collapse at the news, but promised to
leave for the Coast as quickly as
possible.
ETECTIVES of the San Francisco
homicide squad, meanwhile, had
recalled an unsolved mystery which
they thought extremely suggestive in
connection with Walter’s crime.
On the night of May 13, 1934, the
body of Louise Jeppesen, 23, of Ogden,
Utah, had been discovered in Golden
Gate Park. The girl had been sexual-
ly abused, and had been strangled to
death with a belt from her coat. She
recently had arrived in San Francisco
by bus, in search of work. Her tem-
porary living quarters were near to
the scene of the murder. Like Blanche
Cousins, she had been red-haired.
Inspector George Engler, who had
worked on the Jeppesen case, quizzed
Walter regarding it. The Boston
woman-hater voiced cynical amuse-
ment at the obvious parallel, but
denied that he had been responsible.
The only murder he had committed
was the Cousins murder, he said.
“Where were you when Louise
serene was killed?” Engler asked
im.
“In jail. In the Alcatraz military
disciplinary barracks,” he answered.
That sounded like a perfect alibi.
But when Engler inquired at Alcatraz,
he learned that Walter had been re-
leased on July 26, 1933. The accused
parried with the claim that he had
had a lapse of memory. He admitted
that he had been in San Francisco in
May, 1934, yet swore that the Jeppe-
sen outrage had not been his work.
Engler failed to dig up proof, and
the angle was dropped. Since Walter
was begging to be hanged for his re-
cent hideous deed, it seemed illogical
to suspect him of lying about the
other affair. We must remember,
however, that he was viciously per-
verse. He may have enjoyed mysti-
fying Engler. In a pathological, rath-
er than a legal, analysis of Walter,
Louise Jeppesen’s fate cannot be
ignored.
The prisoner at least meant what
he said, in the matter of pleading
guilty. Public Defender Gerald J.
Kenny interviewed him on June 18
and was told that he did not want an
attorney.
“But do you realize what that
means?” demanded Kenny. “It may
result in the noose for you. Don’t
you know people are hanged for mur-
der in California?”
“Certainly I know it,” answered
Walter. “I have tried to end my life
two or three times, but found I didn’t
have the nerve to go through with it.
I’m going to let the ‘State do it for
me.”
Kenny consulted Municipal Judge
Daniel S. O’Brien, who insisted on
.the public defender’s presence in
court. The killer sulked over the
proceedings. Upon being told that he
must establish a legal defense by
pleading “not guilty by reason of in-
sanity,” he refused flatly. He was ar-
raigned, and promptly droned “guil-
ty!” The insanity plea, however, was
entered on his behalf. Two witnesses
were heard, and he was held for trial
the next day in Superior Court on a
charge of first-degree murder.
i* SEEMED possible that Walter would
be convicted and sentenced on
June 19, two days after his crime,
which would have broken many rec-
ords for speedy action. But Kenny
and Superior Judge Lile T. Jacks de-
clined to railroad him.
“We cannot take a chance on per-
mitting an insane man to be exe-
cuted,” Kenny argued. “The prison-
er’s own wishes have nothing to do
with it. If he is really insane—and I
can’t believe after watching him for a
few hours that he is in his right mind
—he cannot hang.”
Judge Jacks upheld this view, and
appointed three alienists to examine
him. They were Doctors Joseph Po-
heim and Frank Sheehy of the Cali-
fornia Lunacy Commission, and Doc-
tor E. W. Mullens, superintendent of
the Agnew State Hospital for the In-
sane. Walter cooperated with the
examiners, endeavoring to convince
them that his brain functioned clearly.
He showed them that he was well
aware of the distinction between
periodic mania and legal insanity.
During the ten days that they had
his case under advisement, he paced
his cell restlessly. “I killed the girl,
and if I’m found sane I’ll plead guil-°
Lancia
Blanche Cousins, the trusting girl
who was strangled to death when
her murderer “achieved the su-
preme vengeance”
T TAKES. a lot to get me down
emotionally. I have studied so
many phases of sex monstrosity,
1ave probed so many lust murders to
the dregs, that it is difficult for me“to
‘eel any but a coldly scientific inter-
2st in a case. But a tragedy has just’
»ecurred which strikes me.as the most’
ritiful, terrible example. of ruined.
ives to make the news in years. An:
nnocent young victim has been. add-
2d to the long list of women sacrificed
vecause society fails to deal rationally’
vith the problem of the ‘sex maniac.
Che man who is about.to hang for the’
‘rime probably ranks as the world’s-
vorst pathological freak. 4
There is little detective suspense in.
he events. of the ‘Albert Walter’
hrottling affair in San Francisco, to
vhich I refer... The motivation,. how-
‘ver, is excessively strange. Walter’s
‘onfession,. as. well as statements made
»y members of his family, left me
hhuddering. to think that .such a
1aunted wretch should have. been at
arge, his lusts untamed. I lose no.
ime in telling his story, for. it has-
mique value as an argument in favor.
f sterilization of.the unfit. :
ATE on the evening of June 17 last,-
= a slender, rather handsome, well-
lressed young man walked into. the’
Tall: of Justice, San Francisco, and.
aid to the first officer he met: ~~
“I killed a woman last night. I’ll
how her body to you.”
The policeman led the young man
o Inspector Al Corassa, who asked:
vhat it was all about and had the
ame blunt statement repeated to him.
Che inspector demanded the confes-
or’s name and antecedents.
“I am Albert Walter, Junior, origi-
ially of Medford, Massachusetts, near
3oston. I’d been living in New York
rity, until I came here two weeks
‘go.’
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.” ;
“You say you’ve committed a mur-
er?”
“Yes. I strangled a girl and then
avished her.”
“Why are you telling us this?”
“My conscience has been troubling
PEE IA
~. ALBERT WALTER, WOMAN-HATER
"| Have Outraged, Seduced, Ruined and Cor-
WALTER, Aloert, dJr., white, hanged San Quentin (San Francisco) on
Laka ge
rupted as Many Women as | Could. | Knew That
Eventually | Would Kill One!"—And He Did!
me. But please don’t drag this out
longer than you have to. I want to
take you to the body.”
Walter’s manner was quite calm.
“He spoke with a marked Boston ac-
cent, which is more English than the
average American lingo. Al Corassa
had ‘had plenty of experience’ with
homicides, and what he had heard did
not ring. true to him. He suspected a
hoax. However, he summoned two
homicide squad detectives, and told
Walter to lead the way.
. The party. went to a flat-building
at No. 840-California Street, in the
semi-fashionable Nob Hill district.
They pushed open the door of a small
apartment, which was closed but not
locked, and. entered the bedroom.
One glance at the shocking spectacle -
that. awaited them, and the officers
knew that this was murder in its foul-
est; most degenerate form.
The nude body of a girl was
stretched out on the bed. . The legs
were parted. Stockings had been
knotted about her neck and tied in
a V-form to the two bedposts. There
were livid yellowish-green marks on
the throat and arms. |
Inspector Corassa swung upon Wal-
ter. “Who is she?” he demanded.
“She is Blanche Cousins. I met her
a couple of weeks ago as I was coming
west on a bus,” the youth answered in
a cold, clear voice. He continued to
talk, the words pouring from him, as
though it were a speech he had re-
hearsed:
“She got on the bus at Salt Lake
City. I kept up the acquaintance
after we reached San Francisco. She
was seeking a job and planning to go
to business college. I was looking for
a job, too.
“Last night I came here for dinner.
Albert Walter, the victim’s father, who tried to prove him insane, and
Angela Hoskins Walter, his wife, whom he left because he “didn’t want
harm to come to her through. me”
ae
YT //9 36
By Ex-Operative 48
We fixed some cocktails. Then we
prepared dinner. After dinner, we sat
and talked. I helped her with the
dishes. We had another drink. Then
we sat on the couch and started pet-
ting, you might say. I made violent
love to her, but she repulsed me, as
she had done on other occasions.
“So, partly from passion and part-
ly from hate, I started to choke her
with my hands. I just choked until
there was no resistance. She was in
slacks and a sweater. I disrobed her.
I carried her to the bed. I ravished
her. By ravishing, I mean what the
word says and means.
"| DON’T know whether she was
still alive or not when I violated
her. I used the stockings to make
sure she was dead. After I choked
her, I took her clothes off and hung .
them in the closet.”
Questions’ with which Corassa
pounded Walter failed to shake his
story. Asked how the body had be-
come bruised, the assassin replied:
“T told you. I put those marks there
with my own hands. This is a case
of manual strangulation.”
Corassa caught at the last phrase,
which is technical. “What do you
know about manual strangulation?”
“Oh, I worked in a hospital for
three years! I’m familiar with medi-
cal terms,” Walter answered impa-
tiently. “Can’t you cut this short?
I’ve surrendered because I want to be
_ hanged, and the sooner the better.”
From any other killer, the plea for
death could have been set down as a
bluff. Corassa had an uncomfortable
feeling that Walter meant it. He re-
alized that he was dealing with a pro-
foundly abnormal character—perhaps
not a lunatic in the legal sense, but a
sinister paranoiac. The law, of course,
was not to be silenced or hurried.
Walter would have to explain many
aspects of this somber mystery before
it was through with him.
A medical examiner arrived. His
report confirmed the alleged rape and
the fact that murder had been accom-
plished by throttling only. Inspector
William Stanton and Assistant Dis-
trict Attorney John. J. McMahon also
DeectTve
had been summoned. The prisoner
monotonously repeated his. story to
them. When he was taken back to
the Hall of Justice, he agreed to make
a full confession. It seemed to bore .
him, but he furnished the details with
exactitude. Astounding and almost
beyond belief, the things he told about
himself were proved later to be true.
Inspector Corassa had been struck
by Walter’s assertion that he - had
started to choke the Cousins girl
“partly from passion and partly from
hate.” He.pressed the point now.
“What did you mean by that? What
reason could you have had for hating
her?”
“It wasn’t that girl in particular,”
Walter answered. “I have hated all
women, ever since I was a boy.”
“In God’s name, why?” *
Walter frowned, hesitated, and then
made his most. .awful statement: .
“When I was fourteen, a woman much
older than I took advantage of my in-
nocence. She infected me with syphi-
lis, which has tortured me off and on™
for years. I resolved at the time to
get even. Really, I dedicated my life
to vengeance against women. I have
outraged, seduced, ruined and. cor-
rupted as many of them as I could.
This killing is no surprise to me. I
knew that eventually I would achieve -
the supreme vengeance—that I would
kill a woman.”
The officers exchanged glances,
their faces grim. “Then it was pre-
meditated!” Inspector Stanton sug-
gested. “Maybe you have committed
other murders of the same kind.”
“You are wrong,” Walter countered.
“T never planned to kill any woman.
But I felt deep down in my heart that
it was going to happen some day. It
was always in my subconscious mind.
Let me tell you something. I have a
wife in New York. I married hoping
to straighten myself out, to beat my
obsession. My wife is a good woman,
and I am very fond of her. Yet every
so often I’d be gripped by the tempta-
tion to take her life. I left her be-
cause I didn’t want harm to come to
her through me.”
“And after you’d strangled Blanche
Cousins, you claim that your conscience
bothered you,” Assistant District At-
torney McMahon prodded. “You were
sorry you’d done it, eh?”
“I’m afraid you don’t understand
me,” the amazing culprit replied. “I
did not regret having destroyed
“1 have. tried to end
amy life’ two or three
times, but found |
‘didn't have the nerve >
to ‘go: through with it,
i'm. -going to. let: the
state’ do it for. me”
Blanche Cousins. She had teased me
and led me on. She excited my pas-
sions, then refused to satisfy them.
This had occurred more than once. So
I killed her without remorse. But I
felt a sort of horror at my own life.
I’d have liked to run away from my-
self, and that can’t be done. I roamed
about the bars and drank pretty
; (Continued on Page 42)
pat
9 ene N01 i i
‘ty,” he told reporters. “When my
mind is made up, it is made up. They
can set up any sort of technical de-
fense they wish, but the jury will get
the idea from my attitude.”
On June 30, the alienists filed a re-
port with Judge Jacks declaring Wal-
ter sane, and the trial was called for
the next morning.
Before I proceed to the startling
revelations which were spread on the
court record, I want to point out that
Walter’s dangerous abnormality had
been no secret for 15 years. As an
adoescent, he had been treated for
venereal disease. A similar condition
had been diagnosed while he was in
tne army. He had served time as a
deserter. His erratic behavior to-
wards his father and his wife had
caused him often to be suspected of
lunacy. Yet there was no machinery
to compel the sterilization of this
moral derelict!
It is notably tragic that the military
authorities should have turned him
loose without applying the treatment.
California has a sterilization law with
teeth in it, and if Walter had been
punished in a state institution he
would assuredly have been declared
subnormal and _ sterilized. Alcatraz
was a federal jail, and the principal
was not enforced there.
Twenty-eight states have adopted
this humane means of diminishing
crime and preventing future genera-
tions of the unfit from ever being
born. Other states are about to fall
in line. But a law with a still wider
scope is needed. I cite the Albert
Waiter case, in urging progressive
legislators to get a federal steriliza-
tion measure passed by Congress. In
addition to the prevention of repro-
duction, sterilization would tame and
tend to eliminate the very impulses
that cost Blanche Cousins her life at
this man’s hands.
T= prosecution opened on July 1
with police testimony regarding the
finding of Blanche’s body and Wal-
ter’s voluntary confession. Doctors
Poheim, Sheehy and Mullens then
took the stand and declared briefly
that the accused had “known the dif-
ference between right and wrong.”
The alienists held back their strongest
points until later, when they were
called in rebuttal. A few more rou-
tine witnesses, and the state rested.
Kenny opened for the defense by
calling the youth’s father, Albert
Walter, Senior. The latter, a poised
and solid Bostonian, had decided to
drag all family skeletons out of the
closet, in a desperate attempt to con-
vince the jury his son was not mental-
ly responsible for the murder. He be-
gan by asking the judge if he could
talk plainly, and on being told that
court was the place for that sort of
talk, he made a clear, convincing
statement.
Albert, Junior, always had had “un-
natural impulses,” the father said. It
had been impossible to teach him not
to steal. He had been a homosexual
pervert at an early age.
“He learned pernicious habits from
other children,” the elder Walter as-
serted. “We first became suspicious
of his propensities in 1921, when he
became involved with the superin-
tendent of schools, who was shortly
afterwards convicted of corrupting
youths.”
This was very interesting, as it
placed the accused as a degenerate at
about the age of 13, a year before he
claimed to have caught syphilis from
a woman. Albert, Junior, had as-
suredly not been the innocent at 14
which he had told the police he was.
Yet it is possible that his hatred of
women did grow out of the shock of
becoming diseased as a result of his
first normal contact with sex. He con-
tinued to be hysterical on the subject
for the rest of his life, pursuing males
and females indiscriminately, as his
mood impelled him. He was what
Doctor Von Krafft-Ebing terms a
psychic hermaphrodite. The great
Viennese psychiatrist explains, in
Psychopathia Sexualis, that the cor-
ruption is a perilous one, leading to
melancholia and ideas of vengeance.
Kraift-Ebing quotes the significant
history of a patient who never expe-
rienced the least pleasure until he
chanced to commit a rape out of spite.
The criminal violence gave him an
abnormal thrill, and thereafter he was
a lost soul. He dreamed of new
rapes, but had frequent fits of remorse
and contemplated suicide. The re-
semblance between this psychic her-
maphrodite and the San Francisco
murderer is striking.
Albert Walter, Senior, on the wit-
ness stand, sought to bring out that
his son’s condition was due to heredi-
ty. He stated that his own wife, Al-
bert’s mother, had “been wholly ir-
responsible and promiscuous’ with
men,” finally abandoning her family.
The paternal grandmother had gone
out of her mind and had died of brain
fever. The maternal grandfather had
been treated for mental aberrations
and had ended by killing himself. An
aunt had been confined in an insane
asylum for a year.
Wire a tainted ancestry on both
sides, it is my opinion that Albert
Walter, Junior, was unescapably
marred from birth. We cannot blame
society for failing to sterilize his for-
bears, since the method was not per- |
fected until the present century. But
it is a terrible thing that he himself
should not have been rendered im-
potent to reproduce his kind and to
soften his impulses. I earnestly hope
that Massachusetts, his native state,
will take the lesson to heart and adopt
sterilization before long! :
The next witness was Mrs. Angela
Hoskins Walter, his wife. She had
known the strangler for barely a year.
He had not been a cruel husband, she
said. Because of his manias, never-
theless, her efforts to provide a nor-
mal life for him had failed.
The court recessed. Kenny and his
assistant, William McDonnell, seized
the opportunity for a last-minute plea
to their client to testify in his own
behalf.
However, Walter refused flatly. He
had appeared for his trial smartly
dressed, and now was being shaved in
his cell.
“How can I finish with the barber
when you keep bothering me?” he
snapped at Kenny.
Afterwards, he grew reminiscent
and said some queer things. For in-
stance:
“You ought to help me to die. Re-
member, I killed Blanche Cousins be-
cause she was a good girl, because she
resisted me. Her virtuous attitude
was what drove me crazy with rage.
If she hadn’t been a good girl, she’d
be alive today.”
“T thought you claimed not to feel
any remorse,’ commented Kenny.
“This isn’t remorse,’ Walter
sneered. “I mean you’re an official,
and the morals you stand for are op-
posed to mine. You should speed me
out of the world.”
tt] AM Public Defender,” Kenny re-
minded him. “My duty is to see
that your case is put in the best possi-
ble light.”
“Well, I didn’t ask to be defended.
I thought this all out before I sur-
rendered. I could easily have run
away from the police. Miss Cousins
didn’t know a soul in San Francisco.
I was not known to be here. I could
have boarded a bus within an hour of
the murder and have been far out of
reach before the body was discovered.
I doubt if it ever would have been
pinned on me.”
“Like the Louise Jeppesen case,
eh?”
“I wasn’t guilty of that one,” said
Walter, with a twisted smile. “But
the killer of Louise Jeppesen was not
caught. And probably I wouldn’t
have been. The state ought to thank
me for confessing, and allow me to
have my way about going to the gal-
lows.”
They returned to court. Assistant
District. Attorney Joseph Garry sum-
moned his three alienists, in turn, for
rebuttal testimony.
Doctor E. W. Mullens pronounced
that Walter was different from nor-
THE NEXT BIC
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STERILIZATION. Clarence W. Smith, the Chicago fiend who was
stabbed to death by his wife when his twisted passions tortured her
beyond endurance
DALE OF THE MOUNTED. An unusual story about a dog that is
super-human as it tracks down wanted men for the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police
Also Murder on the Ghost Ship, Philadelphia’s Great Trunk Mystery,
more startling facts on Sex Behind Bars, and others of the liveliest
fact detective stories to be found anywhere in print
ON SALE OCTOBER 30
AT ALL
NEWS STANDS
WALTER, Albert, Jr., white, 28, hanged San Quentin (San
Francisco) on December 1, 1936.
THE. CASE OF
The Man Who Wanted to Be Hanged
Ir was shortly after nine o’clock on the evening of June 17, 1936.
The officers in the Bureau of Inspectors in San Francisco
police headquarters were busy with routine reports, when a slim
youth in a brown suit entered and approached the desk of Inspec-
tor Alvin Corrasa. Without raising his eyes he began to talk.
Suddenly the Inspector looked at the stranger and asked him to
repeat what he had said. :
“Certainly. Be glad to,” was the reply. “I’ve killed a girl.
Pve come to give myself up.”
The hum of conversation in the room stopped. The inspectors
present jerked erect at this startling announcement, but the youth
seemed unconscious of the effect he was creating.
“T strangled her with my hands,” he added. “You'll find the
body in her apartment at 840 California Street. It happened last
night.”
Half an hour later the youth’s statement was found to be true.
Inspectors Corrasa and William Stanton crowded into the narrow
bedroom and stared at a horrifying spectacle.
The body of a red-haired girl was stretched out stiffly on the
bed, her face contorted in agony, her eyes straining from their
sockets. There were vivid marks where fingernails had dug
deeply into her throat. Knotted about her neck was a brown silk
stocking; its ends were tied to the brass rails of the bedstead,
holding her head in a grotesque backward twist.
“Well, I guess you were right, buddy,” Corrasa muttered as
he reached for the phone and called the homicide squad.
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100 ONE HUNDRED TRUE CRIME STORIES
history was revealed. Harold L. Blum, a well-to-do San Fran-
cisco importer, identified Walter as a man he had befriended and
taken to his apartment one night. His friend suddenly went
berserk, struck him with a flat iron, and fled, stealing a gold
watch.
Walter readily admitted the assault on Blum. But he stead-
fastly refused to admit any connections with any other unsolved
murders.
“Pye confessed one murder,” he cried. “Can’t you hang me
for that and forget about me?”
Inspector Engler ventured the opinion that Walter’s eagerness
to be “forgotten” might indicate that he had other and more
horrible crimes on his conscience — crimes that might never
come to light.
Was Walter afraid that lengthy imprisonment might drive
him to make further confessions? Or was he already sorry for his
impetuous surrender and perhaps secretly hoping to be found
insane?
Walter’s wife and father broke down in tears when they faced
him in the county jail. Walter embraced them with cold reserve.
“J didn’t want you to come,” he said. “But now that you’re
here, I’m glad of it, though you can’t do anything to help me.”
The trial was as brief as it was weird. Walter’s wife and father
took the stand to tell of his sullen, erratic nature, and of the
overpowering impulses which sometimes prompted him to
violence.
The killer shocked the courtroom audience when he burst into
loud laughter at hearing Dr. Marvin Hirshfield, a defense
alienist, describe him as “a psychopath with psychotic episodes.”
State alienists, nevertheless, maintained that Walter was sane.
It took a jury of eight men and four women only a half-hour to
agree with them.
Walter achieved his grim desire when he heard Judge Jacks
sentence him to be hanged on the San Quentin gallows.
“J only want to die as soon as possible,” the enigmatic slayer
said as the jailers led him away,
mY cect? G4 a
| 98 ONE HUNDRED TRUE CRIME STORIES
j
The confessed killer lit a cigarette and smoked calmly as he
‘sat a few feet from the contorted body and told his story to
ra sed as George Engler and Harry Husted of the Homicide
Squad, and Assistant District Attorney John J. Mahon. From
time to time he glanced at the body impersonally as though it
were a Waxen image.
The youth identified himself as Albert Walter, Jr., twenty-
eight years old. He said he had come to San Francisco to look
for a job. The dead girl was Blanche Cousins. She had been
attending business college, and Albert had met her on a trans-
| continental bus which she boarded at Salt Lake City.
| “TI always knew Id kill a woman,” said the youth. “When I
| was fourteen years old I had an unfortunate experience with a
| woman older than I. She wrecked my life and embittered me
‘| against all women. I’ve tried to lead a normal life, but this hatred
| and bitterness keeps cropping up in spite of me. I left my wife in
|| New York because I was afraid I’d kill her. When I was with
_| Blanche Cousins this hatred surged up in me again. I want to be
|| hanged and forgotten.”
Walter was taken to the city prison and booked for murder,
The jailers were instructed to keep a close watch on him through-
out the night, lest he kill himself. The guards watched in puzzle-
ment as the strange youth made ready for bed. He seemed
vastly relieved.
When Walter realized he was under observation he laughed.
He assured the guards:
“You don’t have to be afraid I'll commit suicide — that way.
Pve chosen a better way. I’m tired of life. P’ve committed a
murder and I’ve given myself up to you. Now I want to get it
over with... even though it means the gallows.”
The next day the telegraph wires hummed with the news and
the young man’s entire past was laid bare. Ina flat in New York’s
Greenwich Village reporters located Mrs. Angela Haskins
Walter, a tall, statuesque young woman who admitted she had
married Walter some ten months before.
The knowledge that her husband had slain an innocent girl
prostrated her. Walter, she said, had left home without a word ;
| he simply dropped from sight.
“He’s done that twice before,” she sobbed, “but he’s always
oe
THE MAN WHO WANTED TO BE HANGED 99
come back and everything’s been all right. But this—I can’t
believe it.”
The young strangler’s father, in Boston, confirmed the story
of Walter’s erratic wanderings. His son had been a jack-of-all-
trades, he said, never staying long on one job or in one place. He
had been a salesman, law clerk, chef, butler, lumberman and
soldier.
While serving in the Army Medical Corps he had done a
disciplinary term on Alcatraz Island, which was then a military
prison.
Walter spurned the attempts of anyone to advise him, declar-
ing he wanted to plead guilty and “get it over with” as soon as
possible. But in spite of his protests, Public Defender Gerald
Kenny stood at his side when his case was called in Superior
Court, for the law provides that those who cannot afford an
attorney shall be represented by a Public Defender, appointed
by the court.
“I plead guilty,” Walter told Judge Lile T. Jacks.
“I ask that this man’s plea be set aside,” Kenny interposed.
“The evidence indicates that he may be insane, and I enter a
plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in his behalf.”
The self-confessed slayer protested vehemently. Thus the
court saw the spectacle of a public official trying to save a mur-
derer from the gallows who did not want to be saved.
Judge Jacks ignored Walter’s protestations:
“This court cannot risk sending an insane man to the gallows.
His own wishes have nothing to do with it.”
Awaiting trial, Walter sullenly refused to cooperate with the
alienists. He paced the cell, glowering at the officers and the
doctors who were thwarting his grim quest for a quick death.
In the meantime his wife and father sped west, armed with
letters and documents to bolster the insanity plea. His father
cited childhood injuries and displayed a letter Walter had
written while on an erratic jaunt a year before.
“Why I do these crazy things is beyond my comprehension,”
the letter read. “Only when my sanity returns, do I realize the
consequences of my foolhardiness. In my depression I can do
nothing but run away to relieve my mind of its many burdens.
Believe me, I have no malicious intent.”
On the eve of the trial. another violent episode in Walter’s
e
98
True Detective Mysteries
Crimson Mystery of the Mojave
shirt with neither collar nor tie, brown
socks and tan shoes. But none of the ap-
parel yielded any identifying marks, not
even the customary label of a tailoring
firm. The clothes were similar to those
worn by members of the so-called white
collar class.
A hasty search of the pockets failed to
reveal a single clue. There was no wallet,
watch, money, jewelry or identification
card of any kind.
“Well, the clothes tell us that this man
must have come from the city some-
where—no one out in this part of the
country dresses like this,” Sheriff Shay
observed. “White, collarless shirts and
blue serge suits are not the style out in
these parts.”
The Sheriff and his men then began a
through inspection of the ground in
the immediate vicinity of the corpse.
Fortunately there had been neither rain
nor dust storm in recent weeks, an un-
usual climatic condition at that time of
year. Two small furrows about a foot
apart, were plainly visible in the sand,
indicating that the victim’s heels had
dragged while the body was being car-
ried out’ to the hiding place behind the
mesquite. The sand near the victim’s
skull was discolored and dark.
INCE there were no signs of a strug-
gle, it was evident that the victim had
been killed almost instantly, then quickly
borne out to the hiding place behind the
brush. About. seventeen feet from the
body, in the direction of the road and
traversed by the two sinister furrows in
the sand, was another large, dark splotch
indicating that the victim must have bled
profusely while the killer paused to rest
as he carried his gruesome burden out to
hide it. Two or more criminals could
easily have carried the slight form the
entire distance without stopping to rest.
Therefore, the Sheriff reasoned, this must
be a one-man job.
At the point where the furrows in the
sand ended at the roadside there were
no discernible splotches. After examining
the grounds closely the officers retraced
their steps to the corpse and there began
a more minute search of the victim’s:
clothing.
But still the coat pockets, as well as the
side and hip pockets of the trousers,
ielded nothing. However, on carefully
inverting the watéh pocket of the pants
as though to extract a wad of dust from
one corner, Coroner Hanna found a scra
of white paper, folded into a’ tight wa
It had been jammed so far into the cor-
ner of the pocket it had been overlooked
in the original search.
‘Sheriff Shay took the piece: of paper,
carefully unfolded _ it ane: spread it out
’ upon the palm of his hand. In ‘size’ it
was about three by ‘four inches, ‘resem-
bling ‘a’ sheet from a memo pad. Though
-worn as if it‘had been carried around for
q days, faint pencil marks were still visible.
eputies gathered around as the Sheriff
peadied: the paper. The marks, it de-
‘veloped, -were only a few: dim. numerals.
~~ Closer s study showed that they’ apparent!
had‘ been’ written haphazardly as though
jotted «down asa reminder. rather than
for any ‘mathematical .-purpose.:
. Sheriff Shay then ‘turned: the riinkied
bit: of: paper over. and: examined the other
- side. ‘His: eyes “narrowed as he saw across
the top the ‘printed words, eeearity State
‘Bank, Ogden, Utah.”
“There were no other marks: ‘on this side .
of the paper, nothing but the name of the
(Continued from page 39)
bank and the city. The top edge of the
sheet indicated that it had been torn from
a pad, the kind commonly glued together
al one end and used on office desks.
Carefully, the Sheriff folded the paper,
put it in his pocket, then told Deputy
Batoroff to get busy.
Batoroff unlimbered his camera and
took a number of shots of the corpse
and the nearby layout from different
angles. Then the posse dug a grave and
buried the body out there on the desert
near the spot where it had been’ found,
a procedure necessitated by the advanced
stage of decomposition.
As a final check-up on the ground be-
fore proceeding with other angles of the
case, the posse made another survey of
the territory within a radius of twenty
rods of the murder scene. ‘The Sheriff
even took the precaution to have samples
Joseph H. Watts, mystery figure in
the investigation
of the dark, splotched sand saved for
further study.
The dirt road revealed no distinguish-
ing marks of an automobile tire. A few
machines had traveled that section of the
desert in the past few weeks, but the
ruts left no characteristic tread marks.
For miles in every direction the country
stretched away in. typical Mojave ex-.
— of silent desolation, the monotony .
roken only by an occasional sand dune,
a scraggly. clump of. brush, stunted man-
ganita, grotesque cacti or joshua’ trees,
with here and there a huge, green ball of
‘spines heralding a spring blossom of
yucca, :
It is a raw country, savage in aiback
and reception for the newcomer who
crosses it in summer when the sun roars
overhead,’ the molten« sky becomes ‘a
sweltering blanket, and the sands radiate
blistering heat and give rise to mirages
that. mock the uninitiated; a country
where, in. winter, a dreaded dust storm
may suddenly swirl up to blot out the
‘Jandscape and maroon the traveler. . The
newcomer; unused to such environment,
hates it, often becomes’ lost with it; the
‘old timer, adept at beating the desert at
its own game, loves it, is lost without it. ,
' This, then, was the setting for one of
the most puzzling murders. in the history
of the Southland. All. that Sheriff Shay
had ‘to work on was a meager clue—a.
crumpled bit of paper with meaningless
figures and a bank’s name and city
printed on the other side. Beyond that,
all the officer knew was that about a
month before, somebody had murdered
someone out on the Mojave.
In the twenty-five miles between Dag-
gett and the murder spot there were only
three desert dwellings, weather-beaten
frame shelters where hardy pioneers held
forth on the discouraging gamble that
they could beat the elements and win a
homestead from the government. But
none of the bronzed residents of these
shacks, all of them well known to Deputy
Lucas and the Sheriff, could recall having
seen any suspicious characters traveling
through that part of the country recently.
Automobiles? Yes, every day or so.
Their passing, accompanied by a cloud
of dust, was always an event of note out.
there where callers are few and far be-
iween. But the desert. folk could recall
nothing worthy of suspicion. Certainly
none of them had seen a death struggle
out along the road. This information
from settlers whose isolation had made
them keen in observing details, made the
case all the more baffling. The Sheriff
and his posse had counted on somebody
out there furnishing valuable information.
A check-up on the old prospector who
had passed so near the murder spot when
the two boys discovered the corpse,
proved that he was but a typical desert
traveler continually on the move in quest
of that will-o’-the-wisp prosperity which
persists in lurking just around the next
mountain where rock carries fabulous
wealth, when and if you find it. After
the prospector: had paused long enough
to report to Deputy Lucas that he had
seen a corpse “quite a ways back,” his
part was done and he had wandered on
in characteristic manner to be swallowed
up in the wastelands. No time was spent
in looking for him.
N the other side of Langford’s Well,
in the direction of Silver Lake, a
desert oasis thirty-five miles east, there
was but one habitation, a mining claim
called Red Pass. But the residents there
had seen nothing suspicious within the
past month.
When Sheri) “hay and his posse re-
turned to Sav ! veadlen, tired from the
long trip, that wrinkled scrap of paper
found in the victim’s watch pocket, be-
came the object of much study, On it
hinged the identification of the victim,
the next, step to be taken toward solving
the mystery:
| Ordinarily, when a murder victim has
been dead a month and the criminal has
that much of a lead on the law, such a
clue would . stack up’ as one chance in a
thousand. . _However, with practically
nothing lig to go on, that one chance
could’ not be overlooked.
A closer inspection of the paper, with
the aid of a powerful lens, brought out a
group p_of figures which read “$87.79.” The
heriff took the piece of paper and got
on, the train for Ogden, Utah, On arriving
in that city he found that there was a
Security State Bank at the corner of
Twenty-second Street and Niesel Avenue.
He went there immediately, ° introduced
himself to §. G. Dye, the cashier, and in-
quired for the bank presidens, Dye re-
plied that President Frank J. Stevens
‘was out just then, whereupon the Sheriff
‘ decided to take the matter up’ directly
‘with the cashier, He produced the
wrinkled memo slip with the bank’s name
printed across the top. Dye studied the
‘paper a few moments, nodded. his head,
ug de Oerhompas
then turned the sheet over and scrutinized
the penciled figures on the back. © |
“Yes, it is evidently from one of the
memo pads we have on the counters: and
desks for convenience of employees and
patrons,” he said. - |
The Sheriff asked him if the. figures or
the amount recalled anything definite,
Dye gave the scrawled jottings a close
study. oe
“Those figures do look like the kind
usually made by: President Stevens,” he
decided. “And the amount—$87.79—there
does seem to be something familiar about
that. What was it? Let me think—by
George! I do remember. We had a.
rather unusual bank transaction involv-
ing an amount represented by those: fig-
ures—that’s why I happen to recall. it.
It was a while back. President Stevens
took care of the account for a man pass-
ing through here, a man with a rather
odd name—Hey, it was—and I helped a
little on the account. As I recall it now
the man had an account transferred here
from the East because he was broke at
the time and_had to stop off while pass-
ing through Ogden. It was a telegraphic
transfer of funds, I believe.”
Bt ee racy words encouraged Sheriff Shay.
For the first time he felt that he
might be getting somewhere with the
case, at least with identification of the
victim. “Your records would show it,
wouldn’t they?” he asked.
“Certainly. However, it would take a
little time to check back through all our
transactions of the past several weeks.
If you are in a hurry and have anything
else to do, it might be advisable for you
to attend to that while we’re checking.”
Sheriff Shay went to the Western Union
office where Mrs. D. J. Sullivan, book-
keeper, produced the office files and be-
gan thumbing them to see if a man by
the name of Hey had sent any telegrams
during the past two months. The files
of November 10th showed that the office
had sent a message signed by Wilfred
Hey, to the People’s State Bank at De-
troit, Michigan. The telegram read:
Telegraph Security State Bank,
Ogden, Utah, balance of my account.
Wilfred Hey.
The files further showed that on that’
same day the Detroit bank had wired
Hey that it could not transfer the funds
without Hey’s pass-book properly signed
and receipted. Whereupon Hey had wired
back:
Bank at Rock Springs, Wyoming,
is sending my bank book to you.
True Detective Mysteries —
Waive identification. By all means :
get money to me at once,
The file sheets also revealed that Hey
had given ‘his temporary address as the
Grant Hotel in Ogden. Sheriff Shay made
a note of the date and hotel address,
‘then returned to the Security State Bank
and asked Cashier Dye to check ‘the
bank records for Wilfred’ Hey as of No-
vember 10th and 11th. The books showed
that on November 11th, with Cashier
Dye as witness, Wilfred Hey had signed
the following receipt: :
’ Received of Security State Bank, -
Ogden, Utah, $87.79, in telegraphic
transfer of money, at request of the
People’s State Bank, Detroit, Michi- ©
gan. ,
“Happen to remember anything about
how this man Wilfred Hey looked?” the
Sheriff asked as they scanned the records.
“T do because his business here was a
little out of the ordinary. Hey, as I re-
call, was a smooth-faced young fellow,
apparently in his early twenties, about
five feet, five or six inches tall, of slight
build, and must have weighed somewhere
between 130 and 140 pounds. His hair
was dark brown or reddish. He was
fairly well dressed in blue serge and wore
a gray cap. He seemed just a little awk-
ward as though he felt out of place,
though he reflected refinement. His hands
were well shaped. I remember noticing
his fingers when he signed the papers;
they were long and _ tapering.”
“Say what his business was?”
“Believe he said he was a printer headed
west to look for employment.”
Dye’s description tallied with the gen-
eral size and build of the desert corpse.
Therefore, for the time being, Sheriff
Shay decided to work on the assumption
that the dead man was Wilfred Hey. But
who had ‘murdered him a month ago,
and why?
HE Detroit bank evidently had wired
the balance of Hey’s account, at re-
quest, a total of $87.79, which seemed
hardly enough to justify a robbery mur-
der out on the desert.
“Was Hey alone?” Sheriff Shay asked.
“No. Another*man was with him, a
much larger fellow. I had no conversa-
tion or dealings with him, so do not know
who he was. I cannot describe him ex-
cept to say that he, too, was smooth-
faced, well dressed and quiet in manner.
I noticed that when Hey talked about
having some British war bonds in the De-
troit bank, this other fellow stood near
and listened.”
First Prize Second Prize
Mrs. Robert Ellis John Thayer
R.R. No. 2, Box 196 18 Creighton Street
Camden, Ohio Cambridge, Mass.
you think of the stories it contains.
mind?
TIVE and MASTER DETECTIVE).
This contest closes August 5th, 1937.
initials and the state from which sent.
PRIZES FOR OPINIONS ON THE MAY
TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES
Miss Margaret D. Moore Edmund Ellingson
8 ~
. Box 9
St. Augustine, Fla.
LS feiiorge you have read this issue of TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES Magazine let us know what
Which story is best? Which do you like the least? Mave you any helpful suggestions in
PRIZE AWARDS
To the person whose letter in the opinion of the judges in charge of these awards, offers the
most intelligent constructive criticism; to the letter considered second best and to the third
and fourth best letters submitted, the following prizes will be given:
First Prize: 2 years subscription to each of the Macfadden detective mazagines (TRUE DETEC-
Second Prize: 1 year subscription to both TRUE DETECTIVE and MASTER DETECTIVE,
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Address your opinions to the Judges of Awards, c/o TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES Magazine,
Chanin Building, 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N. Y. E
The four awards will be made promptly. No letters will be returned. We reserve the right
to publish in Bravos and Bullets Department any letter we receive, appending only the writer’s
Third Prize Fourth Prize
P. O. Box 38
Kasson, Minnesota
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Remit
at iin,
many desert corpses, and b
Y looking at
as able to mak
e a fairly accurate
f time it had been
exposed to t
convinced th
angtord’s WwW
Inquiry concerni
had said he
out another q
assistant cash
up on the W.
by the prosp
it to be fictitj
HIS client who intro
you—who was he?”
- Watts of 1201
The Sheriff h
fore, though wi
duced Hey to
the officer asked,
Leighton Ave-
ad heard that name be-
th different initials,
insisted on seeing the
sure that they were not
of the Watts
m Detroit with Hey.
€ initials not only were
R. W. Watts had
ank long before
Hey left Detroit.
escribe this man, Wilfred
d the account
st when the fu
m the Detroit b
-’—the same as those
d set out fro
He found that th
“R. W
business at the b
H. Watts and Wilfred
Hey, who openc
transferred fro
It is a banker's business to note fea-
tures as well as figures,
came forthwith. But it did n
desert corpse, nor th
for Wilfred Hey. Jt d
$ pictured by t
nm Ogden and De
er before, th
d of two thi
e Sheriff was
rmly convince
who had bee
ad passed him-
Nected the vic-
as J. H. Watts,
I drop around. to 1201
nue and look over t
s R. W. Watts,
Leighton Ave
Hey, and thi ” the officer
Ifred Hey nor R,. WwW.
ton Avenue ad-
m_ neighbors
n by the name of Wa
‘e during the autumn b
time in December.
ad gone, no one knew.
s Angeles post office, corner
eets, the Sheriff
and R, W.
of Spring an ]
med that J. H.° Wat
atts left a change of ad
8th, and directed
But the Sheri
human nature,
one
act that the
from Carruthers, north
around December 9th, ca
clude that the forward
only aw ruse to throw the
Instead of heading east,
have gone north, the Sheriff d
went into action from dif-
out a murder
atts; he noti-
the city Watts
Beneral address whon
of Los Angeles,
used him to con-
ing address was
law off the trail.
suspect must
fred Hey,”
had claimed that
that “Cregar”
ferent angles.
against J. HW. Ww
wuthorities ir
True Detective Mysteries
signing the hotel register in Ogden; he
instigated a check with the California
State Motor Vehicle De artment in an
effort to trace*down the verland touring
car through out-of-state registrations; he
contacted Sheriff W. F. Jones of Fresno
ounty, giving him details of the “Hey”
chec made out to H.
on the murder,
H. Ww
ey
Sheriff Shay’s office blanketed the Pa-
cific Coast states with the
gave the San
extra coverage,
soon realized.
bulletins and
rancisco Bay region an
It was not long before
George E. Johnson, co-author, now
Deputy District Attorney of Los
Angeles County, was District At-
torney of San Bernardino County
at the time of the Mojave mystery
which he relates here
there was a response to some of the lines
sent out, although ‘the first. two proved
disappointing. Boston reported that no
Watts had been there since the sum-
mer before, and only intermittently then.
From the State Motor Vehicle Depart-
ment came word that no cars were reg-
istered by either Wilfred Hey or J. H.
Watts.
But the next catch was more encour-
aging. Sheriff Jones at Fresno investi-
gated and‘ found that the $3.20 “Hey”
check had been cashed in good faith by
& man who lived at Carruthers and who
Stated that the writer of the check and
R. W. Watts had been there together
and had gone on north, probably to San
rancisco.
Then came more news indicating that
the trail was getting warm in San Fran-
cisco. The late John A, Tally, then part-
time manager for the Pacific Coast. Club
there, had cashed
a $4.50 check made out
to “James Cregar” and signod by “Wil
The payee, slightly liquored,
he had lost’ $300 in a
poker game, Tally said. He said further
fitted the bulletin descrip-
tion of J. H. Watts.
Five weeks had now clapsed sinee the
y when Deputy James Lucas of Dag-
Bett had telephoned. the Sherit?y office
about the ihseovery. of the corpse out in
The wisdom of this was ©
station.
Kalmbach.
test or alibi. Sullenly
officers i
in
ceptibly, then caught himself.
he was asked.
on the
elicited only
monosyllablos,
cisco telegram in ;
bringing along with him Deputy Sheriff
the Cregar I
arrest, over to Shoriff Shay,
ib was later learned,
101
til reports got hotter,
came and passed and San Francisco of-
cers were still on the:
shadow known ag Watts.
ey consist-
ently cheeked all
places they thought the
they took a personal
interest in trying to keep that record
Intact.
Two San Francisco officers, Detective
Sergeants H. O. Kalmbach and G. H.
ichards, in plain clothes, concentrated
on the post office lokby. It seemed like
long shot, this staking out a post office
alias Cregar, ma have
he had
mail be sent to
im at general delivery, San Francisco.
m one of their rounds, February 7th,
‘Kalmbach and Richards casually saun-
tered among the
lobby and sized Ine waiting
before the general delivery window. One
look at a man in the line and the officers
quickly glanced at each other. The man
they saw was in his early thirties, about
ve feet, nine inches tall; approximately
160 pounds in weight, well] dressed. He
had a smooth face, Straight dark hair,
dark brown eyes, an athletic build and
an obviously affected indifference, The
Sauntered
Cregar?”
shuffled a “packet,
But before the sus-
close on it, a hand
closed on either shoulder,
1 regar, you're under arrest.
ere police officers, ome along to -the
We want to talk to you,” said
he suspect offered no resistance, pro-
Watts
tioned him,
“Let’s get to the point,” Richards
began. “We don’t’ think you're Cregar at
all—we think you're J.H, Watts, wanted
San Bernardino. What do you say?”
“NOTHIN G to say,” the suspect mum-
bled.
“And we think you knew a.man by the
name of Wilfred Hey. How about that?”
he suspect nodded, almost imper-
you see Hey last?”
Why?”
ey was clubbed to death out
ow just where did
“Don’t know—can’t remember,
“Well, H
now?”
Not now nor any other time,”
he replied and grew more sullen,
Further of
denials
questioning
the suspect
surly
couched — in
Sheriff Shay answered the San Fran-
person the next day,
eaver,
The detectives turned the prisoner and
letter that had led to his
The letter,
was from a relative
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and had no
psteteneteeteeie
+ Re eN ees
Fiancee ctepinces
100
The last words had a special signifi-
cance for the Sheriff but his features did
not show it. He thanked the cashier and
went over to the Grant Hotel to look at
the register for the early part of Novem-
ber. The book showed that, on the night
of November 10th, Wilfred Hey of De-
troit, Michigan, and J. H. Watts of Bos-
ton, Massachusetts, had stopped there
and: occupied Room 32. The hotel man-
agement cooperated with the Sheriff by
giving him the register leaf dated No-
vember 10th.
The officer then called at the office of
Richard D. Pincock, then Sheriff of Weber
County, Ogden, Utah, introduced himself,
talked “shop” a little, then stated his
mission and asked if any: member of
Pincock’s staff had any information on
either Wilfred Hey or a man named J. H.
Watts, an! followed this question with
a brief description of the pair. Sheriff
Pincock recalled that some time the
previous month two men, one somewhat
larger than the other, had come to his
office. The larger of the two stated that
they were broke and wanted help.
“TT seems they had trouble with their
machine and had it fixed at Rhoden’s
garage at 25556 Washington Avenue, here
in Ogden,” Pincock related. “We get a
lot of calls from stranded tourists. But
I happen to remember the two—they
seemed so oddly matched. I don’t re-
member whether I gave them any money,
but suppose I did. They went back to
the garage from here.”
Sheriff Shay next called on T. F.
Rhoden at his garage on Washington
Avenue. At the mention of the. names
Hey and Watts, Rhoden was certain he
had had dealings with the two, but had
to check his books to make sure. The
records revealed that on Saturday eve-
ning, November 9th, J. H. Watts had
brought in a car for repairs and had
asked Rhoden to let him have $25 on
the car until “he got money from Evans-
ton, Wyoming.” Watts claimed that he
had a wife ani
trip and both « m needed food. But
Rhoden had - no wife or baby and
thought Watts ist have left them with
a friend or at some auto camp while the
machine was being repaired. Neverthe-
less, the garage man had let Watts have
$5 and charged it up as labor on the
machine, telling him that he was run-
ning a garage and not a finance business.
The automobile was a small Overland
touring car, for which Watts had a bill |
of sale, although Rhoden did not recall
who had made it out. The office books
showed that Watts called at the garage
a day or two later, paid the repair bill,
which was about $17, took the machine
and left. He had not seen. or heard
from him since.
Sheriff Shay drummed his fingers on the
garage counter and gazed out the win-
dow. “Recall how this man, Watts,
looked?” he asked.
Rhoden described Watts as a dark,
straight-haired, smooth-faced man, about
five feet nine or ten inches tall, around
thirty years of age, of athletic build and
weighing about 160 pounds, possibly a
little more. | .
The Sheriff's call at the garage gave
him about all he could learn in Ogden,
concerning Wilfred’ Hey and J. H. Watts.
They ‘evidently had remained in Ogden ,
but a short time after Hey got his money
from the Detroit bank. They probably
had headed directly for California, Shay
thought.
Back at his office once more the Sheriff
wrote to Edward H. Fox, Captain of
: daapiri Detroit Police Department.
ox checked with C. P. Besancon, assist-
‘sby. with him on the.
True Detective Mysteries
ant manager of the Foreign Department, .
People’s State Bank in that city and ob-
tained Hey’s banking record at the in-
stitution.
On September 18th Hey had authorized
the bank to instigate the sale of some
British war bonds that he owned, worth
about $1,500 at the then rate of exchange.
The sale eventually was negotiated by
the National City Bank of New York
City through Hartley’s Bank, Limited,
Manchester, England, the records showed.
However, before the deal was completed
Hey borrowed $20 on a note at the De-
troit bank. A little later came a_tele-
graphic payment from the National City
Bank to the Detroit bank, totaling
$361.65 in favor of Hey, who then paid
off the note, opened a savings account of
$100 at the bank and took the rest. of
the money with him, Fox learned.
Hey then left. for California. On No-
vember 7th the Detroit bank received a
wire, worded in the American banking
The old San Bernardino courthouse
where the desert slayer was tried.
The building has since been re-
: placed
code, from a bank at Rock Springs, Wyo-
ming, asking if Wilfred Hey’s check,
pass-book No. 268051, was good for $10.
The bank replied that it would pay the
check and ‘ow days later, received a
draft for $: n the Rock Springs bank.
It was date S\ovember 7th.
Three days later Hey wired from Og
den, Utah, for the Detroit bank to for-
ward the balance of his savings account
to that-city. This was done and netted
him $87.79 when telegraphic fees we
deducted. This was the amount not’!
on the bit of crumpled paper found in
the victim’s pocket.. Still pending in
Hey’s favor, however, was the sale of the
balance of his British war bonds, it was
explained.
The Detroit bank records showed Hey’s
address..as 1368 Perry Street, that city.
At that address Captain Fox found the
“Kalamazoo,” an apartment home of
which Mrs. Dellrose Forrest. was general
manager. She remembered Wilfred Hey
as a former roomer and was able to give
interesting information.
“Hey was an Englishman and a printer,
who came to the apartment last July
and engaged. a sleeping room,” she ex-
plained. “On September 24th he brought
a man named Watts here to share his
room. I guess Watts was broke at the
time and Hey felt sorry and took him in.
“Then, about October 28th, Hey paid
up his room rent, which amounted to
$33, and he and Watts left in a second-
hand Overland touring car for California.
I was on the porch and saw them drive
away together. Later I received a postal
card from Watts saying, ‘Arrived safe in
Chicago. Forward my mail to General
Delivery, Los Angeles.’ ”
This was the last word that Mrs. For-
rest heard from the two men.
Further checking of records at the De-
troit bank now revealed another odd
angle in the case, so Sheriff Shay was
informed by Captain Fox. On Novem-
ber 29th, Wilfred Hey had wired from
Los Angeles instructing the Detroit bank
to forward all funds from the sale of the
rest of his British war bonds to the Bank
of Italy, corner of Seventh and Olive
Streets, Los Angeles. Sheriff Shay was
glad to get this information, for it con-
firmed a growing suspicion he had begun
:
to feel.about the case. Iurthermore, 1b
brought the investigation a little nearer
home. Hitherto he had gone around by
Robinson Crusoe’s barn in an effort to
identify the murder victim and learn his
last known address. That wadded bit. of
paper found in the victim’s pocket had
had ramifications reaching not only across
the United States but even the Atlantic.
Now the trail swung around toward home
once more for Los Angeles is only sixty
miles west of San Bernardino.
The Sheriff immediately left for Los
Angeles, interviewed Mrs. Esther Sillo-
way, an employee of the Western Union
office at Seventh and Olive Streets, and
found that the office files verified the
Detroit information that Hey had wired
for his funds to be forwarded to the
Bank of Italy. That bank was just across
the street from the Western Union office.
The Sheriff went over there, introduced
himself to W. G. Symonds, bank official,
and asked to see the bank record and
address of Wilfred Hey, a man who, had
been killed in San Bernardino County
amid strange circumstances. Symonds
gladly cooperated and after a little
checking, announced:
“Our records show that on Decen
Ist, last, a client of ours came to
with a man whom he introduced as ‘\'
fred Hey who wanted to open an account
with us. The prospective depositor had
wired for transfer of his funds from a
Detroit bank which had been handling
some British war bonds for him... . The
money transfer totaled $1,250.28 which,
less various charges, netted Mr. Hey
about $1,100. Our client guaranteed Mr.
Hey’s signature whereupon we issued him
a cashier’s check for his net amount and
he opened an account with us. Mr. Hey
gave his address as 1201 Leighton Avenue,
the same as that of the client who intro-
duced. him.” .
f iow Sheriff next asked when Hey had
been in the bank last. The reply con-
tradicted the officer’s personal theory of
the case. It developed that about a
week after Hey opened his account at
the Bank of Italy, he came in and with-
drew $900, saying that he intended to pur-
chase a service station somewhere on
Western Avenue, a major thoroughfare
that extends in a southerly direction from
Los Angeles some twenty miles toward
the sea. Then, as records showed, on
December 9th, a check for $3.20, made
out to H. O. Thomas and signed by
“Wilfred Hey” was cashed by a man at
Carruthers, about one hundred miles
north of Los Angeles.
That check indicated that Hey was
alive on December 9th, possibly some
few days later. The desert corpse was
discovered on December 26th, which left
about two weeks for the body to reach
the advanced state of decomposition it
was in when found. The Sheriff had seen
Hey, a:
conclud:
But :
Watts 1
dress.
that a:
lived th
left som
had gon
At thi
of Sprin:
learned
Watts |
Decemb:
mail be :
vania, |
human »,
$3.20 “H
from Ca:
around D,
clude tha
only a ru
Instead o
ave gonr
Shay ne
ferent ang
complaint
fied autho:
had given
ean
WILD KILLER
captured later when he tried to sell the
animals. For this crime, Vasquez went
to San Quentin Prison with a five year
sentence, but he broke jail after two
years in the lock-up, and hid out in the
northern section of the state, in the
Mother Lode close to the town of
Jackson. There, he was caught again
and returned to prison to serve his
time.
After his release, ‘Vasquez
re-united his old gang, and was a
suspect when a butcher in the San Jose
area was found shot to death and
robbed of $400. Witnesses described a
diminutive suspicious person in the
area that fitted Vasquez quite well,
but he didn’t linger to have this killing
pinned on him.
By 1873, when his activities were
reaching a_height of notoriety,
Vasquez tried to hold up a train
between San Jose and Gilroy, but the
locomotive was traveling too fast for
him to jump it, and Vasquez had
neglected to work out any plan of
ambush.
So as not to lose face in the eyes
of his gang, he ordered the robbery of
the Twenty-One Mile House, a nearby
hotel, an affair that incensed the
newspapers because some important
travelers were forced to yield their
personal belongings and were left tied
and face down on the floor.
. Again, true to pattern, Vasquez
went into hiding but was now
beginning to believe himself a
Napoleon. He had been very successful
in most of his raids, and mention of
his name truly struck terror through-
out much of California.
In the mind of Vasquez, it was
now time for a major style robbery,
the kind of caper that would leave
citizens and the law gasping.
He had heard that a merchant
who was operating Snyder’s Store, in
the community of Tres Pinos, didn’t
trust banks, and also kept a lot of
other people’s money, being that the
New Idria stage stopped at the Snyder
store, and travelers often left valuables
in the store’s safe until they departed
the next day.
_ Waiting for darkness, Vasquez
made his move on August 26, 1873,
arriving at the edge of the town with
36 WESTERNER/July-August, 1974
about four men, two of which he sent
ahead to saunter through the town and
size up the situation.
When his scouts returned, they-
showed a handful of cigars they had-
brazenly bought at the Snyder store.
“We take this one with ease,
Senor Vasquez,” one of: the outlaw
scouts explained. “I saw no guns
around,”
By now, it was pitch-dark, and
Vasquez put the capter into full
action, just after the New Idria stage
pulled to a stop in front of the store.
Two of his men rushed inside with
pistols and yelled a hold-up was in
progress, and the shoppers, stage pas-
sengers, and store employees were told
to line up. Andrew Snyder, the pro-
prietor, was among the prisoners.
At that moment, a Portugese
sheepherder walked into the store to
make a purchase. Understanding but
little English, this unfortunate sheep-
herder acted confused when he saw
everyone lined up with their hands
held high over their heads.
~ “Join them!” ordered Theodor
Moreno, one of the Vasquez
henchman. “Get in with them now or
Pll shoot,” the bandit shrieked in rage
as the sheepherder began to bolt for
the door, now understanding the cir-
cumstances he was in.
At this moment, Vasquez and
some of his outlaws rushed toward the
store entrance and were confronted by
the bumbling Portugese. There was a
single shot, and the sheepherder fell
dead with a bullet in his brain. Later,
witnesses were confused, being that
some said Vasquez fired the shot,
while others maintained it was
Moreno, who was ultimately blamed
for the murder.
In the excitement, Vasquez
barked orders, but another customer
coming into the store happened to be
a deaf man, and was already inside
when he observed the mass hold-up.
He ran in panic toward a rear exit as
Vasquez once more shouted for him to
stop, and then fired when he failed to
‘heed the command.
Hearing the sound of shots, the
owner of a hotel next to Snyder’s
Store, ran toward it to see what was
going on, and Vasquez fired again.
Now ... three were dead!
Taking all of the money in the
Snyder safe and robbing his customers
and the stage passengers, Vasquez
made off with $1200. in cash and
perhaps almost that much in jewelry.
He then ordered his outlaws to mount
up, and they disappeared in the dark-
ness, following the banks of Tres Pinos
Creek. ;
A posse formed within hours, and
began to track Vasquez, but lost him
near the town of.Fresno. A few days
.
Many of Vasquez’ band were strung up by
viligante groups as soon as they were
caught. Below is ‘‘Greek George” who
offered Vasquez sanctuary in Los Angeles
when a sheriff’s posse was getting close
F
vty
f\
i;
ORESENT AT JAIL ENTKANCE.
later, the outlaws were sighted near
Bakersfield in a canyon, and
authorities took up the chase but
again, Vasquez evaded them by hiding
in a tiny gully. There, for the first time
in his criminal career, Vasquez had a
serious agrument with his men.
Abdon Leiva, a trusted lieutenant
had argued that Vasquez was spilling
too much blood needlessly. He was
worried that a lynch mob would
capture all of them, and he _ sur-
prisingly challenged Vasquez who then
ordered him to leave the gang. Later,
Leiva was arrested and turned state’s
evidence against his leader.
However, for the time being,
Vasquez began to split up his gang,
ordering everyone to hide out, and
rejoin when the posses would give up
their search.
_ Racing north, Tiburcio stopped
at a secret camp and picked up four
men who wanted to be outlaws, and
took time to rob the community of
Kingston, getting over $2500., but
leaving several people wounded from
gunfire. '
It was this bold robbery which
was the final straw, for now Governor
Newton Booth, California’s
powerful man, decided Vasquez’s
career had to end. It was a bad
SHERIFE'S OFFIC K a0
County of Sata ¢ ise. )
oan d tose, Marei: ae
See Pursuant ta the Statute in Sach Casts Von are
hereby invited tebe present at the execation of ‘Tiburcio V: amen,
at the faibef said County, in San Jose, on the toth day of March,
ALU) aS87s, at t:30 o'clock PLM.
J. H. ADAMS, Sheriff.
. Nor TRANSFERAELE
An artist’s version of the seaport town
of Monterey as it appeared when Vasquez
grew up there (Oakland City Museum photo).
Above, left is an invitation to the
hanging of Vasquez while at right is.
Aldo Leiva who turned against the bandit
chief and spoke freely of Vasquez’ crimes
most.
moment for the pint-sized bandit who
had learned that his former henchman,
Juan Soto had been killed in a gun
duel with Sheriff Harry Morse of San
Francisco when Soto had struck out to
make his own fortune with his own
gang. ;
Meanwhile, Vasquez held up a
wealthy rancher near the town of San
Gabriel, which was a few miles south-
east of Los Angeles, and $800, was
obtained in this caper.
It was a bad move for Vasquez
for it alerted Sheriff Morse ‘to his
whereabouts and the end finally came
when Vasquez was observed in a small
canyon near Los Angeles. He had
ridden about 25 miles and had to take
cover. He had really planned to make a
good escape from San Gabriel and hide
in the Tehachapi Mountains, knowing
the posse after him would be in the
Los Angeles area.
Vasquez was trapped “when a
heavy fog settled over the canyon, and
he decided to rest up at a ranchhouse
he had once visited, and bhcendy owner
ned befriended him.
‘ Apparently, Sheriff Siaiey Morse
had dwelled on this possibility for his
posse played a trick in that six men
hid in a wagon, concealing themselves,
and had a friendly Mexican farmer
drive it to the ranchhouse, where the
wagon then blocked the doorway.
Having paused to eat at the time,
Vasquez was unprepared for the snare,
but, as he saw the lawmen jump from
the wagon, the outlaw was on his feet
in an instant and tried to escape
through a window. A hail of buckshot
at close range dropped him, and as the
posse tied up the bandit and dressed
his major wounds, Vasquez pleaded
for them to take a bribe of ten
thousand dollars and permit him to
escape.
It was a useless offer for these
men were too dedicated to the law to
be diverted, and they returned the
bandit to the main group of possemen
and Vasquez was driven by wagon to
the Los Angeles jail.
From then on, as he made the
long journey to Monterey County, and
then further north to the town of San
Jose where he was held in jail, huge
crowds gathered whenever the posse
stopped with Vasquez to rest or eat.
Getting a glimpse of California’s most
deadly bandit was an _ experience.
Vasquez looked ugly and desperate,
and he was guarded every second of
the journey.
Found guilty by a jury, and
answering to a charge of murder,
Vasquez was sentenced to death, with
the hanging set for March 18, 1875.
On the day of execution, a large
crowd, present by written invitation
from the sheriff, watched as Vasquez
mounted portable gallows. He had
written two surprising notes when told
his gang had been broken up, and that
his henchmen were being taken, one
by one to pay the penalty. One note
was his thanks for reasonable treat-
ment by his jailers, and the other was
repentant with Vasquez asking pardon
from those he had hurt by his
banditry.
It was past noon, when the noose
was fitted around his neck, and the
small bandit was positioned over the
trap door on the gallows.
“Pronto!” exclaimed Vasquez,
_ urging the hangman to open the drop
and get it over with. It was his last
statement, for the floor of the gallows
suddenly creaked as the drop swung
open, and Tiburcio Vasquez fell to his
death, dying almost immediately when
the hangman’s rope caught his cervical
vertebrae, crushing his spinal cord and
sending him into permanent oblivion.
Even while facing death, Vasquez
refused to tell where he had hidden all
of the spoils of his hold-ups. Pre-
sumably, he had created a number of
caches in California, hoping to claim
the loot as he needed it, and to live a
wealthy life. Whereabouts of his
treasure stays a mystery, as do the
reasons for his heinous crimes. @
37
53
7 oer age Bo
STAs Raw
REAL WEST Py
Ei s the wagon pulled up close to
> & JUHZ »
Oct. 1986
the small house, six men hid-
den in the bed jumped to the
ground. All were armed and sprint-
ed for predetermined locations. Emil
Harris, a Los Angeles police offic-
er, burst through the door and
caught a glimpse of his quarry leap-
ing through a back window. Shout-
ing “There he goes!’’ Harris threw
his Henry rifle to his shoulder and
fired after the disappearing figure.
The bullet punched harmlessly into
a wall.
Outside the fugitive crouched for
a moment, trying to decide whether
to run for his horse or some shelt-
ering willows. When he did run, he
was confronted by a posseman who
quickly sighted his rifle and shot him
through the shoulder. ‘‘No shoot!
No shoot!’’ cried the fugitive as
Chief Frank Hartley blasted him with
a load of buckshot in the back. Sev-
eral other possemen now rushed |
up, and the wounded man was led |
around the corner of the house
where a companion stood with up-
raised hands. The bleeding outlaw
was led off to one side where a
sheepskin had been thrown on the
ground.
George Beers, a reporter for the
San Francisco Chronicle, had been
the first to shoot, but now he bent
down to examine the outlaw’s
wounds. He was bleeding badly, but
at first glance no vital parts seem-
ed to be hit. Hartley, the Los Angel-
es chief of police, looked down at
his victim, cradling his deadly shot-
gun in his arms.
“Me Vasquez,” grinned the pri-
soner. ‘‘Me gone in now! It’s all my
fault. | don’t blame you boys. . .’’
Emil Harris now walked over
carrying his rifle at the ready. Two
of the outlaws had been captured,
but this was an isolated locale and
others might be lurking nearby. Har-
ris had only been on the Los Angel-
es police force for some three years
but was already noted as a detec-
tive. Not hearing the fallen man’s
20
Mv
iv
by William B. Secrest
Af hang Ze
admission, Harris said, ‘‘It’s no use
Tiburcio, | know you too well. I’ve
been after you for two years.”’ Sev-
eral other possemen prepared for
the seven- or eight-mile trip back to
Los Angeles. Tiburcio Vasquez, the
most noted California outlaw since
the bloody days of Murrieta, had
been captured at last!
Spanning the years between
1854 and 1874, the career of Vas-
quez was a sporadic record of pil-
lage, murder, rapine, and treachery,
even though much of this time he
was in San Quentin prison. Al-
though there are those today who
would suggest that Vasquez was a
folk hero to his people, the truth is,
he was a heartless brute who dis-
Author's Collections
Alinouen sometimes eR aracterized
by careless modern historians as a
Mexican hero or revolutionary,
Tiburcio Vasquez was, in reality, a
bold and bloody robber and killer with
few redeeming traits.
graced his family, seduced his own
niece and one of his own men’s
wife, shot down unresisting robbery
victims, and enticed young boys in-
to a life of crime time and again.
Jose Jesus Lopez, who knew Vas-
quez and employed many of his
men at the Tejon Ranch, once stat-
ed, ‘‘I consider him one of the most
disgraceful rascals and degenerate
scamps among the native Califor-
nios.”’
Base and treacherous, Vasquez
was nonetheless colorful and daring
and met his capture and death with
great bravery. His life has been writ-
ten up many times in books and ar-
ticles and even been the subject of
television dramas. Today he is wide-
ly known, while members of his
gang have mostly faded into obscur-
ity. But these members of his out-
law band were real people also, of-
ten not rawhide-tough desperadoes,
but vaqueros and sheep herders
looking for an easy, fast buck. Their
story is an untold chapter in the Vas-
quez saga and a curious sidelight to.
early California history.
In his last years Vasquez had a
small nucleus of a gang and, for the
most part, recruited members as
they were needed. The mines
around New Idria, the infamous
California Ranch on the San Joa-
quin River, the villages at Las Jun-
tas and Posa Chane, and the Pan-
ama settlement near Bakersfield
were all enlistment headquarters for
the bandit gangs. In this way gang
members could scatter after a raid
to their respective homes and fam-
ilies, making the jobs of the pursu-
ing posses next to impossible.
Also, many of these bandits were
seasoned vaqueros. They were
born to the saddle, could ride like
the wind, and cover distances to.es-
tablish alibis like no criminals before
or since. Some were -captured,
some were killed, and many just dis-
appeared or went straight after e
few raids.
Although obviously many of the
Vasquez gang were bad apples to
begin with, more than a few were
talked into a criminal act by Vas-
quez himself. The tendency of crim-
inals to blame others for their troubl-
es is well-known, but Vasquez was
noted for being able to talk the leg
off a table. Once he started sweet-
talking a poor vaquero or sheep-
herder about the glamorous life of
a highwayman, few could resist him.
In commenting on the corrupting of .
Clodoveo Chavez, a San Jose
newspaper commented:
““Chevez was raised in the vic-
inity of San Juan and bore a
good reputation before the wi-
ly and oily-tongued Vasquez
induced him to become one of :
his followers. ..’’
Asquez
Author's Collections
Thomas Procopio Bustamente is
little-known today, but he was a
notorious cattle thief and bandit inthe
1860s and -70s. He came from the
very best bandit stock, his mother
being the sister of Joaquin Murrieta.
Later, the outlaws sometimes
wondered themselves why they had
let themselves be talked into such
a business, as in this interview with
Abdon Leiva which appeared in the
San Francisco Bulletin in November
of 1873:
“‘Leiva says he does not know
why he was persuaded to ac-
company Vasquez, as he and
those associated with him,
Moreno, Rodriguez and Chav-
ez, were laboring men, follow-
ing the occupation of sheep-
shearers...”
Seventeen-year-old Procella An-
amantoria, captured after the King-
ston raid, was typical of the several
youths whose dreams of glory un-
der the Black Flag were quickly
shattered when they found them-
selves behind bars. He was inter-
viewed in prison by an enterprising
reporter in May of 1874:
‘‘...The appearance of the
youth naturally awakens sym-
pathy among those who are..
unacquainted with the fact
that he has fought under Vas-
quez and deserves the pun-
ishment meted out for an in-
fraction of the law. Anamanter-
ia has a soft and pleasing
voice... and admits that he
rode on the highway with Vas-
quez and says that the bandit
ensnared him with false pro-
mises and rosy pictures of
glory. _ iB]
One of the worst of the Vasquez
raiders was Isador Padillo. Before
joining Vasquez for the bold robbery
of Kingston, Padillo had been a
member of the Jesus Tejada gang.
In December of 1869, Tejada, Pad-
illo, and several others robbed a
store near Stockton, killing five men
in the process. Padillo was even-
tually captured but was released for
lack of evidence. Later, he formed
a gang of his own in the Auburn
area and was finally captured and
sent to San Quentin, where he died.
Of all the raiders with Vasquez,
none achieved the renown or came
to as dramatic an end as Clodoveo
Chavez. As a principal lieutenant,
he participated in the raids on Fire-
baugh’s Ferry, Tres Pinos, Jones’
Store, and Kingston, as well as
numerous forays in the south. That
he had nerve, none could deny. He
shot it out with the law on several
occasions and in the end was gun-
ned down while trying to reach his
own weapon rather than surrender.
As chief of his own robber band af-
ter Vasquez was captured, how-
ever, Chevez never captured the
popular fancy of either the public or
his own men, as noted in the San
Diego Union in December of 1875:
‘“*...As a leader of lawless
men Chavez was preeminent-
ly a failure. Vasquez excelled
in that respect, as he possess-
ed a personal magnetism that
could not be resisted by the
rough spirits with whom he
had to deal. Vasquez always
had a pleasant word and a
smile for his men, and when
he had money never failed to
look out for their spiritual
wants. He was cunning,
shrewd and possessed the
push and recklessness of a
dare-devil. On the other hand,
Chavez was without a spark of
magnetism: was cold-blooded,
slow and generally wrapped
up in himself... He had not
the brain to conceive nor the
skill and cunning to execute
that his dead leader had...”
Yet for all his clumsiness as a
leader, Chavez could frequently rise
to the occasion. When he and his
gang were ravaging the Mojave
Desert country in the spring of 1875,
the Inyo /ndependent reported:
‘‘, .At these places Chavez
announced himself and at one
station showed his skill by
shooting off the head of a
chicken at 300 (?) yards dis-
tance. .. The whole country is
alarmed at this sudden inva-
sion of this modern Joaquin.”
After a series of raids in the south,
Chavez and his men were forced to
split up and run for cover. Making
his way towards the border, Chav-
ez was reported in Chihuahua, Mex-
ico, by one of his men who had
been captured. Jesus Maria had
been wounded when he and five
others of the gang had tried to hold
up Prewett’s stage station in mid-
May of 1875. A Bakersfield posse
had found Maria near a spring
where his compadres had left him
to supposedly go for some medi-
cine. Maria was questioned closely
by the posse and mentioned that
‘ Chavez had left some months earl-
ier for Mexico. In recounting these
events to the editor of the Panamint
News, one of the possemen stated
that ‘‘A shot was fired, and going
back to the Mexican a large-sized
hole was found in his head and he
was found to be dying. It may be
supposed that he committed sui-
cide.”’ Jesus Maria would ride no
more with the bandit gangs.
‘Clodoveo Chavez rusticated in
Mexico for a time, but returned and
was working on an Arizona border
ranch when Luis Raggio met him
When Clodoveo Chavez was killed in
Arizona in November 1875, his head
was cut off and displayed in Cali-
fornia as proof of his death.
21
es Paes Ks
me: BNO eeNA, ane char Wee Bee .
Session 29d Craropenation ef lia-
wer. Officera Robert Kright and
Nenry Giamchl, whe made the ar-
reste. reperted that the aviomobdiie
Griven Ry the twe Men carted a
Galion of whisky and feur bet.
tres cf Phoma brew.
COUNTY LER
DELIVERS
dink and Relative to an altercation hetween
IN Rimseif and Stanley Abel, supervisor |
a “over | bi the fourth district, FL E. Smith,
Re 108", wounty clerk, made the following
Sits OF statement today:
trict Mira the public
“On: my return tm Rakersfield this)
Sicepate i FEAR! Ora of an Rrticle
i written by tintome Rupervisor |
of the hecoea: distrtet. cammenting on
,i the occurence
courthouse a week ago last Thursday -
+; and was told the contents of this
statemert.
“The Rrst place I naturally
:far ft wae tn the comic section
ar
‘Tnative '
ssatnst i
-ing on,
“t. Tht.
ler for
|
vill
a
s
>
not be.
Inoked
in
neter. Not finding it,
a@ further search. I found the article
.Im question and after.perusing it If
‘felt that Mr. Abel in hia own state-
‘ment hrd
.T made
tlonabdle.
to him which waa so obfec-
failed to find any mention
‘as fojlowa:
ves "Help,
me.
"It may he that in ietiiovsnt’ Abel's!
H makeup there is an inclination to call
le G. J. ‘for help before he is reaily hurt, but
Curtis- t have always found it in other cases,
“8. He to be otherwise. FP. E&. SMITH."
| arother, - ai
help, Dick. He's
Crites Banner on
Aug. 16.—Crites-for-Con- :
the message carried on a
banner which stretches high over:
» placed there
i‘ ineinibers of the Crites- for-CongtTess
Mub. orgunizead here with Raymond
\ Cees R& president, Harry A. Hopkins;
cers and ax secretary, and Oscar Kommers as
23
‘slephone treasurer.
‘4 pall of Membere of the club are enthust- ,
ored at astic over the opportunity for their:
‘field for candidate to carry Kern county in his:
campaian for the Republican nomina-
tion for the House of Representatives -
from the Tenth Congressional district !
United at the primary election on August 30.
over the
rom 8:15
Mey atten atten:
willy dis-
ipne Atay. Dions to Complete
oe ee Bi a
i Chem!- | g Ro
t, layrep-;
er JD. Pians ‘’ © the ble milk fund. bene-
Hotel El fit reden to be staged at the fair-
grounds Tabor day by Lions Club will
ercupy the attention of the club mem-
at Hote! bers when they meet In Et Tejon hotel
\g of the. Wednesday. neon.
4 Gee & Reperts by Tan Goode, genernl
rodeo chatrrnan, and i. C. Olsen, milk
fund chairman, will be heard.
et ype en
mo Hac: KERN DELTA MEETING
patel: Tu- Kerr leetta Farm Home Department.
Hotei ©) ante ‘
meniiers are to meet at the home of:
Mra A. swofferd on Wednesday, Aug-
‘ vet 17 2o pom. it Was announced
fal Tefonsenday hy Mie 1. FL Formway, chair-:
pArns'-- 0 man cf the department.
ur) ! <p ie
SAAVEBSIDE RITES
Mravectde funeral rites were con-
‘2, Rho ts ayia vtawo oat Union cemetery for
ated Afr Natiiitad ANtete, Tl, of Roxedaie.
acre laa gies > ay at a local hospital and,
eM bo rekelivee of record
AUENDER
which happened Jn the:
swhich Major Hoople is the chief char-)
however, after:
verified the remark which
of hia }oud cries for help which were:
killing |
Display Over Taft:
pied Bint in the arraignment proceedings
M same, |
3 x
liarty Krougi momaied
petval trephy for the slow-(ire piste
championship ef the county at
yards
Can Walert, sheriff of the county, has}
‘donated a fine trephy andythe course
to be fired for ibe pospeeeiion will be}
designated later i
i The Bakersfield Hardware Company |
(has centributed a trophy for the forge |
range enaii-bore champlonahip, '
Wickershain’s Jeweiry Company haa.
given another beautiful emblem for
shooting which will be preecribed
later,
Starting this Sunday, ithe club will
toperate ite running deer target, the
shooting to be open to the general
, public for a nominal range fee.
Theugh thie silhoveltle of » deer te
lalmost as big 28 A moose and ia at vs
irange of 175 yarda, traveling at a
‘fairly siow pace, ®9 per cent of the
ghots fired at it are scored as inisses
‘so far, er
Membera of the chib deem it excel-
‘Yent ‘peactice for deer shomting aa it
comea a& close to aimuiating actual
‘conditiona aa posaibie.
All those interested are invited to
‘bring their guns eut Sunday at the
‘range on the matte and try them out
iL Mi ERATORS FACE
!
1
lie a
peer.
ar
oe
|
i
‘
HEAVY JA TERS
of
| Kern River district, today faced sen-}
Third Tovwnehip Justtee Court issued |
Judge Hunter's court on January 20. |
were found guilty and each waa sen-
to Tun consecutively, and the. Jurist j
‘claims within €0 days, and $59 each;
amounted to approximately $1700.
‘court, and today became subject to
| at Park Thursday
Stanley P. Murphy and John Me- |
tences of 149 days each in tha county |
- commitment papers aunties them. i
1232, on charges of having violated the
!tenced toa serve six months in- the;
| gave them probatign on the condition
| month until the claims were patd in
According to information, they fail-
commitment,
Bakersfield Soctalists
Carty, one-time off operators of the!
jail, when Judge Ren Hunter of thei
Murphy and McCarty were tried in!
atate semi-monthly wage law. They
_ county jail on four counts, each count |
i that they each pay $4@ of the wae
‘full. The claime, it was reported,
| ed to fulflll their agreement with the
Socialists Gather
basket supper_at Heale
t
hold a!
Fark Thurs-y}
will
‘lar bustness meeting of
will follow the meal.
officera will be inducted into office, ;
and plans will be made for a aerieg |
of public meetings in the coming:
month.
Walter Thomas Milla, veteran So0-
‘clalist author and lecturer, will «peak :
‘tn Bakersfield next Monday night, at
/ City Hall Park. Mille is well known.
-tn thts county, having spoken here at:
a series of meetings 19 years ago. '
“Joba for the Un-
the group}
/ His mubject will be
employed.”
HEARING SET AUGUST 19
Dick Thompson, a Bakersfield youth
charged with asanult, was arraigned tn
the Sixth Township Justice Court
yeaterday, and his preliminary hearing ,
was set for August 19 at 2 p. m.
o~
Judge Ren Hunter, who presides over.
Court,
in
the Third Township Justice
he ahvence of Judge Stewart
eevee is oul of the city for a few days,
2
@_) | eee
. ae = | See ah t ina atin mds ee
eneoof tha neat ef the county a) otiaied with big fare, Siorean ja me
Wa leorahods. te have ataried ewinging :iabte ro
259 Aeree Swept ltefte that ended onty woot iciende +
Ftre flahters held the biase to an{ the dytiver intervede4, aad beuee ae
area of romething more than [50] rived, ‘
aster, tt ja eatiniated, | - a wad
Three cther fires within a radive | en py een ate lt i rine
of one-half intte weee put out inf feat: : a
ataanx on the Losedale highway late ; Lis ae 1
yesterday, During the fire Hatting, | ss ¥ weil g vat Vee
Tiinw PFreear, saasiatant ranger, float Le} giserg aaee ami m
his badge and offerea a reward for ita i ic i "I a 1 ef i
praesiciys ¥ head 09 Bed od \ suid
q
\
i
iT) RITES LE r FANN
STOR OF AX DALE
Story of the ax batile which sent
Iferbert Crew, 38, and white, ta the
So mtbr Runday fre
trealinent of head tnjuriee and browen
teeth, waa revealed today by deputy
sheciffe who investigated the fight,
Crow, {t wre reported, took hia wife
and young child to the Capanni ranch,
early Nunday, and mixed with abest
a score of colored residents there. The
Negroes, and white man drank heavily
and during ceurse of the drinktira
beut Crow. it is said, started a fignt
which ended when Jean Atrong, coi-
or\ed, swung an ax at his white al-
tacker with deadly accuracy.
Caupannti ranch Ja located = ahout
three milra due eaat of Weed Pateh.
Crow resides at Weed Patch. ifte
wifo ia at home with her baby and
hospital attachesn today sald that the
husband's condition waa ‘fatr.’’
_
Walker Moved Into
Folsom Death 2
iUnited Presa Leesed Wire)
FOLSOM PRISON, Aug. 16.—Two
convicted killers were asalgned to
“murderers” row’ today awalting
execution for thelr crimes Friday
morning unless Governor Rolph inter-
yenes,
They are Tom Walker,
slayer of Anna Garcia, hia asserted
common-law wife, and Pat Noble, Loa
Angeles, who killed a fellow negro in
é
i
Nakersfield,
| Loa Angeles,
Walker haa received five reprieves
from Governor Rolph on showings
that he was mentally unsound. The
Supreme Court, however, has refused
to Fecominend clemency, which leaves
the governor no other alternative than
to permit the execution to proceed,
is aie
Plan Funeral for
who died when he fell asieep at
Radent contrat drives tn tha fllonr -
the valley and na far am ihe Woo
section have Leen compieted, F,
liradahaw, deputy at tha affice of i
A. Viurteh, agricultural comm amigas
nes hd foxtay,
‘The repulte have Leen aq eatir
factory as we enuid expect, theug
this problem is cre wher require
constant ptudy and cogusuoue repain
he: ieclared,
"We received excellent kills te ore
all dietrieta, though there area som
small areas willhin (these diletrict
whieh have not preved eatiafactory &
the pquirrele have refused ta take an
of the baita offered. This seema
be nature's way of preventing the «x
termination of (the srpeciea,
"We find” he continued, “that
the mountain districts it is neceseal
to do nur recent control work In th
full after the grain crope have bre
harvested.”
Nguirrels are reported active ta +)
Tehachapi Gtatrict.
sth i
t cS:
vill wud
%
the oni
damage which resulted frem a coil!
sion between 4 sireet car of the Kak
Breken machinery wa
erefleld & Kern Electric Haiiwe
Company's ine and a truck and trail
er, at the intersection of Nineteeni
and Hi wtreeta, at 1:30 p. m, today.
Ww. Cc. Rreckman, of 214 Flows
atreet, conductor of the street cna
and Edward H. Deguin, of 323 South
street, Fresno, cperrtor of the truc
and trailer, escaped injuries, as d
teeveral passengers aboard the sire:
car.
An excited witness to the collisio
notified the fire department ar
“a: sd Eade aid. ame “ brok the Htwhorse. —
, 326 Program: '@ay “ev ehing at ‘6 ocleck. "The rex t= “Laat” titew “far Ar Co Fewards ae entry Sil
i
Newly elected i wheel of his automobile early ¥riday | 3
morning and the machine crashed into,
the rear of a truck on Union avenus,.
five miles south of Rakerefield, prob-
the Bakersfield Funeral Home.
Conduct Rites for
‘ably will be conducted Wednesday at,
Woodford Resident
Mass was celebrated today at
Joseph’s church for Mrs. ple i
O Connor Martin. 72, hotel operator .
at Woodford, who died Saturday, and!
the body was laterred fn Unton cem- |
Arrangements were in charge |
etery.
of the Payne & Son chapel.
BENZ BANK STOLEN
OOM» Tene. of 738 Grace «street,
tng te hia $-year-old
vesn stolen from the family howe.
hag Wednesday at 19 a.
reported to police that a bank belong - ltery under direction
dauxhter has ! ttela Funeral Home.
brought fire-fighting men and truch
ite the scene. Officer Ed Walla ar
lOrtieer T. W. Johnson of the peli:
department were at the scene 3!
‘cleared the atreet of the wreckage.
| The street car struck the truck ar
{trailer almost amidships, Front
the street car wan crushed and gla:
about the street. Tt
rear of the truck itself we
«
iright
Pair Asking $ 35590
for Car Collisio
John and Plena Pagilarulo, husba:
®*and wife, are suing RB. F. Richard»
‘and the Southern California Edis:
Company, asking judgment for $5
alleging Infuriea tn an automontle ce
lixion at the tntersection of Cotui
‘bine and Rural roads in Tulare coun
| March 14, 1932.
Attorney Fredrick W. Welsh repr
sents the plaintiffs.
GOLOEN SERVICES
Funeral rites were arranged tod
ifor James A. Goiden, a transient, »
‘died August 14 at a local hospit:
Ciraveside services will be conduct
mm. at Uaten cen
of the Rake:
He was ¢2 ¥°
lot age and left no relatives of reco:
—Se eee
WALKER, Thomas Hey white, hanged Folsom Prison, CA (Kern) on 8-19-1932.
/
w
rc. —_ |
b
C €
ieee cee |
DOE & MEANS
1g>.-}
yy, G-L9-773
4 H. Walkr a j city OR ay) , |
Son oR AGE sf RESIQENGE
RECCRD
|
I yrndur— Wflafl43l | | : ao |
ae ee ee AGE |RAcE — | METHOD VsVIE, Feder Flute Lherohing hey Y § 7d
—- MAX TReu a LLiatth Asmnt
D
SYNOPSIS
TRIAL
APPEALS
LAST WORDS
EXECUTION
Libasitol x4 Ot Mid des
Fs 7 i
ANDi amenennaron seer ae rene ne NOTTS TAT OE
Soom edocsidanhSl nu cteaamparemcmnooemen erent eee nie NET OE
AKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, FRIDAY,
2000 LABORERS *
ENDANGERED AS
“INFLUENZA HITS
ARVIN DISTRICT
16 PWorkon Taken Feo:
“Their ‘Tesks to Kern .Hos-
z
) > pital for Observation -
40 ‘PIDEMIC CAN |
1_ _HECKED BY MOVE
Fear Repetition of Horrors
Undergone in 7
+ Of Few Years Past
LIvEs of more re than 2000 sesicakt
ture laborers, and those of
anch owners and operstors in the
\rvin district, are imperiled, fol-
owing an outbreak of a disease be-|:
‘lieved to be influenza.
A picture of the horrors expert-
aced in Kern county during the
reat outbreak of that disease sev-
ral years ago was reviewed today
ose 16 laborera, taken from their
n the Arvin district late yester-
og were unéer observation in Kern
seneral Hospital, where they have
een Isolated.
The patients display the symptoms
f Influenza and every effort was
eing made today by health authori-
es to preclude the posaibility of an
utbreak of the dread disease.
With the Arvin district In throes of
great shipping season, hundreds of
Inerants are at work there, and a
gread of the affilction would net be
ifficult.
.
IRGANIZATIONS
("ING WARDELL
‘ounties and Socicties Join
in Movement in Behalf of
Noted Californian
DEPRESSION ~
BOTHERS DAN |
‘CUPID'S AIM
"The Utuelen that twe ane ean
ive ae eheapty 26 one, apparentiy
has gone by the beard,
Marriages have fatten, on
threvghewt the stste and Kern
seunty has been me exception to
the index fer the commonwealth,
For the first siz mentha of thie
year, Kern county is credited with
287 marriages in sontrest te 258 fer
the firs? six monthe during 1931.
For the state there were 23,779
“marriages f + the sia menthe’ pe-
ried, againet AAs nied the Hiret
hal of 1931,
.:
=~ MERTEN TEAS
~ GRAPE SHIPPING
Markets Thureday Register
Slight Improvement as
= Season Dalles
With @ total of 163 cars sinned for
grape loadirig yesterday, shipments of
fresh grapes from California on
Wednesday totaled 98 care compared
with 46 cars shipped on the same date
last year.
Wedneaday’s shipments brought the
total from the state so far thin sea-
son to 2330 cara compared with 3067
ears shipped to the same date last
year. The highest shipments po far
this year were on August 12, when
103 cars left the state.
Weak Market
Thé season has been somewhat de-
layed by the weather, which is cooler
than usual, together with the weak
market and shippers state the move-
ment Is approximately a week to ten
Gayw behind last. year.
Murkets yeaterday showed some tm-
Pravement from Wednesday's levela,
but the range of prices showed a wide
separation between high and low, par-
tleularly for seedless. The low sale
War made at 35 cents in St. Louls,
where a car averaged 8 centa a pack-
age, while the bigh rale of $1.60 wan
LJ
approximately 12 cars was $1.17. The
actual extent of the range was $1.28.
General Level Raleed -
Malagas dé4 not show wo grent a
range, with a jJow of 80 cents In Pitts-
burg and a high of $1.26 In Detroit
~
Efforts to Save,
~ Killer’: s ife Foil |
rpuowas H. Walker, 50, died .
day on the gallows for the mur-
Ger of Anna Garcia at Bakersfield
& year ago, according to dispatches
to The Bakersfield Californian, -
trap was sprung at 10:01
dead ib minutes later.
Father P. J. Croain, Catholic chap-
the gallows with a Urm step.
said.
“1 hope he will,” replied Walker,
nha were 55 witnensea, including
the narrow execution chamber.
Five Tims. Saved
most extensive
ducted by Governor Ralph inte a cap-
ital offense since he has been gover-
postponed by executive reprieve. All
told, Walker was examined by five
different allenists, three of whom de-
anced,
Walker, a “narcoties addict,
he was convinced that she had been
intention of killing him,
Wielded Kaite %
He catied her into the house, ac-
cused her of the crime, and at the
trial quoted her as. saying:
“Well, what are you going to “¢o
about it?”
Walker took a butcher knife, imei
her 48 times about the body and then
crushed her head with a hammer.
Asked fat the trial why he had car-
ried a rasor in his pocket at the time,
he replied he was planning to kill
himself because he war tired of uv-
ing.
“And I am ptitt tired,” he eon.
chided. “So there isn’t any reasos
to talk about it any more, is there?”
ant SA eet
—-o>-
i
a
in New York, where the average for /
Folks and Facts
SR Re we eye
Bits, of Hotel Gossip
Je -&, Ze - wk
geal Brevities
and IE ial York. The average ta on
a. mn. and Walker was pronounced on
Leaning heavily on the arm of|
lain at the prison, Walker walked to}
“God will be good ta you,” the priest
“Warden Smith has, been good to|
several from Bakersfield, erowded into die
The execution climaxed one of the ae:
investigations. con-j-
nor. Five times the execution “was ]:
cided the man was mentally wnbal- 8
kitted | |
Anna Garcla November 13, 1931, after! ° #
putting polson tn his coffee with the .
oe Democrats }
of Ranta Barbara,
brought hie Sseailianas. for the Derno~
eratic nomination for Cangress.in the
Tenth distriet to Bakersfield -today..
The candidate tx aannciated etth the
Santa Barbara Unien Labor Mews and
ond Rewrpaper . interesta, tenths San
caquin yalley.
For several days Me, ncodeioen, has
been campaigning In-~Taf? and wither
West Side centera and expects to visit
other Kern eounty districts betere ges
turning to hie home city. ~
Speaking of his candidacy” Me
Bredateen sald: “The Gan Jonexin
valley should be Included in existing
plana ef the national. govprement for
flood ventro) and the stirpiea weter eo
wtered..should be made fion and
supplement exiating | pe a bn
Guce ite present cost. he
Riceunerwhens and other én
»sublic - in
ately 16,-
ph
Trade A
Candidate; Mra Atherton
“-- Endoses Cause
a
~
(Special te The Califersien)
BAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17.—-A
highly important indorsement of Jus-
tus S. Wardell, Democratic senatori§!
candidate, ls that of the Alliance of
Retail Trade Aszacciationa of - porth-
ern California, announced by that or-
ganisation yesterday fellowing A
meeting In the Underwood building,
Ban Franciste, .
The alliance comprises the Callfor-
nia Retail Grocers and Merchants’ As-
gociation, the Allied Automotive © In-
dustriea, the Northern California Re-
tail Druggists’ Association and the
Retall Hardware and Implement As-
sociation, with a total of 7,008
members, all independent retalers,
throughout the #tate. Several of the
Organisations are engaged in state-
wide activities, and are not confined
‘te nertheen California alone.
“Per. the .- Democratic ._nam} .
for senator.” said W. D. Hedeter, #ec-
retary ef the California Retall Gro-
cers and Merchants Association, who
presided at the alliance meeting, “we
unanimoualy chose .Wardell aa the
most suitable candidate.” .
Bante Rosa for Wardell .
Enthusiastic crowds greeted War-
dell at Santa Rosa, Petaluma and
Healdaburg at meetings arranged by
Charles O. Dunbar, city manager of
Ranta Roea,’ and Rosas Pool of the
Sonoma County Hop and Grape Grow-
ers Association. :
“Judging from the hearty reception
given Wardell,” said Poot “he will
carry this section of the state by an
overwhelming majority at the primary
election August 33, and will lead the
field at the November election.”
- Mra. Atherton Speaks ;
Gertrude Atherton, Callfornia’s iIn-
ternationally-famed novelist, gave uD-
qualified indorsement to the candidacy
of Justus 8. Wardell in his campaign
in a statement received at Wardell
northern California headquarters yes-
terday. . ides
“as a loyal Californian and an old
friend of Justus 3. Wardell,” says
Mrs. Atherton, ‘I believe I have the
right to say that he would make an
ideal United States senator, one who
would intelligently and capably further
the interests of our state in Wash-
“The late Senator Phelan always re-
garded Mr. Wardell as his right-hand
man in California Democratic politics.
They were dear personal friends and
thoroughly in accord on all lideral
¢
has passed from Senator Phelan to Mr.
Wardell, and I sincerely believe that
Mr. McAdoo will not be permitted
to snatch it away.” .
ssociations. Flock “at
policies, The mantle of leadership .
congreseman of the new Tenth
‘Uiet, Waa a focal Vialtor yeetertey,
appearing at noon na the principal
apeaker on thea luncheon program of
the West Aide Buainese Men's (Club.
Wro Derkum.. discunsing politica
dDriefy, talked of conditions throggh-
out the new congressional district,
compriaing the counties of Kern, Tu-
lare, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Ran
Lala Obdlepo.
Years of reaidence tn thia section
of the rtate have given him keen In-
sight into the problema, and the e@o-
lutions of these problema, of the five
counties. .
His visit at the luncheon poasensed
ndded significance, alea, for the civic
leader was one of the organizers of
the firet service club in Taft as well
as in California.
He is a past president and past na-
tienal delegate of Hakerafield Ex-
change Club.
DERKUM BACK FROM
EXHAUSTIVE CAMPAION
Pau) Derkum. prominent Rakersfield
peeks nomination. by the
paign trip through the three coast
aunties of Santa Barbara, San Luis
ispo and Ventura.
Friday evening he took part tn a
Democratic rally in Ran Lute Obiapo
that drew 1300 people Inte the high
school auditorium and was one of the
moat enthualaatic Democratic gather-
Ingg ever held In California, he de-
clared. ?
The following. day he met with
Democratic-leaders in Banta Barbara
and received aasurance of strong sup-
port In that district. Sunday he heli
a conference vith his aponsors In
Santa Barbara and Ventura counties
and on Monday wae tha guest of Ven-
tura Chamber of Commerce.
Socialist to Speak
at Ford City Park
TAFT. Avg. *°7.—Walter Thomas
Milla, one of the greatest orators of
the Soclalilst movement, will speak at
the Greek theater in Kern County
Park, Ford City, Tuesday evening,
August 23, at 7:45 o'clock. Mr. Mills
has been a campaign speaker in 14
presidential elections and has crossed
the Atlantic nine times. He was a
special commissioner for the city of
Milwaukee for five years. — se
Mills’ address Tuesday night will be
“Joba for the Unemployed,” in which
he outlines what he purports to be
the remedies for the depression and
other problems contained in the-So-
cialist platformn. Ss
Another Sociallat speaker coming to
Kern county will be Jim Maurer, vice-
presidential candidate, who will speak
in Bakersfield Friday night, Septem-
ber 16. - Tr
| Youngsters, Mother Take
by geri Aug. 11.—Chips off the
old block are the two small
sons and a daughter of George
Holmes, well known mining engineer
of the Mojave district, and their
mother has proved herself a hard-
rock miner, too.
Instead of using the vacation pe-
ried for fun and frolic, Austin Holmes,
16, and his brother Jack. 15, grubbed
about the mining field and on their
$1200 in Gold From Mine
(Epecial te The Celifornian)
._ The small but hard two pair of}
jhands possessed by the boys, supple-
‘mented by the more delicate ones of
the sister and mother, in nine weeks
have mucked and aasorted ore that
has netted them more than $1200 in
gold. :
Enthusiastic over their success, the
‘boys have declared that they will
continue to operate their mine during
dle |
Volatead act and ieyeal of the Kight
eenth amendment, Mr. Kelly pointed
eut. He te the only World War veter-
an necking the senatorial poat and haa
werved four sessions in the Callfornia
Assembly, He has been endorsed by
all of the national anti-probibition
erganisationa and conducta a rope»
making establishment in San Fran-
clacn as his private enterprises,
Federal aid for the state-wide water
programs ja part of this campaign piat-
form and he belleves that Congrese
should place a tariff on of] so heavy
that importations wold be prohibi-
tive, thereby protecting the products
of America and particularly California,
To .Ansiet Jobless
He haa promised to support every
feaaible legislative movement te pro-
vide employment for those. without
joba, if elected, and Bellaves a reduc-«
tion of taxes can be accomplished only
by abollahment of worthless “commit-
tees of investigation,” which he de-
clares are responsible {for excessive
governmental expenditures. 3
TRAIN INURIES
Gus Nohrer, 64, well-known resident
of the Wasco district who waa struck
by a train last week, died yeaterday
at Kern General Hospital. An taquest
into his death, to determine grounds
for the aulcide attempt rumors which
spread after he was taken to the hoa-
pital wil) be conducted Thureday
morning by Coroner N. C. House.
Funeral services will be conducted
Friday at 10 a, m. at the Payne &
Bon chapel and the" body -will be in-
terred In Union cemetery. ce *
He leaves a stepson, Louls Stelber-
ger of Ban Diego, and a stepdaughter,
Mrs. Mary Brunk of Milwaukee. He
was born in Switzerland nnd had re-
sided in the Wasco district for 23
years. . ;
His left arm, mangled by wheels of
the train engine, was amputated be-
fore death arrived. Trainmen said he
placed his head on the tracks, cvi-
dently in a suicide attempt, but the
Wasco resident denied thoee rumors
and said he was placed there by high-
a who had beaten and robbed
Rede :
WALKER EXECUTION
~ ON FRAY CERTAN
Tom Walker of this city will be
hanged Friday morning at Folsom
penitentiary.
Despite_the fact that some of the
foremost allenistz in the state pro-
nounced Walker sane, following his
murder of his commor iaw wife, Anat
Garcia, Governor Rolph has granted
the man five. reprieves. ,
The state Supreme Court has re-
fused to recommend any further clem-
ency for the former dope peddler, and
gambling house runner, though the
governor interceded ‘several times.
Today it was announced by Governor
Rolph in San Francisco that he would
not extend further executive clem-
ency to Walker.
pes
RECALL 160 MEN YO WORK
HAMMOND, Ind., Aug. 17. (A. P.)
The Universal Atlas Portland Cement
Company today fecalled 1060 men to
work. The Inland Steel Company will
aan
tons this month.
YO-YO 8CHOOL TODAY
First session of the Yo-Yo twirling
achool sporisored by The Bakersfield
jan, is scheduled for ‘this aft-
FATAL TOROHRER|..
raise its finished steel output by 5900 |
ite shining sheet of biue water
$200 feet above pea level, and tnwer-
ing all nreund it, to an additional
height of 300@ feet, majoritic muen-
tains fear thelr mighty peaks . '
¥rom Lake Tahoe thea Sterra War
continsea “threwgh forseta, inte The
fertile (Carson valley, and finely
crosses the eummmii of the Blerra al
an elevation of about 18,600 feet.
A series ef national parka are then
encountered—Taseyilie, General Urant
and Seqwola. The parting avenir
grandeur is hed just before the higk-
way connecta with U, 8, highway 39.
It ambles asiong the Mern river and
meets the highway at Bakersfield. .
CLIPPED EARS TD.
~ CHECK THIEVERY
Probation Officer Speaks at
~~ Exchange Session; Telis —
~0f Terrors --—~—= +=:
i
*
Youths accused of etealing had the!
ears clipped and were put into stack
in the daya of the alighteenth century
Claude Johneou, county probation of
ficer, revealed during an addrees 4
the Bakersfield Kachange Club meet-
ing. Today, he said, youths who sten
are rehabilitated mentally and pbys
loully without sending them to priso:
and without severe punishment.
Vice-President L. BK. Chenoweth pre
nided at the meeting in the place o
President Arthur Thiele and Home
Hopkina was program chairman, Kn
testainment was furnished ty DBernic.
Calagy Lamb, planist;: and by Mis
Madeline Marsh, singer, who wae ac
companied at the plano by. Haroki Car
jock, club musielan, :
Short. talks were made by Don F
Rogers, who told of a happy vzacatio:
apent fishing at Hilton Lekes in th
high Sterras; by V..C. Johnsen, an:
Hal B. Griffie. H. A. Ingalls wor
the altendance prize awarded by Do:
E. Rogers, F -
The poem “Pride,’’ authored .d
Judge Erwin W. Owen, was delivere
by Preaiding Officer Chenoweth, Mr:
/Gloanah Ball Behan spoke before th
club with respect to an” appearatic
at the high achoo! auditorium om Au
gust 18, of Al Johasen, who is pre
senting “The Barrett of _ Wimpo!
Street.” : A
Sin
Lions Discuss Big. :
Labor Day Rode«
Additional features which will >
presented at their rodeo on Labe
day, September 5, were discusse
today by members of the Bakersfie!
Liona Club.
| Mike Sullivan. radio entertains
and known as “the Lion at large,
was a guest at the club and playe
several musical numbers on varied fr
struments. The visiter reported ths
his visit here makes 519 Lions Clut
with which he has met in his travel
Fred Baker presided In the absen
of President William E, Patrick.
Rifle Club Heads»
_ to Plan Contest
[To discuss Getatie In, connect
trophies being donated for the Ba}
ersfield Rifle Ciub, members of t!
| organization will meet tonight et so
Kern street at 17:30 o'clock, Presid:
C. A. Montgomery announced tog>
All members of the rifle cluyy
asked to attend the meeting. 43
46
Y THE TIME police arrived at the neat little apart-
ment house in the fashionable Nob Hill section of
San Francisco, California, most of the tenants had
heard about the murder in 5B and were pressing the
superintendent, James: Cullen, for details. Inspectors Alvin
Corrasa and William Stanton posted patrolmen outside and
instructed the apartment-house man to tell the people no
one would be allowed to leave the premises until everybody
had been questioned. .
When the detectives entered the narrow, one-room apart-
ment they found the nude, battered body of a pretty redheaded
girl stretched out stiffly on the fold-up bed. Her eyes were
bulging from their sockets, and the face was contorted in
agony.
("D
watt
IMé DETECTIVE,
October, 1950
FOUND MURDERED—
Photo above shows Blanche Cousins with the nylon
Stocking that her slayer knotted about her -neck.
» There were deep crimson marks of violence on her throat,
breast and legs. ,
A brown nylon stocking was knotted about the dead girl’s
- neck. One end was drawn around the brass rail of the bed-
stead and tied tightly so that the head was held in a grotesque
backward twist. Brown slacks, the other stocking and a pink
slip were on the floor nearby.
Inspector Corrasa asked Cullen about a telephone, then
,called headquarters. “Girl garroted at 840 California Street,”
he reported. “It’s murder. Notify Homicide and send the
coroner.”
Stanton had
the death chan
“The girl’s n
man was sayin
from Idaho Fe
“How did y:
“The tenant
stated firmly.
picious noises u
was done about
ment this morr
in the box and }
that I investig:
got no answer.
The noise I told the superintendent about sounded like two
people struggling, but you know how noises from an apart-
ment above you can be misleading. Everything was quiet
after that. IF looked out to see if anybody left, but no one
did at that time. Then when I didn’t hear the usual walking
around up there this morning and failed to see the girl leave
the building, I spoke to the ‘superintendent.”.
‘No other tenants had heard anything suspicious, and no
strangers had been seen in the building. Aside from the body
on the bed, Apartment 5B’was in perfect order. Dishes were
put away neatly, indicating that whoever had eaten dinner
with Blanche Cousins helped clean up afterwards.
“Death was caused by strangulation,” the coroner told the’
detectives after his preliminary examination. “The girl’s.
been dead approximately thirteen hours. That means the:
fatal attack took place between nine and ten_o’clock last night.
I feel positive she was raped.”
The entire apartment was searched for clues, but no clues
- were found. Everything there was dusted for fingerprints.
The only correspondence was letters from the slain girl’s
parents in Idaho Falls.
A quick check-up in that city told the detectives that
Blanche Cousins left there on June 2nd, 1936. The body
had been found in the Nob Hill apartment?’on the morning
of June 16th of that year.
, She took a bus from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City and
then came on into San Francisco,” Inspector Engler told
Husted. “She stayed in the YWCA for two days until she
found this apartment. The family doesn’t think she knew a
soul in the city.”
Inspector Corrasa, who had been able to check the business
school from enrollment data found in the: apartment, re-
ported that the people in charge there knew almost nothing
about the girl.
“She was taking a secretarial course,” this man told the
other investigators. “The teachers say she was quiet and
well-mannered. They, don’t think she formed any close
friendships with other students during the short time she was
enrolled there.” ;
Fingerprint men said they had found numerous prints on
furniture, walls and the bedstead. Some of these belonged
to the slain girl, and the others would be checked with San
Francise) and California State Criminal Identification files.
A ful) set would also be forwarded to the FBI in Washington.
“And that’s all we’ve got to- go on,” Inspector Engler
svarmed up. “We've talked with everybody in the apartment.
Chere doesn’t seem to be anything there. The superintendent:
is a family man who’s been on the job here for more than ten
years. All the tenants say he minds his own business and leaves
them strictly alone. He called us the minute he found the body.”
The business school was made up entirely of girls. Each
student was questioned individually by both Engler and
Husted. The answers were substantially the same: “We knew
Blanche Cousins only casually. She was a nice, quiet girl.
We only saw her here at school, never in her apartment.”
“That means we'll have to backtrack all the way to Idaho
Falls,” Inspector Husted said. “Maybe she had a boy-friend
there who didn’t want her to come to San Francisco. He
could have followed her and tried ‘to persuade her to return
home. This could all be the result of her refusal.”
Inspector Engler knew that reasoning was good, and agreed
that a home-town check-up would have to be made. “We
can be sure Blanche Cousins was friendly with whoever had
dinner with her that night,” he said, “and since she wasn’t
supposed to know anybody in this city, that means her com-
pany was from Idaho Falls, someone she met on the way here,
or met casuallv after her arrival.”
Both Husted and Engler, who had been assigned to the
murder probe permanently, realized that: the case they’d
drawn was just about the most difficult type to solve.
The autopsy had shown that Blanche Cousins had: been
raped. That meant the girl had been -attacked by someone
with whom she: had been friendly enough to invite to dinner.
An out-of-town person murdered under such circumstances
posed a terrific problem. °
NGLER went to Idaho Falls to follow through on that
E end while Husted stayed with the San Francisco angle.
“T'll question the family and friends,” the first detective told
his partner. -“Boysshe went out with will have to account for
‘their actions. If that doesn’t lead anywhere I'll take a bus back
along the same route Blanche Cousins traveled. Maybe she got
to talking with somebody along the way. I’ll overlook no bets.”
Husted had the help of Inspector Stanton in combing the
Nob Hill section for possible leads. Storekeepers and restau- ’
rant Owners were questioned first, but little was learned.
“The girl had been in town just two weeks,” Husted ex-
plained. “She had a light-housekeeping apartment and ate
most of her meals there, The. people at the YWCA hardly
remember her at all. A few shop-owners recall her buying
groceries and meat, but she was always alone.”
Stanton’s information was almost as discouraging. “One
woman who runs a confectionary store on California Street
says a. girl answering Blanche Cousins’ description used to
BLANCHE CoUSsINS—
On her bus trip from Idaho Falls to take a business
course in San -Francisco, she met the wrong man.
/
Mrs. Ange!
stop in her
reported. “(
a week ago.
the girl was
He was dre:
It adds up 1
hair parted o
complexion.’
Husted sh
San Francis
person in m
NSPECTC
rived at
22 years old.
and worked
that se cov
she complet:
San Francis«
on its comp
There had
But as far a
was not eng
disagreement
point of foll
Engler prc
girl’s men fri
SAD REUN
The photoc
‘ith the nylon
ut her neck,
> on her throat,
the dead girl’s
rail of the bed-
1 in a grotesque
‘ing and a pink
‘elephone, then
lifornia Street,”
and send the
gee fe.
}"
$
w Bahn
_—_
‘Medicis
EE LS As TE at Bt i
Stanton had been questioning the sup¢tintendent back in
the death chamber. o&
“The girl’s name is Blanche Cousins,” the apartment-house
man was saying. “She’s been here less than two‘weeks. Came
from Idaho Falls to attend business school.”
“How did you happen to find the body?”
“The tenant in 4B called me in this morning,” Cullen
stated firmly. “That’s Mrs: Martha Pease. She heard sus-
picious noises up here around nine o'clock last night. Nothing
was done about it then, but when Mrs. Pease heard no move-
ment this morning, noticed that Miss Cousins’ mail was still -
in the box and hadn’t-seen her leave the building, she suggested
that I investigate. I came right up and rang the bell, but
. - arg |
got no answer. I used my master key to get in. You know
ALBERT WALTER, JR.—
“I read about the murder in the papers,” he told the
detectives, “But I have never seen Blanche Cousins.”
what I found. I didn’t let any tenants get inside the door.
, Nobody’s touched a thing.”
| paige ORS George Engler and Harry Husted arrived with -
the coroner while Cullen was still talking. They heard
the details and went down to 4B to talk with Mrs. Pease.
“It’s just as the superintendent told you,” this woman said.
“I’m here alone a lot of the time and I get to know the other
. tenants by sight even though we seldom speak. This girl was
a pretty little thing. She must have had company for dinner
last night, because I heard more than one person up there.
47
n assigned to the
t the case they’d
e to solve.
Cousins had: been
icked by someone
‘0 invite to dinner.
uch circumstances
v through on that
1 Francisco angle.
first detective told
ave to account for
(ll take a bus back
ed. Maybe she got
overlook no bets.”
m in combing the
eepers and restau-
was learned.
eeks,” Husted ex-
(partment and ate
he YWCA hardly
recall her buying
one.”
scouraging. “One
1 California Street
escription used to
take a business
1@ wrong man.
SNES
stop in her place for an evening paper each day,” this man
reported. “Only once was anyone with her. That was about
a week ago. The shopkeeper can’t be positive, but she thinks
the girl was accompanied by a young man in his laté twenties.
He was dressed neatly. I didn’t get much of a description.
It adds up to medium height, medium build, straight black
hair parted on the side—he wasn’t wearing a hat—and medium
complexion.”
Husted shrugged. “That could apply to so many men in
San Francisco,” he said. “And since we haven’t a single
person in mind it means nothing right now.”
NSPECTOR ENGLER took profusive notes when he ar-
rived at the Cousins home in Idaho Falls, Blanche was
22 years old. She had finished high school several years before
and worked in a department store for a while. Realizing
that sHe could make more progress in the business world if
she completed a business course, she decided to take one in
San Francisco. The plans were for her to return home again
on its completion.
There had been the usual number of boy-friends and dates.
But as far as her parents knew, none had been serious. She
was not engaged; and certainly no local boy had been in
disagreement with her about the business, school course to the
point of following her to San Francisco and murdering her.
Engler probed deeply into every possibility, but all the slain
girl’s men friends had air-tight alibis. The family itself was long
SAD REUNION—
Se ASS A eT a
established. There was no trace of vengeance-seeking enemies.
The California detective talked with the ticket agent at
the bus depot who had sold Blanche Cousins her ticket, and
the driver who took her into Salt Lake City. They were both
‘of the opinion that she left Idaho Falls alone and arrived
in the Utah city alone.
Engler took a similar bus himself and spent two full days
in Salt Lake City. The terminal there is. large,,and always
busy. When he finally talked with the bus driver who was
believed to have taken the girl from that city toSan Francisco
the interview was disappointing.
“I can’t remember a girl passenger such as you describe,”
this employe told him. “These buses are always crowded. I
do the same driving every day. Most of the time I don’t
know whether people are together or merely passing the time
by talking during the trip. If there’d been any trouble I’d
have.remembered it. There wasn’t.”
Since no record is kept of passengers’ names on such trips,
it was impossible to question anybody else about events that
might have taken place in Salt Lake City or en route to
San Francisco.
When Inspector Engler arrived back in California he knew
‘fittle more than he had when he started out. “There doesn’t
seem to be anything we can hang our hats on in Salt Lake
City or anywhere else along the line,” he told Husted. “We’ve
got just about nothing to go on.”
“You can say that again,” his (Continued on page 56)
The photograph below shows Albert Walter, Sr., wealthy Boston realtor, the father of the killer, and
Mrs. Angela Walter, the killer's wife,
Ey
fe Se
following their arrival from the East to fight for the strangler’s life.
a. e f ‘ ,
Sa ii
780 Cal. 328 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES
doctrine, but that in itself is not the true
test. In-Thompson v. State of Utah, 170
U.S. 343, on pages 351 and 352, 18 S.Ct.
620, on page 623, 42 L.Ed. 1061, the follow-
ing appears: “It is sufficient now to say
that a statute belongs to that class which by
its necessary operation and ‘in its relation
to the offence, or its consequences, alters
the situation of the accused to his disad-
vantage.’ [Citations.] Of course, a stat-
ute is not of that class unless it materially
impairs the right of the accused to have the
question of his guilt determined according
to the law as it was when the offence was
committed. And therefore it is well sct-
tled that the accused is not entitled of right
to be tried in the exact mode, in all re-
spects, that may be prescribed for the trial
of criminal cases at the time of the com-
mission of the offence charged against him.
Cooley in his Treatise on Constitutional
Limitations, after referring to some of the
adjudged cases relating to ex post facto
laws, says: ‘But, so far as mere modes of
procedure are concerned, a party has no
more right, in a criminal than in a civil ac-
tion, to insist that his case shall be disposed
of under the law in force when the act to
be investigated is charged to have taken
place. Remedies must always be under the
control of the legislature, and it would cre-
ate endless confusion in legal proceedings
if every case was to be conducted only in
accordance with the rules of practice and
heard only by the courts in existence when
its facts arose. The legislature may abol-
ish courts and create new ones, and it may
prescribe altogether different modes of pro-
cedure in its discretion, though it cannot
lawfully, we think, in so doing, dispense
with any of those substantial protections
with which the existing law surrounds the
person accused of crime’ * * * The
difficulty is not so much as to the soundness
of the general rule that an accused has no
vested right in particular modes of pro-
cedure as in determining whether particu-
lar statutes by their operation take from an
accused any right that was regarded, at the
time of the adoption of the constitution,
as vital for the protection of life and lib-
erty, and which he enjoyed at the time of
the commission of the offence charged
against him.”
The defendant contends that, during that
portion of the present proceeding con-
ducted for the purpose of determining pen-
alty, evidence of his jail and juvenile court
records was admtitted; that such evidence
had no relevancy to the cause and would
not have been admissible under the rules
of evidence in effect prior to the adoption
of section 190.1 (see People v. Barclay, 40
Cal.2d 146, 157, 252 P.2d 321), and that
the change in procedure thus altered the
situation to his substantial disadvantage
and constitutes the enactment of an ex
post facto law.
Changes of a similar nature have here-
tofore been approved as not constituting
ex post facto laws in this state. In People
v. Mortimer, 46 Cal. 114, a change in the
law which permitted the prosecution to
both open and close. the argument to the
jury was approved. In People v. O’Bryan,
165 Cal. 55, 130 P. 1042, it was held that
article VI, section 414 of the California
Constitution was applicable to offenses com-
mitted prior to its adoption and was not
violative of the federal constitutional pro-
vision prohibiting the passage of an ex
post facto law. And in People v. Talking-
ton, 8 Cal.App.2d 75, 81-83, 47 P.2d 368,
it was held that section 19 of article VI
of the state Constitution, which permits
comments by the judge on the evidence
and the testimony and credibility of the
witnesses, was applicable to crimes commit-
ted prior to the adoption of the amendment
and was not.an ex post facto law.
The United States Supreme Court has
declared the following changes not to be
ex post facto within the meaning attributed
to that clause in the federal Constitution:
A change in inflicting the death penalty
from hanging to electrocution (Malloy v.
State of South Carolina, 237 U.S. 180, 35
S.Ct. 507, 59 L.Ed. 905); a change which
permitted witnesses who previously were
incompetent to testify to thereafter testify
PEOPLE v. WARD Cal. 781
Cite as 328 P.2d 777
to the commission of a crime (Hopt v.
People of Territory of Utah, 110 USS.
574, 4 S.Ct. 202, 28 L.Ed. 262); a change
which provided for an appeal by the state
where none existed before (Mallett v. State
of North Carclina, 181 U.S. 589, 21 S.Ct.
730, 45 L.Ed. 1015); a change which pro-
vided for a separate trial of persons jointly
indicted (Beazell v. State of Ohio, 269
U.S. 167, 46 S.Ct. 68, 70 L.Ed. 216); a
change in the place of trial (Gut v. State
of Minnesota, 9 Wall. 35, 19 L.Ed. 573);
and a change which extended the applicable
statute of limitations (Falter v. United
States, 2 Cir., 23 F.2d 420, certiorari denied
277 U.S. 590, 48 L.Ed. 528, 72 L.Ed. 1003).
Most pertinent to the defendant’s conten-
tion that the doctrine includes a change in
the law which permits the reception of evi-
dence which previously would have been
excluded, is the decision of the United
States Supreme Court in Thompson v. State
of Missouri, 171 U.S. 380, 18 S.Ct. 922, 43
L.Ed. 204. In that case the defendant was
convicted of murder in the first degree
largely upon the evidence of his authorship
of a certain prescription for strychnine
and a threatening letter written to the
deceased, a victim of strychnine poisoning.
The defendant’s authorship was established
by a comparison with letters written by the
defendant to his wife. The Supreme Court
of Missouri held that it was error to admit
in evidence the letters to the defendant’s
wife and reversed the judgment. Prior to
the second trial the Legislature passed an
act which permitted the letters to be put in
evidence and the defendant was again con-
victed. The judgment was affirmed by both
the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Su-
preme Court of the United States. As
against a contention that the change in the
law of evidence which permitted new and
different evidence to be heard, the Supreme
Court of the United States stated beginning
at page 386 of 171 U.S., at page 924 of 18
S.Ct.: “Applying the principles announced
in former cases * * * we adjudge that
the statute of Missouri relating to the com-
parison of writings is not ex post facto
when applied to prosecutions for crimes
committed prior to its passage. If persons
excluded upon grounds of. public policy at
the time of the commission of an offence,
from testifying as witnesses for or against
the accused, may, in virtue of a statute, be-
come competent to testify [see Hopt v.
People of Territory of Utah, supra, 110 U.
S. 574, 4 S.Ct. 202, 28 L.Ed. 262], we can-
not perceive any ground upon which to hold
a statute to be ex post facto which does
nothing more than admit evidence of a
particular kind in a criminal case upon an
issue of fact which was not admissible un-
der the rules of evidence as enforced by
judicial decisions at the time the offence
was committed. The Missouri statute,
when applied to this case, did not enlarge
the punishment to which the accused was
liable when his crime was committed, nor
make any act involved in his offence crimi-
nal that was not criminal at the time he
committed the murder of which he was
found guilty. It did not change the quality
or degree of his offence. Nor can the new
rule introduced by it be characterized as
unreasonable; certainly not so unreason-
able as materially to affect the substantial
rights of one put on trial for crime. The
statute did not require ‘less proof, in
amount or degree,’ than was required at the
time of the commission of the crime charg-
ed upon him. It left unimpaired the right
of the jury to determine the sufficiency or
effect of the evidence declared to be admis-
sible, and did not disturb the fundamental
rule that the state, as a condition of its
right to take the life of an accused, must
overcome the presumption of his innocence,
and establish his guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.”
The holding in the Thompson case was
followed in Ohio in a decision very much
in point. In Beckman v. State, 122 Ohio
St. 443, 5 N.E.2d 482, 484, a statutory
change contrary to prior law provided that
in a criminal trial proof of acts by the de-
fendant of a nature similar to that with
which he was charged could be made “not-
withstanding that such proof may show or
tend to show the commission of another
or subsequent crime by the defendant,”
sare tldapaamarieetgasigap omeae denen reaeporetenrrane
EO TCT LI PI NT TE SEE : LACEY AOI I EE LOTTE APN RR i sc eae Re, Gea
ee A GR Re se een
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PEOPLE v. HORTON Cal. 783
Cite as 328 P.2d 783
In attempting to introduce into the record
certain photographs of the deceased per-
sons, the prosecutor stated as his reasons,
“* * * not only is it material from the
standpoint of identifying the body, of
course, although we have the stipulation
here, we have the appellate courts to go
through whenever we have an—.” The ob-
jections of defense counsel cut short the
prosecutor’s further remarks. The court
sustained the objection to the admission of
the photographs but did not order the pros-
ecutor’s remarks relating to the appellate
courts stricken from the record. The de-
fendant now claims that the right of ap-
peal was not a proper subject for considera-
tion by the jury, and was intended to in-
duce the jury to place a lighter estimate on
their duties than otherwise would have
been indicated, relying on People v. Beggs,
178 Cal. 79, 92, 172 P. 152. The remarks
in the Beggs case held to be “improper”
related to the People’s inability to take an
appeal in that case and at that time and in
no way had a bearing on the issues in the
present case. Moreover the criticized re-
marks were held not to have prejudiced the
defendant in that case.
[10] The defendant contends that the
district attorney was also guilty of prej-
udicial misconduct in offering the defend-
ant’s wife as a witness for the prosecu-
tion. An objection to her competency as
a witness was sustained and she did not
testify. Section 1322 of the Penal Code
provides: “Neither husband nor wife is a
competent witness for or against the other
in a criminal action or proceeding to which
one or both are parties, except with the
consent of both * * *.” There are other
exceptions not here applicable. Similar ac-
tion on the part of the district attorney was
held to be “improper and unwarranted” but
not prejudicial in People'v. Klor, 32 Cal.2d
658, 663, 197 P.2d 705, 708. Under more
aggravated circumstances it was held to
be prejudicial in People v. Wilkes, 44 Cal.
2d 679, 284 P.2d 481. The conduct of the
district attorney in this respect in the pres-
ent case is subject to the same criticism and
. Yk Mia ats aca Maa mo
i ap h baceS hgh st hs A NA ia ill Le 1 (cbt pli hae aco el
should not have taken place, but in consid-
eration of the entire record it was not so
seriously reprehensible as to require a re-
versal.
Other claims of misconduct on the part
of the district attorney are without merit.
The defendant received a fair and impar-
tial trial, and the evidence in support of the
verdicts as stated is overwhelming. The
record herein presented appears to be the
first to be reviewed by this court wherein
the provisions of section 190.1 of the Penal
Code have been applied. The trial court
correctly followed the provisions of that
section. In doing so the defendant was not
deprived of any right, constitutional or
statutory, to which he was entitled at the
time the offenses were committed.
The judgment and-order denying the mo-
tion for a new trial are affirmed.
GIBSON, C. J., and CARTER, TRAY-
NOR, SCHAUER, SPENCE and Mc-
COMB, JJ., concur.
KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
The PEOPLE of the State of California,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
V.
George L. HORTON, Defendant and
Appellant.
Cr. 3503.
District Court of Appeal, First District,
Division 2, California.
Aug. 19, 1958.
Defendant was convicted of a sale of
heroin. The Superior Court, City and
County of San Francisco, C. Harold Caul-
field, J., entered judgment, and defendant
appealed. The District Court of Appeal,
Dooling, J., held that where case was tried
Tar e ‘ 4 ” ” " " ES j
re os Dy ee ae Mn Meee en eee a eieneennaeillll se
aie
PF TEs
| Paes,
oa wees
owe errs
iy AO ALISZS4
= - meas ¥y
782 Cal.
The Supreme Court of that state held that
the statute did not constitute an ex post
facto law when applied to an offense com-
mitted prior to its enactment.
[4] From the foregoing it is apparent
that the Legislature in enacting section
190.1 “did not make that a criminal act
which was innocent when done; did not
aggravate an offense or change the pun-
ishment and make it greater than when it
was committed; did not alter the rules of
evidence, and require less or different evi-
dence than the law required at the time of
the commission of the offense; and did
not deprive the accused of any substantial
right or immunity possessed by” the de-
fendant at the time of the commission of
the offense. Mallett v. State of North
Carolina, supra, 181 U.S. 589, 597, 21 S.Ct.
730, 733, 45 L.Ed. 1015; see, also, People
v. Adams, 274 N.Y. 447, 9 N.E.2d 46. The
changes effected by the enactment constitut-
ed merely an alteration in the conditions
deemed necessary for the orderly and just
conduct of criminal trials and did not de-
prive the defendant of any substantial per-
sonal right within the meaning of the con-
stitutional prohibitions of ex post facto
laws.
[5] The defendant complains that cer-
tain of his offered instructions relating to
the elements of murder of the first degree
were not given by the court. But he does
not point to what, if any, portion of the
instructions which were given he objects
to; nor:docs he state in what manner they
are claimed to be deficient. The court
properly instructed the jury as to the cle-
ments of the crime charged and adequately
covered the points of law included by the
defendant in his proposed instructions.
[6] Complaint is made of certain state-
ments made by the trial judge relating to
the penalties which might be imposed. At
the beginning of the trial he stated to the
jury that the proceedings would be in three
phases. As to the second phase he said
that evidence would be taken relating to the
defendant’s background, his previous rec-
328 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES
ord, and his activities prior to the time of
the commission of the offenses charged.
Upon objection that such a statement in-
ferred that the defendant had a previous
“record” the court explained that “I merely
mentioned it in the sense that each one
of us has a previous record. It may be an
excellent record, and it may be a poor rec-
ord, and I am not advised, I have no knowl-
edge of what Mr-: Ward’s record is. I
spoke of record in the term of history. So
the jury will understand I am not telling
you that the defendant has any particular
bad record, but you are going to hear it, if
the occasion calls for it, what the defend-
ant’s background has been.” No error is
apparent in this statement.
[7] Objection is made to a statement
by the court advising the jury “that a pris-
oner sentenced either to death or life im-
prisonment may be pardoned or may have
his sentence reduced by the governor and
that a prisoner serving a life sentence may
be paroled but not until he has served at
least seven years.” The comment was not
objectionable. People v. Barclay, supra,
40 Cal.2d 146, 158, 252 P.2d 321.
[8] It is contended that the court did
not fully advise the jurors that the question
of penalty was a matter resting within
their sole discretion. In this connection the
court instructed as follows: “With respect
to the penalty no burden of proof is cast
upon the people or the defendant to show
by any particular quantum of evidence
which penalty should be imposed by you.
The Supreme Court of the State of Califor-
nia has explained the matter in this lan-
guage: ‘Section 190 does not impose the
death penalty leaving discretion with the
jury to substitute a lesser penalty. It im-
poses neither death nor life imprisonment,
but with a perfectly even hand presents the
two alternatives to the jury. The legislature
perhaps because of the very gravity of the
choice has formulated no rules to control
the exercise of the jury’s discrction.’” No
error appears in this instruction,
[9] It is contended that the district at-
torney was guilty of prejudicial misconduct,
ww
VASQUEZ, Tiburice, His, hanged San Jose, CA March 19, 1875
Sunday, June 20, 1993 THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Tiburcio Vasquez — hero or |
Editor's note: A few weeks
ago, we printed an editorial
chiding a school district in
southern California for naming a
new schoolafter Tiburcio Vas-
quez, who was hanged for
murder more thana century ago.
The editorial angered some Mex-
ican-Americans, who told us that
Vasquez was a hero whose ex-
ploits had been distorted and
misunderstood by ‘‘gringo”’ his-
torians.
This raised a number of inter-
esting questions, not the least of
which was: Is historyjusta
matter of how you interpret the
information at hand?
We asked two historians to tell
our readers about Vasquez. One,
the widely-respected Dr. Carlos
Munoz, is a Mexican American;
the other, Michael Campbell, isa
“‘gringo’’ teacher whose special
interest is California, and who
has taught social studies at local
schools.
Their profiles of Tiburcio Vas-
quez are on this page. We will
leave it to the reader to decide
how much of a part the histo-
rian’s perspective plays in inter-
preting history.
By Carlos Munoz, Jr.
IBURCIO Vasquez — a
historic folk hero ora
criminal who deserved
to be hanged? The ques-
tionisbeingdebatedin States government. Instead, Mexi- _ fled for his life. Given the repres- Although he enjoyed popular
Southern California's Santa cans became victims of white sive conditions his people were support among his people, Vas-
Clarita Valley, where local officials racism and violence. There was no facing at the time andhisownsit- _ quez did not succeed in his effor'
chose tonameaschoolafterVas- justice forthem under the newso- _ uation, he decided to spend the to raise a revolutionary army. In-
quez. Whatis the realstoryofTi- _ cial order. rest of his life outside the white stead, he was finally captured
burcio Vasquez? ; man’s law to struggle for the and, at the age of 40, hanged for
Vasquez was born Aug. 11, Lynchings and vic aes rights of his people. the alleged murder of two white
1835, in Monterey County, Cali- Lynchings of Mexicans were Ashe putit, “aspiritofhatred enon March 19, 1879. |
fornia, when California was part commonplace, as wastheraping and revenge took possession of Hero or villain? The ‘crimina
of the Mexican nation. He was not ofMexican women. The new me. I had numerous fights in de- exploits of Tiburcio Vasquez can
born into poverty. His parents Anglo-Saxon legal system was fense of what I believed to be my more properly be understood as
owned aranch and wereawell-re- used by whites to “legally” obtain _ rights and those of my coun- social banditry ; as resistance
spected family. Aneducated man, Mexican property. Where legalex- trymen. [believed we were being — *82lnst the racism and injustice
Vasquez was fluent in both En- propriation of land failed, Mexican unjustly deprived of the social which United States colonialism
glish and Spanish. property was taken by force. rights that belonged to us” imposed on the Mexican people i
As a young boy, Vasquez wit- Finally, the new educational Fighting Yankee i d ares elsewhere in the
nessed the occupation of his system promoted the “superior” omic’: ages tide “ sean fahi hich
homeland by white colonizers and European-American cultural Vasquez set out to fight, to use pars _ ie fav % A a
a foreign military force. He was 13 values andEnglish language.The _ his words, the “Yankee invaders , a: son b on - p ind: I : eG io
when Mexico was forced to sign Mexican culture andthe Spanish —_ of California” by robbing stage ‘ ave a ae cen Pie hong er
the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, _ language were relegated to the coaches, rustling cattle and adi 5 emai w - € av- ;
which ended the war between ‘ status ofinferiority. stealing horses. Those in posi- erage eae chad enw asptat
p
Mexico and the United States in BY the time h 17. Tiburcio _ tions of power feared him because why Tiburcio Vasquez is indeed
1848. y y the time he was 1/, 1 ilburcio a ewe can °€ hero to many Mexican American
asquez had witnessed the over- of his revolutionary potential. In
The Treaty gave half of Mex- turning of the Mexican societyhe | deed, Vasquez.at one time spoke Dr. Carlos Munoz Jr. is a Full
ico's territory, which included Cal-_ was born into and the establish- of raising $60,000 to organize a Professor in the Chicano Studie
ifornia, to the United States. It ment of a new dominant culture revolutionary army. Department at the University of
also granted all Mexicans re- and social order. White lawmen aggressively California, Berkeley. His book,
maining in California the right to Approximately three years pursued him andaccusedhimof “Youth, Identity, Power: The Ch
keep their property, maintain after the Treaty of Hildalgo was crimes he did not commit. Mexi- cano Movement” received the
their language, culture, and reli- signed, he was present when a cans, on the other hand, espe- Gustavus Myers Book Award in
gion, and the same citizenship white lawman was killed while at- _ cially the poor and most 1990. He is currently writing the
rights as other Americans. tempting to arrest two Mexicans. oppressed,supportedhimby biography of another Mexican
But the Hidalgo Treaty was He was wrongly accused ofbeing _ giving him refuge, food and American hero, the late Dr. Er-
never honored by the United an accomplice to the killing and weapons. nesto Galarza.
ent a boy to Los Angeles to cash
it Bank officials Caught on, and
soon the law had pursued Vas- a
quez back through Tujunga Pass.
A posse would later catch up with
him in today’s Hollywood Hills.
In a Los Angeles jail, waiting
transport to San Jose, Vasquez
gave interviews to the press. To
the Spanish-speaking Los Angeles
Star, he vented his anger at
gringos, telling of how —
rudely crashed fiestas, ignore
Latin tradition and stole women.
He told of how he consulted his
aged mother, and vowed to avenge
his people. How much of this was
good journalism is hard to tell.
Vasquez as box office draw
During his Los Angeles jail ;
stay, the city went into an orgy 0
Vasquez-mania. The press was
full of romantic quotes from the
bandit: “I am a cavalier with a cav-
alier’s heart.” A burlesque on Vas-
quez was quickly staged at the
Merced Theater. Vasquez was
good for business, according to
one local merchant: “Vasquez
says that Mendel Meyer has the
Finest and Most Complete Stock
of Dry Goods and Clothing . . .
While waiting for his trial in
San Jose, Vasquez posed for sou-_
venir portraits in a loaned suit,
and played the part of a peaking, .
bandit chief. He painted himself a
patriot defending the honor of his:
countrywomen: “The last of the
caballeros,” he told the Associated
Press. And so he was hanged
March 19, 1875.
California historian Kevin
Starr points out that had Vasquez
been caught a decade earlier, he
would have received a quick
lynching. In 1870s Los Angeles,
however, acity mending its repu-
tation just four years after savage.
-Chinese riots, Vasquez was .
mi looked upon
; as anative
son gone
bad,and |
sent to the
gallows
with senti-
ment.
Vasquez,
in astory
most likely
fabricated
by eager
a white re-
porters, re-
art. ? called
saying fare-
— well to his
mother and
setting out to avenge Yankee in-
justices. And it doesn't take much
digging to find Yankee injustice,
anti-Mexican mining laws and un-
sympathetic judicial system, and
loss of land. For modern Vasquez
apologists, this is the end of the
Story. For a broader answer, a look
across the border is more telling.
Organized crime
At the same time Vasquez ter-
rorized Californians, Hispanic
and Anglo alike, armed bandits
also gripped much of northern
Mexico. These bandit chieftains
controlled their territorial niches
much like modern organized
crime bosses.
Perhaps not so coincidentally,
California banditry ended around
the same time the dictator Porfirio
Diaz took firm control of Mexico's
northern frontiers.
When the railroads filled the
vast emptiness of California with
settlers, cities, and the superior
communication and law enforce-
ment that came with them, stage
coaches and isolated hamlets
were harder to rob and the law
was quicker.
Vasquez’ story recalls the gang-
sters of the Midwest during the
Great Depression of the 1930s, ex-
plaining their actions as retalia-
tion, in this instance against
banks that had repossessed the
farms and lost the savings of
“their peuple.”
Elderly residents of Texas and
Oklahoma still have kind words
fer Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy
floyd and Baby Face Nelson.
Just as it takes no effort to find
examples of Yankee injustice in
early California, it takes even less
effort to find outstanding exam-
les of Hispanic achievement:
‘atesmen Mariano Vallejo or An-
\io Coronel; early newspaper
or Francisco Ramirez; and of
se, Cesar Chavez, after whom,
’ 1 California schools already*.
‘uttobenamed,amonth «©
‘death.
ost
we Campbell is a soc ial
© cherwho lives in Liv-
10orse thie
By Michael. Campbell
IBURCIO Vasquez was
an admitted murderer,
rustler and stagecoach
robber, hung in 1875
for his celebrated
crimes. He was no different from
the mythical Joaquin Murrieta,
who preceded him in the 1850s,
or the infamous Black Bart, who
would follow.
What made Vasquez different
was he was a native Californian, é
Californio. Vasquez’ grandfather
| had helped settle San Jose in
1777. In 1870s California, a time
when the growing state began to
examine and romanticize its past
this lineage elevated him head
and shoulders above others who
lived outside thelaw.
Most people have the impres-
sion that when swiped by the U.S.,
California's huge Hispanic pop-
ulation became an oppressed un-
derclass, and Mexicans were
denied access to their promised
land. Essentially that is the truth,
but acomplex truth.
In the 1840s, California's His-
panic population could be
counted in the thousands. There
were many American and British
foreigners, and Mexico City had to
force people to come here, often
emptying jails for the purpose.
Under Spain, beginning in
1769, the Catholic missions had
destroyed the Indians, and the 25
years under Mexico found them
quasi-slaves on Californio ran-
chos. Many of these rancheros
were light-skinned Hispanic;
some, like Pio Pico, were black.
Californios overwhelmed
What happened to California's
Hispanic population after the US.
takeover in 1848? Vasquez and
his Californio countrymen were
completely
over-
whelmed
by the hun- The press
dreds and was full of
thousands
ofwhites, yomantic
Asians,
blacks and quotes from
Mexicans
who the bandit:
poured into
the state i ama
during the
isagcoa cavalier witk
Rush. ana ware he
There Cavalier. > aanis
was no
“ethnic
cleansing” by the U.S. against the
Californios (that would be re-
served for the Indians who were
left), but unfamiliar laws, lan-
guage and a brand of racism dif
ferent from the Mexican kind
made the transition painful.
Dark-skinned Californios, like
Vasquez, were despised by most
whites, and light-skinned
landowners often fared no better.
Many lost their vast ranchos to
Yankee lawyers, squatters and tax
liens. Title litigation in Wash-
ington, D.C. to retain land granted
by Mexico City took a decade. '
A Southern California drought
in the 1860s ruined many. Pop-
ulation in the Anglo-dominated
north outweighed the thinly set-
tled Hispanic south, blocking
their access to state government.
On the other hand, many Cali-
fornios welcomed the U.S. take-
over and the order and stability it
provided. Mariano Vallejo of So-
noma, a gringo favorite, was active
in state politics. Others dabbled in
real estate. Many Californio
women married Yankees familiar
with the U.S. law, ensuring their
family lands protection.
Criminal star rises
It was in the early 1870s that
Vasquez’ criminal star began to
ascend, and it was his capture
that made him famous. According
to Harris Newmark, a German-
Jewish immigrant who wrote an
eyewitness chronicle of early Los
Angeles, the story went something
like this:
Vasquez and his group bungled
the holdup of a Southern Pacific
pay car near Bakersfield, then
headed north into the mountains
to the village Tres Pinos, below
Hollister. Here they robbed several
storekeepers and killed four men.
On their return south, they plun-
dered the village of Kingston in
Tulare County.
With several sheriffs behind
him, Vasquez hid in the moun-
tains outside Los Angeles, suppos-
edly stealing the wife of one of his
men. According to Newmark, the
peeved husband finked on Vas-
quez and his methods, helping out
law officials.
In the meantime, Vasquez
forced Italian rancher Alessandro
_ Repetto to sign over a check, and
{
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4
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____24/ PIONEER WEST — JAN. 1977 _
VASQUEZ, Tiburico, Mexican, hanged at San Jose, California, on 3-19-1876.
CALIFORNIA’S LAST
OUTLAW GANG...
He was a horse thief in his teens; a veteran of three prison terms. He led the bloodiest band of
murderers and cut-throats California had ever known. es
Tiburcio Vasquez, outlaw and murderer,
pressed his reign of. terror across Southern
California.
he year, 1874, brought to a close
the rein of the bloodiest band of
murderers and cut-throats since Joaquin
Murieta’s death, at the hands of Captain
Love and his rangers in May, of 1853.
The leader of this infamous gang of
thieves was a Mexican by the name of
Tiburcio Vasquez, and at the time of his
capture and execution he had rained
havoc and destruction upon the people
of California for more than twenty
years. Never before, in the history of
the state, had a bandit dodged the law
so successfully for so long. ‘
Never one to give in without a fight,
he had been captured by a Los Angeles
sheriff's posse, only after being too bad-
ly wounded to continue resistance. One
of the members of the posse, a reporter
for the San Francisco Chronicle, had
fired his shotgun at the fugitive, wound-
ing him in the left arm, left leg, left side
of the head, and high in the chest, with
the buckshot passing out under the arm.
He was then bandaged and fed and
lodged in the Los Angeles jail. An editor
for the Herald managed to interview
him, with the promise that his story
would be carried in both, the Los An-
geles and San Francisco newspapers, and
that it would probably be picked up by
journalists in the East.
Tiburcio Vasquez was born in Mon-
terey County in August, of 1837, and
had his first taste of crime at the age of
fifteen. He was mixed up in a dancehall
quarrel in which a man was knifed, and
when the local authorities came to ar-
rest him he fled to Mendocino County.
He had been there only a short time
however, when he received word that
the heat was off and decided to return
to Monterey. Soon after his arrival the
police came looking for him to question
him. Tiburcio, thinking they were out
ie
ae snr OR
ee VEN NST ee
LES
to arrest him, struggled with them, and
then once more fled his home.
He next joined. up with a horse thief °
_ by the name of Garcia, until the man’s
capture and execution a short time
later. His name doesn’t pop up again
until August of 1857, when he was sen-
tenced to five years for horse stealing
and was taken to the San Quentin Peni-
tentiary. He was listed as Number 1217
and his name recorded as Basquez.
He escaped in 1859 and, after spend-
ing seven weeks up in«the mining
‘
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‘TESS Ad, 404. 1 FHOWO 4. BS.
Bandit Joaquin Murieta, notorious robber and murderer who terrorized California in its earlier
days. He eventually was captured and his head pickled in a large jar for public display.
his men rode into the town of Tres
Pinos to rob the general store. This
action was to become known as The
Tres Pinos Tragedy.
Two of his men dismounted in front
of Andrew Snyder’s store and walked
in. They began a conversation with the
clerk, and then five more members of
the gang arrived. Two of them went-
inside and ordered everyone to lie
down. The other three, including Vas-
quez, stayed outside and kept watch.
After tying the clerk, several custom-
ers, and a small boy, the gang ransacked
the store. They gathered up clothing,
tobacco, food, liquor, and all the money
they could find, and.were ready to leave
when the sound of gunfire echoed from
the street. i
A Portuguese sheepherder had been
about to enter the building when Vas-
quez ordered him to stop. The man con-
tinued on and Tiburcio or one of the
others shot him. He was dead when he
thit the ground. The commotion now
aroused the attention of two teamsters,
who had been busy near their wagons.
They were ordered to lie down, and
‘when one of them refused, Vasquez
struck him across the head with his pis-
tol, knocking him unconscious. The
other man, Mr. George Redford, was
deaf, and upon realizing that something
was wrong, ran. Vasquez shot him
through the heart. Another local man
saw what happened and headed toward
the hotel, calling out to warn a Mr. and
Mrs. Davidson who were just inside the
door. One of the bandits fired at the
fleeing man and missed. He then
shouted to him and the Davidsons to
stay inside and no harm would come to
them. Vasquez pulled his rifle from its
boot and fired at the door, killing Mr.
Davidson who fell dead against his wife.
A small boy, a brother to the one tied
inside, ran from the back door of the
store and into the stable yard. Chavez,
one of the men inside the store, chased
after him and savagely struck him over
the head with his revolver.
They untied Snyder and let him —
show them where he had hidden some
money, they then retied him. Next,
they took seven horses from the hotel
stables and, after loading them with
their plunder, rode off, leaving three
dead, and the teamster and small boy
still unconscious.
Posses from all around were soon
scouring the countryside for signs of the
murderers, but to no avail, other than
the capture of ore of the less important
gang members, a man by the name of
Moreno.
In December, Vasquez and eleven of
his men rode down on the sleepy town
of Kingston and left thirty-five men tied
and bound. They made off with two —
thousand dollars in coin. Governor New-
ton Booth offered a three thousand-
dollar-reward for Tiburcio’s capture. It
was later upped to eight thousand.
In February Vasquez and Chavez
appeared at Coyote Hole station and
robbed the Los Angeles and Owens
River stage when it arrived. The next
day they stopped another stage and re-
; _ (continued on p. 42)
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country, was returned on a charge of
larceny in Amador County, for which
he was sentenced to one year. His name —
was this time recorded as Tibuzzo
Baskes and nothing was said of his hav-
ing been in San Quentin before. Finally,
however, some one discovered the truth
and he was forced to serve his one year
for larceny, plus his three left over years
for horse stealing. He was discharged
August 13, 1863.
Vasquez traveled to the New AIl-
meden quicksilver mines near San Jose
and took up gambling. A year later an
Italian butcher was found dead in his
bed, his body both shot and stabbed.
Four hundred dollars, the sum of which
he was known to have possessed, was
found to be missing. Since most of the
populace was Spanish, and Vasquez was
the only one who could speak English,
he was used as an interpreter at the
coroner’s inquest. No arrests were made.
Sheriff Adams later received word that
Vasquez and a man by the name of
Faustino Lorenzo were connected with
the murder, but because of a lack of
evidence, and the fact that Vasquez had
since left the area, neither man was
charged. .
Tiburcio’s name next appeared in
Sonoma, Mendocino, and Contra Costa
counties for horse and cattle stealing. It
‘is around this time that he became
known as a lady-killer. He is said to have
ran off with the wife of a man named
Salazor, who had often sheltered the
outlaw in his home. Salazor shot him in
the neck and then swore out a com-
plaint against him. Needless to say, Vas-
quez disappeared. He was also said to
have run off with the daughter of a
rancher near Mount Diablo, only to
have the man take her back.
He then turned up in Sonoma and
attempted to steal a herd of cattle. A
sheriff's posse soon overtook him and
he was once more returned to San
Quentin, this time for three and a half
*
years. Once again his name was incor-
rectly spelled and he was listed as Te-
burcio Vasquez. He was discharged June
4th, 1870.
Tibucio this time decided to orga-
nize a gang and enlisted the aid of an
ex-con, by the name of Francisco Bar-
cenas, whom he had known in prison.
They, along with Procopio, Garcia Rod-
tiguez, and several others, held up a
stage near Soap Lake, which lies about
twelve miles from Hollister. They rob-
bed the passengers and then ordered
them, along with the driver, to lie down
in the dirt. They then tied their hands
behind their backs and made _ their
ankles fast. A few hours later they
robbed a storekeeper, named Thomas
McMahon, of seven hundred and fifty
dollars. He too was left lying in the dirt.
A traveler found him within half an
hour and McMahon, having recognized
Vasquez, contacted the authorities.
Sheriff Morse of Alameda County, who
happened to be in Monterey at the time,
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down and were tied.
Tiburcio’s gang of cutthroats robbed the stage at Soap Lake. Passengers were ordered to lie
‘
joined local officers in their pursuit of
the outlaws. Meanwhile, it was the
sheriff of Santa Cruz who found the
fugitives, causing an exchange of shots.
Barcenas was killed, Rodriguez escaped,
and Vasquez was wounded in the right
side of the chest. Vasquez then shot and
seriously wounded the lawman before
riding off some sixty miles and hiding
out in the same Arroyo Cantua that the
Joaquins had hidden in two decades
earlier. He stayed there until his wounds
were healed.
Procopio, who had not taken part in
the robbery, was arrested by Sheriff
Morse in San Francisco and sentenced
to nine years, thus putting an end to his
career of crime.
Tiburcio laid low for several months,
only occasionally venturing forth on a
raid, sometimes alone and sometimes
with members of the new gang he was
putting together. One day, after receiv-.
ing word that a posse of three was
spending the night at a nearby inn, Vas-
quez and his men rode out and stole
their horses. He began spending quite a
bit of time in Hollister, flirting with
various women. Whenever a lawman
rode in, ona tip that the outlaw was in
town, the Mexican populace would hide
him from the gringo. He and his gang,
along with the help of a friend named
Jose Castro, robbed a stage and then
rode off. The ensuing posse captured
Jose and strung him up.
In the spring of 1873 Vasquez and
his gang, now joined by a right hand
man named Chavez, robbed the general
Store at Firebaughs Ferry. They then
robbed stores and inns from San Jose to
Gilroy. They always left their victims
tied and in the prone position. In
August, of the same year, Tiburcio and
r
terious
ouse’’ in
scene of
ifaw of the
and set-
d fevelries
ght
{rs. Mabel
Jillebrandt,
Attorney
the United
ee
Convicted of murder-
ing his wife, Reuben
Brewer sits disconso-
lately in his cell at
Wiscasset, Maine. Sui-
cide note found in the
house was proved to be
a forgery
Because his conscience
bothered him, Albert
Walker, Jr walked
into the Hall of Justice
at San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, and confessed
that he had strangled
a woman with a silk
stocking tied to a bed-
post
Because she refused to
comply with his request
for a divorce, Guy Tall-
madge shot and. killed
his wife on a lonely road
near Oregon, Illinois.
Photograph shows him as
he broke down after his
confession
Convicted of kidnapping
two policemen and sen-
tenced under the ‘“‘Lind-
berg law’ to execution,
Arthur Gooch awaits his
doom. President Roose-
velt refused to commute
his sentence
“She was two-timing
me, so I killed her,”
said Milton Cullins,
admitting that he had
choked a woman to
death in the rear of her
Buffalo, N. Y., beauty
shop. He was arrested
six hours afterwards
ata bus terminal
Thomas Starr confessed to
the murder of a woman
Chicago, then re-enact
the crime while a n
camera recorded the scen
for use at his trial
ett x
True Detective Mysteries
Silk Stocking Strangler
(Continued from page 64)
Miss Cousins, Idaho girl travelling west
to seek work. He helped her locate an
apartment on swanky Nob Hill, visited
her, brought liquor. On the night of her
death, he told police, he helped her pre-
pare dinner and cocktails. They ate, then
sat on a couch where he made violent
love to her.
Repulsed, angry, he throttled her with
bare hands, carried her to bed and re-
moved the slacks and sweater she wore,
hanging them neatly in a closet before at-
tacking her.
“T don’t know whether she was. still
alive or not,” he told incredulous inves-
tigators. “But to make sure she was dead,
I knotted a stocking around her neck and
tied it to the bed post.”
O longer skeptical, police demanded
a motive. Walter shrugged, puffed a
cigarette.
“When I was fourteen,” he told them,
“something happened that turned me
against all women. This murder doesn’t
surprise me. I have seduced, corrupted
and ruined as many as I could.”
Alert, police immediately grilled the
dapper youth about the parallel unsolved
murder of Louise Jeppesen in Golden
Gate Park, May, 1934. She also was red-
haired; was strangled with a stocking and
attacked; she, too, had sought employ-
ment in San Francisco.
Walter, denying connection with that
crime, protested.
“Isn’t one murder confession enough?
You can only hang me ONCE. And I
want to hang. I murdered Miss Cousins
and I’m not insane. I’ve made a mess of
my life. All I want to do is DIE.”
At her Greenwich Village home in New
York, his bride told reporters: “It’s ter-
rible. I can’t believe it. He was al-
ways sweet and charming to me.”
Walter’s horrified father, Albert Wal-
ter, Senior, wealthy Boston realtor and
Harvard graduate, threw light on_ his
son’s strange life which began when the
lad was fourteen.
“He came home from school that day,
crying. A man teacher had made ugly
advances to him. My boy has always
been inconstant in his conduct since. If
you could see the letters he has written
me confessing intimately all sorts of
wrong-doings, you would know they could
not have been written by anyone in his
right mind.”
Boston investigators uncovered a letter
written by Walter to his stepmother.
In the letter—a surprising Mother’s
Day message—the strange youth had
summed up a life inspired by erotic im-
pulses, dedicated to vengeance upon
women and inevitably plunging, even
then, toward the grim tragedy of San
Francisco’s Nob Hill. He wrote:
“You haven’t had the best clay in the
world to mould, but you have done a lot
as a potter. All the good in me is due to
your understanding. Good or bad, I love
you.”
FAMOUS DETECTIVE CASES maga-
zine will be added to TRUE DETEC-
TIVE MYSTERIES beginning next
month. Don’t fail to buy TRUE
DETECTIVE MYSTERIES November
smash issue!
Secrets For Sale
(Continued from page 63)
Government, they clapped him in red
brick District of Columbia jail.
Wearing dark gray, pin-striped suit,
light felt hat, handcuffs, Farnsworth
claimed illness, rubbed mustache, nose
and lips nervously, pleaded not guilty.
“I’m a sick man,” he complained to
reporters. “I’m pretty well shot. The
charges are exaggerated.”
Despite his “not guilty” plea, Farns-
worth admitted to newspapermen he had
sold two monographs on naval subjects to
the Japanese Government for $1,000. He
asserted that both were merely his esti-
mate concerning naval pacts, national
aviation training.
His admission left unanswered ques-
tions loaded with dynamite.
What did Japan want with any Ameri-
can expert’s opinion concerning naval
aviation matters?
Is Japan’s astounding espionage system
trying to uncover secrets of America’s
aerial forces. If so—WHY?
Farnsworth, court-martialed, stripped of
his rank, and dishonorably discharged
from the Navy nine years ago for “scan-
dalous conduct,” had been a clever tac-
tician, brilliant in aerodynamics and gun-
nery.
Indications that Farnsworth’s arrest
may preface ramifications more far-reach-
ing than any plot uncovered since World
War days were given impetus when in-
vestigators hinted that many more arrests
might soon follow.
Farnsworth’s arrest came one week after
the conviction in Los Angeles of Harry T.
Thompson, former Navy yeoman, found
guilty of selling U. S. naval secrets to
Toshio “Tanny” Miyazaki, alleged spy,
ex-lieutenant Japanese Navy.
Thompson, defended by Attorney
George O’Hanneson, received only fifteen
years of a maximum twenty-year penalty,
reportedly because he furnished author-
ities information implicating other spies.
In jail, six days after Farnsworth’s ar-
rest, was Anthony Paris, twenty-five,
transient New Yorker, third man within
a month to be held as spy suspect. De-
partment of Justice agents will ask Paris
why he jotted down notes in code resem-
bling Japanese and why he quizzed sailors
aboard the navy’s Aircraft Carrier Sara-
toga, where he was arrested, concerning
specifications of secret equipment there.
Diplomatic relations between Japan and
the United States continue friendly and
Japanese Embassy officials term arrests
“astonishing.”
Yet grave national menace of Japan’s
spy operations was hinted at by Admiral
William Standley, Acting Secretary of the
Navy, who said that Farnsworth’s ac-
tivities might necessitate drastic changes
in the battle and maneuver tactics of the
U.S. Navy.
How much of Japan’s far-flung, skil-
fully laid plot to uncover America’s naval
and aviation secrets, cali’ be discovered
and crushed?
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future—lies, too, in the equally far-flung
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by the Department of Justice.
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WALTER, Albert, JPe,y wh, hanged CA (San Fr: ncisco) D
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Other Interesting
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HOW THE PENNSYLVANIA RAIL-
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Had the lowly tin can been invented
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4 5° At Leading
ecember 4, 1036.8
“VY WANT to die. I want to die.” Albert
Walter, Jr., 28, said this over and
over during the time he was lodged’ in
San Quentin for the murder of Blanche
Cousins. He strangled her with a silk
stocking last June. He finally got his
wish. The hangman sprung the trap and
the noose tightened about Walter’s throat,
just as the silk stocking had tightened:
fatally around the throat of his victim.
cage 8
bd
The blackness of death recently blotted
out two members of the Black Legion at
Pontiac City, Mich. Fire Captain Wil-
liam Bradburn killed Fireman Don
Slusher, ‘then turned the gun on himself.
Bradburn left behind a note, referring to
Slusher, which said, “He talks too much.”
Both men were named as Black Legion-
naires by a Michigan grand jury.
td
Emanuel Piazza, 45, stood on a New
York street corner arguing with an un-
identified man. Suddenly the man whipped
out a revolver and shot Piazza five times.
Police were hampered not by a lack of
clues, but by too many of them in their
investigation of the murder. Piazza was
engaged in so many “small change”
rackets that officers found it hard to de-
termine which of them was responsible
for his death.
>
John Benedetto, gambler and promoter,
took ‘part in the $40,000 hold-up of John
F. Cuneo, wealthy Chicago business-man.
Shortly afterward Benedetto was found
dead at the wheel of his automobile. Police
believe Benedetto was slain by his com-
ponent in a quarrel over division of the
oot.
ad
Policeman Wilfred Woolmaster was
enjoying an evening off duty at the Pow
‘Wow club in Chicago. He was in plain
clothes. Six bandits held up the patrons
of the night club. When Woolmaster
was ordered to take out his wallet he
' drew his gun instead, and fatally shot one
of the bandits, Pasquale DeChiara.
Sd
Steve Ranelli, a veteran of the New
York underworld, stepped into the hall-
way which was the scene of the notorious
“baby massacre,”| and was greeted by a
hail of slugs.
_ CRIME NEVER PAYS
Oe ee
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The natio:
Trained |
the old n
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opportun
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_SCIE
HUR
(Above) ALBERT WALTER, JUNIOR—
i cll
«nA abe ws:
(Right) NURSE COUSINS—
Trusted
him—repulsed him—
died!
“All I want to do is DIE.”’
64
ISTINCTLY a study for
psychiatrists is the case of
handsome, gentlemanly Al-
bert Walter, Junior, twenty-
eight, son of a cultured Boston
Back Bay family, who walked into
San Francisco’s Hall of Justice
and told skeptical policemen: “I
strangled a girl. I want to give
myself up.”
Leading the doubting cops, that
night of June 17th, 1936, to a
fashionable Nob Hill apartment,
Walter showed them the sheet-
covered, nude body of pretty,
red-haired Nurse Blanche Cousins,
twenty-four, strangled and tied to
the bed post by a silk stocking
knotted tightly around her throat.
Two weeks before, abandoning
his bride of less than a year,
Angela Hoskins Walter, twenty-
eight, New York City restaurant
manager, Walter had boarded a
transcontinental bus for Cali-
fornia with money stolen from the
New York food shop in which he
was employed as night manager.
In route, he made the acquain-
tance of (Continued on page 123)
(Above) Angela Walter and Albert Walter,
Senior,
visit
the
self-confessed
slayer
ectors
* where
lanche
strike
xt few
sr and
rtland,
iego to
ip with
ummer
papers
feature
of the
‘er who
me for-
njamin
lothing,
norning
pair of
e asked
on the
sation.
utment,
Engler
g about
id mur-
ie,’ he
e crime
dy who
nab it to
the
uned to
e front.
ne con-
( stains.
users?”
bought
t house
\venue.
; at the
a price
t until I
iced the
stories,
me over
hnicians
ffice to
vn stains
ler it is
clothes
can give
building
e bundle
» oblige.
® that the
| area as
Blanche
Pacific
~ iia Street
ere only
hnicians
d Husted
ers was
; thanked
—
ae
the helpful merchant for bringing i in the
evidence and asked him to say nothing
to anyone until they had time to inves-
tigate the lead. Then they hurried to the
Pacific Avenue address on Nob Hill.
The apartment house superintendent
was on duty when the homicide sleuths
arrived. Without telling him the purpose
of their mission, they showed him the
trousers and asked where he got them.
‘I can’t say for certain,’’ the man
replied. ‘‘We have 15 apartments here.
Tenants leave all kinds of refuse outside
their doors and we pick it up. Sometimes
they even take stuff to refuse containers
in the basement themselves.”’
‘‘This is important,’’ Inspector Engler
said firmly. “‘I want you todescribe every
man in your building. Start out with those
in their late 20s or early 30s, but name
them all.”
With a puzzled shrug, the supefinten-
dent complied. When he finished, there
were 22 names on the notes made by
Inspector Husted. Scanning the list, the
detectives were quickly able to narrow
it down. The only man who even came
close to fitting the description furnished
by the California Street ¢onfectionery
woman was one named Albert Walter Jr.
The hair on Inspector Engler’s neck
bristled at the superintendent’s next dis-
closure. “Wali -¢ took an apartment here
in June,’’ the man said. ‘‘He is.a quiet,
well-mannered young fellow; handsome
and quite popular with the girls. I think
he comes from New York City.”’
Inspectors Engler and Husted
exchanged a knowing look. Blanche
Cousins had also arrived in San Francisco
early in June. If Albert Walter Jr., had
come to California from New York, there
was a strong possibility that he had
passed through Salt Lake City and thus
could have met Blanche Cousins en
route. The homicide sleuths warned the
superintendent to say nothing to anyone
about their visit. They had been working
on the case too long to rush into anything
at that late date. For this reason, they
watched young Albert Walter for several
days before they even had the woman
witness who owned the confectionery
store on California Street look at him to
see whether or not he was the chap she’d
seen with the victim.
Albert Walter Jr. was a dapper, well-
groomed man in his late 20s with a boyish
face. Employed as a clerk in a downtown
department store, he kept regular hours
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and there seemed to be nothing unusual
about any of his actions.
One day, Inspectors Engler and
Husted had the superintendent admit
them to Walter’s apartment while he was
away. In a closet they found the jacket
to match the bloodstained trousers, pro-
ving that he was the owner of the suspi-
ciously marked garment. But they left the
coat on its hanger to avoid arousing his
suspicions.
Next, the detectives brought the con-
fectionery store proprietress to the apart-
ment house and posted her unobtrusively
where she could take a good look at the
suspect when he left the building.
‘That is the man!’’ she whispered.
“I’m positive! He has no hat on now,
and he didn’t when I saw him with that
girl. | would know him anywhere.”
Homicide Inspectors Engler and
Husted were almost certain that they
were on the right track at last, but they
had been fooled before. Everything
would depend on fingerprints. They
could risk trying to obtain impressions
from the suspect’s apartment for com-
parison with those found at the scene.
This was the only way to be sure, but
any further delay or a slip might tip. their
hand and send their man into sudden
flight.
Assistant Attorney McMahon with
whom the officers discussed that angle,
agreed that Albert Walter Jr. should be
taken into custody at once.
On the morning of September 7, 1936
— three months after the murder of the
green-eyed girl — the youth was arrested |
as he started out for work. He showed
little surprise when told he would be
questioned in the strangling of Blanche
Cousins.
“I suppose you suspect me because
I came here from New York about the
time of that murder,”’ he said calmly. ‘‘I
recall that it happened two weeks after
my arrival. But all | know about the crime
is what I’ve read in the papers. I’ve never
seen Blanche Cousins.”’
The mild-mannered young man stuck
to his story even after the confectionery
store proprietress picked him out of a
line-up. But when shown the report of
fingerprint experts that his prints
matched those found in the murder apart-
ment, Albert Walter became uneasy. He
started chain-smoking cigarettes and
making long, rambling explanations.
Still he protested his innocence.
Inspectors Corrasa and Stanton took
turns questioning the prisoner, together
with Inspectors Engler and Husted and
Prosecutor McMahon.
The officers repeated the evidence of
the blood-stained trousers, the woman
witness’ identification and the matching
fingerprints. They checked up on exactly
how Albert Walter had made the trip from
New York City to California. It was by
bus — at approximately the same time
as Blanche Cousins.
‘*You met the girl on the bus,”’ Inspec-
tor Engler told him. ‘‘She sat beside you.
(Continued on next page)
49
«
dates. But so far as her parents knew,
none had been serious. She was not
engaged and certainly no local youth had
disagreed with her about ‘the business
course to the point of trailing her to San
Francisco and murdering her. Inspector
Engler delved deeply into every possibil-
ity, but all the slain girl’s swains had air-
tight alibis.
At the Idaho Falls bus depot, the
California homicide detective talked with
the agent who had sold Blanche Cousins
her ticket and to the driver who had taken
her to Salt Lake City. The two bus
employees believed that the young
woman had left Idaho Falls alone and had
arrived in the Utah city by herself.
Retracing the redheaded beauty's
route, Inspector Engler took a similar bus
himself and spent two full days in Salt
Lake City. The terminal there is large
and always busy. When he finally found
and talked with the bus driver believed
to have taken the girl from that city to
San Francisco, the interview was disap-
pointing.
‘I just can't recall any girl passenger
like the one you describe,”’ the driver
declared. ‘‘These buses are always
crowded, and I'm busy watching the
road. Most of the time I don’t know
whether people are together or merely
passing the time by talking during the trip.
If there had been any trouble, I'd have
remembered it. But there wasn’t.”’
When Inspector Engler arrived back
in California, he knew little more than
when he had started out. ‘‘There doesn’t
seem to be anything we can hang our hats
on in Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City or any-
where else along the line,’’ he told
Inspector Husted. ‘‘We simply don’t
have a single good lead."’
‘‘How right you are,’’ agreed his
partner, pushing three report sheets
across the desk. ‘‘Not one of the finger-
prints found in the murder apartment is
on record here, in Sacramento or in
Washington. If the killer left his
trademark, he has no police record.”’
‘‘What about dry-cleaning establish-
ments?’’ inquired Inspector Engler.
‘*‘Have they been checked?”’
‘*They have all been instructed to turn
in any bloodstained garments,’’ Inspec-
tor Husted replied, ‘‘but so far, nothing
has shown up.”’
_ Next the homicide officers conferred
’
_with Assistant District Attorney John J.
McMahon, who had been assigned to
work with them, and they went over all
known facts in the case. The three offi-
cials made several trips back to the:
California Street apartment, in search of
new evidence, but to no avail.
‘*This case is a real puzzle,”’
Prosecutor McMahon reflected. ‘‘A few
fingerprints that can’t be identified, a
storekeeper who recalls having seen a girl
resembling Blanche Cousins ‘with an
48
Her Body Was Soft... Her Blood Was Sweet
(Continued from page 47)
average man, and a victim from out of
town who had no known friends or
enemies.”’
The entire San Francisco Police
Department had been alerted for the
phantom slayer. Every suspicious
character brought into headquarters on
any charge at all was questioned about
the Blanche Cousins murder.
Detectives made regular checks on dry
cleaners in the city, particularly in the
Nob Hill section. Numerous false leads
and wild tips were followed through to
dead ends.
Meanwhile, the slain girl's body had
been returned to Idaho Falls and buried.
And the story of the vicious murder
dropped completely out of the news-
papers. But Homicide . uspectors Engler
and Husted kept right on plugging in the
hope that somewhere, somehow, they
would strike a lead.
Wecks passed, however, without
result. Then, late in July, a vicious sex
attack was made on a young married
woman in Pocatello, Idaho, a city some
50 miles south of Blanche Cousins’ home
town of Idaho Falls. A medium-sized,
dark young man answering the descrip-
tion of the killer of the green-eyed red-
head had tried to rape the housewife in
her home and, except for the quick
actions of a neighbor, he would have mur-
dered the victim and made his getaway.
Hearing the woman's screams, the
neighbor had called the police and then
had dashed to the scene, frightening the
attacker into flight. Officers sped to the
spot and captured the rapist as he ran
through a cornfield. Taken to headquar-
ters, he gave his name as Joseph White
and said he lived in San Francisco!
Notified of the arrest, Inspectors
Engler and Husted checked the records
and found no previous arrest on such a
man. But when they hurried to Pocatello
and questioned the prisoner, they soon
- learned that he was lying on all counts.
Fingerprints identified the rapist as a
three-time loser from Los Angeles. He
was a second-story man on parole, and
Joseph White was not his real name.
The two San Francisco officers ques-
tioned him for hours about the Blanche
Cousins murder. At their request the
woman proprietor of the California Street
confectionery was brought to Pocatello.
The suspect was paraded beneath strong
lights with seven other men of similar age,
height and appearance. nod
The witness studied all the men care-
fully, then shook her head. ‘‘No,’’ she
said, ‘‘I don’t believe any of them is the
man | saw with that girl. He was better
looking.”
As a final check, the ex-convict’s fin-
gerprints were compared with those
found in the murder apartment. They
failed to match, and the California detec-
tives left him with the Pocatello officers,
who charged:him with assault.
Once again, Homicide Inspectors
3
Engler and Husted were right back where »
they had started.
Convinced that the killer of Blanche
Cousins sooner or later would strike
again, the two officers spent the next few
weeks investigating all murder and
assault cases as far away as Portland,
Oregon, to the north, and San Diego to
the south. But none could be tied up with
’ the slaying of the green-eyed girl.
Every now and then, as the summer
passed, the San Francisco newspapers
would revive the story, running a feature
outlining the essential facts of the
unsolved case and asking any reader who
had pertinent information to come for-
ward with it.
Because of such a story, Benjamin
Richter, a dealer in second-hand clothing,
walked into headquarters on the morning
of September 3, 1936. He had a pair of
men’s trousers over his arm, and he asked
to see the detectives working on the
Blanche Cousins murder investigation.
Ushered into the homicide department,
the man confronted Inspectors Engler
and Husted. ‘‘I’ve been reading about
that poor girl who was raped and mur-
dered up on Nob Hill last June,’’ he
began. ‘‘The newspapers say the crime
is still unsolved and ask anybody who
thinks he knows something about it to
contact you. That's why I’m here.”
Then the newcomer spread the
trousers out on the desk and pointed to
several crimson stains across the front.
‘I buy and sell old clothes,’’ he con-
tinued, ‘‘and I know a lot about stains.
This is blood.”’
‘*Where did you get these trousers?”’
asked Inspector Engler.
Benjamin Richter said he had bought
a big bundle from an apartment house
superintendent over on Pacific Avenue.
‘*I didn’t examine the clothes at the
time,’’ he added. ‘‘I just made a price
and the seller took it. It wasn’t until I
got back to my shop that I noticed the
stains. I had read the newspaper stories,
so I decided that I had better come over
here right away."’
The detectives summoned technicians
from the medical examiner’s office to
make precipitin tests of the brown stains
to determine their origin.
‘*They'll soon tell us whether it is
human blood,”’ Engler told the clothes
dealer. ‘‘In the meantime, you can give
us the name and address of the building
superintendent who sold you the bundle
of clothes.”’
Richter was only too glad to oblige.
The officers noted eagerly that the
address was in the same general area as.
the apartment house where Blanche
Cousins was slain. They knew Pacific
Avenue ran parallel with California Street
and the two street numbers were only
a few digits apart.
Half an hour ‘later, the technicians
reported to inspectors Engler and Husted
that the blood on the trousers. was
definitely human. The detectives thanked
ae,
. (Continued on next page)
ae
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Her Body Was Soft....Her Blood Was Sweet
(Continued from page 49)
You talked with her and found out that
she had no friends in San Francisco. You
said that you didn’t know anyone in this
city, either.”’
The detective paused as Albert Walter
shifted uneasily in his chair, smoking
feverishly, beads of cold sweat on his
brow. Then Homicide Inspector Engler
continued:
““You asked her if you could see her
after she got settled in San Francisco.
She consented. You accepted her invita-
tion to dinner in her apartment. Then you
tried to make love to her. When she
refused, you killed her! Isn’t that so?”’
Albert Walter stared at the floor and
shook his head, refusing to reply. He
stood up under this line of questioning
for one more day. Then he broke.
‘*Yes!’’ the prisoner blurted out.
‘‘That’s the way it happened. I met her
when the bus stopped in Salt Lake City.
We got to talking. I had been to San Fran-
cisco before and was able to advise her
where to look for an apartment.
‘‘That night of June 15 we had dinner
there together. I helped her with the
dishes, then we sat down on the sofa.
I’m married and have a wife back in New
York. I’m used to having a woman. I
made some passes but this girl didn’t
want to give in. When I get passionate
I lose control. I grabbed her throat and
choked her until she didn’t resist any-
more.
‘*Her clothing was partly torn off dur-
ing the struggle. Then I lifted her onto
the bed, pulled off her clothes and threw
them on the floor. I guess you know the
rest....””
The confessed killer paused, appar-
ently reluctant to finish. ‘‘Is this why you
killed her?’’ Inspector Husted pressed.
‘‘Just to have your way with her?”
Albert Jr. stared at the floor for a long
time. When finally he answered the law-
man’s question, even the case-hardened
officers were aghast at his words — one
of the most lurid and shocking confes-
sions in their memory.
‘*When I was 14, a woman much older
than I took advantage of my innocence.
She infected me with a disease which has
tortured me off and on for years. I
resolved at the time to get even. Really,
I dedicated my life to vengeance against
women. I have outraged, seduced, ruined
and corrupted as many of them asI could.
This killing is no surprise to me. I knew
that eventually I would achieve the sup-
reme vengeance — that I would kill a
woman. I did not regret having destroyed
Blanche Cousins. She excited my pas-
sions, then refused to satisfy them. I
killed her without remorse. So, partly
from passion and partly from hate, I
started to choke her with my hands. I
just choked her until there was no resis-
tance. I disrobed her. I carried her to
ae bed. I ravished her. By ravishing, I
mean what the word says and means. |
don’t know whether she was alive or not
when I violated her,’’ the fiend con-
cluded. ,
Early in October 1936, the defendant
pleaded guilty before Judge Lile T. Jacks.
Public Defender Gerald Kenny tried to
get the plea set aside on grounds of insan- ,
ity, but three psychiatrists examined
the confessed killer and found him fit to
stand trail.
Later that month Albert Walter Jr.
went before a jury, which took only half
an hour to convict him. Standing before
the bench for sentencing, the murderer
solemnly made this request of the court:
‘I only want to die as soon as possible.”
Judge Jacks condemned the monster
to die on the gallows at San Quentin.
Early on the morning of August 3, 1937,
after all appeals had been denied, Albert
Walter Jr. mounted the steps of the scaf-
fold and stood silently as the black hood
was dropped over his head. Minutes later
the human vampire was dead. *
Twenty-Two Slashes For Aileen.
(Continued from page 19)
officers that he had no idea who might
have wanted to harm his wife. Ordinarily
in such cases, the husband is suspect,
but in this case, detectives felt certain
that the grief of the man they were inter-
viewing was absolute and that he was in
a virtual state of shock over the loss of
his wife.
Neighbors who were roused by officers
on their door-to-doot canvas of the
immediate neighborhood, tended to con-
firm their beliefs. No one could recall
anything about the Boones that would
indicate any marital difficulty. They
worked at the same plant, she on the first
shift and he on the third, and their co-
workers and friends were shocked at the
mere suggestion the husband would have
harmed his wife.
With the arrival of Coroner A.Y.
Lesslie Jr., and the completion of the
work at the immediate crime scene, the
body was ordered removed to a hospital
in nearby Rock Hill for Dr. Culp to make
a more thorough examination. As ambul-
ance attendants lifted the body onto a
stretcher, investigaturs bent to find a Bic
ballpoint pen nes‘’:d in the grass. Lifting
it carefully, and turning it slowly, they
discovered that it had engraved along the
tube the name ‘‘Bob’’.
From the husband, daughter and
neighbors, they were unable to come up
with a person named Bob. They soon dis-
counted the possibility that the victim had
taken the pen out of the house herself,
either. Neither the husband or daughter
could recall having seen such a pen in
the house.
As-other members of the family and
friends gathered at the crime scene,
officers learned that a relative who was
thought to be in the state hospital in
Columbia, might be a suspect. This sub-
ject had, for no apparent reason some
time before, attacked his brother, who
was in a bathroom shaving. The attack
had been made with a knife.
On the chance that this subject had
escaped and had come to the Boone resi-
dence and brutally slain Aileen Boone,
Patrolman Gaskey phoned the state hos-
pital in Columbia to inquire if the man
was still there. Told that he was at the
hospital, Caskey insisted that the
attendant in the hospital go check the bed
and make sure. When the attendant came
back, he said there was no doubt that
the party in question was still in the hospi-
tal and asleep.
Of all the people in the neighborhood
who might have seen or heard anything
concerning the crime, the only ones who
said they were awake were John Bucha-
nan and his 17-year-old son, Stewart,
who came outside his home in his
pajamas when the officers began to gather
at the scene.
Young Buchanan said he had come
home from work in Charlotte about 3 a.m.
and had gone in and started taking a bath
when he heard his father get up. When
he completed his bath and got ready for
bed, he said, he realized there was some
unusual activity going on outside and
came out of the house. He told officers
he had gotten off from work about 1:30
and had gone to a couple of places in
Charlotte and drunk beer and shot pool
until about 2:30 and had arrived home
about 3 a.m.
There had been no unusual activity that
he noticed when he came in and although
he might have seen the body on the lawn
next door had he been looking he had
not seen anything or anyone.
Since the Boone residence sits on a
dead-end street that is bordered by a
wooded section, officers were not
inclined to think that someone just look-
ing for a residence to break into would
choose a street that dead-ended, unless
they were afoot. And, since it was a cold
night, it was unlikely that a burglar would
be out wandering around without trans-
portation looking for some place to break
into. «!
By 9.a.m., the investigation was at a
virtual standstill. Officers from nearby
Lancaster County had found an aban-
doned car that was checked out, but it
proved to be stalled by mechanical prob-
lems and the owner’s whereabouts for
the period in question was easily
accounted for.
(Continued on next page)
POTTS EL
When arraigned onthe indictment
cal processes makes him a very sick and
16, who was brutally shot earlier in the |
agely bitten by the killer. She had been
qirl’s body before Judge Tipps on August 16, Parker dangerous man. At times he may appear year in Wichita Falls.
> found,” entered a plea of not guilty. His trialdate normal to those around him, but his © After repeated police questioning,
swinging was set for October 9, 1972. behavior is unpredictable and explosive. Medina broke, and confessed to the
> planned On September 20 District Attorney This man is not able to adhere to right. Navarro girl’s murder and, in a surprise
e Phagan revealed that Parker was under- It is my recommendation that he be sent move, confessed to the stabbing of Debra
‘oiled by going additional psychiatric examination to Rusk State Hospital for an indefinite Montgomery more than a year before.
e said he because the earlier one was “‘incon- commitment. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
nost-nude clusive”’ “It is my firm conviction that if this 40 years in prison.
side, laid On September 28, Parker’ s attorney man is turned loose in this community Because of this, the case against
sat there filed a petition seeking a sanity hearing _ in his Present mental status, he will kill Samuel Parker was dismissed and he was
posing as for his client. The hearing was ordered again.’ moved from the state hospital for the
rally left. for Monday,October 2, by Judge Tipps. At the conclusion of the testimony, the criminally insame to the mental hospital
n the car, The hearing was conducted before a jury ruled that Parker was insane ‘‘at the in Wichita Falls where he had been under
sovered it jury of six men and six. women. Two present time’’ and should be hospitalized. treatment before.
;. Wichita Falls physicians testified. Judge Tipps issued a judicial order that It now seems that the grisly details of
ind for a Dr. Charles H. Brown noted — _ the defendent ‘‘be confined in maximum his confession, so believable at the time,
) the park ‘Parker has a multi-faceted problem ..._ security until he becomes sane.” were no more than the product of his sick
ody. This any one or all of which might create an Sheriff's deputies took Parker to the imagination.
ed for the impaired conscious state.”’ state hospital for the criminally insane ° If ever Parker is declared sane perhaps
ks left by Dr. Walter F. Speakman read a report the next morning. At that time District he can clear.up the mystery of why he
s decided. on his findings to the jury. The statement Attorney Phagan told newsmen, “‘If and thought he was the brutal slayer of Debra
eturned to said: when the hospital superintendent says Montgomery.
slock from ‘‘His whole history is one of poor that Parker is sane, he will be returned But the details are trapped, for the
then went impulse control, hostility and assaultive to Wichita County for another sanity moment, in his brain.
wanted to behavior ... with this there is adelusional _ hearing and tried for the murder if found
ing or was and grandiose idealism indicating sane at that time.’’ (Editor’s Note: The names Joe Hightower and
here.” He schizophrenic process of long standing. That was never to happen for the case Robert Allen have been changed to protect the
‘In addition to this, unfortunately, Mr. developed an even stranger twist in Sep- identity of innocent persons caught up in this
hte heated Parker does have ‘brain damage as__ tember, 1973. icon! rap Pn ho name Samuel sate
till had the indicated by a convulsive disorder and a this tir >, Wichita police were hold- his family, gt further embarratiment, Hace
tabbed the an abnormal electroencephalogram. —_—iing a suspect named Ferdinand Medina — je was not involved in the crirte, but enly the
cant house, The combination of these pathologi- for the murder of pretty Gloria Navarro, __yictim of his twisted imagination.)
tan labo - .
a piece oO i
Parker said H B d W S tt iI Bl d W S t Inspector Stanton’s information was
about 2:15 er 0 y as 0 one er 00 as wee almost as discouraging. **A woman who
bed. 4 runs a confectionery on California Street
blood- (Continued from page 23) says a girl answering Blanche’s descrip-
at the tion used to stop in for an evening paper.
mes county morgue for an autopsy. _ strangled, however, not by the stocking eure ze Bi pacer with her. That
ia team of We've talked with every tenantin the noose: but by strong fingers which had was about a week ago. The woman can’t
2 nail, said apartment house,’ Inspector Engler fractured her larynx. The finger bruises 6 sure, but she.thinks the girl was
x or sever: ' summed up, “‘and they can’t offerus any- were clearly apparent. The knotted accompanied by a young man in his late
‘« Mactonind thing helpful toward the solution. stocking was a weird touch, perhaps an 39. He was neatly dressed, but I didn’t
sed by park A frown crossed the face of Inspector afterthought by the murderer as anadded get much of a description. She said he
saper in the Husted when he heard that the mystery — precaution to make sure she was dead. Was of medium height, build and com-
letector was had reached a dead end. “That means While Inspector Husted remained in plexion, wore no hat, and had straight
veral hours we'll have to backtrack on gy we San Francisco to press the local phase black hair parted on the side.”
fe Cousins all the way to Idaho Falls,” of the investigation, his homicide partner Homicide Inspector Husted shrugged.
nual Parker stated evenly. “Maybe the redhead had started for Idaho Falls to follow through — That could apply to thousands of men
‘h malicious a boyfriend there who didn't want her ~ on that end. bs ; ‘ in San Francisco, or anywhere else, for
of the Peace to come to San Francisco. He could have ““T'Il question the victim's family and that matter,” he pointed out. *‘And since
; set for the followed her here and tried to persuade her friends,”’ Inspector Engler stated. we haven't a single suspect in mind, the
ided to the } her to return home. When she refused, —+J"J] ask any boy that Blanche dated to description means nothing right now.
4 the suitor could have flown into a rage.’ ~ account for his whereabouts on the night However, let's keep the information on
>r was trans- Inspector Engler agreed that a check- of the strangling. If that doesn'tlead any-fije. It may come in handy’ later.”
: psychiatric up in the victim’s hometown would have where, I'll take a bus and retrace the same Inspector Engler, meanwhile, had
. Falls after to be made, but he was dubious about — route Blanche Cousins travelled to San arrived in Idaho Falls, where he went first
ang himself. the motive. 7 Francisco. Maybe the driver or a lunch tg the Cousins home and interviewed the
78th District From what the coroner said,’’ he counter employee will recall something family in detail.
iting Parker pointed out, “‘the killer’s rage most likely about her.”’ Blanche, they said, was 22. She had
© testing and 5 resulted when she rejected his advances. In the hours that followed, Inspector ~ finished high school several years before
\confinedto ° Yet we can be sure Blanche Cousins was Husted had the help of Inspector Stanton and worked for a time in a department
nter. friendly with whoever had dinner with — in searching the Nob Hill section for pos- store, Realizing that she could make more
the Wichita her last night. And since she wasn't sup” sible leads. They questioned progress in the business world if she com-
d Parker on posed to know anyone in this city, that — storekeepers and restaurant owners first, pleted a secretarial course, the girl had
malice. The means her company either was somebody _ but learned little. decided to take one in San Francisco.
killed Miss from Idaho Falls, someone she met on “All T have been told merely confirms — ghe'd planned to return home upon fin-
» her with a the way here or met casually after her what her family said,”’ Inspector Husted ishing it.
~ of 30th Dis- arrival. a reported. ‘‘She had been in town just two In Idaho Falls, Blanche Cousins had
Us bond at This conclusion was bolstered by the — weeks. She ate most of her meals in the had the usual number of boyfriends and
* results of the autopsy;:which confirmed apartment. The people at the YWCA
that Blanche Cousins had been raped. It hardly remember her at all. A few shop-
also confirmed that she had been sav- keepers recall her buying groceries and
rage) meat, but she was always alone.” (Continued on next page)
47
freight trains into neighboring Statese
(fat the'age of 13 where‘he received thirty days for stealing
~"When! about ‘US-years-old he worked for a short time as ai wat
‘S.€rain in Kentucky and he ‘was’ sent’
of ‘some ‘of the train laborerers,.'° Recalling how “easi it w
a Ne! forged thé names’ of some of the laborers, presented the checks to the groc
“Cs money, $h0, and skipped, ending ‘up in Texas, where he joined two young negro, thieves in’.;. .-
stealing’ expeditions, ‘*The trio was caught, at some offense and sentenced to,the Work Farm for
ten moriths, While being conveyed to the Farmall three jumped from the wagon and rane. One of
“othe negroes’ was ‘shot by’ the guard, but Wardrip and, the other negro, escaped, and proceeded to.
*Lobisiana where the pursued their criminal, operations,:,The negro either got tired of Wardrip
or of! the: life thky' were’ leading’ and sought, to part. companys , Wardrip and- he had a fight over
\ this and Wardrip says he felled hispartner with a stick, of wood and then killed him as he
‘ay unconscious, “In describing this, scene, he said: . When I had put him out I thought I might
as well finish him; I felt sure he could jot peach on me then." He said. he then returned to
his ‘old stamping prounds ‘in the ‘vicinity of his home, there found.a new partner and start ed
Non the road" again, ‘His partner Boon w assent to the Kentucky: State Penit entiary..and Wardrip
(hloriths he was ‘sent to the Presidio,’ and after he had been there two months a contagious. i er
» diséasé broke ‘out ‘and men’ were required to aid the nurses. ‘As this .was less labor ;
went’ vo Lexington, “Ky.’,) where, in 1898, he joined the Army and was, sent to Cuba. Aften eight
fay J t fous than guar
Ofauty;Wardrip says ‘he accepted the position to help the nurses, and in that manner had access
° me IEG" where ‘the sick soldiers’ kept: their clothing and valuables, He said. he "Lifted". $10, in ‘coin
: ‘from the pockets of the sick ‘andcat ‘a favorable opportunity skipped gut, » He said she took the
_ doin to save the sick'men'the txguble of spending it, He-had a,good time on part of the money
“put!"in turn was “pobbed NBMEMEE by*a woman, He came to/Port Costa. where. he fell in with an old
» © miner, “a Kentuckian, ‘who was ‘going to San Francisco, Wardrip found out:.the miner had some . |
: joneyy | 6" he went to San Francisco with his new,found friend 'to'show him around, "but his real
- Igbject, according to his own’ statement to Fisher, was to possess ‘himself. of the, miner's moneye
“The old fellow was ‘rather cautious though, and finally Wardrip steered him up against a woman i
“a low saloon, and, ‘promising her half .6f the 'wad,' «werdrip procured a vial-of ether and got
“the woman‘to ‘dope’ the miner's ‘Liquor. while he kept ‘his attention upon himself, .'The gd re
—“Quffer soon wert to’sleep” in ‘the toilet;! said Wardrip,- ‘and, I had no trouble to get his aack
t,
and T ‘blewe! “The old ‘girl is still waiging for her 'divvys': She gave ‘him such a big dose.
Ly? Loar te
of ether I don't know whether he ever came to or not.! He'said thatthe: buckskin purse taken x:
from the man contained |
a little over $70. He bought a good suit of clothes out of this. money, =
_ ptt the balance soon was squandered and he’ though he ‘would try his hand again at,,'knockout _
- dropse' He fell in with a young stranger and managed to ‘dope! him, .His,act, however, was.
- observed by a salooh rounder who léastead of notifying the police quietly witnessed Warfrip
robbing the young stranger of. $1); and a gold watch. As Wardrip left the saloon the rounder
followed him out and demanded half, "All right," said Wardrip. "Let's go in here and dividee
I can't flash it onthe strects." They stepped in a hallway behind the door of a vacant wood
and coal office and as bke rounder held out his hand to receive his share, Wardrip hit him a_
terrific blow on the jaw and made his escape, He went to Stockton, where he sold the watch ©
and took up with a woman, occupying a room in a hotel with her till his money gave out, He
said that while stopping there he noticed howeasy it would be to get away with valises, Over= —
coats and hand baggage at 5 o'clock in the morning, Embracing the opportunity, he stole two
grips and sold the contents, The following monring he got two more and just after having , sold
eS que the learned that Officer Walter Walker of Stockton was on his trail, He went to Oakland ©
Fisher
en came to Sacramento and the following is a aist as furnished Wardrip to Detectives
and John tagerald of crimes committed hy himself and pals re Se Nef and vicinity
ails
.
4 & ¥ oe |
He said he first came to Sacramento about Nov. 1, 1900;
a barn near the City Cemetery, and when leaving the bar
Single harness which was sold te an Italian gardner for $1.5
dairy barn about two miles from Washington, and the day after we
Washington, There was no one at home and we took a silver box ful) of jewe
yhere was a gold watch and chain and abig gold rigg with a letter on it)
Sacramento and the 'coont sold it all to a colored barber for $17.50,»
‘Skipped, and I. went to Oakland the next day,'| The police records show tha
the house of King Lee in Washington was burglarized whéle the family was a
Jewelry box containing a lady's Open face gold watch.and chain
initial ring, with ketter 'kt on setting, a pair of lady's -
away. “Turning to D
r alon
d picked s withas
e yee Gown
ove that
Re her
J by a black mstached, tall. pry? :
and the other Jones and a third man were overha) Re
le trying to sell a big clock for % cents toa J oe
The third man made a jump away from the fly cop and goat, away and the two
Jones' got 8 years’ apiece at Folsom,’ The police records shwo that a 11, pm on Dee 7, A90L,
the residence of Mrs,’ Dora Goggins was burglarized, © The records show the Jones pleaded guilty
and sentenced to 8 years, Had identified the man who got away as "Kentuck" and Wardrip said ~
_ Fhe was known by that name, He said he had cut the screen out with his knife. Frank fones and —
he went into Mrs, Goggins’ residence while Harry Jones acted as guard, They made up two bundles
_ and took clock for luck, He said Bete his bundle in willows of China Slough, He said when oe
. he and Frank Jones were stopped hestill zhad pistol he had stolen from Qakland and commented:
"I don't thin k I would have gone to jail, " He said after getituimgwaway he. went toa barn, yhere
he remained until night and then went back to look for his bundle but it was gone, He only had —
10¢ left and he had coffee in d coffee house, While there a man came in and had supper which ® —
he paid for with $20 gold picce pocketing change, Wardrip went and waited under bridgé until ig
man came by and then held up with pistol, taking watch and $18.50... Police records ‘show es
carpenter named Spait had been held up on ‘Dec, '9, 1901, ‘Wardrip said he then jumped a freight é
train and went to Fresno where he fell in with Red-Shirt Turner and the Taylor Kid, They went
to Madera and did a job, He got caught g pleaded guilty’ and sentenced-to year in San Quentin ~
being released on Nov, 18, 1901;. After the Duffy murder (for which he was convicted, ,Wardrip
Joined a gang of friehgt car burglars Operating between Ogden and Wells, Nev,' He said there —
was considerable risk in selling foods to s econd-hand men, and that when he met Dalberg he .. of
concluded to make a partner out of him to help sell stolen goods,."" SACRAMENTO BEE, Aug, l,
1902, ‘page 5. ‘Photograph , HIS DEERE TE rpg apie aga ; Pf bees
res POOR Ss, , s - y . x p f ¢ Ft eS Se f * TOT. Ly far P Try
a
bist
74 PACIFIC 7h)
WARDRIP, Charles, white, 21, hanged, Folsom (Sacramento) on Feb. 26, 190).
"After being held to answer Monday Morning, /pril 28, Werdrip, in speaking to Asst. Dist.
Atty. Wachhorst, requested the latter to hurry matters up, saying he had no desire to face
a jury, but wanted to enter a plea of guilty and receive the death penalty, es he preferred
haning to having to work for the balance of his days for the state. He said he did not at |
all fell surprised at MissDuffy recognizing him, as the moon shone brightly when hé
committed the crime. Leter in the day, and realizing fully that now nothing but the
gallows was ‘ahead of him, he unfolded to Det. Max P. Fisher the story of his criminal life
from the time he first ran away from home at the age of 10 years. He is now between 21
and 23 years old.» Wardrip first left his home in Kentucky, joining a gang of young tramps
and .beating his way with them on freight trains into neighboring states. His first in-
carceration was at Baltimore, Md., at the age of 13, where he received 30 days for steal-
ing articles froma passenger train. Whén about 15-years-old, he worked for a short ‘time
as a water boy on a small construction train’ in Kentucky and he was sent with time checks
to a grocer to collect part of the wages of some of the train laborers. Recalling how
easy it would be to duplicate these checks, he forged the names of some of the leborers,
penenyes the checks to the grocer, received the money, $0, and skipped, ending up in
exas, where he joined two young negro thieves in stealing expeditions. The trio was
caught at some offense and sentenced to the work farm for 10 months. While being conveyed
to the farm, all 3 jumped from the wagon and ran. One of the negroes was shot by the
guard, but Wardrip and the other negro escaped ard proceeded to’ Louisiana where they pur-
sued their criminal operations. The negro either got tired of Wardrip or of the life °
they were leaving and sought to part company. Wardrip and he had a fight over this’ and
Wardrip says he felled his partner with a stick of wood and then killed him as he lay
unconscious. 'In describing this scene, he said: 'When I had put him out I thought I might
as well finish him; I felt sure he could not peach on me then.!' - He said he then returned
to his old stamping grounds in the vicinity of his home, there’ found a new partner end
started 'on the road' again. ‘is partner soon was sent to the Kentucky State Peniten-
tiary and Wardrip went to Lexington, Ky., where, in 1898, he joindéd the Army and wes
sent to Cuba. After eight months he was sent to the Présidio, and after he had been there
2 months a contegious diseese broke out and men were required to aid the nurses. As this
was less laborious than guard duty, Wardrip says he accepted theposition to helg the
nurses,. and in that manner had access to where the sick soldier kept their clothing and
valuables. .He said he 'lifted' #10 in coin from the pockets of'the sick and at a favor-
able opportunity skipped out. He said he took the coin to save the'sick men the trouble
of spending it. Ihe had a good time on part of thé money but in turn was robbed by a wo-
man. He came to Port Costa where he fell in with an old miner, a Kentuckian, who was
going to San Francisco. Werdrip found out the miner had some money, so he went to San
Francisco with his new found friend 'to whow him eround,' but his real object, according
to his own statement to Fisher, was to possess himself of the miner's money. The old
fellow was-rather cautious though, and finally Wardrip steered him up against a woman
in a -low seloon, and, promissng her half of the 'wad,' Wardrip procured a vial of ether
and got the woman to 'dope' the miner's liquor while he kept his attention upon himself.
' The old duffer soon went to sleep in the toilet,' said Wardrip, 'and I°had no trouble
to get his sack and I blew.X The old’girl is stillweaiting for her."divvy." She gave him
such a big.dose of ether I don't know whether he ever came to or note! He said that the
buckskin purse taken from the man contained a little over $70. He bought e* good suit of
clothes out of-this.money, but the balance soon was squandered and he thought he would try
his hand ‘at 'knockout dropse' He fell in with a young stganger and managed to 'dope!
him. ‘is act, however, was observed by’a saloon rounder who, instead of notifying the
police, quietly witnessed Wardrip robbing the young stranger of $1) and a gold watch. As
Wardrip left the saloon, the rounder followed him out and demanded half. ‘All right,!
said Wardrip. ‘Let's go in here and divide. I can't flash it on the streets.' They
stepped in a hallway behind the door of a vacant wood and coal office and as the rounder
held out his hand to receive his share, Wwardrip hit him a terrific blow on the jaw and
made his escape. He went to Stockton, where he sold the watch and took up with a women,
Occupying a room in a hotel with her till his money gave but. He said that while stopping
there he noticed how easy it would be to get away with valises, overcoats end hend baggage
at five o'clock in ths morning. Embracing the opportunity, he stole 2 grips and sold the
contents. The following morning he got 2 more and just after having sold them he learned
thet Officer Walter Walker of Stockton was on his trail. He went to Oaklend and then came
to Sacramento and the following is a list es furnished by Werdrip to Detectives Fisher and
;
|
John Fitzgerald of crimes committed ,by himself and pels in this city and vicinity. . He
seid that he first camé to Sacramento about Nove i, 19003 that he and a negro pertner slépt
in a barn near the City Cemetery, and when Leavitig: the barn in the early morning stole
a set of single harness which was sold to an Itelian gardner for $1.50. 'The next night
-we Slept in a dairy barn about 2 miles from Washington, and the day after we went through
a house over in Washington. There was.no one at home and we took a silver box full of
jewelry. I remember there was a gold watch and chain and a big gold ring with a letter on
it. We took it over to Sacramento and the 'coon'sold it all to a colored barber for
$17250. My partner got leery and skipped, and I went to Oekland the next day.e' The po=
lice records show that on Nove 5, 1900, the hotise of King Lee in Washington was burglarized
while the family was away , and a silver jewelry box containing a lady's open fece gold
watch end chain, a heavy gold gentleman's initial ring, with, the letter 'k' on setting, a
pair of lady! Ss gotd breacelets, etc, were carried away. No tBace of the goods was ever
found. lurning to Det. Fisher, Wardrip continued: 'Do you know why I skipped across the
river on the morning I saw you looking at me so strong when you passed on the street car
and me and the Kid were there by the Chinese restaurant?! (Keferring to the incident when
Dete Fisher saw Wardrip and the 'Kid' at Third and J Strects about nine o'clock on the
morning of the day Hugh Duffy Was shot). 'You looked at me pretty hard, and I did not know
but that you recognized me from something which happened after, we got the jewelry across
the river. I went to Oakland and 'touched' a, small gun store, and peddled the goods along
the roed except one big pistol which I kept myself. I came back here and picked up with »
e fellow named Jones. He, got in a fight in a K St. saloon and you arrested him. I
followed behind you, and when you got to, Chinatown, Jones made a swipe at you and tried to
shove you down a basement. You laid him out with your billy.' The, record of the police
department shows that at 3 PM on Dece.1, 1900, Frank Jones was arrested. ' A week later,'
Wardrip went on, 'this Jones and snother fallaw also named Jones got 'pinched! for bur-
glarizing a house on L1St. near lth. One Jones,was caught with a bundle near Third end J
by a black mustached, tall cop, and a little bot of a squatty old man, and the other Jones
and a third man were "overhauled by an officer, in citizen's clothes while trying to sell a
big clock for 35 cents to a Japanese boarding house. The, third man mede e jump away from
the fly cop and got away and the two Jones', got 8 years apiece at Folsom.' The police
records show that at 11 PM on Dec. 7, 1901, the residence of Mrs. Dora Goggins was bur-
glarized. The records show the Jones pleaded guilty and sentenced to 8 years. Had iden-
tified the man who. got away as 'Kentuck' and Werdrip said he was known by thet neme. He
said he had cut the screen out with his knife. Frank Jones and he went into Mrs. Goggins!
residence while Harry Jones acted as guard. They made up 2 bundles and-took the clock
for luck. He said he hid his bundle in willows of China Slough. He said when he and
Frenk Jones were stopred he still had the pistol he had stolen from Oakland and commented:
'I don't think: I would have gone,to jeil.' He said after getting away he went to a barn
where he remained until night and then went,,back,to look for his bundle but it was gone€e
He only had 10 cents left and he had coffee in a coffee housee While there a man came
in and had uspper which he paid for with a $20 gold piece, pocketing the change. Wardrip
went and waited under a bridge until the man came by and then:held him up with the pistol,
taking his watch and $18.50. Police records show a carpenter named Sapit hed been held
up on-Dec. 2, 1909. Wardrip:said he then jumped a freight train and went to Fresno
where he fell in with !Red-Shirt' Turner and the Taylor Kid. They went to Madera and did
a job. He got caught, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in San Quentin, .being
released on Nov. 18, 1901. After the Duffy murder (for which he was convicted, )Wardrip ‘
joined a gang of freight car burglars operating between Ogden and Wells, Nev. "He said
there was considerable r&sk in selling goods to second-hand men, and that when he met
Dalberg he concluded to make a partner oyt of him to hélp seel stolen goods.". BEE,
SAGramento, August 1, 1902, page 53 Photograph.
PEED
BUGIS S
' i es a Mildbbet se vs
Road agents hold up a treasure coach. Even with the law hot o
to rob anyone he met on the road in the course of his flight.
rn his trail, Vasquez paused
incapable of acting the daring high-
wayman. But those who had faced the
barrel of Vasquez’s gun remembered
the desperate determination of a ruth-
less bandit.
As the four men lifted the wounded
prisoner from the wagon, Charles Miles
arrived. “That’s him!” he cried out.
“That’s Vasquez.”
Vasquez seemed to enjoy all the atten-
tion, and in fact did not flinch when the
doctor probed his wounds. The doctor
warned Rowland that his prisoner, if
given a chance, would still be game
enough for a long day’s ride.
All that evening Vasquez and news of
his capture entered into every conversa-
tion. He was toasted at every bar and
bandied about in every joke. The jail
became a gathering place for the citizens
of Los Angeles, all anxious to look at the
infamous bandit. Several ladies brought
flowers to decorate his cell, and with his
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY —
house. The outlaw was seated a few steps from his weapons, a
few more from his saddled palomino at the cabin’s northwest
corner. Only George’s wife and baby and one member of the
gang were present. Chavez and the others were somewhere in
the hills.
Vasquez idly watched a familiar wagon driven by two
Mexicans come lumbering from the east through a mustard
thicket. At a distance of 100 yards, six men leaped from the
wagon and ran for the house. George’s wife screamed and tried
to slam shut the kitchen door. Harris wedged it open with his
Henry rifle and burst inside to see Vasquez dive through a
small window on the south wall. “There he goes through the
window!” Harris yelled, and fired.
Officer Frank Hartley, coming around the south end of the
building, took deliberate aim and fired his shotgun. Vasquez,
was hit and dropped to the ground, but then he sprang to his
feet and sprinted toward his horse. Beers rounded the corner,
faced the bandit and fired his Henry point-blank, catching
Vasquez in the shoulder.
Vasquez threw up his hands. “Don’t shoot,” he said.
“You’ve got me.” The rest of the posse closed in. Vasquez
faced them, blood running from the wounds on his arms and
legs. “You boys have got me,” he repeated. ” My name is
Alejandro Martinez.”
Undersheriff Johnson snorted. “I have had your photograph
for years and know you to be Tiburcio Vasquez,” he said.
Vasquez nodded. “I have been a damned fool. I should not
have attempted to escape. | am about gone up.”
He was assured that his wounds were not that serious.
Vasquez smiled. “Dress my wounds carefully and you boys get
$8,000. If you let me die, you get only $6,000.” He chuckled.
“You get $2,000 for being kind.”
Word spread quickly that the scourge of California had been
captured. By the time the posse and the wagon carrying the
wounded bandit.arrived at the jail, a crowd of several hundred
had gathered. At the sight of the mild-looking Mexican lying
wounded in the back of the wagon, a murmur swept through
the crowd. Was this really the infamous Mexican bandit, the
dreaded highwayman?
He was almost 40 years old. His height was about 5-feet-7;
weight, 137 pounds. His complexion was light, his features
clear-cut, with an expression of keen intelligence, shrewd-
ness and cunning. His eyes were large, slightly sunken and
grayish blue. His nose was Grecian, his mouth large and
coarse. He appeared quiet, inoffensive and mild-mannered,
48
charming manners Vasquez became an
idol to many. A local photographer took a dignified likeness of
the robber and sold the prints for two bits each. Alesandro
Repetto appeared and exchanged salutations with the caged
outlaw. “The account is between you and God,” he said. “I beg
of you, if ever you resume operations, not to repeat your visit
to my house.”
Vasquez bowed slightly. “Ah, sefior, if I suffer a conviction
and am compelled to undergo a short term of imprisonment,
I will take the earliest opportunity to reimburse you. Sefor
Repetto, I am a cavalier, with the heart of a cavalier.”
A few days later the Merced Theater put on a burlesque
called The Life of Vasquez. The vain bandit granted frequent
interviews to the actors and even lent his clothes for the show.
He offered to play the lead himself if the sheriff would consent.
Rowland would have no part of that suggestion.
On the afternoon of May 23, Vasquez was quietly driven in
a hack to the railroad depot. In a few hours he was on a side-
wheel steamer, The Senator, Monterey-bound. He was then
transported to a San Francisco jail cell, where he waited to
stand trial for the Tres Pinos murders.
Vasquez received a visit in his jail cell from Mortimer W.
Belshaw, who asked about the silver watch Vasquez had stolen
from him, adding that he would be willing to pay for its
return. Vasquez, pleased that his exploits were so well remem-
bered, replied that Chavez had the watch. Belshaw decided
he had no urgent need for the timepiece if it meant meeting
up with the hombre—Chavez had fled to Mexico, but he
vowed he would return to California and rescue his chieftain
from the noose.
The trial took place in San Jose, and on January 23, 1875,
Vasquez received a death sentence. On March 19, Tiburcio
Vasquez mounted the 13 steps to the scaffold. He removed his
coat, tie and collar. He was bound with straps about his wrists
and ankles, and a noose was placed around his neck by the
undersheriff. There was no sign of Chavez.
Vasquez gave the sheriff a knowing look and said simply,
“Pronto.” The black hood was slipped over his head, the
trap promptly sprung, and Tiburcio Vasquez plummeted
into eternity. One of California’s most notorious banditos
was dead. 0
Colton, Calif., writer Russ McDonald is the author of Footloose
and Fancy Free and other books. For further reading, try The Life
and Career of Tiburcio Vasquez, by Eugene Sawyer; or Vasquez,
by George A. Beers.
We also have
See as ae
San Diego and all the southern towns. He nourished the
thought that he might even be able to overthrow the gringos
who occupied California.
But the poor showing at Firebaugh’s Ferry, where he had
expected to reap Miller’s $35,000 payroll, and the slim pick-
ings of the attempted robbery of the Southern Pacific pay train
above Gilroy had left him without sufficient funds. Vasquez
needed a windfall to finance his dreams-of the conquest of
Southern California.
William R. Rowland, sheriff of Los Angeles County, had
other plans for Vasquez and spoke of the abundance of hemp
rope on hand for the bandit’s neck. He had had a brush with
the outlaw before and understood the futility of chasing him
on his home ground, where he could vanish like a cougar into
the hills. It would take more than
just his courage and fast gun to
capture Vasquez.
Rowland went about his daily
business as though he were not
concerned with Vasquez. He
raised no posses to ride the hills
and canyons, but he made sure
he had eyes and ears in each
community that would give him
quick warnings on any move by
Vasquez. He was aware of the
bandit’s weakness for feminine
company and of his many visits
to Sonora, the Mexican quarters
of Los Angeles. When word
reached Rowland that Vasquez
had visited the house of Conejo,
“the Rabbit,” he watched her
place for several days and nights
without success. He soon real-
ized that Vasquez had his own
spies to warn him of the sheriff’s
every move.
On April 16, 1874, Vasquez
struck again. He and Chavez,
along with three new recruits, on
the pretense of being sheep-shear-
ers, gained admittance into the
home of Alesandro Repetto, an 3
Italian rancher, near El Monte. At
gunpoint, the fat rancher insisted
he had only $80 cash. Vasquez
politely took the money, but he
A Los Angeles photographer took this dignified portrait of
Tiburcio Vasquez and sold copies for two bits apiece.
Vasquez made the most of his celebrity status as much
and as long as circumstances allowed.
The boy rode the six miles to Los Angeles, reined up and ran
into the bank. The teller noted the boy’s frightened manner
and summoned Francis P.F. Temple, president of the bank.
Temple asked about the uncle's health, and at this the boy
began to cry. Temple quickly called Sheriff Rowland, and they
got the whole story.
Rowland dispatched an undersheriff to El Monte to form a
posse and attack the outlaws from the rear. Another group was
sent galloping for the pass of the Los Angeles River to cut off
any possible escape. Rowland took seven men and rode toward
Repetto’s ranch.
Back in Temple’s office, the youth’s pleas convinced the
banker that Vasquez would kill his uncle the moment he
saw a posse approach. The boy’s tears touched the banker’s
heart, and he gave him $500 in
gold coins. The boy leaped to
the saddle and galloped home.
In the oak-dotted hills beyond
the ranch, he caught up with
Rowland’s posse and sped past,
racing for the house. He dashed
inside and flung the bag of gold on
the table. The bandits were busy
dividing up the loot when the
sentry spotted the posse topping
the distant hill.
Vasquez and his cohorts poured
from the house, mounted up and
headed for the Arroyo Seco.
Moments later, Rowland’s posse
thundered past the ranch in pur-
suit. The outlaws, with the advan-
tage of fresh mounts, quickly
outdistanced the sheriff and stayed
beyond rifle range.
The confident Vasquez paused
near the Arroyo Seco to hold up a
one-horse wagon driven by
Charles E. Miles, superinten-
dent of the Los Angeles Water
Company. “Hand over your
money,” Vasquez said with his
characteristic smile. Miles laughed,
considering it a good joke, and
slapped at the reins. Five Henry
rifles were trained on him. He lost
his smile, protesting that he car-
ried no money.
.
CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
told the quaking host: “I know
all about your affairs, Sefior. You have recently sold $10,000
worth of sheep. You must have plenty of money buried about
the place.”
Repetto pleaded that he had paid out nearly all the money
in land purchases. Vasquez examined the ranch books and
realized the rancher was telling the truth. But there was a
tempting balance in Temple and Workman’s Los Angeles
Bank. Vasquez suggested that perhaps Repetto would “lend”
him $800 in the form of a check, to be repaid with interest in
30 days. Vasquez informed him that of course he could refuse,
in which case he would be hanged from one of the olive trees
in the yard.
Repetto still objected and was promptly tied to the tree
trunk with a pistol muzzle placed against each ear. Now he
agreed to the “loan.” Vasquez gave the check to Repetto’s
small nephew with instructions to ride to Los Angeles for the
money. He was warned that his uncle would be shot if he did
anything to give away the situation. Vasquez then stationed a
man at the window with a spyglass and settled down for a
large breakfast.
46
“Then I'll take your watch,”
Vasquez snorted, pointing at the $250 timepiece.
At that very moment, Rowland topped the hill a few thou-
sand yards away. “Pronto,” Vasquez ordered. “There are a dozen
men coming this way. I’m Vasquez, and they are after me.”
Quickly, Miles passed over the watch. Vasquez and his men
promptly galloped off to increase the gap between themselves
and the pursuing sheriff. They paused again when they over-
took a Pasadena settler and robbed him of $15. Rowland again
closed the distance and was within sight.
At the mouth of Verdugo Canyon, Vasquez left the flatlands
and rode into the brush along an abandoned trail. Rowland’s
posse followed into the greasewood until darkness forced them
back to camp. Morning came and they soon realized they had
lost the trail in the canyons of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Vasquez had slipped through their fingers once again. It was
not only Rowland who was upset. All of Los Angeles was in a
turmoil over the daring bandit’s escape.
“Vasquez and his gang must be exterminated at whatever
cost,” demanded the editor of the Los Angeles Express. “We
cannot tolerate a banditti dominating this section of the
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY
Traveling Under
passenger refused
country with pe
that quickly!”
“If Vasquez car
warned the Hera
and then what?”
tible details. “W«
with his troopers
parties to fire up
jewelry stores an
ness houses.”
The editor cx
needed, ready for
have arms for his
keep it charged r
On May 8, 187
for Vaszquez to $$
could not resist t
share of the hug
Vasquez’s locatio:
About 1:30 a
Undersheriff All
Seventh streets a
Emil Harris, a ci
spondent of the
behind, knowin;
Vasquez’s spies.
The posse rode
Santa Monica Mc
“Greek George”
Vasquez was havi
s, reined up and ran
frightened manner
ident of the bank.
ind at this the boy
Rowland, and they
El Monte to form a
Another group was
eles River to cut off
ven and rode toward
leas convinced the
le the moment he
suched the banker’s
gave him $500 in
[he boy leaped to
id galloped home.
otted hills beyond
ie caught up with
ysse and sped past,
» house. He dashed
ag the bag of gold on
e bandits were busy
the loot when the
d the posse topping
ll.
d his cohorts poured
se, mounted up and
the Arroyo Seco.
er, Rowland’s posse
ist the ranch in pur-
aws, with the advan-
h mounts, quickly
the sheriff and stayed
‘ange.
lent Vasquez paused
vo Seco to hold up a
wagon driven by
Miles, superinten-
Los Angeles Water
“Hand over your
squez said with his
smile. Miles laughed,
it a good joke, and
he reins. Five Henry
iined on him. He lost
‘otesting that he car-
ey.
| take your watch,”
imepiece.
-d the hill a few thou-
ed. “There are a dozen
they are after me.”
. Vasquez and his men
p between themselves
igain when they over-
of $15. Rowland again
t.
squez left the flatlands
joned trail. Rowland’s
| darkness forced them
soon realized they had
n Gabriel Mountains.
fers once again. It was
if Los Angeles was ina
‘rminated at whatever
Angeles Express. “We
1g this section of the
Bb Fe corer Pee eee
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY
Traveling Under Difficulties on the Pacific Coast. Like many famous highwaymen, Vasquez had his eccentric moments. When a
passenger refused to give him his new pair of gloves, Vasquez bought them—for two dollars out of the five he had just stolen from him.
figs 3% LE POW: a
country with perfect impunity. Let us do something, and
that quickly!”
“If Vasquez came within six miles of Los Angeles Thursday,”
warned the Herald, “he may come inside the city next week,
and then what?” The Express was ready to imagine the hor-
rible details. “We shall suppose him dashing into Main Street
with his troopers, detailing parties to take each of the banks,
parties to fire up and down the streets, and parties to rifle the
jewelry stores and safes and tills of the most enticing busi-
ness houses.”
The editor concluded: “A well-armed band of men is
needed, ready for immediate action. Every storekeeper should
have arms for his store, and every citizen who has a gun should
keep it charged ready for instant service at any moment.”
On May 8, 1874, Governor Newton Booth raised the reward
for Vaszquez to $8,000 alive, $6,000 dead. An unknown party
could not resist the temptation and contacted Rowland for a
share of the huge reward in exchange for information on
Vasquez’s location.
About 1:30 a.m. on May 14, a silent party headed by
Undersheriff Albert Johnson left the corral at Spring and
Seventh streets and headed westward. Along with them rode
Emil Harris, a city detective, and George A. Beers, corre-
spondent of the San Francisco Chronicle. Rowland remained
behind, knowing his every move was closely watched by
Vasquez’s spies.
The posse rode to Cahuenga Pass on the south slope of the
Santa Monica Mountains. Two miles beyond lay the house of
“Greek George” Allen near Nichols Canyon. At midday,
Vasquez was having lunch in the kitchen of Allen’s L-shaped
payers
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION
% og
Los Angeles County Sheriff William R. Rowland knew he had to
draw Vasquez away from his home ground. Both he and Vasquez
had spies watching one another's every move.
47
AGENTS
AND
TRAIN ROBBERS
Flalf a Century of Western Bandutry
HARRY SINCLAIR DRAGO
Illustrated with photographs
Endpaper drawing by Lorence F. Bjorklund
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
NEW YORK
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32
on August 26, 1873, which led to the conviction and
execution of California’s notorious bandit chief Tiburcio
Vasquez. Vasquez’s gang descended on the town to rob
Andrew Snyder’s general store. While three of the out-
laws were filling grain sacks with money and supplies
‘inside the store, Vasquez stood out front watching the
horses. A sheepherder came walking up, knowing no-
thing of the robbery in Progress, and Vasquez shot him
dead. This frightened two teamsters who were hitching
their horses nearby, and they began to run. Vasquez
shot one of them. A local boardinghouse owner, A. M.
Davidson, saw what was happening, and ran to warn
his wife. Vasquez put a bullet in him. Inside, a young
boy tried to escape out the back door, and an outlaw
clubbed him in the head.
Vasquez was captured the following year (see Los
Angeles) and charged with the murders. At his trial he
argued that his gang members did the killing, not he,
but the jury did not believe him. He was convicted and
sentenced to hang. According to witnesses his last re-
quest before going to the gallows was to see his coffin. .
It was brought to his cell, and as he admired the satin
lining, he remarked, “I can sleep here forever very
well.”
He began his sleep on March 19, 1875. |
California
Ventura
Ventura County
Some have called it the silliest bank robbery in Califor.
nia frontier history. Ventura, located on US Highway
101 midway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara
was not a town bothered much by outlaws. In fact, by
the 1880s it was so peaceful that the sheriff, A. J. Snog.
8rass, did not always carry his gun. Often in midday he
would leave it at the jail when he ate lunch at his favorite
cafe, a few doors away. So it was that on April 25, 1889
an unarmed Sheriff Snodgrass emerged from his meal.
time break to find the Collins and Sons Bank on Main
Street in the process of being robbed.
The robber was a penniless drifter named Jim M ;
He had scouted the bank and found that the owner, J,
E. Collins, always went to lunch promptly at noon,
leaving only one teller, Jack Morrison, on duty. On
seeing McCarthy with a gun, teller Morrison made a
hasty retreat out the back door. McCarthy gathered up
a tray full of money and hurried back to his horse, which
he had tied to a wagon wheel. While McCarthy was in
the bank, the horse had taken a few steps forward, and
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Stockton
San Joaquin County
California towns tended to blossom early as outlaw
hangouts, much earlier than the rest of the frontier.
Stockton, forty miles south of Sacramento on Interstate
5, was no exception. In the spring of 1850 a local resi-
dent described the town’s hard cases this way:
They always carried a large-sized Colt’s revolver and
a knife in their belts, and woe to the man who dared
to cross them! ... On Sundays they filled up with
whiskey, mounted their horses and rode around town
looking for a row, and “raising hell” generally. They
would ride into a saloon, up to the bar, and drink
without dismounting.
Stockton is not without its hidden outlaw loot. Some
local historians say that just east of town, buried in a
cave or hidden by dense underbrush, may lie part of .
some $250,000 in cash and jewels stolen by the outlaw
Tom Bell who preyed on the Mother Lode area in the
mid-1850s. It is doubtful that Bell was that successful,
but maybe there is something there.
Tehachapi
Kern County
Tehachapi is on State Highway 58 about thirty miles
east of Bakersfield. Deep in Tejon Canyon in the rugged
mountains nine miles southwest of town, lie the remains
of the hideout of the Mason-Henry gang, a band of
killers and robbers who plagued the San Joaquin Valley
during the final years of the Civil War. At first the
outlaws terrorized the valley under the guise of Southern
sympathizers sent to harass Northerners for the “cause”
of the Confederacy. But soon it was clear that the bandits
were merely out for what they could steal from the
citizenry.
According to Virginia Bartholomew, who researched
the gang’s activity during those years, the outlaws’ hide-
out in Tejon Canyon was at the end of a trail that “ran
down a long, sharp ridge with a bluff many hundreds
of feet high on the west side.” The east side of the trail
Was “so steep and full of brush it was impossible to get
a horse down to the canyon floor.” The path was only
about five feet wide, and at one spot where it passed
around a giant boulder, it was just three feet. What
makes the hideout interesting, according to Bar-
cla is that quite possibly near the bottom of the
there still lies buried gang leader Mason’s saddlebag
may date stuffed with cash taken from a robbery
The gang apparently operated for several years until
shortly after the end of the war when the leaders began
to die off. Mason’s partner, Henry, is believed to have
died in a shootout in San Bernadino County, the exact
date of which is unknown. The details on Mason’s de-
mise are also cloudy: there is some evidence he was
killed by a jealous lover of one of his mistresses the very
day he hid his saddlebag and money belt in Tejon Canyon.
In January 1883 a Southern Pacific express was resting
on the steep grade near Tehachapi Summit, just east of
the town of Tehachapi. Suddenly the seven cars behind
the tender broke loose and began to roll backward down
the mountain. The summit is nearly 3,800 feet above
sea level, and within minutes the runaway cars reached
a speed of over seventy miles per hour. Four miles down
the grade at the center of a long curve, the cars left the
track. When the last of the bodies was removed from
the wreckage, it was considered a miracle that only fif-
teen persons were killed. Within a week Southern Pacific
officials announced that two of the victims, neither of
whom could be identified, resembled two men who had
been seen at the station just before the train broke loose.
It was speculated that these two had intended to rob
the train, their plan being to release the brakes gradually
and control the speed of the cars so they could bring
them to a stop somewhere down the track.
Tres Pinos
San Benito County
"Soy
This tiny town, on State Highway 25 eight miles south
of Hollister, was the scene of the “Tres Pinos Massacre”
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VASQUEZ, Tiburico, Mexican, hanged ‘at San Jose, Calif., March 19, 1875.
|
at
Historical Atlas
of the
Outlaw West
Richard Patterson
Johnson Books: Boulder
(CS 1985
THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
6-20-13
Editor s note: A few weeks
ogo. we printed an editorial
hiding a school district in
southern California for naming a
new schoolafter Tiburcio Vas-
guez. who was hanged for
murder more thana century ago.
The editorial angered some Mex-
ican-Americans, who told us that
Vasquez was a hero whose ex-
ploits had been distorted and
misunderstood by “‘gringo”’ his-
torians
This raised a number of inter-
esting questions, not the least of
which was: Is history justa
matter of how you interpret the
information at hand?
We asked two historians to tell
our readers about Vasquez. One,
the widely-respected Dr. Carlos
Munoz. tsa Mexican American;
the other. Michael Campbell, isa
gringu ‘teacher whose special
interest is California, and who
has taught social studies at local
schools.
Their profiles of Tiburcio Vas-
quez are on this page. We will
leave it to the reader to decide
how much of a part the histo-
rian’s perspective plays tn inter-
preting history.
By Carlos Munoz, Jr.
IBURCIO Vasquez —a
historic folk hero ora
criminal who deserved
to be hanged? The ques-
tion is being debated in
Southern California's Santa
Clarita Valley, where local officials
chose to name a school after Vas-
quez. What is the real story of Ti-
burcio Vasquez?
Vasquez was born Aug. 11,
1835, in Monterey County, Cali-
fornia, when California was part
of the Mexican nation. He was not
born into poverty. His parents
owned a ranch and were a well-re-
spected family. An educated man,
Vasquez was fluent in both En-
glish and Spanish.
As a young boy, Vasquez wit-
nessed the occupation of his
homeland by white colonizers and
a foreign military force. He was 13
when Mexico was forced to sign
the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo,
which ended the war between
Mexico and the United States in
1848.
The Treaty gave half of Mex-
ico’s territory, which included Cal-
ifornia, to the United States. It
also granted all Mexicans re-
maining in California the right to
keep their property, maintain
their language, culture, and reli-
gion, and the same citizenship
rights as other “Americans.”
But the Hidalgo Treaty was
never honored by the United
ero or horse th
States government. Instead, Mexi-
cans became victims of white
racism and violence. There was no
justice for them under the new so-
cial order.
Lynchings and rape
Lynchings of Mexicans were
commonplace, as was the raping
of Mexican women. The new
Anglo-Saxon legal system was
used by whites Lo “legally” obtain
Mexican property. Where legal ex-
propriation of land failed, Mexican
property was taken by force.
Finally, the new educational
system promoted the “superior”
European-American cultural
values and English language. The
Mexican culture and the Spanish
language were relegated to the
status of inferiority.
By the time he was 17, Tiburcio
Vasquez had witnessed the over-
turning of the Mexican society he
was born into and the establish-
ment ofa new dominant culture
and social order. ,
Approximately three years
after the Treaty of Hildalgo was
signed, he was present when a
white lawman was killed while at-
tempting to arrest two Mexicans.
He was wrongly accused of being
an accomplice to the killing and
fled for his life. Given the repres-
sive conditions his people were
lacing at the time and his own sit-
uation, he decided to spend the
rest of his life outside the white
man’s law to struggle for the
rights of his people.
As he put it, “a spirit of hatred
and revenge took possession ol
me. | had numerous fights in de-
fense of what I believed to be my
rights and those of my coun-
trymen. I believed we were being
unjustly deprived of the social
rights that belonged to us.”
Fighting Yankee invaders
Vasquez set out to fight, to use
his words, the “Yankee invaders
of California” by robbing stage
coaches, rustling cattle and
stealing horses. Those in posi
tions of power feared him because
of his revolutionary potential. In-
deed, Vasquez at one time spoke
of raising $60,000 to organize a
revolutionary army.
White lawmen aggressively
pursued him and accused him of
crimes he did not commit. Mexi-
cans, on the other hand, espe-
cially the poor and most
oppressed, supported him by
giving him refuge, food and
weapons.
Although he enjoyed popula:
support among his people, Vas
quez did not succeed in his efforts
to raise arevolutionary army. In
stead, he was finally captured
and, at the age of 40, hanged for
the alleged murder of two white
men on March 19.1875
Hero or villain? The ‘criminal
exploits of Tiburcio Vasquez can
more properly be understood as
“social banditry’; as resistance
against the racism and injustice
which United States colonialism
imposed on the Mexican people in
California and elsewhere in the
Southwest,
He is part of a history which al!
children of the state of California
have never been taugnt. It is there
fore not surprising why the av
erage citizen fails to understand
why Tiburcio Vasquez is indeed a
hero to many Mexican Americans
Dr. Carlos Munoz Jr. isa Full
Professor in the Chicano Studies
Department at the University of
California, Berkeley. His book,
“Youth, Identity, Power: The Chi
cano Movement" received the
Gustavus Myers Book Award in
1990. He is currently writing the
biography of another Mexican
American hero, the late Dr. Er-
nesto Galarza.
But it was decided that his indictment
would take place during the regular session
of the court which opened August 25,
Gene Howe had said editorially that
Payne’s confession was a bid for sympathy ;
that he’d try to plead insanity and get away
with it.
On August 10, Payne wrote a letter,
copies of which he sent to Howe and Mac-
Donald. “The only difference between you
and me,” he wrote, “is that I used to lie
when it served my purpose to lie. But I
have quit lying and am telling the truth
now. While you two are still lying.”
He said he was in a hurry to go to the
electric chair and any delay would be by
the state of Texas, not him. “And I want
to say further that, although I am a nerv-
ous man, if you two will come to Hunts-
ville, and see me electrocuted, you will be
more scared watching me die than I will be
in dying.”
That afternoon, Ladell and A. D., Jr.,
came to see their father for the first time
since he was arrested.
When Payne was led from his cell, his
daughter rushed into his arms. He buried
his face in her hair; his shoulders heaved
with sobs.
She put up her arms, raised his head, and
took his face between her hands, while she
kissed the tears from his eyes and cheeks.
“Daddy,” she said, “it doesn’t make any
difference to me what you did. Even if
you did kill mama, you’ll always be my
daddy and I’ll always love you.”
As they stood there hugging each other,
Payne looked over and saw his boy. The
wound on his cheek had not healed. In one
place his teeth could be seen. His mouth
was drawn to one side; there was a scar
over his left eye.
He looked very small and pitiful; he was
only eleven, and he dug his fists in his eyes,
weeping.
“Come over here, Junior,” Payne said.
“T love you, too. I tried to kill you
but n66"
The boy sprang to him, and was drawn
close. The father kissed his forehead;
drew a finger along the scar there.
“My God, son, you can never forgive
me.” He held them both while he talked
to them.
“I’m going away from you soon. Come
to see me once more. I want to see little
Jean, too. All of you just once more, and
then in a month or so, it will all be over
with me. When you come then, I’ll bid you
a last goodbye. Don’t carry a memory of
me; it will handicap you.”
In tears and bewilderment, the children
promised that they’d do exactly as he
wanted them to; nothing would keep them
away.
On her way out, Ladell was reminded
that she had said she would not believe her
father killed her mother, until he said so
himself.
“Oh, well,” she said, “I've got no mother
|! WANT TO HANG
to stay here, too.” I was sitting very close
to her. I looked at her, and she avoided
my eyes. I seized her hand.
“Please don’t—” she drew away from
me.
I held onto both her hands, told her
how I felt and how much I wanted her.
“Don’t be too hasty,” I think she said,
or something like that.
I embraced her violently. She struggled
to free herself, but she did not cry out.
Suddenly a wave of anger sutged up in
me—an unreasoning hatred of this girl for
resisting me. Hatred mixed with passion,
in a red wave that blinded me.
I don’t remember all the details; All
74
now. My daddy is still here with me. I do
not know what it all means, but I know it
would not be right for me to go back on
him now. He is in too much trouble.”
AYoR THOMPSON, MacDonald and
Howe also visited Payne. He told
them he hated them, but he was glad of
company, and talked a great deal. As they
left he laughed and waved his hand
through the bars at them.
“I invite you all to see me die in the elec-
tric chair. I'll look for you there. So
don’t fail me.”
Sidney Payne insisted that his brother
make some defense, and his law partner,
James O. Cade, of Amarillo, came over to
undertake his case. The only defense
would be insanity. He was always erratic,
and when principal of the schools in Can-
yon, he’d been called “Crazy Payne.”
But Payne quarreled with Cade over this
and dismissed him. “And remember,” he
na “T did not murder my wife, I removed
er.
“Don’t spend a lot of money for my de-
fense,’ he warned his brother. ‘I’m sure
to be given the death penalty. But I’ll
make a speech to the jury which will be
immortal, like Lincoln’s at Gettysburg.”
And he had his brother bring in reference
books, forbidding him to let anyone see
them. “I’m no more afraid to die than to
sep out into the sunlight,” he insisted.
“There is no God of vengeance. There is
a merciful God who forgives everything.”
On Sunday, August 23, he was returned
to the Amarillo jail, and put in a cell for
four called The Tank. .
And on the morning of August 29, he
was indicted for murder in the first degree
by the grand jury of Potter county.
That afternoon, his three children came
to see him for the last time, as he had
asked. They didn’t stay long. There was
almost no talking. The man and his chil-
dren clung to each other and wept together.
And J. W. Graves, the jailor, said that
everybody around, including himself, was
also crying.
The girls went back to live with their
mother’s parents at Lovington. A. D., Jr.
was going to live with his Uncle Sidney.
p en78 OF THAT DAY had left Payne ex-
cited and talkative. But near mid-
night, two of the others in The Tank had
subsided and were asleep in their bunks;
Vernon Churchill beneath Payne, Commo-
dore Pullman across from him. A young
-cellmate, R. L. Conder, Jr., remained a sym-
pathetic and appreciative listener. They
carried on their conversation in low tones.
“Tf I tell you something else,” Payne said
at midnight, “will you promise not to be-
tray me?”
Cabder promised. Payne continued in a
whisper. . “Now about the way of ending
this. I’m going to cheat the chair.
“Did you ever see-a little dynamite cap,
_I know is that I seized her by the throat
with both my hands, and dug my fingers
deep. The pent-up, emotions of weeks and
months welled up in me.
The room reeled around me. I was
staring into Blanche’s eyes as I strangled
her. She opened her mouth, tried to
scream, but no sound came. Her face was
turning dark. She beat at me futilely
with her fists.
I seemed to be another person, standing
off and watching this horrible soundless
tableau.
iy A FEW MINUTES, she stopped struggling,
I released her throat, and she fell back
about an inch and a quarter long, half full,
with a little wire? All you have to do is
press the button? Well, this is forty times
stronger. My own make. A sure thing.
““Old Tack’ (Howe) said I smiled at
two women when I was brought back Sun-
day before last. I smiled when Bill
Thompson passed over the ‘hot spot.’ They
thought I smiled at the women!”
Terror stricken, Conder shrank back
from Payne who smiled. “I won’t hurt
you,” he said. d
The Tank was unlocked for the night.
Conder fled to the runway and paced up and
down. He knew what was coming, But
Payne only lay on the cot, watching in-
tently, and smiling. Conder feared for the
lives of Churchill and Pullman, but he did
not dare call for help or try to hold Payne.
He read in the man’s eyes that nothing was
going to stop him.
Payne called him back.
“Conder, you’re not going to squeal?”
“No,” Conder said, “but what about
them,” pointing to the sleeping men.
“All right,” Payne agreed. “Get the boys
out if you want them out. I’m ready. It
might not be safe for them; you've got
about three minutes.” .
Conder tried to shake Churchill awake,
then turned to Pullman. Payne reached
down and pinched Churchill.
“Get out, quick, Churchill,” he said, “I
want to take charge of this cell for a few
minutes.”
Churchill jumped up; Pullman sat up.
Payne turned on his stomach, and lay
there, still watching intently, and smiling.
Conder and Churchill ran out. There
was a terrible tension in the air.
Then a deafening explosion.
Payne’s chest was blown out. Pullman
was thrown violently from his bunk.
No other damage was done, though the
force of the blast was felt at the Globe-
News office across the street.
If the sheriff in searching Payne, had
looked under his right trouser leg, he would
have found fastened to the calf with adhe-
sive tape a small bottle of nitro-glycerine
and a little fuse.
Payne had taken the bottle off; forced
the fuse into the cork. He lay down on
the cot, lit a cigarette, touched the fuse
with the burning tip, and waited.
Everything took place as he had planned.
According to a clause in his insurance pol-
icy, no payment would be made if there was
suicide under a year from the date it was
issued. At first it was thought that Payne
had allowed only minutes to elapse. But
R. L. Rittenbury, the agent who had writ-
ten the policy said it was dated August 28.
He said payment would be held up for two
years. Thus, Payne left his children well
off as he had said he would.
Payne was proud to be a direct descend-
ant of the man who wrote “Home Sweet
Home.” He had always wanted it played
at his funeral, and his wish was granted.
From page 17
and lay still.
I didn’t know whether she was dead or
not. I didn’t care. The wave of passion
and hate was still whirling through my
brain.
I took down the folding bed, and lifted
her onto it. I took off her clothes—her
sweater, slacks, stockings and slip. I
think I stuffed a leg of the slacks into her
mouth, against the chance that she might
regain consciousness and scream.
I took one of her brown silk stockings
and tied it tightly around her throat, where
the marks of my fingernails made dark
red spots. I fastened the other end of the
stocking to the brass rail at the head: of
the bed
Then
dead, all
I sta)
was aly
of mura
me beg
weak.
felt
made s
I stil!
cnormity
as thoug
pantom:
I put
looked |
bed, co
were a
I stepp
partly o1
closed t!
There
all this;
turbed.
down th
Street.
Cable
were pas-
nothing
rible mi
away.
of a me
doorway
passed «
It wa-
of Cain
visibly.
I wall
cold win
At the
fornia, |
up at th
of Old >
der the
I had mn
“Son,
Evil.”
Was
me of n
My th
I turne:
bright |:
brushing
stood ya
a coup
down cd:
The ra
numbed
TI wen
clothes,
out, and
I wen
ket Str
crowded
crowds—
perimen!
in my ¢
“This
Final]
and we
drinking
sound a
] WOKE
one
a cold
It wa
shaved,
yellow -
walked
of tratt
miles ay
It wa
ering m
science.
of the:
I we!
in retri
T hav:
always
AAD LUST
silk stockings
around her
marks of my
sark red spots.
r end to the
the bed."
ng trom
virl as she
as I had
bitter-
talian cafe
nk. I took
tel, with
she was
ca aa
starting her course at a
business school and I was
looking vainly for a job.
Once, we went to a movie,
and, ironically, it was a
murder picture.
It was not long before
Blanche moved into an
apartment of her own—
a comfortably furnished
place in the Bahia Vista
Apartments at 840 Cali-
fornia Street, on the side
of Nob Hill, overlooking
the Bay.
She was happy as a
child at the work of get-
ting settled in her- new
home. On the first night,
she invited me up for a
dinner which she cooked
herself—“our own_ pri-
vate housewarming,” she
called it.
It was on that night, as
we were sitting talking
after dinner, that my res-
olution first broke and I °
tried to make love to her.
She pushed me away
gently.
“Tt’s getting late,” she
said. “It’s time you were
going.”
I left. I felt vaguely
troubled. I was sorry I
had attempted to kiss her, and yet, I asked myself, why
should she have resisted me? It was my old bitterness creep-
ing over me again, Did she feel that she was better than I?
Had she invited me to dinner, not because she wanted my
companionship, but because she pitied me for being lonely ?
I can’t stand being pitied. Irrationally, I felt belligerent
toward her.
Despite my bitter feclings, I went to her apartment agai
the next evening. This time I behaved myself, although she
looked very lovely and I was greatly attracted toward her.
“Can’t we ever be more than friends?” I asked her sud-
denly, as I was about to leave.
She put her finger on my lips.
“No,” she said, smiling, and changed the subject.
On Tuesday night, June 16, we had another dinner. party
in her apart- TRUSTED NEW FRIEND
ment: . It ‘was Blanche Cousins (above) was
thrilled with San Francisco
exactly two and the good times she and
weeks since we Albert Walter planned to-
had met, and gether. Life seemed gay.
Blanche and I :
felt in a festive mood.
We had a couple of drinks—not more than
two. I helped her cook dinner. I helped her
wash the dishes. Blanche was dressed in a
blue sweater and brown slacks, and I thought
she looked very beautiful.
After dinner, we sat on the davenport and
talked of a score of things—of her progress
in school, of my hunt for a job, of her experi-
ences in the hospital in Idaho Falls.
“T suppose it will be a long time before |
go back there,” she said. “I like it here, and
I'm determined to find a good job when |
finish school.”
RALLY TO THE DEFENSE “T hope you
The wife and father of Albert do stay here.” |
Walter, Jr., tried to show r
said. “I’m going
reason why he should not ore
hang —despite his protest (Continued on
that he wanted to die. page 74)
17
I wanted to plead guilty. I thought that
would be the end of it; but Kenny inter-
rupted me.
“This man’s actions indicate that he may
be insane,” Kenny said, “and I ask that his
guilty plea be set aside, and I enter a plea
of not guilty by reason of insanity in his
behalf. We can’t risk sending an insane
man to the gallows.”
| TOLD THE JUDGE that I was not insane,
that I wanted to get it over with as soon
as possible, and be forgotten. He refused
to listen to me, and accepted Kenny’s plea.
Insanity! I felt afraid, for the first time
—at the idea of being put away for the
rest of my life in a lunatic asylum. I re-
solved then and there that if I should be
found insane, I would commit suicide,
somehow, before they had a chance to send
me away.
Three alienists examined me in my cell.
I answered their questions, and told them
that I was as ‘sane as they were.
My father, Albert Walter, Sr., of Bos-
ton, and my wife, Angela, came to San
Francisco to help me, although I did not
want them to. I didn’t want anybody to
help me.
They brought letters that I had written,
to prove that I was erratic and irresponsi-
ble. My father even raked up old family
skeletons, to help Kenny prove me insane
and save me against my will.
It was hard for me to face my wife and
father. I was grateful for their coming, of
course; but I was beyond their help.
I went to trial before a jury of eight
men and four women. I breathed a sigh
of relief when the three doctors—among
the best psychiatrists in the state—testified
that in their opinion I was sane, and had
THE ENIGMA OF THE ROSE MURPHY
with transportation back to their homes in
Mobile. e
Foster swayed across the floor and asked
one of them for a match. And then he
dropped into a chair, pounded on the table
and called loudly for a round of drinks.
The dark-skinned sailors were indulgent.
They did not resent his intrusion. They
merely regarded him as tipsy, accepted the
drinks, and then returned to the discussion
as though he were not present.
Although he gave no sign that he was
listening, Foster mentally catalogued every
word that was uttered.
“That guy Salvador, where the hell does
he get all dat money he’s spendin’ ?” one
of the sailors snarled.
“Aw, he ain’t the only one. Roddy
knows somethin’, on’y he’s keeping his trap
shut.”
“T's seen Roddy totin’ a bomb,” one of
the group declared.
“Gwan,” exclaimed another. “You all
ain’t tellin’ us the Rose Murphy was blowed
up, is you?” ;
“Saivador’s gonna git,” came from an
enormous black man. He thumbed _ his
hand toward the dancer on the table. “Da
gal told me.”
“He’s still at——, isn’t he?” the speaker
mentioned a cheap lodging house in Key
West.
The big Negro shrugged. “Ah guess so,”
he replied.
Foster shifted unsteadily to his feet and
slouched off. He had heard enough to ad-
vise him that Salvador Martinez was the
all-important link in the mystery he was
seeking to fathom. He had money. More
than he was accustomed to. He was about
to stage a getaway. Why? There was no
time to be lost in finding out.
But the fates were in no hurry to have
their sinister handiwork revealed.
At the cheap lodging house, where he
had been hiding out since the survivors of
the ill-fated Rose Murphy were landed at
Key West, Foster learned that the Spaniard’
had left for New York the preceding after-
noon.
“Follow him. Pick up his trail and stick
to him,” headquarters in Washington in-
structed. “Forget Wonson, Fulford and
Roddy. We'll attend to them.”
And Foster was off on a long, winding
trail of mystery—one that was to lead him
far across the sea to Spain. At the same
time other crack Special Agents of the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation were thrown
into the search for Wonson, Fulford and
Roddy.
For weeks no trace of the trio could be
found. And then there came a clue to
the whereabouts of the skipper of the lost -
76
a aed
freighter. From acquaintances of Wonson,
the federal men learned that his daughter
had received a letter from him, stating that
he had put out of Pensacola for a fishing
trip aboard the thirty-eight foot smack,
Bona L.
Immediately the assistance of Captain A.
L. Gamble, Division Commander of the
United States Coast Guard at Mobile, was
enlisted and orders went out to all Coast
Guard stations along the Gulf of Mexico,
particularly those on the Florida West
Coast, to keep a lookout for the Bona L.
In addition, a trim Coast Guard cutter
poked its white bow into lonely inlets, coves
and bays along the coast and combed the
wide expanses of the Gulf, searching for
the fishing smack. But no trace of the
Bona L could be found, It seemed as
though the sea had swallowed her up, just
as it had the Rose Murphy.
On shore Special Agents of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation ran down first one
clue and then another. All proved worth-
less. And then word reached them that the
Bona L had tied up in the vicinity of Nice-
town, Florida, but would put to sea again
that afternoon.
It was after ten o’clock in the morning
when this information was received at Pen-
sacola, but by eleven o’clock Special Agent
John Bartell, accompanied by V. B. Callis,
Senior Patrol Inspector, United States Im-
migration Service, and John R. Manning,
United States Immigrant Inspector, were
speeding toward Nicetown’ in a govern-
ment-owned automobile.
It was a race against time, for there was
no telling when the Bona L would weigh
anchor and put out into the Gulf again.
Speed laws were ignored. Only in passing
through towns and hamlets did the man-
hunter’s car drop below fifty miles an hour.
And-then, once again in the open country,
the needle of the speedometer would climb
past the sixty miles an hour notch and go
on toward seventy. .
Three hours after leaving Pensacola,
they rolled into Nicetown. A half hour
later they had located the Bona L tied up at
a small fishing dock in the inlet of Chocta-
whatchee Bay, on the outskirts of the town.
“Wonson around?” Bartell demanded of
L. B. Rossell, a sailor, who lounged on the
dock. ;
“You'll find him in the fo’castle,” the
sailor answered.
Headed by the Department of Justice
man, the three government agents boarded
the little ship and went forward.
In the-tiny forecastle they came upon
-Wonson. He was. sitting, half-dressed,
methodically untangling several feet of tan-
gled fishing line. .He looked up as the three
been in my right mind when I killed
Blanche Cousins.
My father and wife took the stand, tried
their best to help me.
It took the jury only half an hour to find
that I was guilty.
That same aiternoon—July 2, just a
month after I had met Blanche Cousins in
Salt Lake City—Judge Jacks sentenced me
to be hanged on the gallows at San Quentin
September 4. I understand that is the
earliest date he could have set, under the
law. I wish it were sooner. :
I thanked the judge and the jurors. For
once in my life I had achieved something
that I wanted very much.
I am sorry for the relatives of the girl
I killed; I am sorry for my wife and fa-
ther; but I am not sorry for myself. It
will be better for the world when I am
out of the way.
From page 60
men bore down upon him. There was a
weary, tired expression in his gray eyes.
He appeared old and haggard.
Bartell told him he wanted. to question
him about the sinking of the Rose Murphy.
Wonson looked up and_ smiled sadly.
“Sure,” he said. “Just wait ’til I pull some
clothes on and we'll go on deck.”
“All right,” the special agent told him,
“But make it snappy.”
The old skipper smiled wanly. “I will,”
he answered, and his words had a deter-
mined ring to them. “I'll make it very
snappy.”
He did.
The three government men had barely
stepped on deck again when a shot crashed
out.
Manning whirled about. “What's that?”
he cried.
“Lord, Wonson must have shot himself,”
Callis answered, running forward.
Rossell leaped ahead of the three fed-
eral men, and raced for the forecastle
entrance. There he stopped, drew back
and shuddered. Bartell pushed past him,
and Callis crowded close behind. Manning
followed. The trio entered the tiny fore-
castle.
Wonson lay on the floor, blood oozing
from a bullet hole in his chest. Clasped in
his gnarled hand was a .38 caliber revolver.
Bartell bent over and took the weapon.
Silently he handed it to Callis. Then he
felt the old sailor’s pulse, and shook his
head sadly.
“Dead?” the Senior Patrol Inspector
asked.
‘Died instantly,” the special agent re-
plied. “Bullet pierced his heart.”
“Damn strange, bumping himself off so
suddenly,’ Manning said. “Wonder why.”
Rossell interrupted. ‘“He’s been worried
lately,” he offered.
“About what?” Bartell asked.
The sailor shrugged. “I’m not certain,”
he said, “’bout losing that ship, the Rose
Murphy, 1 think.”
B” wHy HAD Wonson been’ worried
about the loss of the Rose Murphy?
Other skippers had lost vessels at sea, but
they had not snuffed out their lives be-
cause of it. The mystery of_the sinking
of the freighter deepened. For the first
time, there now appeared to be something
definitely unreal and ominous about it.:
Obviously, Wonson had known some-
thing he did not dare to divulge, and had
carried his secret to the grave.
But what?
Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation were determined to find out.
They redoubled their efforts to locate the
other tw
They lea
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not ascer
They }
sailor do
their se:
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States S
Bureau «
them no!
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But s
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Roddy
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The c
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It wa:
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Rose A/
There
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‘no Bill
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> night.
up and
z. But
ing in-
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he did
Payne,
ing was
al?
about
he boys
dy. It
ve got
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eached
said, “I
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cad lay
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ullman
gh the
rlobe-
c. had
would
adhe-
cerine
torced
wn on
e fuse
inned.
-e pol-
re was
it was
Payne
But
writ-
ust 28,
r two
n well
scend-
Sweet
laved
ted.
10 17
id or
ission
my
itted
-her
», I
» her
night
kings
vhere
dark
ot the
id of
the bed. I don’t know just why I did this.
Then, half knowing that she must be
dead, and not caring, I ravished her.
I stayed there for perhaps an hour. It
was about 11:30 p. M. The strange tide
of murder madness that had surged up in
me began to ebb, leaving me shaken and
weak. oe
I felt Blanche’s pulse, her respiration,
made sure that she was dead.
I still did not completely realize the
cnormity of what I had done. It was
as though I were acting a part in a grisly
pantomime.
I put on my coat, walked to the door. I
looked back at the contorted body on the
bed, coldly, impersonally—as though it
were a statue in some nightmare gallery.
I stepped back, once, and pulled a sheet
partly over her. Then I walked out and
closed the door behind me.
There had been no sound throughout
all this; none of the tenants had been dis-
turbed. I walked down the dark hallway,
down the stairs and out into California
Street.
Cable cars, automobiles, and pedestrians
were passing up and down the hill as though
nothing had happened—just as though hor-
rible murder had not struck a few feet
away. I remember staring into the face
of a man who passed by as I stood in the
doorway. He glanced at me, blankly, and
passed on.
It was still all right, then. The mark
of Cain was not on my brow—at least not
visibly.
I walked down the hill, shivering as the
cold wind struck at my overheated body.
At the corner of Grant Avenue and Cali-
fornia, I loitered for a moment and glanced
up at the big clock on the red brick tower
ot Old St. Mary’s church. I winced. Un-
der the clock was a chiseled legend which
I had never noticed before:
“Son, Observe the Time and Fly from
Evil.”
Was everything I saw going to remind
me of my crime?
My throat was parched, my lips burning.
I turned up Grant Avenue, toward the
bright lights of Chinatown. I remember
brushing past a blue-coated policeman who
stood yawning on the corner. I stopped in
a couple of bars on North Beach, gulped
down drink after drink of straight whiskey.
The raw liquor made me feel better,
numbed the throbbing of my brain.
I went back to my hotel and changed my
clothes, packed my suitcase. I checked
out, and registered at another hotel.
I went out again and walked down Mar-
ket Street, stopping in two or three
crowded bar-rooms. I wanted to be among
crowds—it was as though I wanted to ex-
periment and see whether anyone, looking
in my eyes, would cry out:
“This man is a murderer!”
Finally, I bought a bottle of whiskey
and went to my hotel room. I sat up
drinking until about five a.m., then fell
sound asleep.
WOKE UP WITH a Start, as though some-
one had screamed in my ear. I was in
a cold sweat.
It was nearly noon. I took a shower,
shaved, and went out into the street. The
yellow sunlight seared into my eyeballs. I
walked the streets aimlessly. The sounds
of traffic through which I passed, seemed
miles away.
It wasn’t that my conscience was both-
ering me; I have long since killed my con-
science. I was just mortally sick and tired
of the mess I had made of my life.
I went back over my twenty-eight years
in retrospect. _
I have not mentioned before why I have
always been bitter and cynical toward
.
women. It dated from a time when I was
fourteen years old, when I had an unfor-
tunate experience with a woman older than
She took advantage of me, and trans-
mitted to me a terrible disease. I was cured
of it after several years, but it left its in-
delible mark on my mental attitude to-
ward women. I have despised them, hated
them, wronged them.
Every so often I have tried to pull my-
self out of the depths of my bitterness,
and to lead a normal life. But something
has always happened to make me pull up
stakes and run off somewhere for a change
of scene. My surroundings always pall on
me, and I get deathly bored. I have been in
succession a lawyer’s clerk, salesman, cook,
butler, lumberjack, soldier and restaurant
manager.
A year ago I married a beautiful girl in
New York. We lived in Greenwich Vil-
lage. I thought that marriage would be
an anchor for me; that Angela, who knew
my erratic nature and who understood me,
could save me.
But it was no use. The old bitterness
surged up again, until I was driven to run
away from Angela, for fear that I should
some day kill her!
These thoughts raced through my head
as I walked the streets of San Francisco.
It had to come, I told myself, and now it’s
happened. I always knew that one day I
would kill a woman.
And now—what ? :
I could easily escape the consequences
of my crime, I reflected. Blanche’s body
had not been discovered—I knew that from
the newspapers—and it was unlikely that
it would be discovered for some days. I
could flee the city, change my name, go
scot-free.
For what? To go on wrecking my life,
making other people unhappy, and perhaps
killing another woman sometime?
Suicide? The thought attracted me. I
could throw myself under the wheels of
a streetcar. I could walk a few blocks
to the waterfront and jump into the Bay.
But would I have the nerve to go through
with it at the last minute? I didn’t know.
It was then that I resolved on the course
that I was to follow. I wanted to end my
life, but I was afraid. Why not let some-
one else end it for me?
Why not let the hangman, with his
knotted cord, do the deed for me?
That was it. I would give myself up,
confess, and plead guilty to the murder of
Blanche Cousins. Sualy they would hang
me for so heinous a crime.
I felt as though a great burden had been
lifted from my brain. I went: back to my
room, got my ‘suitcase, checked out and
sold my few belongings at a pawnshop.
] SMILED GRIMLY as I headed up Kearny
Street toward police headquarters.
I sat down on a bench in Portsmouth
Square, opposite the gray stone building
that was to be the entrance to my tomb. It
was evening now. I had been wandering
the streets all afternoon. I threw my head
back and inhaled the evening air, feeling
carefree and at ease again.
One of the little Chinese urchins that
haunt Portsmouth Square came up and
asked me if I wanted a shoe-shine. I let
him go to work, Might as well present
a good appearance when I went to the po-
lice with my story!
I walked around the park, and stood: for
a long moment looking at the monument
that stands there to the memory of Robert
Louis Stevenson.
“To be honest—to be kind—” the graven
words mocked me.
I thought of Stevenson’s story of the
Suicide Club, which I had read as a boy.
Well, I would live out the story ‘and let the
policemen and the judges induct me into
a suicide club!
I crossed the street and climbed the mar-
ble steps. I saw a light in a first floor
room market! “Captain of Inspectors.” I
walked in. There were half a dozen men
sitting around the room; the air was blue
with cigar smoke.
They didn’t notice me at first. I walked
up to a desk where a dark, Italian-looking
man sat. I learned later that he was In-
spector Alvin Corrasa. He looked up in-
quiringly.
“Who’s in charge here?” I asked him,
surprised at the calm tone of my own
voice. .
“Inspector Wiskotchill, but he’s out
now. Can I do anything for you?”
“Yes. I’ve killed a girl, and I want to
give myself up.”
The room was suddenly silent. I smiled
in spite of myself.
“You’ve—what ?”
“T’ve killed a girl.”
The inspectors looked at each other. I
could see they didn’t believe me—didn’t be-
lieve any murderer would act as coolly as
I. Perhaps they thought I was drunk, or
crazy.
“How did you kill her?” Corrasa asked
me.
“T choked her—with my hands.”
“Where did all this happen?”
“In her apartment at 840 California
Street. Her body is still there.”
Corrasa was doubtful.
“Well,” he said finally, “I guess we'd
better go up and take a look.”
He and another man, Inspector William
Stanton, took me downstairs to the police
garage and got into a car with me. As we
drove down Kearny Street, Corrasa ques-
tioned me further. He was puzzled; he
could see now that I wasn’t drunk, and
that I didn’t act crazy.
“How do you know she’s dead?” he
asked me.
“I felt her pulse and her respiration. I
know she’s dead. Her face turned blue.
You'll see when you get there.”
HEY BELIEVED me at last, when I led
them into the apartment and stood back
as they exclaimed in horror.
They ’phoned headquarters, and Inspec-
tors le Engler and’ Harry Husted of
the homicide squad were sdon on the scene,
with Assistant District Attorney John Mc-
Mahon.
They questioned me in detail, writing
down my answers. I told them everything ;
I told them to take down everything at that
time, and be done with it, as I was tired
and didn’t want to go over it all again.
They started to question me about other
things, among them: the murder of Louise
Jeppesen in San Francisco in May, 1934.
She was found strangled to death, with her
scarf, in Golden Gate Park. I remembet
reading about it in ‘the papers at the time
—I couldn’t swear whether or not I was
in San Francisco when the murder took
place, but I don’t think I was.
“Isn’t one murder confession enough?”
I asked them. “I don’t make a habit of
going around strangling girls. I’ve never
done this before. If I had, I probably
would have given myself up at the time.”
Nevertheless, they kept questioning me
—about other murders in San Francisco,
and about the series of girl murders a
few years ago in San Diego. I knew noth-
ing about these things, and could tell them
nothing.
I thought my doom was sealed when I
was locked in a cell and charged with mur-
der; but I was due for a rude shock.
Though I declared firmly that I didn’t want
a lawyer, Public Defender Gerald Kenny
accompanied me into the courtroom,
I told Superior Judge Lile T. Jacks that
95
ee ae a ee a
“and
more rabbits . .
mes
*
dter from the rhyme “Hickory,
4 Dickory Dock,’ won first place
qin the boys’ division, followed by
7 Hilly Cummings, Mark Theis
and Billy Hylton. :
Nelly Chavez as the “Green
a‘ rog” topped the girls’ comic
istvip division, with Mercedes
4 Girard second and Patsy Touch-
4 stone, Sandy Naples and Tom-
my Green in a joint entry, third.
Johnny Kirkpatrick's. imper-
sonation of Bugs Bunny won
him. first place in. the boys’
=4 comic strip division, followed by
Barry Cummings,: Paul Fabian,
Peter Keller and Michael Lang-,
ston, pane i
Shery] King as Tinker Bell
q and Pauick Mulligan as Davey
] Crockett_won in the Disneyland
divisions, ‘followed “by Jane
4 Knott, Janice Campbell, Kay
4 .Dodson and Marilyn Dollahite
in the girls’ division and David
King, Michael Mulligan, Gerald
Drgeger and Ronny Musto
the) boys, i
‘Three clowns. Judy Bever,
Patty Rinckhoff and Caro!
Beyer, won first prize In the
girls’ circus division, followed
by Carolyn Heffner, second:
Betty” Greene and Barbara’
Greene, ‘third: Mary Lisenbee
-and Diane Stewart. :
~ Doug and Stan Edick walked
‘on their hands to win the first
place in the boys’ circus divi-
for
sion, followed by Keith Luga, |
Rickey Lee, Alex Pacheco and
‘Joey Beccerra. ‘
_ The 12th annual Harvest Holi- |
days’ theme of Youth. Yester-
day, Today and Tomorrow was
interpreted by Gail, Dianna and
Franklin Martin to. win first
prize ‘inthe girls’ storybook
characters division. Second
were Deborah and Valerie
Treece. third Benita Williams:
fourth Jana Cobbs and Barbara
MAGAZINE TELLS STORY
OF DOWNTOWN STORES —
‘How owners of states lik dowh:| bromérion #< eck. tht ‘attention has filed a $50,000 dam-
ow ets a stores in down-} promotion ents are on i ave suit in the Kern County Su-
ej town Bakersfield organized to
combat the threat of loss of busi-
ness posed by suburban shopping
acenters was related to readers of |
the September, 1957,
a Western Advertising, ;
Writing this city's stirring mer-
chandising story’ was. Eleanor
Strauss, advertising director of
he Bakersfield Downtown Busi-
ness Association, This group was
q@ormed in July, 1954, to'‘meet “the
Anost pressing problem facing the
oa lowntown area of most western
‘ities today,"’ she declared. Forty
glowntown retailers and property
“pwners attended this first session.
‘oday, Mrs. Strauss wrote, there
re WO member firms, with a
ture potential of about 215,
issue of
j Heart of the association’s fight! AZING OF the celinrs tte oe wet aloes
year’s calendar, Mrs. Strauss
said. These special promotions
are “heavily backed by use of
!all media.’’
They are usually one-day
howerer,
sponsored,
DAY
}
Taylor and fifth. Phdiip and
Susan Phelps. Hoys’ story book
“character winners were Johany
Gregory, first: Robert Winckel
and a group of friends, second:
Larry LaCourse, third; Donald
’ Gore and partner, fdurth a
Robert Paver. fifth, 5 '
“Candy Dunlap, whe got to
gether her own pioneér git! cos-
tume Without telling. her pars
ents, won first place im the girls”:
Old West division, followed by
Cesaria Pena, Hope Pena, Sher-
ry] McBee and Norma Frausto.
~ Continued on Next Page
’
$50,000 Damage
Suit Filed for
Boy in Old Well
lorst ield. youngster
‘
whese dra
-perior Court,
| The action was filed by a ‘Los
/ Angeles law firm on behalf of!
Norman Hartnett,
_Dr. It was his son,
ARADE.
The father of a 4:year-old Bak-
‘matic rescue from an abandoned’
; Well near his home fitde more
| than a@ year ago drew nationwide’
Lamont Man in
Court for Double
Shooting Monday
Cecit Herman Ward, 24, <
‘gots on trial for his life.
iMonday for the’ accused
fatal shooting of his 43-year-
old ‘mother-in-law, Nell
“Parris, and her daughter,
,Brenda, W3, outside their
‘Lamont home Aug. 1S.
| Scheduled in Superior
(Judge Gordon Howden’s
court at 10 a.m., the hearing is
ithe first in Kern County and pos-
Isibly California to be guided by
the new Jin-l murder trial law
passed by the 1957 state Lezsla-
ture and put into effect Sept. 11.
Dist. Atty. Kit Nelson. who will).
be prosecuting his fourth murder
trial since taking office last Jan
vary. said he had queried numer-
ous county prosecutors through-
lout the state and none had tried
a@ Case under the new law.
Waives Jury Tria?
Judges no longer will pass sem
“Hence in first-degree murder con-
,
victions unless the defendant
Waives a jury trial... ee
Instead, the jury will. (1) de
peeaivante the verdict, then (2) sk
through a second trial to fix the
I penalty and if he pleads insanity
'(3) hear a third to determine the
defendant's sanity.. : :
This climinates the present re
;Quirement that the judce must
| impose the depth penalty auto
| matically if the' jury does not rec-
jommend life imprisonment.
; Ward. an. unemployed truck
driver, was taken into custody
1720 Talisman! py Sheriff's Deputies Glen Bea-
“Tommie, who! ger and
events. In the, fall and spring,/Was rescued through heroic ef-
two-day events. are'forts of firemen and volunteers;
Art King as he walked
Continued om Next Page
.effective on radio and television."|Gas & Electric Le
who worked into the night of, 2 >
All the advertising of such spe-; Sept. 24 to free the boy, lodged!
V e ‘ Pi
cial events “is concentrated With-; 10 vibiiiga the opening of at] acation an
In a 24-hour period preceding a,30-foot dry well casing! - d
one-day event and the 48 hours} Named co-defendants in the; eature
preceding a two-day promotion,'suit are the County of Kern, the; e : °
Spot announcements have been’ Board of Supervisors, Pacific In Magazine
id California! ¥
Concluded Mrs. Strauss: Water Service, Wayne LL. and) A complete issue of Family tee
“In Bakersfield, when they say| Evelyn G, Vaughn, Bruno G, and | Weekly Magazine is devoted to =
‘going to town,’ they | generally, Emelio Monti, vifford & Wester-'fall, and | witter vacation ideas,
mean going downtown,” : {man Co.,. Landger Construction | The special “Follow the Sun’’ is.
‘Western Advethising is the mag?’ Co., and numerous John Does, {ste appears today in The Bakers.
Bhisues.
+
WARD, Cecil Herman, white,25, asphyxiated California (Kern County) June 26, 1959,
4
ec ee 7
i
NAME
90S OR AGE
PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY
Oiidielee: + pe ee ly 6/26 /o2s 75% |
ae va reds sae nical Mifrcd aang lesgs
"“Enine DATE HER Darn Fn Facal oes -f tas (AOA :
Drrectre V/ELIS Hp i inne iT Ww foeven tly 2 Eo) |
!
Srtlhin-tn ~Lawwd, Fin. Heel Maki AGE eae ie "Toh METHOD ZZ Arata E hag aes : |
wy AL, Kincuctla_ 43 |
tte)
Parniiis3 oe Sap aiid they th. spect. |
te fataenet S ition Ach pther - Ln-Gan/, rch d Eh Aas Lda
VA
> maagnes:
RAYE LAG Croan. ly
Z, : -
APPEALS
Lhewx
at a8 WORDS
EXECUTION
Cocharidisld Leolidr dean LASJS2_} JAYMESED' Ss, 4 [26 MNase 7
ater became the Martis Club, be
Qiand is today the Woman's: Im-
provement Club. Mrs. Emily Me-
} Cutchen Was president af the
A jWomen'’s Christian Temperance
i organized in 1912. A Diver-
is.~.. ~lub came Into being in 1914,
an the PTA {n 1916 with Mrs. S.
-G. Tryon as the first president.
First Church
The Iirst Congregational Church
“started: March 33, .1908, with the
‘Rev. W. R. Bosard as the first
: credited with the organization.
, The congregation -cpnsisted of
‘three Congregationdlists, | four;
‘Baptists, two Methodists, ai 1wo
‘Presbyterians. The record states,
a “and a ieliees was baptized that
St. Joseph’ 8 “Caiholle Cure!
was thought to have been-organ-
4 ized about 1911. The Christian Sci-
ajence Society started in 1914 but
< did not officially organize’ until
41917. The Christian Church, or-
ganized in 1920 by the Rey. J. Le-
.Grande, started services with the
‘Rev. W. R. Baird as the pastor.
| The West Side Oilfields Chap-
@ ter, American Red Cross, was or-
ganized in 1917 with Xirs. ps V.
@ Reet as chairman. i
a I, Cooley started a stage he
: awe ven Maricopa and Taft in
“4 1909 which continued service until
4 1923. The town had two banks, the
-@ First National with C. W. Héatty
“4 as president and the Bank of ‘Mar-}
‘icopa with W. H. Coons. presi-
“pastor although a> Rey. Fuller ts:
eS
_ MARICOPA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL—The community we ed school in 1911.
FROM PRECEDING PAGE
“dent and J.. Ww. Wooldridge as”
§ cashier. Kern Mutual Telephone :
‘Co. had an office with a Garfield.
‘in charge, who was alsa the.
‘town’s notary public, A Maricopa!
2 Employment Agency had A. H. pasate and injury. to his nervous his former «3 fe, Bobbie, 19, be
i oslo listed as proprietor.
\ z
= PRECEDING PAGE
‘$90, 000 SUIT
$50,000 SUIT | MURDER TRIAL |
dangerous eondllion ‘and | failed: along Panama Lane I4as !
to cover it or safeguard it with! ‘hours after the shooting.
H
During testimony at a subse-—
‘quent coroner's inquest, 1% Was
proper markings. ' Pee 4 The officers said he offercd no’ brought out that Ward's ex-wife
The Individuals Saied are! resistance when they disarmed eluded him by running from the &
identified aS owners or former {him of a .38 caliber revolver, ne pacar and hiding. ie
wh later fdentified as the weapon! Mrs. Shatto testified before
oh ae oe aac ae ie wea Which took the life of Ars: Parris: ‘coroner's jury she heard Ward
Cland the girl i Sate -
companies as having contracts to’ Ward has pleaded’” sa sully, shout, “If you (Bobbie) don't
improve the streets near the in-,and not guilty by reason of in- ‘come back, I'll shoot Brenda.” - -
tersection of T alisman Drive sagt saniity. : Brenda. sdinseann < a gy —
H Street in the proximity of the! Expected to be key prosecution: yard acing ‘3 2y
- {witnesses during the. trial, which. old son, was felled by a bullet in
well site. ony Beye Seve attorneys J. R. Thomas: the head. Her mother was shot
Hartnett asserted that dune! ae Robert Farrell predict will'in the head and hand whea she
the course of rescue, his son) last through the week and pos-iaempted to wrest the peari-
breathed dust and’ as the result, |sibiy longer. are Mr. and Mrs. jhandled revolver from Ward's
now suffers mschal: Eee at-i Joe Shatto, sister and brether-in-' grip, testimony brought out.
tacks: ha : ottaw of Mrs. Parris. who said they. A board of psychiatrists ap-
In addition. Hartnett alee: the! : Witnessed the double shooung. mypted when Ward was indicted
boy now requires services of psy-) Sheriffs — officers questioning & the grand jury and brought
chiatrists and speech therapists’ Ward following his arrest said ithe into court for arraignment eiam-
because of speech defect and per-'defendant admitted going to the ined him and said in einer
sonality maladjustment due to’ Parris residence intent on killing the defendan: “as sane at the
ume of the crime and is pres-_
ently sane.
than two"
‘system. cause of domestic differences,
i
Blades, North Open
Prep Grid League Play;
See Sports, Page 33
PAGES 23 TO 44
as
os
Seas
for
itin’s death row. Only the a
‘Supreme Court stands betw
ltruck driver and the state
During the Il-day trial
‘conclusion vesterday after-
Death Row
Next Stop
Slayer
Convicted slayer Cecil Herman Ward will be moved
from the Kern County jail early next week to San Quen-
ulomatic appeal to the state
een the 23-year-old Hayward
"S gas chamber.
which reached its dramatie
noon, the S-man; 4-woman_
jSuperior Court fury went, Hy f Rell
‘down the line in a three!
Iphase trial. It found Ward!
‘guilty of first degree mur-/} on
der in two counts, then returned; Mystery Ҥ <
‘ythe death penalty verdict. ! ‘ A
Final Hearing, | 2 i
In the final hearing yesterday; pty
to determine his sanity, the jury!
found him to be sane at the ume! 0 ye
he shot down his ec nsreneel :
Canal eho See oe barkabhihe The mystery of a Bakersfield
| Although showing strain frém Physician, missing for two years,
ithe trial and a cuid that devel-!was finally solved yesterday.
‘oped sime his arrest. Ward at} The remains of Dr. Hugh Bell,
\no time Fave avy outward indi-}7o, retired doctor, were discov-
we can interest cation of his emotions. During'ered only a short distance from
jseveral recesses, he was al-wzhe Breckenridge district hunt-
that he knew owed under guard to talk to his jing camp he had left two years
Bs a blow ta the three brothers and their. wives,/ago. Missing since that time, Dr.
pd the hope that’ who had been present in the spec-'Bell’s disappearance had been a
the actual mov-tator rows during most of the puzzling Mystery to county offi-
the land can be trial. His estranged wife, Bobbie, |cials. ji
lo that it can be!19, another faithful spectator.}. Today. his remains are being
p industrial ac-!was not on hand yesterday when returned to Bakersfield. .
defense depart-jthe jury returaed with its final] Positive identification . was
Bi —Califoruian Protos
—Dist. Atty. Kit Nelson uses a
etateste “eh € in the clos-
ae viction and ~
fatal shoot-
se antage:
pags. Fir
“land *
: he seit
Wheds koa)
NEO BalldfcAl: Heitymmas
slayer Cecil Herman Ward,
r. The state Supreme Court
FA Wiens ae.
%.
tomatic process in death 57 late shace ha!
more adequate alr 45th National Safety Congress in
uced to use the
ternate use,
Le Ky Davis,
r, how long the
had been under
was told by
_ knowledge, it
red for about
ared that prob
and air space;
ered at the Mo-
there had been
type housing
hy EL Tore could
Told in Chicago
verdict. q
Tt*was Bobbie whom Ward ad-
mittedly had intended to kill when
Centinved oa Next Page
Safety Council
Program Will Be
j here, he ‘said. !
Pst program at,
ards Air Force,
woblem, — Also!
The Kern County. Safety Coun-
cil’s mammoth 16foot Memorial
Safety Cross on Highway 99 near
Lebec will be the subject of a
report by Robert W.' Bovee at the
made through remnants. of
clothing still clinging tae the
terday by Sheriffs Set Gene
Young and volunteer searchers
about three miles southwest of
where the doctog left his camp.
Young came upon the bones not
far from where Dr. Bell’s .30-06
rifle was found last Saturday 2%
imiles southwest of Barrel Springs
by a deer huzfer.
_Coroner Stanley Newman. Un-
dersheriff Harley Stumbaugh and
Dep. Walter Swain, who joined
Set. Young at the scene, spent
the night in the mountains, then
Teported their location early to-
day when they walked out to Mi-
racle Springs. Some concern was
expressed last night when the
skeletal remains discovered yes- -—
The few
ie desert
)) stake.”
wn again,
thing had
ialted the
tter view
attention.
of cloth
| by long
herbeaten
An odor
lown from
d in their
- crunched
‘na slight
ttom of a
ing desert’
ete started
s the sight
1e grizzled
ls bleached
{ tragedy,
rd oppres-
ining skull
skull that
ugh, splin-
emple that
1e heels of
at a point
ete looked
the road.
e old pros-
Carefully
ibed on the
rward once
Jim Lucas
listened to
iotes of the
Then he
‘eteran law
» county af-
at.
transmitter
Say, there’s
.n old pros-
body about
25 miles northeast of here; out near
Langford’s Well. Been dead quite a
while. «Fle didn't bother anything, just
came on in here and reported it to me.
You'll be right up? Fine. I’ll wait here
for you.” Lucas hung up the receiver
and turned to Cactus Pete.
“You'll be around a few days won't
you ?” he queried. F
Pete replied that he’ would and then
- deciding he had better get some business
- done-stalked down the street in search of
‘ a restaurant and a barber shop.
Down in San Bernardino, county seat
of the great desert country which
"stretches out across the mountains and
the sand dunes almost: the width of the
,
i
This iron bar was believed to have
been used in the brutal slaying of
Hey. It was dug from the files of
the San Bernardino county clerk’s
office. A. Craig Cochrane, superin-
tendent of the warehouse, points
to bloodstains, still faintly visible
on the lethal weapon.
ay
me
Op mnie “we
SASS panne
Bde by
LS
am
‘of road which stretched off into the dis
deputies, loaded them into a fast auto-
mobile and started the 100-mile drive
across the mountains and far out into
the desert to keep a rendezvous with
death,
Up through historic old El Cajon Pass,
around hairpin turns where a skid of a
few feet meant a plunge hundreds of
feet down sheer cliffs, the sheriff's cat.) ‘
roared, Then topping the 4250-foot sum=
mit of the pass the car straightened out
and purred across the narrowing ribbon:
tance.
‘party picked (-
ag hg et AR
”
iat, Siz «
bd eit oa
—-,
1 GUESS FLL
LOOK THROUGH
it/
Boy / sur Hats
A GOOD ONE
Pee
RI THINK FoR ArEW OwEY *
mi 1S A PRETTY SWELL
MAGAZINE / BETTER GET
YOUR COPY OF THE NEW J
ISSUE TODAY,
Above, undoubtedly, is our youngest
reader. While most of our 200,000
men readers are out of the three-
quarter pants stage, an occasional pre-
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hold of a copy of FOR MEN ONLY
and sneak off for a quiet afternoon of
entertaining reading.
The February issue, crammed full of
color cartoons and articles that pack a
punch, is yours in return for one of your
quarters. .
NOW ON seeped into the sand bencath his skull and Daggett Sheriff Shay decided to check
SALE the telltale brownish discoloration of the with the few residents of the desert
ALE AT white sand at the point where the mur- country. There were three hardy pion-
fl ALL ; derer stopped to rest indicated that the eers who had settled in that bleak 25-mile
victim had been killed just afew moments Stretch of country. But that source also
NEWSSTANDS before his body had been dumped behind proved fruitless, None of them had either
the brush. These facts pieced together S¢€n Or heard of anyone in the district for
: indicated that but one person was in- weeks. All were positive they had not
volved in the murder, Sheriff Shay be- witnessed a murder.
lieved. Back in Daggett the officers sought out:
Silently the men worked. Deputy Cactus Pete. But it took them only a
Bottorff made a photographic record of short time to become convinced he knew
the mute evidence, Other deputies nothing of the case and had only reported
68 Accyrt No Sussritutes! Aways Insist on tHe Apvertisen Branp!
In the party were Sheriff Shay; Deputy
Lucas; Shay’s son, Emmett -L. hay, now
sheriff of San Bernardino county; Deputy
Sheriff O. W. Bottorff, who today is
identification expert for the San Bernard-
ino sheriff’s office; Deputy Sheriff Jack
Brown; County Coroner J. B. Hanna;
Deputy Coroner Emmett Waters and C.
O. Thompson, chief deputy district at-
torney.
In a cloud of arid dust, for it had not
rained for weeks despite the season, the
car halted at the spot marked by the old
prospector. Giving orders for everyone
to be careful and not destroy any possible
clues, Sheriff Shay led his men down into
the hollow where the gruesome discovery
. had been made.
Inspection of the corpse indicated it
had been exposed in the open for several
weeks, The skull was bare of flesh. A
few brown hairs clung to a part of the
_ scalp which was between the skull and the
blood stained sand beneath it. Hands,
arms, legs and other parts of the body had
been almost completely stripped of flesh
by desert scavengers. A blue serge suit,
faded by sun and weather, hung loosely
on the skeleton. The ghastly, grinning
skull stared sightlessly into space. Bony
skeleton fingers pointed accusingly at the
silent desert which surrounded them.
Ley years of experience in police work
and especially in those strange cases
found far out in the desert wastes came
in handy to Sheriff Shay. He saw clues
where no one else did. The furrows made
by the heels of the dead man told a mute
story. Tracing: them back toward the
trail they unfolded many facts to this
officer who had spent 35 years in police
work and 16 years as sheriff of the great
desert country. Among other things the
heel marks told him the body had been
dropped rudely where it lay. The way
the heels had dug into the sand showed
it had been suddenly released and not
gently laid down.
Back along the path of the tiny furrows
another mute story was told. There
Sheriff Shay found other marks in the
sandy soil and a few feet away a spot
where blood had seeped into the earth.
Here the murderer had stopped to rest,
Sheriff Shay reasoned. He had dropped
his burden on the ground for a few mo-
ments before picking it up again to drag
out of sight behind the chaparral. The
furrows continued to the edge of the road
where they stopped. The officers decided
here was where the slain man had been
taken from some vehicle.
It was possible, they decided, that he
still might have been alive when he
alighted. The pool of blood which had
scoured the desert for yards around in
search of the murder weapon. Half buried
in the sand several paces away they
turned up a short length of heavy iron
bar. Its tip was marked with the rust-
like stains that were dried blood.
Returning to the body Sheriff Shay and
his deputies started a more searching ex-
amination. Carefully they checked the
teeth in the skull but found no dental
work. Next they turned their attention to
the clothing. Again they discovered
nothing. Pockets were empty. Clothier’s
labels had been carefully removed from
every garment. The body itself, they
noted, was of slight build. The man evi-
dently had been about 5 feet 6 inches in
height and had probably weighed 125
pounds, There was no possibility of de-
tecting scars or other identification marks
on the skin, Decomposition was too ad-
vanced.
Painstakingly Sheriff Shay turned his
attention to the clothing again. A dark
blue serge suit of good material, a grey
knit sweater worn under the coat, a collar-
less white shirt, brown socks and tan ox-
ford shoes had clothed the victim. Once
again the sheriff’s fingers probed into
pockets of the suit.
“Stranger in these parts,” Sheriff Shay
commented, as‘ he searched the clothing.
“No one in this part of the country dresses
like that. Blue serge suits and white de-
tachable collar shirts aren’t the style
here.”
Coroner J. B. Hanna for want of some-
thing else to do began turning the trousers
pockets inside out. “Umph,” he grunted,
when on examining the watch pocket a
small wad of what apparently had been
lint in a corner turned out to be a scrap of
paper.
Eagerly the officers gathered around to
examine it. But they were doomed to dis-
appointment. Some writing appeared on
one side, apparently numbers set down at
random for no apparent purpose. Turn-
ing the badly worn and wadded paper
over, Sheriff Shay and the other officers
found the first clue the case had developed .
during their hours of work. And that clue
was slight enough. The paper bore five
printed words “Security State Bank;
Ogden, Utah.” Carefully the sheriff
folded the paper and placed it in his
pocket.
M QFE hours passed as the investi-
gators lingered near the scene,
checking every possible theory that oc-
curred to them, Then they dug a shallow
grave, buried the remains of the murder
victim and started the long. trek back
across the county. On the way back to
the finding of the b:
nized it as a murde
The case looked
the sheriff and his s
cluded the 250-mile
ef the crime and w
the court house at :
was a baffling crin
at least a month’s s
was little chance to
absolutely no trace
one slender thread
scrap of paper,
while. Sheriff Sh
pocket and careful
his desk.
Taking a magn:
began a closer scr
was not going to
clue regardless of
The lens brought -
They read “$87.79.
figures with a doll:
Sheriff Shay fol¢
placed it in his p
suing orders Cc
he took a train fc
he went directly
Bank. Contactin
the institution, Sh
quickly. He prod
slip of paper.
- “What can yor
anything?” he asl
this bank?”
Dye examinec
noted the bank :
ately that it came
“Do those figu
anything in parti
quired.
Dye studied th
ment. Then he «
the sheriff.
“Yes, I recall
“Tt was a rather |
named Hey stoj
ago. He wante
Mich., closed by
funds. Guess h
Had some mon:
Frank J. Steven
case but I recall
Eagerly the
searched throug
they searched S!
body found on
files for Novem
bank the first ¢
on the murder.
The bank re
date Wilfred H
State Bank of ‘
ceipt for y
shown, was re
telegraphic tra
People’s State
From the ba
activities to the
There, in the fi
covered a mes
to the People
asking that tl
there be sent °
stitution.
Returning t
sumed his con
The banker b
the case and
dents of the (
“Do you rei
looked? Coul
him?” the sh
“IT surely
replied. “He \
more than 24
shaven. He w
ound in
f buried
ay they
wy iron
he rust-
shay and
hing ex-
-ked the
o dental
ention to
scovere
Zlothier’s
ved from
elf, they
man evi-
inches in
zthed 125
ity of de- ~
on marks
is too ad-
urned his
A dark
al, a grey
t,a collar-
id tan Oox-
im. Once
obed into
ieriff Shay
e clothing.
try dresses
1 white de-
the style
it of some-
he trousers
he grunted,
h pocket a
y had been
ea scrap of
d around to
ymed to dis-
ippeared on
set down at
ose. Turn-
idded paper
ther officers:
id developed
\nd that clue
ver bore five
State Bank;
the sheriff
ed it in his
. the investi-
the scene,
ory that oc-
dug a shallow
f the murder
ig. trek back
way back to
ded to check
yf the desert
e hardy pion-
- bleak 25-mile
at source also
hem had either
the district for
they had not
‘ers sought out
< them only a
sinced he knew
d only reported
inn tiiniad:-d
iatasacecci Canal. ast os Sood
2 wacane ilimee toe.
the finding of the body because he recog-
nized it as a murder.
The case looked almost hopeless when
the sheriff and his six weary deputies con-
cluded the 250-mile round trip to the scene
ef the crime and were once more back in
the court house at San Bernardino. Here
was a baffling crime. The murderer had
at least a month’s start on the law. There
was little chance to identify the victim and
absolutely no trace of the murderer. The
one slender thread of evidence, the tiny
scrap of paper, seemed hardly worth
while. Sheriff Shay pulled it from his
pocket and carefully smoothed it out on
his desk.
Taking a magnifying glass the officer
began a closer scrutiny of the paper. He
was not going to pass up any possible
clue regardless of how meager it seemed.
The lens brought the figures out in relief.
They read “$87.79.” Five words and four
figures with a dollar sign in front. Slowly
Sheriff Shay folded the paper and re-
placed it in his pocket. Then, after_is-
suing orders concerning the © ce,
he took a train for Ogden, Utah. There
he went directly to the Security State
Bank. Contacting Ss. G. Dye, cashier of
the institution, Sheriff Shay told his story
quickly. He produced the badly wrinkled
slip of paper.
“What can you tell me about this, if.
anything?” he asked, “Did it come from
this bank?”
Dye examined the paper carefully,
noted the bank name and said immedi-
ately that it came from the bank.
“Do those figures OF that amount mean
anything in particular?” Sheriff Shay in-
quired. ; .
Dye studied the figures for a long mo-
ment. Then he exploded a bombshell for
the sheriff.
“Yes, I recall those figures,” he said.
“Jt was a rather unusual incident. A man
named Hey stopped here several weeks
ago. He wanted his account in Detroit,
Mich., closed by telegraphic transfer of
funds. Guess he ran out of cash here.
Had some money back east. President
Frank J. Stevens of the bank handled the
case but I recall those figures clearly.”
Fagerly the sheriff and_ the clerk
searched through the bank files and as
they searched Shay told them more of the
body found on the desert. Then in the
files for November 10, 1924, in the Utah
bank the first glimmering of light broke
on the murder.
The bank record showed that on that
date Wilfred Hey had given the Security
State Bank of Ogden, Utah, a signed re-
i . The money, it was
shown, was received by the bank in a
telegraphic transfer of funds from the
People’s State Bank of Detroit, Mich.
From the bank Sheriff Shay shifted
activities to the telegraph office of Ogden.
There, in the file for November 10 he un-
covered a message sent by Wilfred Hey
to the People’s State Bank at Detroit,
asking that the balance of his account
there be sent to the Ogden financial in-
stitution.
Returning to the bank Sheriff Shay re-
sumed his conference with Cashier Dye.
The banker had been pondering about
the case and recalled several other inci-
dents of the deal.
“Do you remember how this man Hey
looked? Could you give a description of
him?” the sheriff asked.
“J surely do remember him,” Dye
replied. “He was a young fellow, hardly
more than 24 or 25 I would say, clean
shaven. He was of slight build. I don’t
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ad page 35. of the Fe! number of
IODERN MEC NIG pect
eading most of: the.
THE SUBWAY EXPRE
N_ RUBBER" —
believe. he would have weighed more
than 130 pounds and was about five feet
and a half tall. He had dark brown hair
and brown eyes. When he was in here
he was dressed in a good blue serge suit,
wore a grey sweater beneath his coat and
a white shirt with a grey cap. He told me
he was a printer and was on his way to
the Pacific coast to look for work.”
The description left little room for
doubt in the sheriff's mind as to the
identity of the murder yictim. But just
finding out who was killed was a long
way from solving the mystery. A mere
$87.79 didn’t seem like enough money to
prompt.a murder for robbery.
Struck by a sudden inspiration Sheriff
- Shay turned to Dye. “Was Hey all alone
when he was here?”
“Why, no. I don’t believe he was,”
Dye replied. “There was another fellow
with him, considerably larger however,
but also a clean looking young fellow.
He took no part in the conversation. I
noticed he was quite attentive when Hey
asked for advice regarding some British
war bonds in the eastern bank.” '
Sheriff Shay made a mental note of the
British war bonds: Here was something
else to check on if the idea which was
taking shape in his head proved to be cor-
rect, The evidence uncovered at the
Utah bank had virtually convinced Sheriff
Shay that Wilfred Hey was the murdered
man but who could have murdered him?
Determined not to overlook a single clue
Shay headed for his hotel where bank
officials said Hey had told them he also
had stopped.
At the hotel it required but a few mo-
ments to unearth the fact that on Novem-
ber 10 and again on November 11, Wil-
fred Hey and another man registered as
as J. H. Watts, of Boston, Mass., had
occupied room 32 together. The manager
of the hotel could not recall anything of
the two men but he gave the sheriff the
sheet off the register for those two days
and Sheriff Shay tucked it into his pocket
along with the wrinkled scrap of paper
which was found on the body of the mur-
dered man.
Determined to check every possible
point of the case which might be available
in the Utah district, Shay headed for the
office of Sheriff Richard D. Pincock of
Weber county, to learn if he might have
crossed the trail of Hey and Watts. Again
fortune smiled on the persistent officer.
Sheriff Pincock recalled the couple. Their
auto developed motor trouble while in
Ogden and they had come to him for aid.
He had loaned them a little money, he
intimated, and they had taken the car to
the T. F. Rhoden garage. Sheriff Pin-
cock, trained in observing persons, readily
gave a description of the two men.
Hey, he declared, was slight of build,
about five feet six inches in height,
smooth shaven, weighed about 130 pounds
and was dressed in a blue suit. Watts,
he remembered, was heavier, weighing
about 165 pounds and also was dressed in
a dark suit. He had brown hair, a round
face and blue eyes.
Leaving the office, Sheriff Shay headed
for the Rhoden garage. There he learned
that J. H. Watts had driven a small tour-
ing car into the shop on November 9 for
repairs. He had sought to borrow $25
on the machine, Rhoden said, but he had
refused to lend any money until a bill of
sale had been produced. Later, he said,
he reconsidered and loaned Watts $5.
Two days after, the garageman’s records
showed, Watts had called at the garage
for the car, paid the repair bill which
amounted to about $18 with the $5 loan
included, and drove away.
Encouraged by the information ob-
tained at Ogden, Sheriff Shay returned
to San Bernardino and started the wires
humming to Detroit, Mich. Through
Capt. Fox, chief of detectives of the De-
troit police department, he started a
systematic check on the two men, Hey
and Watts.
Back from the eastern city came in-
formation which forged ‘another link in
the chain of evidence which was slowly
growing from the scrap of paper clue.
From Capt. Fox, it was adaed that Wil-
fred Hey had established a bank account
at the People’s State Bank of Detroit, and
had maintained it for some time. Through
Assistant Manager C. P, Besancon, who
had charge of the bank’s foreign depart-
ment, it was learned Hey had owned
British war bonds valued at $1,500.
SAORILY before Hey and Watts de-
cided to leave for California Hey had
appeared at the bank and arranged for
the sale of the bonds. The first arrange-
ments for the sale were made on Septem-
ber 18, Besancon determined from bank
records, The sale was ultimately made
through the National City Bank of New
York and Hartley’s Bank, Ltd., of Man-
chester, England. A first payment of
$361.65 had been received at the Detroit
bank and deposited by Hey before he left
the city. It was this account which had
been closed when Hey telegraphed for
funds from Ogden.
Sheriff Shay collected all his evidence.
Everything pointed to the murder of Wil-
fred Hey at the lonely spot in the desert,
either by J. H. Watts or some unknown
person,
Then came more information from De-
troit, The bank there informed Capt.
Fox that on checking through later rec-
ords they found that the remainder of the
money for the sale of the British war
bonds belonging to Hey had been re-
ceived after Hey had left for the West.
This money, a total of $1,250.28 had been
held at the bank until November 29, when
Wilfred Hey had wired from Los An-
geles, Calif., to have the money sent to
the Bank of Italy in Los Angeles. After
confirmation had been received from the
Los Angeles bank the money had been
telegraphed, Detroit bank officials said.
This angle was not unexpected by Sher-
iff Shay, but it apparently threw a doubt
on the identity of the murder victim, Ac-
cording to official reckoning the man
whose body was found on the desert had
been dead on November 29. If this were
true then Hey could not have been mur-
dered on the desert and have been in Los
Angeles later. But the California sheriff
held steadfast to the thread of evidence
and to the road down which it pointed.
Contacting Capt. Fox in Detroit once
more Sheriff Shay asked for a check on
Hey’s residence in the city. Again the
theory which had been forming in the
sheriff's alert mind was confirmed and
another link in the chain of circumstantial
evidence was forged out. Capt. Fox re-
ported that Hey had resided at an apart-
ment house in Perry street operated by
Mrs. Dellrose Forrest. Questioned, she
remembered Hey and gave a description
of him that checked closely with that of
the corpse found on the Mojave desert.
She also furnished a description of Watts
which coincided with that given Sheriff
Shay by the garage man, Rhoden, at Og-
den, Utah, Also from Mrs, Forrest came
70 Accert No Susstrrutzs! Atways Insist on tH Avvertisip Branp!
hd onde ase ‘
’
4
“a
the startling inform:
been “down and out
picked up late in Sep
two had shared Hey
aid Watts’ bills u
eave for California.
the automobile in »
decision to motor w
in October, Mrs. Fo
they left, she said
them once when W:
from Chicago. |
With the Los An
fore him, Sheriff Sh
home once again. F
traced the threads
United States and
bond deal was in:
crossed the Atlant:
Going to Los Ange
to the Bank of Italy
streets. There he-
G. Symonds, an off
and learned from I
had been recomme:
client of long stand:
had been establishe
he had ordered tra:
$1,100 from the Pe
The money, it was
received from the
bonds. Telegraph
and other costs ha:
approximately $1,2
plained.
“Where is Hey
still do business h
quired.
“Why he is livit
here in Los Ange
and volunteered tl
account was still «
ITH a hur
Shay took h
to the Leighton a
something was ba
was about to “bre:
If Wilfred Hey
Angeles then he
tim. But the enc
not to be reached
Arriving at the
found no one at h
nearby neighbors
who knew Wilfre:
Returning to th
Symonds’ aid, sta
of the Hey accou
eager to assist th
the strange mur:
vealed that a w
posited the mon:
withdrawn $900
station on West
withdrawal had t
7. Then a chec
out to H. VO. TI
$3.20. The che
Carruthers, a sm:
more than 200
Angeles.
“Say, this is -
think?” Symonds:
$900 out of his a:
vice station her:
writing checks :
Sheriff Shay a
Just then a bank
other notation
Symonds gave a
“This thing is
puzzle,” he dec!
in thought. “W
shows definitely
us on the servic
@ party
1 1852.
nN early
dinth=
Ou
363 DUT
th, tak-
. In the
1 riding
ano Or-
ntly im-
‘ancher
| some
od by a
© shoot
ape in-
ad by a
ut after
urrend-
d of the
a nine-
as dis-
} March
) Tibur-
1 prob-
Zz, F
ad Bar-
d their
g their
sS they
engers
» Soap
ter and
) result-
nother
ot and
unded.
yound-
100ting
shape
isco, in
year.
a long
june of
nan co-
iS SUS-
ries in
n Nov-
pries at
lan{
aSq
by the
of De-
Author's Collections
“About a week ago Caliente,
a town in Kern County, was
visited by a gang of a dozen
men who raided upon stores
and people after the manner
of Vasquez. It is supposed that.
the leader of the gang is a
man named Procopio, who
has been twice sent to San
Quentin from Alameda
County.”
When five of the Caliente raiders
were captured and lynched at Bak-
ersfield, it was thought the gang
was exterminated, until a Hanford
store was robbed on December
26th. A pursuing posse traced the
gang to the Mexican settlement at
Posa Chane, near present-day
Coalinga, in Fresno County. Finding
a suspect asleep in a house, he was
arrested and told to get dressed. As
he was pulling on his overcoat, the
prisoner suddenly pulled two revolv-
ers and began firing. He killed Sol
Gladden and drove the others from
the house, then ran to his own horse
and galloped off towards the moun-
tains. With several wounded
mounts and a dead companion, the
posse limped back to Hanford for
reinforcements. Procopio made his
escape to the coast, where he hid
out for a time before fleeing to Mex-
ico. He was still an outlaw when he
was killed in the south some years
later.
One of the more bizarre members
of the Vasquez gang was a U.
ee —
Juan Soto was a frequent rider with
Vasquez and may have rustled stock
with him as early as 1857. Soto was
killed in a gunfight with noted lawman
Harry Morse in 1871.
S. Ar-
my deserter named Charles W.
Weeks. Born near San Francisco in
1848, Weeks was living in New
York, working as a gas fitter, when
he joined the army in early Decem-
ber.of 1866. He was doing duty in
California when he deserted in the
- summer of 1867. Later, he admitted
committing a murder in Monterey
County two years later. He rejoined
the army under an alias in August
of 1872, but again deserted a month
later. Just when he joined up with
Vasquez is not clear, but he used
the name ‘‘William Day’ when he
did so. Weeks claimed that his first
crime with Vasquez was a stage
robbery, but It’s not clear which
holdup he referred to. He claimed
to have been in on the Firebaugh
Ferry robbery and the holdup at the
-Twenty-One Mile House, between
“ San Jose and Gilroy. Quite natural-
- ly he stated that he was sick at the
time of the Tres Pinos raid, when
three robbery victims were wanton-
ly shot and killed. After the raid, the
fleeing bandits stopped to pick him
up as they fled south: - ,
‘went with the band to Rock
Canyon, there we met Mor-
eno, another man of the band.
Vasquez took Moreno’s wife
away, and a sheriff's party
from Los Angeles of about 25
-men followed us up to the
head of Rock Canyon. They
got so close to us that we had
to give them a fight — Sheriff
Adams shot through my coat
collar, none of the citizens
came nearer than 200 yards to
us...”
Some of the goods taken in the
Tres Pinos raid were captured at
this time, and the bandits had a
close shave before heading north
again. Weeks’ account is reason-
ably correct, although he confused
gang member Abdon Leiva —
whose wife Vasquez had been
_ dallying with — with Teodoro Mor-
eno. Weeks had had enough, how-
~ ever. He left the gang and headed
~ east, surrendering at Camp Halleck,
Nevada, in early February of 1874.
He made a confession of his life
with the outlaws, naming and des-
cribing various members of the
gang. He also suggested that the
bandit chief could be caught by
ae
ete
Abdon Leiva participated in variou
Vasquez raids, but promptly turned
state’s evidence when he caught his
chief with his wife.
watching the house of a young girl
he often visited in Santa Barbara.
Weeks’ army record shows he
was discharged at Alcatraz on July
27, 1874. From there he disappears
from history.
A look at one of the bit players in
the Vasquez drama gives some in-
dication of the caliber of talent
available for the bandit-gang ros-
ters. After Vasquez and some doz-
en men held up the village of King-
ston on the day after Christmas,
1873, posses were everywhere. The
whole town had been held up and
robbed — a general store, a hotel,
and a saloon. The bandits had been
driven off by rancher John Suther-
land and-several others who quick-
ly rallied and fanned out over the
plains, looking for the bandits. The
brutality of the murders at Tres
Pinos and the seeming invulnerabil-
ity of the outlaws from capture infur-
lated the possemen, and they gal-
loped into the Mexican settlements
at Las Juntas and the California
Ranch, roughing up the inhabitants.
Anyone looking suspicious was told
to leave — pronto! The Fresno Ex-
positor noted: ;
«,.Rumor says one of the
tembers of a party now hunt-
ing Vasquez, found a gold
watch belonging to himself in
the possession of a
suspicious-looking Mexican.
The watch was borrowed in
one of the recent raids. ‘Tis
23
there in November of 1875. Raggio,
son of an Italian farmer and Mex-
ican mother, had grown up with
Chavez in San Juan Bautista. The
outlaw was going under the name
‘Espinoza’ and warned Raggio not
to give him away. When Raggio dis-
covered that his runaway younger
brother had been seen with the out-
law, he determined to capture or kill
Chavez for the reward on his head.
Securing the help of two friends
named Harry Roberts and Clark
Colvig, Raggio surprised Chavez in
camp. ‘‘I told my men to ride ahead
and go to the house and wait for
me,” recalled Raggio, “‘but as soon
as they saw Chavez they told him
to surrender and he ran, and my
partner shot him in the back and he
fell dead: | then got a wagon and
brought him to Yuma and the mat-
ter rests here.”
At Yuma the three bounty hunt-
ers found themselves in the midst
of a crowd of muttering and sullen
Mexicans, disgruntled at seeing a
lone countryman killed by three
white men for whatever reason.
‘When:-the Yuma Sentine/ announc-
ed that the outlaw had been killed,
they didn’t do the Raggio party any
favor by appending their article with
the statement: “Friday evening,
Nov. 26th — The body of the dead
man was brought in and terrible to
relate, it is not the body of Chav-
ez...'’ Raggio and his men were
happy to be put safely in jail, pend-
ing an investigation. Of course what
happened was that some men had
only known the dead man by his as-
sumed name of Espinoza. An in-
quest ending on December 3, 1876,
firmly established the identity of the
corpse, and a surgeon from the
nearby army post severed the head
from the body. Harry Roberts took
it to California for further identifice -
tion and the reward.
Despite the fact that Roberts took
the head to San Juan, where it was
identified by many residents, the in-
evitable rumors of his survival soon
became current. The Los Angeles
Herald of October 29, 1879, publish-
ed the following:
“|. . The father of Chavez, the
famous lieutenant of Vasquez,
resides in Los Angeles. .. . It
appears that the senior Chav-
22
ez the other day received a let-
ter from one Gomez, a mem-:
ber of Vasquez’ band, dated
at Quiaraca, Sonora, inform-
ing him that his son had died
there of a fever about a month
ago. There upon the old man
broke the silence he had hith-
erto maintained. He had no re-
serve in telling his friends that
he had known the truth all the
time..."
It was the stuff of legends, but
whatever the distraught father’s
motives, there could be little doubt
that Chavez really had been killed
that cool November day along the
Colorado River.
But if Clodoveo Chavez was
dead, his family reportedly kept its
hand in the game. In early October
of 1879, Mariano Yturios shot and
mortally wounded Bolsio Chavez at
the New Idria mines on the west
side of Fresno County. ‘Chavez is
a brother of desperado Cleovaro
(sic) Chavez, Vasquez’ lieutenant,”
reported the Fresno Expositor, “‘and
it is said that he was branching out
on a career of crime that bid fair to-.-
equal... his illustrious brother.
. .. He (Yturios) was examined be-
fore Justice Hill and discharged.”
‘Bolsio’ should probably be ‘Basil-
io,’ but in any case, the 1870 cen-
sus for Monterey County does not
show a brother of Chavez by that
name. The only brother shown is
Rafael, who was 18 years of age at
that time, and possibly this is the
sibling referred to in the article.
The following summer, two Fres-
no County lawmen brought in
George Castro, Martin Riaz, and “‘a
brother of the desperado Cleovara
(sic) Chavez.’’ The three captives
had been trying to assassinate a
local sheepman who had testified
against them in a horse-stealing
case. Since no name was given and
there were only two brothers in the
family of the right age in the 1870
‘census, this would have to be the
same brother who had survived his
**mortal’’ wound.
Although little-known today, an
earlier associate of Vasquez was
quite a prominent outlaw in his time.
Born in Mexico to a sister of the
famous Joaquin Murrieta, Tomas
Procopio Bustamente came to Cal-
fornia as a young boy with a party
led by his famous uncle in 1852.
Constantly in trouble at an early
age, Procopio was implicated in the
murder of a Los Angeles County
rancher, John Rains, in 1863 but
evaded the law and fled north, tak-
ing a stolen band of horses. In the
Livermore Valley he began riding
with Narcisso Bojorques, Chano Or-
tega, and other thugs recently im-
plicated in the murder of a rancher
and his family.
After rustling and selling some
cattle, Procopio was captured by a
deputy sheriff but managed to shoot
the officer in the arm and escape in-
to the street. He was followed by a
crowd of armed citizens, but after
emptying his weapons he surrend-
ered and was easily convicted of the
rustling charge. After serving a nine-
year sentence, Procopio was dis-
charged from San Quentin in March
of 1871. He promptly ran off some
more steers and barely escaped to
the coast when lawmen and vigilant-
es began closing in on him. In Mon-
terey County he took up with Tibur-
-clo Vasquez, whom he had prob-
ably met in prison.
In July of 1871, Vasquez, Pro-
copio, and a local thug named Bar-
tolo Sepulveda established their
M.O. of tying up and robbing their
victims. Within a few hours they
stopped and robbed the passengers
of the Visalia stage, near Soap
Lake, then stopped a teamster and
several other travelers. In the result-
ing search for the outlaws, another
- member of the gang was shot and
killed, while Vasquez was wounded.
Procopio was thought to be wound-
ed during yet another shooting
scrape, but he was in good shape
when captured in San Francisco, in
February of the following year.
Again he was sentenced to a long
stretch at San Quentin.
Released from prison in June of
1877, it seemed to be more than co-
incidence that Procopio was sus-
pected of a spate of robberies in
Kern and Tulare counties, in Nov-
ember and December. Robberies at
Grangeville, Caliente, and Hanford
all bore the stamp of the Vasquez
raids of the past, as noted by the
Fresno Weekly Republican of De-
cember 22, 1877:
Po ~*
ite Ease ee
said that Mexican has been
suspended from a limb...
Rumor has hanged two Mex-
ican thieves near Kings-
oe. aia
The posses were behaving so ob-
noxiously toward the local Mexican
population that a-group from the
California Ranch came into Miller-
ton and demanded protection from
the authorities. The situation reach-
ed such a state that on January
20th, Governor Newton Booth wir-
ed the Fresno Sheriff that he must
protect the Mexican citizens as de-
manded by the Mexican Consul.
The hassling did produce some po-
sitive results, however, as reported
in
24
the Expositor:
BANDIT CAPTURED — Monday
morning, 19th, three Mexicans
arrived in town from the Cal-
ifornia Ranch, bringing as pri-
soner one Ignacio Rankel, a
notoriously bad character, and
supposed to be one of the
gentlemen who gave a sur-
prise party in Kingston recent-
ly. This prisoner is the same
person who shot another Mex-
ican some time ago causing
the amputation of his leg. The
Mexicans bringing him here
were a portion of the party who
came here on Tuesday last,
asking the protection of the
authorities against the parties
who were hunting the Vas-
quez gang. They were inform-
ed at that time by the county
authorities that, although they
might be innocent themseives,
it was impossible for these
periodical raids to occur with-
out their being cognizant of
some of the parties engaged
in them, and that the safest -~
way for them, if they wished —
the protection of the law, was
to take hold and help arrest
these lawbreakers. It seems
they came to this conclusion
and noticing Rankel hanging
around, knowing him to be a
very bad character, and be-
coming convinced by certain
circumstances that he was
one of the bandits concerned. .
in the raid in Kingston, they ar-
rested him and brought him to
Millerton...”
Ronquel, probably his proper
name, already had a prison record.
He was admitted to San Quentin on
November 13, 1866, as No. 3389.
He was just 16 years old at the time,
his name being listed as ‘Jose Ig-
nacio Renguele,’ and he was sen-
tenced to two years for grand ‘lar-
ceny from Santa Cruz County. He
was described as a laborer, five feet
four inches tall, sallow complexion
with dark hair and eyes. He was re-
leased in May of 1869.
Hailed before Judge Gillum Bal-
ey on February 7th, Ranquel admit-
ted to being ‘‘one of those fellows
at Kingston, but he didn’t go into the
houses with the rest of them; he at-
tended the horses.’’ Pleading guil-
ty to the charge, he received a ten-
year sentence the following day. He
was received at San Quentin on
March 17, 1874, and became No.
5888. A reporter for the San Fran-
cisco Bulletin interviewed him on
the day of his arrival, describing him
as a tall and compact young man of
about 25 years. Confusing the
Kingston raid with where he was
captured, the newsman noted that
“he participated in the Vasquez raid
on the California Ranch, in Fresno
County, and during one of the mel-
ees incidental to the suppression of
the people about the hamlet had the
palm of his hand sliced open with a
cheese knife. The wound is still
fresh and in bandage and looks as
though it might be very painful. Ran-
kel hazards the opinion that Vas-
quez will never allow himself to be
captured alive and is prodigal in his
praise of the bandit’s accomplish-
ments...”
Although there is no pardon file,
Ronquel was discharged in May of
1878. He apparently went straight
for a time, but in September of
1891, he was again in trouble, as re-
ported in the Expositor:
“On Saturday night Joe Lop-
‘ @z and Alvina Romero drove in
from their West Side ranch
and stopped at a saloon
across the track to get some
_. fefreshments. Ignacio Rankel
Wa there‘and he and Romero
had sorne words. Rankel call-
ed him a vile name and Rom-
ero hit him. Lopez then separ-
ated the men and Rankel went
away, vowing vengeance.
“Shortly afterward, Lopez
and some friends were stand-
ing on Tulare Street. Lopez
had his hand resting on a post.
Rankel came toward him and
drew a revolver and shot at
him. The ball went between
his arm and his body. Then
Lopez jumped backward and
Rankel fired again and ran.
“Officer Jonston caught him
concealed in a clump of
weeds, with his revolver still
smoking, and placed him in
jail. He wilt be arraigned to-
morrow on a charge of assault
to commit murder.”’
Teodoro (or Theodore) Moreno
was another of the Vasquez gang
who intermittently followed the
Black Flag. Born about 1849, Mor-
eno came from a good family and
was raised in the Santa Clara Val-
ley. His father was a well-to-do farm-
er but was having hard times, when
he died and left his family penniless.
Young Teodoro was about ten years
old at the time but was an indus-
trious boy and contributed his earn-
ings to the support of his mother. As
a young man Moreno fell into bad
company and is credited by at least
one historian as being one of a gang
who murdered an oil-drilling crew in
the San Joaquin Valley during the
early summer of 1867.
Moreno was livng in Las Juntas
when he went on a drunken ram-
page, threatening to kill the cattle
baron, Henry Miller. A Mexican
woman named Nocha Morales tried
to calm him down and pleaded that
Miller was a good friend to them, but
Moreno shot and killed her, then
fled.
He was working for Lorenzo Vas-
quez as a vaquero, when his first
cousin, Tiburcio Vasquez, rode up
one day. He talked to Moreno about .
joining him-for a raid on Hoffman’s
Store at Firebaugh’s Ferry on the
San Joaquin River. The bandit chief
had received word that Henry Mil-
ler had deposited a payroll of
$30,000 at the store, and he was re-
cruiting a band to obtain it. Moreno
was unable to pass up such an op-
portunity, and the two men rode off
together.
Bae a
On February 26, 1873, Vasquez
led a band consisting of some four
or five outlaws, including Moreno, to
the isolated store at the ferry. It was
after dark and Hoffman and his wife
had retired, but they were rousted
from bed and robbed. To the ban-
dit’s disgust Miller had not yet de-
posited his payroll, and they had to
be satisfied with taking what they
could from the store. When the
stage from Visalia drove up, it too
-was robbed. The first account of the
robbery probably appeared in the
Fresno Expositor on March 5, 1873:
«|. The robbers obtained in
all about $600 in money, val-
uables and clothing. Hoff-
man’s Store, or as it is known,
Firebaugh’s Ferry, is situated
fully a mile from any other
dwelling. There are seldom
more than three men about
the place at night, and gener-
ally but two. Within a few mil-
es, at different points on the
river, are a number of Mexican
settlements, in reality but the
rendezvous of a lot of horse
thieves and cut-throats of the
very worst character...”
The ‘‘Mexican settlements” refer-
red to were Las Juntas and the Cal-
fornia Ranch, notorious hangouts
for desperadoes since the days of
Murrieta.
Moreno was undoubtedly a parti-
cipant in the abortive attempt to rob
a train that summer and the holdup
of the Twenty-One Mile House in
August. It was after dark on the 26th
of this same month that two of the
gang entered Snyder’s Store at the
small village of Tres Pinos. They
were followed a short time later by
Vasquez, Moreno, and Clodoveo
Chavez. Telling the occupants to lie
down, the bandits tied them up and
began pillaging the place. Inthe
course of the robbery, Vasquez shot
and killed a hotel owner next door,
while a teamster and local sheep
herder were also gunned down and
killed. Packing their loot on horses
appropriated from the local stable,
the bandits disappeared into the
night. Late-starting posses never
did catch up with the outlaws who
fled to the rough mountain country
south of Bakersfield.
Moreno left the gang in the Can-
tua Creek area and hired out to a
sheep ranch in the Bitterwater Val-
ley. He hoped to lose himself
among the other workers of the
area, but events in the south had al-
ready sealed his fate, as reported in
the Kern County Weekly Courier of
September 13, 1873:
“A report is in circulation that
Vasquez and his band were
overtaken Monday in Rock
Creek Canyon, somewhere to
the eastward of Los Angeles,
by the parties of Sheriffs
Adams and Rowland. Shots
were interchanged and the
robbers were forced to take to
the mountains. About twenty
horses and their camp equip-
age were taken. A consider-
able quantity of clothing, jew-
elry and other property stolen
at Tres Pinos was recovered.
A wagon, driven by a Chileno,
with stolen goods on board
that seems to have graveled in
communicating distance with
the robbers was captured and
sent to Los Angeles...”
The Chileno mentioned was Ab-
don Leiva, one of the Tres Pinos
raiders who had taken his wife and
fled south. When he discovered that
Vasquez and his wife had been
playing house in his absence, he
turned himself in to blow the whis-
tle on his treacherous chieftain. He
also ratted on Moreno who was
quickly picked up and taken into
custody.
Leiva alone, as an accomplice at
Tres Pinos, didn’t make much of a
case against Moreno at the latter’s
trial, but when Mrs. Leiva showed
up after having been abandoned by
Vasquez, she offered to corroborate
her husband’s testimony. Moreno’s
trial began on November 24th at
Salinas, two days being required for
jury selection.
The trial itself was over in a few
days. Leiva and his wife told how
Moreno had been present when var-
ious raids were planned and how he
had ridden away with the gang on
the Tres Pinos raid. Witnesses des-
cribed Morend as being present at
Snyder’s store, and Mrs. Leiva re-
called how the gang members had
afterwards stated that Vasquez and
Moreno had done the shooting.
Manuel Larios and other friends
of the defendant tried to establish
alibis, and Moreno himself told an
elaborate story of going off to obtain
a horse at the time of the robbery.
He claimed to have been chasing
the horse for several days but could
produce no witnesses of any cred-
ibility to verify his story. “‘l was not
present,” he insisted, ‘‘at a plot
made at: Leiva’s house to rob Sny-
der’s store as they testified. So sure
as | expect to die, | pronounce their
testimony to that effect false. It is
also a false statement that Leiva
makes in regard to my presence at
the Tres Pinos robbery and murder
and my shooting a man there. | am
a first cousin to Tiburcio Vasquez.”
He was convicted of second-
degree murder on November 27th
and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Two days later, he was received at
San Quentin Prison as No. 5800.
Moreno eventually evolved into a
model prisoner, realizing that his
only hope of ever getting out revolv-
ed around an apparent reformation
of character. He obtained the ser-
vices of John W. Breckenridge, one
of the foremost criminal attorneys
on the coast, to begin a campaign
for commutation of sentence. Letters
from prison officials were secured
testifying to his reformation. On Oc-
tober 14, 1882, Breckenridge was
able to obtain the signatures of
some of the juryrnmen and the prose-
cuting attorney at Moreno’s trial,
asking for a commutation of sen-
tence. The main argument was that
the convicting evidence consisted
largely of circumstantial evidence or
came from accomplices in the
crime. The pleas fell on deaf ears,
however. These and other appeals
over the years all failed, and Mor-
eno died in San Quentin on Novem-
ber 9, 1888.
One of the last of the Vasquez
men to gain any notoriety on his
own was Ramon Molina. A resident
in the notorious Cantua Creek area,
Molina became involved in a drunk-
en scuffle with a young man nam-
ed Juan Parra in September of
1892. Apparently, when he began
losing the scrap, Molina pulled a
pistol and shot his opponent. Bury-
continued on page 57
25
oo
108
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
WOMAN HATER!
(Continued from page 61)
now. No—I think I stuffed one leg of
the slacks in her mouth first. I guess
I wanted to stifle any possible outcry, °
though all this time she hadn’t said a
word.”
He smiled sadly.
“What did you do then?” Engler
queried sharply.
“T ravished her, and by that I mean
just what the word implies.”
He looked at the officers belligerent-
ly. They said nothing. “I stayed here
about an hour. I took one of her stock-
ings, tied it around her neck, and
fastened it to the brass railing of the
bed.”
“Why did you do that?”
“T don’t know... . Why does one do
mad things? After a while I felt her
heart and pulse and knew she was
dead. I went to my hotel, checked out,
and registered at a new hotel on Mason
Street. I stopped at a couple of bars,
and also got a bottle of liquor. I sat
up most of the night, drinking. I drank
until-about five o’clock in the morning
—I had left her apartment about 11:30.
“Then I went to sleep, I guess, I woke
up about eleven this morning. I went
out and walked around the streets—
everywhere. I walked along the Bar-
bary Coast, down by the waterfront,
through Chinatown. I. just wanted to
walk and walk. It wasn’t that my con-
science was bothering me. I wasn’t sor-
ry at all for what I’d done and I’m not
sorry now. I was just disgusted with
myself for getting into such a thing.
Finally I decided to give myself up. I
went back, got my suitcase and sold the
few things I had, at different pawn-
shops. Then I went to police headquar-
ters. You know the rest.”
McMahon looked over the notes he
had been taking. “But why did you
kill her—just because she resisted your
advances?”
Walter regarded him quizzically. “T
killed her partly in passion and partly
in revenge.”
“Revenge for what? What had she
done to you?”
“She hadn’t done anything. It was
in revenge for all the misery I’ve suf-
fered during my life.”
“You say, Engler interposed, “that
you were in San Francisco before.
Were you here in May, 1934?”
“I may have been. I’d have to think
back.”
Husted looked at Engler. They had
the same thought—the unsolved mur-
der of Louise Jeppesen of Ogden, Utah,
garroted with a scarf by a sex-mad
killer in Golden Gate Park.
“Did you ever know a girl named
Louise Jeppesen?” queried Husted.
Walter smiled grimly. “I know what
you're driving at. I remember reading
about that murder. No, I had nothing
to do with it. Isn’t one murder confes-
sion good enough for you?”
They prodded him with questions
about the unsolved murder of Betty
Coffman in a San Francisco hotel last
year, and about the gruesome series of
girl murders in San Diego. He gave the
same reply. Finally the killer sank
back in his chair and closed his eyes.
The torrent of words had stopped. To
the officers’ further questions he re-
plied in monosyllables.
He was taken to the city prison and
booked for murder. Engler instructed
the jailers to keep a close watch over
him throughout the night, lest he kill
himself. The guards watched in puz-
zlement as Walter made ready for bed,
in an almost jovial mood. He seemed
vastly relieved by his confession.
“You don’t have to be afraid I’ll com-
mit suicide—that way,” he said. “I’ve
chosen a better way. I'm tired of life. I
committed a murder and I’ve given
myself up to you. Now I want to get
it over with.”
“Then you're going to plead guilty?
You know that means the gallows?”
“Of course! What do you think I
gave myself up for?”
He smiled at their bewilderment,
stretched himself. on his narrow steel
cot, and slept like a log.
The telegraph wires. hummed with
the news, and by morning ‘Walter’s en-
tire past had been laid bare. In a flat
in New York’s Greenwich Village,
newsmen located Mrs. Angela Haskins
Walter, a tall, statuesque young wo-
man who admitted she had married
Walter some ten months before. The
knowledge that her husband had slain
an innocent girl prostrated her. Wal-
ter, she said, had left home without.a
word; he had simply dropped from
sight.
“He’s done that twice before,” she
sobbed. “But he’s always come back,
and everything’s been all right. But
this—I can’t believe it!’
The young strangler’s. father, in Bos-
ton, confirmed her story of Walter’s
erratic wanderings. His son had been
a jack-of-all-trades, he said; never
staying long in one job or in-one place.
He had been a salesman, lawyer’s clerk,
chef, butler, lumberman, and soldier.
While serving in the Army medical
corps he had done a disciplinary term
on Alcatraz Island, which was then a
military prison.
Faced with the fact that his ante-
cedents were known, Walter grudging-
ly submitted to further questioning,
though he refused absolutely to re-
count the details of the crime again.
| ha WAS THEN that he told a sordid
story in explanation of his strange
“hatred” of ‘women.
“When I was fourteen years old,” he
said, “I had:an unfortunate experience
with a woman older than I. She took
advantage of my innocence and trans-
mitted to me a terrible disease which
has wrecked my. life and embittered
me against all women.
“T’ve tried to lead a normal life, but
this hatred and bitterness keeps crop-
ping up in spite of me. I left my wife
Pa lee dS Se RARE OE iia: shes Abt onc
2
in New York because I was afraid I'd
kill. her. When Blanche Cousins re-
pulsed me, it all surged up in me again.
She symbolized all the things I'd want-
ed and couldn’t have, That’s why I
choked her. I’ve hated women, but
couldn’t stay away from them. This
thing that’s happened to me is for the
best. I’ll be hanged and be forgotten,”
He stuck to his strange and bitter
story, even though tests by the prison
physicians revealed no trace of the dis-
ease which he said was responsible for
his. twisted outlook on life. He spurned
the attempts of anyone to advise him,
declaring he wanted to plead guilty
and “get it over with” as soon as pos-
sible,
In spite of Walter’s protests, Public
Defender Gerald Kenny stood at his
side when his case was called in Supe-
rior Court, for the law provides that
those who cannot.afford an attorney
shall be: represented by a public de-
fender. .
“I plead guilty,” Walter told Judge
Lile T. Jacks.
. “I ask that this man’s plea be set
aside,” Kenny interposed. “The evi-
dence indicates that he may be insane,
and I enter a plea of not guilty by rea-
son of insanity in his behalf!”
The confessed slayer protested ve-
hemently, and the court saw the
strange spectacle of a public official
trying to save a murderer from the gal-
lows in spite of himself.
Prosecutor McMahon, on. the other
hand, argued that Walter’s surrender
and straightforward confession indi-
cated that he was able to distinguish
between right and wrong, which made
him legally sane.
Judge Jacks ignored Walter’s prot-
estations. “This court cannot risk send-
ing an insane man to the gallows,” he
declared. “His own wishes have noth-
ing to do with it.”
He accepted the plea of not guilty
by reason of insanity, and appointed
three prominent alienists to examine
the youth.
Awaiting trial, Walter sullenly re-
fused to cooperate with the alienists.
He paced his cell like a restive beast,
glowering at the officers and doctors
who were thwarting his grim quest for
quick death.
His wife and father sped west, armed
with letters and documents to bolster
the insanity plea. He had always been
eccentric and subject to violent im-
pulses, they said. His father cited child-
hood injuries, and displayed a letter
Walter had written while on an erratic .
jaunt a year ago. :
“Why I do thébe crazy things is be-
yond my comprehension,” the letter
read. “Only when my sanity returns do
I realize the consequences of my fool-
hardiness. In my depression I can do
nothing but run away to relieve my
mind of its many burdens. Believe me,
I have no malicious intent.”
On the eve of the trial, another vio-
'
\
\
lent episode in Wali
vealed. Harold L.
‘San. Francisco ir
Walter as a man he
.taken to his apartr
December. His gu
berserk, ‘he said,
head with a flatiro:
a gold watch.
Walter readily a
on Blum. But he
to admit any conn:
pesen case or with
“I’ve confessed
cried. “Can’t you h:
forget about me?”
Inspector Engle:
ion that Walter’s e
gotten” might inc
other and more ho:
conscience — crime
come to light. Was
lengthy imprisonm:
fied the courtroor
’ fessing that in. 191
known. as_ Brow:
plotted to compr:
movie magnates fo:
torting money un
posure.
‘ When he named
gasped. “Adolph
“Hiram Abrams, J
Following Leve
came tragi-comic }
the eighty-three-y
chant. Infirm, bare
feet in front of hi
ward to the witnes:
ering tones told o
into which a wom
him at his busines
he said, he hadn’t
at all. His body ha
mentality shaken.
When the part;
he went on, the |
over the transom. '
a policeman. Titt«
courtroom at th
turned to pity whe
he had been force
during the next ¢
As a result of al’
disclosures, Mas
clothespin on its
‘from cellar to gar
so thoroughly th
England has nev:
any. shakedown ,
the Pelletier outfit
NE OF THE i:
on Pelletier’s
moves against the
the shady auto co:
by the underworld
class of blackmail
it signifies the ble:
eer by another. A
ator is always fair
tionist. Hence,
g a crime?
sung man’s
et. It hap-
Job Hill, in
and apart-
confession.
Murderers
and take a
| from Cor-
on crowded
t the horror
red-headed
.din agony,
were vivid
» her throat.
stocking, its
holding her
lacks, a blue
he floor.
‘orrasa mut-
‘VENGEANCE!
_ body and told his
FRONT PAGE
By Matthew Tierney
Special Investigator for
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
. ’
STRANGLED
Below: Thus
did police dis-
cover the vic-
tim’s body—
mute evidence
of how Albert
Walter repaid
.Blanche Cou-
sins’s trust In
him.
tered as he reached
for the telephone
and called the homi-
cide squad. :
The confessed
killer lit a cigarette
and smoked calmly ©
as he sat a few feet
from the contorted
story to Inspectors
George Engler and
Harry Husted of the homicide squad, and Assistant Dis-
trict Attorney John J. McMahon. From time to time he
glanced at the body, impersonally, as though it were a
wax image.
“Listen carefully,” he said. “I'm not going over all this
again.”
He identified himself as Albert Walter, Jr., twenty~-
eight years old, son of a Boston real estate operator. He
had lately been a restaurant manager in New York, he
said, and had come to San Francisco looking for a job.
The dead girl, he said, was Blanche Cousins, daughter
of an Idaho Falls rancher. She had been attending busi-
ness college in San Francisco. He had met her on a trans-
continental bus, which she boarded at Salt Lake City.
“Why did you kill her?” a
a eer a ET IG ST LE —
DETECTIVE
Walter regarded his questioners somberly with his
strange eyes, which were the color of muddy opal.
“I hate all women,” he said, weighing his words. “I’ve
always known that I would some day kill a-woman. Now
I’ve done it, and I want you to hang me and get it over
with as quickly as possible.
“Why do you hate women?”
“We'll come to that later. I’m going to tell you my story
this once, and I’m not going over it again.”
They let him talk.
“About the last part of May,” he related, “I took a bus
in New York headed for San Francisco. I’ve been out here
about once a year since I attended night school here in
1926. .
“On June 2 I met Miss Cousins”—he glanced without
emotion at the naked body—‘‘when she got on the bus
at Salt Lake. We talked together once or twice, and the
next day in Sacramento I took her to lunch. At lunch, I
asked her if she’d have dinner with me the following
night in San Francisco—she was going there, too. She
accepted. She told me she was going to stay at the YWCA
hotel.
“On the next night, in San Francisco, I called for her
at the hotel. We had a couple of cocktails and went to
Lucca’s Italian restaurant on North Beach for dinner. We
found we had a lot in common. Neither of us had any
friends in San Francisco. I told her I wanted to see her
often, and I did.
“When she got settled in her school work, she moved
to this apartment; she liked living ona hill, and she liked
ya, the view over the bay. I helped her-
move in, and she cooked dinner for
me here the first night as a sort of
house-warming.
1 “Last night, June 16, she had in-
4 vited me up for dinner. I arrived
about seven o’clock. We had a cou-
ple of cocktails—not more than
two-—before dinner.
“After dinner we sat on the dav-
enport here, just like I’m sitting
now, and talked about her progress
at school, about my prospects of
finding a job. We talked about her
experiences when she was working
in a hospital in Idaho Falls. I helped
her wash the dishes. Then we sat
down and talked some more.”
ALTER RECITED his story as
though it were rehearsed, but
at this point he began to talk more
rapidly, looking from one to another
of the silent officers as though for
approval,
“We were sitting side by side
here. I began to make love to
her—as I had tried to several times before. She re-
sisted me. I think she said something about not being
too hasty. I became passionate, and she still resisted
me. I didn’t see why she should resist me. I went
blind with anger. I grabbed her throat and choked
her...”
He half rose from his chair and crushed out his cig-
arette. Then he sank back.
“{ choked her until she didn’t resist any more. I don’t
remember all the details exactly—I guess I lost my
head. I didn't know whether she was dead or not, and
didn’t care.
“J took down the folding bed and lifted her onto it.
I pulled off her sweater and slacks and slip and threw
them where you see them (Continued on page 108)
Bl
glad yo | came,
| He often said that he was glad
-The hangman’s hands were near.
: But why he said so strange a thing
No warder dared to ask:
For he to whom a watcher’s doom
Is given as his task
\ Must set a lock upon his lips
if And make his Tore a mask. -_
i | q ; —The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
|
|
ii |k “T’VE KILLED a girl. I want to give myself up.”
Startled, Inspector Alvin Corrasa looked’ up from
his desk in San Francisco’s police headquarters and stared
li at the slim youth in the brown suit and white sports shoes
who stood smiling whimsically at him.
“You say—you’ve killed a girl?”
“Yes.”
It was shortly after nine o’clock on the evening of June
Ara | 17, 1936. The officers in the Bureau of Inspectors had been
f busy with the routine reports of a quiet evening, and the
young stranger had been standing by Corrasa’s desk un-
noticed. Now the hum of conversation stopped abruptly.
| The inspectors jerked erect as though galvanized by an
iy” electric spark.
The young man seemed to be unconscious of the stir
| he had created. Corrasa studied him intently. He did not
seem to be intoxicated. Was he insane? Was it some sort
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
” slayer, to x elgad inaanity, but: he. petused,
d, ‘
| x of a joke? There was no mirth in his fixed smile. Could’
she
alter.on a cross-country bu
‘began’ irlendene te
sient
this unperturbed youth acthally be confessing a crime?
“How did you kill her?” Corrasa asked. -
“I strangled her with my hands.” The —— man’s
voice was casual. .
“Where did this occur?” ;
‘In her apartment at 840 California Street. It hap-
pened last night. Her body is-still there.”
The address he gave was on the slope of Nob Hill, in
the shadow of the city’s most exclusive hotels and. apart-
ments.
Corrasa was inclined to doubt the startling confession.
The man was too calm, too matter-of-fact. Murderers
didn’t act this way. Yet...
He rose from his chair. “Well, we’ll go and take a
look.”
Half an hour later all doubt was removed from Cor-
‘rasa’s mind as he and Inspector William, Stanton crowded
in a narrow apartment doorway and stared at the horror
on the bed. The nude, blackening body of a red- headed —
girl was stretched out stiffly, her face contorted in agony, ©
her eyes straining from their sockets. There were vivid
marks where fingernails had dug deeply into her throat.
Knotted about her neck was a brown silk stocking, its
ends tied to the brass. rails of the bedstead, holding her
head ina grotesque backward twist. Brown slacks, a blue +
ten anda pink slip were scattered on the floor, «
Vek. (956. ;
4 ope “)
Lo KLE K ¢1r€
*
i
||| A DEED OF GRIM HORROR CLIMAXES A MAN'S STRANGE DESIRE FOR SEX —
¢
#
oy
7
tered as
for the
and calle
cide squ:z
The c
"killer lit
and smo
as he sat
from th:
body an
story to
George
Harry Hi
trict Att
glanced ;
wax ima
“Liste:
again.”
He ide
eight yea
had latel
said, and
The de
of an Ida
ness colle
* continent
“Why P
—_—— nel
fraid I'd
isins re-
ae again.
(d want-
s why I
nen, but
‘m. This
3 for the
rgotten.”
id bitter
ie prison
i the dis-
isible for
spurned
vise him,
ad guilty °
n as pos-
ts, Public
od at his
i in Supe-
vides that
attorney
vublic de-
ld Judge
ea be set
‘The evi-
be insane,
ty by rea-
ye
tested ve-
saw the
lie official
im the gal-
the other
surrender
sion indi-
listinguish
hich made
ter’s prot-
risk send-
lows,” he
nave noth-
not guilty
appointed
to examine
sullenly re-
ie alienists.
stive beast,
and doctors
.m quest for
west, armed
ts to bolster
always been
violent im-
: cited child-
yed a letter
on an erratic -
things is be-
” the letter
ty returns do
s of my fool-
sion I can do
9 relieve my
;. Believe me,
+”
another vio-
lent episode in Walter’s history was re-
vealed. Harold L. Blum, a well-to-do
San. Francisco importer, identified
Walter as a man he had befriended and
taken to his apartment one night last
December. His guest went suddenly
berserk, he said, struck him on the
head with a flatiron, and fled, stealing
a gold watch.
Walter readily admitted the assault
on Blum. But he refused steadfastly
to admit any connection with the Jep-
pesen case or with any other slayings.
“I’ve confessed one
cried. “Can't you hang me for that and
forget about me?”
Inspector Engler ventured the opin-
ion that Walter’s eagerness to be “for-
gotten” might indicate that he had
other and more horrible crimes on his
conscience —crimes that may never
come to light. Was Walter afraid that
lengthy imprisonment might drive him
murder!”, he |
somageceni
FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
to make further confessions? Or was
he already sorry for his impetuous sur-
render and perhaps secretly hoping to
be found insane?
Walter’s wife and father broke down
in tears when they faced him in the
county jail. Walter embraced them
with cold reserve.
“J didn’t want you to come,” he said,
“but now that you're here, I’m glad of
it, though you can’t do anything to’/help
me.”
“The trial was as brief as it was weird.
Walter's father and his wife took the
stand to tell of his sullen, erratic na-
ture and the overpowering impulses
which sometimes prompted him to vio-
lence, The killer shocked the courtroom
audience when he burst into loud
laughter at hearing Dr. Marvin Hirsch-
feld, defense alienist, describe him as “a
psychopath with psychotic episodes.”
State alienists, nevertheless, main-
109
tained that Walter was sane, and it
took a jury of eight men and four wo-
men only a half hour to agree with
them. Walter achieved his grim desire
when he heard Judge Jacks sentence
him to be hanged on the San Quentin
gallows. .
“J only want to die as soon as pos-
sible,” the enigmatic slayer said as
jailers led him away. And in his San
Quentin cell he refused absolutely to
talk further.
What was the real reason for Wal-
ter’s vengeful hatred for women? Why
did he visit that horrible vengeance on
pretty Blanche Cousins after he had
led her to trust him? Why his fantastic
quest for death? The answers will
probably never be known, for there is
every indication that the condemned
man will plunge through: the gallows-
trap without speaking—leaving only a
large question-mark behind him.
UNMASKING T
|
(Continued from page 11)
HE SHAKEDOWN RACKETEERS
fied the courtroom one day by con-
’ fessing that in. 1917 he and a woman
known. as Brownie Kennedy had
plotted to compromise a group of
movie magnates for the purpose.of ex*
torting money under threats of ex-
posure.
- When he named them, the spectators
gasped. ‘Adolph Zukor,” he said.
“Hiram Abrams, Jesse Lasky.”
Following Levenson to the stand
came tragi-comic Edmund D. Barbour,
the eighty-three-year-old china mer-
chant. Infirm, barely able to see a few
feet in front of him, he tottered for-
ward to the witness stand and in quav-
ering tonés told of a “petting party”
into which a woman decoy had lured
him at his business office. Since then,
he said, he hadn’t been the same man
at all. His body had become infirm, his
mentality shaken. ’
When the party was at its height,
he went on, the head of a man rose
over the transom. The man said he was
a policeman. Titters rippled over the
courtroom at this, but the mirth
turned to pity when Barbour revealed
he had been forced to pay out $75,000
during the next eight years.
As a result of all these evil-smelling
disclosures, Massachusetts put a
clothespin on its nose, cleaned house
-from cellar to garret, and did the job
so. thoroughly that since then New
England has never been plagued by
any: shakedown gang comparable to
the Pelletier outfit.
NE_ OF THE interesting sidelights
on Pelletier’s activities is that his
moves against the stock salesman and
the shady auto company were dubbed
by the underworld “legit shakes.” This
class of blackmail is so called because
it signifies the bleeding of one racket-
- eer by another. An illegitimate oper-
ator is always fair game for the extor-
tionist. Hence, paradoxically,: his
shakedown becomes “legitimate” in
underworld eyes. :
Another example of this category
came to light in New York State some
years ago when a minister who had
turned stock salesman attempted to
get $75,000 from the promoter of the
stock. These securities, it developed,
had not been as represented. But when
he sold them, the minister said, he .
hadn’t known that. Then he married
the promoter to a well-bred young
girl. Later on, stories came back of
bad checks the. promoter had passed
and an auto he was said to have stolen.
In the end, the minister lost his
church and his godly reputation.
When the minister demanded $75,-
000, the promoter met this like any
honest man. He called in detectives,
hid them in an office adjoining his
own, then sat back to await the min-
ister’s arrival. It is true that the min-
ister argued that the $75,000 was
simply indemnifying him for all he had
lost. But listening detectives called
that argument extortion, and so did a
grand jury. What happened subse-
quently, however, definitely puts this
incident into the class of “legit shakes,”
for not the minister but the promoter
himself stood trial. He had skipped
town, been nabbed out west, and
brought back on charges of having de-
-frauded small investors of some $500,-
000! ;
Alienation of affection suits have in
recent years become another cloak
for the shakedown racketeer. Holly-
wood. still remembers the tragedy of
Harry Langdon, and how many crim-
inals seized upon his dilemma will
never be known.
Brought into a Los Angeles court
through a suit over a personal note
he had not met, Langdon cried bit-
terly, “Your Honor, I’ve already paid
out fifteen thousand dollars in cash,
and signed notes for. another twelve
thousand. I had to pay. If I'd refused,
a suit for alienation of affection would
have been brought against me by my
wife’s first husband, and this would
have voided my movie contract.”
Whether or not the comedian’s cry
was justified, there is no doubt that
his star quickly set. The publicity he
was forced to bring upon himself
proved as harmful as the suit he had
fought to fend off.
Savage threats of maiming and
hideous death—the crudest’ of all
shakedown methods — terrorize ‘rich
and poor alike, from immigrant Black-
hand victims to such famous Ameri-
cans as Henry Ford, Walter Gifford
and Cornelius Vanderbilt III. The
wealthy and famous invariably turn
such threatening letters over to detec-
tives or federal postal inspectors, But
in the.case of Henry Ford, they are
usually handled by his own army of
private police—no small power, by
the way, in the state of Michigan.
Then there is the vicious “family
skeleton” shakedown.
Some five years ago this was at-
tempted on Ford’s multi-millionaire
competitor, Walter Pp. Chrysler.
Chrysler’s father had died in Kansas
around 1916, and about fifteen years
later, a man who took the Chrysler
name for an alias began circulating
libellous stories around Topeka con-
cerning the auto magnate’s sire.
Finally, emboldened at the lack of
prosecution, the man wrote Chrysler,
demanding that forty thousand dollars
be paid as the price of his silence.
This was the very thing Chrysler at-
torneys had been waiting for. Like a
tornado they swept down into Topeka,
joined with a detail of clever police,
seized the blackmailer and tossed him
behind steel bars.
An unexpected aftermath of this
swift retribution was a number of let-
ters from. people congratulating Mr.
i
‘
both Ware and Hughes felt, except for the
formalities of the trial and sentence. How-
ever, on February 19th, an unexpected
thing happened.
IGHT JAILER Hollingsworth was sit-
ting at his desk. The evening count
of prisoners had been made. Although
parts of the jail were disorganized because
of the construction work on the new addi-
tion, everything was in order. Then sud-
denly Hollingsworth looked up from his
desk to see an elderly man and a young
man walk into the front office.
For a moment he could not believe his
eyes. “I just brought Bud back,” said
James Gauze, Sr. “No use in him trying
to get away. You'd get him.”
To Hollingsworth’s amazement, Bud
Gauze explained that during the day he
had discovered a place on the second
floor where workmen had broken away a
small place in the concrete wall. They
had left the reenforcement rods in place.
But Gauze had managed to pull a 2 x 4
stud through the opening. With the tim-
CRIME
DETECTIVE
‘
tics
ber he opened up the bar enough to
squeeze through. .
Gauze had slipped through the open-
ing, and then climbed down the part under
construction to the street. He had -gone
to his father’s home to get st and
money. But his father had talked him
out of the escape and had driven him back
to the jail. .
“Some of the others know about it,”
Gauze said. “I don’t know whether they've
left or not.”
Within a matter of seconds Hollings-
worth had sounded the alarm. Sheriff
Ware, Hughes, Rowe, Deputies E. H.
Kirby, W. L. Birdwell, R. W. Jensen, and
other officers rushed from their regular
duties, and from their homes. They sur-
rounded the jail, and then began a piece-
b§-piece search.
James Dennis was found on top of the
building. Manuel Garcia was caught half-
- way down. a scaffolding. Frank Laguana
was hiding-in a new dormitory on. the
first floor. . Augusto Barreiro was in the
attic of a section of the old. building.
ha
Each had slipped through the opening left”
by Gauze and was waiting for a chance
to gain the street.
Within half an hour all prisoners were
back in their cells and accounted for.
What might have been a disastrous break
had been halted. The broad grin on Sher-
iff Ware’s face remained only long enough
for him to be sure that’ everything was
all right. Then he called the construction
company and disturbed the sleep of those
reer for leaving the hole in the
wall. ?
On June 16, 1950, Superior Judge L. J.
Mouser found James Gauze guilty of mur-
der in the first degree and guilty of rob-
bery in the first degree. He sentenced him
to San Quentin Prison for the term pre-
sortbed by law on the robbery charge, and
for life on the murder’ charge. The sen-
tences were to run consecutively. Isaiah
Reed was found guilty only of robbery,
and received a sentence in San Quentin.
Other state and Federal charges against
other minor members of the gang were
made in other courts,
NUDE REDHEAD
Continued from page 49
partner said emphatically, tossing three
report sheets on his desk. “Not one of
the fingerprints found in the apartment is
on record here or Sacramento or Wash-
ington. If the killer left his trade mark,
he has no police record.”
' “What about dry-cleaning establish-
ments?” Engler asked. .
“They’ve all been instructed to turn in
any bloodstained garments,” Husted told
him, “but so far, nothing.”
Assistant District Attorney John J.
McMahon, whom the prosecutor had as-
signed to work with the homicide squad-
men, went over the known facts of the
mysterious murder with Engler and Husted
every day. The three men made several
trips to the California Street apartment in
search of new evidence, but nothing was
found.
“A few fingerprints that can’t be iden-
tified and a storekeeper who remembers
seing a girl she believes was Blanche Cou-
sins with an average man,” McMahon
lamented. “And a victim from out of
town who had no known friends or ene-
mies. If we ever solve this one, we’ll all
deserve a pat on the back.”
‘Every suspicious character brought into
headquarters on any charge at all was
questioned about the Blanche Cousins
murder. 4
Dry cleaners in the Nob Hill section
were checked up on regularly. A few
false leads were followed through to dead
ends. The slainegirl’s body had been re-
turned to Idaho Falls and buried. News
of the vicious: murder—or lack of it—
dropped completely out of the papers. But
Inspectors Engler and Husted kept right
on plugging in the hope that somewhere ©
along the line they’d get a break
UST exactly two weeks after the crime
against pretty Blanche Cousins, another
apartment-house dweller living less than
six blocks from the California Street ad-
dress was brutally attacked and murdered
by an unknown assailant.
Police investigating this woman’s death
learned that she had been expecting a radio
repair man on the morning the crime took
place.
Inspectors Corrasa and Stanton were as-
signed to that investigation. They soon
SRE Se:
ie Land tes
learned that the radio re airman himself
could not have committed the crime, but :
that he had in his employ a young helper
who had been to that particular apartment
on a previous occasion. That man’s name
was George Croft.
Corrasa and Stanton kept the suspect
under constant surveillance and even
dropped by the radio shop to talk with
the proprietor about the progress of the
investigation so Croft could hear what
was being said.
Engler and Husted were in constant
touch with the two detectives on the new
murder case because of a possible tie-in
with the Cousins mystery. They picked
up their ears sharply when. it was learned
that George Croft answered the vague de-
scription the Nob Hill storekeeper had
furnished of the man she had seen with
the girl she believed to be Blanche
Cousins.
The homicide squadmen couldn’t move
in on the new suspect because Corrasa
and Stanton were not ready to do so
themselves. These latter officers were quite
sure Croft was their man, but they wanted
to have an iron-clad case before making
the arrest. They were using psychology by
visiting the shop where the suspect worked,
letting him hear things about the investi-
gation they wanted him to hear, and soften-
ing him up for the inevitable pinch.
Engler and Husted worked on the theory
that since the two murders took -place in
the same general vicinity and the radio
man answered the only. description they
had, perhaps he had struck up an acquaint-
anceship with Blanche Cousins. Then he’d
been invited to her apartment for dinner,
——
at which time he
vances, and the
had played a m
The two detecti:
sins case had to
rasa and Stant
By the time
picked George
lected much con:
the prisoner’s |
where he readi
murder.
He hadn’t ac:
woman’s apartir
day of the m
bad prepared b
knew she was
day time. He hi
negligee and se
her. He had g<
his boss had fir
woman let him
him,e and he
additional work
When she resis
Croft killed he:
After that cc
ted went to
Blanche Cousin
The radio re
hours of questi:
in his denials «
June 15th mur
“J read all at
Croft told his
surprised that :
that case. If
it I'd tell you
death anyway.
kill that Cousir
Engler and |
They rushed t
fectionery stor
been seen wit
description. -
“TVe’ve got
.who has alre
der,” they tok
he’s guilty in.
‘strong possibi
We want you
police line-up
The confec
panied the hc
ters. George
neath the. str
men of simila
The witnes
carefully.
Finally she
said. “I don’
man I saw.
The detect
blown up. T
and the confe
him out.. T
to connect t
similarity anc
' The next t
July when a
a woman in
50 miles sou
town of Idat
A man ha
home there,
of a neighb:
victim and n
Screams v
lice rushed
sailant as he
gave his na
Francisco w
Engler an
and found np
when they |
tioned the a
the prisoner
Fingerpri:
time loser {
second-stor)
The two
FRAO ser aa
\ the opening left =e
ng for a chance
ll prisoners were
accounted for.
disastrous break
ad grin on Sher-
only long enough
everything was
the construction
\¢ sleep of those
he hole in the
rior Judge L. J.
‘e guilty of mur-
d guilty of rob-
e sentenced him
r the term pre-
very charge, and
targe. The sen-
cutively. Isaiah
aly of robbery,
no San Quentin.
charges against
the gang were
NS
be Blanche
couldn’t move
cause Corrasa
dy to do so
ers were quite
it they wanted
vefore making
psychology by
ispect worked,
ut the investi-
ar, and soften-
le pinch.
on the theory
took -place in
nd the radio
scription they
> an acquaint-
is. Then he’d
at for dinner,
Pee tease 4 oe Re
caf
J
Li
Be
id
at which time he had, made improper ad-
vances, and the murder followed. Rape
had played a major role in both crimes.
The two detectives assigned to the Cou-
sins case had to bide theif time until Cor-
rasa and Stanton moved in, however.
By the time these latter two officers
picked George Croft up, they had col-
lected much conclusive evidence and worn
the prisoner’s nerves down to a- point
where he readily confessed the second
murder.
He hadn’t acompanied his boss to the
woman’s apartment .on the repair job the
day of the murder, but previous visits
bad prepared him for a later visit. He
knew she was always alone there in the
day time. He had also seen her in a flimsy
negligee and set his mind on possessing
her. He had gone to her apartment after
his boss had finished there and left. The
woman let him in because she recognized
him,e and, he explained that there was
additional work to be done on the radio.
When she resisted his advances, George
Croft killed her.: ;
After that confession, Engler and -Hus-
ted went to work on him about the
Blanche Cousins case.
The radio repairman was weary from
hours of -questioning, but he was adamant
in his denials of any connection with the
June 15th murder. _
“T read all about that one in the papers,”
Croft told his questioners, “and I’m not
surprised that you’re trying to tie me into
that case. If I had anything to do with
it I'd tell you. I’m going to be put to
death anyway. But the truth is, I didn’t
kill that Cousins woman.”
Engler and Husted didn’t take his word.
They rushed to the California Street con-
fectionery store where the slain girl had
been seen with a man answering Croft’s
description. -
“TVe’ve got a suspect in the Cousins case
.who has already confessed to one mur-
der,” they told the proprietor. “We know
he’s guilty in. one instance, and there’s a
-strong possibility that he’s a double killer.
We want you to try to pick him out of the
police line-up for us.”
The confectionery-store woman accom-
panied the homicide officers to headquar-
ters. George Croft was paraded out be-
neath the. strong lights with seven other
men of similar age, height and appearance.
The witness looked all the men over
carefully.
Finally she shook her head. “No,” she
said. “I don’t believe any of them is the
man I saw. He was better looking.”
The detectives knew another lead had
blown up. They had the prisoner’s denial,
and the confectionery woman couldn’t pick
him out.. There was absolutely’ nothing
to connect the two murders except their
similarity and locale. -"
’ The next break in the case came late in
July when a vicious attack was made on
a woman in Pocatello, Idaho, a city some
50 miles south of Blanche Cousins’ home.
town of Idaho Falls.
A man had attacked a housewife in her
home there, and only for the quick actions
of a neighbor would have murdered the
victim and made his getaway. \
_ Screams were heard, however, and po-
lice rushed to the scene to catch the as-
sailant as he ran through a cornfield. He
gave his name as Henry Yost—and San
Francisco was his home! :
Engler and Husted checked the records
and found nothing on such a person. But
when they hurried to Pocatello and ques-
tioned the attacker they soon learned that
the prisoner was lying on all points.
Fingerprints identified him as a three-
time loser from.Los Angeles. He was a |
second-story man who was on parole.. .
Nala? 0 halle
plus:
The two San Francisco. officers ques- |
“STRANGER
- THAN FICTION
ICE-TONG
DOCTOR
By CARL JUDSON
CORPSE IN
THE MIRROR
By MARK STEVENS
HEADQUARTERS.
DETECTIVE.
Mee
rs
ONCaeLs
nee
many more thrilling, true-crime
stories and special features, all
illustrated with actual photo-
: graphs of cops, corpses and crim-
inals, taken from official files.
Don't miss the October issue
of HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE.
AT ALL N
TRUE CASES FROM THE POLICE BLOTTER
are real-life true stories of crimes for passion and profit, taken
directly from police blotters and brought to you by the world’s
best fact-detective writers. You get them monthly in HEADQUAR-
TERS DETECTIVE magazine—such gripping, action-packed
tales of sleuths and hunted criminals as the following, from
the great October issue of HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE:
au
| was a fairly respectable doctor until Peggy Wil-
liams came along. She was blonde, beautiful, young
—and before | knew it | was a racket doctor, peddling
morphine prescriptions, performing abortions, treat-
ing wounded criminals, signing phony death certifi-
cates, selling my talent and training like ‘any other
crooked huckster."
Read the inside story on the lucrative “ice-tong”
racket in the great October issue of HEADQUARTERS
DETECTIVE, on sale at all newsstands.
Bronde Mary Alice faced life with a passionate hon-
esty and the courage and determination to solve her
own problems, to pay for her own mistakes and to
bend life to her will. But what good were courage
and. determination against the blinding force of a
.22 caliber bullet? Where could she find the strength
to resist the terrific onslaught of a powerful, jealous
fiend? Read the outcome of this tense duel between
a strong woman and Fate, get all the facts in the
October issue of HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE.
HERDQUARTERS
wean a>
gun . be: Pe
WOO) HEADOUARTERS
/
EW
ie
SSTANDS NOW
Scene Ra
tioned him for hours about the Blanche
Cousins murder case. He answered the
general description of. the man they were
seeking, but they couldn't tie up his finger-
prints with any of those found in the
murder apartment,
In the end, they left him with Poca-
tello officers who charged him with assault.
And once again, Engler and Husted were
right back where they started from.
URING the next weeks these two
officers investigated murder and assault
cases as far north as Portland, Oregon,
and as far south as San Diego. All trails
led to nowhere. : .
San Francisco itself had been quiet
since that second murder in: the Nob Hill
section. That one had been solved. Only
the Blanche Cousins case remained open.
Headquarters and the District Attorney’s
office told Engler and Husted to stay
with it.
Every once in a while the newspapers
would run a feature story outlining the es-
sential facts of the unsolved case and
asking any reader who had information
unknown to police to come forward with it.
It was because of such a story that
Benjamin Richter, a second-hand clothes
dealer, walked into headquarters on the
morning of September 3rd.
He had a pair of men’s trousers over his
arm, and he asked to see the detectives
working on the Blanche Cousins murder
investigation.
When the man was ushered into the
“homicide office and stood facing the two
detectives he said: “I’ve been reading
about that poor girl who was murdered
up on Nob Hill. The newspapers say it’s
still unsolved. They ask anybody who
knows anything about it -or comes into
possession of a bloodstained garment to
contact you men. That’s the reason why
I’m here.” :
Then he spread the trousers out on
the desk and pointed to several large crim-
son stains across the front.
“’'m a second-hand clothes dealer,” he
told them, “and I know a lot about stains.
That’s blood.”
Engler and Husted agreed with him,
but only tests would prove whether this
was or was not human blood.
“Where did you get these trousers?”
Engler asked.
The second-hand clothes man said he
had bought a big bundle from an apart-
ment house superintendent over on Pacific
Avenue. “I didn’t examine the clothes at
the time,” he added. “I simply made a
price and the seller took it. It wasn’t until
I got back to my shop that I noticed the
stains, I’d read the newspaper stories,
so I decided that I’d better come over
here right away.”
Men from the Medical Examiner’s Office
were called in to make precipitin tests.
“They will tell us whether it’s human
blood,” Engler said to Richter. “In the
meantime you can give us the name and
address of,.the apartment-house superin-
tendent who sold you the stuff.”
Richter did. °
ESS than half an hour later, Detectives
Husted and Engler-wére told that the
blood was definitely human. They thanked
Benjamin Richter for bringing the evi-
dence to them and asked him to say noth-
ing to anyone until they had time to in-
vestigate. Then they hurried to the Pacific
Avenue address.
“This can be the break we’ve been wait-
ing for,” Husted said as Engler drove
toward the Nob Hill district. “We know
Pacific runs parallel with Califorrfia Street,
and the two street numbers throw the apart-
ment houses in the same general area. At
least that’s something.”
pen
Wak i
\
The Pacific Avenue apartment-house
superintendent was on duty when the de-
tectives arrived. They didn’t tell him any
of the details about why they were there.
They merely showed him the trousers and
asked where he got them. ;
“I can’t tell you for certain,” the man
answered, “We have fifteen apartments
here. Tenants leave garbage: and other
waste outside the doors, and we -pick it
up. Sometimes they even take the stuff
to the basement themselves. We provide
cans and bags for that. I can’t be positive
who threw those pants away.”
Engler said: “This is important. I want
you to describe every man in this building.
Start out with those in their late twenties
or early thirties, but name them all.”
The superintendent did. When, he fin-
ished, there were just 22 names. Engl¢t
and Husted narrowed this list down quickly.
The only man who even came close to
fitting the description furnished by the Cali-
fornia Street confectionery woman was one
named Albert Walter, Jr.
“He took an apartment here early in
June,” the superintendent told the investi-
gators. “He’s a quiet, well-mannered young
man. I think he comes from New York
City.” ,
Detectives Engler and Husted éxchanged
significant looks. They both knew that
Blanche Cousins had ‘also arrived in San
Francisco early in June. They also knew
that if Albert Walter, Jr. had come to
California from: New York, there was a
strong posibility that he. passed through
Salt Lake City. And if he’d taken a bus
he could have met Blanche Cousins en
route,
The superintendent was told to say noth-
ing to anyone about the investigation.
Engler and Husted had been on the case
a long time. They’ weren’t going to rush
into anything fast at that late date. That's
why they watched Albert Walter, Jr. for
several days before they even had the
confectionery woman look at him.
Thg man ‘was in his late twenties, He
had a*job in a downtown department store.
He kept regular hours and there didn’t
seem to be anything untoward about any
of his actions. But that didn’t stop Engler
and Husted. They had the apartment-house
superintendent let them into young Wal-
ter’s apartment while he was away. Inside
they found the coat to match the blood-
stained trousers.
The confectionery woman was contacted,
and she took a look at the suspect one day
when he left the apartment.
“That’s the man!” she whispered. “I’m
positive! He has no hat on now. He
didn’t when I saw him with that’ girl.
That’s the one, all right. I’d hate to say
so if I wasn’t sure.”
Both Engler and Husted knew they
didn’t have too much to go on. The whole
thing would depend on fingerprints. If
Walter’s matched any of those found
in Blanche Cousins’ apartment, they'd
really have something. If not, they’d have
to start all over again.
- They discussed all phases of the case
with Assistant District Attorney McMahon
before picking up Albert Walter Jr. When
they did, everything was in readiness.
The arrest was made on September 7th,
1936, when the suspect started out for
work one morning. He did not seem
overly surprised when told that he would
be questioned in connection -with the
Blanche Cousins case.
All he said was: “I read about the mur-
der in the papers. It happeried two weeks
after my arrival in San Francisco. I’ve
never seen Blanche Cousins.”
The young man stood by his story even
after the confectionery woman picked him
out of the line-up, But when fingerprint
men reported that prints found in the
aE Pee,
Be
Laie. : ;
RR <4 Sey oonpeige an ods nrhay NAIR YS dlalthcat De Soy Be Renae Be cp tees ;
SERA bi Pe oan tS ie inti. ROTOR SET he EBERT SESSLER SOR es A OE one
California murder apartment matched his
perfectly, Albert Walter Jr. started smoking
one cigarette right after the other and
making long explanations that had little
or nothing to do with the case.
Inspectors Corrasa and Stanton took
turns questioning the prisoner with Engler
and Husted and McMahon. They could
get a little rest in between. The suspect
couldn’t.
They repeated the evidence of the blood
on the trousers, the identification and the
fingerprints. They checked up on exactly
bow Walter had made the trip from New
York to California. It was by bus—and he
passed through Salt Lake City at approxi-
mately the same time Blanche Cousins did!
_ “You met that girl on the bus,” Engler
told him. “She sat beside you. You talked
with her and found out she had no friends
in San Francisco. You didn’t have any
friends in this city, either. You asked
her if you could see her after she got settled
in San Francisco. She consented. »You
accepted her hospitality. Then you wanted
to make love to her. When she refused
you murdered her! Well, we know that
much. You can deny it, of course, which
won't change the facts any, for we’re con-
fident we’re in a position to prove them.
Didn’t you murder her?”
Albert Walter Jr. stood up under this
line of questioning for one full day, then
he broke.
“Yes,” he admitted. “That’s the way it
happened. I met her when the bus stopped -
in Salt Lake City.» We got to talking. I'd
been to San Francisco before and was able
to tell her something about where to look
for an apartment.
“We had dinner together that night of
June fifteenth. I helped her with the dishes,
then we sat down on the sofa. We were
alone, and I needed a woman. I’m married,
have a wife back in New York. I’m used
to having a woman. This girl didn’t want
to give in. When I get passionate I lose
control. I grabbed her throat and choked
her until she didn’t resist any more.
“I took down the folding bed and lifted
her onto it. I pulled off her sweater and
slacks and slip and threw them on the
floor. Then I—well, you know the rest,
I guess.”
When the confessed killer stopped talk-
ing Detective Husted asked: “Is that why
you killed her? Just to possess her?”
Albert Walter Jr. didn’t answer for a
long time. Finally he said: ‘I killed her
because I hate all women. When I was
fourteen years old I had an unfortunate
sex experience with a much older woman.
I was young and dumb. She took advantage
of me and gave me a terrible disease which
has wrecked my life and embittered me
against all women. I left New York be-
cause I was afraid I’d kill my wife.”
Albert Walter Jr. pleaded guilty before
Judge Lile T. Jacks in October, 1936.
Public Defender: Gerald Kenny tried to
get the plea set aside on grounds of in-
sanity, but three prominent alienists ex-
amined the confessed killer and found him
fit for trial.
“I only want to die as soon as possible,”
Walters repeated over and over again.
The jury of eight men and four women
took only half an hour to grant his wish.
Judge Jacks sentenced him to die on the
gallows at San Quentin.
Albert Walter Jr—the man who hated
women and ran away from one only to
kill another—was put to death by the State
of California on the morning of August
3rd, 1937.
Eprror’s Note: The name “Henry Yost”
used in the foregoing story is fictional.
This ex-convict was guilty of other crimes,
but had‘ no connection with the Blanche
Cousins murder.
ne 4
everyth
and for
eases, a)
Serious
culosis,
” ing fem:
ations <
policy i
insanity
derstan
The
yc
idden
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will st:
comes.
aoptien comma pagans a
at nlm Sega
STRANGLED
WITH HER OWN
“STOCKING
by Jack Rascob ~
Death rode the cross-country bus
with Blanche Cousins the day she
unwittingly made the acquaintance
14 of the man who hated all women
The pretty brunette made the mistake of talking to a stranger on the bus and wound up a nude corpse in a motel room.
XERUPXTAXEA hanged
VALTER, Albert,Jr., white 28, WAW##A San Quentin (San Francisco) on 12)=19 36.
AMAZING DETECTIVE, August, 1962,
# A WELL-DRESSED, good-looking young man entered
Inspector Alvin Corrasa’s office in San Francisco’s Hall of
Justice and stood before the officer’s desk.
“What can I do for you?” Corrasa said.
The young visitor hesitated momentarily. Inspector Cor- |
rasa studied him closely. There was nothing about him
to indicate anything except another young man seeking
routine police information.
“I want to report a murder,” ‘the youth said calmly.’ on
The inspector was a veteran in the department..He had
heard those words before. But this time they had been |
spoken in a different way. Corrasa had never heard anyone
speak them with so little emotion.
“If this is some kind of joke,” Corrasa snapped, “‘it. isn’t
very funny.” "
The youthful visitor assured him this was no joke. “I ©
killed a girl in her apartment last night,” he said. “I stran-
gled her. I’ll take you there.” eas
Bees reached for his hat and signaled Inspector
William Stanton to join them. It was nine-fifteeen on
the night of June 17th. On the street as they got into the
department car, the young man gave the address, 840 Cali- 4
fornia Street. “I didn’t know her very well,” he said. “I'll e
tell you about it when we get there.” He was still completely
nonchalant, and he remained impassive as, a short while
later, he led the two officers into the apartment. iB.
The girl was nude, lying on a bed. She was dead. Her «|=
head was drawn tautly back by a silk stocking which had
been knotted to the head of the bed. Her contorted face .%
gave grim evidence that she had died in agony. a
Disinterestedly, the man watched Corrasa phone head- 7
quarters. “Let’s have the story,” the inspector said as he =
replaced the instrument after placing a report of murder.
a Tb,
ca
Meccts,
arms.
#n directing the
maicse’ household
aresults of this
==-piled down into
arated booklet.
gects get you!
Force Base he’
hingthn, D. Sc,
4
of West Point,
fe) California {nj
ted in the first
's from Hamil-
Hawaiian Is-
‘reconnaisance
ulippines when
> first attacked |
His combat
“athe 49th Bom-}
mat Bataan and}
; n the Marianas |
\
Star with two
the Legion
uished Flying
-
ak Leaf Clus-
m@iedal with one
i
!
4
urngd to the
e headquarters
wren yr
1 davelopment! a Jarge number of federal
andiig offices |
»! trdining asa
? ends is the
_ indoors
3 injure lawns,
ak, clothing
any of them
Experts
g°-mmon House-
g 25 cents, plus
ts In coin for
oklet Common
¢Coupon——____
Alifornian
Marines,
have
yoek grants
a eee Te AUIS, comn ties
‘found it necessary
“employees are moved {nto areas
hand. use. community factlities,
The grant to Indian Wells
School is nece ssary because -of
the large number of children of
proraers at the Naval Ordnance
Test Station in China Lake.
FROM PRECEDING PAGE :
CRASH WITNESSES _
wrong was when I saw _ those
jblinking lights jn my mirror
;coming up behitid me real fast,’
the said. “I thought I'd better
iget Into the right lane and then
he hit me. My car went out of
‘ ~}control over the bank, dg
If decorations
Young and his “assengers,
Snirley Jane.Kendrick and Flor-
ence William3on, regained con-
sciousness in the vehicle at the
foot of the 200-foot embankment,
the car on its top. a:
Truck driver Ralph James JY.
of Lake Charles,
his truck was out of control for
about three miles. Twice he teld
his passengers Camp Pendleton
Alton Fitzgerald,. of
Fresno, and Robert
of Prineville, Ore., to jump from
the speeding: truck. Shortly after
they passed the bus, the truck
Struck a railing and Fitzgerald
leaped. Lieuallen finally jumped
clear when the truck came to a
stop against the Weddel car and
truck driven by Clark. ne
He could have been seriously
injured. In the -darkness’ ‘he
couldn’t see that the t~uck jutted|.
over the side of the road. He fell
75 feet into the: canyon; suffering
only cuts and bruises.
Clark, the driver of the trock
that finally stopped the torturous
run of the furniture moving van
expressed the Helolensnaas of un-
expected.
“T tried toiget over whee this
truck came bes my lane but I
couldn’t, he told Highway Pa-
trol officers. “After he rear-ended
my truck I heard this explosion
and I got out and ran around
to the back. I. could see every-
thing but there was nothing I
could do but stand there ag the
: famed eae into th the alr, eae
aS
pel
Usdeu in Was Communily,
Trade Club Board
to Meet Lins
The final spring meeting Ge the
Trade Club’s boar l of directors
will be held Tuesday morning at
La., reported! .
Lieualley)
the Hacienda Motel, Larry King,
head trader, reported today, Pur-
pose of the meeting will be to
review the June party and sea-
sonal financial reports. The club
will hold no. more parties” until
October, he sald.
The Tuesday session will be
opened with a breakfast-at 7:30
o’clock in the Staats Club
Room,
FROM PRECEDING acea.
WARD TO DIE
mont, near Bakersfield, ending a
quarrel which developed as Ward
tried to see his estranged wife,
Bobbie, ‘ho had -fled to. Mrs. |
Parris’ home. The Wards had an
infant son. |
Ward entered San Quentin
prison’s death row. on Oct 28,
W675
He carried his petitions fo he
U.S. Supreme Court, ‘which on
March 23 denied a hearing on’ his
appeal for a rev'ew.! He con-
tended a‘ California law passed
after he was charged with: the
murders allowed use of. former
jail records as evidence in assess-
ing his penalty of death. “Ward
argued.. this was") an improper
use of highly peuprioninees? | in-
formation. ~~
On Wednesday US.
peal. Thursday Chief Judse 9 i
ter L. Pope of the U.S. Cou
Appeals denied him. plea for a
stay of. execution and a. hohe of
habeas corpus. Poteet
Judge Pope also refused te en-
tertain Ward’s petition foy ap-
peal from the U.S. District Bourt
order of Wednesday. a
Nasser Visits | Selas
CAIRO (UPI) — United . rab
Republic. President Ganval - bdel
Nasser , and visiting © Emperor
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia | con-
ferred yesterday fér more than
oe an Bene, on 5 poce affaira.’ fe
j\iadson, 37,* of Van Nuys; wiio
Irecelved a shoulder injury. The
aceldent occurred 17 milrss north
of Mojave. Her husband Robert,
38, was uninjured in the accident.
Some 24 trailers were blown
off the highway, and tn Mojave
la big plate ‘glass window at the
Western Unlon Office was blown
in. Many: television antennae,
fences, and other equipment were
damaged. |
Car Port Damaged
In a new housing subdivision,
County Modern at Mojave, a car
port roof blew off. Trees were
stripped of leaves, and houses
were: filled with dust. . House-
wives Hterally swept dunes of
dust from their homes following
the storm.
The Southern California Edison
Co. crew worked most of the night
as the high winds whipped power},
lines causing shorts and blackouts
ae Mojave several times.
| Mojave, Randsburg and Ed-
wards received the brunt of the
storm, according to reports early
today. Randsburg and Johannes-
burg had high winds and dust, but
with nof too much damage. Winds
were strong at Tehachapl, but;
were not of damaging strength.
Winds up to 35 miles per hour
were reported at Lake Isabella
yesterday and all boats were off
the lake. The lake - operations
were closed again today as
winds began to mount again to
a 35 mph level.
Cold Front in Kera
Ray Randall, chief forecaster
at the. United States Weather Bu-
tfreau at Meadows Field said that}
the strong desert winds were the
result of “a cold front moving
through Kern County. When it
met the hot desert air strong
ground gradient pressure was
formed and the high cai re-
sulted. %
Thomas Jarvis, manager ok the!
Bakersfield office, Pacific Tele
phone and ‘Telegraph Co., said
that at Mojave some. damage was
caused by winds to the telephone
cable, facilities in the area. No’
damage occurred to main trunk
Hnes from Mojave. Fsolated cases
of telephone Service being inter-
rupted because of broken wires|™
causéd by flying sagen were re-
ui
oy:
Ported, Se said.”
She 3
yo
WARD, Cecil Herman, white, asphyxiated SQ (Kern) on 6=26-lypy.
PEOPLE v. WARD
Cal. 777
Cite as 828 P.2d 777
The PEOPLE of the State of California,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
Vv.
Cecil Herman WARD, Defendant and
Appellant.
Cr. 6203.
Supreme Court of California,
In Bank.
Aug. 19, 1958.
Rehearing Denied Sept. 17, 1958.
Defendant was convicted in Superior
Court, Kern County, Gordon L. Ilowden,
J., of first degree murder, and he appealed.
The Supreme Court, Shenk, J., held that the
statute providing for proceedings, after
verdict in capital cases, for purpose of
determining whether punishment should be
death or life imprisonment, merely altered
conditions deemed necessary for orderly
and just conduct of criminal trials, and did
not deprive defendant, who was tried after
effective date of statute for homicide com-
mitted before such date, of any substantial
personal right within meaning of constitu-
tional prohibitions of ex post facto laws.
Judgment and order affirmed.
1. Homicide ¢=253(1)
Evidence sustained conviction for first
degree murder. West’s Ann.Pen.Code, §§
187, 189.
2. Constitutional Law C197
Generally, any law passed after com-
mission of offense for which party is be-
ing tried is an “ex post facto law”, when
it inflicts a greater punishment than the law
annexed to the crime at time it was com-
mitted, or alters situation of accused to his
disadvantage. West’s Ann.Const. art. 1,
$ -16;.°U.S.C.A.Const. art. 1,-3 49,. cl. 3.
See publication Wordg and Phrases,
for other judicial constructions and defi-
nitions of “Ix Post Facto Law”.
3. Constitutional Law C199
Changes which may be designated as
procedural do not, as a rule, come within
ex post facto doctrine, but that in itself
is not the true test. West’s Ann.Const.
$28 P.2d—49%4
{
sabaaitan ab dt tee ait Abie
Sa
art. 1, 8°16; ‘U.S.C.A.Const. art. 1, $-9,
a He
4. Constitutional Law C203
Criminal Law C1206(1)
Statute providing for proceedings, after
verdict in capital cases, for purpose of de-
termining whether punishment should be
death or life imprisonment, merely altered
conditions deemed necessary for orderly
and just conduct of criminal trials and did
not deprive defendant, tried after effective
date of statute for homicide committed be-
fore such date, of any substantial personal
right within meaning of constitutional pro-
hibitions of ex post facto laws. West’s
Ann.Pen.Code, § 190.1; West’s Ann.Const.
art. 1, § 16; U.S.C.A.Const. art. 1, § 9,
Gli oi
5. Criminal Law €=829(3)
In murder prosecution, defendant could
not complain that certain of his offered in-
structions relating to elements of murder
in first degree were not given by court,
where court properly instructed jury as to
elements of crime charged and adequately
covered points of law included by defend-
ant in his proposed instructions,
6. Criminal Law C=655/1)
In murder prosecution, court did not
err in stating to jury, at beginning of trial,
that evidence would be taken rclating to
defendant’s previous record, where court
explained that he used word “record” not
to imply that defendant had bad record,
but in reference to defendant’s background.
7. Criminal Law C796
In murder prosecution, statement by
court advising jury that a prisoner sen-
tenced either to death or life imprisonment
may be pardoned or have his sentence re-
duced by governor, and that prisoner serv-
ing life sentence may be paroled but not
until he has served at least seven years,
was not objectionable.
8. Criminal Law ©=796
In murder prosecution, instruction that,
with respect to penalty, no burden of proof
is cast upon the people or the defendant
to show by any particular quantum of evi-
CA Ee I Aga SOE te. abe pe i tla Ra A a bk, ae Bae Je GRR Mae ew a eM
tem,
aa
aes
Y YO AUS
ig
SPECS ove
?
778 Cal.
dence which penalty should be imposed by
jury, sufficiently advised jurors that ques-
tion of penalty was matter resting within
their sole discretion. West’s Ann.Pen.
Code, § 190.
9. Criminal Law C@117I(1)
In murder prosecution, conduct of
district attorney in referring, while attempt-
ing to introduce photographs into record,
to “appellate courts’, was not prejudicial,
as against defendant’s contention that right
of appeal was not proper subject for con-
sideration by jury, and that remarks were
intended to induce jury to place lighter
estimate on their duties than otherwise
would have been indicated.
10. Criminal Law ©=706, 1171(1)
In murder prosecution, conduct of
district attorney in offering defendant’s
wife as witness for prosecution, to which
offer defendant’s objection was sustained,
was improper and unwarranted, but in
consideration of entire record was not so
seriously reprehensible as to require re-
West’s Ann.Pen.Code, § 1322.
versal.
—_———»———
Robert A. Farrell and J. Richard Thomas,
Bakersfield, for appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., and Wil-
liam E. James, Deputy Atty. Gen., for
respondent.
SHENK, Justice.
This is an appeal from a judgment im-
posing the death penalty after verdicts find-
ing that the defendant was guilty of murder-
ing Nell and Brenda Parris as charged in
two counts of an indictment and that the
murders were of the first degree. Iollow-
ing these verdicts proceedings were then
taken pursuant to section 190.1 of the Penal
Code for the purpose of determining the
punishment. The penalty of death was im-
posed as to each count. Thereafter, on
his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity
as to each count, the defendant was found
to be sane at the time of the commission
of the offenses. A motion for a new trial
or modification of the judgment was de-
nied.
328 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES
It appears that during the afternoon of
August 18, 1957, the defendant procured a
gun. Prior to that time he had made state-
ments concerning his intention to kill mem-
bers of his wife’s family. At about 8:30
he appeared at the back door of the home
of Nell Parris, his mother-in-law. In addi-
tion to the deferdant’s wife, Bobbie Ward,
and their infant son, there was present in
the house at that time Brenda Parris, who
was the 13-year old sister of Bobbie. The
defendant demanded that his wife leave the
premises with him. Upon her refusal to do
so he broke in the back door. His wife
fled by way of the front door. The de-
fendant pursued and caught up with her a
few hundred feet away. During his pur-
suit an automobile driven by Joe Shatto
arrived on the scene. In addition to Mr.
Shatto the automobile was occupied by Nell
Parris, by Mrs. Shatto who was the sister of
Nell Parris, and by three children. Mrs.
Shatto got out of the car and approached
the defendant and his wife. The defend-
ant had a revolver in his hand and threaten-
ed to kill his wife if she would not go with
him. All three persons returned to the
house and the defendant and his wife went
in. She asked for time to get ready to
leave and upon the defendant’s refusal to
grant her request she again ran out of the
house and away from the premises the de-
fendant following her. Nell Parris alighted
from the automobile for the declared pur-
pose of telephoning the police, and Brenda
Parris came out of the house and was enter-
ing the automobile with the defendant’s
infant son in her arms. The defendant
approached the automobile and stated that if
his wife would not come with him he would
shoot Brenda. Without further delay he
put the gun close to her head and shot her.
Thereupon Nell Parris attempted to strike
him with her hand and he shot her also.
Ile fired several shots into her body as
Both Nell and
Brenda Parris died as a result of the gun-
she lay on the ground.
shot wounds so inflicted. The defendant
was apprehended shortly after the homi-
cides, and at about 3:30 the following morn-
ing made a statement in which he admitted
+H
PEOPLE v. WARD Cal. 779
Cite as 328 P.2d 777
that he procured the gun for the purpose
of killing his wife, and that he shot Nell
Parris and someone he thought to be
Brenda.
The defendant was represented at the
trial by appointed counsel. Ile did not
testify in his own defense. Following the
verdicts of guilty on the issues raised by
the pleas of not guilty, the trial proceeded
before the same jury for a determination of
the penalties. After the verdicts were re-
turned fixing the penalty at death the trial
again proceeded before the same. jury on
the issues raised by the pleas of not guilty
by reason of insanity. The jury reccived
the evidence of three medical examiners
appointed by the court, and, as stated, found
the defendant to have been sane at the
time the offenses were committed.
[1] The defendant contends
elaboration that there is insufficient evi-
dence to warrant a conviction of first de-
gree murder on either count. That conten-
tion is without merit. There can be no
question as to the identity of the perpetra-
tor of the crimes or that the offenses were
committed “with malice aforethought.”
Pen.Code, § 187. The question then for the
jury was whether the defendant had acted
with deliberation and premeditation. Pen.
Code, § 189. There was ample evidence of
his intention formulated prior to the time
he arrived at the premises to take a life or
lives of members of his wife’s family and
of an intention continuing to the time of
the homicides. Those intentions were dis-
closed by evidence on the part of numerous
witnesses of the defendant’s actions and of
his direct threats. There was no substan-
tial evidence to contradict the showing of
premeditation and deliberation. The ver-
dicts are supported by overwhelming evi-
dence, ‘
The defendant contends that trying him
pursuant to the provisions of section 190.1
of the Penal Code constituted the imposi-
tion of an ex post facto law as to the of-
fenses charged and was in violation of the
state Constitution. Art. I, § 16; see also
United States Constitution, art. I, § 9, cl.
3, to the same effect. Section 190.1 was
without
added to the Penal Code by Statutes 1957,
page 3509. It became effective on Septem-
ber 11, 1957, after the commission of the
offenses charged but prior to the trial,
The section provides in its pertinent parts:
“The guilt or innocence of every person
charged with an offense for which the pen-
alty is in the alternative death or imprison-
ment for life shall first be determined,
without a finding as to penalty. If such
person has been found guilty of an offense
punishable by life imprisonment or death,
there shall thereupon be further proceed-
ings on the issue of penalty, and the trier
of fact shall fix the penalty. Evidence may
be presented at the further proceedings on
the issue of penalty, of the circumstances
surrounding the crime, of the defendant’s
background and history, and of any facts in
aggravation or mitigation of the penalty.
The determination of the penalty of life
imprisonment or death shall be in the dis-
cretion of the court or jury trying the is-
sue of fact on the evidence presented, and
the penalty fixed shall be expressly stated
If the
defendant has pleaded not guilty by reason
in the decision or verdict. * * *
of insanity at the time of commission of the
offense, the trier of fact, after the deter-
mination of the penalty, shall thereupon
determine whether or not defendant was
sane at the time of commission of such of-—
fense. * * * If the defendant was con-
victed by a jury, the trier of fact on the
issue of penalty and the issue of sanity,
if any, shall be the same jury * * *,”
No contention is made that proceedings
were. not taken in accordance with the
above provisions of the Penal Code.
[2,3] In general, “any law which was
passed after the commission of the offence
for which the party is being tried is an
ex post facto law when it inflicts a greater
punishment than the law annexed to the
crime at the time it was committed [cita-
tions]; or which alters the situation of the
accused to his disadvantage * * *,”
In re Medley, 134 U.S. 160, 171, 10 S.Ct.
384, 387, 33 L.Ed. 835. Changes which
may be designated as procedural do not,
as a rule, come within the ex post facto
sap AEDS ME NID
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