Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-14
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION.
The People VS.. David Baveridge and Jo-
seppe Dematti.

|
was resumed at 10 A. NJ. yesterday at the
Justices Courtroom Oh Seventh street, to
which place it was transferred from the room
of the County Court A large number of
witnesses and spectators were present, and
considerable interest was manifested in the
case.
The examination of Robert Fincher was
resumed He testified that on Thursday, the
9th of November Kelsey Holiday called on
him, and. stated that he had learned from
Charles Hallen (who was the man subse
quently murdered) that number of witness
sheep had been disposed of by Beverage to
a butcher, and he arranged with HOLIDAY for
an interview with Halen at his cabin on that
day, and thew went to Hallen's cabin at 4
o'clock, in order that
FULL STATEMENT
Might be obtained. Holiday then asked Hal
! len if he knew whether he had any of witness
sheep. objection being here made the Ian
guage of deceased was ruled out. But on
the information thus obtained witness after
ward made search. On the 2Sth of Novem-
Der witness went to Mounch's residence.
where Bevelidge resided, and went to the
barn and found among some pelts one with
his brand on it, and on this the brand was so
dim he could not tell definitely. He then
went to Mounchs house and asked if Bever-
idge had sold any of witness sheep to the
butcher Afterwards Beverage came out,
and witness asked him II he had brought
! down from the mountains any OF his sheep
with his (Beveridge'sl, and Beveridge replied
! that he had not to his knowledge. but there
was stray lamb in the band. Mounch and
witness then went to the barn and examined
the pelts, and agreed that one was from a
sheep belonging to witness.
KELSEY HOLIDAY
Was next called, and testified that he had
been in the employ of Mounch for some six
| years, up to Monday preceding the murder,
| at which time he had a slight disagreement
with Mounch's wife and he quit working
there and went to the residence of George n.
Makee. He testified that deceased had init
mated to him that Beverage had sold some
of Finchers sheep, and that deceased stated
that fact to Fincher. He then described,
with much particularly, his whereabouts
from the time he was at Hallen's cabin, two
days before the murder, until the day subse-
quent. This testimony was to meet the
course of examination on the part of defend
ants attorney which sought to point to this
witness as the party who had actually COM
mitted the crime, instead of the defendants
Witness first heard of the murder at CLAY
herders He returned to Makee's the same
evening and went to the cabin where Mounch's
herders stayed and asked if they had any
news, and Joe Dematti said, Nothing all
right" A young man by name of Beard
spoke and said there was bad news, when
Dematti remarked that Hallen had been
found dead with
HOLE IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD.
Witness next morning went to Hallen's cabin
| in company with George Makee, and after
wards, on same day; was there at Coroner's
INQUEST and signed the verdict as one of the
! Jurors, although he was not sworn, and did
! not know that he was considered as juror,
and only signed because he supposed they
wanted his signature as corroborating that
! the facts it contained were correct When
witness first went to the cabin on Sunday
morning Hallen was lying on his bunk, as he
was frat found; was lying on his right side
with blanket over him up to his shoulders,
and with one foot out, on which there
was stocking. His head was lying towards
| the wall in the corner. l saw blood on the
pillow and some OH the side rail of the bed
| don't think the blood could have run from
where his head lay to the edge of the bed
where it was on the rail. 1t looked as if it
had been smirched there. He saw some
blood also on the wall in front of deceased's
head and level with it, and also there was
BLOOD ON THE FLOOR
| Under the bunk. He described the position
of the bunk on which deceased lay, as in the
southwest corner of the cabin, with another
| bunk Immediately above it. One end of the
| bunk was Immediately in the corner, and the
! other within a short distance of the window
The foot was at the window. The cabin was
| Y by 16 feet. and contained two hunks and
another bed in another part of the room,
table and stove. In the position the de-
ceased lay witness could not see the wound
in the head without moving the clothing,
which he did not feel at liberty to do until
after the inquest. He afterwards saw that
| looking in through the window from the out
side he could see about half way up the bed
where the deceased lay. He saw no cords
about the cabin. He heard some one pro-
| pose at the inquest to burn everything up
| they found there, but could not say who it
was. Nothing was burned.
| GEORGE N Make
Was next called. Resides about p miles
! from the cabin of deceased Holiday and
Fincher came to his house on Wednesday pre-
c9ding the murder, and Holiday remained
there that night and several succeeding
nights he corroborated Holidays statement
as to his whereabouts all the time, from the
day he (Hobday) was at Hallen's cabin and
had the interview until after the homicide
said that he remained at HIS house every
] night, and was with him on Saturday morn
ing until he went to Clay Station, where the
news of the murder was. first known to Hob
day he went with Holiday Sunday to the
scene Of the homicide Immediately after
breakfast; they met Beverage at the corral
near the cabin, and went to the cabin to-
gether he described the appeara" ces within
the cabin similarly as that given by Holiday;
the face of deceased was lying some four or
five inches from the wall, near the corner and
facing towards the wall he tried to see the
| bullet-hole in the head of deceased, bat could
not. without moving the clothing.
THE BODY WAS COVERED
With Quilt except the head and lower part
of one leg. His description OF the marks of
blood were the same as those already given,
with the addition that the pool underneath
the bed had run out upon the floor and under
some empty barley sacks which lay upon the
floor He slid he examined to find marks
of burning from powder, but could see none.
He had a talk with Beveridge on that occa-
sion, who stated that on Friday morning he
started out to Halens cabin for the purpose
of bringing il the sheep to he dipped or
something of that kind that he found the
door locked and the dogs fastened in the
cabin. and supposed Halien had gone for the
sheep and locked the dogs up SO they would
not run among Tue Sue6p lie tilSi WsIlJ utter
the sheep and found them on Mr. Taverner's
ranch. He drove the sheep TO the corral,
where he arrived after dark, and after having
secured the pck went to the cabin, and find
ing it still locked and the dogs inside, took a
pick and
BROKE OPEN THE DOOR
By drawing the staple. He then went in
but finding no matches, went to the bunk to
see if the blankets were there, aud put his
hand upon the edges Of the bed, but did not
feel to see if any was there. Finding the
blankets were not gone, he returned to
Mounch's. He stated that his reason for
opening the door was because 1.-THE dogs
wanted out" The next morning at daylight
he and Mouuch and Dematti went in search
of Halen. under the belief that he had been
seized with sickness and was lying out
When Beveridge reached the cabin he found
Halen dead, and supposed he had been killed
for his money. as he knew he had been car
rying four or FIVE twenty-dolar pieces on his
person.
THOMAS steel,
A merchant and farmer at Clay Station, was
next placed upon the stand, and said that the
next Monday, he thought, after the boni-
| eide Dematti was at witness store, and in
reply to a question concerning the murder,
I stated that he thought some tramp had killed
the deceased for his money; that deceased
| often made boasts of having money, and was
{ Dragging about money, and HalleH was kind
| of foolish and had probably made some re-