Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-01-04
MORE LIGHT,
HARDLY A DOUBT BUT McCON.
KEY WAS MURDERED.

ShOC AbOWn Ia SOIu ftiOOn IOf Money
The Murderer Probably - Neigh.
bora Review of the Surrounding
circumstances.
Further light, involving the much de-
sired details of the tragedy at Hamilton,
were received, last evening, through W.
E. Griffin and John IL. McGrath, who
| returned thence to Eureka at 8 O'Clock
P. NJ, and still later from Il. Sadler, who
sent a special telegram to the SENTINEL at
Z o'clock.
A COLI FLOODED MURDER.
From Messrs. Griffin and McGrath we
learn that the universal opinion in Hamil'
ton is now that McConkey was murdered
in cold blood and robbed; and that the
deed was done by somebody who lives in
Hamilton, and is perfectly familiar with
the premises in which the killing took
place and with McConkey's business habits.
There was no motive for McConkey's com
hitting suicide. He was perfectly happy
in his family relations and iii every other
way. There was nothing to disturb him;
and on Monday, the day he was killed, he
wen about his business in his usual frame
of mind, exhibiting no dependency. He
talked about some mining property that
he owned or was interested in, and dis
cussed cheerfully his programme of work
for the ensuing year. He had a converse
ton with ex-Sheriff Raum in. which he
said: Elk up you licenses and all that.
We both go out of Office tomorrow. Let's
straighten up our accounts and turn over
everything in shape right away, etc." He
was cheerful and bright, and there was
not a thing unusual observable in his
manner or conversation. AS stated in
Grandelmeyer's letter, he went to the ball,
dressed for the occasion, was as lively
as could be, and gave no evidence of hav-
ing a single thought of trouble on his
mind. When Mrs. McConkey went to
rouse Jerome Mathewson, to have him
unlock the store door, the door was not
locked. She had tried the iron shutters,
but not being familiar with them she did
not know how to move them apart. The
shutters were merely closed and the inside
door was latched, but not locked. This
makes it clear that it may have been a
murder, as the murderer thus had an OPP
p%ortunity of escape after committing the
deed. The furniture in the apartment
was all in order. Not q chair or anything
else was out OF place..
HIS ACCOUNTS ALL STRAIGHT.
The county books were all open and
spread out on the Treasurer's desk, left
just as though he had been suddenly
killed while posting in the ledger. The
two safes mentioned were situated just in
the rear of the desk at which he is pre-
sumed to have been working. When shot
he fell over backwards Immediately, as a
man shot through tho heart naturally
would. Upon coming to the floor his
head struck between the safes and his feet
were towards the desk. In the post
mortem examination the ball was found
to have entered the left breast and, rang
ing downward, slightly passed through the
heart. 1t passed through the body and
the backbone and lodged in the muscles
of the back about two inches
lower down than it had entered.
The ball was examined and weighed
spects with the balls which remained in
the pistol.
THE PISTOL
Is a navy revolver of such great length
that it would lave been, it is thought, a
very awkward weapon for a man to shoot
himself with in the breast. The shooting |
q SN ttSIiti uohO uu NCly SlosO Huul |
for the coat and vest of the deceased were
burnt as though the pistol had been dis
charged with the muZzle near the body.
The pistol was not McConkey's, as has
been stated, nor did he have it on his
desk. 1t is one that used to lie on Mathew
sons desk in the grocery department Of
the store, some 90 feet or more from Nc
Conkey's desk and beyond the partition
which separated his office from the rest of
the store. The superstition is that this
pistol was taken by somebody entirely
familiar with all the surroundings, who
came softly upon McConkey while alb
sorbed in work over his books and shot
him down with one discharge. The pistol
was found lying some six or eight feet
away from the body, leaning against the
dashboard. The supposition is that it
must have been carefully put in position
there. A man shot through the heart
could not have thrown it that distance.
His hold was relaxed instsntaneously and
he dropped in his tracks as q bullock
Drained. There were, further, no marks
upon the floor such as would have been
made had the pistol been thrown to the
floor. Why did the murderer overlook
this useful precaution?
THE SLAYER IN THE CROWD.
Mr.. Griffin gives it as his opinion that
McConkey was murdered by some well
known neighbor, and that his murderer
was present in the crowd all day Tuesday,
when the investigation was going on.
Samuel Liddle, McConkey's successor to
the T~reasuryship, and enc of the Mathew
son brothers, were with McConkey the
afternoon before the killing, and saw in the
county safe stacks of $40 pieces, amount
ing to from 81 900 to 50, 500. When the
body was found this was all gone. There
was no money in sight, but two $40 pieces
and two four-bit pieces that were found
under or near by the corpse. The county
safe was wide open and apparently with no
money in it. Wells, Fargo i Co.'s safe
had the key in the lock, but the combina-
ton was on. Mr.. Griffin says that Nc
Conkey's account with Wells, Fargo & Co.
balanced to a quarter Of a dollar. Upon a
further and closer examination of the
county safe q sack containing some SIS, 600
or S14, 900 was found behind a stack of
books. The following dispatch, referred
to above, from r. Sadler, goes far to con-
firm the impression that MoConkey
DID NOT COMMIT SUICIDE.
1t will be seen. from it that McConkey's
accounts with the county are straight, and
that the difference between what Yves found
in the safe, at last accounts, and what is
due the county Is So, 900 only, and that he
leaves behind a personal credit with Wells.
Fargo g. Co.. San Francisco, OF $4,000.
He has considerable property interests
besides, and it ia we'll known that If he
had been behind in his accounts only
So, 900 lbs could have made 1t good imme-
diatesy. But the further the investigation
10 pushed the less doubt there is that q
foul murder has been committed, aud
that White Pine County has been robbed
20 mn D,kAb;a