St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-05
ANDREW DEMPKA'S CRIME.
Verdict Of the Coroner's Jury in the
Pr0v5znik Case.
THE INSTRUMENT OF DEATH.
Some Of the Testimony Adduced---
to Be Arraigned
Also.

4uC luQucSt vi lllt UOuy VI Mdlh ~
voznik, who died at noon Tuesday from
being struck OH the head with club by
Andrew Dempko during a row on the
Bohemian flats at an early hour Tues
day morning. was begun at Gleason d
Byorum's morgue yesterday morning
with A. Abrahams, Matt Bros, Chris
Hilstead, John Blichfeld, G. johnson
and j. T. Mannix as a jury. Maik
Cernik, first sworn, said he saw John
Nudig bring Provoznik into the house
after he was hurt. John Ondig said
that he had found Provoznik lying in
the street and helped to carry him into
the house. He saw no one around then
and did not see any club there.
Paul GrOf, the man now under arrest
for assaulting DempkO, was next sworn.
He said that he was out with party
Monday night and that everyone was
drunk. He did not know whether or
not he had struck Dempko with the
Ratchet he held. He did not see any
whether there had been any trouble or
not. Maik Streka said that he had seen
Maik PrOvoZnik carrying club. Streka
told DempkO he had better go away
just as Provoznik made motion as if
to strike him with club. Dempko
asked who was going to hit him, and
going over to PrOvOZnik took the
club away and hit him on the head with
it. Then Provoznik fell and Streka went
away. He did not see Paul Grof that
night. F. A. Murlowsky said he saw
Dempko follow Provoznik and strike
him with the club. George COber, his
boss, then came out of his house, asked
what all the trouble was about, and
taking the Ratchet with which GrOf
struck Dempko, carried it home and
threw it in a shed. DempkO struck Pro
vOZnik twice after he had knocked him
down. He had not seen any trouble
between the two men and did not know
why Dempko should have struck Pro-
voZnik.
George Cober said he had heard some
one making a noise outside of his house
in the night and had gone out. He saw
PrOvoZink lying on the ground and
some one told him a man had killed
him. He had seen Paul Grof with
Ratchet in his hands and had taken it
away from him and thrown it into a
any blood Oh it. There was no trouble
Dempko. John Martin said that just
before the trouble took place he heard
noise outside and went out. just as he
stepped into the yard he saw PrOvoZink
standing there with big club in his
hands and heard DempkO call out that
he would not fight. DR.. III. E. Lott, who
made a post norton on the body
of Provozink Tuesday, was called and
testified that the deceased came to his
death from the wounds described in the
GLOBE yesterday. The skull was ex-
hibited to the jury, and examined by
each member with considerable in
terest. The case was in the hands OF
the jury but few minutes, when the
following verdict was returned:
"* That death resulted Tuesday,
April 8, 1888, from the effects of blows
administered with stick or some other
hard instrument in the hands of An
drew Dempko, on the evening of Mon
day, April 2, 1885,"
Dempko will be arraigned in the mu-
nicipal court this morning on a charge
of murder in the first degree. GrOf will
also be arraigned on charge of assault.
After the inquest Andrew Dempko's
wounds were examined, and he was
then removed to the county jail, where
he spent the night. lie dld not appear
to realize his awful position, and reiter
ated his statement that he had struck
Provoznik only in self-defense.
An amusing incident occurred at the
inquest held yesterday over the body of
Mix Provoznik, who was killed Mon
day night by Andrew DempkO. One of
the witnesses, Hungarian who could
speak but little English, was attempt
ing, in telling what he knew of the case,
to call the dead man by name. He
guess, hit Maik with a club" He did
not join in the laugh which followed.