Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-23
REMINISCENT.
FIENDIsH DEED OF ONE OF THE RE-
CENT ESCAPES FROM FOLSOM.
Matt. Burners Murder of Bis Companion
in Yuba County Eight Years Ago
His Own Confession.

The escape of Matthias Blumer from
Folsom State Prison recalls to memory
brutal murder committed close to our city
eight years ago, says the Marysville Demo
crdt.
Blumer and Fred SCHNEIDER were work
ing on Regli's milk ranch (now known as
Schimpfs dairy. Blumer murdered his
companion in the barn at an early hour in
the morning of October %, 1882, and ct
midnight dumped his body into Sipmerly
slough. The body was found several days
afterwards and suspicion pointed to
Blumer, who was arrested on October 9th.
and few days afterwards charge of muir
der was placed against him. At the ex-
animation in the Police Court the testi.
mony of Joseph Regli, DR.. G. c. Harring-
ton and Marshal Maben was taken. The
Marshal testified that Blumer had on the
previous day made a confession to him.
The confession as repeated by the Marshal,
was substantially as follows:
Il killed SCHNEIDER on the morning OF
Monday, October 23d. He had not been on
good terms with me, and wanted ME to
leave the ranch. He was jealous of me on
account of woman. On the morning of
the homicide SCHNEIDER got up first and
harnessed the horses for Regli; when Regli
drove away SCHNEIDER went back to bed. l
got up and fed the cows under my care.
SCHNEIDER came to the barn about the time
/ got through feeding. He was in a bad
humor and swore at me, saying that had
taken all the feed from the trough and
left nothing but water. In trying to get
some of the cows into their proper places
SCHNEIDER came into the passageway con-
Meeting the two main divisions of the barn.
! was standing in the passage way, leaning
on the handle of heavy reed broom.
When SCHNEIDER came up he called me
-, and made thrust at me with the
pitch-fork. l lodged. and the fork struck
the wall beside me, doing me no harm. |
then struck an upward blow at him with
the broom, striking him on the chin. The
| blow made him stagger back, and as he
threw up his hands his right hand caught
hold of hammer that was hanging on the
wall behind him. He raised the hammer
to strike, and l caught hold of it and took it
from him. In the scuffie hit him on the head
with the hammer, and he fell to the floor.
| hit him again a number of times, and
when l saw that l had killed him l was
frightened. l hid his body in manger at
the northeast corner of the barn under
heap of hay. Then l cleaned up the blood
on the floor and got Schindler's valise and
hid i, under the barn floor. l also hid the
cap in the same way. When Regli came
back told him that SCHNEIDER had gone
away to look for better wages. About half
past 10 o'clock that night, when all was
still, harnessed the milk team to the malt
wagon and put the body into the wagon.
Then 1 drove north along the road that
runs inside the leyee, and turned into a
road running west; when l got to Sim.
merly's slough 1 threw the body in, and
drove back home. l killed him in self
defense"
He told officer Clark that he would
sooner be hanged than be sent to the State
Prison. He was not hanged, however, as
the jury rendered a verdict of guilty of
murder in the first degree" and the pun
ishment was fixed at imprisonment for
life.
Judge Keyser sentenced him.
The jury would not have been so severe
if evidence had been produced to corrobo-
rate the statement he had made to Marshal
Maben.