Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-03
The Cause of Avak's Deed
Revealed.
Hazel Layton Had Prosecuted a
Man for Theft,
Rut It Was Not Her Ardent Armenian
Lover.
Coroner weldon Holds an Inquest-Tes-
timony OF the Witnesses-The Ar
mcnian's Pet Quotation.
Hazel's Past Life.


Layton. The testimony OF the witnesses
heard was in substance as follows:
9. Bruen, tailor, room 81, Wilson
block--I knew Avakian or Avak in Ven
tura over a year ago. lie worked in the
same shop with me for about a week.
He was an American, and at the time of
his death was about "a years old. He
came to see me yesterday at about l
o'clock. 1 asked him where he came
from. He said he had just come from
San Francisco. He showed me photo
graph of a girl (the same afterward
found on the body, and said If he found
the lady he was going to shoot her. I
did not ask him why, and he gave no
reason. He did not even say she was
here. He gave me book, a love story,
and went away. Avak never drank
liquor nor smoked, but had a habit of
going to houses of ill-fame. He was
steady workman, and never knew him
to live as "mac," or to gamble.
The book refereed to in Bruen's
testimony was the novel, A Mad
Love, by Bertha M. Clay. A HERALD
reporter looked through the volume and
found that Avak had marked a number
of passages, and altered others. Among
the marked passages were these:
''They found her cold and senseless on
the ground"
Love never exists without some tinge
of Jealousy"
'And then it seemed to her that her
brain took fire and she went mad"
"a mad love-a mad love But the
mill will never grind again with the
waters that are past"
"Do you believe that marriages are
known in Heaven" was amended by the
substitution of "Hell' for Heaven"
"You will find out the way" was
changed by the striking out OF "the
way" and the substitution of the words
elf you fool me-"
Another underscored passage read
my darling, you need not think of ven
geance."
August Boyer, 26O Wilmington street !;
M. p. Larsen, 1898 Denver avenue, and
several other witnesses, all tailors
working in the Wilson-block shop.
also testified to seeing Avak
in the shop yesterday, and to
hearing his threats. Boyer added the
information that Av6k had been ID Los
Angeles before. He came here from
Ventura for few days year ago last
August.
street, construction foremen of the Con-
solidated Electric company-I was work
curve on North Main street at about
O'Clock yesterday afternoon. heard a
woman scream, and cut across lots to
Marcheesault street. l ran by the en-
trance to Ethel Wilson's house, and
before me, at the corner, saw woman
living on the ground, with two or three
persons standing over her. l got very
near her, when l heard a woman say,
"She's shot" went back to the door
and looked up the sairs. A woman stood
at the head of the staircase, wringing
her hands and saying "He's up here
yet." / called to Mexican across the
street to help me catch the murderer,
but Just as we started upstairs the
woman above said, "HeH dead"
then went back to work.
Miss Ethel Wilson, New High and
Marchessault street. Hazel Layton
came to my house February 9th. She
was about 2l years old and came from
Chicago. l had known her in Salt Lake
CITY, When I was in San Francisco,
early in February, she was living at the
General Keyes building on Stockton
street. When / saw her 1 asked her to
come down here and stop at my house.
She said she could not, as she had had
a fellow arrested. She had been living
with him and had given him $40O to de.
posit for her. He took it and dep sited
It in his own name. When she found
out about this she took him to task and
wanted him to have it changed to her
account. He then drew the money and
refused to give is up. At last she pre-
vailed upon him to buy her pair of dia-
mond earrings and diamond ring with
the principal part of the money. Sew
eral DAYS after she had received the
iewelry however, the man called on her
while she was dressing, took the ring
from the Washstand and ran out with it,
She followed him and had him arrested.
Then he threatened to kill her. After
hearing this story, l told her not to
worry about it, but that I would get a
lawyer down here to attend to it for
her.
The rest of Miss Wilson's testimony
described the manner of Hazel's terrible
death. and was precisely in accordance
with the story as published in the HER
AID Yesterday. It would appear from
this. assuming that Hazel referred to
Ayak. that Avak was committed for
stealing the ring, but that on account of
the absence OF Hazel at the examine
tion, be had to be discharged; that he
then Immediately went on his trip OF
vengeance. There can be no doubt but
that jealousy had great deal to do with
the case, for, from an outside source, it
was learned yesterday that member OF
the La Blanche combination OF pugilists
had been seen with her in San Francisco
and had come down here with her on
the same train.
Dottie Wentworth, another inmate of
the Wilson house, corroborated the story
of Hazel's death as told by Ethel Will
son.
Officer ]. G.. Goodman testified to his
hearing the scream, to being called by
Miss Wilson, to breaking open the door
and finding Avak's body. He also iden-
titled the two pistols which the murderer
had used.
Mrs. Revara, who saw the girl come
out of the window and fall to the walk,
said in her testimony, that Hazel had
opened the window and climbed out.
She then clutched the sill for q moment,
sunk to her knees, and began crawling
backward to New High street on the
awning, with her eyes distended with
- - IN.