The record-union., 1893-01-05
STARTLING ACCUSATION
The Tolls Tightening About En-
gineer JoferiS.
ALLEGED FOUL CONSPIRACY
To Have Miss AyFes, the Brighton
Operator, Murdered.
THE SCHEME FAILED TO WORK.
Indications That JeferS Visited Brighton On
the Fatal Night---The Tramp
Released.

birth to n new sensation regarding the
Brighton tragedy in which Miss Z. O.
Ayres, the railroad telegraph operator,
lost her life. The fact of her secret mar
riage in san Francisco some months ago
| to George Jefferis, a railroad engineer,
was revelation to people hereabouts
who knew her, and now comes the state
ment that even before she met Jelleris
the supposed 'old maid" was married i'll
the East to a man named Ayres.
While the arrest of Jefferis on suspicion
Of either having killed the woman, or in
stigating the crime, was generally ad-
mitted to be timely and proper, most
persons who read his published state
ment believed that he was innocent Of
the crime, as he freely declared he could
prove where he spent the few hours he
was here on the eventful night that the
woman met her death.
TIE LATEST SENSATION.
But now comes q man named Starkey,
a felIow-employe of Jetferis', who volun-
teers the statement that some two months
ago Jetferis made q proposition to
him and another man to murder
the woman. The story, as learned
and fireman to Brighton one night and
suggested 10 them that they could make
$500 easily if they would
'Do A TRICK"
When asked to explain, he is said to
have told them that the "old grip had
$500 slowed away in the garret over her
office, and that it would be an easy matter
to quiet her and get it.
If necessary, they were even TO murder
Miss Ayres, and set fire to the building.
Starkey is said to have stated that he re-
fused to 90 ahead with the job and that
the party returned to the city.
A CLOSE DETECTIVE.
Last night a RECORD UNION reporter
saw railroad detective +. r. Burke, who
is working up the case, and asked him if
he would verify the statement that
Starkey was reported to have made. Mr..
Burke was in his usual amiable mood
Notwithstanding the presence of pest
ferrous newspaper repOrter-and talked
freely and good-naturedly, but very, very
firmly:
"No, sir!' he replied, 81 would cut
that good right hand of mine Off before l
would give TO any newspaper pointer as
to what l was doing in an important
easel"
''Wen, but, Mr.. Burke" meel1Iy sug-
gested the reporter, these things get out
SUiEGuOW5 OluOI people leak, ana why
should not you let out little news, es-
pecially if Of a character that would not
interfere with the ends Of Justice ?"
'See here" said the veteran detective"
I've been in this business a great many
years, and I've known great many cases
to have been spoiled by somebody who
knew the facts giving them to the news
papers just TO make themselves solid or
acquire little nOtoriety.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
In this detective business is secresy-
| secresy! If l were to let newspaper re-
! pOrters into my confidence-or anyone
| else, for that matter, where would ! land e?
consider it duty toward my employ
! ers, to justice, end to myself, to keep my
own counsels. If l didn't do so l would
have no business. Why should / violate
my trust, which is sacred one, ii it is
anything?
81 tell you now" Mr.. Burke con-
tinued that we were not prepared to
arrest Jetferis when we did and would
not have done SO at that time. had we
not learned that somebody had given the
whole thing away to a San Francisco
paper, where he would have read it the
next morning and then perhaps skipped
out"
But you never knew the RECORD
UNION to violate a confidence reposed in
it, did you?"
NO. said Mr.. Burke, 81 will say this
for the RECORD UNION, l have always
found it to treat officers fairly in matters
Of this kind, and if / could conscientious
ly make an exception in this matter L
would do so in its favor, but there are
papers that have repeatedly defeated the
ends of justice by enabling criminals
whose arrest was desired to evade the
officers.
we haven't yet got ct the bottom Of
this Brighton business by good deal, and
any newspapermau who thinks he knows
all about it is sadly mistaken. At the
proper time | wouldn't mind giving you
ali the facts, but that time hasn't come
yet"
Thanking the detective for the sensa-
tional news which he did not reveal, the
reporter bade him good night.
WHERE WAS JEFFERIs?
Then the reporter concluded to try lit
tie detective work of his own. 1t was late at
night, and he had not much time in which
to experiment in that direction, but heard
enough to throw discredit on the state
ment made by Jefleris to the effect that
after he arrived in the city on the night of
the Brighton fire he did not 90 out of il
until his train left in the morning. asx
1t will be remembered that Jefferis
said that he first went to a restaurant and
got his supper, and then played cards
Will SOlilb iIleuuS unLll II was nearly
time for him to 60 to his train.
The story now is that Jefferis did 90
out of the city that night, and that he
went in the direction Of Brighton. One
rumor is that no obtained horse and
buggy at a livery stable and drove out.
but there is another story in this con-
nection, and which was obtained pretty
straight. 1t is that as soon as Jefferis lett
his engine in the roundhouse, instead Of
going TO supper he hastened down to the
Front-street yard and
JUMPED ON A LOCOMOTIVE
That was just starting for the Buffalo
Brewery, at Twenty-first and r streets,
to bring in some cars loaded with beer,
Whether he returned with the locomo-
tive or continued in the direction of
Brighton, the reporter could not learn.
A SUSPECT DISCHARGED.
Deputy Sheriffs Wurth and Miller of
I'll Dorado County arrived yesterday with
a young man named Carl Trenckman,
whom they had arrested on suspicion of
/ being Tramp No. - who was at first
supposed to be one of the two who mur-
dered Miss Ayres. A description Of the
tramps had been sent all over the coun-
try, and the officers had followed them,
as they supposed, to Folsom, Auburn
and elsewhere. The Ell Dorado officers
mentioned above heard Trenckman was