Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1894-09-14
sroRY OF rnE URiur.
rho Murderer, I'll. victim, Their
Hams aud Life

rho Murderer, the victim, Their
usme aud Life
Since June 9th, 1892 (tho date u the
murder), the name Of EtocL Davis
has been heard with A0hoifence In
every part OF the Territory There IL
not city, town or village In Utah,
aud perhaps not home, In which his
name has not been pronounced aud
the Nervousness Of his crime read or
related. More than that, the story Of
his terrible deed has been published
In all parts OF the United States.
Few cases IN the catalogue Of western
crime have had more pcculiAr in.
teTcst than the one for which punish.
mont was melted out today. Few
murjerefs found more earnest aivo-
Gates for ol,monoy than Euoch Davis,
and few there arc who deserved II
less.
The manner In which he took the
life Of the woman who had helped ~
his wife 10 bear his burdens for more
than n score Of years has been many
times told. During the time she had
sustained the relationship VI wife 10
Davis nine children were born to
them.
Her husband was drunkard,
anu before an entire enlargement
developed between thea she sought
many times, aud with great earnest
him that he would divorce himself
from the demon drink. but hor labors,
like many other women whose fate has
been linked with that OF drunknrd,
were In vain.
This murder had dou btlrss been con-
templAted Tor some time. A fortnight
before the commission Of the deed he
Threatened TO kill her, She was com.
PEELED 10 seek safety IN night at two
O'Clock AMI found II under the pfotec.
tion Of 5hefii Pope. A Temporary
truce wac efiec. u aud she returned 10
her home. Bu trouble soon followed
the Iotufn IA the form of repeated
quAftols, Davis daily becoming more
violent ami demOnslTatiVo. On tue
day preceding the murder the most
serious disturbance oi all had taken
place. The crime was committed I'M
del cover Of darkness while the help
less woman was asleep Ia the only
room OF the humble hAbitation Ia
which the family lived. The blood As
II flowed from the wounds In her head
cfimaoned the pillow on which she
aOught rest and sleep and found death.
Tne remainder OF the story OF the
killing cannot be more tersely or
graphically related than by n renubll.
cation 0f portion OF John NJ. Zane1s
well written letter TO the NEWS on Ia at
subject few weeks ago, which ran ~
iollows:
Two children, ore a little girl o,
three, tho other a bate, were sleeping
In the bed with her. On the floor OF the
room Ia a corner, four boys, aged 70.
speotiysly seven, nine, eleven and
fourteen years, were asltep, She was
struck twice on the slide Of the head
with revolver; each blow crushed In
the skull. Death was probably instan.
tancOus, at any rate uncOnsolouaness
was. The gown fhu had on, ths pillow,
ana the bed clothes showing the posi-
ton In which she died were In court.
The revolver with which she was
killed was hanging the evening before
the killing ia Its scabbafi on the wall.
A letter written the very day Of
the killing, Hsnd not many hours
before 10, came out In evidence.
Ia II the wife, writing 10 her sister,
spoke OF her wrelChed life, her
husbands conduct, said that she was
in fear OF her life, and that che was
coming with her youngrHt children 20
her sister, TO suo n sue could work
there and support them. IL was ths
letter OF COOL woman. The killing
took place that night In that room
where six children were sleeping. Not
one OF them was Awakened by IL. In
the morning the wife was missing,
The husband told the children that she
had gotten IN mad Ia the night Aud
gone Of. That day he had the two
elder boys raking up the yard ian un.
heard Of thing) and putting the dirt IA
an empty potato hole by the side OF the
house, lie turned the water ditch into
this hole during the day, That evening
about supper time he told his second
son, who with his elder brother had
slept at the corral, that no would tell
him something that no must keep secret
or II would hang him, nnd that was
that his mother had tsken poison dur
ng the night and was deau, that she
had asked him TO bury her three miles
away In a field anu he had done ~,
adding tlhs murderof's exact words)' |
"She died like lazy and | burlsd her
like gentleman" The son soon after
this got away from the house and went
over into the town 10 sec his elder
brother. lie had told his brother and
an officer. The father, as soon ms he
heard OF his sons going, mounted a
horse and fed. He was discovered
two days later on the reservation,
thirty miles from home. In the mean.