Birmingham state herald., 1895-10-17
THE CORONER'S INQUEST Into the Killing of the Italian
 Sherota. POLICE OFFICERS SUSPICIOUS As to What the Real Facts May Develop. Probing Deep After the
 Truth.

| the investigation of the killing of Gio- vanni or John Sherota, the Italian who | was killed on Twenty-founth street and Second avenue Sunday night. It will be remembered by the readers of the State l Herald that the deed was claimed to have been committed by Frank Napole, fel- l low countryman, who says that he found l Sherota asleep in his bed and mistaking l him for burglar attacked Sherota with an iron bar and cut his throat.
 The witnesses examined yesterday tes- l tified in substance as follows:
 Officer J. N. Byars.
 Sunday night, shortly before Il o'clock, we had call to Twenty-fourth street l and Second avenue. In the back room adjoining Frank Canepas place we found | a man lying on his face in the back room. | His throat had been cut and a large pool 1 of blood was in the middle of the floor. | He could not talk. A young Italian by l the name of Napole said he had killed the man through mistake, and gave me the knife that he said he killed him with. l He said when he went to close up he l heard a noise in his sleeping room and i went back there. He saw the man She | rota, he said, and thought he was | burglar, and cut his throat. He did not say anything about striking Sherota
 with an iron bar. Napole was very much l excited.
 Officer Goggans.
 l Officer Goggan testified substantially l the same. He said that when he was l going to the station house with the pris- | oner he inquired of him why he had kill | ed the man, and Napole replied because l he was asleep in his bed and wanted to | know of the officer if he would not kill
 man if he found him in his room. He 1 said he thought he had a perfect right to
 kill man under those circumstances. l Captain Donelson.
 l am captain of police of Birmingham l When Chief Mcdonald and investigated l the, premises after the killing we found | drops of blood in the front part of Cane | pas store, and there were drops of blood l every or feet apart to the kitchen. l At the gate that leads into the back yard | of Napole's fish stand there was blood. l On the door facing and on the door itself | leading into the fish stand occupied by l Napole there were bloody finger prints. l | saw blood also on the wire that fastens l the door. Kerosene oil had been poured l over the blood spots in Canepa's place. l These spots of kerosene were al large as l the palm of my hand. In the back part | of Napole's fish stand large pool of | blood was in the middle of the floor. | Three pieces of broken iron lay near it.
 The iron had blood on it. There were | small spots of blood on the couch and a l little spattered on the wall.
 When Captain Mcdonald and | talked to Canepa in prison he said he did
 not hit Sherota at all. Afterwards he | admitted having slapped Sherotas jaws
 Curing the early part of Sunday evening.
 When asked by Chief Mcdonald if he did
 not threaten to kill Sherota he at first
 denied it, but afterward said that he
 might have made the threat, but If he
 did do so he was just excited and did | not mean it.
 Napole told Chief Mcdonald and me
 that when he went into his sleeping | room he found @ man asleep. He said
 he thought he was burglar or a negro
 and that he got his knife, thinking the
 man in the room might draw pistol.
 and cut him. At times Napole seemed
 to understand the English language very | we'll and at other times he did not J. R. Anderson.
 l I live near tine scene of the killing. l
 knew Sherota, the man who was killed, | and Canepa. Sunday afternoon late as | I passed that way Frank Canepa and l John Sherota were out in front jibber- | ing. The boy who did the killing was | standing near John looking at Frank. | I hollered to them to quit that jibber-
 ing. But they did not and I con | cluded that they were having more than
 an ordinary fuss, as I had usually quieted | them by calling to them. I heard Frank | Canepa say to John, the man who was
 killed, ed d-n you. leave here," in
 English, and Sherota replied in English, | Give Ile IIly IilOHey. OdlltItd IuduS q
 lunge at John and some well dressed Ital-
 ian ran in between them. Next day I | heard of the killing. I went through | Canepa's store. There were blood spots
 leading from the east corner of Canepa' s
 store out the back way. There was
 blood on the gate or the door and in the
 sleeping room occupied by Napole While | I was looking around the premises Mrs.
 Canepa Frank Canepa's wife. put her | head out of the window and said, Are 4Ir l.s
 he was toted in?" I replied NO, not
 particularly" She then said, "He was
 not carried in the back way. He was
 carried in the front way" She talked
 considerably, and I heard her say that
 she did not want to go to the police
 court; that she knew the truth and
 would not swear to lie.
 Other Witnesses.
 Other witnesses were examined who
 testified as to the blood stains and l weapon used.
 Canepa's Wife.
 The young woman, who is Canepa s | wife, is not yet 15 years of age. She pre- I sents an innocent and simple appearance. | and is exceptionally pretty, with her
 beautiful complexion, black hair and l large brown eyes. She Is an American. l and says she came from the swamp re- 1 eions of Mississippi A stenographic re- l port of her statement before the coroner s 1 jury is as follows:
 My name is Alice Canepa. am the | wife of Frank Canepa and we live at l Twenty-fourth street and Second avenue. l John. the man who was killed, got col l ored boy to bring some water and the | negro boy wanted pay. John offered l him an apple or banana. John and the negro had fuss and Canepa caught the l negro. John and Frank had fuss and l Frank slapped Johns face. I ran back to the kitchen and called Frank and told him to quit and he said he had been
 cursed by John. Frank said he would I kill him, him, if he lived long
 enough God being his helper. The fuss l occurred about o'clock. Late in the | night my sister woke me up and told me | to listen, that some one was hollering.
 I heard some one moaning. Frank was | not in the room. In about ten minutes 1 Frank came in the room. In about the