Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-09-15
CHEATED THE GALLOWS.
Murderer EugeniO AragOn Cuts His
Throat in the Roswell Jail-His-
tory Of His Brutal Crime.

AT O'CLOCK WeonesuHy mOruIuR Lu-
genio Aragon cut his throat, in his cell
of the county Jail, using spoon handle
for the purpose. He did q satisfactory
job, severing both arteries and his wind
pipe-dying instantly.
Aragon stood convicted, with Antonio
Gonzales, of The murder of Chas. 8. Van
Sickle, on February 10, 1894, and was to
have been hanged on the Oath of this
month. They were arrested in a few
days from the date of the murder and
have been confined in jail here ever since.
The circumstances surrounding the as
sassination of Van Sickle wore cowardly
ia the extreme, and that the chief crimi-
nal should have been lacking the cour-
age to face the laws decree is no sur
prise. Charley Van Sickle was foreman
for Seldomridge & Pebbles, but expected
to pay visit to his home in Pennsyl-
vanla, and was waiting for his successor
to arrive. A few days before his death
he met Aragon hauling hay and diecov-
cred some lumber belonging to his en-
ployes in the bottom of the wagon bed.
He ordered Aragon to return the lumber
and threatened to prosecute him upon
failure. This cost him his life. On the
Saturday night following, Aragon, &C.
companied by his brother-ln. law Marco
limo Sanchez, went to the ranch where
Van Sickel was staying for the purpose
of numbering him. They found visitors
there and went off. Sanchez, who was q
mere boy, got scared and refused to 60
again. On Monday, the fatal 18th, Aragon
made trade with Gonzales, and that night
went to the ranch, found Van Sickle alone,
called him to the door, shot him down,
hid his body in the hay stack, looted the
ranch, secreted their booty, and went
back to their work of dipping sheep for
Casaus brothers. 1t might have been
difficult to have traced the crime to them,
but on the day before the killing Valen-
tine Garcia, a brother-in-law, requested
Aragon to work in his place at Oasaus'
sheep camp, and Aragon told him that he
could not do so; that he and Gonzales
were going to settle with the American,
meaning Van Sickle. When he returned
next day he told Garcia that he had
killed Van Sickle, and that if he (Garcia)
said anything about it they would kill
him. In few days 0. Newman came to
the ranch to relieve Van Sickle and at
once saw something was wrong. He
started to Fred Keys ranch to get help
and met Keys, Albert Forrest and Valen-
entine Garcia, who had told Keys of Ara
gon's confession, coming to investigate.
They found Van Sickle's body, notified
Deputy Sheriff John Legg, and he and
posse arrested the two.
Circumstantial evidence was sufficient
to have convicted these two, aside from
Aragon's statement to Garcia and the tes-
timony of Sanchez.
The prosecution has cost the county
thousands of dollars, AID now, at the last,
the chief criminal has cheated the gals
lows. Gonzales is great animal, who
could be led into any evil; Aragon was a
compound of hyena, tiger and devil. He
was distinctively a coward, as his act
showed. How he kept the spoon con-
cealed is a mystery, as the officers had
made thorough search of the cell and
prisoners two days before and everything
that could be used in producing death
taken away. Aragon has repeatedly de-
olared that he would never be hanged, and
has made his boast good.-Roswell Rec
ord.