St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-08
LIBERTY In DEATH
WILLIAM EARL GRAFTON, 4 CON-
VICT AT SALTWATER, COM
MITS SUICIDE.
HIS HEALTH HAD BEEN BAD.
AND HE ENDED HIS TROUBLES
AND CAPTIVITY AT THE SAME
TIME.
HIS HEALTH HAD BEEN BAD.
WAS SENT OVER FROM THIS CITY.
Convicted of Stealing u Tray of Dia-
mOnds From a Jackson Street
JeweIer.

William Earl Grafton, sent to the
prison at Saltwater from st Paul Feb.
10, 1892. committed suicide at an early
hour yesterday morning by cutting
his throat and left elbow with a sharp
piece of show knife, which he had
managed to smuggle into his cell in
the hospital, where he had been receiv-
ing treatment for extreme nervousness
He went by the name Of Earle at the
prison, and Prison Physician Merrill
says that he has been ailing more or
less since his Incarceration in prison,
! having been addicted to the morphine
habit before going there. He COM
planned of sleeplessness and nervous
ness, and often said that if he did not
get better he would take his life. He
had been in the hospital this last
time since Tuesday morning, and was
seemingly as cheerful as possible when
the attendant. Cole Younger, had Whis-
pered an affectionate good night" to
him Friday evening.
GroanS were heard coming from his
cell at about 4 o'clock yesterday morn
ing. and the guard, noticing that some-
thing was wrong, telephoned to DIR.
Newman. the hospital steward, who
arrived in a few moments. He discov-
cred that blood was flowing from the
wounds on Earle's neck and arm, and
he Immediately set about to try to
stop it. Earle begged him to let him
alone, as he wanted to die but DR..
Newman did everything in his power to
save his life. He was too far gone,
however. and died soon afterward.
Coroner Freligh summoned a jury,
and conducted an inquest yesterday,
the jury returning a verdict that Earle
had died from self-inf1icted wounds.
He was convicted and sent to prison
to serve seven years and six months,
and his sentence would have expired
in May, 1897. He has relatives resid-
ing in Berkeley, Cal, who have been
notified of his death.
Earl was arrested in st. Paul for breaking
through a window in J. e. Inghams jewelry
store on jackson street, Dec 8, 1891, when he
grabbed tray containing diamonds valued at
81, 800. The robbery took place early in the
evening, when there were a number of people
on the street Notwithstanding this fact and
the fact that the streets were so slippery that
Earl fell down, when he started to run, nev-
ertheless he made good his escape. When he
fell, however, he lost the tray of diamonds,
and while he stopped long enough to grab
them, he failed to get any. The whole thing
was done so quickly that there little for
the police to work on, and the final arrest of
Earl was one of the cleverest pieces of work
that Chief Detective John O'Connor has placed
to his credit. The detectives worked on the
case all night and they failed to discover
clue of any kind as to who the man was or
where he disappeared.
A little later horse and buggy were found
standing on Jackson street. They had been
there some time, and were taken to a livery
barn.
Later the owner of the horse, who lived in
lower town. came in and claimed him, and
said that he had been hired by an unknown.
John OConnor at once concluded that the
man who hired the horse doubtless had been
living in the neighborhood of the barn, and
put detectives at work in the neighborhood to
try and round up the men. Two of the de-
tectives alternated their time for several
days, and while going through the boarding
houses they found room full of stuff, but
no occupant Then the detectives began to
watch the room. One day two fellows dropped
in and were arrested. On their person was
found letter from a man at the workhouse,
saying go to his room and take the stuff
That was the clue. The man at the work
house was Earl. 1t afterwards turned out
of diamonds, and the crowd gathered that
he thought he would sham drunk. He stag
| gered to the sidewalk, struck man in the
face, was arrested by an officer who saw
him, and three minutes after he had broken
the window under arrest. He was sent
out to the workhouse, but was not sus-
pected of the c,ime.
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