The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-02


all the transactions by which any of
Thiede's property had been sold to
satisfy creditors and in the meantime
considered another petition for clemeql-
cy from the condemned man
1t was not till he had satisfied him
self that Thiede's child had not been
wronged by being unlawfully deprived
of her Inheritance and he had fully
considered the representations made
in support of the petition for a respite
and found there was nothing to justify
him in granting it, that he decided to
let the law take its course. Even then
out of consideration simply for lu-
man being condemned to die, he sent
word to hope no longer, that the one
whose end was near might be as we'll
prepared as possible to meet HIS fate.
None of these acts were duties. but
simply those of kindness and Cover
nor Wells is entitled to much praise
for having done them.
HISTORY OF THE CRIME.
The crime for which Charles Thiede
is to suffer the death penalty next Fri
day was committed at Murray, a sub
urb about six miles south of this city,
on the night of Monday, April 80, Or
very early on the morning of Tuesday,
May l, 1894 II was early in the morn
ing of the latter day when the lifeless
body Of Mrs. Mary Thiede. wife of the
condemned man, was found near
Thiede's saloon, the throat cut from
ear TO ear and the ground around sat
urated with blood.
The facts in the case, as elected at
the coroners inquest, the preliminary
hearing and the trial, are that Thiede
for years was most cruel to his wife.
He almost constantly beat and abused
her, and neighbors testified and it was
common talk that she was scarcely ever
without blackened eyes and other marks
of his violence on her person. She re-
peatedly complained to friends of his
i'll treatment, and to several stated that
she was afraid of her life. Thiede,
about the time of the murder, became
enamoEed of a Danish girl much
younger than his wife, and frequently
entertained leWd women at his saloon,
and on such occasions compelled his
wife to attend to their refreshments
and participate in their orgies.
HAD A QUARREL.
On the day before the killing, Thiede
and his wife had a quarrel of more
than usual violence, and in the even
ing of that day she left the house and
remained hiding from him till very
slept in the dwelling house near the
saloon, while her husband occupied a
cot in the saloon. He was alone in the
saloon on the fatal night from II
o'clock till past midnight and some
where about that time it appeared that
Mrs. Thiede was stealing quietly into
the house in order to avoid him, when
he discovered her and, taking large
butcher knife, which, according to the
testimony he had had sharpened day
or two before, rushed upon her, caught
her by the hair of the head with his
left hand, pulled her back and
CUT HER THROAT
with the knife held in his right hand,
severinc the jugular vein and the
trachae and inficting slight wound
on the thumb of one Of her hands. The
wounds were such as to cause death
very quickly. He left the body laying
on the ground. went to a stream hard
by, washed the knife and his bloody
HANDS.
At 1870 o'clock he sought out DR.. Fer
rebeS who lives at Murray, and told
him that Mrs. Thiede had committed
suicide. The doctor went and found
the woman stiff and dead and also
found that the wounds were not such
Sheriff Mcqueen and Deputy Sheriff
Montgomery were notified in this city
by Thiedes request, about o'clock in
the morning and Immediately took a
buggy and drove TO Murray. Arrived |
there they found Thiede halfidrunk be- !
hind the bar of the saloon When the Off +
GERS entered he said: We'll, 1 killed |
my wife last night" but afterwards
Thiede denied this and stated that
what ne said was: They killed my |
wife last night" By they he meant
some of the members of the Industrial |
army who were camped in the neigh /
borhood at the time.
BLOOD ON HIS SHIRT.
Thiede was placed under arrest and !
charged with the awful crime. Copi- t
Gus blood stains were found on his |
shirt and dried blood under his finger /
nails. These he accounted for by stat
ing that when he found the body he t
raised it UP in his arms and he also
said that when he did SO she exclaira-
ed 90! Charlie but several doctors
testified at the trial that it was abso-
lutely impossible for any one wounded /
as Mrs. Thiede was to articu1ate at all /
even a moment after the wounds were I
inflicted and that death must have |
been almost instantaneous.
There were no eye witnesses to the
murder, but the chain of circumstantial
evidence against Thiede was SO strong
and so complete as to leave no doubt in
the mind of an impartial person that
he was the murderer.
The coroner's jury found by their
verdict that Mrs. Thiede had come TO
her death by the hand Of her husband I
and a jury of twelve Intelligent men
before whom the case was tried in the
district court, with Judge Bartch pre-
siding, found him guilty and made no
to mercy.
SENTENCE OF DEATH.
Judge Bartch pronounced the SEN
tence of death by hanging. Thiede re-
fusing to elect whether he would meet
death by shooting or hanging. His
MessTs. Cherry and Cherry, :
moved for a new triad, which was re-
sisted by Assistant Prosecuting Attor-
ney Howat, who with Attorney George
L. Nye prosecuted Thiede. The dis
trict court overruled the motion and
the state supreme court sustained the
district court. Then an appeal was
taken to the United States supreme
court and that tribunal affirmed the
decision of the courts below, and Judge
Hiles fixed the day for the hanging.
Thiede's attorneys then made an eff
fort to get the board of pardons to