Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-02-26
CHOKED TO DEATH.
Fred Butler EurdtTtd in This City
Last Evening.
AssAssINs QUICKLY ESCAPED.
A Case Which Seems to be Rnshronded
In the Deepest Mystery--Ocl-
GERS Working On It,.


o'clock last evening, the victim being
Fred Beutler, a native OF Switzerland,
and aged about So years. Beutler lived
In little adobe cabin Of South Tenn.
pie street on the south side and be-
tween West Temple and First West
streets. He was a married man but
for some time past had lived alone,
owing TO having had trouble with his
wife whom he married last July.
Alone in the room ut the time mem
toned he was summoned to the door
thereof by loud knock and In few
minutes alter, the callers, two in num-
Ter, had fled, leaving behind them
corpse, the throat bearing marks OF
violence ana giving evidence OF
slrangulation, while In the MOI nth as
gag was a piece Of white rag which
had been stuffed down into the mans
windpipe.
About s:l5 O'Clock word came to the
police station over the 'phone that
man was reing murdered at 149 w,
! s nth Temple street, and requesting
officers to be sent down Immediately,
Desk Sergeant LlvingtOne was on
| duly at the time anu he conveyed the
| WORD to Captain Eslinger and Officer
| Shannon, both OF whom ran ont OF the
| station p0et'haste and down to the
| scene OF the murder. A dark alley
| way leads to the apartments in gu 3s-
ton and along this the officers went.
reaching BeutleT's room before many
minutes had fled.
| The first TO reach the door was
Officer Shannon. He pushed
the door and discovered that IL
wouldn't open far. There wac light
In the room, lamp belng on sewing
machine ciose to the door. As soon as
he got the door open far enough, he
pOked bis head In and ssw man
lying on the floor. The mans head
was against the door. "He's dead,
Cap.." exclaimed Shannon to
Eslinger. The former then pushed
the door open by force anu squeezed
In. AS the door swung back smut, the
body Tell back in It's firat position. The
iirst thing he noticed WIS., white rag
sticging out of the mans mouth.
shannon reached over and found thpt
this had been stuffed down his throat
as u gag. He puiied 1t out anu tried to
see whether or not there was any life
in the mans body. He could recog-
ME- no heart action, anu turning
around be told Capt. Eslinger that
the man was dead. When the officers
first entered the alley they cav three
men standing on the corner. One Of
them was Joe Morris, the other two
were the Holt brothers, who i've next
door to the Butler room on the south.
They followed the OH GERS in and in.
formed them that the door was locked
ana they couldn't get in. Shannon
went over to the door and found 1t
locked, with the key still In II.
Undertaken Joseph William Taylor
was sent for AMI arrived in few
minutes. He found several marks
arOunu the throat which was discol-
ored, and also bruises about the body.
Considerable blood mad flowed from
tue mouth, anu the features were dis
torted to e marked degree. Mr.. Tay-
\ lor thrust his hand into the right-hand
watch pocket and found there Sl2 in
bills and coins. There was also knife,
several pencils anu other knick-knscks
and several papers. O1e OF these was
a receipt, signed by Thomas Il. Tay-
lor. the owner OF the house in which
he lived, for room rent up to
March 18Th OF this year. Mr.. Taylor
took the body al once TO his morgue,
| anu the offi GERS made q hRsiy search
OF the room aud surroundings, while
| the police station had notified every
availsble officer and put each to work
on the case.
Joseph Morris bill poster who
lives next door to Buffers tells tho
following story OF what he saw and
heard:' "Aboul . O'clock" says Mr..
Morris, 81 vas sitting at the tnbls
eating my euppsr, when l heard q
knock at Buffers door. The partitions
between the cabins are very frail, so
that most every sound can be distinct
| ly heard. Now they must have walked
very softly on that board. for L never
heard a sound until they knocked. Then
| 1 heard Butler walk across the floor,
turn the latch and almost the same
instant boiler murder two or three
times. Then L heard a scutll,. wsB
tritis afraid TO 60 out the Iront door,
so just pushed up the back window
and jumped out, intending to raise an
alarm. ran around on to South
Temple and struck the Holt boys out
In front. We stood there for about u
minute talking about the trouble,
| suppOsing 1t Wac row between
Butler and his wife. As We stood
there, two persons came out. One OF
them was about three or iour inches
taller than the other, and both were
dressed in dark clothes. The smallest
one looked like a, like--R-s-laTmer,
as near as could see. Their faces were
turned away from us, and We couldn't
sue who they were. A rig had just
driven into the alley TO deliver some
stuff at one OF the houses, and In
about q minute or less Ihsse two came
cut"
One OF the Holt boys followed the
men, whom, he says, turned cast on
South Temple. When nssr the ccrnorlof
West Temple they cut across the street
toward the Valley house, and walked
rapidly down the street. Efficiently
discovering that they were followed,
they quicsenod Their steps ana were
almost running when they reached the
path that turnH into the old NalsIo.
rum. Down this they turned and
were soon lost 10 view amsng the
buiicings.
Toe murdered man has had domes.
tic troubles anu to this che OH GERS feel
10 attach some little Significance.
From his present wife he was to have
soon obtained divorce, she being a
woman whom he could not get along
with, because Of her intemperate