The herald., 1897-05-01
Fail to Solve the Wootton'
Mystery
SANDERS GUILT IS IMPLIED
m - ,v11pIoT OF GUILTY OF
1o1dA1x
aghs Supposed Murderer oivsn Four
- s&eeu-Ysar Tsrm-A Witness Ac-
Il cussd Of Deliberate Perjury


Associated Pfsss Special wire.
FRESNO. April 3o.-The jury IN the
sanders forgery case. after hours Of de-
liberation. returned q verdict Of guilty.
This IL sanderS fourth trial. On the
flrst trial the jury disagreed on ques-
zion Of expert testimony; on the second
trial the jury convicted Sanders after
being out only forty minutes. the verdict
In this case being reversed by the Su-
preme Court: on the third trial the jury
disagreed. principally upon q CONFLICT
Of testimony and because Of the failure
80 prove that Wootton was dead.
The verdict this morning implies that
Sanders IL guilty Of the murder Of
Nootton.
Sanders was sentenced to fourteen
gears Imprisonment in San Quentin.
The case has been one Of the most
notable that ever occurred in California.
About three years ago Professor San
ders and his victim, wootton, lived on
ueiehborina farms. Wootton, an old
bachelor. lived all alone. Sanders seems
to have made up his mind that he would
ret possession Of Wootton's farm, and
see& deliberately to work to achieve his
purpose.
He cultivated wootton's acQuaint-
mace. and the two men became very
1riendly. Soon after Wootton disap-
,Deared, and has never since been heard
OF. when last seen he was In buggy
with Sanders. not far from their farms,
or rather his body was. for those who
eaw the two men agreed subsequently
that Wootton was probably dead when
they saw him, although the body was
erect, When Sanders was afterward
asked what had become of Wootton,
he told an improbable story Of his
getting out Of the buggy and going
northward. Whatever his fate may have
been, his body has never been found,
and although Sanders Is suspected of
having murdered him, the crime has
never been brought close enough TO
warrant trial.
But shortly. after Wootton's disap-
pearancex Sanders showed deed CIV
ing him title to Wootton's property. It
was not made out directly from one to
the other, but other deeds were pro-
duced showing that Wootton had decd
ed the land to a man named Knausch,
that Knausch had decided 1t to third
party, and that the third party had
decided 1t to Sanders.
All efforts to fnd Knausch and the
other man failed. Sanders was accused
Of forging the deed, and each Of his
former trials has been on this charge.
The present trial lasted about three
weeks. Judge Webb. who has presided
at the other trials, refused to hear the
case, and exchanged courts with Judge
Carroll Cook OF San Francisco.
An interesting feature Of the trial was
the production In the courtroom Of $780,
900 In gold. Sanders had testified that
Knausch paid Wootton that amount
OF money, and describedthe jaunty man
ner in which it was carried up the hill
ito Wootton's house. When the amount
OF gold mentioned was brought into
court it was found to weigh over 70
pounds. too great weight to be han
died as described.
A. SENSATION SPRUNG
FRESNO. April 30-A sensation was
sprung in the trial of Prof. Sanders,
charged with forgery. and suspected of
the murder of William Wootton, this
morning, by Judge Carroll Cook Of San
Francisco, who presided in Judge Webb's
stead. The Judge had instructed the
jury and dismissed 1t. Turning to the
attorneys. the Judge said: II am satis-
Ned that one of the witnesses in this case
has committed willful and corrupt per-
Jury. refer to DR.. G. b. Mcintosh, the
expert on penmanshfp. therefore:
order him to be taken into custody by
the Sheriff, with bonds at $4,000"
Mcintosh was the expert in behalf of
Sanders. and is we'll known throughout
the State as an expert in handwriting.
and also as minister of the gospel and
ks school teacher.
SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS