The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-10
A MURDER CASE.

The case of N. B. Dalton, charged
with the murder of James Kettleman,
was called Mr., Dalton listened to the
charge calmly. and took until t07nor-
row to plead He had engaged Mr..
Van Martin as counsel. but at the so
lcitatton of Mr.. ]. Il. Fullmer, Judge
King consented to associate With Mr..
Van Martin in the defense.
This case has especial interest be-
cause, apparently, d great deal of mys-
terry has attended il. The deceased was
a well-to-do old bachelor, who was re-
puted for honesty and humanity. and.
on the other hand, for immoderate
drinking. He had given a home to Dali
ton and family for couple of years,
and rumor has it that matters were
not always agreeable between them.
that Dalton had cruelty killed a favor
ite horse of Kettleman'S, for which the
latter had threatened prosecution; that
Kettleman had on various occasions at
tempted to rid himself of his tenant
by asking him to leave his home, which
the latter refused to do; that Dalton
had promised himself in the hearing
of others that Kettleman should never
have q chance to enter suit against him
and other strangely suspicious circum-
stances have been the rumorS circu-
lated.
One night last January the old gen
tleman was, in some unexplained man
ner, caught on fire in his camp house,
where he was sleeping on q couch on
the floor The door and window we're
fastened on the outside and he got out
only by knocking a board off an aper-
ture in the wall. He was found ali
ablaze outside the house by Dalton
about the throat and chest that he
died after three or four days of agony
There were ugly rumors of coal oil
having saturated parts of the clothing
which We're rescued from the fireplace
where Dalton had thrown them; Of a
confusion on the head which the doctor
declared could not have been self-in-
fiicted. and which would in itself have
been fatal; of Kettleman himself say
ing strange things, though they may
have been said in deIirium: of the lat
ter's accounts having been burned with
his clothing.
This is the popular version of the
affair. which will soon be sifted by the
| court.
AGAINST COUNTY OFFICERS.
The case Of the state VS.. W. H. Luke
! and Samuel l.. Page, county clerk and
! prosecuting attorney, for alleged mutt
! lation and alteration OF public records,
was also called this morning. Mr.. G. W.
Jones, assistant prosecuting attorney,
! having Withdrawn in this case, the
court appointed Messrs. Stewart and
Collins to its prosecution. while Judge
! King and Y. Rapp appeared for the
! defense. Separate demurrers were in
| terposed on the ground that the indict-
ments do not conform to the statutes
of the compiled laws of Utah and var
! ious points of technical weakness. The
court gave the prosecution until
! o'clock to investigate the matter. At
that hour Mr.. l. J. Stewart for the
prosecution stated that he considered
/ the demurrers well taken. The court
fully sustained the same and the in
dictments were dismissed, The judge
| was of the opinion, however, that the
charges were of SO grave nature that
| they should be thoroughly investigated
and brought TO light or set at rest for
| ever