The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-03
Especial to The HERALD,


Denver. Colo, Aug. I'm a thieves
fight at a room in the Christon block
this afternoon, william O'Brien was
killed and j. H. Edger, alias Edwin
Edgar, was fatally shot.
The former entered the apartment
on murder bent There were a few hot,
words over money matter. in which
one had gotten the better of the other.
Revolvers were drawn and shots were
fired Both men sank to tine floor, their
smoking weapons clinched in their
hands.
The crook whose name was given
out by the police as O'Brien, died with
curse on his lips His adversary arose
and ran from the room, pale and
shivering, with blood streaming from
a bullet wound in his abdomen, and
Tell gasping for breath at the head OF
the stairs.
MOTIVE A MYSTERY.
The police and detectives were at a
loss TO discover the details or motive Of
the bloody affray, when George Shell
don, alias c. A Sheldon, who was a
room mate of Edgar, and who. it is
believed, was engaged with the brace
OF crooks in their criminal opera lions.
was handed over to the police by a
reporter. The whole tale lies in Shell
don's keeping. He was an intimate
friend of the dead man, but he refused
positively to give the slightest infor-
nation, even declining to disclose the
name OF his deceased companion.
HOW IT HAPPENED.
When O'Brien broke into the room
Edgar was sitting at a. table writing a
letter to Peter Cassidy, a saloonkeeper
at 400 Fifth street, San Diego, Cal. He
was writing with a pencil and was
about to close the eDistle when the
door was opened The visitor was
breathless, for ne had bounded up the
stairs two steps at a time. He turned
the key in the door, locking it. and in
less than five seconds later three shots
were fred in rapid succession. Then a
fourth; then groans of agony
FOUGHT OVER BOOTY.
The police do not know the cause of
the trouble, but there is evidence
which indicates that it was simply a
case of thieves fighting over their
booty That Edgar and Sheldon are
thieves there is no doubt. Concerning
O'Brien, the officials know little, but
are inclined to the belief that ne was
crook, from the fact that he was in
the company of the others. He died a
few minutes after he was shot.
Edgar was taken to St. Luke's hos
pital, where Drs. KimbIe, O'Connor
and Police Surgeon Dulin attempted TO
save his life by an operation The alb
domen was opened, but il was found
that the bullet had done such deadly
work that nothing whatever could be
done to save the patients life. At
o'clock he was reported in dying con-
dit5on.
Sheldon asserts that O'Brien had
$1,000. but no trace of the money can
be found
SALT LAKE LETTERS.
Edgar had two letters in his possess
sion. One, addressed to James Cullen,
state prison, Salt Lake, is in part as
follows:
Il am glad that you got that SIS I
sent. l wish you would not deprive
yourself of anything you may wish on
account of wanting to save that money
till your time expires. 1 will try and
send you more money. I wrote you a
letter from Grand Junction a few days
ago, which 1 suppose you received. I
have a friend in Salt Lake whom I
wish you would go and see when you
are released. do not know just what
his address is, but I Will find out and
then 1 will send you a letter in his
care and you can get it on Sept. "a,
not mistaken
LETTER TO A SALT LAKER-
To S. Esterly, 217 West Seventh South
street, Salt Lake, he wrote: Il didn't
want to take it and spoil the house
for a good money trick, so be patient
and I'll present you with good time
piece soon. You know that fellow who
had so much money there. l told you
that he was with me in Carson Well,
found out that when there that he
gave me the worst of it for $240,
share out of $3.50. That's what a man
gets for picking up these people and
trying to give them q lift"
The letter which O'Brien was writing
at the time of the shooting was adj
dressed TO Peter Cassidy, $50 Fifth
street, San Diego. Cal, and referred to
his two friends from Salt Lake City,
from which it is inferred that the men
have just come from that place.