davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
All the Facts Brought Out Lead to
That Conclusion.

against him by hand which was al
right angles 10 his body and the bullet
did its work He fell and his hands
were awaV above his head, just as a
man throws I'D his arms in his death
agony The pistol was found lying
close to his side. If he was on the
walk from the house to the gate when
that shot was fired, he staggered three
or four steps and in SO doing he would
have dropped the gun away from the
place where ii was found, neatly re-
posing in quiet by his side, just where
his hand came after other kind hands
placed it by his side.
VINO killed him2 Let the testimony
adduced, TODAY at the inquiry answer
the question.
/ But Z Mrs Hamilton did not fire
that fatal shot, she of all women should
be. able. TO tell who did. Why did she
not open the door, il she was inside
when the shooting began? There isn't
another woman in all the millions
which inhabit the country who had just
completed an evening as pleasant as
she describes the one she spent with
him, who would not have opened the
door to see what was going on If q
third party came there. he must have
entered the yard not a second after she
closed that door. if she did close it ere
the shooting commenced.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
The Herald INVESTIGATES.

Many theories have been and will be
advanced regarding the death of John
H Hamilton, who died from the effect of
a gun shot wound at 2zS First South
street in this city on Monday night.
Whether il Was a murder most foul
or the reckless act of a man determined
TO die By his own hand, is a question
yet to be decided.
The stor-r of the murder or suicide
has already been told. and the evidence
given n the coroner's inquest speaks
for itself.
The scene of the shooting was visited
by Herald reporter early yesterday
morning and a bullet hole was diScov-
cred in the weather boarding near the
northwest corner of the house. about
ten feet from the ground. This bullet
and the mark il made viii be an i'm
portant factor in the investigation
of the case. With the aid of an officer
the bullet was extracted and by means
of a piece Of Irvine the policeman and
The Herald man demonstrated that
this shot was fired from inside the
yard fence A string drawn through the
hole made by the bullet and following
the angle made by it. struck the ground
inside the ward fence. which proves
with reasonable certainty that Il was
fired by a person standing inside the
fence. This is important for the reason
that It disproves the allegation made
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

! several days ago the matter was
/ preying upon his mind and he wanted
/ to get it off" He was there in the
afternoon of the same day; came some
/ time in the afternoon; the witness did
not remember just what time, but be-
/ lieved it was about 4 o'clock. At that
/ time he said he wanted his wife to
meet him the next day at o'clock at
an attorneys office. There WAS no one
/ in the front room save Hamilton and
his wife. They were alone. According to
computation by the witness the Two
were in the apartment about 80 min
utes from the time he entered until
the shooting was done, although he
didn't want to be certain, as he was
i4asleep most of the time and couldn't
ssay His wife was just going to bed
when the shooting began. The witness
didn't know how many shots were
fired, but thought there were five or
six. When he (the witness) went out
he found Hamilton lying face down
with the gun at his right side, with
the barrel pointing in the direction of
his feet. He could not say whether
the gun was close to his hand or not.
He picked the pistol up and someone
told him he had better leave it alone.
and he laid it down again
Did you ever see this gun before?"
asked Justice Sommer.
Yes
''Where?"
"Wen. it was down to my wife's
mothers Hamilton asked me to get
it for him and I told him l would. 1
went there and got it and brought it
up and
GAVE IT TO HIS WIFE.
Il brought it up a week ago We'd
nesday. The last time I saw it. it was
nor loaded and didn't have a shell in
it. either empty or otherwise"
Seldom identified the weapon as be-
ing the one he obtained from the home
of his wife's mother, as near as he
could recollect. It was a pistol like it
identically, anyway Florrie Friday
had the gun in her possession when he
went after it. She had it in her trunk
he guessed
Continuing on the testimony preced-
ing the killing. Seldom averred that
when Hamilton came into the kitchen
on Monday evening his wife was in
the dininS-room. AS he entered the
dining-room she went into the front
room and he followed her. He could
hear them talk. but could not hear
what they were saying-in fact, he
paid no attention TO their conversation.
but being tired. went to bed. Later
his wife went to bed in her bedroom
off the dining-room.
Then came a most remarkable state
ment. After the shooting he rushed
into the hall and found Mrs. Hamilton
standing in the hail. She was just
inside the doorway. According to the
best recollection of the witness the
front door was open or ajar. He de-
clared he
HELD NO CONVERSATION
with Mrs. Hamilton and that no words
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

to throw all the light we can on this
homicide-this killing-and if we can
assist we shall be perfectly willing TO
do so We notice that other counsel
are asking questions and we believe we
have as good a right as any
But the coroner objected, and as he
was master of the situation the counsel
! for Mrs. Hamilton subsidized for the
time being; assumed the role of silence
pro tempore.
The FITNESS then said Mrs. Hamilton
didn't seem to be excited or agitated.
! Didn't she tell YOU her husband
slapped her in the mouth?''
| well, she may have done so, but if
so I don't remember it
This concluded the examination of
/ Seldom, and the next witness called
was
MRS. EMILY seldom,
a sister of Mrs. Hamilton. She said
Hamilton came about o'clock and
talked with her for few minutes and
examination Hamilton talked with him.
Then he went in the house and with
her sister, his wife, walked into the
front ROOM He stopped and got drink
on the way. The two were in the front
room about half an hour. as near as
she could determine. When Hamilton
came in he said: Where's Lou?'' Wit
ness indicated she was in the front
room and Hamilton went in there. Then
witness and her husband went and sat
on the back steps. They were there
for quite a while. Seldom omitted this
statement il his examination. Hamil-
ton assigned no reason for wanting to
see his wife; just asked for her. He
made no statement TO the effect that he
wanted to fix matters. This state
ment was in reply to question asked
the witness. II will be remembered that
Seldom stated that he did make such
statement. Witness and her husband
sat on TIE steps for long time. she
couldn't say how long, and then she
went n and out the boy to bed
What did you do next?"
II guess I sat down."
well. what next2"
MY husband went to bed and then
/ went 10 bed. ! didn't hear Hamilton
and his wife talking. Heard him laugh.
Heard both laugh. 1t was o'clock
ere went to bed. I was sitting in the
chair when l heard them laugh.
Did you hear the pistol shot?'
q HEARD THE SECOND ONE"
How did you know it was the
second one?" asked Attorney Van Colt.
Wei, they told me it was the second
one
Mrs. Seldom stated that she talked
TO no one about the matter. not even
to her sister How they could have
told her. no one knows. Who they
were the attorneys didn't attempt to
discover Neither did they attempt to
learn how they" could have indicated
that it was the second, or the third, or
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
j. II. HAMILTON
WAS MURDERED

fair and wished everyone to so under
stand il.
After the jury had viewed the re-
mains, the taking of testimony was
begun. Thomas P. Seldom was the
first witness called. He is a brother-in-
law of Mrs. Hamilton, the two men hav-
ing married sisters. Seddon's testimony
was somewhat remarkable, not alone
when taken into consideration with
that of his wife and Mrs Hamilton,
but as a statement standing upon its
merits. The anarchronisms will be
noted as the reader progresses.
Questioned by counsel, he stated that
Hamilton came to the house on Mon
day evening, he should judge between
7:30 and s o'clock. He and Hamilton
had conversation outside in rear of
the house by the gate in the alley. The
topic was the divorce of the latter, who
was seeking to rid himself of his wife.
Hamilton said he wanted to get the
thing fixed No." After discussing this
matter for short time Hamilton came
inside the house, got drink of water
and then went on into the front room.
where his wife was. The witness heard
them laughing and joking, but could
not distinguish what was said, al
though the statements he made show
ed that all there was between him and
the pair was a curtain drawn over the
place where folding doors were con-
temDiated when the house was built
Seldom said he was tired and went to
bed also in the dining room. He had
Just dozed off when he heard the shoot
Inc. He awoke to hear his wife ex-
claim "Oh. my God, some one is shot
He jumped out of bed and rushed out
and found Hamilton lying on the lawn.
The pistol was by his side. That's all
[ know about it, he concluded
But it wasn't. Not by any means.
Mr.. Richards took the witness a few
moments and discovered he knew
whole lot more. Under adroit ques-
tioning Seldom said the only people
who were there at the time were Mrs.
Hamilton, himself and wife and little
boy. not counting Hamilton, of course.
Mrs. Hamilton had been there over
week. Hamilton wanted TO fix the
thing up" meaning the divorce.
He told me- said the witness,
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

she shot him; the other is that third
party did the killing. The theory OF
suicide is in no way borne out by the
evidence adduced. There wasn't a scin-
tilla of statement tending to create
even a remote impression in that d.
rectiOn.
A peculiar condition was manifest in
the statements of the wife OF the dead
man. her sister and her sisters huS-
band Although the man was killed
right in front of their door, it appears
they were not interested enough to
even ask any questions concerning it.
Although his wife was the last person
who ever saw him alive. neither her
sister nor her brother-in-law asked her
any questions concerning him. All
agreed on that point, although on
others they differed. She manifested an
Indifference TO his fate which was al
most brutal Accordilsg to her state
ments she did not 60 out TO see If she
could be of any service, made no in
curry touching his condition and, later
when informed he was dead, displayed
no concern whatever. To say the least.
il was not what the average oerson
would look for in the conduct of wife
toward a husband even though thew
had become estranged.
The theory that Hamilton was shot
by a third party. was not sustained
satisfactorily either. One witness tes-
titled that he saw a man run from the
gate TO the corner of First Wesr and
disappear in the yard in the rear of the
corner. He gave a partial description
of the man and that was all. He was
not supported by any other witness,
although he may be today, and neither
did the evidence given by any of the
mem bers of the family corroborate his
statements.
LARGE CROWD IN ATTENDANCE
The inquisition was holden accord
ing to the legal terms of the blank doc
uments provided for the jury to fll in.
in the coroner's room OF the uader.aE-
ing establishment of Joseph William
Taylor. The little room was crowded
to suffocation, while a gaping crowd
stood outside on the stairway in the
rain. straining their eyes and ears in
an effort 10 catch something Of the
proceedings
The jurors summoned to hear and de-
termine were John Montgomery, former
deputy sheriff. Harry T. Ball, manager
of the Noble Mercantile company, and
George II. Ingram
At the request of Justice SommerS
Assistant Attorney Van Colt was pres
ent 10 conduct the examination He
was accompanied by Joseph r. Rich
ards. who represented the dead mans
relatives. Fred McGurrin and Edward
McCiurrin were on hand. in the inter-
ests OF Mrs. Hamilton. and the cross
firing between attorneys at times was
somewhat brisk and. it might he ad
ded tedious TO those in attendance.
Justice Sonmers checked the outbreaks
Of counsel from time to time and gave
notice that he was conducting the af-
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
THE HERALD BULLETIN

PAGE ONE
He nalnlieon Tragedy.
PAGE TWO.
Stickney'S Murderor Coafesses
Morgan Pushes His Cuban Resolu-
ton.
James True, the Alleged Train
Hoober.
Two Murderers Die BY Electricity.
PAGE rHerr
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

by several who saw the fash 81 thl.
shots fred Monday nieHt taaI thn1-
We're all outside Of the fence
Yesterday afternoon zIr. 6. q nam
. and a Herald reporter f7tst6.-sF=.', ~
other bullet in The bottom rail 81 ms
front yard fence e Sew feet west b <he
gate This second bullet IS also ~.
portant. because Ii Is the z,,,l ..,,..,' -.
the one found in the house. II .,r.o,..sz
that shots We're fireG IN at least two d.-
rections. one almost directly 0poosIt 4.
the other, and last. but by no means
least. i accounts FOR shot No. th7s6
of the six fred
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

Was it murder or suicide2 is an i'm
portant question. If murder: who did
it; and il suicide. how can that fact be-
established beyond a reasonable d0abE2
THE SUICIDE THEORY
In regard to the suicide theory the
circumstances of the case do rot tend
to establish it with any degree OF ccr-
tainty-in fact, a careful investigati0n
raises a very grave doubt concerning
it. On examination of the body the
location of the wound the apparent
direction of the bullet as near IS it
can be judged from the surface in
dications, does not lead one to put
much credence in the suicide theory
The location of the wound is such thar
the deceased could not have held the
pistol in his right hand and have IN
ficted it. and those who know iinl
well say he was right-handed. It xe1e
possible to have held the pistol in the
left hand and have fred the shat. Ise
proximity of the pistol that inflicted
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
MRS. HAMILTON
Is SUSPECTED
She Will Probably Be In Gus
tOdy This Evening.
TESTIMONY AT THE INQUEST

The wife's Written Confession of
Criminal Intimacy With C. W.
Pavey-Eer Quarrel With. Her
Husband Immediately Preceding
the shooting-Mr. Pavey's State
ment = Interesting Experiments
Conducted by The Herald-Talk
With W. C. Hall, Hamilton's At
torney.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
HE CALLED MRS. HAMILTON.

MS Hamilton came into the room ac-
companied by one of her sisters. she was
attired in a dark red costume. with fur
trimmed cloak. and wore a mourning
veil Mrs Hamilton didn't show signs
OF being excessively weary. although her
replies 10 questions were not as audible
at times as could be wished owing TO
the fact that she naturally speaks in a
modulated tone Her story did not agree
with that told by the Seddons in many
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

impeachment when the acting coroner
said ne was the man who decided TO have
the county attorney present. and had
sent Tor him to come There was no one
responsible but him. He was there for
me purpose of determining the manner
or Hamiiton's death. and proposed to do
II. whether IL suited counsel or not. AS
70 the stenographers the law provided for
q short hand report of the evidence. and
ne mad the stenograDhers there. and that
was his business
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

and when she went there he told her
she had her husband Arevolver and. II
she. did. 4 told him L would return it
and did so. He assigned no reason for
wanting it returned except that il would
be best for me to do So The witness
said this was week ago Monday. Ham
ilton came down TO see her on the fol-
lowing Thursday and. she declared she
laid the pistol on the table Asked if
she saw him take it she replied first that
she saw him lift it and finally reluctantly
aVerred she saw him place il in his pocket
He also spent Sunday afternoon and
evening there and never mentioned the
divorce.
Then in reply to questions by Mr.
Richards. the witness denied that she
sat down upon chair. but stated that
of the house, she was walking TO and
fro in the dining room. This was 4 con-
tradictiOn of her sisters evidence
Edward McGurr-in. at this time. inter-
posed an alliterative objection TO the
manner of Questioning which was being
INDUCED in and another war of words
ensued- The coroner checked the same
ere any damage was done.
NO. did you at any time to any one.
askfwhat the matter WASP Ssked Van
Colt.
Not word was the reply.
Juror Ball took a hand right here.
Juror Bah is a good Guestioner himself.
Did you make any inquiries as to who
WAS StOL-
Il asked my brother-in-law and he told
me it was john
You did not go out?"
No
And you were his wife at the time?"
Il was his wife.
And you never went out?"
No
There was disgust in Balls tones as
he remarked: That's all"
This concluded the examination for the
day. Justice Sommer announced that he
would continue the inquest till this morn
ing at 10 o'clock. at which time ne hoped
to secure the federal court room
Then Mr.. Van Colt created q sensa-
ton by moving that the witness be held
to appear IN such bonds as the court
might determine.
Fred MeGurrin protested. He made a
mighty protest. IL was TO the effect that
the police authorities had detained the
woman all night and were satisfied there
was nothing against her and turned her
loose and now to ask that she be held in
bonds was 100 much
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21

whatever passed between them. He
was pressed on this matter and
averred that he did not ask her what
the matter was, or anything of the
sort. Nothing took place between
them, according to his statement. He
didn't say anything TO Mrs. Hamilton
or she TO him.
The witness continued that he went
outside to the lawn and saw Hamilton
there, and then came back after a
lamp. At this time Mrs. Hamilton was
in the dining room and
WAS SITTING ON A CHAIR.
1t was then he found time TO ask her
question. and she replied that Hamil-
ton had shot himself. THAT was all
she said" continued the witness. I
had no further conversation with her
on the subject
WAS there anything the matter with
her face?" asked Mr.. Richards
Yes, I believe her lip was cut and
bleeding q little"
Did you notice anything else?"
NO"
Juror Montgomery took a hand in
the business at this juncture and asked
witness L Hamilton ever told him
where ne got the pistol. The reply was
in the negative.
Didn't you have conversation with
Hamilton about the gun?"
No
Didn't he come with the intention of
getting his gun. and a ring?"
. He told me nothing about the gun.
He said there was little thing he
would like to get and that was what
bound US together l suppose he
meant the wedding ring. 1 was to give
the gun TO her to give to him; that
was the arrangement
The coroner then asked a few ques-
tions.
Did Mrs. Hamilton come out to look
at the body?'
I don't recollect; I didn't see her
there"
she didn't come out to inquire about
him?" CThis with a rising infection.)
No"
At this point Edward McGurrin arose
and stated that he and the younger
McGurrin, Fred. represented Mrs. Ham
ilton, and would like to ask a ques-
ton.
To this the court replied that he was
uncertain as to whether he would per-
init the attorneys represented to ask
questions in the case or not; that the
prosecuting attorney was conducting
the case.
Mr. Van Colt objected to interference
by outside counsel who might be in
terested in a case which might arise in
the courts. and declared he would
rather conduct the examination in his
own way.
WELL said Mr.. McGurrin, eve want
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
ANOTHER THEORY.

The examination on this line was
broken at this moment by the introduce
ton of j. H. Clark, a witness who lives
in the Whittemore row, diagonally
across the street. ClaSk is of the opin-
ion that the murder was committed by
a third party and that he saw the man
when ne was escaping from the vicin-
ity. He says he was at the rear of his
home when he heard three shots across
the street. He rushed into the house.
through the hall, obtained his hat and
coat, and as he came out he heard a
fourth shot. There might have been
others while ne was inside which he did
not hear. AS he came into the street
he saw man come from near the gate
of the Seldom home and run in a
crouching position until he came to the
glare of the light on the corner, when
he arose and ran down First West
street. He was attired in a suit of grey
clothes and wore no hat. Witness de-
ciared he was about to follow him, but
he changed his mind and did not. Be
yond the description given he could
add nothing which would Identify the
man. and while the fellow had no hat
he might have had on a cap. The wit
ness was half way across the street
when a man came out and called to
another person Il viii stop that man, -
but he didn't stop him.
HE went over 10 the DOQy ana FOUND
it lying with the hands together over
the head. The reason why the hands
were down when the officers arrived
was because people had been feeling
the pulses and had disarTanged them,
and then some one laid the hands by
the side The fingers of the hands were
not Joined when he arrived there; they
We're merely close together.
This was the gist of the testimony given
by Clark. There was nothing adduced to
Corroborate it, and the attorneys for the
state. after consultation. decided they
would have Mrs. Hamilton examined.
II was at this juncture that the younger
M McGurrin arose and made a protest
against having his client brought into
that close room for an examination. He
declared she was tired and had been with
ont sleep since the event of her husband
death ard ne considered it an outrage
to have anything of the kind take place.
Mr. McGurrin said he did not have the
ear of the county attorney. did the
eminent counsel for the state-the as
sistant counsel for the state-but he was
as much interested in determining the
mystery surrounding the death of Hamii-
tor as any one. He was counsel for his
wife who had as many rights as did the
others. As a matter of fact. the count
attorney had no business at the inquest
at all II was matter purely for the
coroner and the jury to determine and
the business of having any counsel was
all wrong. The attorneys have two stem
ographerS present for the sole purpose OF
-etting some ex parte statements TO be
used in some legal proceedings later on
which might besmirch the reputation of
soma one. That was all.
ar Van Colt was about to deny this
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-21
THE INQUEST.

The Testimony Clearly Indicates
That Hamilton Was Murdered
But two conclusions can be arrived
at from the testimony given at the
coroner's inquest, which was begun
yesterday afternoon. One is that Ham
ilton and his wife had a quarrel and
he struck her in the mouth, whereupon