The herald., 1897-12-11
Mysterious Murder Yet a
Mystery
THE VICTIM STILL UNKNOWN
EVIDENTLY SHOT WHILE BOUND
AND HELPLESS
4 Case for Sherlock Holmes-No Mo.
tive for the Crime Disclosed.
Attempt at Concealment
Special TO The Herald.

Special TO The Herald.
RIVERSIDE. Dec. 10.-If Sherlock
Holmes or any connoisseur in murder
happened into the city Of Riverside now
he or they would be confronted by one of
the prettiest (speaklng from Holmes
etandpoint) cases OF mysterious
slaughter that ever baked detectives
and theorists. Murder to which the per-
petrator left absolutely no clue save the
body of his victim, and that unidenti-
ned and likely to remain so, is the prob
lem that Sheriff johnson and Constable
eingletary have to contend with. All
OF the circumstances are dramatic and
even nelodramatic in their fitness to the
fearful crime; the locality, the mystery.
the coldbloodedness and apparent stud
led preneditation which mark the case
have bafi1ed the officers and serve to give
the citizens an opportunity to evolve
theories without end. And they all fit
the case.
unknown man in the Santa Ana river
bottom, about seven miles southwest Of
Riverside. The details Of the discovery
Of the body Wednesday morning last
by Charles WILDER, young man. the
con Of one Of the oldest families in the
settlement, have already been published.
WILDER was In the river bottom for the
purpose Of making a trail to haul fire.
wood out Of the cottonwood and willow
groves that line the stream. He found
across his path a mans body and, hor-
fif1ed. he Jumped on q horse and came to
the city and notified the sheriff. Tho
dead man was a handsome fellow Of
about 45. built like Hercules. He had
his hands bound together tightly behind
his back and with the same rope ono
ankle was tied. the left leg being free.
About his neck was a strip Of flannel.
but on the left side was a rope burn,
indicating that he had been either vio-
lently choked by lariat or had been
dragged by its means
That is all the officers have to work on
up to tonight.
The spot where the killing was done
IL an ideal one for such purpose. The
brush ana trees are so thick as to make
the work OF passing through them most
dif1cult, and 1t Is far removed from any
habitation. On each side are bare
brown plains, flve or six miles in extent,
90 that no one could approach the place
without being seen by watcher. 1t IL
all 80 lonely. so isolated and grewsome
in detail. that one would be depressed by
the solitude II not made apprehensive Of
danger from its very fitness for a crime
OF blood.
The sheriff and other officers have the
by a blow from d club or drugged in
some other place and then hauled to
where he was found and shot, for there
are two bullet wounds in his face either
Death. as the missiles penetrated the
brain. These shots were fired at close
range, for the mans countenance is
filled with powder marks. His face,
however. is placid and as composed as If
he slept, which lends color to the idea
that he was unconscious when the coup
de grace was given.
For very insufficient reasons the
opinion is chung to in Riverside that the
victim was a sheepherder or laboring
man, simply because he has somewhat
the Appearance Of foreigner, being
dark, and because he was found clad in
an old and ragged woolen shirt and a
pair of lei Dorado" overalls His feet
were also shod in a pair Of well-worn
and coarse shoes.
But It takes more than poor clothes to
make a sheepherder, and the mans
other traits show plainly that he was of
some Importance and Of better station
than that Of laborer. 1t seems fairly
plain that before he was killed his
clothes were changed and the rough gar
ments he was found in were put on him
by his slayers. His hands are soft and
devoid Of calioused flesh: his finger nails
are well-trimmed and his person Is that
OF q well-groomed man, of good circum-
stances. His underclothing is Of a far
superior quality than would be worn by
q laborer. and his face indicates an In
telligence and refinement that does not
At his overalls.
visit to the place where the body
was found this afternoon shows that the
crime was committed with great care
and prearrangement. Though the VIC
tim IL man of almost II not quite 200
pounds, there is not the slightest sign
Of = struggle in the sandy soil, and the
brush which blocks the way to the spot
- not broken and no footprints appear.
The place Is one that must have been
selected beforehand, for no one unac-
Quainted with the spot could have made
their way to 1t, let alone carried or
dragged either live or dead man.
Where his head rested the ground had
been turned to mud by the blood which
bowed from his wounds. A stick. used
to clear away the leaves. sank into the
biuod-soalxed sand at least throo a., c,,a.,