Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-16
DEED DONE BEFORE DAYLIGHT.
WHAT RAY CROxALL KNOWS OF THE CASE
Was Sleeping in Adjoining Room
When the Murder was Committed
Theory OF the Crime.

Salt Lake has another murder rlys-
tery-one that promises to be as dlin-
cult of solution as the Butler tragedy
on South Temple street "a year and a
half ago.
The hapless victim this time is
Lawrence Peter Brown, u thrifty and
prosperous young merchant. who ran
u store at the corner Of Fifth South
and Second East streets. At IL o'clock
last night, after attending n lodge
meeting, he went home and retired to
u room In the rear OF the store and
went to bed This morning a few min
utes past o'clock he was robbed of
several hundred dollars and then de-
liberately murdered. presumably while
in pursuit of the man or men who had
taken his money. The bullet that
ended his life was from a 45-caliber re-
volver and went directly through his
heart. M
The case is one of mystery and may
never be cleared up. Only one thing Is
certain. That is. that robbery was the
motive. Briefly the circumstances are
these: For the past five years Brown
has been conducting n store at the
place named. Connected with the store
is Il rear room In which Brown slept
at nights! Paraleling the store on the
east is n tier Of rooms occupied by
Mrs ]. Croxall to whom the property
belongs Mrs. Croxall heard one shot
fired; three of her children heard two.
Ray Croxall. q young man who has
| figured prominently in number OF
| thieying escapades, occupied room
| next to that in which Brown slept.
| The two rooms were connected by
| door but the door was locked and
nailed up from Browns side. Young
Croxall was the first person, 1t appears
to have been thoroughly startled by the
shooting.
He was put through rigid course OF
questioning by representative OF the
News" and also by the officers. His
story was not as cohesive or as con-
sistent as II might have been. but that
may be accounted for to Il certain ex-
tent by reason of his own past record
and apparent knowledge of case so
serious as the one under investigation
| What he said of the crime was courhed
in substantially the following Ian
guage.
II had been awake and was doing.
heard one shot and raised up in bed.
| My brother Ernest. who was fifteen
years of age, was with me. When the
shot rang out mother, who was Sleep
| ing in the room north OF us with my
| little sister, called out, Boys, what's
| the natter" Then another shot came
and | Jumped out OF bed and with a
match that mother handed me struck
| light and lit the lamp. After the
| second shot l heard some one fall.
| Then I heard a groan. Just about the
same time l heard buggy being driv-
en- of in a hurry. I rushed into the
front room, drew the blind aside ana
looked out but saw nothing. Mother
told me to run across the street and
wake up Mr.. John l.. Lawson, the ex-
city councilman, and have him CONS
and stay at the house while | went up
town and told the officers. This was
| Just ten minutes past Ave. ran over
| to Mr.. Lawson's and he went over to
our place while l started after the po-
| lice. / found an officer Mt the knuts-
ford corner and the patrol wagon was
! telephoned for. When 1t was brought
to the Knutsford, by Driver Cannon.
| Officers Everil, Chase and myself
| Jumped In and hurried down home
where we found Mr.. Lawson. Neither
he nor any of the folks had gone In
to the store, They felt sure that Brown
| was dead and kept away until the off,
| GERS got there"
WHAT THE OFFICERS FOUND.
when the officers arrived they i'm
mediately entered the store and by
/ means OF lamp soon found that not
] only robbery but murder had been COM
| mitted. Brown lay squaroly on his
| back at the rear OF the store in an en-
| trance connecting with his bedroom.
| a hurried glance showed that he had
| been dead for some time and that the
| body was already becoming cold. He
was clad only in his underwear and
hose. Directly over his heart was an
| ugly powder burned wound from which
the blood flowed In n stream. over
the wound was his left hand firmly
grasping the body as though actuated
| by a desire TO stay the pangs of i'm
| pending death. Between his feet
| lay 40 callber, single ac-
ton Colts revolver. Examination
| proved that two shots had just been
| fired and that before firing commenced
that the hammer had rested on an
empty chamber.
In the rear room, under the pillow
of the dead mans bed was another
| pistol a pepper box contrivance. But
ne evidently knew the danger he was
| I'm and that he had desperate charac-
| tiers TO deal with and therefore chose
| the larger and more deadly weapon.
| There We're reasons why he kept him
self well armed. First of all he had
| considerable money on or about his
| person all the time, Secondly he had
| once before been the victim of bur
| glars and had also been held up. This
was near the Joint building something
over year ago. But he was large
man, Weighing 1870 pounds. and In nd
dition was strong, active and nuscu-
lar. He showed hght, knocked the
footpad down. and dispossessed him
| OF his gun.
THEORY OF THE MURDER.
lust how the murder was committed
is prublematical, Of course, but the
most reasonable theory IL that the as
| sassins entered the store through the
| front door after having broken the
glass making 1t possible to put u hand