Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-08-05
MURDERER CAUGHT
Ex-Convict Esequiel Cano Accused
of the Grimes of Robbery, Ar
son and Murder. -,
CHAIN OF EVIDENCE PERFECT
Finding Of Stolen Pocket Book Containing
Knife Belonging to Lola Gallegos
de Warn-Olothing Stained
With Blood.

| murder, arson and burglary.
Cano was released from the peniten-
| tiary on the Gath day of July; on July
| 25, during the absence of Mr.. and Mrs.
Rob't Wagner, Cano broke into their
residence and after robbing it, set fire to
the building in IN attempt to conceal
his crime, and he would have been sue
| cessful had it not been for the fact that
Mrs. Wagner noticed that the box in
which she had kept her gold watch was
uninjured although the watch was miss
ing. She reported the matter to the
officers, and they discovered the watch
had been pawned to j. S. Candelario for
$3.50 by, a m of the town, Salome
Vigil; the Vigil woman claimed that
Cano had given it to her, and Cano was
| being watched for this crime, when on
| Sunday last he broke into the Woods
residence.
While Cano was confined in the peni-
Tertiary Mrs. Wood, who performs mis-
| sionary work at the prison, met him and
| upon learning that his sentence was
| about to expire told him when he
was released to come to her house and
she would assist him and try and get
him employment.
Last Sunday Cano showed up at the
Wood residence, and upon learning
that the family were about to start for
church, Cano said he would also 60 to
church and would return again that af-
ternoon. However, instead of going to
church Cano watched the family until
they had gone away, then returning he
entered the house with the aid of a
skeleton key and stole a quantity of
iewelry and about $50 in money. Evil
dence obtained since his arrest shows
| that he took the jewelry and hid it near
the stock yards of the Santa Fe rail
| road and came over to town. During
the afternoon he gambled and drank up
the $40 he had stolen from Mrs. Wood,
| and shortly before 8 o'clock he told sew
eral persons that he was going to get
more money and started toward the
depot.
Lola Gallegos de Warn was murdered
in a most shocking manner on Sunday
night a few minutes after 9 o'clock, and
on Monday her body was discovered ly-
ing in a pool of blood, by Grover NOVEL;.
A few minutes before 10 o'clock Mon
day morning Deputy Sheriff Huber ar
rested Esequiel Cano, on Water street,
and charged him with having commit
ted the Wood robbery. Yesterday,
Cano confessed to having robbed
Mrs. Wood and took Deputy Huber to
where the plumber was buried, in a corn
field about rs feet from where Lola
Gallegos had been first assaulted. Cano
dug up the jewelry and turned it over
to Huber. He had the spot marked
with a withered weed in order that he
would not forget the place. Deputy
Huber was not satisfied with Cano's
actions, hence took him back to jail and
returned alone and began to search the
ground around where the jewelry had
been buried, and was rewarded by find
ing a pocket book which contained a
small, white handled pocket knife.
On taking these articles to Mrs. Wood
she said the pocketbook had been stolen
from her, but that the knife did not be-
long to anyone of her family. Then be-
gan the search to locate the owner of
the knife, and it looks now as if the clue
the knife gave the officers, would send
Esequiel Cano to the gallows.
The Chain of Evidence.
VII NIUy 90, NJ L. ulCu. llC lClu
no word as to relatives, and his property
was turned over to Charles Wagner to
be sold. A short time ago Lola Gale
gos de Warn, the murdered woman,
bought a number of articles which had
belonged to Mr.. Black from Mr.. Wag-
ner, among the lot was a small white
handled knife and on yesterday Mr..
Wagner identified the knife found in
the pocketbook belonging to Mrs. Wood
as being the knife he had sold to Lola
Gallegos. Messrs. Warner, Gortner
and Secundino Gonzales also identified
it as having belonged to Mr.. Black.
Lola Gallegos, Sheriff Kinsell has now
learned, left Mr.. Wagner's home at a
little after 8 o'clock Sunday evening,
crossed over the river and stopped to
talk with Mrs. Quintana, by whom she
was last seen alive, and then continued
on past the stock yards and must have
arrived at the scene of the murder at
a few minutes after 8 o'clock.
Whether Cano was caught by the
woman in the act of digging up his
plumber, or whether he killed her for
the purpose of robbery is not known,
but the officers are inclined to believe
that it was the latter reason which
caused poor Lola Gallegos to lose her
life.
On the way to the office of the Justice
of the peace this morning, Sheriff Kin
sell, who was walking alongside of
Cano, noticed that there were dark
stains on the inside of the coat and vest
worn by Cano. Sheriff Kinsell said
nothing about the matter until he had
taken Cano to the Justices office, where
Cano confessed to having robbed the
| Woods residence, but when Sheriff Kin
sell got Cano back in Jail he compelled
him to take off his coat and vest. These
articles were then taken to DR.. Sloan
| and he ~pronounces the stains on the
| clothes to be blood. 1t is now known
that on Monday morning Cano washed
the shirt he had on in an attempt to
hide the blood with which the shirt no
doubt was stained.
Cano remarked today to Sheriff Kin
sell that he would no doubt get at least
two years in the penitentiary for rob-
bling the Wood house. As yet he does
not know that the officers suspect him
of burning the Wagner house or killing
Lola Gallegos, and in view OF the fact
that Cano is considered to be a desper-
ate character and the jail is known to
be weak, the officers have decided to
say nothing about the murder until
shackels can be rivited on him, however,
as 0 as that is done he will be
charged with the Lola Gallegos de
Warn murder.
Too much credit can not be given
Sheriff Kinsell and Deputy Huber for
the manner in which they have con-
Quoted this case and the New MEXICAN
can safely say that Santa Fe county has
never had better officers than It has at
the present time.
K, e, Meats and Denver Fish
Is lust exactly what YOU crave for.