The record-union., 1898-05-04
CLAIMS THE BELEW REWARD
BROTHER-IN-LAW BIRD AFTER
THAT 5000.
He Explains How He Came to In
form on Relew, His
Relative.

J. w. Bird has, through his attorneys,
Hurst & Hurst Of Woodland, filed with
! the Secretary of the State Board OF
Examiners a claim for the $500 reward
offered by the Governor for the arrest
/ and conviction of the murderer Of Susie
E. and Louis Belew, who were poisoned
/ in Dixon, Solano County, on November
| Z, 1897, and who died two days later.
! The crime was finally fastened on
Frank Belew, a brother of the murdered
persons, by his brother-in-law, Bird,
and it is because he furnished the facts
which led to the conviction of Frank
Belew that Bird has sent in his claim
| for the approval of the State Board of
Examiners. His affidavit, as presented
to the Board Of Examiners with the
claim is in part as follows:
81 am the person who herewith makes
application to the State Board Of Ex-
aminers for the payment of the reward
offered in November, 1897, by the Gov
ernor for the arrest and conviction of
the murderer of Lewis and Susie Belew,
who died from poisoning at Dixon, So
/ lano County, on or about the 9th day OF
November, 1897
Prior to the time Of said poisoning
I had heard Frank Belew, a brother to
/ the murdered man and woman, make
| indirect but vengeful threats Of some
dark deed that he intended to commit.
| He mentioned no names, but [ men
| tally connected his threat with the
/ trouble between him and his brother
and sister over their fathers property.
I advised him to do nothing rash. This
was the day before the poisoning oc-
Cured
when I heard of the poisoning of
/ Lewis and Susie E. Belew at Dixon I
thought at once of the threats Frank
Belew had made, and consulted my
4 friends and attorneys, Messrs. Hurst &
Hurst, at Woodland as to what should
do and the best way to get the matter
! before the proper authorities, and on
! Sunday, the Dist of November, 1891,
G. P. Hurst, at my request, went to
Suisun and communicated with Frank
/ r. Devlin, District Attorney of Solano
/ County, the facts given Hurst by me
for that purpose. This led to direct COM
munication between the District At
torney and myself
"The matter of the information 1 pos
sessed was not made public until his ar
{
and in the meantime 1 visited Frank
Belew frequently and by carefully
planned and confidential talks with him,
soon convinced him that I knew he had
done the murder. Convinced that /
knew of his =uilt he seemed to want
TO make me his friend by giving me
his entire confidence, and thus, little
by little, I got from him the full con-
fession of the act.
I'm order to furnish other proofs of
/ his confession than my own testimony,
procured an interview with him (Be-
lew) in which we discussed the murder
again, and his part in it, in the hearing
of Frank Newby, an officer Of the peace
of Solano County. This was on January
+ 30. 1898. at Dixon, and acting upon the
information received from and through
me, and of my procuring, the Solano
County officer arrested Frank Belew
near Dixon on the ID of February.
Finding that other witnesses than
myself had heard his confession of the
murder, Belew almost Immediately after
his incarceration in the jail at Fair
| field. confessed his crime to diverse per-
sons and thereafter pleaded guilty IN
| open court to the charge of murder,
/ and was on April 14th adjudged guilty
and sentenced to expiate his crime on
the gallows.''
| The affidavit further states that it IS
upon the foregoing statements that Bird
+ bases his claim to the reward offered
/ by the Governor.
/ The claim was also accompanied by
| the affidavit of Frank r. Devlin. Dis
trict Attorney of Solano County, to the
effect that in his opinion the reward
| should properly go to Bird.