Arizona republican., 1901-02-11
FAMOUS MURDER MYSTERY.
Was Finally Solved Ihr5ugh Clever
 Work by Young Detective.

tC abolish the death penalty in this state. It may not be generally known.
 but 1t is fact, just the same, that the
 death penalty was actually abolished
 once in this state, and by reason of it., though the law was quickly repealed, one of the most extraordinary murder CTS on record in this city escaped the | gallows, and in most extraordinary
 way says the New York Sun, Gabo- riau never wrote a detective story that exceeds in interest and surprise the
 case of this man. It began with one murder. which was quickly followed on
 the same night by another murder, and after that third murder. which ended the life of the man who committed the first two.
 Just before the war between the north and south began. a we'll known 1 citizen resided in Eighteenth street
 near third avenue, a neighborhood in those days where many rich men lived. His name was John Walton. One ev- | ening Walton was shot dead in the l street as he was walking toward his | house. As the fatal shot was fired, | man named John w. Matthews, who
 was on the block, saw a man run to- ward Lexington avenue. Matthews, | gave chase. He was fast outstrppiNg | the man when the latter suddenly | turned, shot rang through the air | and Matthews fell dead. By this time | crowd had started after the murder | CT, who had turned into q side street. When the crowd got to the corner there was no sign of the man anywhere He had vanished as if the earth had swal- lowed him. The murder ofWalton and Matthews set the whole city in an uproar. The police were at sea. Why was Walton killed? What was the motive of the murderer? A moment before he met his death a friend was certain that there was no one on, the block at the time but Walton and himself. Evident ly. then, the murderer must have been behind tree when he fired tn Walton. The later's neighbors began to talk. They remembered that Charles Jef- ferds, twenty-five years old WaltOn's step2on had had frequent quaITels with Walton, and that the young mans mother always sided with her son.
 Was -'oung Jefferds the murderer? That was impossible, as he was known to be at hotel in Brooklyn, and had been seen there the night of the mur- der, sauntering about in his usual way. However the talk became so hot about him that Jefferds. just as an innocent man would do. sent word t1 the coroner that he would place himself at his of- ficlal disposal. for said he. "I am get ting sick ol the talk connecting my ,,rf.h ,la, Gal IT,,
 his word he appeared before the coro- ner, and horde of respectable men testified that they saw him at the Brooklyn hotel the night of the murder about the time Walton was said to have been killed.
 Everybody vas convinced that Jer- ferds had nothing to do with the mur- der, the coroner apologized t1 him for the unnecessary trouble he had been put to. But everybody was not con- vinced-the exception was Nelson J. Waterbury. the district attorney. He got the grand jury. In some way, to in- dict young Jefferds for the murder. The trial soon followed. It was on every tongue while it lasted. The news papers were full of it. Well, when lt was ended, Jefferds, amid the cheers Of his friends, walked smllngly out of court-a free man. The jury had &C., quilted him.
 That ended it all said Jererd's friends and the general public agreed with them. But one man still considered Jefferds the murderer. True. Jefferds acquitted could, If guilty, have boast ed Of his guilt, and the law. under the constitution could not have harmed hair of his head. But the one man who believed him guilty of killing Walton said to himself: "The man who killed Walton killed Matthews Jefferds can never be tried for the killing of Wal ton, but the murderer of Matthews has not been put on triad yet" The obdu- rate man was Nelson J. Waterbury.
 Full of health, naturally robust. young Jefferds enjoyed life after his acquittal to the fullest extent. His mother had a lovely villa on Long Ss- land near the sound. There was yachN ing there; Jefferds was fond of boating. There was plenty of fishing; Jefferds was great angler. Besides there were cosy places in the not far away neigh borhood where corn whiskey was Tn abundance, and where jovlal young men assembled in the evening. Jef- ferds liked merry company. and he liked whiskey too. and he was often nights the merriest of the merry.
 One young man he met among the merrymakers Jefferds took a great lik- ing to. This young man always had plenty of money. He was evidently some one who. during the summer, had all the time he wanted to enjoy him. self He and Jefferds became great chums. Indeed, they finally became so inseparab!e, and Jefferd's mother took such liking fer the young man that she insisted on his spending the sum- mer at her villa. She thought the tav- ern hotel was not good enough for such a nice young fellow. The summer days passed on pleasantly, and the two young men when they sat at a table with Mrs. Walton playing a friendly game of cards, amused her with tales of their mishaps on their boat
 But the boating and fishing had not been done without considerable inter- change of views of life and things gen. erally between the two friends. Jeff