Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-04-02
Prisoners DIG
FOR the Knife.
TRUSTEES Taken from City Jail TO Help Solve MYSTERY
OF Collins Death-0hicerS Are BsffIed sndHave
Little Hope of learning the Facts.

this afternoon when 1t is thought (,
| VIII De completed.
number Of points brought out al
the Inquest point strongly to the theory
mat Collins was murdered, and some
q the police officers have now aban-
doned the suicide idea and express
iselr belief that the aged man was
foully slain.
the hrst witness was John Llttletiar
an employe at Taylors undertaking es-
Enlistment He described In detail the
condition Of the body when il was
Drought TO the morgue. and explained
the nature Of the bruises and cuts
Police officer Gillespie testified as ia
The condition Of the cave when he went
70 the scene Of the tragdy. and he des.
cribed the position Of the body and how
II was bound with rope. Mr.. Gillespie
said he thought the rocks at the mouth
or the cave could have been piled w
from the inside.
The evidence OF County Physician
Mayo supported very strongly the muir
der theory lie said that the bruises
made on the body were made before
death The limbs he said. showed
that the old man had been dragged and
roughly handled before death. With
reference to the scratches and the hor-
rble cash in the throat DR.. Mayo
said.
The nose was scratched as II IL had
been robbed against some rough sur
face, and the whole front Of the body
Was covered with dirt that indicated
the body had been showed over a moist
surface OF earth. The eye had been
ipunctured, but that might have been
cone by falling against sharp rock.
~ had the appearance, though, of hav-
ing been done before death.
The two iugular veins were cut. and
as these conduct the blood from the
brain he would have become uncon-
scsous almost instantly after the cut
was made, | don't believe he could
have been conscious over rs sec
onds, and he could hardly have lived
over five minutes. The wound was
made with sharp instrument, and
could never have been done with the
butcher knife found. II he had cut his
own throat he would not have been
able to dispose Of the knife, or do any
thing whatever afterwards"
The opinion Of DR.. Mayo that Collins
could not have lived but very short
time after the cut was inflicted goes
far 10 completely destroy the idea OF
suicide, and in this he Is coroborated
By Assistant County Physician Eller-
beck. In fact, the latter said he was
practically sure that Collins did not
Kill himself.
Veicers RpbertA told Of he blood
which he found under several, rocks
In the 10 fhgtVt ~. a
placed there TO cover ZIP signs OF the
crime. He stated, as already publish
ed In the News" that from the mouth
OF the cave to where Collins head lay
there was a stream OF blood which
would indicate that the body had been
showed into the cave after the throat
was cut. This offers the only explana-
ton as TO why there was no blood out
side Of the cave n Collins was muir
dered. officer Eddington and Atty.
loofbourow each gave testimony as TO
the condition Of the cave.
The testimony Of r. f. Aveson also
bore out the statement Of the News"
that the body had been tightly bound.
aud that the rope became loose in drag
ging the body out. Mr.. Aveson was
the one who pulled the body from It's
hiding place. He said the rocks at the
mouth Of the cave had EVIDENTLY been
piled from the outside.
Some of the witnesses said that Col
Inns appeared at times to BE- respondent
but they could not tell what the cause
was Mrs. Orson Parker stated that
she knew Collins well. and that he an.
peared to have money, and on one oc-
casion she saw him take a handful OF
gold coins from his pocket
c. II. Woodward testified as 20 the
stocks that Collins dealt in for him. He
said he learned that Collins disposed OF
some Of the May Day stock for him
self but none for him CWoodward).
The boys who found the body gave
testimony but nothing new was brought
out.