The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-09-07
ALL POINT TO
CASE OF MURDER
oHcers Insist Jennings Was
FOuIly Slain.
pysTeRY OF A MISSING GUN
.ouTRADICTORY TESTIMONY
AT coRoNER's INQUEST.
aysTeQY OF A MISSING GUN

u
j J. A. Jennings at the road house
state street brought forth develop
-.,ts which. the officers claim, confirm
.,.,st bevond a doubt their belief that
,.-oi,as was robbed and murdered.
~..,i1any at the inquest begun yes
..-7,y morning showed that the GUS
-, was 90 have two guns behind the
..rotaf. one OF which cannot be ac-
.,,-,t-d for. unless IL was lying cooked
,...da Che body Of Jennings.
,rofhar witness has been found who
I'D, Jennings with money shortly be-
49, he went 90 the rOEd house. and
10 asserts that the Fad man was
,.-f-sfIy sober al that time. Besides
t-s- facts. every witness OF the AFFAIR
.,qm.ned al the inquest told an en-
t.reIy different story 10 what he had
Ia before. They denied every admls-
s,a made 20 the officers. and infOrma-
ian Mas secured showing that at least
s,a witness had been talked to by
taneers on al the resort about peach
M and giving away things"
This same witness appeared before
,ss corouers jury with an entirely new
sr7ry Yesterday, In which he fiatly de-
r.+I every admission made to the Of
f.ars The day before. asserting that he
had told the other stories while drunk
and under the influence OF morphine.
II was plain TO the officers that new
stories had been cOncoCted somewhere,
sal they had to admit that a mistake
had been made In allowing the princi-
paI witnesses 20 be released from jail
So they might have a chance 10 talk the
affair over among themselves.
Testimony at Inquest.
The inquest was held by Justice F.
4 Bishop of Farmers ward, and was
opened al 10 O'Clock in the office of I'm
lsrtaker ODOnnel \ jury was Sc
lscIed. composed Of r. l.. McGhie. Hor-
ace NIayuer and Victor Chr!stopherson,
County Attorney Christensen appeared
m behalf Of the state. and Attorney
slraup appeared for Barney Eckstein.
who fired the fatal shots. The witnesses
we're all excluded from the room. and
Frank Trustie. the colored bartender,
was the first one called TO the stand.
His story varied considerably from
any ~ those he had told before. TRUSTEE
stated that the first he saw of the man,
be himself was sitting on the porch
with his feet up against a post. when
jennings came up from towards the
candy stand at the corner and said:
Have You got any beer here, you -
n.gger2"
Then" said the witness, "he kicked
my feet from the pole and, picking me
up knocked my feet from under me
and threw me 20 the floor. / went into
The bar and he followed me and bought
two beers He gave me one drink.
Then he played the slot machine and
broke it, and demanded that I give him
j. cents which he said he won. / gave
hin the money. and he went outside
and sat down on the porch. That was
The last l saw OF him until hszcame in
With the gun"
Says He Saw a Gun.
When asked If he had seen Jennings
with a gun IN the afternoon. TRUSTEE
said he saw one in his pocket, but when
asked If he had told everything that
occurred In the afternoon, he said he
had. He did not mention the gun play,
which, he said before. Jennings had
made.
Continuing his testimony. TRUSTEE
said Eckstein came home just before
dark, and asked him who that man
was on the front porch He said he
tod Ecksteln that IL was some big
Eph and nothing more was done or
said bout him.
The next time I saw him." said the
regro, he came in and walked 20 the
bar and stuck his gun against Bar
ney's breast and said something was
going 10 be doing quick. Barney told
MN twice % take the gun of. then he
drew his gun and fired"
lhe witness said Jennings held his
gun IN his left hand. but that when he
ir.l The gun dropped on his right side
ana lay near his right hand. He de-
earrd that no one had touched the
man until the officers arrived, and said
Barney made no effort 20 see if ne was
dead. but just plugged him and
walked 10 the phone and notified the
TRUSTEE testified that it was the GUS
Tom 20 keep two reVolvers behind the
tar but he admitted that there was
only one gun there when the officers
arrived. He didn't know where the
p'Aer gun was. bat stoutiy denied that
mat was il lying beside Jennings.
Police Captains Story.
Captain Burbidge Of the police de-
lartmenL was next called and testi-
h"a that he was notified of the affair
"oout II O'Clock. Tie testified tina
NArn be reached the scene. there were
""'ot half dozen people standing
"uout and Jennings lay near the bar
WIN The gun lying cooked and within
IT," inches of his right hand He
yovA The gun from the floor and asked
L'Asiein for his, which lay behind the
counter. lie stated that the witnesses
t'N MIN Jennings held his gun in his
le.t hand.
But said the captain. when ! got
mere Oh" revolver lay between Jen-
h,ASs right hand and the counter,
G VIM. his left hand lay of in an entirely
Inherent direction"
The captain said ne found in Jen-
Llhss pocket a purse containing SS.0a.
RMS purse is the one in which others
81" over $500 before jennings went 10
he road house.
Sheriff Naylor testified that he
reached the scene and took the guns
ana other things from Captain Bur-
o-Ase and placed Eckstein and the wit
A-sses under arrest.
Changes His Story.
The next witness called was Ed Sher-
o-ooA, the piano player, who told the
o-hcers, Friday, that Jennings came in
tAe house claiming 10 have been robbed
ana flashed gun on Eckstein.
was az Murray" said Sherbrook
ana got back 10 the road house about
~. About $40. 1 saw Jennings come
rom The candy stand and walk up 10
q. rustic and say, You niger. I'd like 70
III you fun OF holes He then kicked
trustees feet down from the pole and
picking him up just Ike a baby threw
nm down on the porch hard enough &
crack his bones.
lie ordered TRUSTEE to go in and gel
MN a drink and when he got tht
eslnN he played the slot machine unit
he broke 1t. He flashed a gun on Trus.
ue and told him that If he didn't pay
nm II cents he would blow his
brains out TRUSTEE told him TO stand