The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-24

L
coroner's jury returned it's verdict
within a few minutes.
The members OF the jury We're w.
II. Tilton, Nathan Borkowitz, A. j.
Linder. r. p. Williams, A. FL. john
son and John Christy.
CALDERONE BREAKS SILENCE
His Statement Full Of Inconsistencies,
/ but Contains Admissions.
Antonio Calderone, according to a
| signed statement In the hands Of Chief
| of Police Conroy, is the slayer of
Salvatore Battalia, whose lifelss body
bridge last Wednesday night.
| After spending seven hours in the
sweat box, into which he entered at
his own request, he told last evening,
lin faltering and contradictory terms,
his version of the affair, which the
police know by their investigations to
be full Of Inconsistencies. When the
statement had been taken in short
hand by Court Stenographer John f.
Dahl, Calderone signed 1t. The or
deal lasted till nearly II o'clock.
While the confession; of itself, is OF
| little value to the police, the officers,
! in securing it, accomplished one thing
which Is important. They succeeded
| in breaking the sphinx-like silence
that has characterized the man since
his incarceration. This silence was
| McGhee, who had doubtless planned
a clever defense, and the officers
think that by securing even a faulty
confession. they have acconnplished
| something which will prove impor-
tant
| Disagrees with soucie.
Calderone claims that he went to
the bridge with Battalia. and another
MAN, whose name he does not know,
and who passed as a friend OF Batta-
/ liza. He says that Battalia said that
/ they were going to attend a dance
and that the friends OF the two at
4 their homes did not know where they
were going. The three met at the
| Olympia candy store and walked
down Sixth street to Cedar avenue,
seventh avenue and Franklin, and
then walked to the bridge. it being
said by Battalia that the dance was
to be on the east side OF the river.
This part of the story does moi
4 agree with the story of A. D. Soucie
the street car conductor who took the
man to Franklin avenue. Soucie says
the three boarded his car at FRS
avenue S and that Calderone paid the
fare. Calderone acknowledges thai
he paid the fare for the three.
! In his confession referring to the
fight on the bridge, Calderone makes
one or two blunders which render hls
4 statement almost worthless. He says
that he, Battalia and the third mar
were walking across the bridge wher
Battana hit him with the knife. He
then says that he took the knife away
| from Battalia and buried 1t in hi
| body several times. After Battalis
fell to the floor Of the bridge, HI
turned and ran to the west end O.
the bridge, where he threw the knife
away and then went to St. Paul.
Calderone Bought Knife. =
AS will be noticed in this part O.
the confession, Calderone fixes thu
ownership of the knife upon Battalia
but Max Schmaler and Fred Tim
norman, two employees Of the Palace
Loan office, on Washington avenue
have identified Calderone as the maj
who purchased the knife at thei
l!place OF business November IL, jus
six days before the murder was com
mitted. They have also exhibited t
the police a case containing wv
knives OF the same make and pattern
|
set Of old surgical instruments.
. The rest Of Calderone's statemen
is immaterial,, as it deals with Incl
dents subsequent to the real murde
:. and in a way carries out the conclu
sions reached by the police from
their investigations. i
The Prisoners Full Statement.
Sam took supper at my house on thi
J might, / had seen him before in the fore
noon and in the afternoon in the marke1
There was present at the house when Sar
was there to supper Nell Mantia, Philip
: Battalla, Leonardo Tizza, Agostine c,
; tiara.
After supper Sam said he wanted me
go to dance with him.. Nobody else {
I those present heard him say that. H
came out of the closet and whispered
my ear to lose no time. that he wanted m
to go to a dance with him.
I afterwards met him at the Olympi
candy store on the corner OF Sixth an
Hennepin and Sam was there and also
: third party, a man about 40 or 40. An
t together we walked down Sixth street
8 Cedar avenue and took car to Twenty
: seventh avenue and got off there. i pal
4 the fare for the three.
4 Sam did rot introduce me to this othe
l man at all. never spoke word to hil
: at the store or down to the car or on til
V car or afterwards Sam did not speak I
e him either. He just said he was frien
e of his.
o After we got off the car on Twenty-se1
enth avenue, I saw there was no dane
j around there and then Sam said for US
0 go down across the Franklin avenr
J, bridge, that there was a dance down ther
Q And we walked down to the Franklin q,
s enue bridge and as we were walking alor
! on the bridge. walked next to the ra
Sam walked next to me on my left har
& and the other man to the left Of Sam ar
e 4 little behind him, because the walk {
I 1.-The bridge was small.
s Says Batalia Struck First.
$ And after we had gone a little distanc
e Sam hit me with knife. / don't kno
|, just where he hit me, and ! grabbed Il
d knife, grabbed the steel, the blade, al
II 1t cut my hand. / got the knife and
o thought then was killed myself. So
l. took the knife and hit Sam don't kno
n how many times I hit him until he fe
n And didn't hit him after he fell.
g The other man ran away and didr
see him at all. He took no part in tt
Z fight Then started to go back to MINI
]. apolis and went to the Minneapolis end
L the bridge and threw the knife away a.
h then walked back across the bridge al
j. went to St. Paul.