Arizona republican., 1904-01-04
THE TONIC KILLING
The More Learned of 1t the More Bru-
tai 1t Appears.

The Arizona Silver Belt prints the
following story of the preliminary trial
of lack and John Booth for the killing
near Gisela of Wiley Berry and
Mexican boy, named Vigil:
The prisoners were taken TO Payson
where the preliminary hearing of lack
Booth began on Saturday and wa5
concluded on Monday, before Justice J.
o. Hill. who hound the defendant over
without bail to await the action of the
grand jury.
In the absence OF the district attor-
ney. Henry q. Robertson was retained
by Santiago Vigil father of the MUIR
dered Mexican boy, to prosecute the
Booths and ]. w Wentworth conducted
the defense. At the coroner's inauest
lack Booth made confession, assum-
ing the responsibility for killing both
the young men, and denying that his
brother John Booth was in any way
IMPLICATED. There were some descrep-
ancies in the statement made by lack
Booth which are discredited. He al
leges self defense as the motive for
killing Berry and Vigil, claiming that
the former shot at him first. the bullet
from Berry's gun striking the pommel
of his saddle, whereupon he (Zack
Both) returned the fire. killing both
young mon He also stated that when
ha ordered them to leave the vicinity
they were sassy"
Wiley Berry was the son of w. w.
Berry, a prominent citizen and former
sheriff of Apache county. The young
man was 20 years of age and is high
Is spoken of He was shot twice in
the breast and his body was left lying
partly IN the fire where it had fallen.
Vigil. the Mexican boy. was the son
Of Santiago Vigil, herder for the
Bcrrys His body was found some dis
tance from that of Berry and he is
supposed to have been running when
shot IN The back. The assassin then
shot him twice in the breast and once
in the throat under the chin.
District Attorney George Il. Hill and
Undersheriff Pollard Pearson left here
or the afternoon of Christmas. and
reached Payson on Sunday. The dis
trict attorney found that Mr.. Robertson
had conducted the prosecution with
good judgment and ability and re-
quested him to go on with the cases.
At the conclusion. of the hearing Of
lack Booth the court took a recess to
give time for the exhuming and exam
ination of the bodies of Berry and Wig
il. for the purpose. it is supposed. of
ascertaining if there was n difference
in the calibre of the bullets with which
they were shot, or any other circum-
stances which might throw light on the
crime.
w. w. Berry, father of Wiley Berry,
and David Lee, of Thatcher, arrived
here on Tuesday nights train and left
for the north yesterday afternoon. It
is Mr.. 3erry's intention to have his
sons remain removed to St. Johns,
Apache county, as soon as possible.
Mr.. Berry had stopped at Thatcher
to see his wife and daughters. who
were visiting friends there when news
of the sons assassination reached them
in n letter from Justice of the Peace
Hill of Payson, who found a letter in
young Berry's pocket from his mother
written at Thatcher. The parents were
greatly distressed by the wholly unex-
pected announcement of the killing Of
their son and the violent manner of his
death, and the father had not recover
ed from the shock when he left here
yesterday.