The San Francisco call., 1904-03-09
Two Suspects Held by
Police ReasSert Their
Innocence.

the inquest into the murder of Jo-
Eeph Buttgenbach, shot on SATURDAY.
night in his Office at the Pacific Pack
ing-house, was begun yesterday be-
fore Coroner Leland. The days work
made it painfully evident that the po-
lice have failed In their effort to dis
cover evidence that would lead to the
apprehension Of the murderer or even
lend more than argumentative color
TO their theory that it was commit
ted by Albert Buttgenbach, the VIC
TINS son.
One Of their star witnesses, the ne
gro Mason, after confessing his bitter
hatred Of the young man, further dis
appointed the detectives by admitting
that he was uncertain whether the in
strwnent he saw I'm Albert's hands
shortly before the shooting was a re-
volver or - monkey-wrench. This
ends his usefulness as a witness for
the State. The bookkeeper Brune,
and young Buttgenbach himself were
on the stand and retold without
change their former stories of the
events surrounding the crime. Efforts
10 shake their testimony failed.
one OF the sensations Of the hearing
an intelligent lad, who declared that,
standing on the sidewalk in front of
Buttgenbach's packing house, he heard
the shot fired from the assassin's re-
volver, and that it was Immediately
followed by loud groan, the noise of
falling glass and the sound Of a scuf-
fie- Two new witnesses, II. P. Trau
and F. B. Connolly, who were expected
ID hoy
Of Shipley street shortly after the shot
was Cred, viii say on Thursday that
they now believe it was the boy Slavich
whom they saw.
The CorOner's jury spend the morn
ing al the packing-house at Fourth
and Shipley streets. where the MUIR
der was committed. Under the guild
ance Of Detective Thomas L. Ryan,
who is especially assigned to the case.
The jurors viewed the places men
toned in the witnesses statements
and listened TO some preliminary tes-
tm0~v. The afternoon hearing was
helc at the Coroner's office.
p SERGEANT GREENE'S ACCOUNT.
Ryan took the jury over the entire
premises at the packing-house and
explained briefly how the proprietor
10 close his establishment for the
night Coroner Leland then called on
Police Sergeant Greene, who related
that. on Saturday night shortly after
10 O'Clock. as he was at Fourth and
Folsom streets on his way to report
for duty, he heard a shot and running
down Fourth street found a crowd
collecting before Alpers & Heide's sa-
loon. In the rear OF this he discov-
cred Albert Buttgenbach breaking
through the board partition that sep
arated the saloon from the meathouse.
After putting him under arrest he
went with Bruno through the partition
and into the Office by way of the rear
door There they saw Joseph Butt
Eenbach lying face downward on the
floor with a bullet wound in his head,
and on turning him over found sew
eral 3s-caliber cartridges under him.
These probably had been emptied
from a revolver in a struggle with an
assailant before he fell. The front
door leading from the Office into the
store was half closed and the glass in
il had been broken. falling outside in
the hallway. Green continued:
When ] ordered Albert Buttgenbach taken 10
the police station he asked for his hat. and
it vas found outside the office on the scales.
5ust where the man must have stood that fired
~ his father. I examined all the possible
exits from the factory and found that all the
doors were closed except the small Soor on
the Shipley street side where Albert told
the two men had met him as he was going
our on his way home He said they nae
flashed pistols in his face and that he there
upon became frightened and ran back through
the office. We searched everywhere for a re-
rolver but failed 10 md any
HOW THE SHOT WAS FIRED.
The police sergeant explained the
probable position Of the murderer when
he fired at the meat packer through
the front window of the Office. He
must have held his revolver at an
oblique angle with the window pane"
said Greene, because if il had been
pointed straight at the window the hole
in the glass would have been smaller
Inasmuch as both Albert Buttgen-
bach and Louis Srune had declared
that when flying from the foOtpads
they had heard, back in the engine
room, the crash Of glass falling from
the broken Office door, but had not
heard the pistol shot, test was made
10 determine whether this was posi- !
bic. Detective Ryan sent the jurors
back 10 the stairway where the two
young men broke the partition, and
then he let a pane Of glass fall on
the floor by the Office door. The noise
was plainly heard all over the engine
room. Their alleged failure to hear
the shot is one Of the peculiar things |
told by the two men now under ar |
rest, but as regards the glass the test |
confirmed their statement
At the afternoon session the first |
witness examined was Louis T. Bruno, |
the boOkkeeper, who is now held un- /
der suspicion Of guilty knowledge of |
the crime. He told his story in a |
Straightforward way and showed no |
signs Of nervousness. answering many |