The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1905-11-23
AMERICANS
SENTENCED
To Be SHOT

chihuahua. Mex. Nov. 22-Judge Rios
has sentenced G.. r. Richardson, G.. $
Harle and William Mason. the Amcri-
cans. 10 De shot. They were convicted
OF numbering two men here for life in
surance money. Richardson being the I'M
surauce agent, Mason, his brother-in-law
assistant agent, and Harle the examining
physician.
They murdered "A man named Dcvers. de-
coyed from El Paso. and another man
named Mitchell. said 10 be- half-brother OF
Mason.
The case has been in the Mexican courts
three years. the arrests having taken
place I'm El Paso, and the men cXtradited
from there. Harlc was an El Paso physi-
clan.
This marks the end OF an extraordinary
conspiracy 10 cheat the New York Lie
Insurance company. MIR. Bottomc was
solicitor general for that company when
the murders involved were committed. IN
1907. The details Of the crime and the
great detective story that followed have
never been printed before.
The three criminals have fought extra
dition and appealed through the Mexican
courts for three years. Hurlburt was a
Rochester lawyer, who ran away To
Mexico with seven indictments Oyer his
head for running a divorce mill
Mitchell was another Rochester lawyer,
who followed him later.
with the help OF Dr. Harle OF Chihua-
hua they poisoned with strychnine two
other Americans whom they had caused
10 be insured Ina the New York Life and
collected 5000 on the policies.
These two Americans were Harry
Mitchell. brother OF Mrs. HuriJurt. and
James Devcrs, a broken-down mining
man. Hurlburt, calling himself c.. 7.
Richardson. was the c~ompanys agent at
Chihuahua.
SENT a DETECTIVE.
After the murders the gang except
Harle, moved To Texas. Suspicion was
aroused and a detective Was sent to
Texas. Posing az a lumber merchant, he
worked into intimacy with them. lie took
part I'm another plot TO steal $4,000, and
had himself arrested with the others.
There were two women mixed up In the
affair besides.
In the fan OF 1902. while looking over
some Mexican policies. the solicitor gen
eral noticed a peculiar coincidence i'm two
Chihuahua claims. The claims came
through the same agent, Richardson, were
certified by the same doctor. Harle. and
In both cases DIR. Harle had been the ex-
aiming physician.
-Tha-men-had- hoth- died after short Ill
nesses. one OF them. Harry Mitchell, In
sured for $1,000. had died on Feb. II. The
other. James Devers. who was insured for
$4,000, died on Feb. %. Yet the Mitchell
claim was presented I'm February and the
Deyers claim not until July. In both cases
the insured had no other relative than the
beneficiary. In the first case the benei-
ciary was Hurlburt's wife; i'm the second
case IL was William Mitchell, who posed
as Dovers' half brother.
SLAMMED FIT TWO MONTHS.
After the crowd had removed To Dallas.
Tex, a detective named Gray was sent
To Dallas aud fitted out AZ a lumber mer-
-chant-He was supplied with lumber
orders from New York to keep up the
game.
The whole crowd. including Gray. wac
arrested on Nov. ]. A fellow detective
OF his had already overheard Mitchell and
Hurlourst scheming 10 kin of Gray.
by accident In tho prison at FL Paso
Mitchell discovered what Gray really was.
He at once went into n sham cataleptic
NJ that lasted two months.
San Francisco experts watched him and
declared that he was playing possum.
Yet all this time Mitchell didn't recognize
the attendants or speak an Ineligible
word. lie didn't move from his bed.
Detectives stuck needles half an inch
into his feet. one hight they suddenly
rolled him out OF bed. when he should
have been asleep. and dropped him into a
tank OF cold water. lie sank to the bot
tom. stir. He was fed on milk introduced
through his nose by a glass tube because
his teeth were clenched.
At last they mixed up his daily milk
with whiskey. He got bowling drunk.
jumped out OF his cot and cursed at every
body I'm sight. 1t sounds like "A fairy
story.