The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-06

him TO winneti1a- 1 wanted wit
ness when 1 searched the house 70
the revolver and decided that 1 Woult
first arrest Swigert. place him in tn
custody Of Coburn. and then take eros.
with me when the search was made
This plan was carried out. SWlSer
was found at work ON the premise
of a man named Pollard I told hiu
he was under arrest for the murder
Of Kean Higgins. and a more Sutlenly
unconceTned customer never have
had under my charge. He said moth
ing. In his pocket we found a razor.
We handcuffed him and took him 10
Gross store, where he was placed IN
private Office and Coburn on guard
over him. Gross and 1 then went TO
Swigerts house
The bureau drawer and a shelf on
! which Swigert had told Gross the re-
volver was were examined without
finding the weapon We went over the
house as carefully as possible, and still
no revolver. Then we repaired TO the
woodshed- This was a clapboaCd build
ing, lined on the inside of the stud
ding with plain boards. After a long
and careful scrutiny [ found hammer
marks that appeared to be freshly
| made on two boards. The boards were
removed. In the cavity was a guam
! tity of hay, and under the hay a bundle
| of rags In the rags I found the re-
| volver. which Gross promptly identi-
fed as the one he had leaned Swigert.
There remained in 1t one charge, the
/ bullet being trimmed on The end like
! the ones found in the ground at the
! scene of the murder
| Swigert was brought to Chicago Fri
| day night and locked up He was a
/ heavy-bTowSd,f unprepossessing man of
| about As years of age As soon as
\ we had him behind the bars 1 began
an investigation of his history, and
found that he formerly had lived with
| his family at Riverside Here he and
| his wife had quarreled, and Swigert S
( subsequent abuse of her had been sys-
! teuatic and seVere-sO much so. in
| fact that it had finally undermined
her reason, leaving her competent &c
! perform her routine household duties
| in mechanical way, but robbing her
of her better sense Thus she had
! lived after they moved to Winnetka
] although SWigert had been somewhat
kinder to her after his former cruelty
had driven her to the very verge OF
| lunacy.
! with Swigert in custody. I proceeded
| to fill in the remaining small gaps III
! the circumstantial chain without at
| tempting. for the time. to secure
| confession from him. The day after
he was brought to Chicago, however
! a newspaper reporter, we'll known a
that time as a specialist in crinina
matters was allowed to talk with Swi-
CERT He had thoroughly acquainted
himself with all the links in the chair
of evidence ana was as wen Httet
fol. the task Of interviewing a man OF
Swigert's type and position as any Of
fieer OF the law.
why did you kin Kean Higgins p
was the first question shot at the pris
! oner by his visitor
Swigert's gaze met that Of his I'm
quisitor boldly.
II didn't kill him." he answered sui
lenly. II don't know who killed him,
when you were told Sunday fore
noon that he had been killed why die
you not inform others and go TO tn
| scene of the crime?
MY baby was sick and I cOuldn'
| leave the house
why didn't you go to the wake o
funeraI?"
For the same reason"
after picking uD the stone on TIT
hillside and knocking Higgins dow
with it from behind and then shooting
him, why did you fire two other shots p
IT didn't fire any shot didn't xii
| him.
when you told your family a