Amador ledger., 1905-02-03

| Sheriff Norman informs us that DR..
F. N. Staples and paramount Mrs.
HOXie, were arrested last week at a
small country place about 30 miles from
the city of Ensenada in Lower Cali
fornia. The sheriff's Office has been in
possession of facts leading to the belief
that these much-wanted parties were
just over the American boundary line
in the Mexican territory, for several
weeks past. This belief led to the
flooding of that section with descriptive
circulars of the fugitives, with a picture
of each, and Offering reward of 800
for their apprehension. Recently he
received letters from that country ask
ing about the reward, and intimating
that 800 was not enough for case of
that kind. This and other communi-
cations convinced the sheriff that the
couple were somewhere in that locality.
He communicated with the chief of
police of San Diego and soon thereafter
secured Information that dissipated all
doubts about the wherea bouts of the
pair.
The next thing was to get them in
the hands of law officers. This was no
easy matter. To authorize their arrest
on this foreign soil it was necessary to
get requisition from Governor Pardee,
and this authority had TO be based on
documentary proofs. To secure these
the sheriff went to San Francisco and
got affidavits from the chemist, Thos.
Price, who analysed the stomach of
the deceased, and discovered poison,
(arsenic) therein in quantities sufficient
to cause death; this was supplemented
with other affidavits and thereupon
the governor issued the necessary tele-
graphic instructions to arrest and hold
the accused until their extradition in
regular form could be arranged. E.
Bailey, U. S. consul at Ensenada
made the arrest, and the pair are now
in jail in that city, and will be held
there until extradited.
The extradition papers must come
from the authorities at Washington.
1t may take from three weeks to
month before all these negotiations are
completed.
What the doctor was doing down
there we have not heard. The twain
were together; that is about the only
thing that is known. The portraits
sent out with the descriptive circulars
were so life-like that there was no like
lihood of mistaken identity.
Monday afternoon Governor Pardee
communicated with the sheriffs office,
stating that formal extradition papers
would not be necessary, as the sur
render of the accused parties had been
arranged with the governor of Lower
California. This would save time and
spare delay in extradition formalities
between the governments of the two
countries. On this information Sheriff
Norman left for Lower California Tues
day morning. He first went to Sacra-
mento, to be furnished with the nee
essary papers from the governor, and
thereafter proceed to Bnsenada via
railroad to San Diego. The distance is
over 500 miles. The trip will likely
take a week. The sheriff went alone.
On the return trip he will perhaps re-
quire an assistant, as the prisoners will
have to be watched night and day.
One of the important points that led
to the location of the fugitives was the
receipt of letter by party in Amador
county from DR.. Staples. The letter
was dated on the inside from ST. Louis,
but bore the postmark of San Diego.
The natural inference was that the
writer was in the Southern California
region.
DR.. Staples was indicted for murder
by the grand jury in December for the
murder of his wife in Amador City in
August last Mrs. Hoxie was not in
dicted by that body. A complaint has
been sworn to against her for the same
crime, and warrant issued thereon.
This capture Is the best piece OF work
that has been done in the criminal line
in this county within our recollection.
1t is the only instance of persons ac-
cused of a capital crime being appre-
hended after they had succeeded in
getting beyond the Jurisdiction of the
United States. The Baccigalupi case
some Is years back-also wife poison
ing case-is the only one that ap-
proaches it in the persistence and final
success of the efforts to effect cap
ture. Baccigalupi, however, never got
beyond the jurisdiction of the state.
The arrest of Staples and his companion
is due to the thoroughness of Sheriff
Norman's work in this particular case,
which promises to outrank In tragic
interest all other murder trials in the
criminal annals of this county.
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