Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1906-11-22
FOR HIS LIFE
OR FREEDOM
Elton [. Weller Went TO
Trial Yesterday
The Story of the Killing
of Charles Williams Being
Told.

The trial of Elton f. Weller, indicted
for the murder of w. r. Kearly. known
for years in this valley as Charles b.
| Williams. was begun yesterday. The
killing of Williams, the result of a feud
OF long standing. took place on June
? of this year IL was at first thought
| that Weller had a good defense, but
later, things began to look rather black
/ for him and he was held to the grand
jury on a charge of murder. He might
have given bail which had been fixed
at $4,000. but he preferred to lie in Jail
and he has been there ever since.
! The jury which is trying him is COM
posed of ]. d. Marlar, G. K. Brewster,
p. Gordon, Fred TAFT. ]. r. Shaver.
5. H. Mitchell, Charles NJ. Higgins.
Smith Chittick. George Sears, c. Z.
Philes, L. Kohl and 5. ]. Roach. Dis
trict Attorney Baker and Assistant
District Attorney Billiard are assisted
by L. b. Goodwin, employed by the
Kearly family as special counsel.
There is a large number of witnesses.
so that it is improbable that the case
can be finished before tomorrow night.
though the territory will probably rest
today. Only a half dozen witnesses
We're examined yesterday. The story
of the killing was told by Willie +.
Holloway, the fifteen year old nephew
of Williams. He made a good witness.
He answered all questions intelligently
in a boyish treble. evidently without
any desire to conceal any circumstan-
ces which might favor the defendant.
His story differed slightly. but not ir-
recOncilably from his testimony at
the inquest and the preliminary exam
inatiOn Of Weller.
He said that williams arrived in
Mesa on the morning of June .. The
witness was in town TO meet him. They
started to the home of f. h. Kearly.
the father of Wilkins. who lives some
distance northwest of Mesa. on the
way they met Weller in a wagon. He
had n repeating shot gun and some
bed clothing. AS the vehicles passed.
Williams called to him. Hello. pretty"
to which Weller replied Hello. boss"
Williams reached for the relns to stop
the wagon in which he was riding. but
the witness swung them out Of his
reach and Williams got out while the
vehicle was in motion. The witness
explained on cross examination that he
feared trouble for he had heard the
folks at home speak Of the i'll feeling
between the two men. He did not want
to see what might happen and hurried
on. He heard his unc-e say that he
could whip Weller without a gun and
then he heard him tell Weller that he
was not armed What else might have
been said the boy could not hear. for
the noise made by the wagon. When
he had gone probably 100 feet. he heard
the report Of a gun and heard his
uncle exclaim that he had been shot
The witness turned in the wagon and
saw Williams falling and heard him
call for him to come back. The boy
turned his head and heard the second
shot. He turned tho horse and hitched
it to a mail box and went back. BY
this time. a Mrs. Kinsley had come
from a house near by and with another
woman. turned Williams. who had been
lying on his face. over. He died imme-
diately. Weller. who had been stand
ing near by. got into his wagon and
drove away.
There was introduced as exhibits
the clothing worn by Williams. 1t
showed that one shot took effect on the
left hip and the other higher in the
back on the right side.
Tie only other eyewitness Of the
killing was Benjamin Rogers. a ner-
vous young man. who lived near by.
His story of the tragedy is much the
same as that of Holloway. on cross
examination the defense tried to show
that Rogers had been in conference
with the Kearlys and the attorneys for
the prosecution and that he had receiv-
ed money from Z. 3. Kearly. Rogers
said that he had talked with friends of
the dead man and others about the
case but that no one had told him what
he should say on the witness stand. nor
had he told any one what he would say.
He said that he had borrowed about 81
OF f. p. Kearly but he had paid it
back. On redirect examination he was
asked if friends of Weller had not tried
to intimidate him. He nodded his
head. Another of the most important
witnesses was Mrs. Kinsley. She had
been the first to reach the side of the
dying man, but she had not seen the
shooting. Charles johnson and Thorn
as Johnson testified as to the local ge-
ocraphy of the vicinity of the killing;
Marshal Burton of the Arrest of Weller
ana the subsequent proceedings at the
inquest and the preliminary eXamina-
ton. and DIR. BraCk who conducted the
autopsy. described the character of the
wounds. f. Is. Kearly the father of
VII Jams, testified that his sons right
name was w. +. Kearly.
The trouble between Williams and
Weller had its origin in the domestic
troubles of the former. Williams wife
was finally divorced from him and
married Weller. The two men had had
several hostile meetings and it is said
that both had for years been making
threats. each against the other. VII
liams' threats related to the whipping
Of Weller and those of Weller to the
use of a gun.
n