Arizona republican., 1907-11-09
THE MURDER
 OF ROMERO
The Story of It is Told at
 the Trial of Sanchez
The Woman He Lived With Reiterated the Story Of His Confession.

The trial of Cornelio Sanchez for ths murder of Antonio Romero shortly af ter the midnight of April 4, 1906 Wa. so nearly finished yesterday that tn. arguments will begin this morning. The jury was completed and the forna evidence Of J. M. Burnett acting cor. oner at the time of the murder, Dr Hughes who examined the body ant Bert Balsz who found the body wa. taken. There was also heard the tes- timony of Nick Balsz who saw it after ward and man by the name of Men, doZa who accompanied Romero tC Phoenix and who was with him at ter o'clock of the night before his death.
 When Efrancia Suarez who had been known as the wife of Sanchez and was supposed by their most intimate friends to be his wife, was called the defense objected. raising the point that though she and Sanchez had not been married she. had been held out to be his wife and so was his common law whfe. In that case she could not testify against him. This matter was argued at length and the objection was over ruled. The woman then told her story which has already been related. She said that about midnight of April 4 Sanchez came to the house and got his revolver. He went away and about two o'clock in the morning he returned and told her that he mad killed a man. He asked for some oil with which to clean his gun saying that he expected the officers would be at the house soon. He added that he had killed the man ! because he had called him a disgraced minuda pedler.
 On cross examination the woman stood by her story and said that she l had not told it before because she was in the power of Sanchez and was afraid that he would murder her The defense attacked her character endeav- bring to show that she had fallen in love with a man by the name of Ramon 1 Contreras and wanted to dispose of Sanchez in order that she might live with him. She denied that and denied that she had told and one she loved Con- treras and was going to swear the life of Sanchez away for his sake. Mendoza the companion of Romero said that they arrived in town the day before the killing. They found them selves that night at the house of Vic tor Sanchez with several other Mexi- cans. Sanchez who by the way is not relative of Victor Sanchez was there with his minuda outfit. Romero had more money than any body else and was frequent purchaser. Finally about ten o'clock having made a pur- chase he was unable to make change He had a silver dollar and he and Cor nelio Sanchez went to the Redlight sa- loon to get change for it. That was the last Mendoza saw of his friend alive.
 Other witnesses saw them at the Redlight but no one who was in the saloon had a clear recollection of their movements with relation to each other there. One witness believed that San chez went away first. He thought it was about midnight and it was about that time that his wife said he came home after his gun. It was not recall ed by the hangers on about the saloon that he returned.
 But there was one witness whom the prosecution has been keeping in the background. one Pedro Zapeda and whose story until yesterday was never
 
 ter midnight he saw Sanchez and Ro- nero near the Cottage saloon and they were going down Seventh street Za- peda went on to his home about 400 feet west of the Cottage saloon and he said that soon after reaching it he heard a shot fired. The sound came from the southeast, in a general way from the spot where the body was af- terward found This testimony fixed the time of the killing. Young Balsz found the body at four o'clock in the morning. He had passed the spot at three o'clock driving and he remember ed that the horses shied at that spot but it was so dark that he saw noth- ing.
 That was the substance of the testi- mony for the territory. That for the defense was largely of negative char acter. O. Magnani proprietor of the Redlight saloon and his bartender A. Gonzales said that Sanchez and Ro- mero came to the saloon together but that Sanchez left first.
 J. M. Yberri who has a store in that part of town was put on the stand to prove what the defense had hinted at IT man, that she had determined to swear away the life of Sanchez for Ramon Contreras. It had been the understand ing of the defense that she had told Yberri so. But Yberri denied that: he said that the woman had come to him asking to have Sanchez arrested be- cause she was afraid of him. Of her relations with Contreras the witness knew nothing.
 The defendant himself took the stand. He denied that he saw Romero after he himself left the Redlight sa- loon on the night of the killing. He had his minuda wagon with him and took it home with him as a witness for the defense had testified he saw him with it about two o'clock in the morn- ing.
 Sanchez also denied that there was a revolver in his house and he said that he had none for months. On cross ex- animation he was asked if at his pre- liminary examination he had not said to his wife in his cross examination of her: Wasn't it nine o'clock instead of midnight when I came after my re- volver?" He denied that he had made the admission involved in such a ques- ton. O. E. Schupp the reporter at the
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