Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-07-24
STORY OF REVOLVING CRIME
WHICH ALARMED COUNTRY

STORY OF REVOLVING CRIME
WHICH ALARMED COUNTRY
Canon City. Colo, July 1S.-Guiseppe
Alias crime, the murder of Father Lee
Heinrichs, of the Order of Franciscan
monks. at the altar rail In st. Eliza
beth's church in Denver while the
priest was administering the sacrament
of the Eucharist. struck horror TO the
heart of every person in Denver and
awakened anxiety throughout the
Catholic world lest it should prove the
beginning of a general plan of priest
murder.
ALA had been in Denver several
weeks, unemployed and apparently pen
niless. Early on the morning of Sum
day, February 20, according to his
story, he was aroused from sleep by the
ringing of the chimes in St. Elizabeth's
church. He arose. dressed himself hur-
riedly and walked out to the church,
led by the musical tones pealing forth
a call to worship. But he went not
mind, for he declared, and many times
repeated. after his arrest that the
chimes recalled alleged wrongs expert
enced in his native Italy, and attrib-
uted by him to the church.
Entering the church, ALA went
through the usual ceremony OF blessing
himself with holy water, and then seat
ed himself where his view of the altar
would be unobstructed. There he fol-
lowed the ritual up to the point where
communion Is given to all who are pre-
pared. ALA approached the altar and,
kneeling. awaited the arrival of the
priest officiating at the communion, not
knowing, Ala has said. or caring who
II should be.
A number Of other communicates
had assumed the same posture, and
positions at the communion rail were
practically all taken. When Father Leo
by all who knew him both in
and outside the church-appeared with
the consecrated waters, all at the rail
seemed impressed with the solemnity
and sacredness of the service and in
spired with thoughts of God. Ala,
however, according to his own state
ment, could barely restrain a desire
to spring at the throat Of the priest,
despite the place. the scene and the pc
culiarly sacred character of the action
In progress.
Next in Line.
Along the line passed the priest,
placing upon the tongue of each sue
cessive communicate the consecrated
wafer and repeating the lines of the
declaring the Eucharist thus adj
ministered is the Savior himself in per-
son.. Ala was now the next In line.
Leo, placing the wafer upon the
tongue of the stranger, all unsuspect-
ing of the murderous design in Alias
heart, began: Take, eat; this Is my
body" but stopped horror stricken.
The subject of the prayer had spat
the blessed morsel from his mouth.
Almost simultaneously with this desc
a shot rang out and Father Lee
sank to the floor mortally wounded.
A bullet from a revolver fired by
Ala had penetrated the priests body
hear the heart. Father Wulstan Work.
man, hearing the shot. rushed from the
sacristy, just in time to ad-
minister to Father Leo the last sacra-
ment. Father Leo expiring a moment
later in the arms of his brother priest.
after firing the shot, ALA,
with a curse, darted toward the main
aisle of the church and rushed for the
door. With hair disheveled and smok-
ing gun lourishing over his head, he
made his va to within 10 feet of the
where he tripped and fell. Po-
iceman Daniel Cronin, who was among
the worshippers, wrenched the gun
Alias hand and dragged him to
he street in an effort to protect him
the maddened worshippers. Out
side, the policeman II his charge were
surrounded by several hundred persons
who were about to g ALA from the
hands, when several priests
Franciscan brothers appeared on
steps and pleaded with the enraged
people to leave the avenging OF the
awful murder to God.
n presence of the eccleSiastics in
breeding for the life of the destroyer
If a beloved brother had effect. The
single policeman was allowed TO take
Mia away in q buggy hastily driven to
,olice headquarters. Several hours
ater ALA was spirited out of town in
IN automobile and taken to Colorado
for safekeeping.
The Trial.
The trial was con, 6aratiVely brief.
tut every opportunity of defense was
;iven. Insanity was offered as a plea
o escape the moose. The best alienists
n Denver testified that ALA was sane
md he was sentenced to be hanged.
! petition from citizens in Alias native
own in Italy pleading for his life, and
declaring that he was undoubtedly in
ane was forwarded 10 the Italian con-
ul here, but for some reason unex-
was never presented to the gov
Many believe thai the murder
# Father Leo was part of an anarch-
site plot against the Catholic clergy.
'ut nothing has recently TRANSFERRED /
ending to s~ubstantiate this view. Pre-
'ious to coming to Denver Father Leo
at Paterson, N. j. Paterson is the
of the Franciscan monks
n this country and it has been thought
'ossible that he incurred the enmity
some one or perhaps a group of
anarchists there. personal in its nature
nc applying only to him. His great |
and goodness of heart went
trongiy TO disprove this theory and no
whence TO support IL has come to light.
or not Alta brooded over
ancied rongs until his mind became
diseased. Ii is admitted that for years
Ie had entertained a hatred for the
PRIESTHOOD, and on this Sunday morning
n the chimes sounded from the
hurch he had apparently lost all power
I control for good. but the cunning of
vii remained. The result was murder