Arizona republican., 1908-05-09
EYE WITNESS
 OF TRAGEDY
Tells the Story of Maggie
 Wagner's Death
The COrODer's Jury in Con- sequence finds that it was Accidental.

Maggie, resulted in the finding that | Wagner had come to his death by a ] shot fired by his own hand with sui cidal intent. and that while the fatal . wound of the daughter was self inflicted 1t was accidental. 2
 This conclusion was based upon the : testimony of the boy. Tomaso Tali- ! mcnto. the only living witness of the | death of the girl. He was too Gazed ! the night before by the bloody occur ! rences which had taken place about , him to tell the officers what he had {! seen.
 He testified that Wagner came home | the evening before very much under ! the influence of liquor and that enter ! ing the room where the witness and l the girl were. he drew his revolver | and. as he had frequently done before i while intoxicated. fired into the cell ing He discharged four shots. He ! was not angry and was not quarreling with his daughter. but on the contrary was in a jovial and boisterous mood. | Nor was the daughter angry. There was no upbraiding. On the contrary. Wagner had brought a bottle of beer for the witness and the girl. The girl objected To the beer as she had often done and broke the bottle, spilling the liquid on the floor.
 After her father had laid the re- volver down she picked 1t up. evidently believing that the last cartridge had been discharged. She snapped it four times on empty shells and then turn ing the muZzle toward her face she snapped it again. There was loud report and the girl fell to the floor dead That was the only cartridge in the weapon.
 Wagner immediately ran out and went to the house of his neighbOr A. |. Strait whose story was related in The Republicans story of the tragedy yesterday morning.
 The first suspicion of the night be- fore that the girl might not have shot herself was raised by the discovery that the revolver which had been giv- en to the officers by Mrs. Wagner had not been discharged for long time was dispelled by the testimony of Mrs. Wagner who said that when she was asked for the gun she hardly knew what was meant. In her dis turbed state of mind a gun was a gun and she turned and picked up revol- yer and handed it to the inquirer. She did not know at the time whether or not that was the weapon which had been used There are by the way. guns everywhere in the Wagner house and that one happened to be the near est to the woman who had seen no other since the shooting
 When Mrs. Strait told of the suicide of Wagner she nearly broke down with the recollection of the horror for she had avoided seeing the top of his head fly off, only by turning her head. She sad that when she and her husband had been summoned by Wagner and after her husband had come to town after the doctor she accompanied Wagner to the room where the girl lay. He said among other things that the tragedy was the fault of his wife. who was bending over the girl wash ing the blood from her face
 Wagner turned and went out. saying that he was going with Maggie. He had picked up q shotgun. Mrs Strait cndcavorcd to dissuade him. imploring him 10 do nothing until her husband should return. But Wagner put the
 
 when Mrs Strait saw him reaching for the trigger. she turned her head aside and started around the house Then came the muffled report and turning she saw Wagner lying on the ground. the top of his head gone.
 Other testimony was modification of sensational reports of the evening before and of the morning of rela- tious between Wagner and his daugh- ter which might account for either her suicide or her murder For instance. it had been stated that she told Mrs Luiz Frederico the afternoon before her death that her life at home was very unhappy and that she dreaded to go there Mrs. Frederico's testimony put this story into an entirely differ cnt light. She said that the girl had come to her house on the way from school and that her father was to stop there for her on the way to town. The girl said that she had seen her father and that he waS drunk and that when inc was in that condition she did not like to ride with him. Therefore she started on ahead, and was overtaken by him. There was no complaint of IINi lplIlt ll4ts bGt Oti biiF NOllt4 ci4 ' there seemed to be an affection be tween father and daughter.
 There was also modification of the statement of Elias Cook the night be- fore that Wagner had told him that he had trouble with the girl in the morn inE about the milking of cow and that he was going to drive the girl away when he got home. Cook said on the stand that something had been said about the milking of COW. hu as he remembered il the trouble, what ever il was, had been adjusted. At any rate. there was mo cvid"pcc of quarrel between Wagner and his daughter.
 Against the story of Talimentc. the eye witness. was the impression of some half dozen persons, Mir. and Mrs. Strait, J. C. Jackson. J. J. Sidell and others. that the five shots, the four fired by Wagner into the ceiling and the fatal shot, had all been fired in rapid succession. In that case the , girl would not have had time to snap the weapon four times and then turn the muzzle toward her and snap it again. But the jury. impressed by the story of the boy, took into account the liability of the outside witnesses who sav nothing and were expecting nOth-