Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-06-26
AN INSANE PRISONER
HANGS HIMSELF
IN JAIL
Native BrOOded Over Murder
of Child Because He
Thought Himself to
Blame for Death.
USED ROPE BELT
TO END HIS LIFE
Brought From. AtrisCo Yesterday
to be Examined for Insanity He
Commits SuIClCe In Presence
of County Prisoners Dur
Ing the Night.

Driven insane by the thought of
having been partly responsible for the
murder OF little boy, Donaciano
Garcia, 40 years old, a rancher liv-
ing at Atrisco, village on the west
bank of the Rio Grande opposite this
city, ended his life last night at the
county Jail by hanging himself. The
body was discovered at o'clock this
morning oy fellow prisoner named
Martinez, hanging by a small cord
tied to a bar in the window. The
lower limbs of the body touched the
floor. and death was caused by stran-
gulation, the small cord cutting deep
into the flesh OF the neck. Life had
probably been extinct an hour when
the body was discovered, as the limbs
were cold. Martinez aroused the jail
er. Justice of the Peace Romero was
summoned and coroner's jury
brought to view the body. The in
quest was continued at the court
house this afternoon.
Garcia was brought here yesterday
by an officer from Atrisco to be ex-
amined for insanity. He had been
acting strangely for some time, ac-
cording to relatives, and has on sew
eral occasions threa tened to take his
life. Yesterday lie complained of
having a strange hot feeling in his alb
domen and told Deputy Sheriff Heyn
that he would like to be put In cuol
place. The county physician was
summoned and gave the man some
medicine. After being placed in the
jail Garcia continued to complain of
being hot inside. He retired with the
other prisoners, however, about 3
o'clock, lying down Oh d pallet in the
corridor which surrounds the main
cell. a large number of prisoners
sleep in this corridor and the hunks
are only a few feet apart.
About o'clock this morning Gar
cia was heard to yell in a loud and
excited voice: "Theodosio!" Theo-
dosio Sandoval. another prisoner in
the corridor, heard his name called
and was about to answer. when a man
on the same bunk told him to keep
still, saying that the crazy man would
keep them awake all night with his
| talk. An hour later Garcia was found
hanging beneath the window, cold in
| death. 1t is believed that If San
| doval had answered the call or inyes-
| tigated he would have saved Garcia's
life. The rope had probably just be-
come tdut around his neck when he
| yelled.
The cord with which Garcia hung
himself had been used by him as
/ belt, and Was not over four feet long.
| one end had been tied to the bar on
| the outside of the open window. The
I other end the insane man wound
twice around his neck and tied in
, slip knot. The man must have stood
at the window until he had tied the
/ two knots, and when he had finished
pushed his knees forward as though
to sit down. The cord was not strong
enough To stand a very great strain.
The crime which preyed upon Gar
cias mind was the killing of a little
boy by the name of O'Bannon of Ba-
relas by Jose Pomuceno Luise eight
years ago. Luise was convicted of
murder and sentenced by Judge
| Crumpacker to hang. The hanging
| took place in Old Albuquerque less
than u hundres yards from where
Garcia took his own life last night.
Deputy United states Marshal G. r..
Newcomer, who was chief deputy un-
der Sheriff Hubbell at that time.
pulled the trap which sent Luise to
perditiOn.
The dag Of the murder Garcia and
Luise had been drinking in Old AL
buquerIue. They had started for their
homes across the river. when they
came across several small native boys
playing in Barleas road where that
thuroughfdre intersects the road
4 which runs east and west across Ba-
reias bridge. Luise had a pistol. Car
cia told Luise to shoot anybody he
wanted to and ne would stand by him,
Luis turned in his saddle, while his
horse was bucking, and fired at the
boys twice. The O'Bannon boy was
killed outright and another boy about
years old was shot in the neck but
recovered.
A large number of people congrc-
gated at once and were talking OF
pursuing the murderer and lynching
him. Luse and Garcia continued
west after the shooting and crossed
the river. Luise turned h the right
after crossing the bridge and made
for tho sand buttes 10 the northwest,
with a hundred horsemen I'm hot pur-
suit Instead Of keeping his course to
the northwest Luise circlrd u the
south.
B-pury Sheriff Newcomer and Fred