Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-30
MURDER IS
FOUND IN
WELLHOLE
Body Dragged Out With
Bullet Hole in Head
BOTH CORONER AND SHERIFF
WERE LATE AT SCENE
EVIDENCE THAT DEAD BODY WAS
NAILED IN WATER PIT
Clad Only in sateen Shirt of Black.
Features Gone and No Iden-
tification Made as
Yet

M URDER was revealed yesterday I
N when the decomposed body of an
AhA unidentified man was removed !
from an unused and abandoned well I
on the old II. ]. Crinklaw ranch in /
Monterey pass, formerly known as /
Coyote pass on the road to Alhambra.
When the body was raised to the sur
face yesterday afternoon 1t was found |
that the skull had been shattered by a |
bullet and that rope around the body |
underneath the arms, was attached to |
a heavy weight which held down the |
body
From the appearance of the body. |
which was viewed by Coroner Hart |
well, 1t was decided that 1t was that of |
q man past middle age, from feet 10 |
inches to feet in height, and weighing |
from 1870 to more than 200 pounds. 1t |
evidently had been in the we'll for |
a considerable length of time.
The information concerning the find |
ing of the body was conveyed by two |
young men to the coroner's office last |
Thursday, but was investigated only
In a half-hearted manner and the |
whole affair pronounced a hoax.
Warning Twice Given
After learning that the body had |
not been found and removed, the same !
young men appeared at the sheriff's |
Office Sunday and repeated their story |
and offered to guide a party to the |
place.
The sherlff's deputies failed to act |
on the information and not until the !
newspaper men went to the scene late |
Sunday evening and found the body did |
they interest themselves in the mat |
ter.
The well, which is twenty feet deep |
tains ten feet of water. IL is within |
ten feet of the fence which is adjacent
to the Alhambra road. 1t was dug
under the supervision of Crinklaw and
was bored eight years age. After be-
ing used two years II was abandoned
because of the alkali in the water and
owing to the fact that it did not flow
fast enough to furnish water for the |
stock for which it was dug.
The well was equipped with wind |
mill which was erected to pump the
water to a wooden tank near by. Be |
cause of the laWlessness of the hunt |
ers in that district the tank was rem
dered useless by bullets fired into 1t, |
and the owner of the ranch decided to |
seek a better location for watering |
place for his stock.
Covered by Heavy Timbers
When the we'll was abandoned the |
top. which measures five feet square, |
was covered with heavy pine timbers |
12 inches by 2 inches by s feet.
Althought the we'll is but a few |
feet from the road, persons seldom
went near it, and it Is only due to the |
curiosity of two rabbit hunters that !
the discovery was made.
Yesterday the sheriff and the coro- !
ner interested themselves in the mat
ter and decided to visit the scene and |
find out what was doing" The news |
papers conveyed the information that |
q body really was in the well, and |
they ordered the Boyle Heights under
talxLeg establishment to get the body. |
After all had assembled at the |
we'll and the body was sighted floating |
on the surface of the water, the un-
dertakers, after disinfecting the well,
finally brought the body to the sur
face.
Bullet Hole in Head
The skull, which was firmly attached |
to the torso, was devoid of flesh. 1t
was closely examined by the coroner !
and others and a bullet hole was
found From measurements it was |
learned that the bullet. presumably |
from a 38 caliber revolver, had en-
tered the head at the right of the |
skull, passed through and shattered the
left side of the skull
lnG DOnSS iIOill hliC SiihhtNiNN POA
tion of the head had dropped away |
with the decaying flesh and large !
hole was left in the skull,
Around the body, under the armplts, |
was a heavy rope which evidently had
been attached to heavy weight that
was used to keep the body beneath the
surface of the water.
The body was in an advanced stage |
of decomposition when taken from the |
we'll. The torso was encrusted with a |
coating of allxali and the flesh was off
the back at the right side; the left |
leg was missing; the forearms of both |
arms were gone and the right leg was
bent back under the torso.
Think Well Was Nailed Up
1t was the opinion of these officers |
that the body was placed in the Well |
by the murderers, who removed the |
boards covering it and then nailed up |
the opening and disappeared. The Oh
ficers were unanimous in the opinion
that the body was clad only In black
sateen shirt when placed in the well.
After the body was recovered the |
coroner directed Dr. George w. Camp
bell. autopsy surgeon. to make an eX-
animation of the body and to take such |
measurements as would lead TO an
identification of the victim. After this /
investigation by DR.. Campbell the Wen
will be pumped dry and an effort Will
be made to locate other portions or |
the body and to obtain any articles of !
clothing in which the unfortunate man
may have been clad.
Owing to the fact that the well is
near to the road which is not trav-
eled to great extent and because the
reservoir has not been used for SIX
years, the officers are of the opinion |
that the victim deliberately was muir
dered in this city and taken to that
isolated place and disposed Of
AS there is no testimony in the case
the coroner will not hold an inquest,
and the body will be buried at the ear