The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-07-24
KNIFE WOUND KILLED
CHARLES v. CLAYTON

Scoatiaued from Page one)
William Clayton. who was a member
OF the first pioneers 70 enter salt
Lake valley. He arrived here July "a.
1887. Mrs. sarah Walters Clayton came
with the first cart company in 1856
IN addition 10 a wife and infant child
brothers and sisters: Archer w. Claw
ton. alfalfa g. Haws. Addie &. Jenk-
ms. Lily g. Wolstenholme. Victoria c.
McCune; Lucy G. Riser. Alma c. Clay
ton and Irene Clayton.
Funeral services will be held from
the seventeenth wa- chapel at 4
o'clock sunday afternoon The body
may be viewed at his mothers resi-
dcnce, IA West North Temple street
after II o'clock.
Result of Knife Wound.
It Is very plain to me that Charles
| ". Clayton came 70 his death as the
result OF knife wound" said Coroner
tanks. Regardless OF the protests OF
alma g. Clayton and Archer W. Clay
I ton, brothers OF the dead man. against
m inquest or autopsy. I personally
viewed the body and found Il clearly
evident that he had died from a cut IN
I q vital portion Of the body
/ After The Herald Republicans ex-
posture OF the case. Alma g. Clayton
seemed chiefly bent upon euppreeefng
and covering up the cause OF the death
lie finally admitted 20 me that his
dying brother had told him Of a fight
| with soldiers. one OF whom had stabbed
I him. He claimed that he had not been
| Informed where the fight had taken
place or when 81 took place. IT strikes
me that Alma 9. Clayton Is not tell
I ing AL he knows about the case Ac-
cording 10 advices have received from
surgeons who have viewed the wound
\ 10 ts AZ least n week old.
The case was turned over to me by
Or. :. q. Paul. city health commits
sioner. carly this morning. Facts he
laid before nc caused me % believe
T mat an autopsy or inquest was neces-
sary. I summoned the brothers OF the
dead man. and HIS friend. Q. c. Pratt
who had played pool with him on the
night that he was stricken with acute
pains from the blood poisoning. After
I long conversation we went to the
office Of the county attorney.
| we laid the case before Assistant
County Attorney J. T. Bowman. Tine
/ fact thar Clayton bad not told OF the
exact date OF the affray I'm which he
was stabbed or where n took place
caused Mr.. Bowman 10 believe that
there was not sufficient evidence for
an inquest. Then we went 20 the NOR
I tuary OF the J. W. Taylor Undertake
body. After thorough examination
OF the BODY I arrived at the conclu-
sion that Clayton had died from blood
poisoning resulting from a knife
/ wound
Undertaken Sees Knife Wound
/ City Health Commissioned s. G. Paul
said last night.
/ The death OF clayton was called to
] r. noon.
/ J. W. Taylor Informed me that there
| was q knife wound in n vital part Of
| the body. and 7 made an Immediate in
vestigaton. ] carefully observed the
/ nature Of the wound. and came 20 the
/ conclusion that IL had been inflicted
| with n knife.
From the appearance OF the wound
10 had not been attended by a physician
| or q surgeon. Had Clayton consulted
a doctor the wound could have been
I healed without serious results. But
Tor some unknown reason Clayton had
| apparently attempted to be his own
/ doctor and ganErcne was not slow in
deFelopinE. He must have felt the
pains caused by the poison lonG be
| pool room Thursday night. After he
/ had been taken into the emergency
/ hospital. Clayton pretended to sur
4 EeonS who attended him that ne had a
I cramp in the stomach. and did not
l divulge the fact that he had a still un-
healed knife wound in a vital part OF
l the body
AS near as I can learn. Clayton was
/ not attended by a physician from the
l time he left the emergency hospital
I until his death at 10 o'clock Friday
/ to great extent. responsible for his
| own death. Had the wound been prop
] erly attended: Clayton would have SUI
/ fered but slight Inconvenience for a
month or 50. when Il would have
/ healed
Surgeon Examines Body.
I Undertaken J. W. Taylor said Il
have had long experience with bodies.
and when I was beginning to prepare
I that OF Clayton for burial 7 discovered
the knife wound. 10 looked very bad
/ I at once came to the conclusion that
the man had died from the knife wound
and ] thoroughly questioned his broth
I cr. Alma G Clayton. The latter told
me that his brother had had a fight
l with three soldiers somewhere. but
I did not know where II had taken place
I or when. II was some time before
l he dropped TO the floor in the pool
room and was taken to the emergency
| hospital.
Additional attempts were made to
convince me that Charles w. Clayton
/ had died from ptomaine poisoning. re-
Eardlcss Of the knife wound. To sat
| isfy myself 7 called well known sur
/ Eeon. who examined the wound care
I fully. and told me that the man had
died from the knife wound. from which
| blood poisoning had developed. From
| the appearance OF the wound &c would
| seem that someone had slashed a knife
| toward the abdomen. but had missed
the aim and cut lower"
| County Attorney Job p. Lyon admit
/ ted last night that IL was clearly evil
I dent thai Clayton had met his death
| az the result OF a knife wound which
4 had possibly been inflicted by some
I said: The dying statement OF n man
I without corroborativc evidence is not
sufficient 20 warrant the calling Of an
| inquest FROM present Indications
| Charles W. Clayton alone knows who
stabbed him and where the affray in