The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-08-01
SALT LAKER WILL
Be TRIED FOR LIFE
Claude H. Give To Be Ar
raigned Today for First De-
gree Murder.
HE CLAIMS JUSTIFICATION
SAYS UTAH STATUTE WILL PRE-
VENT PUNISHMENT.

Provo July S1.-Tomorrow the trial
of Claude II. Give for murder in the
first degree VIII be commenced in the
Fourth district court with Judge John
i. Booth presiding. The charge against
Give is killing William o. Wilcox at
Mill Fork in Spanish Fork canyon on
May Z. last.
The state will be represented by Dis
trlct Attorney Harvey Cuff and County
Attorney Jacob Evans.
Defendant is from Salt Lake and
served on the police force there for
time under Ezra Thompson's admin
iStratlOn as mayor.
Immediately before the killing of
Wilcox Give had been employed on
bridge crew, working for the ID. q X.
G. railroad at Mill Fork.
Mrs. Give, defendants wife, was
cooking for the men, w. o. WILCOX
whose home was in Provo, where his
widow and six children live, was the
foreman of the bridge crew.
killing Of Wilcox.
Wilcox was shot to death by Give
in the car in which Wilcox had his
May Z, a short time after 10 O'clock.
There were no witnesses TO the shoot
ing except Give and Wilcox, but Give
does not deny the killing. After II was
found that Wilcox was dead Give re-
manned in the car and sent word 10 the
officers. He was brought TO Provo,
where he waived preliminary eXamina-
tion, and later was released on $4,000
bail, after an examination before Judge
Booth.
Give claims justification under sub
division Of section 416S revised stat
utes of Utah, which makes homicide
1ustifiable, when committed in the
sudden heat of passion, caused by the
attempt of the decedent to deriIe the
wife, daughter, sister mother or other
female relative or dependent of the
accused or when the defilement has
actually been committed"
Give had left Mill Fork three days
before the shooting on account OF at
intentions paid to his wife BY Wilcox
and had gone to Salt Lake and Brig
ham. He claims he secured work IN
Brigham and returned 10 Mill Fork on
the evening of the homicide TO ar
range to take his wife with him to
Bingham.
In Salt Lake he bought pistol, which
he knew Wilcox wanted. and was TAX
ing il TO Wilcox. on arriving at Mill
Fork after 10 o'clock he walked TO the
car in which Wilcox had his office in
the center and his bed room in one
end.
Wife COrrObOrates Give.
Mrs. Gives bed room was in the
other end of the same car. At the
door of his Wifes bedroom Give claims,
and was cOrrobOrated by Mrs. Give
in the examination for bail, he heard
the room. Al that Give rushed through
the door and saw Wilcox come out of
Mrs. Gives bedroom in his night
clothes.
Give called TO Wilcox TO stop and
followed him into the office room,
where he fired one shot at Wilcox from
the pistol he had bought for Wilcox
in Salt Lake. A scuffle ensued and
more shots were fired and Wilcox was
killed.
The prosecution claims that the kill
ing does not come under the justifica-
tiOn of the statute; but that il was a
wilful, premeditated murder. The car
in which the killing was done is at
the depot here. The contention of the
prosecution is that Give did not enter
the car through his Wife's bedroom.
but through WilcOK's bedroom at the
other end of the car; that he found
Wilcox I'm bed or about to retire and
opened fire on him and killed him.
They claim that the bullet holes in the
car and other evidence points to this
as the state of facts surrounding the
killing of Wilcox.