Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-25
.Coroner's Jury Sits on Case Be-
fore Justice Hanks
Today.
ARRESTED WITH SMOKING GUN.
William Nicmi Taken by Police as lie
Croucl,cd on Iron stairway
Near Orplicuni Thcatcr.

"A coroncr's jury sat in the court of
Justice OF the Peace Hanks today, In
the case OF Sam osterberg, the man
shot to death In the Commercial: Bar
Mt 6s Commercial street last night. The
police charge that he came to his death
as a result of pistol bullets fired by
William Nicmi The jury was COIL
vened in the court OF Justice Hanks
and later adjourned to look at the body.
of the dead man that lay ut the O'Don-
nell undertaking establishment.
John Hermanspn,i one of the owners
OF the saloon where the killing took
place Jack Pera. a. Johnson, Axel
Ekstrom. and Hugo Johnson, eye
witnesses testified to the killing.
Ekstrom and Hugo johnson have been
held In jail since the murder as i'm
portant witnesses in the case.
The murder was done in cold blood.
Nicmi and Osterberg had been drink
ing together when suddenly Niemi
pulled his revolver; placed it TO the
temple OF Gutenberg and fired, Oster-
berg fell dead like a log.
n Niemi then ran out of the place with
the smoking revolver in his hand and
started north on Commercial street.
Policeman III. ID. McMnrtin saw the man
running and having heard the shot
started In pursuit. lie. captured Niemi
ON the steps of the Orpheum theater
at the side of the building, where he
had taken refuge.
Ostcrbcrg was unidentified until this
morning. Then some friends of his
came 10 police Headquarters and said
they knew him. and that he had worked
( In some t,uarrics near the city. y
brother Of the murdered man sailed for
his old home in Finland several days
ago Nicmi is also a Finlander.
IDENTIFIED MURDERED MAN. s
Sam Osterberg. the murdered Fin
lander. & was identified this morning at
I the O'DonnclI undertaking parlorssby
Jack Pera and A. Johnson. They
knew the dead man in n casual man.
ncr and knew that he had just re-.
turned from some mines In Toplift,
/ Utah. with quite bit OF money He
Z had been drinking heavily. AS fur as,
they knew he WAS not Of quarrel
GONE disposition3and they know of
nothing he woul d carry Il revolver for.
Last nights killing is, said by the
police to have happened about lI:45E
O'clock. Hundreds of people waiting
fos2latel cars heard eAshots Of police
,is1atf nj % Martifi as he pt,rsaed sthe
inurdcrergu thetOrpheum alley and
they all mai ntait thatsit was Just
about 8 minutes after twelve when
Neutrality-suspicious. shots
Lieutenant John Hcinnel worked on
the case this morning and located
the two men who identified the dead
man. He SAYS that the case against
William Nicmi is complete.
iG Nicini Isl 81 years of age. He is also.
n lEinlander! Today he does not seem
to realize3the grave charge against him..
He said to. George Moore of the police;
department this morning, II want to
go out Of here. Il got Il job and must
go TO work. - Moore told him that 1t
was very likely. he had secured a life
Job out mt the state prison.
fNiemi is o. giant In strength, ifsof
low stature. He has been in the Uni
ted states for about % months. He
has been a sailor all his life and left
a German oil transport in Philadelphia.
He says he knows nothing of the
shooting, He maintains alsn that he
never saw Osterbcrg until yesterday
They met in a saloon, and rs Niemi
was glad to meet a fellow countryman
they inhibited freely. Then came All
argument as to their relative strength,
and after several bouts Neimi, who
was getting the worst of the encoun-i
tcrs, pulled the revolver and shot Os-
terberg without warning.
Niemi talks little English. He says
he came to Salt Lake from Shoshone,
Ida, and had formerly been, in the Cas-
cade mountains working on the rail-
roads. He bought, the revolver with
which the shooting was done IN Seat
tie several. months ago. and says he
used 1t to scare away coyotes.