The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-02-04
GRACE BELIEVED
TO HAVE FAXED
Confession Now Considered as
Attempt to lmpIicate an
Innocent Man.
CFrOm Thursdays Advertlser.)

(From Thursdays Advertiser.)
IL have Grace just where 1 want |
him." said United States District At
tOrney Breckons yesterday.
And in this statement is summed up
the position in which the negro, An
derson Grace, has get himself by what
is now supposed to be fragrant at
tempt to shift the blame upon an inno-
cent man to save himself from the gal
lows. His confession upon the
strength of which David Kea was TAX.
en- into custody several days ago, has,
in the opinion of most persons cog
infant with the details of the case,
acted as boomerang which will on its
return carry his death warrant. There
is strong possibility now he will be
convicted of murder in the first de-
gree, the penalty of which is paid on
the gallows
The evidence as yet is circumstantial
in form, but is so strong and leaves so
little alternative supposition, that it
is considered sufficient to convict.
Every days investigation is bringing
to light some new link in the chain
that is binding him down.
1t is now thought that Kea g story,
told to the officers after his arrest and
to the federal grand jury previously,
is straight, and that Grace is lying.
Kea told the jury that he had been
walking near the "station'' where
Grace stayed while on duty and the
latter's first question to him was
"Have you seen Mahui"
AS insignificant as this seems, it
was held important by the officers and
led to something more substantial. And
Grace, thinking 1t out in his mind as
he lay in his cell with the gallows al
ready erected in his imagination, has
evidently used this little remark by
| which to pick out man TO center in
an imaginary crime.
Grace has been overanxious to de-
| nounce the man whom he was unwill-
| ing to implicate by an immediate con-
Lacking the intelligence to act the part
| he has assumed he seized too much on
condolences to strengthen his case,
thereby contradicting the ill-def6ed
| story he told at first. The most prom
inent instance of this regards the stick
with which he claims Kea struck the
murdered man.
At first Grace said that Kea had
| thrown the revolver and the stick into
the harbor from the pier. Then one of
his questioners asked him softly if he
thought that the iron on the stick was
sufficient to sink it. Grace, fearing he
had made mistake, FASTENED to say
| that he thought this was so. Then he
was asked if he didn't think that Kea
had burnt the stick in the furnace
that he tended. Grace became enthu.
siastic over this suggestion and de-
cided that it was the proper solution.
Then, later, Kea was brought IN. He
was asked if he had burnt a stick in
the oven.
| eyes" said Kea.
+ "There, you see,' said Grace glee-
fully. "That's the way it was,' and
in SO saying Grace drove another nail
into the gallows for Kea uses wood on
his fire and burns many sticks.
| That was one incident in which
Grace took too much advantage of a
coincidence. Had he been more con.
summate actor he would have denied
| Inv tiiCuihoidhCO ut ou tdBtIiJ dCCCpt-
ed and stuck by his first version for
which there was no coincidence to back
him.
There are many more of these same
mistakes that he has made, but the of
fcers investigating the case keep them
quiet. They are satisfied that they
have him and need no help.
Another incident uncovered yester-
day strengthens the motive that has
been assigned for the crime jealousy
Some natives had bought two tents
from Mahu, who, it will be remembered
followed the tentmaking trade during
his off moments as did Grace as well
One night the natives noticed spat
ter of what was supposedly rain on
their tents and looked up saw the can
vas rift apart before their eyes. They
had been soaked with sulphuric acid
and ruined.
The luna, during the investigation
was ordered to look through all the fire
extinguishers and see If any of the
bottles of sulphuric acid which are al
the bottom of each was missing. They
were not. Grace, after his arrest, told
an ex-fellow workman to give his eff
fects to the storekeeper and among
them was found a bottle of sulphurit
acid partly used.