Arizona republican., 1911-04-05
WITH MALICE PREMED|TATED Cor0nef's Verdict Alter the
 Rodriguez Inquest THE WEES VAIN PLEADING
THE WEES VAIN PLEADING
Woman Witness Tells the Story of the Last Shot Testimony Concerning the Sobriety of the Husband.
 Warrant charging Murder

The corOner's jury yesterday at the inquest of Mrs. Jesus NJ. Rodriguez directly charged her husband with her murder by finding that her death was the result of pistol shot wounds inflicted upon the deceased by her husband, Francisco Rodriguez. and that the killing of the said deceased Jesus M. Rodriguez by her husband, Francisco Rodriguez, was a deliberate and premeditated killing. without ex- cuse or Justification on his part"
 The members of the jury were Wayne Davis, J. A. Porterie. Frank F.. Whitten, w. Y. Rumney, H. E. Pierce and J. D. Reed.
 Nearly dozen witnesses were ex- amined of whom the following saw the murder: Margarita Sazueta, Do- lores Eredia, Antonio Alfreda Val enzuela. Antonio GaXiola and Bias Figueroa.
 Mrs. Sazueta gave the most vivid account of the affair. She said that after the first shots were fired. by which the doomed woman was wounded in the back and when she had run to the house of Jesus Ley vas where she was denied admittance. she turned to her pursuing husband and fell upon her knees with hands unraised and clasped
 The witness could not hear what she said and there was little time to hear. but the woman seemed to be pleading for her life. Rodriguez who had already fired three shots, fired again. The bullet entered below the breast bone and tore down through the intestines. Again. Rodriguez raised the weapon eXclaiming. Now. I'll give you the last shot" That was the bullet that passed through the fleshy part of the left hand.
 This witness and the others who saw the shooting said that they saw corner of Ninth and Jackson streets where they stopped. They were walking slowly and seemed to be in good humor. That was a fact that had particularly attracted the atten- tion of the witnesses who all knew of the earlier troubles of the pair.
 After they had talked for a short time, the woman turned away with what seemed to be a pleasant laugh. The witnesses were then mortified to see Rodriguez draw his revolver and. holding the muzZle of it almost against the womans back. fire. This shot was quickly followed by another and then d third. By this time, Mrs. Rodriguez was running The third shot is the one which inflicted a flesh wound in the left leg.
 Among the witnesses was Jesus Leyvas from whose door Mrs. Rodri guez was turned away. Leyvas said that he was not at home or that in- human thing would not have hap pened.
 Another line of evidence was here introduced, incidentally to the testi- mony of witnesses regarding the reconciliation of the crime. A news paper of Phoenix has been endeavor- ing to construct a defense for the wife murderer upon the theory that he was crazed by liquor. In no civi- lized community has drunkenness ever been regarded as defense. In the trial of Rodriguez. perhaps no testimony will be admitted as to his condition with respect to sobriety That is entirely immaterial. Rodri- guez himself who appears to have been as ignorant as the writer for the newspaper about such matters. claimed some time after his arrest that he had consumed a great deal of liquor that morning and claimed that he did not know what happened in the hour and a half after he left the Star Lodging house with his wife, until the shooting took place, and in fact to the time of his capture. Yet he told clear story of all that had happened to the very moment of leav- ing the lodging house.
 Fifteen minutes later, when Officers Troutman and Sullivan saw him they said he was not drunk. There was no odor of liquor on him. He was excited after a furious chase He had a bottle of whisky in his pocket but the bottle was full. Two hours later when several persons saw him and talked with him at the city jail. among them Sheriff Hayden and Dep uty Sheriff Adams, there was no more sober man in town than Rodriguez. He told a coherent story of his move ments of the morning and even framed up the defense of drunkenness on which an afternoon paper so strongly relies.
 In an interval of clearness on Mon day morning a few hours before her death. Mrs Rodriguez described to