Arizona republican., 1912-02-22
Jesus Valencia, Just Re- leased from Jail, Slashes Wife in a Horrible
 Manner.
WOMAN BROUGHT
 INTO THE CITY
Physicians Make Examina- tion and Say She Has a Slight Chance for
 Her Life.

With fiendish atrocity and the sub tlety of snake. in the presence of their four children at the family dom- icile on South Seventh street, about S:3O o'clock last night. Jesus valen- cia planted a kiss on the cheek of his wife. Virginia Santa Cruz de Va lencia. simultaneously drawing a knife from a hidden source, with which he slashed her left and right. perhaps fatally. in seeming attempt to be- head her, and fled in the darkness of the night. More dead than alive, and bleeding from numerous wounds. she made her way to the nearest neighbor's. four hundred yards away. where she sank exhausted. The officers were summoned, and she was taken to the office of the sheriff. while the neighbOrs cared for her three little girls and one boy, the oldest of whom is but 8 years. Dr. R. NJ. Tafel. the county physician. was at the courthouse by the time the woman reached there. He de- voted the greater part of the time from that hour until midnight to closing, sewing and dressing the wounds.
 Stretched on a cot in the jailer's room, the woman writhed in an agony that could scarce be relieved with such measure of anesthetiZation as was safc where so much blood had been lost. while the physician rendered his ministratiOns. with what assistance the officers and others could render, and when all possible to be done last night had been at tended to. the doctor gave it as his opinion that she had a fighting chance for recovery.
 So numerous were the wounds and so serious were those in evidence at a glance. that she was first laid upon her back and these were given tenn pOrary attention. before there was further examination. but when she was turned over the most frightful cut of all was found on the back of the neck It is about eight inches long and very deep. The most dan gerOus looking wound previously in evidence was low down on the right side of the neck and about five inches long. through an inch of flesh that when opened all but exposed the caro-. tid artery. From these two wounds it would appear that Valencia had drawn her head forward and slashed both ways. in an effort to cut it off.
 On the outer flat side of the right wrist was a wound the size of a sil- yer dollar, where the flesh had been literally cut out as one would pare a,, mt of HanfPr of the wound laying bare the back of the wrist. Had this been on the other side of the wrist. she would have bled to death. On the outer edge of the left wrist was straight cut three or four inches long that laid the flesh and muscles bare to the bone for an inch or more. A cut of perhaps four inches, and clear to the bone, was seen between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, re- quiring many stitches, while the flesh of the forefinger was laid back from the bone so it also had to be sewed on again To finish his devilish work. Valencia slit the woman'S nose sduareIy in the center and clear to the bone There were other abrasions. but these were the most important hurts.
 The crime was one of revenge. It was the final act of as base a scoun- dreI as ever lived. in an effort to visit punishment on one who had placed him in the meshes of the law as a last resort in her own defense against him. not appreciating that his thirty days incarceration was but taste of the retribution he should have paid. even before this most revolting crime.
 A month or more ago Mrs. Valen- cia appealed to Constable Murphy to arrest her husband for beating her and threatening her life. She had no witnesses. and the charge would not stick. so she then confided to the officer that she dare not live with him longer: that her life was in con- stant danger. and in order to put him in a safe place she would go so far as to tell sthe officer that she knew of a certainty that her hus- band had stolen the lumber and tent of which their little shack was con- structed down near the brickyard on the west side of the street, just outside the city limits He was ar rested, pleaded guilty without neces- sitating her testimony, and was sen fenced to thirty days in jail. His conduct about the jail was so good he was made a trusty. and on Tues day night he was discharged.
 Presumably, he went home Tuesday night. Tn any event, he was there yesterday and seemed to be on more