Iditarod pioneer., 1915-09-04
MURDER SUSPECTS
 HELD TO GRAND JURY

uLLU lU UDANU UUlG \
 FAIRBANKS, Aug. l1.-United States Commissioner Brown, after a preliminary hearing of the charges against Julius Miller and William OConnor, accused of the mur- der of Mrs. w. E. Rowe on July 20 last has held them to await the action of the grand jury without bail.
 Cairns, the man who accuses Miller of the crime, told practically the same story on the witness stand as in his published ath davit, and most dam aging testimony was adduced.
 A large crowd assembled in the com missioners court when the time of the trial arrived, and it was thought advisable to hold the hearing in the district court room. The hearings were separate, that of Miller being first The defendant stated that he had been unable to secure an attorney when Judge Brown asked if he had done so. Asked if he was ready to go on with the hearing he said, q guess I'll have to go on with it." His nervousness was that of an lnebrl- ate, and his hands shook and he kept them working continuously, and his voice was shaky. He questioned the witnesses with due regard to the points he wished brought out. Both Miller and O'Connor conducted l their own cases.
 The Testimony
 Sam Weiss of Chatanika told of having known Mrs. Rowe and of having seen her body with the face beaten to a pulp lying on the railroad track on the morning of July 20 He said she had been murdered, the instrument of death being 8 spruce stick about eight feet long. Miller did not ques- tion the witness.
 Ed Cairns gave the story of the murder as he says it was told to him by Miller. He said that he had a talk with Miller on the evening of July l9 the day preceding the murder. I'm going to get the money to- night Pm going to kill Mrs Rowe tonight. She has seven or eight hundred dollars and I'm going to get it" is what Cairns testified that Miller told him. He saw Miller few minutes after o'clock, and that was the last he saw of him until about 3 o'clock the next morning. when Miller appeared to have been drinking When told the next morn ing that Mrs Rowe's body had been found and that she had been murdered, Miller said, Tt cant be possible Later the wit ness accused Miller of the murder, and Mil Ter said, You keep your damn mouth shut Miller had related the details of the murder telling how he and OConnor had committed the crime. Cairns testified that Miller frequently had attempted to induce him to go out on the trail with him, in ferring that there was big money to be made in the killing business.
 BlOOd-spotted garments, which were pre- viously acknowledged by Miller as his, were ,rfr l tko oF uty Marshal J. H. Miller Miller also testi- fled that heel prints found by him near the body fitted exactly the measurements of Millers shoes.
 J. T. Morgan called by the defense, could not remember where Miller was on the night of the murder Jack Hicks, also called by the defense, could not remember the where abouts of Miller on that evening. He did say, however, that Miller had made propo- sition to him to go out on the trail, stating that when they reached the coast they would have lots of money"
 o'connors Hearing
 After Miller had been held to the grand jury by the commissioner the case of OCon- nor was taken up. Commissioner Sam Weiss told practically the same story of the find ing of the body as he did at the first hear ing He was asked by OConnor, Do you know who killed Mrs Rowe, Mir Weiss?" and was answered in the negative. Deputy Marshal Miller had not noticed blood on the garments of O'Conor when he arrested him.
 Cairns told the same story as in the pre- vlous case
 Matt Benson was the only witness who could testify definitely about OConnors movements on the night o: the murder He had been cutting hay at ranch on the Chatanika river and in going to Olnes he said he had met OConnor about ? 80 a. m., coming down the Chatanika river trail OConnor made an earnest attempt to break down Benson's testimony
 Gus Dourell and Carl Nelson were unable to prove an alibi for the accused, and O'Con- nor exclaimed, God Almighty wonder if the whole country has turned against me"
 O'Connor, testifying in his own behalf, stated that he was not connected in any way with the murder He gave an account of his movements for several days prior to the fatal day, claiming to have been in bed on the night the crime was committed. He denounced Benson and Cairns as liars and said he was the first to tell Miller of the murder, and that the latter had remarked, My hands are clean of this, anyway"
 OConnor claimed to have been the first to tell his employer Gus Dourell, of the murder, but this was denied by Dourell on the witness stand. Carl Nelson also con- tradicted statements of the accused.