The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1916-06-09
UNDER SERIOUS CHARGE.
Coroner's Jury Hold Three Men rs Di
rectly or Indirectly Responsible
for Death Of Henry HOfmeier.

for Death Of Henry HOfmeier.
! At the adjourned hearing of the cor
oner's inquest held last Friday to de
termine the cause of the death of Hen
ry Eofmeier, further evidence wa,
ELECTED that caused the jury to bring il
verdict that implicated, directly Of
indirectly, A. j. Wickersham, Angul
Mclean and Lester Armstrong. AS ,
result warrants were issued agains
the three men. who were at once ar
rested, Armstrong and Mclean are II
the county Jail at Okanogan and Wick
ersham is at large on $4,000 bonds.
preliminary examination will be helt
in Oroville today (Friday).
After all the testimony had been TAX
en- in the hearing before the coroner.
jury last Thursday evening, and abou
| o'clock Friday morning, as the jury
was consulting over a verdict, 1t was
learned that more evidence in the cast
had been unearthed, and the coroner
continued the case until 10 o'clock Fri
day morning. During Thursday after
noon, while the hearing was in pro.
gress, Deputy Sheriff Clair WARD
hiked up to Fairview for the purpose
of trying to secure evidence that nigh,
throw more light on the mysterious
case, and four or five persons, includ
ing DIR. German, customs officer al
Osoyoos, freely volunteered to come
across the line and testify.
The evidence given by Wickersham
Mclean and Armstrong was conflict.
ing in nearly every detail except that
in reference to the actions and condi.
tion of the deceased, while Wicker.
sham's memory was so treacherOus
that he could remember hardly any.
thing regarding the incidents of the
trip. 1t was pretty well established
that the party of four, Wickersham
Armstrong, Mclean and Hofmeier, left
here between 2 and o'clock Wednes.
day afternoon, May 81, for Fairview, or
a pleasure jaunt. At Fairview the three
witnesses declared and were confident
that Hofmeier was in the bar room ol
the hotel only few minutes, not over
half an hour at the utmost: that they
all treated and that he took only few
drinks; that there was nothing notice.
able or unusual in his actions; that
without saying word to any one he
went out of the bar room, one said by
side door, the other by a front door
and entered the car, which was under
a lean-to shed. This evidence was cor
federated by all three witnesses. 1t was
'alleged that the three men continued
drinking, even eating supper, and did
not leave Fairview until about dusk
|Wickersham swearing that the lamps
in the hotel were lit, the others not
being able to remember as to the
lights. 1t was further alleged by all
three that they came straight through
to Oroville, stopping on the way but
once, on this side of the line, reaching
town at 1915 p. m. They declared that
Gated. Two swore that they stopped al
the Osoyoos customs house, Mclean
being positive that they did not. Arm.
strong and Wickersham swore that
they had one bottle of liquor and nc
more; that they all three drank from
the bottle on the way down, without
offering any to Hofmeier, and threw
the bottle away before it was empty
|althOugh Mclean swore that he did
not drink on the return trip. They all
swort that Hofmeier was sitting up in
the back seat with lap robe around
him when they started from Fairview
as though he was asleep, and that he
did not move or say a word on the
trip home. They made no examination
of the man at any time, nor said any.
him up until they arrived on this side
of the line, when Wickersham ordered
Everybody to wake up. They claimed
that it was then for the first time thai
they discovered that there was any
thing wrong with Hofmeier. They III
two or three matches to look at him
they tried to arous him by shaking
Mclean swearing that they even in
serted the point of knife blade under
the finger nail, but could see no re-
sponse in the way of life. The car wal
then rushed to DR.. Lewis residence ir
town. Upon examination the doctor
pronounced Hofmeier dead.
That was the substance of the testi
mony of the three witnesses. Drs. Levi!
and Carmichael had previously testi
| fed as to the condition of the body a!
demonstrated by an autopsy, declaring
that deceased had suffered confusion
on the right side of the head. While
the skull was not fractured there wa
blood clots between the skull and in
side tissues and between the scalp ant
skull. The injury might be sufficien
to cause death, although the DOCTOR
were not prepared to say that dealt
\ resulted directly from that cause. Tn
organs of the body were in health,
condition.
The testimony given by the wit
nesses Friday refuted much of tina
given by Wickersham, Mclean an