Arizona republican., 1917-05-18
NET DRAWN TIGHTER IN TRIAL IF
 JOHN GROFF FUR HUGHES MURDER


 gruesome details of hIs mdIaer uf stephen Hughes near Tempe on the night of December 2. last. l.. A. Apler- son. the youth who claimed to have aJled unuer she influence O. YV-tI Croft, yesterday continued his narra- tive through the financial aftermath, the sale Of the hay. the live stock amt whatever else was movable, the for gery of Hughes endorsement on cheeks that arrived after his death and all other matters relating to the reaping of the harvest. He was on cross eX- animation nearly all of the forenoon. He showed evidences of temper at times but he was never embarrassed, never crossed himself and his answers came without hesitation.
 Once he was asked You do not like Groff?"
 T have right not to like him. was the reply: "Groff is the kind of crook who will not play square with those on either the inside or the out side. That is why I want to stick him."
 Anderson said the name he had given was not a fictitious one. He asked about Houlihan. the young man who had been left at the Hughes ranch to clean uo the stuff that Anderson and Croft had not yet sold. Houlihan had
 
 testimony the day before. Houlihan was found late in Fort Worth and has since been in the county jail. Later in the day he was put in the stand for the state.
 Anderson said that Houlihan had not been implicated in the murder and that when he himself left, he told Houl ihan that Hughes had gone east and Houlihan was afterWard in Fl Paso at the time he was in jail there, but he did not see him.
 Regarding the jeWelry store hold-up in Fl Paso, for which both he and Croft were arrested and which led to their identification with the Hughes murder Anderson said that. too, was planned by Croft. They had been about the town and when they came to this store Croft told him that would be a good place to dig up" One night Croft entered the store and enga ged, the proprietor in conversation. Ander- son entered with a revolver and stuck up the place, but he said they got nothing. He was arrested soon after that and a once admitted his guilt That, admission was later changed to a declaration of his innocence, at the suggestion of Croft, who wanted him to clear him. Croft told him that he would secure his release on bond and then they would leave. That was why the telegram was sent to the National Bank of Tempe, with Hughes name signed to it directing the transfer of $2,500 through an Fl Paso bank
 Alib of Croft
 Anderson was asked if Croft had not been in a house continuous for fifteen hours covering the period of the hold up. Anderson said that such a state l,r.. examination he had an opportunity to say that the house in which these wit nesses lived and where they said Croft was staying, was in the redlight ois- trict; that two of the women were in mates of the house and the other, a man, was still lower
 On cross examination, Anderson told of his life in Phoenix after the mur- der of Hughes and his association with Houlihan. He said they drank a great deal; that is HOulihan did, though he himself drank with moderation. They also hung out about a pool hall and visited roadhouse on the Tempe road. But he denied that more than one such visit was made and that trip cost him $50. That was a part of the money he had realized from the Hughes clean up.
 Being taken back to the pre- murder period, Anderson repeated that one of the reasons he had killed Hughes was that Croft had threatened that if he did not, he, Croft. would do the job himself and then he added, and I'll get you too
 Anderson was asked if he had not frequently been taken to the office of the county attorney to be coached. They did not coach me" he said. they just reviewed me" explaining that he had gone over the story he had told just before the life sentence was passed upon him, so that he would not get all balled up" in his testimony against Croft He was asked only to tell the truth.
 Didn't you know asked Attorney Brumback. when you made that statement that you were beyond the reach of punishment for perjury?"
 I didn't know it then, but do now. '' replled Anderson in a lower tone He had not been expecting a life sentence.
 Speaking again of the Fl Paso hold up, Anderson said "Groff framed up that scheme and went under"
 He admitted that he had committed the forgeries of Hughes signature and endorsements of the various checks and he described how he had forged the endorsements on two checks that had been received from the University or Arizona for hay on an experimental tarm. He had placed the checks against a window pane over a genuine signature of Hughes and had tra ~oI .n Ine check: He said he had
 @zsSESSSzS zSzzE2Ezzz2zZzM