The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-08-20

APPARENT EnnANG Ut WEHkf
VICTIM HELD IN BONDAGE
LETTER TO ARCHBISHOP HAN
NA-MoTIVE FOR CRIME MOTT
CHAIRMAN UNDER ARREST
AS susPEcT-FATHER HEsLIN
OF coLMA, CALF, LURED Tol
HILLS ON SICK CALL AND KILL
ED AFTER DEMAND FOR RAN
SOM.
No crime in recent years has so
stirred the people of California as the
murder of the Rev. Patrick E. Heslin,
who was lured from his parish resi-
dence at Colma on the pretext of
sick call and whose bullet-ridden body
was found after nine days buried at
desolate spot near Salada Beach, thir.
ty miles south of San Francisco.
There is the deepest speculation as
to the motive that prompted the crime.
The gamut of the theories run from
money lust that prompted the kidnap,.
per or kidnappers to send Archbishop
Hanna demand Of $500 for the re-
turn of the priest, to anti Catholic hat
red, which is limited at in the letter
which was sent to the Archbishop's
office a few hours after the kidnap-
ping.
William Hightower, who directed
the authorities to the body of the
missing priest, is held in custody and
is being subjected to rigorous grill
ing by the police.
Archbishop Hanna has declared his
| hope that some solution of the mys
terry will be found that will clear the
good name of San Francisco.
THAT poor priest, going to assist
a man in the throes of death could
meet with foul play seems so incred-
ible," he declares, that even the Arch
bishop hopes that in clearing up the
murder of Father Heslin some excuse
may be found that will save the name
of San Francisco
| Prisoner drilled by Police.
Talk of mob violence and threats of
lynching, reaching the police, after the
discovery of the missing body and
when Hightower was taken into Gus
tody, resulted in a Gordon of heavily
armed officers being placed around
the hall of justice building, where
Hightower was imprisoned, to prevent
any attempt to remove him. Shocked
at first by the revolving crime, resi-
dents of the bay region assumed a
threatening attitude and an attempt
to lynch the prisoner was feared.
Hightower, under the crossfire of
police questioning directed at him
when he returned with the authorities
after leading the way to the rude
crypt where the murdered priest was
buried, stood staunchly by his asser.
tons Of innocence, insisting that he
was impelled to visit the spot through
information which came to him from
woman acquaintance of the night
life.
Discovery of the priests mutilated
corpse ended nine days of ceaseless
search carried on by police, parishion
ers and citizens who combed miles OF
windswept sand dunes IN the vicinity
of the town of Colma night and day
in an effort to clear up the mystery Of
his disappearance.
While the search was still at it
height, with posses securing the rougl
country near Colma and detective:
. running down clues in San Francisco
: and various neighboring cities, High
tower appeared at the Office of Arch
bishop Hanna, saying he was in posses
sion of important information cor
corning Father Heslin. While await
ing an audience with church official
} he was questioned by newspape
7 man.
To the reporter Hightower told ;
story of having come upon suspicious
l signs at Salada Beach. He had beer
!, impelled to visit the place, he said
j, through the revelations of dolly Ma
7 son. a woman of the demi-monde
who told him she attached significanc
to the garrulous conversation of an in
! toxicated foreigner the night before.
7 Hightower was induced to accom-
: pany the reporter to morning news
7 paper Office. The police were notifie,
t and searching party was organizes
r with Hightower as guide The grour
/ consisting of police officers and news
3 paper men, motored to Salada Beach
Without any apparent difficulty High
| tower led the party to a spot isolate
Y in the sand hills.
Blessed Sacrament Found.
Proceeding directly to spot wher
the upper edge of cliff had crumple
away, leaving a shallow hollowe
place with shelf elevated ten fee
above the surrounding terrain, h
pointed to hump on the ledge Her
= a black scarf protruded from the sane
9 BY the Pickering light of Lantern
; aided by a pocket flash light, tn
searchers piled shovels in the loos
: sand, and uncovered the murdere
;. body of the priest, still clothed in hi
), cassock. From the pockets of hi
!, clothing were extracted his watch,
e gold pyx containing the Blessed Sa
rament, and eighty dollars in currenc
with some private papers.
Police. advance the theory that F;
/ Their Heslin was compelled at pistt
1 point to walk to the edge of the elf
struck over the head with sharp il
strument and then riddied with bullet
:. as he toppled forward and plunge
he ~;