The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-08-28
is DEEP MYSTERY
Authorities Believe Mariea
Lopez Killed Her Husband.
Many Queer Angles to Brutal
Murder of Mexican.

Hades. observed Shakespeare, but in
stronger language, holds no fury like
a woman scorned.
County authorities could not help
but recall the old saying late Satur-
day when they "sweated" Joe Macias,
Mexican youth, for several hours in an
effort to wiring from him confession
to the brutal murder of Francisco
Lopez, 80, for whose death his pretty
16-year-old bride, Mariea Lopez, has
since been held in custody.
Altho she at first took all the blame
for the murder upon herself, the girl
Saturday noon made a statement to
the effect that Macias, her young
lover had shot Lopez and that she
had merely cut her husban rs throat
after the shooting. There are so many
queer angles to her story, however,
that the authorities were today in
clined to believe that her first story
was true and that Macias is innocent,
after all.
Tells Her Story To Edgar.
The story which she told Paul Ed
gar. assistant county attorney, Sat-
urday afternoon, was substantially as
follows: That she and Macias loved
each other and had been guilty of i'm
proper relations; that Macias was
afraid to come and see her because
of her husband and that they planned
more than a month ago to kill him;
boy about o'clock the evening OF
the murder, telling her he would be
there that night to put an end to
Lopez, that they might forever after
about o'clock in the morning and
that she was waiting, with her hus-
bands revolver already loaded, to re-
ceive him; that he took the gun, shot
Lopez five times as he slept, then
ran out of the house, leaped into his
anf0nOhjIa and diSa nnPared.
What was considered by officers to
be the improbability of the girls story
was brought out then by Edgar's
questioning:
what time of the day did you get
your husbands gun out of the drawer
and load it %
about o'clock in the afternoon"
"And what time that day did you
get the note from Macias2"
ST don't know. I think it must have
been about o'clock
That evening""
yes"
Crime Planned for Months.
The girl had no explanation as to
why she should get the revolver ready
that afternoon when she did not know
until that evening that Macias was
coming to kill Lopez. She admitted
that it had been at least a week before
that she had talked to Macias about
the killing for the last time. They
had been planning the crime for a
month, she asserted. The authorities
struck another peculiar angle when
they arrived at reasonable certainty
that the young Mexican'S automobile
was out of commission that night.
Another peculiar thing was why Ma
cias should use the Lopez gun when
he had two revolvers of his own. No
one saw him come to the house or
leave it and he was asleep in bed in
his home when the police arrived
shortly after the murder to arrest him.
Following the girls declaration
Saturday afternoon that MaciaS had
the murder, the Mexican
was arrested at the Santa Fee shops,
where he is employed, and brought to
County Attorney Veale's office. He
stoutly denied that he had any con-
nection with the killing whatever. At
first he denied that there had been
any intimacy between him and the girl
wife of Lopez, but admitted it when
confronted with her own story.
The authorities are inclined to ac-
cept. the theory that Mariea was
iberately planned the murder of her
After the killing, when she found
Macias to be cold in his attitude
toward her, it is believed by some of
the officials that she decided to i'm
piicate him as means of revenge for
he way in which he had scorned her. |
Further Investigations are planned, |
but it was intimated that MaciaS will |
at least be prosecuted on a statutory |
charge, in view of the fact that the |
girl was under age.