Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1922-12-18
MURDER RALPH G.
ESm0ND FOR few
DOLLARS IN PURSE
Killers ruthless as they are vicious, are
abroad in the county.
Discovery of the murdered body of Ralph c..
Esmond, aged 81. and a
prominent La Sallean,
on the concrete highway

PROMINENT La Salledn,
on the concrete highway
just ovr the crest Of DimmIek Hill.
Saturday night, has borne homo 10
officialdom, the certainty that these
wolves in human form have infested
a territory heretofore thought im.
mune to their brutality and fiendisn.
ness.
Mr. Esmond was shot down I'm cold
blood for the few dollars he carried
on his person. The bullet, with its
! message Of tragedy. lsped thru its
victims heart and left what had been
the living animated man of a few
seconds before a dead and lifeless
thing sprawled out on the concrets
for passers by to discover. Tho
wolves. like their four-legged count.
erparts, sped from tho scene to save
their necks from the well known
cracking that comes with the hang.
mans jerk of the death trap rope.
! The shooting. as evidenced by the
finding of Mr.. Esmond's lifeless re-
mains. occurred at about 6:15 O'Clock.
in the midst Of an attempt on the vic.
TINS part to repair some tire troubls
to his automobile. The left front
wheel was on jacks, and the tire tool
lay nearby.
1t was apparent that Esmond, ac.
costed by the killers had been order.
ed to throw up his hands, but in.
stead he left his work and advanced
toward the armed men. His body
body was found several feet from tha
machine, lying face downward, with
tell-tale bullet hole thru his
overcoat and vest. The bullet did not
penetrate the undercoat
twenty-five feet from the corpse a
revover Of 32 caliber was found In
the ditch, where evidently 1t had
been hurled by the murderers, who
feared. probably they would ba
possession and cast it from them.
The position Of the bullet hole in.
dictates that the victims overcoat
was buttoned when the shots were
fired but was open when he was
found.
The print of mans finger was
found on the running board OF Es.
monds car. from which the officers
have been able to secure an excellent
reproduction. This could not have
been made by Esmond's finger. as he
wore his gloves all the time.
Papers which had been taken from
the dead mans pocket, a 81 bill ard
his cordCva leather bill fold were
found in the ditch five feet nearer
the car, The money is believed to
have been overlooked by the murderer
as he sorted through the papers.
Make Clean Getaway.
The dastards who fired the fatal shot
succeeded in making clean getaway,
shr0uding the cold blooded murderain
mystery and giving the local authd.t-s,
ties very little to work on for their
appreheusi2r. 1t il believed. how
ever. that the guilty person or persons
travelled in car which they had
stolen in La Sale about thirty minutes
before shooting down their unforu-
nato victim.
News Of tho crime spread through
out the county quickly and stirred the
community as no other murder since
the famous Black Hollow case. A
statewide search for the killers has
been started The Chicago Motor
club broadcasted the news of the
vicious crime through the state and
asked that every city join in search
ing for the slayer.
One Of the first clews followed up
was that the fugitive travelled in
Dodge coupe belonging to II. E. Black
of La Sale. This car was stolen from
in front Of the Neustadt building in
La Sale between ;55 and sos Sat
urday evening.
Suspected Trap.
Later Joseph Nlells of La Sale re-
ported to the authirities that two men
who had Dodge car and blow torch
attempted to stop him on the concrete
highway at the exact spot where the
murder occurred about an hour be
fore the crime.
Mr.. Wells was headed west In his
car One man was back OF the car
with blow torch and the other was
at the side of the car. The man at
the side of the machine walked out
and signaled for Wells to stop, When
he saw Wells machine was filled with
people he walked back.
Sheriff Welter then started work
ing on the theory that Esmond hal
tire trouble on the hill, came to the
TOP and possibly pulled up in the light
of the other machine to change tires.
He has been unable to find any trace
of the men who signaled Wells.
Warming Sent Out by Sheriff.
Within few minutes after the muir
der was reported the Ottawa sherif's
Office and police had sent out news OF
the terrible crime all the way from
Chicago To Peoria.
Neighhor Woman Hears Shots.
About 80 o'clock. Mrs. Arthur Cog
bin. who lives on a farm half mile
southwest of the scene of the crime
heard two or three shots. Mrs. Cor
bin was in the yard of her home az