Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-11-01


pillar Of the community, looked ur
to with respect
Today a confessed slayer, sen
fenced to die upon the scafford fol
preparation of one Of the most re
voting murders ever charted in the
history of California crime.
Such is the plight of Alexander
kels, here.
Execution awaits the once wealthy
cattleman and prosperous chain
meat store proprietor because he lis
tened to the sanguinary promptings
of a strange troglodyte Unbiased in
his brain, urging him to kill.
Responding to the weird incanta
tons, he lured a ragged stranger
to his home, shot the Vi>:tim, and
then, placing the body in his auto
mobile, drove away into he coun'
try where he fired the remains N a
gasoline soaked haystack, under cir
cumstances to indicate that Kels
himself had been murdered.
The case throughout bears amGz
Ing analogy to the Jekyll-HyGe exis-
tence of DR.. r. M. Brumficld, OF
Roseburg, Ore, who in 1921 enGeav
ored to substitute the slain body OF
rancher for his own in a wrecked
auto which had been run over 9
cliff and dynamited.
In both instances the layers
were motivated by paralyzing
greed for more gold, which they
hoped to obtain from increased in
surance policies, taken out just be-
fore the ghoulish madness in their
brains sent them forth on their mis-.
sions Of gruesome cunning.
Both Prominent Men
Both men were married ard en-
joyed positions Of influence in their
communities.
Nothing that money could buy was
apparently denied them.
DR.. Brumfield did a thriving bust
ness in his dental practice.
His manner, at all times: was
calm and assured, as is that of IAels,
now within the shadow of the gal
lows.
All was calm and serene until the
weird phobia overlook them, and
they gave their ear to the surgins
cries of the golden g2nil Keeling
through their tortured minds III
fiendish chorus.
Then they struck
But as surely as murder will out
and the plans of men go often amiss,
Kels and Brumfield erred in their
seemingly well-laid plots, and from
the scant trails left behind, their
ruses were uncovered, and the law
clamped on it's hand.
The first suspicion against the
Lodi butcher was brought about be-
cause of his lack of foresight to re
sist eating a can of sardines, just
before the murder Of the man whom
he had picked up at an employment
agency Ito do some work on his
ranch"
But when an autopsy was perform
| ed on the body, mourned as that OF
kels, no traces of fish were founG
in the stomach.
Likewise, it was discovered, the
slain man had been undernourished
From bits of cloth clinging to tho
half-charred flesh under one Of the
armpits, he was found to have beer
attired in heavy underwear and over
alls, whereas Kels had been well fec
and always worn light undergar
ments.
Sheriff Alone Suspicious
Immediately the wheels of justice
were started turning by Sheriff w
H. Riecks. who of all the 5000
mourners which wound their way t.
the funeral of the towns most emf
nent citizen, had been the sole doubt
ing Thomas Of the authenticity Of
Kels' death.
He had noticed discrepancies be
tween the stature and teeth of thC
victim and those of the missins
butcher, but had held his peace an(
worked quietly alone for solution o.
the crime.
Shortly after. Kels was apprehend
ed at Eureka, Cal, following a fligh
toward his sought-for goal in Mex
leo.
Trapped in a box-car he tried Il
kill himself by placing the muZzlc
OF a rifle in his mouth and pulling
the trigger with his foot. A defective
shell, however, frustrated this at
tempt at self-destruction.
When brought to trial he Stoically
pleaded guilty and refused all Offer
Of legal aid to obtain a Communication
Of sentence to life imprisonment OF
the grounds of insanity.
His wife, who believes him dead
lies near deaths door in a local hos
pital suffering from a complication
Of strain, brought on by grief ant
her near approach to motherhood.
Public sentiment has been raise,
to high pitch by the brutal GRIM
and the deception which Kels prac
ticed on the community.
But with the madness gone from
his brain, the convicted man wait
unmoved for his doom, as much
psychological riddle as was Dr.
| RrlImfield who hanged himself il