Imperial Valley press., 1930-01-11
Fits HINTS AT
INDICTMENT IN
TAYLOR SLAYINC
Believes Solution Near
In Eight Year Old Mys-
terry Case.
By FRANK H. BARTHOLOMEW
United Press Staff Correspondent

Les ANGELES, Jan. II. W.P)-|
feel that | have enough evidence be-
fore me now to obtain an indictment
in the William Desmond Taylor muir
der case" District Attorney Buron
Fits told the United Press today.
81 do not want this indictment un-
I'll we are able to reconstruct every
angle of what transpired ON AiVar-
ado street on the night of FEBRUARY
| 1929. and certain of a conviction.
awe can reconstruct the entlfe
crime now to our own satisfaction,
but | want concrete evidence to sup
mort the one unit we are forced TO
bridge with a supposition and not
with facts.
81 hope and believe that we are
near to completing our evidence. A
premature Indictment would biock
certain specific hopes we have or n
solution"
Ed King, special investigator for
the district attorneys office, was IN
northern California today to ques-
ton Otis Hefner and Henry Peavey,
the two "lost" witnesses in the ia
nous case who were located and IN
terviewed earlier this week by the
United Press.
Hefner is to be returned to Los
Angeles to face Fits, and Peavey
will be requested to appear here also
if his story to King warrants furth-
er questioning.
IN aornpst fpd1V FOR
Edwards Sands, the one remaining
witness who has not been produced.
Sands was Taylor's valet. He was
asserted in Hefner's statement, to
have been involved with Taylor and
Hefner in a narcotic ring in South
ern California in 1922, and to have
discovered Taylor's body at 2 a. N.
of February of that year-six
hours before Peavey found it and
called the police.
Sands was seen in Los Angeles the
day after the murder, and subse-
quently wrote District Attorney
Thomas Lee Woolwine from Talla-
hassee, Pittsburgh and Portland,
Ore, in an effort to clear his name.
Sands handwriting has been com
pared with these letters and they
were authenticated by the officials.
Shot From Ambush
The time of the murder has been
set at approximately 1925 p. m, Dis
trict Attorney Fits said today. Tay-
lor was shot through the side, the
bullet taking an upward course, just
missing the heart and lodging near
the neck
The probabilities were, investiga-
tors said, that he left his two-story
home momentarily, leaving the door
open. AS he returned, the murderer
was standing behind the door and
shot him while he was still walking
across the room. His arms apparent
ly were swingin, because his coat
sleeve was not powder marked or
burned.
"We have established the fact to
our own satisfaction that the gun
was held not farther than two inches
from the body when the trigger was
pulled" Investigator King said.
"We made numerous other tests
with a gun on material from the suit
Taylor was wearing, and reproduced
exactly the powder marks and burns
when we held the weapon two inches
away.
ut is probable that Taylor was
entirely unaware of his danger. The
murder was done in cold blood.
1--WE know from witnesses who re.
Gently have made sworn statements
that Taylor was seriously worried
over certain matters, which appar-
entity resulted in his death"
In the opinion of District Attor.
ney Fits, Edward Sands did not
commit the murer but has direct and
vital evidence concerning it.