Evening star., 1932-04-03
HUNT BANDIT TRIO
FOR Staying SEVEN
Texas Rangers and Border
I Guards Rush Search for
Family Killers.
Nv the Associated Press,

ny the Associated Press.
Ell PASO Tex, April 2.-Straight-
shooting riders pushed a manhunt on
both sides of the Mexican border to-
night for three bandits who slaughtered
seven members of the family of Mel
quidez Espinosa, Berino, N. Mex,
dairyman, in a robbery attempt last
night
Grim Texas Rangers, heavily armed
Nrw Mexico officers and border police
men Of the United States and Mexico
co-operated to run down the killers.
a Geographic offer from Washington
to send Federal troops in search of the
slayers was rejected by Gov. Arthur
Seligman of New Mexico.
He ordered Adjt Gen. Osborne c.
Wood of the New Mexico National
Guard to Berino from Santa Fe to de-
termine whether the slayers were Mexi-
cans who had crossed into the United
States.
sees Quick Capture.
DR.. J. M Puig Casauranc. Mexican
Ambassador to the United States, eX-
pressed the belief at New York that the
bandits would be promptly found and
exterminated" If they had fed into
Mexico.
Rancho Flores an isolated cattle
ranch south of the international bor-
der, was the immediate objective of a
squad of mounted police which took
up the quest today from Juarez. Chi
huahua. This ranch is the only human
habitation for miles ana it was be-
lieved to be likely hiding ground for
the bandits.
In New Mexico and Texas, American
authorities were centering their 1nvesti-
CATION on two automobiles in which the
killers were believed to nave fed
The situation is made extremely bad
in view of the recent Luna County
reports Of border raids" said Gov.
Seligman at Santa Fe. I'VE do not
know that the Berino murders involve
any international aspects. 1t would be
possible for the crime 10 have been
committed by natives of old Mexico
without an international problem
arising"
More than 500 persons filed through
the little adobe hut o. the Espinosa
family today to pay their last respects
to the slain moher and her six children,
who we're shot down Wnen the father
said he waS unable to produce $4,000
cash demanded by the three bandits.
List of Victims.
The victims were MRS. Filomena
Espinosa, As; Luis, 30; Hipolito, IS:
Andres, %; Vincente, ID; Juanita, IL,
and Felicitas, 9.
The bodies laid side by side on boards
placed across three carpenters trusses
before burial late today.
The children's grandmother, 82-year-
old Juanita Espinosa, sat on a bed near
by, brown cigarette dangled from her
dried lips. Her sightlcss eyes raw moth
ing of the slaughter. She is blind Her
life was spared by the bandit, who led
her from the room before the killings.
But to visitors che related how vi
cente begged the bandits to kill him and
end his suffering after they had wound
ed him.
Kill me, shoot me; do something"
the boy screamed as he writhed in pain
from wounds in his legs, hip and back
He died later in an El Paso hospital.
Espinosa. the head of the household,
explained how he escaped death.
we had just finished our evening
meal and were talking happily when
heard an automobile enter our yard"
he said.
One of the men said they were Off
cers hunting for stolen cattle. He
sad h2 wanted to see the papers on
m her5. / went into another room
AMI got the papers from trunk The
man who seemed to be the ring leader
od4O tIIcN were dll TlgnJ, OUT LIlaL LQ6y
wanted $4,000 in cash.
Bandits Start Shooting.
When I told them / did not have
the money, they called me names and
pulled guns from their pockets Then
they whispered something to each other
and started shooting.
The men took me into another room
and ordered me to lie on the floor. One
of the men then shot at me. The
bullet hit my cheek. Blood spouted
and ran on the floor. I acted like 1
was dead.
Then the men l2ft me. then
hea let Of noise in the other rooms
and fiYe shct5.
In a few minutes the automobile
started.
Il looked at all the bodies. I grew
faint and fell against the wall Then
! grabbed my rife and ran to a neigh
bor's house.
i told him what had happened and
he called the sheriffs Office. Then he
went with me to my house.
1T all seems like a dream. I can
not realize my family is gone"