Nogales international., 1938-10-22
There Was.A
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shooting. The officers were later
Joined by Policeman L. B. F1ei-
scher, Jr., Bert DeVaughn, Ted
Bethel, and group of other citi-
zens.
The Motive
The motive for the shooting was
early established for just a short
time after Chief Lowe and Deputy
Sheriff Fleischer reached the scene
they found Tracy Birds wallet
containing $25 lying on a dirt side
walk about 40 feet north of the
apartment house. Then they knew
there had been holdup and the
motive was robbery.
Also, near where the wallet was
found, were two stones containing
blood, which indicated that the
person who had dropped the wal
let had stumbled and fallen in his
flight as he stepped off a sidewalk
short distance north of the
apartments, and had been injured.
Richard Allen, 13, who lives two
doors north of the Bird apart
ments, said he saw man run by
his home.
With no clues whatsoever at
first to work on, solution Of the
crime began to take shape an
hour or so after the murder when
Frank Conner, the slayer, appear
ed at the Carroon Mortuary for
first aid to one Of his knees and
hands, which, it was later eitab-
lished, had been injured when he
fled from the scene Of the holdup
and struck some hard gravel in
falling.
Before going to the mortuary
Conner called at the police sta
tion and asked William Lowe,
fireman, where he could find a
doctor to dress his wounded knee
and hand.
Lowe directed him to the Car
room Mortuary, where he knew
Or. ZenaS Noon had gone from
the Bird apartments shortly after
Mr.. Birds body had been taken
there. On the way to the mortuary
Conner stopped in a small restau-
rant lust north of the Montezuma
Hotel building.
Policeman Dawes Karam and
Ted Bethel, an employee of the
Montain States Telephone & Tele-
graph Company, were in the cafe,
the soldier asked them the loca-
ton of the mortuary and they
showed him how to get there.
Bethel, who had heard of the MUIR
der, and had noticed Conner's torn
trousers, poked Karam and said
"Look at his pants" Bethel had a
hunch he might be the slayer the
officers were seeking.
Enters MOrtuary
On his way over to the mortuary
from the restaurant, Conner met
Night Merchant Policeman Zack
Mckinney on the Carroon Nor
tuary corner and the two entered
the mortuary together. Karam and
Bethel then came in.
While DR.. Noon gave the Negro
medical attention the officers began
thinking more and more that Con-
ner might have been the man
wanted for the shooting and or
dered him held as a suspect.
The trooper was questioned and
said he had been hurt in fall
from sidewalk at "the ranch
(the redlight district m Nogales,
Sonora).
At this stage of the investigation
Chief Lowe noticed that the mans
hair and cap contained mesquite
leaves and he knew there were
numerous mesquite trees north OF
the Bird apartments.
4 After getting permission from
Mexican authorities to take the
Negro to "the ranch, Chief Lowe,
County Attorney Robins, Policeman
Soto and Deputy Sheriff Drewien
escorted the suepect across the line.
At the place where the man said
he had fallen there were no marks
in the road indicating fall, and
not a single sign of a mesquite
tree.
Then. damaging evidence began
pulling up against the Negro and
officers figured from then on there
was no doubt but what they had
Tracy'S slayer.
John j. Allen and Clarence Sc
we'll, other troopers from Fort Hua-
chuca, who had accompanied Con-
ner here were taken into custody
for investigation and they revealed
that Conner on the nj g h
before the murder had had $3.50
Prescott High School in ht. sopho-
more year he attended night