Evening star., 1952-12-14
Father and Son Deny !,
BIudgeon Sayings Of
Grocer and ; Children
BY The Associated Press

0hIN CEbf1INS40SO, ACN' 4O'
An unidentified police informant
today brought about the arrest
of a young man for questioning
in the bludgeon slayings Of a
grocer and three young children
recently at Chester, Calf.
A short time later the young
mans father telephoned to in
quire about his son and he. too,
was taken into custody.
The son and father were identi-
fed by police as Travis Hall. q.
and Wendell Hall, 40.
Each vigorously denied any
knowledge of the iron-pipe slay-
ings of Guard Young. 43; his
daughters. Jean. Z, and Judy. 6.
and Michael Sale, 4. neighbors
child, near Chester October 10.
Amazed at Lie Test.
Travis Hall submitted to a lie
detector test. He said he was
amazed when he was informed by
Police Inspector Edward O'Haire
that the test shows Travis Hall
has more inforamtion about the
Chester mass slayings than ne
could have obtained by reading
newspaper accounts Of the
tragedy
The younger Hall also declared
he was working on October 10. the
day of the killings, and Office
records would prove it. His en-
ployer said "our records indicate
Hall spent the whole day" INSTALL
ing physical therapy equipment in
San Francisco. Chester is nearly
200 miles north of the Bay City
q drive of several hours because
of mountain roads.
At Fresno, where the elder Hall
was taken into custody, his wife
said he had been in Fresno during
the entire month of October. The
father told newsmen he was inno-
cent of any wrongdoing.
IT don't know why I am in here
because I'm sure innocent" he
said. IT never did anything"
Inquired About Son.
He was taken into custody
shortly after he telephoned the
police station at Richmond. across
the bay from San Francisco, to
inquire whether his son had been
arrested in the Plumas County
murders"
The son. Travis, was in his
Richmond home when the uniden-
titled informant walked in, &C
companied by police officers.
Hello, AL" the informant
greeted Hall.
Inspector O'Haire said the in
formant had told him he knew
Travis Hall as "Al Foley"
Hall asserted he never had seen
the informant before.
MY nickname is not AL but
Red" Hall said.
Hall later said the informant
seemed scared stiff-he was
shaking"
Inspector CHaire said the lie
detector Jumped wildly" when
three of several questions were put
to Hall.
He said they concerned Mr..
Young, the Staying robbery vic
tim: a question about how Mr..
Young and the children were
beaten to death, and another re-
garding Plumas County, where the
crime occurred.
Mr.. O'Haire said Hall would De
put to another test on the arrival
of Plumas County Sheriff Mel
Schooler.
Other Men Released.
Several men. mostly transients,
have been questioned in the mur-
der mystery. but all were released.
The informant's name has been
carefully guarded by police. Off
GERS said he had contacted them
some time ago with a story that
he met a man in pool hall and
was propositioned to rob man
named Young.
Grocer Young was waylaid on
lonely road and slain while he
was en- route from bank with
$7,l28 in cash-mostly $40 bills
to cash loggers' checks at his store.
Authorities have theorized the
young children were beaten to
death because they knew the
killer. One child, Sandra Young,
31a, was beaten and left for dead.
She later recovered and said