The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 5, 1903, Page 14

11 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY JUNE 5, 1903. FOUL MURDER COMMITTED BY A BLACK FIEND IS REVEALED BY THE M Relates Details of Crime, an, buried Gate, where , after the terred itted for ing tc the s comn money corpse earth to take sell them. UNEARTHED. ngs 1r BOD Y 1s Wilkerez tepped up tess and mber’s SUSPICION IS AROUSED. . 1 of Mrs. Leroy w 4 ge Fl , ed at the rded with o murd disappeared Two excellent values sub- stantially made in our own factory. WOMEN'S WASH \UN- DERSKIRTS, made of Knea crash; deep flounce: double rui- fles trimmed with narrow tucks tion); an sloo outing skirt Another style, made .of striped dark blue and gray ging- ham; deep flounce; double rui- with white; a very » cottage at | xious | | 1 rs. Anna Ross | The | | | ! | Flood | few minutes’ vigorous digging revealed | l | & few feet of her body for a month. | ROPE ENOTTED AROUND NECK. CONFESSION OF : — P O/, ' 4 ——— 3 3 AGED COLORED WOMAN, WHO WAS MURDERED BY A MAN SHE HAD BEFRIENDED, AND THE LATTER'S WHITE CONSORT, WHO WITNESSED THE BRUTAL CRIME AND WHOSE CONFESSION LED TO THE | DISCOVERY OF THE BODY BURIED UNDER THE HOUSE. | > ¥ R, : = e days my suspiclons were aroused, but I didn't verware 4 days the poiice were at work, but not | G2y TSR0 W " George Flood, Ljiore Were missing. Flood's bicycle was e could they unc Meanwhile, | 415 usea to board wit . came over from oy USSINg. The last time I saw Wilkerez according t ts at \den Gate, | the Union Iron Works to get his trunk and | e e %) Mrs. Leroy's buggy. He told according ol lr e Waller, as. he styled : clothes. 1 mét him at gate and he told | fri., (Pt eroy was stopping with a Wilkerez, had been back to the scene of the r'and had taken away & trunk from house. | e cottage is an old-fashioned house. | out of repair. In the rear to the is a little one-room house, occupled | M. Oliver, a friend of Mrs. Leroy. | nearing dusk when Detectives | Quigley, Holland and Kyte arrived there | with Mrs. Ross. In the basement there | is a wooden platform, nearly the length | of the cellar, and it is covered with rub- bish. At the end of the platform, within | a few feet of the door, the searchers dis- d where the earth had recently been disturbed. Shovels were at hand and a | the corpse. As soon as the head was un- | ed the detectives quit their work and ed roner Mehrmann. On their to the telephone the detectives met | Leroy’s tenant, Oliver, and informed That was the first | intimation Oliver had that Mrs. Leroy was dead, though he ate and slept within | Mrs. him of the discovery. Coroner Mehrmann and his assistants lifted the body from its grave and bege it to a place just outside the basement | door. It was badly decomposed, though the features were not yet unrecognizable. | The rope that the murderer used to kill the woman was still around her neck. It had been wound around two or three times and then knotted. The tongue hung from the mouth, evidence that, it was strangulation from which death ensued. The old woman’s thick white hair was matted. She was fully dressed, having on a blue and white calico dress. She lay in a quilt, which was tied in the corners | so hard that it doubled up the limbs. While in this bundle the body looked as {f it might be that of a very small woman, for it took up little space, but upon being released and the limbs stretched -out it showed a woman of a little more than or- dinary height. The hole in which she was buried was not more than four feet deep and six feet long. SWIFT AND BLOODLESS WORK. In the house there were no signs of blood or a struggle. If the murderer, when he struck the old .woman on the head, drew any blood he must have very carefully wiped up the red traces after- ward. The house looked bare of furni- ture, but otherwise there was nothing to indicate a murder. Oliver, Mrs. Leroy’s friend, was the last to see her alive. He talked with her in her own garden on May 5 and after that she was seen no more. - Not long. after that, probably a day or two days, he saw Wilkerez for the last time. . His story in- | timately connects Wilkerez with the mur- der, the incentive for which came with the knowledge that the old lady had money in her possession. Oliver says: Wilkerez and his wife came to live with Mrs. Leroy some time in February. ‘They, were in the station one night at Golden Gate when it way raining hard and some one directed them to ber house. She was a gopd old soul and gave them Then they stayed there right along and I don't- suppose ever paid her a cent. He worked for a while on the Emeryville subway. As near as 1 can Temember, Mrs. Leroy came home on Monday, May 4, from San Fran- clsco, where she had presided In her capacity as president of the Ladles' Unlon Beneficlal Society. She had $15 or $16, I think, which £he was going to keep for the 1 me the house had been myself_and found that city and needed the money. He vehicle. ransacked. I looked | 8ot §10 r 1 ome. Jewelry 10 for th and sil- | treasyrer. saw her next day in the garden and talked to ber. That was the last I saw of her. As the old lady was not around for several MEURDERER DISAPPEARS. Wixson, a grocer at San Pablo 1ford avenues, had some dealings R. ADVERTISEMENTS. R CUTICURA DINTMENT Purest of Emollients and Greatest of Skin Cures. The Most Wonderful Curative of All Time For Torturing, Disfiguring Skin Humours And Purest and Sweetest of Toilet- Emollients. Cuticura Ointment is beyond question with Wilkerez and was the last to see j him. He tells the following story of the ma t ions Wilkerez owed me a bill and I was trying t it. 1 heard about the old "ady's dis + but didn't econnect hfm with it. On sent a message to me in which he ° 10 #end his trunk to San Francisco, was written on a Western Wnlon brought to me by a telephone It was written In his hand- with Mrs. Leroy's name. nd my trunk in my room to trunk, and on ADVERTISEMENTS. MARKET ... TO-DAY We make prices that can scarcely be matched, some things even less than they are worth to buy in carload lots. Sale b gins this morning. ~ For two days orders taken for next week's delivers. )00 1bs Sultana Raisins, 4 1bs for.....28e pcks California’ Evaporated Peaches, 1 118 Ibs Salinas 1 12 bars Santa Claus Dust, all . Imported Table 1 car Eastern Lar 2 Golden G the most successful curative for tortur- ;'(“.n]‘\(]: or Bwitt'y; 3 The, 35e; 8 ing, disfiguring humours of the skin and “scalp,f/including loss of hair, ever |} g Fger o cured compounded, in proof of which a ]““X_f"r'l‘ Kingan's orln?e, single anointing preceded by a hot bath with Cuticura Soap, and followed in the severer cases, by a dose of Cuti- cura Resolvent, is often sufficient to afford immedlate relief in the most distressing forms of itching, burning and scaly humours, permit rest and sleep, and point to a speedy cure when all other remedies fail. It is especlally 80 in the treatment of infants and chil- dren, cleansing, soothing and healing the most distressing of infantile hu- “mours, and preserving, purifying and beautlfying the skin, scalp and hair. Cuticura Ointment possesses, at the same time, the charm of satisfying the simple wants of the toilet, in caring for the skin, scalp, hair, hands and feet, from infancy to age, far more effect- ually, agreeably and economically than the most expedsive of toilet emollients. Its *‘Iustant relief for skin-tortured babies,” or ** Sanative,antiseptic cleans- ing,” or * Ope-night treatment of the bands or feet,” or * Single treatment of the hair,” or *Use after athletics,” cycling, golf, tennis, riding, sparring, or any sport, each in connection with the use of Cuticura Soap, Is sufficient evidence of this. Sold throughout the world, Cndieurs Reseivent, e, (in 84 sacks Evaporated Dried Fruit—Cur- rants, 4 ibs, 25¢; Prunes, 14 Ibs, 25e: Dried Plumy,"4 ibs, 25¢ gs, doz ter. speclal sale ‘each da: We have eight of the largest eyeameries of California. “This butter {s shipped direct o us. [We at all times give you the mid- dleman’s srofit. Once a customer for our butter always a customer for it. 4-1b can M. & J. Coffee, can. .. : (Your last chance at this price.) All Canned Creams, dozen. 1049 MARKET, between 6th and Jones or McAllister. Telephone South 894. Se The Perfection of the four ; wheeled vehicle is an incident of the great Studebaker business. German Eyewater relieves all eye trou mail, 62c. Have us form of Choeolate 25¢. per vial of 60), Ofnt- has hel, me wonderfull, ‘ment, boc., s 25¢. Depots: ‘.I&,w Charterhiouse Chas. organ, Rocklin, §;; a5 R avia PaF Bosion, 137 Columpus Ave. CAUTION —Genuine has tri o B The Coklours Sk ™ mark, Eye with Crown. Drugglsts or GEO. MAYERLE, 1071 Market, S. I noticed | He did not pay anmy attention to me, A WOMAN Aged Mrs. Leroy's Buried Body Is Found. s 4+ ceived a personal call from Wilkerez. He said he had come after his trunk. I asked him if he was going to settle his bill, and he said he would as soon as Mrs. Leroy gave him his time check for working for the Transit Com- pany. When I asked him why he didn’t ask Mrs. Leroy for it he said she was in the city. then that he locked a little cone Finally he went to the house and got which he took to the station and That was the fused. his _truni, afterward put on the train. last I saw of him. WOMAN CONFESSES ALL. By her confession Mrs. Ross fills in the gaps and leaves nothing uncovered that would tend to shed a ray of light upon the foul deed. Apparently of some re- finement at one time, the degraded white woman, as she painfully unfolded the story, keenly rea'zed all that it meant to her. Shrinking in the corner of the of- fice of the Captain of Police in the City Hall, Mrs. Ross com- pleted the story of her meeting with Wil- kerez and a history of thelr movements from the first of the year up to the pres- ent time. There were present Captain of Police W. J. Petersen, Prosecuting Attor- ney A. P. Leach, a stenographer and De- tectives Quigley and Holland. She said: My name is Mrs. Anna Ross. That was my husband's name. He is a plumber in San Fran- clsco. We were married about elght years ago, but afterward I got a divorce from him. 1 don’t know where he is living now. I have a child 8 years old, I met Victor Walker, as I know him, at La- throp about the first of January of this year. I was working there for a family. I don't re- member the name. He was farming near there and we got to know each other very well. He said that he thought a good deal of .ae. About the middle of March I got sick and I told him that I was coming to San Francisco so that I could get into the City and County Hospital. 1 have never been weil since the birth of my child and-have to go back to the hospital every now and then. 1 had been there before. He | said that he did not want me to leave him and | that he would come with me. 1 wanted to know If he thought he could earn a living here | and he said that he guessed that he could get something to do. TAKEN IN BY MRS. LEROY. We left Lathrop on April 1 and got into Oak- land about 9 o'clock at night. We must have 8ot off at Golden Gate or somewhere near there, for I did not walk very far pefore I got to the house of Mrs. Leroy. 1 was never in Oakland_before, but off where he told me to. We had no money and I was sick and did not know what to do. Pretty soon we came to a house and he said, suppcse you go in there | and see it you can’t get a night's lodzing, o | I went up to the door and Mrs. Leroy came to | | | the door. I told her I had no money and that I was sick, and asked her if I could stay there all night. took me in. She said, “‘certain: y,” and I went in and sat down for and she gave me something to showed me a large double bed and told me that I could sleep there. I had not been in | bed long when I heard some one knock at the | a little while eat and then door and I heard Mrs. Leroy ko to the door | and I recognized Walker's voice. I heard him say, “Why, my wife,” and then she asked him we ried and he said Michiga y, Ind she let him in and showed him into where I was. When & he said, him “Well, 1 wouldn't hadn’t. | The next day I made arrangements to live you made it,”" | be there if I | with Mrs. Le She Wwent out every day to work and she said someone had stolen lot of things from her while she was awa she would like to have some one stay She sald that she would give me $10 a month to stay there and do the work. | Walker got some man who was working on | the railroad to come there to board and he pald in money right along. Walker did not | do_anything. He is a barber by trade. | Things went along all right until Tuesday May 5. That evening Mrs. Leroy came home from work about a quarter to 5. I had sup- per nearly ready and e #sat down to eat about halt past 5 I should say. I washed up the | dishes. While I was working Mrs. Leroy sat at a table reading the paper. When I | got through with my work I went Into the | room and laid down on a lounge Walker was walking around and could not keep still 1 said to him, ““Why don’t you sit down?" | But he was shifting around and I thought | that he acted strangely. At 9 o'clock we heard a big clock striking downtown and he went and wound up our clock and set it | FEARFUL ABOUT THE BLOOD. | It was not very long after that—I should | judge about ten minutes—when he left the | Toom and went into the front part of the house. | When he came back I did not see him have | anything in his hand. He walked around back | of Mrs. Leroy, who was sitting in a chay, | reading a pa and suddenly I saw him raise his arm and he had a nammer in his hand. He struck the old lady as hard as he could in the back of the head. She fell to the floor with a sort of gasp. I was frighten and told him that he was a coward to strike an old woman and that if he wanted to strike anybody he should strike a man his own size. t got a plece of ropd and wound it around her neck and pulled it tight. Then he said, “Come, Babe, and get sofge clothes so that the blood won't get all over | | | hold of the old lm|k\:ml choked her. | | | | | the floor.” I told him I would have nothing to do with it. So he went and got some | towels and two quilts and wrapped them | around her and dragged her out imto the | kitchen and down the back steps into lhc‘ basement, where he’ left her all night. He came back and washed then paeked a telescope basket with all the things that he could find that were any good and left me there that night. He got about | 35 out of the old lady's purse. I don’t know e he went to that night, but he came back 5 and sald that he had his hand nnd‘ wh the next morning about gone over to the city, but came back to Oak- land on the last boat, d I guess he did, or he could not have got across the bay that early in the morning. As soon as he got back he began to get ready to bury the body. He told me to get | ready to help him, but I told him I would not | do it, and went into another part of the hous 1 He changed his clothes and put on some ove: alls and then went down into the basement | and 1 went around to a place where I could see him work through a hole in the wall. He | rolled up the oflcloth that was on the floor of the basement and then took up two or three boards. Then he got a shovel and began to dig.- He got a big pile of dirt up on the floor and when he got the hole big enough he dragged the body to it and shoved it down into it. It was not big enough to lay her down in, but he made her sort of sit up In It and then piled the dirt over her. | It took him a long time to do it all. He was working there several hours. When he had piled in a lot of the dirt he stepped on it and shoved it all down well. = He kept packing it and trying to get all the dirt back again into the hole. He could not do It, so he got a large washtub and filled it full and took it _out into the backyard and then went around to the front of the house and took up some flower-plants and planted them In the tub, There was still some more dirt left, so he filled a kettle full and planted a flower in that. Then he swept the floor. He put the boards back into place and put the oilcloth back in place. He came upstairs and washed himself and changed his clothes, Then he got a_scrubbing brush and some water and soap and scrubbed the floor where there was biood on it. He cleaned up everything. We stayed there sev- eral days after that He would leave every morning and come home at night. On the Sth of May I said I was going to the hospltal and we went to San Francisco. I went out to the hospital and 1 only saw him twice after that. On May 11 I got leave to go out of the hospi- tal for one day and came over to Oakland and went to a house of a friend of his where I had left an umbrella and he was there. The next time I saw him he came out to the hospital to see me. That was on the 20th. That is the last time I saw him. I stayed in the hospital until a week ago, when I got @ room in a lodging-house in San Francisco, but I did not feel right. I told him that T would get him in jail for what he d done, and when I felt strong enough I came over here and told the police about it. ‘Whatever she told the police in regard to the whereabouts of Wilkerez is kept a secret. Chief of Police Hodgkins said that they had several clews, and unless the murderer had taken fright and left some time ago he belleved he could be found. For Additional Details See Page 9. AL P S As we play our parts in the drama of ITte may we drink only that which is good. J Moore ““A A’ Whisky is the best and purace o Al v S e o MISSOULA, Mont., June 4.—A Coroner's jury sitting: at Nixon last night returned a verdict to the effect that Paul Wasnitz, the County Assessor, whose body was found fin the river yesterday, was murdered. ————————— Did a big job for Hale Bros. It pleased them, Mysell-Rollins, 22 Clay. Printers and binders.* | i Che see in thg picture, Suit you including an ex- tra pair of trous- ers. Jandsomely braided; appearance drossy—in RBlue. We have added to these Suits some preity little suits with vesis for chaps between the ages of & and 9 years. Ohe price we arz going lo gquote for the Suit represents Just half the value, and add o this you are going to get an extra pair of pants for your chap thrown in. TChe two, the Suit and the exira pair of-trous- ors, Friday and Satur- “$/.98 0ufm_y FHals for Camping and Seashore. AU the very smartest smart in and summer ideas shown by us to-day. & Jhen Comes Uacation ith Ail Jis Fun and Recreation We're Ready with . Dacation Jpeciais Uacation Special Number One Opposite you see & suit pictured with ex- tra pair of irousers. Zou geot the exira pair of trousers for nothing and the suit for not | much more. In the prettiest and brightest of summer Scotches. Sood woolen materials, cleverly constructed, fashionably made, for chaps between the ages of 7 and 75 years. One of our biggest Friday and Saturday Speciais. Che Suit, including the Ex- tra pair of Grousers, . $1.98 Juits for Play and Roughing It Opposite we show you a pret- ty Outing Suit made from Blue Wixed, Pliable Donim; long trousers; good for the seashors; good for the mountains; good for camping; always looks neat and tidy; well made, and gives the little chap room for action. Chese litile suits to-day and Saturday at 8 50 the Suit —_— Dacation Jpecial *Number Jwo