Show kKIME AND THE TRIAL Story of the Dastardly Murder of James R Hay by ills friend Peter MOItensen I How and Why the Crime Was Committed The Finding of the Body t The Web of Evidence Woven about Mortensen The crime for which Mortcnscn paid tie extreme penalty of the law was I discovered on the morning of Decem Iber JS JfiOl On the previous day a report re-port had been circulated that Tames fIl Hay cnshier of the Pacific Lumber i company hud absconded taking with him SoSOO collected from Peter Mortcn > sen on n bill due the company t r MEETING IN Till1 OFFICE IoiU IISC fl had been Indebted to the company for several months on 11111 ferial t used in his contracllnpr business f t Ho had been frcquenlly urged by the manager Ernest Ilomney to make a settlement or at leajil pay something 1on account He made no partial payments pay-ments but late in the afternoon of December IClh called at the office of the lumber company and told Mr Komney that ha had the money In gold concealed in his cellar Mortensen then suggested to Hay that the latter call at I his homo that t night and receive re-ceive the cash Mr I Romney made rome comment on thc danger I of handling PO much money nnd forbade Hny to receive It before mornlnjr At Mortcnsens request Hay mute out and 0 signed a receipt for the I money which he pinned lo an itemized statement of the account and a note secured by a mortgage on Mortcnsens home rhe iwo f men then walked east on South Temple filreel to West Temple where i they took a street car to Forest Dale r HAYS LAST SUPPER Hay went to his home In llio little I suburb which was situated Just 1 acrosit the street from llort onsens resl donee ate supper and told his wife that he had to KO over to Mortensens to collect some money Ho remarked that Ernest Mr Homncy had told him mil to get the money that night but Mortenson was going away In the morning and ho ould have to get the money then or nol at nil Ho donned I his overcoat and went out At I oclock lie had not returned and I I Mrs Hay dressed herelf and went lo Mortensens house to inquire I after him After I a long time Mortensen came to the door and aid in response to her I I Inquiry that Hay had probably gone uptown up-town to take pome money to Ernest I and might have missed the last carS car-S D HAT HAD THE GOLD The next day Moitcnscn told Mr Romnoy and others that Hay had come to his huuse I received f800 In gold turned over the receipt and gone out the back door I was upon these circumstances that the t theory of embezzlement was based I The community was momentarily urI ur-I prised that a man of Mr Hays reputation repu-tation should g wrong but men hrS cd their shoulders and remarked thai you never know whom to trust FINDING OF THE BODY While hunting for IL horse in a pasture on the morning or December J8lh Frank Torgenscn found some freshly turned earth He borrowed a shovel from the Forest Dale store and uncovered I part of an overcoat Excited Ex-cited by thl1 discovery he hurried back to Seventh East street where he found Peter Mortensen and Royal U Young awaiting a street car As soon ns they learned o his find they accompanied Torgensen lo the pasture and uncovered the body of Hay which lay burled In a shallow grave The police were noti tel and the patrol wngon was drhcn to the grave MURDER 1 MOST FOUL An examination of the I body showed that death luul been caused by a H8 cillbrc bullet which entered lh back of the head A pool o blood beside the railroad track f revealed the spot where thl body had lain after he t shooting From the blood down the side of the railroad grade to I the wire fence and beyond the fence lo the I grave were footprints but It was found that t here were no marks in the snow under the fence CHARGE OF JAMES SHARP The body of Hay was placed in the patrol wagon and taken a block east to the Forest Dale store Hero James Sharp the fatherinlaw of the dead man addressed some remarks to the corpse In which he virtually accused Mortensen of the murder although he did not mention his name Mortensen made no answer A few minutes later Mortensen us arrested and taken to the city hall Here in response to questions by the police he stated that he had had the gold which he paid to Hay In three glass Jars on top of thee the-e Ht wall of his cellar He also gave the I names of several people who had paid him the money The police vcnt to a bank and borrowed 51ISOO In S0 gold pieces which they put in I fruit Jar The one Jar easily contained them all I ul STORY OK THE NOTK An examination of the papers in Morteiifens possession developed the fact that tliO note to which the receipt had been pinned had not been cancelled I I was nlEO noted Unit the mortgage on Mortcnacns home fell due on the day of the murder MAN WITH THE SHOVEL The second day after Mortenscn was taken into custody John Allen a motor nun on the Forest Dale street carline car-line called at police headquarters and told I the t chief that on thl I nighl of the 16th he had seen a man going down I the railroad track from the direction of Morluiucna house toward the place where tho grave was afterward found I with a shovel over his shoulder He said thc man turned his head for a moment and hI the molorman took a good look at him thinking the prowler might be n spotter In the employ of the company whom It might be well to know again Allen wna taken to see MoitcnKon I and when asked whether ho could identify the prisoner replied that It did not look good to him WATKINS WOULD NOT SWEAR Morlensens brotherinlaw Charles Walking called at the Jail and Morten sell asked him to swear that < Watkins had loaned him a thousand dollars or so This was nccesiary Mortensen explained lncauae bin books wore in such shape that I ho could nol show where he had received the 3500 alleged to have been paid to Hay DESERTED BY HIS WIFE Soon afterward Mrs Mortensen left Salt Lake with item children going to her brothers home In plo She did not call on her huhaml after his arrest rest even to say goodbye It was learned that I she connidcrd him guilty of the crime because of I hI fact that t he had gone out with Hay and been gone for more than an hour When she noted I it Ill ghastly 1 pallor and Implored him i to tell her where he hail been lie cnuUomxl her not to tel anyone that ho had left I the house I GUN WAS NEVER 1 POUND Extraordinary I efforts were made by the I authorities to I find the revolver with which Hay I I had been killed The only A pon found at Morlcntens house was I 32cullbre pistol which had evidently not been used for a longtime long-time There was a slough near the grave and It was thought that tho revolver re-volver might have been thrown Into the water A ditch was dug at the expense of the COlt and the slough drained but no gun was brought to light I Noi was It pouslblc to find anyone who had given or sold Mortensen a weapon of this description WHAT THE SHOVEL TOLD A search of Mortenscns premises I brought to light a roundnosed shovel such as might have been used in digging Hays grave The handle was very clean and had evidently been washed Morlensens preliminary hearing lusted three I days The mot acnna tlonal Incident of the trial was the testimony o James Sharp a prominent Mormon Ho ntated that he knew on the night before the body was discovered dis-covered thnt Hay had been murdered by Mortfnncn When asked by counsel for the defense how he knew i he mid God revealed i to me JURY HARD ill OliT The IcfcndunL was bound over to the District court and remained In lie I county nil until the following May when hia tlJ I began before Judge Morse Owing to UK wide publicity I given to the rase It was very I difficult I to find juror who had neither formed uqr expressed an opinion One of the questions aukod by counsel for the t d < j fonso was ub to whether the juror believed be-lieved In I relntlOI1 t The court hold that I a I alllrmativo t i answer gave cause for I challenge Over a thousand talesmen wcro examined a nIt three weeks lime was consumed brforc lime jury box was filled PROVED AT THE I TRIAL The facts brought out oti lie I trial were substantially those I enumerated above although it wns Impossible I to put in evidence the Htatementa attributed at-tributed to Mrs MorteiiKon The State showed MortenHcnB receipts and expenditures ex-penditures from the time he had sworn himself l to bo without mOle in a suit for debt up to the time of the murder proving that ho had not made 3800 out of his business during that period Mr Sharp was called as a witness and repeated re-peated his revelation testimony DEFENSE VAS SILENT The defense tried to explain nothing merely attempting to Impeach Motor man Allen i by introducing a barber who sworn that Allen had raid to him that lIe could not Identify the man he saw on the track The argument of COlS 1 was that the I State t had not proved Morlensens doubt guilt beyond 1 reasonable GUILTY ON FIRST HALLOT I The jury reached 1 verdict o guilty Ion I-on the first ballot and In cue time Kentcnco was passed A motion for anew a-new trial I I was made by Stewart Stewart attorneys for the defense the ground being that I the I court erred in not striking out the revelation testimony testi-mony or James Sharp that it erred in sending the Jury lo view I time urenc of flic I crime in lie I nbsenco of the defendant de-fendant etc The motion Was denied and an appeal was taken I to the Supreme I Su-preme court t which siiHtnlncd the I trial Judge r EFFORTS FOR NEW PHIALS A second motion for I new trial was based on the affidavit I of Bernard J Stewart to the t effect that Royal 1 Young a npcclal officer appointed by the court lo show the jury the grave and the Morlenscn premise hud told of Morlensens conduct and otherwise testified to the jurors In the absence of the defendant This motion Ava likewise overruled and appealed Two Justices of the Supreme court decided to sustain Judge Morse but Judge Marioneaux a District Judge la led to rll In the case dissented holding that the motion Should not have been denied until Royal B Young was examined as to the charges In Mr Stewarts aIlda it Ah appeal was made by MorenH to tile Board of Pardons for a commutation commu-tation of sentence but the board refused re-fused to Interfere |