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Show : SUSPECT III II " GREEK MURDER CASE Peter Elias, Janitor of Orthodox Orth-odox Church, Arrested by Police. ! GATHERING EVIDENCE Man Had $105, but Explains It Was Loan From a Friend in Garfield. Salt Lake City's Greek colony is wrought tip to a high pitch of excitement excite-ment over tho arrest, late yesterday afternoon, of Peter Elias, .ianitor of the orthodox Greok church, in connection connec-tion with the murder of Mrs. Sophia Bourazanis, the priest's mother. lilias is held in the city jail on a charge o suspicion, and polico officials admit that if a charge of murder is entered against the man, information warranting warrant-ing this action is yet to be secured. The arrest was made by C. A. Carlson, police inspector, and Detective II. D. Lyon. Peter Elias 's friend6 aro inconsed over what thev term the unwarranted action on the part of the police in taking tak-ing him into custody under circumstances circum-stances familiar to all who visited the Bourazanis home after tho finding ot the body of the murdered woman. It was Elias who accompanied Father Bourazanis to his home, -157 South Second West street late Wednesday evening, when the body was discovered. Elias remained at the house, and wa3 there when Police Of fleers W. M. Itad-sen Itad-sen and .T. P. Emery arrived. He was closely questioned by them, and was also interviewed bv detectives who arrived ar-rived on the sceno later, among them Lyon and Chase. Yi sited the Home. Elias had stated that he visited Mrs. Bourazanis on last Tuesday evening, the day prior to the finding of the bodv, aud had remained at the house about an hour. He left the house, he said, about (3:45 p. m. Two small boys had told the officers that they had seen a man wearing a long overcoat standing stand-ing in the door of the Bourazanis home talking to Mrs. Bourazanis about 9-80 p. m. Tuesday. Officer Emery, to whom this storv was told, sought out KHa-s and asked him -where he was at that hour. He readily replied that he was in Garfield, having gone there to borrow some money from a man, whose name ho gave the officer. Inspector Carlson, who caused Elias s arrest, 6tated last night that he had been informed concerning the story told by the latter on Wednesday night, in which connection he added: Wo have learned that Elias was in need of mouey, as interest on a loan which he secured before leaving leav-ing Greece is due. Also, he admitted ad-mitted to us that he knew where Mrs. Bourazanis kept a sum of money hidden between two mattresses matt-resses ou her bed. I am not prepared pre-pared to say at this time whether or not a charge of murder will be placed against Elias, but think it best to hold him pending further investigation. - - "Has the polico department checked up the man m Garfield from whom Elias said ho borrowed money?" Inspector In-spector Carlson was asked. "No but we intend to," was the rc- ply. Contradicted by Friends. Friends of Elias, who bears an excellent excel-lent reputation, point out that it was the duty of the police department, if they doubted his story concerning from whom he borrowed a sum of money, to have checked up on this point without delay. They also diroct attention to the fact that no money was taken from tho house, about $100 in a coin bag being found by the priest in its regular regu-lar hiding place when lie entered the premises m company with Elias. This bag of raonev is tho one which Elias admitted having knowledge of, and it was not disturbed. Elias, when searched at headquarters, had on his person $105 and some small change. He Eaid that on his mission to Garfield be had borrowed ,90 from the man whoso name he gave the police po-lice last Wednesday, and that the extra $15 was left from his last salary on pay da y. inspector Carlson said last night that the polico have no trace whatever of the mysterious Nick Cheretopuolos, the stranger who spent a few nights in the prieet's home, and for whom a search was instituted when the murder was discovered. Father Dototheus Bourazanis Teported yesterday that a gold ring which his mother usually wore was missing from her linger. He made this discovery, he 6aid, when ho visited the undertaker's yesterday to pray beside her body. He readily seized upon the theory that his mother had been murdered by a robber, who took ths ring, but his description of the pi.ice of jewelry indicated that its intrinsic value was very small. |