OCR Text |
Show AFTEIi 55EVKN YEA IIS MURDERERS OF A SALT LAKE MISER DEHIND THE DARS. An Almost Forgotten Crime Drought to Light by the Betrayal by Hlo Wife of One of the Murderers. It Is believed that a murder mystery of (.even years' standing Is nbout to he cleat od up In Suit I. ako City, threo men. fjeorgo W. Muncy. John Hlce and Abo Hunter having been lodged In Jail, charged Willi the murder, on tho night of February 2fi, 1807. of Fred lluetler, a miserly uinbrella-monder, who wns found f-tinngled to death In a cabin In Salt Lake. In a signed confession made beforo SherKT lCmory and County Attorney Westervolt, Muncy states that on tho night lu cpiesllon ho and John Hlronud Abo Hunter went to Iluetlor's cabin for the purpose of robbing tho old man of $1,000 In money which they understood under-stood ho had concealod In tho houso; Hint bo (Muncy) throw Huctler on tho hod nnd held hi m down while Itlco stuffed lags lu his throat to lit I lie hit cries for help, and Hint after proceeding proceed-ing thus far they wero frightened by Bomo ono knocking on tho door, when tho threo would-be robbers mndo thoir oscape, leaving their victim nlono in his deatli struggle and without oven looking for tho moiry which led thorn to commit tho crime. Tho man Muncy was never suspected suspect-ed of any connection with tho murder of lluetler until very recently, when ho let fall somo slight allusion to it In conversation with his wife, who ro-ported ro-ported what ho had said to tho olllccrs. Muncy, tho man who makes tho confession, Is Cti yeais old nnd a Virginian Vir-ginian by birth, and Is said to comn from n good fnmlly. When a young man ho emigrated to Illinois, and at tho breaking out of tho civil war enlisted en-listed lu tho Foity-elghth Illinois regiment. reg-iment. At the close of tho war ho was discharged with the rank of soigeant, nnd nt once rc-enllsted in tho logular army, serving tlueo years. Following this soivlco ho ill If tod to tho far west nnd lias lived in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming Wyo-ming and Montana, John Hlce, ono of tho trio bohlnd tho bars, wns arrested on suspicion nt the tiino oi llio murder, Imt was re'eaa. l from lack nf direct nldcuco. Soon after his dlsiliai'Ke Joan lib o went to Tc.oelo county, whole he engaged en-gaged in the i-hcep business, an I was later man led, having now a wife mm several childten, and with his departure depar-ture tho miirdnr of lluetler was practically prac-tically chopped as an impenetrable) mystery. Hoth Hleo nnd Hunter deny nil knowledge of tho cilmo with which they aie charged, but II Is claimed Hint Hlce has let full seeral remarks which It will be hard for him to satisfactorily satis-factorily oplaln. It Is snld that when ho was found at (Irantsvlllo and Informed In-formed that Sheriri' Knicry wnnted to seo him, ho exelnluied: "What In "does Hie sheriff want with mo; It must bo nbout that lluetler case" Tho statement Is made that Muncy and ills wlfo fieMUcntly quarreled, nnd that ho bad thicntoiiod to linvo her sent to tho Insane asylum. She, In a spirit of rovungo, gnve tho otneers a cluo which led to Muncy's arrest. |