Show mud springs killing justified says jury gudmundsen vindicated at coroners inquest for shooting alex north As culmination of controversy VERDICT REFLECTS SENTIMENT A justifiable homicide was brought in by a coroners cor coro onora nors jury at paragonah Para gonah late friday afternoon after it had heard mark Gudmund udmund G sens admission front from the witness stand that he had shot and hillid alex north locally known as aa norte the afternoon atler noon before near mud springs twenty miles northwest of here taking the stand in his own be hal hali young gudmundsen Gudmun usen 22 year old local sheep man told of the incidents over a period ol of years which led up tip to the fatal shooting ills story except as to the shooting Ls id by a number of r ther ether witnesses including deputy sheriff john B carpenter L J adams james C robinson orlando adams adama david richards and ted miller i iller all of whom testified to 10 hearing north ahrea threaten ten to kill a lot of irishmen as he designated tha adams boys who range sheep in the aud mud springs region there was no eye witness to the shooting but the testimony of deputy sheriffs carpenter arid and dalton as an to the tracks they found anti and oth er evidence gave confirmation to story testimony brought out that the adams family has run sheep in tho tha mud springs area tor for forty or fifty years and that they had purchased acres of land on which they had developed water tor for their blocks that north had homesteader homestead el ed there about twenty years ago virtually shutting them out from their water acs encina en cing up ling long established road s leading to it that they had tried to buy a right of way from him to trade him most of their forty acres tor for permission to cross his ground and in various other ways had endeavored to keep peace that norths land was not fenced and that since the watering place was within a few feet of his line it was a physical impossibility to bring a herd into the well without some of the sheep getting onto his land witnesses testified also that the sheriffs office had been appealed to by the adams boys in an effort to keep peace and at their request deputy sheriff carpenter had gone out there three weeks ago to be on the ground when the herd returning from range had first gone into the well to water that larpenter rp enter had suggested getting a court order permitting a right of way to the tha well and ahat that north had said court order or no court or ill kill those irishmen it they get on my land ill get as many 0 of them as I 1 can and then put a bullet through my own on head I 1 have nothing to live tor for they will lose more than L I 1 north was quoted as saying also that he sell any land to the irishmen and that it 1 they stay off his land and oft off public domain adjoining him in one direction the boundaries of 0 which he had bad arbitrarily fixed that there them would be a lot ot of little orphan mor alor mons over in parowan carowan Pa rowan gudmundsen testified that since the deputy sheriffs visit haft h je had arrILd a gun as a means of protect against north who had threatened him on several occasions on the day of the killing his bis sheep had been to water he said and some of t them hem had got on norths land laving the well a few of them had 9 also I 1 S 0 crossed a line which north bcd arbitrarily fixed as a division ot of the public range upon seeing tin 00 gudmundsen GuJ Gul said north had ball sent his dogs after the sheep and had made tor for gudmundsen as tas fas iq lie he ct could uld fearing violence he saidee said he shout about rd to noth not to come colue any nearer but the other kept on Cun coming ling chinking north was tsuying to get wither pistol range ranee in daiil bo be shot in the he air once in the hope hopa of frightening frighten lug him and volle ahen itice tailed failed be shot again nearer to him still north kept coining as fast as he could in p opre a and nd mutt muttering cring something continued to 6 page 6 column 3 I 1 MUD SPRINGS KILLING SAYS MY JUEY continued from first page which was interpreted as cu ibling and swearing ii if I 1 had had a little more nerve gudmundsen said 1 I guess I 1 would have waited but I 1 thought it ft meant one or the other of 0 us and I 1 was afraid of 0 him so I 1 drew a tine fine bead and shot officers testified that the two were apparently about seventy five or eighty apart when the fatal shot was tired fired it struck north high in the chest neat the shoulder and ranged through t ti his vertebrae shattering the lattea and lodging just under the skip skin filin which position it was vas removed by dr macfarlane who went with officers to the svelte scene following the shooting gudmund sen went to a near by camp anil and asked guy miller to to come into to town wit and report the affair while he stay liay ed with the corpse the officer ottic erb with tr dr macfarlane acfarlane Al and some locel men went out immediately arria ing there near ten p in after some investigating the body was b rought brought in and held at the county jail after the inquest when it was tak en to the Sau southern thern utah mortuary I 1 at cedar city tho the inquest was before justice amass amasa stones at paragonah Para gonah becaas ot of tile the tact fact that precinct justice thomas D adams of tile the parowan carowan precinct Gudmund sens uncle the coroners coro norg nors jury included J lowe parton barton paragonah Paira Para gonah service station proprietor thos W jones and J ii dalton farmers of that community county attorney john at foster conducted the inquest with at torney durham morris representing gudmundsen the batters lat testimony i was taken by A angus agus al morris as reporter witnesses who testified tor for the state in addition to the officers mentioned were J at ward win J lowder carlile dalton and frank af adams the jury deliberated only a short time after the testimony was given them their verdict reflects tile the general sentiment in this community which has pretty well understood the conditions involved I 1 aw m some tiia in view of the verdict and the sentiment locally it is doubtful it any charge will be brought against Cud gudmundsen though county attorney foster made a definite statement as to his intentions north is believed to be about fifty years old and to have been born in oklahoma he has a wife and a son about fourteen or fifteen who are supposed to bo be living in sawtell Cali california fornIN having left iett him when the child was an infant emil witte of this city who hompstead el near him and who probably knew him better than any one else thinks be alo has a brother in texas and possibly his mother and a sister or two but ho he know for sure north is of french irish and mexican descent he enlisted from this county in tha th world war and saw oversea over seab seaq sea service where ho he was gassed witnesses testified that li had bad unusual strength and an ungovernable temper mr air witte thinks his living alone tor for so iong ion help his disposition but lie he says he was undoubtedly impose 1 upon and had property damaged and stolen when he had to be away he blamed the irishmen for or much that the adams boys knew nothing a about I 1 out plans for his burial will undoubtedly awalt await word from his people 0 GRAINS steam eleam rolled tor for customers every monday and saturday at the cheese factory charge 10 lbs ibs grain or hundred lewis Mick elgon parowan carowan Pa rowan |