|
|
The Trial of Kitty Blonger. |
|
Kitty Blonger shot Charles Hill in the head when he burst in on her tryst with Kid Fay.
She was the second woman to be tried for murder in Arizona.
Mohave County Court Minutes, April 1888
San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 1888
KILLED BY A WOMAN.
A Young Blacksmith Fatally Shot in the Head.
KINGMAN (A.T.), February 22 — To-day about noon a young man by the
name of Hill was shot and killed at Peach Springs, a small station fifty
miles east of this place. It is reported that Hill was drinking, and going
to a disreputable house was denied admission, when he proceeded to kick
the door in. The woman of the house shot through the door, striking him on
the head and killing him instantly. The name of the woman was Kate
Blonger. She was brought to this place to-night and placed in jail to
await a preliminary trial. Hill was a blacksmith by trade and was employed
in the Atlantic and Pacific road shops at that place.
Albuquerque Morning Democrat, February 25, 1888
TRAGEDY IN ARIZONA.
One Man is Killed by a Woman, and Another Cuts His Own Throat — Other Quarrels.
A well known and reliable gentleman has just returned from a trip over
the Atlantic & Pacific R.R., and related a chapter of fights and
shooting affairs which have occurred during one day. At Peach Springs it
appears that a blacksmith, who is a married man, became infatuated with a
fast woman and could not bear to have other persons pay her any attention.
He went to her house about noon but was refused admittance and in a fit
of jealousy, he kicked in the door. The woman met him with a revolver in
her hand and fired, the bullet taking effect just behind the unfortunate
man's left ear and death resulted almost immediately. Several hot heads
talked of lynching the woman but good sense prevailed and she was handed
over to the authorities.
Mohave Miner, February 25, 1888
MURDER AT PEACH SPRINGS
Charles Hill, a Blacksmith in the Railroad Shops, Killed by a Prostitute.
On Wednesday of this week, between 12 and 1 o'clock, the frequenters of
Somerset's saloon at Peach Springs were startled by a pistol shot, coming
from the rear room. A rush was made by those in the saloon to the room,
where a prostitute named Kitty Blonger was found with a smoking pistol in
her hand and Charles Hill lying on the floor with a bullet in his brain.
D. M. Fay was also in the room. Coroner Mollering held an inquest, and
below we give the testimony of the witnesses.
"J. L. Rogers; residence Silver city, New Mexico, age, 21 years
past, occupation, locomotive fireman. Me and Mr. Smith were playing a game
of pool in J. T. Somerset's saloon in the village of Peach Springs, on the
22d day of February 1888, about half past one in the afternoon. Mr. Hill
entered the saloon and said to me, I will bet you you are the best prize
fighter in the town; he spoke to me a few minutes and then went towards
the back of the house. I then heard a scuffle but could not at first
locate it. I then heard a little racket in a back room attached to the
rear of the building; in a few seconds thereafter I heard a pistol shot;
myself, Mr. Smith, George and W. H. Henry immediately ran to the door of
the room; the first words spoken was by W. H. Henry who said, it is
Charley I believe. I saw the powder smoke coming out of the room and a
woman was standing inside the room with a pistol in her hand. I do not
know her name, have heard her called Kitty. I saw Mr. Hill laying on the
floor in the room with his head laying in the door. I saw him bleeding
very freely, saw his brains oozing out of the top of his head and blood
running out of his ears; there was also a gentleman standing in the room;
do not know his name, could recognize the man if I saw him; heard the
woman Kitty say, "I have killed him; he broke into my room;"
when I rushed up to the door I heard her say, "Don't come in;"
the last remark was immediately after I heard the pistol shot; this was
addressed to me and those who were with me."
"Daniel D. Welch; reside at Peach Springs, age, 36, occupation,
miner. I was in the saloon of J. T. Somerset, on the 22d day of February,
1888; shortly after 12 o'clock at noon, I heard a scuffle but could not
locate it; after locating the scuffle I went to the back room. I saw a man
who was called Charley Hill laying on the floor with his head very near
the door, he was bleeding near the top of his head, he was not then dead
but breathing; did not see anybody in the room; a woman occupying a room
in the back of Somerset's saloon in known to me by the name of Kitty
Blonger."
"Geo. T. Smith; reside at Peach Springs, occupation saloon
business; myself and J. L. Rogers were playing pool in J. T. Somerset's
saloon. Mr. Chas. Hill passed through the saloon and through the partition
door back of the saloon; this was between 12 and 1 o'clock, and he
appeared to be in good humor and spirits; in probably two or three minutes
I heard a scuffle which I finally located in a bed room back of the
saloon. I then started for the bed room; when I got to the door I heard a
woman say, "I have killed him but he busted my door in and I don't
allow no --- of a --- to do that." I saw a pistol in her hand at that
time. Mr. Hill was laying on the floor with his feet towards the bed and
his head against the door-casing. I picked him up and straightened him
out. I examined him and found him shot through the head; there was a
gentleman in the room with her, I do not know him, the man was dressed but
the woman was in her nightgown; the bed room door was open; Mr. Hill did
not speak when I got to the room; do not know if the room was rented or
leased to her or not."
"W. H. Henry; reside at Peach Springs, age 23, occupation
brakeman; myself and Charles Hill had been together about one hour before
we come into J. T. Somerset's saloon; he said, wait till I come back, I
want to go to the water closet; he went out the partition door when I
heard a scuffle in a bed room in the rear of the saloon; while going
towards the bed room, I heard the report of a shot, the partition door in
the rear of the saloon was shut; myself and Rogers and Smith started for
the partition door in the rear of the saloon about the same time Mr. Smith
opened the door. I then saw the bed room door and door in the back of the
house both open and Charley Hill laying on his back in the room with his
head in the door, he was bleeding about the middle of the head, with a
woman named Kitty standing in the bed room with her nightclothes on; she
had a pistol in her right hand; as soon as I got to the door the man Kitty
said, "Get out," twice; also said, "He broke my door open
and I killed him, and I don't allow no --- of a --- to break my
door," and then went outside. I saw also a man in the room who I have
heard called "Kid" Fay; he was dressed and standing back of her
towards her left; did not hear any sound which sounded like the breaking
open of a door."
"Geo. F. Smith recalled; did not hear any noise which sounded like
breaking in of a door, nor a word spoken."
"Dayton M. Fay; residence Prescott, age 21, occupation gambler; a
man came to the room door and asked to be let in, and Kitty Blonger
replied that she was engaged, the man said open this door or I will kick
it in, for I thought I was a lover of yours; she said, get away from there
I will be out in a few minutes, for the man in here is a stranger to you;
he then said, open this door or I will kick it in; I spoke up and said,
you had better not kick it in; he replied, I will kick it in and you too;
with that he kicked the door in; I then jumped up and grappled with him,
while scuffling with him I heard a shot; not knowing that there was a gun
in the room, I imagined it was in the saloon. I felt the man with whom I
was scuffling relaxed his hold on me, and saw where he was shot. I even
then could not tell that he had been shot until I turned around and saw a
gun in the hands of the lady Kitty Blonger. I said, "My God, what
have you done?" she replied, "I don't know, I have killed
him." A crowd rushed in then. I have known Kitty Blonger about nine
or ten months; she is known as a prostitute; the man did not speak after
he was shot; we were both down on the floor scuffling."
The jury returned the following verdict:
PEACH SPRINGS, Ariz., Feb. 22, 1888.
"We the undersigned jury summoned for an inquest on the body of
Charles Hill, find that he came to his death from a pistol shot fired from
the hands of a woman called Kitty Blonger, on February 22, 1888.
J. N. COHENOUR, (foreman.)
J. RICHTER.
C. G. REYNOLDS.
W. B. DEMPSEY.
J. L. NELSON.
R. HERNEBERRY.
W. TRACKWELL.
JAS. BUCKLEY.
ALBERT CROOK."
After the examination, Kitty Blonger and D. M. Fay were brought to this
place and put in jail.
On Thursday a charge of murder was brought by Prosecuting Attorney Eb.
Williams, and the accused parties were brought before Justice of the Peace
Funston, and an examination was set for Monday, the 27st inst.
LOCAL BREVITIES.
E. M. Sanford, the well-known Prescott attorney was in town Thursday.
He is retained by Kitty Blonger and D. M. Fay, who are charged with the
murder of Charles Hill at Peach Springs on Tuesday last.
Arrivals at the Kingman Hotel for the Week Ending This Day.
[at end of a list of 30 persons:]
L. Blonger
Albuquerque Evening Citizen, February 27, 1888
Kitty Blonger, a sporting woman formerly of this city, killed a man
named Hill, at Soda Springs, Arizona, a few days ago.
Mohave Miner, March 3, 1888
LOCAL BREVITIES.
J. N. Cohenour and R. L. Frazier, of Peach Springs, spent several days
here this week. They were witnesses in the Blonger-Fay examination.
The preliminary examination of Kitty Blonger and D. M. Fay, accused of
the murder of Charles Hill at Peach Springs on the 22d day of February,
1888, took place before Justice of the Peace Funston this week. The
examination occupied the greater portion of three days. District Attorney
Williams represented the people and E. M. Sanford, Esq., of Prescott, the
defendants. The evidence was taken in writing and James J. Hyde performed
this arduous task. The following witnesses came their testimony: J. L.
Rogers, Geo. T. Smith, J. N. Cohenour, J. L. Nelson, C. M. Walker, W. H.
Henry, J. H. Mollering, Frank Peek, A. S. Coon, R. L. Frazier and James
Wales. The evidence being sufficient to hold the defendants, they were
committed to the Sheriff, and they probably will be tried at the April
term of the District Court. James J. Hyde has been retained as an attorney
in the case to assist Mr. Sanford in the defense.
Arrivals at the Kingman Hotel for the Week Ending This Day.
[in the middle of a list of 28 persons:]
L. Blonger, San Bernardino, Cal.
Arizona Weekly Champion, March 3, 1888
At Peach Springs on Wednesday of last week a blacksmith named Hill while trying to forco an entrance to the room of Kitty Blonger was shot and instantly killed. "Kid" Fay, well known here, was in the room with Kitty, and although she claims to have done the shooting it is rumored that Fay fired the shot and has skipped out to escape arrest.
Tombstone Epitath, March 3, 1888
DAYTON FAY IN HOC
Dayton Fay, son of A. E. Fay, a former resident of Tombstone is in jail in Kingman, charged with the murder of Charles Hill at Peach Springs, last week. Following is young Fay's testimony at the Coroner's inquest:
"My name is Dayton M. Fay; residence Prescott, age 21, occupation gambler; a
man came to the room door and asked to be let in, and Kitty Blonger
replied that she was engaged, the man said open this door or I will kick
it in, for I thought I was a lover of yours; she said, get away from there
I will be out in a few minutes, for the man in here is a stranger to you;
he then said, open this door or I will kick it in; I spoke up and said,
you had better not kick it in; he replied, I will kick it in and you too;
with that he kicked the door in; I then jumped up and grappled with him,
while scuffling with him I heard a shot; not knowing that there was a gun
in the room, I imagined it was in the saloon. I felt the man with whom I
was scuffling relaxed his hold on me, and saw where he was shot. I even
then could not tell that he had been shot until I turned around and saw a
gun in the hands of the lady Kitty Blonger. I said, "My God, what
have you done?" she replied, "I don't know, I have killed
him." A crowd rushed in then. I have known Kitty Blonger about nine
or ten months; she is known as a prostitute; the man did not speak after
he was shot; we were both down on the floor scuffling."
Mohave Miner, April 7, 1888
ACQUITTED.
The Trial of Kitty Blonger for the Murder of Charles Hill.
On Thursday last in the District Court in the county the trial of Kitty
Blonger for the murder of Charles Hill at Peach Springs on the 22d of
February was commenced. The circumstances attending the killing of Hill,
together with the threatened lynching of his slayer and "Kid"
Fay, her paramour at the time, by the citizens of Peach Springs, and the
additional fact that it was but the second instance in the history of the
Territory where a woman had been placed on trial for her life, has been
the means of attracting such general attention that the case will long be
remembered as one of the causes celebre in the annals of Arizona courts.
Owing to a difficulty in empanelling a jury it was not until late
Thursday that the following named gentlemen were sworn as jurors to try to
the case: J. C. Potts, John E. Ryan, P. Caffrey, J. D. Bland, W. W. Clark,
W. H. Jennings, Parker Holloway, Richard Taggart, John Burt, Thomas Steen,
E. Ellibee and A. H. Smith.
The testimony introduced on behalf of the Territory differed but little
from that given on the preliminary hearing of the defendant, being to the
effect that Hill had, a short time previous to his death, born the
relations of a favored friend of Miss Blonger, so far as the friendship of
such women can be considered as favoring any special individual. On the
day of the death, in company with a friend, he entered Somerset's saloon
in Peach Springs, and passing directly through the saloon entered that
portion of the building in which Miss Blonger roomed, and in the short
space of a minute or two afterwards was killed by a pistol shot fired by
the woman whose pet he had once been. Parties who were in the saloon at
the time, and who were the first to reach Hill after his receiving the
fatal wound, testified to his having been of a quiet and good-natured
disposition generally, but that he was slightly under the influence of
liquor at the time.
The testimony on the part of the defense claimed that the deceased had
kicked in the door of Miss Blonger's room, against her protestations, and
seizing "Kid" Fay, who was in bed with her at the time, and who
had been a former lover of the defendant's in Prescott, was struggling
with him, when she stood up in bed and fired downward, shooting Hill
through the head just above the left ear. Both the defendant and Fay
testified to these last mentioned facts, the last named giving his age as
twenty-two, and describing his profession as a gambler; while the
defendant herself, in delivering her testimony, did so with the most
remarkable self-possession for a woman in her trying position. The case
was ably argued at length by District Attorney Williams and Harris
Baldwin, in behalf of the Territory, and E. M. Sanford, Esq., and J. J.
Hyde, Esq., for the defendant. On Friday afternoon, after an exhaustive
charge as to the law applicable to the case by the Court, the jury
retired, and after being out for nearly three hours returned into court
with a verdict of acquittal. For the first time during the entire trial
Miss Blonger, on hearing the verdict, displayed the slightest emotion. The
stoical indifference that throughout the trial enabled her to bear the
most damaging testimony and the most scathing arguments of the prosecuting
attorneys without moving a muscle or even changing color, gave way, and
despite her strongest effort to retain her self-control her eyes filled
with tears, which slowly, but silently coursed down her cheeks. On being
discharged from the custody of the sheriff, immediately after the
recording of the verdict, her self-control entirely gave way, and she was
led from the room sobbing uncontrollably.
It is stated that she will at once return to her home in one of the
Eastern States, where her parents are highly respected, and will endeavor
by a life of future rectitude to redeem the past.
Important Legal Rulings.
During the present term of the District Court Judge Wright was called
on to give a solution to several important and novel legal questions,
involving the admission of certain classes of testimony in criminal
trials.
. . .
The second important ruling was in the admission of certain depositions
taken in the preliminary examination of Kitty Blonger for the murder of
Charles Hill, under stipulation between District Attorney Williams and Mr.
Sanford, who was defending Miss Blonger. The counsel opposed the reading
of the deposition in evidence on the ground that the defendant had the
constitutional right to be confronted on her trial by all the witnesses
for the prosecution. The Court held that such right had been complied by
the witnesses having been examined and their testimony reduced to writing
in the presence of the defendant on the preliminary examination; and that
as the testimony had been taken in strict compliance with Chapter III. of
the Revised Statutes, being the law governing witnesses in criminal
actions, that it was admissible.
COURT NOTES.
Hon. Harris Baldwin ably assisted District Attorney Williams in the
Kitty Blonger case.
The Grand Jury ignored the charge of murder against D. M. Fay, as they
did also the charge of forgery against James Wilson.
A number of ladies listened to the argument in the Kitty Blonger case
on Friday afternoon. They were attentive listeners.
Tombstone Epitath, April 14, 1888
THE SOUTHWEST
The trial of Kitty Blonger for the murder of Charles Hill, at Peach Springs on February 22d last, resulted in her acquittal. Her trial in the District Court ended the 6th. The jury brought in their verdict of not guilty, and the judge informed them that their verdict was in accordance with the instructions of the Court. The woman was overcome by the verdict and wept. The Grand Jury failed to find an indictment against her paramour Kid Fay.
Mohave Miner, January 18, 1890
The Journal Miner [of Jan. 10, 1890] says: — Dayton M. alias
"Kid" Fay died at half past nine o'clock this morning. He was
taken sick with the prevailing disease, about two weeks ago, and being
addicted to the opium habit, it resulted fatally. Deceased was about 24
years of age, and was a son of A. E. Fay, an ex-Arizona legislator and a
newspaper man well known both in Arizona and California. Young Fay will be
remembered here as being connected with the Kitty Blonger murder trial.
NOTE: The 1880 census lists Artemis Fay as an
editor/publisher in Tombstone, Arizona. His son Dayton M. Fay, born in New
York, was 13 years old at the time. By 1888, the elder Fay lived in
Flagstaff and published the Arizona Champion, which in its
abbreviated coverage of the trial noted tersely that Kid Fay is "well
known here."
Albuquerque Evening Citizen, April 9, 1888
Court Proceedings.
Territory vs. Mollie Blonger; maintaining a nuisance; pluries writ ordered, and scire facias.
Aspen Weekly Times June 22, 1889
Uncalled for letters remaining in the Aspen post office:
Blonger, Kitty
Kate "Kitty" Blonger, aka Sadie Wilson, married Sam Blonger in Denver in 1889, days after his divorce from Ella Livingston. Within four years his violent, abusive behavior drove Kate to leave him. Shortly after their divorce, Sam married Virginia Pierrepont -- breaking a promise to wed Jesse Wheat (who then sued Sam for $25,000).
Black Hills Daily Times (Deadwood, S.D.), February 26, 1893
Letters remaining in the Deadwood post office:
Blonger, Kittie
|
