WHERE WAS BONES WHEN THEY NEEDED HER? July 11, 1928: “DETECTIVE ASSERTS HOTEL MAN SLAIN ON DESERT—Asks Probe of “Death” In Mine On New Angle—Body of Wealthy Randsburg Man Found In Mine Near Atolia Murdered, He Maintains—Anton Getts wealthy Randsburg hotel owner, whose body was found in his mine near Atolia last April, did not fall to his death but was murdered, according to a theory announced yesterday by A. E. Cook, a Bakersfield detective. Cook requested the reopening of the case asserting that his investigation of Getts’ death points conclusively to murder. Getts was slain, the detective contends, and robbed of a money belt containing from $2,000 to $4,000. SHAY CLINGING TO ACCIDENT THEORY—Judge E. B. McGinnis of Randsburg and Dr. William Denton of Osdick, after considering the evidence presented by Cook, stated that they, too, were convinced that Getts was murdered. Sheriff Walter A. Shay, who directed the inquiry into Getts’ death, stated yesterday that, in the absence of any proof to the contrary, he clings to the theory of accidental death, basing his theory on the finds of the coroner’s inquest jury in the case. Getts’ body was found in a “drift” off the shaft of his mine. His arm and leg had been broken and Getts had apparently crawled into the tunnel to escape the heat of the shaft. He had also apparently taken off his shirt and used it as a pillow. An autopsy conducted by surgeons on the day Gett’s body was found in the mine indicated clearly that Getts died of his injuries and exhaustion the sheriff stated. MAINTAINS GETTS KILLED, ROBBED—Cook asserted in a statement announced at Bakersfield yesterday that Getts was struck over the head and then fell headlong into the shaft. The slayer raised the body, the detective maintains, with a windlass and carried it into the drift where the money belt was stolen. This theory is weakened, however, by the fact that nearly $100 was reported found on Getts body. Getts was widely known on the desert. He operated a hotel at Randsburg and was known to have been wealthy. His hobby was mines and frequently he left Randsburg alone to wander across the desert searching for deposits of ore. Cook’s evidence, purporting to support his murder theory, will probably be presented to District Attorney George H. Johnson if the case is reopened.” –San Bernardino County Sun July 12, 1928: “ DETECTIVE BARES CLEWS POINTING TO SLAYING OF RANDSBURG HOTEL OWNER, UPSETS ACCIDENT THEORY—Anton Getts Killed, Body Stripped of Cash, Hurled Down Mine, He Maintains.—Did Anton Getts, wealthy hotel owner, fall to his death in the shaft of his mine at Atolia or was he slain and his body thrown into the mine? Getts’ body was found last April. A coroner’s jury returned a verdict of accidental death, but A. E. Cook, a Bakersfield detective retained by a law firm handling Gett’s estate, asserts that he was murdered. Cook spent weeks working on the case. Following is a story based on Cook’s theories, written by James Day, of the Bakersfield Californian. Day accompanied Cook to Atolia to work on the case. Mojave Desert, shimmering under the blazing sun of July, gave authorities of two counties yesterday a new mystery of death, the oldest of all mysteries. Anton Getts, wealthy resident of Randsburg, was murdered at the shaft of his tungsten mine and then hurled into the black pit. His murderer, ore murderers, secreted the broken body in a black drift of the mine after tearing the clothes from their victim in a successful search for a money belt in which Getts invariably carried in a large sum of currency. After stripping the body of its belt, the murderers proceeded to wipe their bloody hands on a piece of newspaper which they anchored with a rock. They rolled two cigarettes, smoked them and then crawled out of the belly of the mine ACCIDENTAL DEATH VERDICT RETURNED—These revelations were made by Detective A. E. Cook of Bakersfield, who has just completed an investigation of Gett’s death at his mine near Osdick, on the Mojave Desert. The body of Anton Getts, better known about Randsburg and Inn City as “Frenchy,” was found in his mine last April. An inquest by a deputy coroner of San Bernardino County, resulted in a verdict of “accidental death.” It was believed that Getts had fallen into the shaft of his own mine and been killed in the fall. When a small wad of bills, totaling $105, was found jammed in the bottom of a pocket of the dead man’s clothes it was assumed that he had died an accidental death. If he had been murdered, why should his murderers have left the money? Judge E. B. McGinnis and Dr. William Denton, of Randsburg, and members of a party which just completed painstaking investigation of the case are thoroughly convinced that Getts was murdered. The circumstances of the miner’s death are so obvious in their import that no other conclusion is tenable. “Frenchy” was smashed over the head with an iron bar. His murderers, to get the body out of sight in order that it might be searched with ease and in order to have time, hurled it into the shaft. As it crashed downward into the pit, it left fleck of blood on the ladder. Forty feet from the top of the shaft the body struck a windlass platform and crashed on through it, breaking the right leg and arm of Getts. So great was the force of the fall that one of the Italian’s shoes was ripped from his foot. MURDERER HOISTED BODY UP DARK SHAFT—The murderers then climbed down into the pit of the mine. One of them affixed a cable to Gett’s body and the other hoisted him on the windlass to the 40-foot level in the mine. The body was then dragged back from the shaft into a drift which is blacker than any night can be. On the floor of the drift, the heel marks of the body were plainly visible, indicating that “Frenchy” was dragged by someone. There were other marks of hobnailed boots. The murderers ripped a pair of coveralls off the body and pulled up the shirt. They did this to get the dead man’s money belt. Anyone in Randsburg will tell you that “Frenchy” always carried money with him in a belt. A short while before his death “Frenchy” withdrew between $2,000 and $3, 00 from an account in a Los Angeles bank. This money has not been accounted for, and it is assumed that it may have been in the belt. After stripping the body, the murderers smoked a cigarette each. This is know, because “Frenchy” never smoked. The two brown stubs were found near the body when it was discovered. After wiping their hands with newspaper, which was anchored some distance from the body with a rock, the murderers left the horribly black drift and climbed out into the blazing heat of the desert. “Frenchy’s” car stood for weeks near the entrance to his mine. No one missed him, though he is said to have owned “half of Randsburg,” including 25 houses, two store buildings, a hotel, and mining property. CONSTABLE FINDS BODY IN SHAFT—Then the rumor spread that “Frenchy” was missing, Constable “Red” Mahood of Osdick, accompanied by an Italian of the district, drove out to the mine which is near Atolia. Near the mine is a grimly portentous sign on the road to Death Valley. The sign warns all travelers not to leave without ample provisions and water, especially water—for the trek across the Valley of Death. When “Red” Mahood, the constable at Osdick, and his Italian friend whose name was reported as Caboni, found the broken body of “Frenchy,” the latter had been some days across the Valley of Death, and the sign respecting “provisions” had a sardonic significance. The sheriff and coroner at San Bernardino were notified. The verdict of death by accident is a matter of official record. But to Detective Cook, the coroner’s verdict is just another ironical aspect of the case. “Frenchy” did not climb to the 40-foot level of the mine after breaking his right arm and leg. No man with a broken arm and leg could have climbed that narrow swaying ladder from the black depths of the sump hole. And if by superhuman effort “Frenchy” had climbed up out of the depths of that shaft, with his head split wide open, he could never have made his way over the edge of the windlass platform through which his body crashed on its downward flight. And if by the bloodiest of miracles, the man had dragged his shattered body over the platform at the 40-foot level, he would never have crawled off far into the drift tunnel leading to a darkness so intense that it shook the nerves of the investigators. ACCIDENT THEORY HIT BY DETECTIVE—A dying man, if conscious, would have stayed near the shaft which led upwards to the surface of the earth and light and possible succor. He would never have crawled far back into that long tunnel where he was found like a dead rabbit in a hole, the detective pointed out. In the bottom of the shaft were blood-flecked rocks and tufts of gray hair where “Frenchy’s” body, swinging on the cable which hoisted it to the 40-foot level, had swung against the sump hole. His head struck as his swinging body was hoisted. Dr. Denton firmly believes, at this time, that “Frenchy” was murdered, and he has another good reason to bolster his contention. “He was dead before his arm and leg were broken,” said the physician. “If his arm and leg has been broken before he died there would have been large swellings at the breaks. There were none.” The motive for the slaying is obvious. Judge McGinnis at Randsburg, a quiet-spoken, thoughtful man commanding great respect in his community, stated that he believes “Frenchy” had from $15,000 to $20,000 in cash at the time he was murdered. “Frenchy” had dividend-paying stocks among his other property. He collected the dividends. What became of them is a mystery. He loaned money to persons in the mining towns of the district. He produced cash at will. Many believed, and others say they know, that he always carried large sums in cash on his person. $10,000 FOUND IN CABIN ON DESERT—Detective Cook, whose investigation has resulted in the new disclosures, is convinced that the murder is “an inside job” done by a man or men who were familiar with Gett’s habits or had learned of them through others. Through 48 years of his life the Italian had been collection with a thrifty acquisitiveness typical of the European peasant. In some of his storehouses in Randsburg are kegs of old nails, hundreds of pieces of string and other odds and ends which “Frenchy” picked up off the highways, others of less wealth scorning such trifles. “This is a rich country,” he once said to Judge McGinnis. “No one picks up nails off the road.” Now Judge McGinnis has that cabin barred with timbers and a man sleeps near the door. There may be more money in the floor and about the walls. No one knows absolutely yet, though a preliminary search of obvious places has been made. GETTS DESCRIBED AS TIMID MAN—Detective Cook, who has been prominent in Kern County criminal investigations for more than 20 years, was retained by a local law firm to make investigations prior to probating of the estate. After a preliminary survey he literally unearthed evidence which has convinced Randsburg that “Frenchy,” who was “as timid and harmless as a rabbit,” was the victim of as cold-blooded and fiendishly conceived a murder as the picturesque mining town has had in years. “Murder will out”—and the specter arising from the shimmering heat of the desert is the specter of murder. In the inky vault in which the body of Frenchy was dragged, doubled up as a thing of horror to those who found it, is a black skull made of smoke from a miner’s candle. When the authorities find out who made that outline of a skull in smoke, they may have solved the latest mystery of the Mojave Desert.” –San Bernardino County Sun July 13, 1928: “SHAY WILL NOT REOPEN DESERT DEATH INQUIRY—Neither Sheriff Nor Coroner Are Impressed with Detective’s Murder Theory—Neither Sheriff Walter A. Shay nor Coroner Al W. U’Ren agree with the theory of A. E. Cook, a Bakersfield detective, that Anton Getts, wealthy Randsburg Hotel owner, whose body was found last April in his mine near Atolia, was murdered. The coroner’s jury at the inquest conducted by Coroner U’Ren determined that Getts came to his death accidentally, probably dying from shock, thirst, and starvation after falling down the shaft. CORONER REJECTS MURDER THEORY—Detective Cook believes he has ample evidence to support his theory of murder but Sheriff Shay said he has not been informed of Cook’s finding. All he knows of Cook’s theory is what he has read in the newspapers, the sheriff said. Coroner U’Ren is also convinced as the sheriff that Gett’s death was accidental and not murder. In support of his theory that Getts met death in a fall down the mine shaft, Sheriff Shay, who has solved many mysterious desert murder cases, points to the following facts: Gett’s automobile was found near the entrance to the mine shaft. Had he been murdered the murderers would certainly not have left the automobile standing within a few feet from the entrance to the mine that would have caused searchers for the missing man to search the mine. An autopsy performed at the request of the sheriff and Coroner U’Ren did not disclose that Getts had a fractured skull but did reveal that an arm and leg were broken prior to death. DRAGGED HIMSELF INTO COOLER SPOT—When found Gett’s shirt had been removed and was placed underneath his head for a pillow. He had dragged himself into a drift, seeking the coolest spot in the mine. (The theory of Mr. Cook, according to newspaper reports from Bakersfield, is that Getts would not have dragged himself into the dark hole of the shaft but instead would have remained as near the entrance as possible where there was more light). There was more than $100 in money found in Getts’ pockets, indicating that his clothing had not searched closely for money. The mine was his own and it is natural that he should have been there. Sheriff Shay said he has no intention of reopening the investigation in Getts’ death unless further proof that Getts was murdered is brought to his attention.” –San Bernardino County Sun July 15, 1928: “DETECTIVE IN DESERT DEATH ANSWERS SHAY –Bakersfield Man Firm in Theory that Getts Slain; Again Cites Conclusions—Unshaken in his theory that Anton Getts, wealthy Randsburg hotel owner, did not fall to his death in his mine near Atolia but was slain, A. E. Cooks, Bakersfield detective, yesterday replied to Sheriff Walter A. Shay, who maintains that Getts died accidentally. Sheriff Shay base his opinion, he stated, on the report of autopsy surgeons, that Getts’ leg and arm were broken before death; that exhaustion and starvation were contributory causes to his death and the fact that Getts’ body was found in a drift in the mine, where he apparently crawled to escape the heat in the mine shaft. The sheriff also explained that had Getts been slain for his money, as the detective contends, the slayers would not have left $105 in his pockets nor left his automobile at the mine to attract attention. CLAIMS EVIDENCE NEWLY DISCOVERED – The coroner’s inquest returned a verdict of accidental death. Cook, however, conducted an inquiry of weeks into the case announcing last week that he is convinced that Getts was slain. In commenting on Sheriff Shay’s statement, Cook said: “To believe the accidental death theory, which is certainly not borne out by the facts, a person would have to believe that Getts with his right leg and arm broken, his head cut open and his body battered and bruised by the fall, climbed up a narrow swaying ladder and then crawled back into a black drift of the mine to die. “I have all due respect for Sheriff Shay,” he continued, “but since he received his report of the case there has been much newly discovered evidence. The coroner’s jury is not to be blamed, because it did not have much evidence to work on and since it gave its verdict this new evidence has been discovered. ASSERTS SLAYERS WIPED OFF BLOOD—“I have in my possession the bloody newspaper on which Getts; murderer or murderers wiped their hands. This paper was found anchored by a rock and some distance from the body. I also have Getts’ shoe which was ripped off his foot when he fell through the windlass platform on his way to the bottom of the shaft. There are also the blood stains on the inner and upper concave surface of the wall at the bottom of the shaft. That’s where “Frenchy’s’ head rubbed when he was hoisted up to the 40-foot level on a steel cable,” the detective explained. “Take the statement of Dr. William Denton of Randsburg,” Mr. Cook said, “an excellent doctor, Dr. Denton said it would have been impossible for Getts to have climbed up to the 40- foot level in that mine with his right arm and leg broken. The doctor said that his examination showed that Getts’ arm and let were broken after he was killed! This would lead us to conclude that Getts had been killed by the blow over the head with the bar found at the mine shaft and then had been thrown into the mine to get him out of sight.” Cook is representing the law firm of Brittian & Brittian of Bakersfield, retained by Coroner N. C. Houze of Kern County, to probate Getts’ estate.” –San Bernardino County Sun. Let us all know-- Do you think this case should have been reopened?
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 18:25:42 +0000