MURDER WILL OUT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume III, Issue 528, 7 January 1882, Page 2

MURDER WILL OUT.

Two murderers have just been executed at Teneriffe. The gairotting machine, when applied to the throats of the victims as they stood on a high platform before the crowd, operated in a most unequal manner upon the two men. The one who was first done to death before the eyes of his comrade, suffered torments for several seconds, whereas the other, when h»s turn came, perished almost immediately. It is difficult, however, to feel much syrtfpathy with either of these ruffians, considering the special baseness of their, crime, and the strong presumption f which there was for a long time that', they would escape punishment' altogether. The circumstances of the murder are very peculiar, and illustrate’ in a striking way the old maxim con-i cerning the detection of miuderers,' A young Englishman had been living ; on the island for some years on terms, of intimate friendship with the twor Spaniards now executed. He had con-, fided to them the fact of his having re-‘. ceived a large sum of money, and they ' found an easy opportunity while walking near a cemetery to throw chalk-dust in his eyes and kill him with their daggers. They then took his keys and made themselves the possessors of his money, after which they returned and picking up his dead body cast it ; hastily into an old tomb that had not been used for years. Nothing more was heard of the affair till, a few days afterwards, a funeral party arriving at. the cemetery was compelled to wait; some time for a necessary document to; bury their dead. While wandering about the place, one of these persons, noticed that the old vault had lately 1 been disturbnd. The murderers had broken the stone covering of the tomb in hurriedly replacing it, and thus a: discovery of the whole affair was most unexpectedly brought about. :