A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR IN THE MORMON CITY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 970, 11 December 1882, Page 4

A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR IN THE MORMON CITY.

... .- r—:The,circumstances of the Wheatland mystery, which Occurred several years ago, will be familiar to most persons. The following occurrence in Salt Lake City has, in some respects, a curious similarity, i = The * Sal t Lake Tribune says:—Just after 2 o’clock on the morning of Friday, October 6, a very mysterious affair occurred at the house of J. D. Shell, on the north-east corner of. North . /Temple and First South streets. Mrs Shell was aroused by the screams of her daughter Daisy in another room, and hastening to the dining-room with a lamp, she caught a glimpse of a large : man going out of the window. Mr and Mrs Shell went into the bedroom where slept their three daughters,when a horrible • sight greeted them. Miss Ettie, aged 21, was lying insensible, while Blanche, two years younger, was lying by her side, both of them covered with blood. Daisy, who is twelve years of age, and who sleeps in another bed, had heard the assassin, and, by= screaming, saved the lives of her two sisters and probably her own. The girls soon came to consciousness and told what they could of the affair. Daisy was awakened by,hearing the blows and v began to scream. Blanche was awakened by hearing her sister say, “ Some one’s hitting me,” and rising up in bed she felt twp-distinct blows, which rendered her almost ; senseless. The instrument used was most probably a heavy revolver, as the cuts on the heads and faces of the young ladies have the appearance of having been made with such an instrument. Ettie has a long cut on her cheek, and a cut across the top of her head about four inches long. When the cut on the cheek was made,, it was evidently done by a down stroke, as it cut through the night dress at the neck and made a deep gash in the shoulder close to the neck, looking much as if made by the hammer of a revolver. Blanche has a deep cut above the left temple, and also another on the top of the head. The ribbon she wore around her .head is one mass of blood, as is also all her night dresses, pillow slips, and bedding, showing much loss., of blood. None of .the .girls remember seeing any light in the room at the time, but the blows were struck with as much precision as if the room had been well lighted. The object of this murderous assault cannot be imagined at this time, as the family are not aware that they have an enemy in the world, and if it had been for’plunder the room of the girls would hardly have been visited, as the manner in which the deed was done shows that the party was familiar with the house.