TERRIBLE CRIME.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 460, 5 April 1890, Page 4

TERRIBLE CRIME.

INVALID MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD.

The coldest-blooded murder ever committed in Sacramento section occurred on De Kay’s ranch, about three miles from Antelope, in this county, on March 7th. The only witness to this terrible deed was Archie Wilkes, who was employed with a man named Charles Freeman on De Kay’s ranch. At the Coroner’s inquest, Wilkes testified that he and Freeman went out hunting. Late in the day Freeman divulged to Wilkes that he proposed to kill Mark Feeny, who was employed on the ranch. Feeny was a consumptive, and, it appears, annoyed the other men at night by coughing. Wilkes says that they arrived at the ranch about 1 o’clock at night and went into the house. There was no light, but Feeny, who was in bed, called out: “ Boys, your supper is waiting, and you’ll find plenty to eat.” Wilkes testified that he was searching for a match when Freeman went up to Feeny’s bed aud said : “ Wilkes, I am going to do away with this right now, and if you don’t stand in I will murder you too.”

Wilkes declares that he refused to have anything to do with the affair, and that Freeman hit him over the head with a gun, knocking him down. Freeman then jumped upon him and took one of his ears in his mouth and began chewing it, when Wilkes called out: “ Hold on, I guess I will have to do it.”

Freeman then let the witness up and called out to Feeny; “ Get up, you ■, I am going to kill you.” “All right, Charley,” responded the weak consumptive, and he arose. Freeman seized the debilitated man and carried him bodily from the house and to a barrel of water standing near the windmill, a short distance from the house. Here he stripped Feeny and threw him head first into the barrel of water, holding him there until he was dead. He then compelled Wilkes to mount a horse and go to De Kay’s upper ranch and inform the proprietor that they had found the cook drowned. When the Coroner arrived on the scene he found the body still in the barrel. The jury found that Feeny had been drowned by Freeman, and the latter and Wilkes were arrested by the Sheriff, brought to Sacramento and lodged in the County Gaol.