A WIFE-STEALER KILLED.

NZ Truth, Issue 67, 29 September 1906, Page 8

A WIFE-STEALER KILLED.

The Fate of a False Friend. A Husband Robbed of Wife, Child and Dollars. Seeks Out the Thief and Shoots Him Dead. A shocking story, of base ingratitude and monstrous treachery comes from Duran-go, m Mexico. The "Los Angeles Times'' gives the following account of the affair:— James J. Brady, master mechanic of the San Lorenzo smelter here, was shot and instantly killed to-day by Frank Bauer, an. old resident .of Joplin, Mo., but more recently, of Los Angeles and Jerome, Ariz.- Brady, has been living here some time with Bauer's wife and • child, the couple havino- run away from Jerome together and. finding a hiding, place until the betrayed husband's .detective ■work finally resulted m his finding them here.; Bauer fired three shots from his revolver at close range into Brady's face any one of which would have Droved fatal. . , i Brady had been befriended when broke and out of,, work, by Bauer, who took him. r-into his home at Jerome, fed him, gave him a room, and, after much exertion, ; procured employment for him. In return, Brady stole \ Bauer 's wif e 7; oneryearold infant son and all his ihard-earn- j ed savings, some. 1600 or 1700 dols., and ; came to this remote place m the false belief that it would be impossible to trace him and his guilty, consort hither. ; . _ - ' Sympathy wfTH'SL#sr^R. Both Bauer and his guilty, wife are m prison. People generally sympathise with the slayer. \ . . About a year ago Brady .drifted into Jerome from Colorado* In some way, Brady and Bauer became acquainted, and,' as the former was unable for some reason to obtain, employment, Bauer, m the kindness of his heart took him home with him, lodged add fed him, and befriended him m every way. Finally Bauer, after much trouble, managed to secure a situation for Brady, and he went to work at a good wage. Not long after this Mrs Bauer, m the manifest attempt to deceive her husband as to her relations with Brady, told him that she did not like to have a stranger atoout .the hou9e and she wished him to tell Bn/dy that he should procure a. boarding place elsewhere. This Brady did, and after working a few months and saving a few hundred dollars, he left Jerome and came to Mexico, where he subsequently secured the position that (be "Held at the time of his death. WIFE'S PLOT TO ROB, Three or four months ago, ,Mrs Bauer's health failed her, and she again asked her husband to give up his employment and go to another locality. This time her ideas turned ostensibly toward Los Angeles. Bauer had about l©sodols. saved up. which he had deposited m a bank m Pittsburgh, Kan., and he decided to make a flying trip to the metropolis of Southern California and'investigate the opportunities for engaging m business there. He found a grocery store that he thought would suit, /secured the refusal of it, and re-

| turned to Jerome. Before leaving for ! his Los Angeles trip he sent his i wife and infant child, then but a few months ;old, back to visit her people at Pittsburgh. ' As soon as he had returned to 'Jerome, he wrote his wife telling her of the Success pf his journey ,to South California, of the good business opening he had found, and giving her written authority to draw his money from the bank, go to Los Angeles and pay it over to the parties whom he designated, the while he closed up his affairs at Jerome, and prepared to join her m California. WOMAN' DISAPPEARS, After giving these instructions to I his wife, he waited for some time to receive a reply, but none came. Days passed, and at last he became alarmed. He wrote: to his wife's family at Pittsburg, and was told that she had left there ostensibly to go to Los Angelas.;. Thither he went and was amaabtl to learn^.there .'that the money agreed upon f - as the price of the grocery had hot been paid* Thoroughly alarmed at this mystifying- news, but not for a moment suspecting the truth, and that he had been basely betrayed by the wife and the friend whom he had implicitly trusted, Bauer at once left Los Angeles and went to Pittsburg. ... He made inquiries from his. wife's family, and from all. whom he thought might be able to throw light upon the mysterious disappearance of his family, but found none. Every aid was rendered him by the Branden-bur-gs and by the officials and people who knew him as an honest, industrious, man, but all to; no avail. Finally, after the mystery" had remained unsolved, one of Mrs Bauer's sisters told the husband that, some time before, she (Mrs Bauer) had received a .letter from Mexico, and that it might be tliat that circum- ' stance would throw light on the dis- ' appearance of the mother and infant. STAMP SHOWS RETREAT. Miss Brandenburg said that she. went down town one day with her sister, and the latter went to the post office. When she came out she had a letter m her hand, and, glancing at it, Miss Brandenburg saw that it had a foreign stamp m the corner. Being a collector of postage stamps, Miss Brandenburg at once asked her sister for it, and it was given to her. Then the recipient saw that it was a Mexican stamp, and she. handed it over to Bauer. Even then Bauer did not connect his wife's disappearance with Brady's presence m Mexico, but with this faint clue, he went at once to the post office and asked the postmaster whether his wife had ever received a letter from Mexico, and where it was from. He was told that the official had no right to give any such information, nor could long expostulation and argument on Bauer's part move the postmaster from his determination. Finally, and apparently taking pity on the almost crazed man's plight, the postmaster said . tfiat if Bauer would bring an officer with him and order him to give the asked for information, he would do so. This Bauer lost no time m doing, ami soon returned with a justice of the peace. , PLOT IS REVEALED; Thereupon the postmaster produced his records, and showed that upon.