Sally Louise (Pool) Stewart |
| Posted 2019-01-19 by Judy Wight Branson |
| Prescott Evening Courier, Prescott, Arizona January 24, 1933, page 1, column 8 Sally Stewart Murder Victim Woman Found, Shot 6 Times, on Floor of Boarding House; Oden Weiford, Roomer, Is Held Mrs. Sally Stewart, 45, attractive blond boarding house keeper who had made her home in this city for the past eight years, was shot to death in her home at 219 East Willis street about 10:30 last night during the night of the blizzard which swept this city for several hours during the night. The woman had been shot six times, three bullets taking effect in her right breast, one in the left breast, one penetrating her right hand, and one which left powder burns on the house dress she was wearing, in the back under her right shoulder. She was dead when she was found a few moments later by lodgers in her home. Today, Oden Weiford, 32, a native of Covington, Va., and a visitor here for only five weeks, was in the county jail, where he was held for investigation in connection with the case. Two notes, one blood- stained, found on his dresser in an upstairs room of the house and the accusations of Mrs. Stewart's only daughter, Martha, 17, a student at St. Joseph academy, and of Mary Jean Rose, young woman employed at the boarding house by Mrs. Stewart, are being held against him pending further investigation. Lodgers in the house had retired to their rooms when the tragedy occurred, it was said, their first indication that anything was wrong coming when he heard Mrs. Stewart scream and then heard the shots in rapid succession. Charles L. Pheris is said to have been the first one to discover the body, followed shortly by Weiford, who came from his room on the second floor. The officers were enlisted immediately and the search both for the man who had killed Mrs. Stewart and the murder gun, which still was missing today, but which, officers said, might have been tossed into the snow in the vicinity, was begun. Today members of the sheriff's force and a group of Reconstruction Finance corporation workers wee busy digging in the snow near the woman's home searching for the missing gun. Miss Stewart and Miss Rose both were away from home at the time of the shooting, but when they were located and returned to the boarding house, their first reaction, officers said, was to charge Weiford with the offence. He previously had threatened all three of the women, they said, and had shown them a gun, which later was taken away from him. Several days after that incident, Miss Rose is quoted as saying, Weiford made an attack against her, thinking she had taken the gun. This had not been verified this afternoon. Last night, previous to the tragedy, Weiford had tole others in the rooming house he was tired of Prescott and was preparing to leave some time during the night. He had attired himself for this purpose, showing one of the roomers that he was wearing two suits of underclothes, three shirts, and a pair of levis and a lumber jacket. He evidently had been drinking, it was said, and asked for more liquor. Earlier he had asked for help in repairing the wash basin in his room, which he had attempted to take apart in search for a gold inlay which he had lost down the drain. At the time he was taken into custody, Weiford's levis were damp around the bottom, indicating he had been out in the snow. There is much more to this story and the rest can be found in the newspaper listed above. ------------------------ Transcriber's note: Mrs. Stewart was married at least 4 times. Her husbands were, Rufus Harper Prescott, Gordon R. Stewart, Clement Laird Stoker and Fredrick Vierhaler. She is buried at the Citizens Cemetery in Prescott, Arizona in an unknown gravesite. |
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