Postlude to Murder

This the second part of the story regarding the murder of Mary Steavens and what happens to Alvin Heaton. See the following for the beginning of the story: Murder in Zion part 1

Murder Part II



So when we last left our murder mystery story, young Alvin Heaton Jr. had just heard the guilty verdict and was led “impassively” from the courtroom to begin his sentence at the Utah State Prison. The jaws of the penitentiary yawned wide and now they were about to slam shut on Alvins' future. The jury had heard the tale of how young Mary Stevens was waiting for her boyfriend Alvin to arrive, hopeful that he would do the honorable thing and marry her. But rather than a proposal, she got three slugs in the back and then a fourth to make sure she was indeed dead. It was without a doubt, premeditated, cold blooded murder. But as heinous as the crime was, a life sentence in the “big house” for a young teenage boy is a gut wrenching picture.

More Background

As you recall the jury wanted to impose life imprisonment with a recommendation to mercy. The judge mentioned that no such thing existed and sent them back to reconsider. When they eventually returned the verdict was announced as life imprisonment with hard labor. Alvin was unmoved at hearing the verdict and the next morning he was brought before the court and asked if he anything to say before the penalty was imposed. The newspaper reporter stated that young Heaton “evidenced no sign of emotion” and that although a “scene of drawn out emotion was expected between the parents and the boy, nothing of the kind happened”. All seemed matter-of-fact and stoic.

It was the morning of January 30th 1909, a Saturday, when Alvin Heaton Jr. left town by train. He was in chains, accompanied by guards, and bound for the Utah State Penitentiary to begin his life-long confinement.

Actually there may have been good reason why no one seemed overly concerned, but before we get into that story we should learn more of the supporting cast.

Alvin Heaton Sr.
From Utah State death records we learn that Alvin’s father died of cancer only a few months later on Aug 10, 1910. According to probate records his estate was valued at $30,000, which would be equivalent to about just under $800,000 in today’s dollars. His son Jonathon was appointed as administrator of the estate. See report.

Ezra Stephens
We know little about Ezra Stevens, father of the victim Mary Stevens. But some reports show that he may have been a bit “difficult”. Whether his disposition changed to mean and bitter after his daughters death, or was always that way, is a matter we can only guess. He ran afoul of the law and was later convicted of murder (his own brother in law!) His prison term began on or about Sept 7, 1922. It is interesting to note that while being escorted to the Penitentiary he and the sheriff, while traveling north to the state penitentiary, stopped in Richfield for a bit of social chatting and a brief news conference. Check out the report HERE.

Mary Steavens

Marys last name is variously spelled either "Steavens" or "Stevens" and I am unable to determine which is correct. Some insights into her nature and character are found in the the journal of David Rust, who was a teacher at Orderville during the tragic events. See journal excert Here. According to Rust, Mary was the best of the class academically. Sometime after the murder he asked the Board to send to Mr. and Mrs. Steavens Mary's grades which reflected that she was the top student in all subjects. See request.

A class paper written by Mary shortly before her untimely death was published in the newspaper. It offers glimpses into the thoughts of this young girl and how she viewed life and those around her. See Mary Steavens Class Paper.

Back to Alvin Jr…..
Seven years elapsed before Heaton made his first appeal for a pardon in 1916. Here is his 1916 1916 application. And what would a good appeal be if there weren’t a supporting cast of other documents? When the appeal didn’t fly, the next round was fired, I mean filed, in 1917.
Addl documents
more addl documents

Just to complete some thorough research, see Ezra’s opinion of the whole deal.

The second appeal was apparently successful, although the written pardon document seems to have been misplaced for no record of it can be found. Alvin Heaton walked quietly out of the “jaws of the penitentiary” into mainstream life sometime in 1917. He had served nine years total for a brutal murder. No newspaper can be found that even makes a slight mention of the pardon.

Life on the Outside

As required of all men of appropriate age, Alvin registered for the draft on May 17, 1917, and listed his mother as a dependent, his occupation as farmer, and his address in Provo Utah.

Alvin jumped back into life with his new freedom. He married Berniece Hindmarsh on October 5, 1917 in Salt Lake City. She had just turned 18 one week previously. They had a son born on 19 Dec 1918, but he died the same day. The US Census of 1920 showed them living next to (or with) her parents in Provo, Utah. His occupation had now been updated to waiter. He was 29 and Bernice was 21. A second son was born to them in February 1921 and named Gerald.

The written records were silent from that time until July 2, 1924. On that day Alvin Heaton Jr. died in an odd car accident just north of Orderville. He was traveling back to town along with a brother and two friends, when the car ran off the road on the steep switchback north of town. According to the newspaper he was accompanied by his brother and his two friends Joseph and Howard Chamberlain. These three companions walked away unscathed. STORY of ACCIDENT. The switchbacks north of Orderville on highway 89 were narrow and treacherous. Addl Article No death certificate was found for Alvin.


Here is some bonus information to help you appear erudite when dicussing the story:
Pictured above is a 1917 Model T Ford. It could easily have been the same model of car that the four men were riding in when the accident happened. In the year of the accident, 1924, nearly 9 out of 10 cars on the road were Fords. The Model T had a top speed of 45 miles an hour under ideal conditions. It was built with a crude suspension system, wooden spoke wheels, and mounted with the simplest of tires. Going downhill on a switchback road at night would have tested the driver and car severely.

AFTERMATH

The brutal death of Mary Steavens remained an issue with many of the folks of southern Utah for quite some time. Read this haunting ballad that is part of the local forklore, written by an unknown author. POEM Also note that some facts are sacrificed in favor of a better rhyme.

More than a few folks felt that justice was not done right by the legal system, and it was because Alvin came from a prominent family and Mary did not. They argue a classic case of favoritism towards a privileged class. I suppose one would have to know more about the social structure of the town to pass judgement on that theory. Then there are others that propose that true justice was simply delayed and had to wait for divine intervention in the form of an auto accident. The odd circumstances of the accident and that three companions walked away, might cause one to believe that God had some earthly help. That is a possibility that haunts me.

CLOSING REMARKS

This has been an interesting bit of research and I have enjoyed it all. But I also grieve for two young people and the tragic decision to cover up a mistake by taking a life. I think also of the untold lives that have been hurt and severely damaged by that action. There is probably no end to the sorrow that that spilled forth from Orderville in that fateful month of May 1908. We should remember and learn, for those that forget history are doomed to repeat it.

But this is where I leave off and assign any additional research to the reader. Please post your theories, thoughts, and ideas in the comments section. Good luck!

Emily and Tanner off to the Prom!

Emily at Prom....and Happy Birthday Em!

More Precious than Gold

It has been a few weeks since I promised the update on the hit series "Murder in Zion". It's coming along fine (if you happen to be worried) but I have been slowed somewhat by life. Take heart, those of you that wait patiently, my batteries are charging and the final touches are coming together in a way that will startle you. You can't rush creativity, but I sense something being posted this weekend.

I have a truly wonderful wife. She balances me in so many ways and I can't say enough good things about her. And talk about patience! We celebrated our 30 year anniversary last week and I love her more now than ever before. I can't wait until we celebrate our 60th!! (well...yes I can). She surprised me by buying me a plane ticket to Utah for a bit of R and R doing whatever I want. That was a notable act of unselfishness! I spent most of the time with my brother Patrick working on scanning slides and researching. He teaches me many things from simple keyboard shortcuts to patience with life. He also helped provide me (somewhat unwittingly) with material for my Stake Conference talk the following week. I can't wait for him to visit us in Chico someday.

The highlight of the trip was finding a journal of my Great grandfather Nephi Anderson. I have only seen 2 or three pictures of him in my life, so to actually see his handwriting and read his notes was an indescribable feeling. There are forty or so pages of notes, chronicling facts, figures, dates, and other stuff that a man of his situation would record. Nothing that I can see about his particular views, opinions, or (heaven forbid) feelings. But it is his record and I am delighted to have something from his hand.

The journal came to me through a new found "relative", Bruce Cowley of Orem, Utah. Bruce is married to my mother's cousin Karen (daughter of William "K" Anderson) and they have been great to provide information and insight that was completely new to me. Thank you Bruce and Karen.

Here is a picture of the six sons of Nephi and Violet Anderson. My grandfather is Floyd in the upper left hand corner. I was puzzled about why I knew so little about the other five families until I realized the social dynamic that was at work. These are men of Scandinavian descent who were raised on a farm and learned early how to work hard. Do any of these guys look like social butterflies?? My guess is that were all similar to my own grandfather who was restrained in his comments and social "chit chat" was an unknown trait. Yep, nope, and "recon' so", were vocab mainstays. When they reached adulthood they each went their ways and lived their lives. This picture was taken on one of the few occasions they got together for a family event. Probably if they had been blessed with a few sisters in the group it may have helped bind the generations with more closeness. I want to better connect with these families and fill some gaps in history with pictures and stories that the record may be more complete. Any help from anyone would be most appreciated.

But do not think that there was not an abundance of love. Here is some proof:

Does Uncle Tim love his nephew? Without a doubt! But why is he carrying all that rope and why is Grandma Leda watching him so very closely???

Additional information: When my father was stationed in Okinawa during the post Korean war era, my mother went to live with her parents in Richfield. It was there that I was born and lived for 9 or 10 months until Dad returned to the states and was discharged. It was also a great time to became pals with my Uncle Tim, who was thirteen and no doubt delighted to have a young toddler invade his turf!

Faster than a speeding bullet!

Saturday was the big race day for Nathan at the Utah State University track meet at Logan. He was running unattached (because he is red-shirting) but was bristling to compete, thus we were in the City of Logan to turn him loose on an unsuspecting 5K race of about a dozen harriers.

Schools from USU, UofU, Idaho State, and others were there for the Aggies only home meet of the season. It was a might cool and the wind was a beast, but the Irish Peanut blazed ahead and never looked back. Kristen was there to coach and advise, Patrick was the photographer, and I came along to keep the lot of them out of trouble. All in all a great day. Nate's time was 15:31... so we rewarded him with a Wendys chicken sandwich and hustled back to SLC for dinner with family.

The was the Sevier County Courthouse as it appeared in 1909. It was January when the Heaton trial began, but justice can be had in any season, even the dead of a Utah winter. Note the hitching poles in front of the fence. Also you can see the several chimneys along the side, very important since the only form of heat were the fireplaces in the building. The courthouse was located on Main street near the corner where US 89 comes into town and connects with Main street. The City park is just to the north. The presnt day ultra modern courthouse stands where this old beaut once was.

Editorial Over-ride

We interrupt our tale with an important announcement.

My editor and I sat down with a few bananas and talked about how best to handle the explosive disclosures that will come in the next two installments. I say just tell it like it happened and let the pieces fall where they may. He has a very contrary opinion and jumped around and screeched for a good quarter hour before I gave in. Basically he acted like a real baboon about it all, and as always, got his own way, and the rest of the bananas as well.

So here's the way it will play out. Part two of this story won't be found on this same blog. We will set something up on some other site. Then anyone interested in following the story will just send us an email and we will respond to them with a site address and perhaps a password. That way only folks who are really interested get drawn in and the others can keep working on their income taxes or whatever. Also the story won't get ruined for those who may log on later and accidentally read the conclusion before the introduction. He insists we want to keep our reader base happy. When I pointed out that a generous count of our "reader base" showed five people at the most, he went ape again. It was then I finally realized that simians have no numerical concepts. Which explains my haphazard paycheck and all the random deductions.

So send us a note, tell us how you like the story, and we will share with you the next site. Just like a treasure hunt, huh?

b2.bradford@gmail.com

Murder in Zion

This is a true story about a brutal, premeditated, murder committed in a peaceful Southern Utah community a century ago. The story is told through archival links to various newspaper reports throughout the area. It is a story that I have pieced together over the last few weeks and it will take another two entries to fully tell the tale.  Be patient. Just click on each hyperlink (red text) and read the original newspaper account. If the text that opens is too large, adjust the text size control down to 100% or less. Have a great time... but save some energy for next weeks followup.

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The tale begins.....

April 20, 2008 will mark the 100^th anniversary of tragic death in the peaceful farmlands of southern Utah. It was just outside of Orderville Utah on that day in 1908 that a young girl, age 19, was murdered in cold blood and a small Mormon community went into shock. The Washington County News in St. George reported the event as follows:

Breaking News Story!!!

Being a weekly newspaper it was probably hard to keep up with the gossip and the word of mouth rumor mill before a new edition came out. But the following week the News shocks the community with more news:

Quick Arrest!!!!


May 14, 1908

This whole thing is moving along so nicely. Does it seem like its going to be a little too easy??

A Confession!!!

The Ogden Standard Examiner tells the story with sympathies for the poor broken down boy.   Read what they have to say in the lead paragraph of Salt Lake and State News:
Sophisticated News from the North

Wait a minute, you had better read this now before going any further

Retraction

First a confession and then a retraction.    You can sure tell when the defense counsel arrives.   It was probably a “frontier justice”  confession anyway, so let’s get on with the trial.

June 25th brings news that the suspect will be bound over until the District Court convenes it's rotating venue in August.          So until then it’s off to the State Pen for the young suspect.   Just where is the Child Protective Services anyway???

Waiting for Justice

But Kane County proves too hot and biased for the young man to receive a fair trial.        The decision is made to change the venue to Richfield, Utah and start the trial in January. This is a great decision for many reasons; including the fact that Reaper has a much more poetic newsman!

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So a strange character shows up in town to do a little checking on the state of the defendant.


The Alienist comes to Richfield


January 7, 1909

In order to have a fair trial you must also come up with enough jurors to hear the case. And any murder case is going to have some major sifting of potential jurors before the two sides can agree on the 12 they want. In this case the net is thrown wide and 70 are called to report. Among the 70 please note the names of A.M. Anderson of Vermillion, August Kotter of Elsinore, Guy Lewis, W.T. Ogden, Gottlieb Ence, of Richfield.

Cast of Characters

Here is the blow by blow choice of the jurors. It’s interesting that nobody from Richfield wants to be part of it.  And they also read the paper.

The big day arrives

Monday morning the show starts in full force. The courtroom is described as being “crowded to the point of suffocation” and the first item of business is to excuse the jury and do some legal "housekeeping" which mostly includes the important decision of whether to admit as evidence the purported confession.  Read about it here in the January 14th edition:

1.  Heaton Now on Trial
2.  Tribune reports the Courtroom is overflowing

What spices things up is the Church confession issue and the late night “in confidence” visit by the member of the Stake Presidency who was just helping out.   The waters are getting murkier. The prosecution wants the confession admitted but the judge thinks a late night confession to a church leader should probably be sealed as privileged and inadmissible.

The State opens its Case

The State of Utah (the presecution) opens its case and the action gets hotter.  Blood stained shoes and coat and the revealing autopsy report.   Some random thoughts before you read:

Just where is the CSI lab when you really need it?

Chicken blood vs. human blood, could you tell the difference?

“I just wanted a gun for a month to practice with”

What’s a Miranda warning anyway???

Exactly what was it? A six shooter or a five shooter??

With no admissible confession, the state plays its next card; some Kane County jailhouse snitches.  They claim that Heaton told them all about the murder as they rotted together in the county slammer.  Credibility notwithstanding, the jury listens intently.

The Case Continues...

The Prosecution builds their case but the defendant seems totally unconcerned with his fate.     Finally, after all these months, here comes the verdict. The verdict is read by the jury foreman while the packed courtroom waits in suspense. The verdict is read by the foreman and then the judge says something like

What??

The jury is then sent back for a new verdict, while the “gates of the penitentiary yawn wide”. Read about it and weep:   The big wrap-up and Verdict

An addendum to the same paper. Just what did young Heaton say in his confession?

Confession revealed or maybe this is the confession: confession #2

That’s it for today. I rest my case.

(but stay tuned…there are some very interesting postscripts and thoughts coming next week that will turn this upside down!)

The next installment entitled "Prelude to Murder" can be found at here: PART The State opens it's Case