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Fox Pays=For HisCrime(Continued From Page 1)breakfast time came, and he expressed no desire to eat.He seemed utterly indifferent, awakening early, and, after a short sleep, wrote letters to his mother, Mrs. Lva M. Hickman, his uncle. Horace Hickman, and bis chief attorney, Jerome Walsh.The senile phonograph upon which he played antiquated, syncopated tunes until a few hours before the execution time, was silent. The flowers which were placed about the death cell yesterday at his request were slightly wilted, but still gave a slight warmth to the cheerless room.About 4 oclock this morning, El Paso time, he awakened and asked for the machine. It was wound up and a few jazz songs sounded through the darkness of the barren wa! 1 s. •The execution chamber was filled to capacity with witnesses, newspaper men and others well before the final hour. Outside the gates, scores of others waited. Guards announced they had turned down a score or more of applications for entry into the death chamber and that no more could be admitted.The crowd that saw Hickman die apparently was little affected.Among those who witnessed the execution was George O'Brien, noted motion picture actor and son of chief of police Daniel J. O’Brien of Ran Francisco. Another witness was T). J. Oliver, Los Angeles police of-firer, who was shot in the abdomen by Hickman during the holdup of the drug store of C. Ivy Toms, Rose-bill. Calif., on Christmas eve, 1920.The execution of William Edward Hickman here today marked the passing of one of the most remarkable criminals in the history of the west.Less than three years ago Hickman was a “bright student” in a Kansas City, Mo, high school. Within those three years he committed numerous ' robberies, thefts, holdups and wound up his criminal career with two murders, the second of which brought him to the scaffold today.Hickman was never suspected of many of these robberies and illegalities until during the last two or j three weeks of his life when he ■wrote many letters to officials over the country confessing them.Drugstores were often included in his holdups. It was brought out during his murder trial that he had often held up drug cferks to obtain narcotics and sleeping potions and some times compelled the clerks at i the point of a gun to instruct him in j the use of the drugs.Hickman’s first murder, so far as Jmown, was the slaying of C. Ivy Toms, Rosehill, Calif, pharmacist, on Christinas Eve, 1926. Hickman and Welby Hunt, a 17-year-old companion. were charged with the murder of Toms during a holdup of his drugstore. Both were sentenced to life in San Quentin prison.The murder of Marian Parker, 12-year-old Los Angeles school girl, shocked the country because of its j fiendishness. The little girl, daughter of Perry M. Parker, an officer of ♦he Los Angeles First National Trust and Savings hank, was lured from her school on last December 15 by Hickman on the pretense that her father was ill and nad sent for her.Hickman had been a messenger at ♦he bank where Parker was an official, the youth was accused of forging checks, but beca ise he was under 20, obtained probation. He was discharged from the bank. He said later that he chose the Parker gin for his victim not only to get money, hot to get revenge on her fat Her who was instrumental in getting him discharged.After the girl’s absence was noticed, Parker began to get letters *nd telegrams signed “The Fox” and demanding $1500 ransom and cautioning him not to tell the police On the night of December 17 Parker met Hickman at an appointed place and gave him the $1500. However, he did not get back his daughter alive. Instead he got her mutilated torso which the slayer threw Into !• gutter and then drove away.A man hunt started for the kid-paper-s layer, not then known as Hickman, which ended at Pendleton, Ore., on December 23. Hickman was raptured while driving in a stolen •edan. His captors were chief of poljce Tom Gurdane of Pendleton •nd Lieut. Buck Lieuallen of the state traffic police Thousands of dollars in rewards had been raised for the slayer’s capture.Hickman at first pretended insanity. Then he admitted the crime.At his trial he pleaded “not guilty by reason of insanity,” under a new California law. Jerome Walsh, young Kansas City lawyer, was retained as chief counsel. The Los Angeles superior court jury found Hickman sane, hence guilty, as he admitted the facts alleged.The state supreme court sustained the verdict and the supreme court of the United States declined to review the case.Gov. C. C. Young of California was appealed to by Hickman’s parents for clemency. This he refused to grant, pointing out that a man twice convicted of a felony could not have a death sentence commuted.W alsh then sought to have War-James B. Holohan of San Quentin prison delay the execution for a sanity hearing. The warden declined to act.Prison officials announced late last night that a change in plans for the funeral had been made and♦ hat the body would be sent east. They did not reveal the name of the place where the body is to be sent, but declared that Hickman’s relatives had made the arrangements.
Newspaper Details
El Paso Herald
El Paso, Texas, US
Fri, Oct 19, 1928
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Linda H.
USA 09 Mar 2017
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