■ Dead MANinthe Desert*
;: - wt>J/ * Jn ' r v i^nx'^
\ v
One ol the queer features ot a queer
case —Papadopoulos’ watch. found un
der his pillow, displayed by deputies
E. 7.. Harris, left, and W. T. Allen.
Ky Oren Arnold
ONE of the things that help make
the southwestern desert a weird
region of mystery and sensation
i« that so many peculiar mur
ders are committed there. Almost any
officer of the law there could name SO
cases offhand, in which the spell of the
cactus country played some part. But
he couldn’t name one more strange than
the killing of Harry Papadopoulos, the
Greek athlete, near Phoenix. Ariz., or
one that leaves more unanswered ques
tions in the public’s mind, even though
the records now have been closed with
a life term in prison.
Papadopoulos was manager ot a pros
perous automobile tourist court. Not
over 30 years ot age, he was physically
fit. and maintained a hobby interest in
athletics. He may have done what
many another athlete often does - gu
frequently onto the open desert to sun
bathe and work out in the clean, invig
orating air. This, at least, is the only
logical explanation of his being naked,
save for shorts, when sheriff’s officers
first saw him
It was early one Sunday morning
when the officers were first invited to
do something about him. The camp
owner had called them and reported his
disappearance
Sheriff J R. McFadden and W 1
Allen, a deputy, drove out to the Ear
West Camp to look into’the matter
The first man the officers encountered
was James S Carpenter, a native ot
Turkey and a cousin of the missing
man. He. too. was worried about
Harry’s absence.
The officers bade him goodby, and
went away. Nothing else was done
al>out it that Sunday morning, mainly
because there was nothing else to do.
Until mid-afternoon the officers at the
slieriff's headquarters did some plain
and fancy loafing Then the telephone
rang.
An excited voice directed the officers
to an abandoned shack on the desert
eight miles from Phoenix. There Depu
ties Allen and E. C. Harris found the
body ol a man, apparently nude, lying
on a blanket.
r T , HE officers pulled back the blanket
that covered the body (only the feet
were protruding) They saw a swarthy
face, an athletic figure, ajßop. of dark
hair, and wounds in the cheek?
“That's Papadopoulos!” exclaimed
Mr Allen He knew the Greek athlete
casually.
For clothing the body had only gym
trunks, or perhaps they could be called
plain white drawers. The head was on
a pillow.
✓ *********
£ ■ ’» maggp/ »&fy .
\ AmmSmam wßSSt§£BNt‘?' . /
\— - /
.. jIPL ,
\ Uu*~ ~
r - *?■ Js
S ' ■’~S■- SS 'jt
s
A posed photo showing how Harry Papadopoulos was found in the
desert—nude except for a pair of shorts, wrapped in a blanket, his head
resting on a pillow. •
Now began to pile up the questions
in the officers’ minds, many of which
are not answered even yet.
Where were Harry’s clothes? They
were found stuffed under the cement
porch Why was Harry out there nearly
naked? No answer, unless he could
have been doing some exercising or
sun-bathing.
Then the officers lifted the pillow.
Under it was a gold watch. Why was
the watch there’’ No answer has ever
come
They reached Harry s clothing and
found all his money was gone. He was
knowr to have at least $l5O when he
disappeared the day before, and some
body had taken it But if the motive
was robbery, why had the robber left
behind a gold watch worth nearly $100?
And about the shooting—how was it
done? Two bullet wounds showed in
the head.
James Carpenter. Harry s cousin, ap
peared heart-broken at the news. It
was terrible that his partner should be
thus killed He sobbed miserably.
Twenty-four hours later no clew had
been tound. Citizens were excited about
the newest desert murder mystery, and
mystery it was, so far as the officers
were concerned. Officers were on the
spot.
E’VENTUALLY they played a hunch.
They went back to the auto camp
and searched the dead man’s cabin.
They found a .38 caliber revolver, two
of its six chambers empty.
“That’s a coincidence," murmured
one officer. “Harry was killed by two
shots from a pistol, too. But that was
eight miles from here.”
The officers suggested that Carpenter
go with them to the sheriff’s office for
some more friendly questioning. He
demurred, protesting that he had noth
ing whatsoever to tell, no light to throw
on the murder
“Well. 1 tell you, Mr. Carpenter,” said
Deputy Allen, “I don’t quite get one
littl point. Your lawyer has started
probate proceedings, seeking adminis
tration of Harry’s estate by you, here
even before Harry is buried. What was
the hurry?”
Carpenter couldn’t answer that sat
isfactorily, but they didn’t bother him
any more just then They went out
and found a woman named Lillian
Suhr. nominally the housekeeper for
the auto camp.
Mrs Suhr didn’t want to talk, but
she let several points slip. She said
James Carpenter and Hurry Papado
poulos had left camp together on the
morning Harry disappeared. James had
told of seeing Harry go away alone.
In due course they had enough to
hold Carpenter under $20,000 bail,
which he couldn’t make, on a charge
of first degree murder. And within a
inontl to the exact minute, after Harry
was found dead, James Carpenter was
on the stand in court being tried for the
killing.
Mrs. Suhr talked more and more.
“Jimmy told me where I could find
a .38 caliber revolver in a cardboard
box,” she said, “and I was to hide or
bury it.”
Mrs. Suhr hadn’t obeyed him. How
ever, in court Jimmy had an answer
for that, too. He said he had only
~~ EH&r
“Eventually they played a hunch . . •
and searched the dead man’s cabin.
They found a .38 caliber revolver,
two of its chambers empty.”
feared that he might be suspected, if
officers found the gun.
He added that he had purchased it
at Papadopoulos’ request several weeks
before.
The state had nothing but circum
stantial evidence. However, Renz Jen
nings, the county attorney, sprang a
dramatic surprise when Carpenter him
self was on the stand.
“Didn’t Harry Papadopoulos have an
insurance policy totaling SIO,OOO, nam
ing you, the defendant, as beneficiary?”
the county attorney shot at Carpenter.
Carpenter trembled a little and said
yes.
j\ TRS. SUHR let some more things slip
* that hurt Carpenter. She identified
the blanket and pillow on which the
bodv was found, as having come from
the camp. She testified that she saw
Carpenter return on that Saturday and
immediately change his trousers and
shoes. She insisted, however, that she
saw no blood or other marks on his
discarded clothing.
Th. state then sprang another
Grade-A surprise. Spencer Moxley,
ballistics expert from Los Angeles, was
brought to the stand. He swore the
dead man had been killed by a bullet
from the gun that the deputies had
found in the camp.
The jury got the case late one after
noon, and next morning announced a
verdict ol guilty ot murder in the first
degree, with punishment set at life im
prisonment. Carpenter screamed when
he heard it.
“I am innocent! I swear I ain inno
cent!” *
The convicted man reiterated his
innocence when Judge M. T. Phelps
pronounced sentence. Then followed
the last big surprise of this strange case.
“No. your honor.” the miserable
prisoner almost whispered it, in re
sponse ttf the judge’s query, “I do not
wish my case appealed to the Arizona
Supreme Court.”
“Why?” The judge was incredulous
“I have no money.”
“That will not stand in your way, in
the way of justice.”
“No, I do not wish it.” Carpenter
shook his nead. “I am innocent of this
crime. 1 swear 1 am innocent. I have
never been in jail before. I do not
know who did it ”
The court then spoke dramatically
and decisively.
“Should it ever develop that what
you now tell me is true, so far as I
am concerned there will be no stone
left unturned in your behalf. However,
the jury was justified under all the evi
dence in the verdict it returned. 1 do
not think I have ever seen a circum
stantial case more strongly presented.”
Most people agreed with that.