The DeAutremont Brothers

by Margaret Laplante

  In turn, Newbury for the defense criticized the findings of “Professor” Heinrich. He attacked the discrepancies in the testimony regarding the gun found near the crime scene and stated, “If any inferences are to be drawn they should be in favor of the defendant. The state never introduced a shell that a shot had been fired from the Colt .45 automatic found, they say, near the tunnel.” He read the affidavit Mrs. Morton had signed and said that if the boys had been trying to conceal their identity when renting rooms from her, they would have used an alias such as Smith or Jones. Newbury stated, “You can"t convict a man for fleeing – thousands do it, and they are not guilty of any crime.” In a dramatic tone Newbury said, “A huge portion of the evidence the defense believes was not applicable to the case. This defendant is a high type of citizen the great state of Oregon seeks to hurl into space from the end of a rope.”

  With that the most sensational trial in Oregon"s history came to a close. Both sides had said their piece and it was up to twelve men to decide the fate of Hugh DeAutremont. There were no radios or televisions available to broadcast this trial but people all across the United States were following the trail of Hugh DeAutremont by reading their daily newspaper.

  The court led the jury through the instructions giving them five options: 1. Guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment which will carry with it the death penalty. 2. Guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment but recommendation of life imprisonment in lieu of the death penalty. 3. Guilty of murder in the second degree. 4. Guilty of manslaughter. 5. Verdict of not guilty. The court finished by saying, “All that has been said in regards to experts and expert testimony is subject to the rule that all testimony of experts must be received and weighed with great caution.” With that the jury filed out to begin deliberations on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 21, 1927.

  While the jury was busy deliberating, there was considerable excitement in the courthouse as the twins who had just arrived from Ohio were brought before the judge for their arraignment. They each entered pleas of not guilty to all five indictments charging murder in the first degree and train robbery.

  The jury deliberated for thirty minutes. During that time they requested to see some of the evidence again. Upon reaching a verdict, they returned to the courtroom to deliver their decision. M.J. Kearney, a retired farmer of Central Point was the foreman. Before a packed courtroom the verdict was read: Guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment but recommendation of life imprisonment in lieu of the death penalty. The judge ordered Hugh to return to court Friday morning for sentencing and informed him he would be transported by train to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem Friday evening. Years later juror R.S. Daniels said there was no doubt in the minds of any of the jurors that Hugh was guilty. The only thing discussed during deliberations was whether a life sentence was appropriate. Daniels said given the fact that the state only had circumstantial evidence they decided to sentence him to life imprisonment as opposed to the death penalty.

  Smith told the waiting reporters that he would be filing an appeal with the State Supreme Court. He also filed legal papers asking that Judge Thomas not hear the twin"s trial as he feared Hugh"s conviction would cloud his judgment. Judge Thomas agreed to bring in a new judge.

  Paul told reporters “Don"t get the idea we have quit fighting.” Marvin Seng"s relatives quietly said they were satisfied. In Ashland where Coyl Johnson had lived there was a feeling of shock that Hugh had not been sentenced to hang. A crowd estimated to be in the hundreds took to the streets and hung three dummies from the Chamber of Commerce sign on Main Street. Each of the dummies was adorned with a sign with the name of one of the brothers. Officers from the Ashland Police Department removed the dummies.

  Chapter X

  By the next morning, all of the bravado that Hugh had shown since his arrest seemed to have disappeared. It was apparent to the jailers that he was in great distress as the reality of the situation had hit him like a ton of bricks. According to Special Guard Ham Leggitt, he saw Hugh weeping in his cell. Meanwhile in another part of the jail, the twins sat in adjoining cells discussing the outcome of Hugh"s trial at length. Their moods were somber as they worried about the possible outcome of their upcoming trial. That afternoon the three brothers reunited for the first time since they parted company along the Klamath River on that cold, dreary morning so long ago. The joy of seeing one another soon gave way to the reason for their reunion. As the three boys discussed their future, the twins voiced their fear that the result of their trial could be death by hanging. They talked and argued amongst themselves but finally a decision was reached. At 8:00 p.m. the twins agreed to confess to the murder of Marvin Seng, Coyl Johnson, Sidney Bates and Evlyn Doughtery in exchange for a life sentence, thereby not risking the chance they could be sentenced to hang. The brothers informed the guards they wanted “to make a clean breast of it all.” Roy had one condition and that was he wanted to be allowed to tell the entire story. Wasting no time, the boys soon found themselves in front of District Attorney Newton C. Chaney, Deputy George Neilson, Secretary W.J. Looker, Postal Inspector In Charge Riddiford, Postal Inspectors Long, Deming and Jefferson and Jailor O. Dunford. Only Neilson and Looker knew shorthand so it was up to them to record every word uttered. The hours passed quickly as the details of the crime were finally revealed. It was dawn before they were finished but by the end all three brothers had made a full confession to the crime that took place high in the Siskiyou Mountains on October 11, 1923.

  In part Roy said in his confession, “we know the only way we will be able to make up to society for the crime we have committed is by being given a chance. We know that society is all right and we know there are lots of good men in the world today. At the time of the crime we thought the world was all wrong and we were all right but today we see it is just the opposite. The world is all right and we were all wrong. We have made a great mistake, we are asking for a chance to clean that up and if society will give us that chance and God Almighty will help us, we will square it up. We will blot out the darkness of the past with a bright and noble and glorious future. We will live such lives that will be a credit to humanity.”

  “I realize now that there is a different view of life than what I used to have and Ray and Hugh are the same. We realize now that there are things in life infinitely more worthwhile than the struggle for gold and the ambition to get rich, but we realize now, as no man can realize, the value of human life and what it means to one. We can realize that there is more kindness and virtue in the world than there is unkindness and vice.”

  “I have told the story as it actually happened. I tried not to spare myself. If I did I will see it and will make it straight. I want it understood that I am taking as much of this guilt upon my shoulders as anyone of us should have and I want it understood that I claim I am far more guilty than Hugh. Ray and I used our influence to get Hugh into this thing and his love for his brothers was great enough that that influence was a powerful influence. Hugh was just a child at the time of the crime, with a good, clean record behind him and I know if he gets the chance, there will be a still cleaner one in front of him. I know Hugh is not mean at heart, he has always been true to his friends, always had a smile and a kindword for those along life"s way and I can say the same thing for Ray. He is not mean at heart and he held no grudges. I do not claim that us boys deserve a chance, but I am going to ask that we be granted the opportunity to redeem ourselves and if the court in its discretion can see the things as we tried to bring out, and if it can see the result that will spring from it and be merciful, I do not think that he will feel any regrets. And all the living gratitude of three of us will blend into one and beall his.”

  “It is not alone for myself and my brothers that I make this plea. There is a mother growing old and gray who needs the help of her boys and there is a dear old father who has never lost faith in his boys who will also need that help some day. There is a loving wife and
child who will be waiting and praying for Ray to come back.”

  “I am offering your honor, this sorry plea on behalf of Ray and Hugh and myself and trust that you will not be disposed to feel unkindly towards it.” Word traveled slowly in the 1920"s compared to today but news this big spread like wildfire across the telegraph wires. The two people who hadn"t heard were Neuner and Roberts who learned of the confessions from reporters when they arrived at the courthouse Thursday morning. Roberts was incensed he wasn"t informed of this prior to arriving at the courthouse and later told the press, “In view of the cold blooded manner in which these four unfortunate men were butchered, if I had been associated in this last case, I would have occupied the same position that I did in the trial of Hugh DeAutremont and insisted on the death penalty for these defendants, which I think they justly deserved.”

  The three DeAutremont brothers were brought before Judge Thomas later that morning. He called on Hugh first who stood like the well trained soldier he was and asked if he wanted to waive his rights and receive his sentence prior to the scheduled Friday session. Hugh replied, “I do your Honor.” Judge Thomas then said, “Such being the case, therefore, I here and now sentence you to spend the remainder of your life in the state prison at Salem.” Attorney Frank DeSouza had been appointed by the court to represent Ray and Roy so they didn"t have to wait for Smith to travel back from Eugene. DeSouza stated the twins wanted to withdraw their previous pleas of not guilty and enter instead, pleas of guilty. The judge asked each twin to confirm that that was their desire. Both Ray and Roy then entered pleas of guilty. Judge Thomas then explained that under the law he could not sentence them, only a jury could, but he would recommend to the jury that they impose a sentence of life imprisonment. A jury was quickly sworn in from names in the jury pool and W.F. Issacs became the foreman. Judge Thomas addressed the jury and recommended a sentence of life imprisonment. In short order the jury filed out and soon returned. Issacs signed the verdict form and the court asked the jury if that was their verdict to which they answered in the affirmative. Ray and Roy were asked to stand and the verdict was read. They were each sentenced “to prison for the term of your natural life.” With the fall of the gavel it was all over.

  The DeAutremont brothers were led back to jail to await their journey to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. District Attorney Chaney told the press, “The guilt of the twins could not have been established anymore than it was established by their confessions and even then they probably would have received no greater punishment than life imprisonment.” He went on to say that he felt the ends of justice had been served.

  Belle visited her sons in jail the afternoon of their sentencing. When a reporter reached her the next day, she thanked those who had been kind to her during the trial. She went on to say, “It is hard for me to express the depths of my appreciation for all the friendship and sympathy. I bade the boys goodbye. They promised me they would try and retrieve their parts and build up their souls by penitence. I expect to return home to New Mexico Sunday or Monday.”

  Paul DeAutremont issued a statement praising the attorneys who had worked to save Hugh"s life and ultimately the lives of his twin brothers. He stated that none of the attorneys had received any compensation.

  Reporters were let into the jail and Hugh willingly spoke to them. He said, “It was all a mistake. Lots of people make them. We know it now. We talked from 8:00 p.m. last night „til dawn. We told everything, we"ve held nothing back. And we are sorry– that does no good. They have given us life imprisonment. Don"t let them tell you it is easier than death. We went into this job knowing that death was the penalty. It didn"t deter us. There"ll be no preaching now. We are willing to pay. We want to say that the people of Oregon have tempered their justice with mercy, and we are thankful. I understand we leave as soon as the Sheriff can get ready. The only consolation is that I am with my brothers. We will try and make whatever amends we can in the place where we are going.”

  That evening the trio was led under heavy guard onto the Shasta Express to begin their journey to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem approximately 230 miles away. They were accompanied by Sheriff Jennings, Deputy W.E. Morris, Jailer O.W. Dunford, Special Agent of the Southern Pacific Railroad W.D. Miles, and W.H. McClaine also of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Jennings later recounted that the boys talked freely about the crime during the train trip. He wasquoted as saying, “Most of the time I simply sat and listened to them talk. It was like a dime novel.” Chapter XI

  After nearly four years the DeAutremont brother"s journey ended at the prison gate outside of Oregon"s most notorious prison. It was 5:20 in the morning on Friday, June 24, 1927. The boys were somber as they were led into the turnkey office. Hugh was assigned number 9902, Roy 9903 and Ray number 9904. Once finished in the changing room, they were led to their cells and as the iron doors clanged shut they faced eternity in a small cell with dingy walls and a steel bed. They ate their first meal alongside their fellow inmates that morning as reality set in that this would be their life from here on out.

  Superintendent of the prison, Henry W. Myers said he planned to put the boys to work at the lime and flax plants of the prison. And work they did, hard, physical labor moving the lime from one place to another by wheelbarrow. Years later Ray commented that they probably did him a favor by working him so hard because by the end of the day he was too tired to think of anything else. After awhile Roy was able to trade his wheelbarrow for a pair of barber shears and he began working in the prison barber shop. Hugh bounced from one prison job to another over the years but eventually found his niche when he revived the prison"s newspaper. Later on he began publishing the prison"s monthly magazine called Shadows.

  Occasionally Postal Inspector In Charge Riddiford and Chief Special Agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad O"Connell dropped by for a visit. Perhaps they just wanted to see with their own eyes that the infamous DeAutremont brothers were still behind bars.

  It"s been said that every time a Southern Pacific train passed by the prison, it would sound its warning bell just to remind the brothers why they were there. After the trial Hugh said that for years he could still hear the warning bell in his head and see Johnson carrying the torchlight. Hugh was quoted as saying, “All that night Roy and I waited without sleeping. We could hear the electric bell on the engine ringing. It was ringing all the time. I tell you if they had rang a bell during my trial, I would have jumped up and told it all. I couldn"t have stood it. Sometimes I can still hear that bell, sometimes.”

  Ray learned Spanish and Latin and taught the languages to other inmates. In later years he took up landscape painting and some of his artwork was sold on the outside world. Some pieces were even exhibited at the Rose Festival Art Show in Portland. The years clicked by and those on the outside experienced the Stock Market Crash, the Great Depression and World War II. The boys went quietly about their lives but Roy began experiencing psychological episodes. Years earlier while on the run from law enforcement, he thought detectives had been following his very step. Perhaps it was similar to those feelings but whatever it was neither Ray nor Hugh could get through to him. Roy was spending more and more time withdrawn from Ray. He would just sit and stare at the walls. When he did speak he would say that people were watching him and talking about him. The twins had been fortunate in having been able to share a cell but in the fall of 1949, Roy requested a private cell. Roy"s condition worsened once he began living on his own. He would rant and rave or babble incoherently. One night the demons that had been haunting him cumulated in a scene where Roy went berserk and ripped all of the plumbing fixtures out of the walls, threw the metal bed around the room and began shrieking. It took six guards to subdue him. Roy was placed in the prison hospital but when his behavior did not improve, prison officials transferred him to the State Mental Institution in Salem, the very place he worked as a young man. The foreboding fortress would be home to him for many years to come. The movie, One Flew Over The Cuckoo"s Nest w
as filmed at the Institution. When Roy did not show any signs of improving the prison doctors performed a prefrontal lobotomy.

  Chapter XII

  Hazel remained in Ohio but longed to see the man she still considered her husband. So late in the summer of 1927 with a mere $97 to her name, she packed up Jackie Hugh and boarded a train to Oregon. She arrived in Eugene with 47¢ in her pocket and took a taxi to the home Paul shared with his second wife and her two children. The taxi fare was 50¢ but the driver agreed to take her 47¢ as payment in full. Alone in a strange town, far from home she was penniless but determined to begin a new life in Oregon in the hopes her husband would be paroled and they could pick up where they left off. Paul was happy to meet Hazel and his grandson but he didn"t think the child should be raised in Oregon where the name DeAutremont carried quite a stigma. As happy as Ray was to see Hazel and his son, he emphatically told Hazel to return to her parent"s home in Ohio, to forget all about him because he was never going to be paroled. Hazel explained she wanted to find a job in Salem in order to be near him because as she proudly told him, she was pregnant with their second baby. Through tears Ray told her the best thing for the children would be for her to re-marry as he would never be able to be a father to their children. Hazel stayed on with Paul and his family but within a short time tensions began to grow. Finally she wrote to her family asking for train fare home. Hazel left Oregon and never returned. She gave birth in February 1928 to a son she proudly named Ray. Hazel waited and waited for Ray to be released. The years went by and her memories began to fade of the 2 years they spent together. Finally after 25 years she divorced Ray. Eventually she did remarry. Jackie Hugh grew up and became a well respected member of the community. He worked as a supervisor at a manufacturing plant. Ray Jr. served his country in the Korean War but had problems adjusting to civilian life and soon after took his own life.