Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

100 years ago in Spokane: McDonald siblings go free after murder trial, new charges filed

There was still no trace of the fourth McDonald sibling, Will McDonald, who the other siblings said committed the murder. (Spokane Daily Chronicle archive)

All three McDonald siblings – Fay, Marie and Ted – walked out of the city jail after they made bail, the Spokane Daily Chronicle reported.

All three were arrested again the day before, minutes after a jury acquitted them of first-degree murder. The two sisters were charged with forgery, involving a check they allegedly stole from murder victim W.H. McNutt, and Ted was charged with grand larceny for allegedly stealing McNutt’s auto and using it to flee the state.

There was still no trace of the fourth sibling, Will McDonald, who the other siblings said committed the murder.

From the library beat: City librarian George Fuller said Spokane was a city of readers, as evidenced by the yearly statistics complied by the Spokane Public Library.

The library checked out nearly a half-million books, an increase of more than 25% over the year before.

“We have yet to hear of any other city library which has done so well with the resources at its command,” said Fuller.

He said the library owned about 70,000 books, which meant that many of those books were checked out repeatedly over the year. He said it also showed that the library was in need of more books, but “unfortunately our book fund was reduced for 1920.”

He called on citizens to donate their lightly used books, especially standard fiction titles, “which have been read and are doing no further good at home.”

By way of comparison, the library currently checks out nearly 2 million items a year.