Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Two men were charged with the murder of Guro Knezvich, a Wardner, Idaho, miner whose body had been found by the side of the road in northwest Spokane the day before.

The two suspects were from Montenegro, as was the victim. The arrests came after an interrogation of Knezvich’s compatriots in the mines. The two suspects admitted that they had been with the man in downtown Spokane the night of the murder but gave conflicting accounts of when they had last seen him.

Police said Knezvich had quit the mine and intended to leave for Montenegro to fight for his country in the European war. He was carrying all of his cash in a money belt. The two suspects were also planning to leave for Montenegro to fight in the war. Police suspected they learned about the cash that Knezvich was carrying.

“The number of people who knew of his savings is said to have been small,” the paper said. “This feature is expected to facilitate the investigation.”

From the fire beat: One man was dead and another dying after the Miners’ Home lodging house in Wallace burned to the ground. Only a desperate effort by the fire department prevented the entire business district from burning down.

The cause was unknown, but “indications point to incendiary” (arson).

“This makes the fourth fire here in as many days and with indications pointing to incendiarism, feeling is running high tonight,” reported a Wallace correspondent.