100 years ago in Spokane: For the second time, an undertaker was robbed after a bogus death call

From our archive, 100 years ago

Undertaker J.M. Knight received a call at 8:45 p.m. from a caller who said a 3-year-old child had died. He requested that Knight come to his address to “lay out the child.”

The man gave explicit directions about what streetcar to take, and where to get off. When Knight approached the address, a man walked up with a gun and said, “Hold up your hands.” Then another man clubbed him over the head from behind. They robbed him of a diamond stickpin, a gold watch and $100 in cash, and then they fled.

He said the men seemed to be aware that he had just been paid a large sum of money and “knew my habits.” He provided police with the names of the men he believed to be involved.

This was the second incident in Spokane in which an undertaker was called out on a fake call and robbed.

From the murder beat: A second man, James Tullen – an “itinerant cook, sailor and soldier-of-fortune” – was arrested for the murder of Mrs. Margaret Braun, landlady of the Tourist Hotel.

Police also were holding for questioning Mrs. R.A. Hood, the wife of the first man arrested for the murder.

Police claimed to have an airtight case against Tullen, who they said killed Mrs. Braun during a struggle and then rifled the dead woman’s trunks. They said his bloody fingerprints were found at the scene. They did not elaborate on what role Hood played or whether they still believed he was involved in the murder. However, they believed Mrs. Hood was complicit in receiving some of the loot.

Tullen was described as a longtime sailor of the seven seas, covered neck to toe with tattoos.