The Cabin Murder and the Fear of a Mob
An Italian stonecutter on trial for his life recounts a desperate struggle on Mercer Island that left his employer dead.
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Mattia Leoni, an Italian stonecutter, testified in his murder trial regarding the death of Richards. Leoni claimed that Richards, an overbearing man who had frequently abused him, had attacked him in their cabin on Mercer Island. Leoni stated he was kneeling to wrap his blankets when Richards jumped on his back, choking him. In the ensuing struggle, Leoni grabbed a butcher knife to defend himself, later claiming the fatal gunshot was an accidental discharge while fleeing with an axe-wielding Richards in pursuit. Terrified of a mob, Leoni had initially fled the area, traveling as far as Spuzzum, British Columbia, before his arrest. The defense highlighted Leoni's good reputation, while the prosecution cross-examined him relentlessly on the details of the incident.
“When the witness had asked Leoni why he had not come to the sheriff's office to tell the officers, he answered that he was afraid of a mob.”
This case underscores the intense xenophobia of the late 19th century, where Italian immigrants like Leoni faced not only the judicial system but the credible threat of extrajudicial 'mob' violence. His fear of a lynch mob was a rational response to the anti-immigrant sentiment common in 1890s Seattle, a stark reminder of the city's darker civic history.
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