The Tragedy at the Eagle Annex
A woman is found dead in a tent and her companion lies near death, leaving police with a grisly mystery and no murder weapon.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Ada Wilson, a habitue of the underworld, is dead and Jacob Sentle, with a bullet wound in his abdomen, lies hovering between life and death as a result of the worst tragedy Pasco has ever known. Residents of the Eagle Annex, a hotel opposite the Northern Pacific station, were awakened by gunshots at 3:30 Sunday morning. Those hearing the cries discovered Sentle writhing in agony on the ground in front of a tent. Inside the tent, lying on the bed and dressed in night clothing, was the dead body of Ada Wilson. A lighted lamp was on the table, and there was no evidence of a struggle, indicating the woman had been shot while asleep. The gun had been fired at close range, as her clothing was scorched. No weapon was found at the scene, adding an air of mystery to the affair. Testimony suggests the two were long-time acquaintances, and a suicide note found in the tent led a coroner’s jury to believe Sentle fired the shots before wounding himself.
“The absence of a firearm and the fact that Sentle, when first discovered, had said he didn't know who had shot him, gives an air of mystery to the affair.”
The 'Eagle Annex' was located near the rail hub, a transient zone where the lives of seasonal workers and marginalized people often intersected. This story highlights the extreme lack of resources for mental health and domestic crisis support in early 20th-century Eastern Washington, resulting in violent outcomes that were often summarized by the era's press as simply 'underworld' business.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.