To Recap: Thurman Walker of Valley Falls had disappeared somewhere in Colorado. A decomposed body was found Sept. 12, 1908, in the Arkansas River bed near Nepesta, Pueblo County, Colo.
The coroner and deputy coroner determined there were no clues to identify the body so, careful measurements were made and preserved. The remains were interred where they were found and a small gravestone marked the burial place.
Deputy sheriffs and officers went to work on the case and Sheriff Potter of LaJunta took over the investigation. When he found the saddle used by Walker in a LaJunta secondhand store, Thurman's brother, Edwin, was called from his Kansas home to aid in the investigation.
Part II
"He (Edwin) identified the saddle as positively his brother's. Nunn, Walker's companion, became an immediate suspect, but he maintained that he left Walker sometime after they left Mantanola and Walker was headed for Texas. He was released from suspicion and he returned to work in the beet fields.
"Sheriff Potter was not content, and with Edwin Walker's assistance the decomposed body found in the Arkansas River was identified as that of Thurman Walker, aged 19 years, a farmer boy from Valley Falls, Kansas.
"Cleveland Nunn, the 20-year-old beet worker, was arrested a second time and taken to LaJunta where he continued to maintain his innocence. A severe sweating (third degree) broke down his story and he confessed he shot Walker; however, he said it was during a fight and he shot in self defense. The 'sweating' continued and he admitted the entire affair in a sworn statement to the district attorney.
"The tragedy occurred the same night the two left for the north. They made camp near the bridge over the Arkansas River and it was there the cleverly laid and planned plot was consummated."
Extracts from Cleveland Nunn's sworn statement were:
" 'We went to bed on the ground. I pretended to be asleep, but watched Walker close his eyes and start to snore. I got my gun from the holster and, holding it with both hands, pressed the pistol against his forehead. He moved and I nearly lost heart, but he was still asleep and I shot him through the top of his head. He was too heavy to carry to the river so I tied a rope around his neck and dragged him.' "
"Shot in the head while he slept, an experienced lad from Eastern Kansas was murdered for money, it was thought, he had on his person. All the perpetrator of the crime secured for the terrifying moments that preceded the crime, the torments which have pursued him for three months and will follow him for the rest of his life was a cheap watch and a saddle.
"He was charged with murder in the first degree and lodged in the Pueblo County jail awaiting trial."
Source: The Farmer's Vindicator, Friday, Nov. 13, 1908.
The historical society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 23. Admission is free.
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