Walter L. Cronin

Walter J. Cronin was shot to death during a domestic dispute on May 3, 1907. His wife, Elsie Cronin, provided the most detailed account of the events, and it is largely through her words that we share this story: “Walter was going to leave on the Shriner Special for California and came home from his work (he was the day bartender at the Gem Saloon) drunk. Mrs. Davies and myself had prepared supper for him, but he would not come to the table, but stayed in bed. I was determined he should come and tried to make him. Probably I handled him a little roughly. Anyway, he started to abuse me and knocked me down three times. I got up and saying ‘Walter, I have stood all of this I possibly can.’ I got the revolver. Mrs. Davies tried to take it from me and in pulling it out of her hands she was accidentally shot in the arm. I then took deliberate aim and—Oh, the result!” The shooting was witnessed by the Cronin’s four-year-old daughter.

One witness who spoke to Walter approximately a half-hour before his death stated that although he had been drinking, he appeared sober. Others claimed that Elsie herself was under the influence of alcohol that day and the family was said to consume a considerable amount of liquor. Regardless, Elsie was arrested and spent a highly emotional night in the Tonopah jail. A grand jury later indicted her for murder, and on June 25 she entered a plea of not guilty. Trial was set for July 10, and a hysterical Elsie was remanded to the custody of the Nye County Sheriff. Her elderly mother was permitted to accompany her and remain in her cell for a short time.

The one-day trial was prosecuted by District Attorney Patrick McCarran—who was later to become Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court and a U.S. Senator. Testimony was heard from several witnesses, including Dr. E.K. Smith, who recalled seeing bruises, a neck abrasion, and a large red spot on Elsie’s breast. The defense argued these injuries supported her claim of self-defense. Dr. Smith further testified that the bullet entered Walter’s neck from the left side and exited through the back, and that the cause of death was internal hemorrhage.

When the case was submitted to the jury, deliberations continued until midnight. The July 20, 1907 edition of the Tonopah Bonanza reported “Mrs. Cronin had partly undressed and was lying down in her cell when word reached her that she was wanted in court. She arranged her apparel with trembling hands, aided by her aged mother, who was still more nervous. Together they entered the court, the accused woman supported on one side by her mother and on the other by a deputy sheriff. The proceedings were short. Judge O’Brien asked the foreman if a verdict had been agreed upon. The answer was in the affirmative, and the paper handed to the judge, who in turn handed it to the clerk, with instructions to read it. Mrs. Cronin laid over in her mother’s arms, and her face was the color of marble. The clerk read: ‘We, the jury in the case of Mrs. Elsie Cronin, find the defendant not guilty.’ The judge thanked the jury, and the jury thanked the judge for going to the courtroom at the unseasonable hour, and they were excused until 10 o’clock this morning. Then Mr. Gibbons asked the court to make an order releasing the prisoner from the custody of the sheriff, which was done. As the jury filed out of the court, the aged mother, the gray strands of her hair trailing down across her face, and the tears streaming from her eyes, arose unsteadily, and waiving her hands to the jury, sobbed out: ‘God bless you, oh, God bless you, gentlemen, for giving me back my daughter.”

Walter was 32 years old at the time of his death and was a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.