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Hayes
Center Man Sentenced for Hruza Slaying
Divis Is Given Life in Prison
Pleads
Guilty to Murder In the Second Degree
Hayes
County Farm Hand Admits Slaying Employer
Hayes Center, Nebraska, Oct. 25— (U. P.)—Frank Divis, 42, was sentenced to
life Imprisonment today on a charge that he murdered his employer, Joe Hruza,
and then dumped his body into a pit that ostensibly was dug to catch coyotes.
Divis
pleaded guilty before District Judge B. C. Eldred to a second degree murder
charge and was given the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The
murder occurred October 2.
Special
precautions were taken by officers in taking him from McCook to Hayes Center to be sentenced on
to
Hayes Center to be sentenced on account of ill feeling against Divis for murdering
Hruza, who lived the life of a virtual hermit on his farm near here.
In
pronouncing sentence, judge Eldred said there were ample grounds on which the
state could have brought a first degree murder charge, which could have earned
a death penalty.
"Besides,
I do not place much faith in the story about the pit being dug to catch
coyotes,” the judge added.
According
to the confession of Divis, he had dug the pit to catch coyotes. Instead, one
of Hruza's hogs fell into the pit and during an argument with Hruza that
resulted, Divis said he shot Hruza.
Other
evidence showed that Divjs had used the name of Hruza in writing to Hruza's
brother regarding the disposition of the Hrusa farm and that he also had forged
the name of Hruza to a check.
The Lincoln Sunday Star – Sunday,
October 26, 1930
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