Murder Mystery
From the Editor of The Free Lance, Hollister
On the day of May 14, 2009 I received a call, “Chief, I’m on to something….” Those were, reporter Jed Logan’s last known words before his life was taken. We were working closely together on a story that involved a chain of murder mysteries that happened at Mission San Juan Bautista. He was there doing some research when he called me that day. Shortly after we spoke he was found, stabbed to death, on the roof top of that very same mission.
The murders date back to January 1984, beginning with the greedy intentions of Arthur Hartnell and his widowed mistress Carmelita Boronda. Arthur was promised, by death, through a trust deed, the real estate of his brother John Hartnell, a well known real estate developer who owned a wide spread of properties in the counties of San Benito and Monterey, including some property north of the Mission, owned by the Boronda family.
Carmelita’s husband pedro was an alcoholic. He died in 1964 from liver failure. Their son, Miguel, was known as, kind hearted, politically active and an outspoken land preservationist . Carmelita was a naturally gorgeous temptress who was known to catch the eyes of many wealthy men, including John Hartnell. All though John was single, attractive and wealthy, Carmelita’s interest was in his married brother Arthur. She was deeply in love with him and desired to please him and fulfill his wishes, even if it meant putting her own life or the life of her loved ones at steak.
Arthur Hartnell was a retired San Benito county supervisor. He was unhappily married to a wealthy Attorney named Gwen. Together, they had a son named Albert who was a partner in the development business. Arthur and Albert never seemed to get along very well with one another, but Albert respected his father very much. Albert blamed his mom for the distance between him and his father because growing up, his parents argued often and his mom would always be the one yelling and throwing
On the day of May 14, 2009 I received a call, “Chief, I’m on to something….” Those were, reporter Jed Logan’s last known words before his life was taken. We were working closely together on a story that involved a chain of murder mysteries that happened at Mission San Juan Bautista. He was there doing some research when he called me that day. Shortly after we spoke he was found, stabbed to death, on the roof top of that very same mission.
The murders date back to January 1984, beginning with the greedy intentions of Arthur Hartnell and his widowed mistress Carmelita Boronda. Arthur was promised, by death, through a trust deed, the real estate of his brother John Hartnell, a well known real estate developer who owned a wide spread of properties in the counties of San Benito and Monterey, including some property north of the Mission, owned by the Boronda family.
Carmelita’s husband pedro was an alcoholic. He died in 1964 from liver failure. Their son, Miguel, was known as, kind hearted, politically active and an outspoken land preservationist . Carmelita was a naturally gorgeous temptress who was known to catch the eyes of many wealthy men, including John Hartnell. All though John was single, attractive and wealthy, Carmelita’s interest was in his married brother Arthur. She was deeply in love with him and desired to please him and fulfill his wishes, even if it meant putting her own life or the life of her loved ones at steak.
Arthur Hartnell was a retired San Benito county supervisor. He was unhappily married to a wealthy Attorney named Gwen. Together, they had a son named Albert who was a partner in the development business. Arthur and Albert never seemed to get along very well with one another, but Albert respected his father very much. Albert blamed his mom for the distance between him and his father because growing up, his parents argued often and his mom would always be the one yelling and throwing