A Phoenix woman was left with a deep gash in her head in June 1919 after her husband allegedly threw an axe at her during an argument. What made the case even more startling was the explanation he later offered to authorities: he claimed he had thrown the axe “for fun.”
Mrs. Jose Salazar was recovering at her home on South Park Road while her husband, Jose Salazar, was taken to the county jail. According to the newspaper account, the wound on her head measured several inches in length and caused her intense pain.
Mrs. Salazar and neighbors who witnessed the incident told officers a far different story from the one her husband gave. They said Salazar had thrown the axe in a fit of rage. His wife also described a troubled household, telling authorities that her husband was “always quarreling” and suggesting that angry behavior was nothing unusual for him.
Phoenix, Arizona City Hall
Salazar, however, insisted that the axe throwing had been meant as amusement rather than an attack.
Whatever his intentions, the consequences were serious. He was brought before Justice Wheeler and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Says He Threw Axe At Wife “For Fun”
PHOENIX, Arizona. — With a gash several inches in length in her head, Mrs. Jose Salazar is suffering intense pain at her home on South Park Road while her husband, Jose Salazar, alleged to have inflicted the wound, is resting behind the bars of the county jail.
Mrs. Salazar and neighbors who were present when she was struck told the officers that Salazar threw the axe in a fit of rage. The wife declared that he was “always quarreling” and that there was nothing unusual in his conduct.
The husband claimed that the axe throwing had been in fun. The fun took a serious turn, however, yesterday when he was arraigned before Justice Wheeler on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Source: Arizona Republican. Phoenix, Ariz. June 15, 1919.
