A Look Back in Time: Lewis County Coroner's Jury Formed as Man Confesses to Killing Logger in 1952

Sep. 2—A Lewis County coroner's jury — a now rarely used type of jury similar in nature to a grand jury summoned by a coroner to assist in determining a cause of death — was reported as being still undecided on Sept. 3, 1952, following the jury's second three-hour meeting. The coroner's jury had been called to determine whether a criminal act had led to the death of a 50-year-old Toledo logger named Edward Sleski.

Sleski had apparently been fatally shot on a farm east of Toledo on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 31. Lewis County Coroner Joe Chytil impaneled the jury the following Sunday evening. A second session of the jury was held on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 2, after Lewis County Prosecutor John Panesko said the jury had been unable to make a sufficiently clear determination as to whether his office needed to take action.

At its Sunday meeting, the coroner's jury determined Sleski had been "killed by a shot from a heavy caliber rifle." The jury came to the conclusion after Walter Hoskins apparently told the jury he shot Sleski after the logger "had become abusive to his wife and was beating her." Hoskins claimed to have pointed a gun at Sleski and ordered him to leave his home, at which point Sleski lunged at Hoskins, who pulled the gun's trigger, killing Sleski.

Following their determination, the jury recommended the case be brought to trial but failed to either indicate or name a defendant. At the Sept. 2 meeting, the jury continued to maintain many aspects of the case appeared unclear, though Hoskins, the 62-year-old owner of the farm on which Sleski was shot, "had accepted the role as the individual who fired the rifle."

According to The Chronicle, during the meeting, Panesko told the jurors it was their duty "to determine if a criminal act has been committed or not. And if so, who committed the act, if the party is known."

Members of the jury and Coroner Chytil were apparently surprised to learn Hoskins and his wife had been released after the Sunday night meeting that lasted for five hours, during which Hoskins had apparently told the jury he had pulled the trigger for the fatal gunshot. The Chronicle reported members of the jury believed the Hoskins would be held in jail pending further investigation. After the second meeting, the jurors said they required further study before they could arrive at a decision and decided to reconvene at a later date.

Saturday, Sept. 3, 1932

—The weather forecast for Sunday, Sept. 4, was projecting a high of 69 degrees and a low of 41 degrees.

—R.L. Barnes, a 53-year-old former Ellensburg banker, died with three members of his family when his car fell off a Long Beach harbor pier on Friday, Sept. 2. "Carried to their deaths with him, in the accident yesterday, were his wife, 50; William, an 18-year-old son, and Mrs. S.W. Barnes, 75, his mother," The Chronicle reported. Barnes' 14-year-old daughter, Miriam, apparently made it to safety after climbing through an open window in the car as it sank 32 feet below the surface. According to The Chronicle, "the car went off the pier when Barnes, who was at the wheel, attempted to turn it around after he and his family had spent several hours watching nearby fishermen. In turning, the machine went too close to the edge and the outer wheel slipped over, the heavy car toppling into the water."

—Charles Lewis Cox, a 77-year-old Glenoma resident, died at his home on Monday, Aug. 29. Cox was born in West Virginia on Aug. 4, 1855, and spent his life as a farmer. He was survived by his wife, Lucinda; four sons, Alvin, Alfred, Lloyd and Floyd; and seven daughters, Rosa, Stella, Mary, Lucy, Nora, Dora and Daisy.

—Huldah Johansen was reported by The Chronicle as having "freak pets." Johansen reportedly owned "a young rock python, a species of boa constrictor from Colombia, and a ring-tailed monkey from the Amazon valley." The two animals were apparently left by Johansen's son Harold, who had recently visited after a trip to South America.

—Three members of the Lewis County Game Commission — R.R. Somerville, Centralia; Sam Downs, Chehalis, and L.G. Vitous, Morton — attended the commercial club luncheon on Wednesday, Aug. 31, afterwhich the three inspected Izaak Walton Park. The three "gave their unanimous endorsement for state aid in the development of rearing ponds in the park," The Chronicle reported. The park's sponsors had apparently petitioned the state government for funds but were referred to the county game commission for approval.

—Goldman Sachs had a stock price of $4.25 on Friday, Sept. 2. On Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, the investment bank's stock price stood at $332.67.

—The Tenino School District was scheduled to open classes on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Dorsey Shore was set to be the new "grade principal," following five years as a principal at Vader.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 1942

—Precinct officials were appointed on Sept. 2 ahead of the upcoming primary elections on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The primary would decide nominations for all county offices, U.S. House representative and members of the Washington state Supreme Court.

—Centralia held a breakfast on Sept. 3 as a send-off celebration for 27 drafted Centralia men. The breakfast was held at 9 a.m. in the Elks' temple. The wives, family and close friends of the draftees were in attendance. The 27 men, who were to serve in the armed forces in World War II, were Oscar Steen, Victor Hunt, Hayden Spaulding, Ronald Laney, Leonard Neimi, Peter Halvorsen, Arnold Ball, Bert Delaney, Albert Watilo, John Eakin, Sidney Bates, Seth Myhr, Marion Tedro, Earl Jepson, Renton Johnson, Thomas Martin, Claud Sinclair, Wesley Barton, Earl Huff, Robert McAndrew, Elmer Strand, Theodore Vonnebo, Junior Johns, Alva Middaugh, Elvin Tibbetts, Junior Teeter and Gustave Boeck.

—The Centralia City Commission voted on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to approve two new temporary police officers and two new members of the fire department. "The (commissioners) were willing to accept the appointment on a temporary basis because there were vacancies left during the past few months by regular department members entering the armed forces," The Chronicle reported.

—An advertisement for state Rep. Ben McDonald's re-election campaign was featured in The Chronicle. The campaign ad featured a series of bullet points highlighting McDonald's stances and work. "100% for Labor," "Continued work on all road projects that don't interfere with war effort," "Rural Electrification Projects and Public Power development in Lewis County" and "The full support of the Government and armed forces of the U.S. in our determined effort to end the war quickly and effectively" were some of the bullet points.

—A four-room "modern" house on 2 acres was listed for $10 a month in rent. The house, near Chehalis, was described as being on a "good road."

—A three-room "furnished modern house" on Diamond Street in Centralia was listed for rent at $15 a month. "Full basement, fireplace, hardwood floors" were among the features the house was listed as possessing.

—U.S. military forces were reported as assisting British military forces in North Africa in an Associated Press article included in The Chronicle. The combined U.S. and British forces were engaged in a tank battle with German forces, led by German General Erwin Rommel. Rommel had launched a "new three day offensive in western Egypt Wednesday, while American fliers shuttled through one of the worst dust stroms of the war to blast Axis supply depots and break up German dive-bomber formations over the desert battlefield ... Despite swirling sandstorms ... Allied planes attacked the enemy on a large scale," read the article. The fighting was part of what would later be called the Battle of Alam el Halfa, which prevented German forces from occupying Egypt. Two months later, in November of 1942, U.S. and British forces would invade North Africa, ultimately driving German forces out of North Africa in less than a year.

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 1952

—Members of the Chehalis City Commission voted on Tuesday, Sept. 2, to adopt a $418,946.61 preliminary operating budget. The amount was a $25,893.22 increase from the city's 1952 operating budget of $393,053.39. Part of the new budget was a $30 a month salary increase for firefighters and a blanket $20 increase for other city employees. An equivalent increase was also to be given to employees paid an hourly wage. While the overall budget was higher than in 1952, expense expenditures for 1953 were expected to be slightly lower, falling $4,018.

—A dedication and open house for a new addition to Chehalis' St. Helens Hospital was scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 6, according to administrator Sister M. Perpetua. A blessing was to be administered at the ceremony by Seattle Archbishop Thomas Connolly. The ceremony was scheduled for 2 p.m. and the open house was to be held twice, from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

—Roy Fletcher, Lewis County auditor and president of the White Pass Highway Association, was expected to take part in the dedication ceremony for a new emergency airport near the Rimrock Dam on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. Besides its purpose as an emergency landing field, the airport was to "also serve the forest service in fighting fires, the fisheries department in fish planting and the game department for animal preservation," The Chronicle reported.

—James and Leslie Blankenship, 20 and 18 years old respectively, were both sentenced to six months probation after they pleaded guilty to charges of stealing a saddle on the morning of Sept. 3. The two "youths" had been charged with stealing the saddle from the Aljune home of Leonard Davis on Aug. 1, 1951. The two had been arrested in Cowlitz County at an unspecified date by sheriff's deputies from Lewis and Cowlitz counties.

—The final budget for Lewis County schools during the 1952-1953 school year was approved on Sept. 3, according to Lewis County School Superintendent Florence Kennicott. The new budget was expected to be 6% higher than the previous budget. The budget came in at $1,873,909, an increase of $106,831 over the previous year's $1,777,068 budget. Apparently, at the time school funds were distributed to local schools from the county level. "Mrs. Kennicott said the amount of money a district receives for the operation of schools is based on the attendance in the schools," The Chronicle reported.

—A campaign ad for Albert Rosellini was featured in The Chronicle. Rosellini was campaigning for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Arthur Langlie. "There's ONE Democrat who can beat Langlie in the finals — ROSELLINI!" read the ad. Rosellini, who at the time was the Democratic majority leader in the state Senate, lost the primary to U.S. Rep. Hugh Mitchell who then lost the November general election to Langlie. However, in 1956, Rosellini ran again for governor, this time winning election and serving in office for two terms.

—A two-bedroom "modern" home in Chehalis was listed for $5,500 in The Chronicle. Among the mentioned features of the house were its proximity to schools and the fact it was "wired."

Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1962

—The Chehalis municipal swimming pool was to remain open on a trial basis after it was originally to close on Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 3, according to Stan Hedwall, the Chehalis city park superintendent. Hedwall said family economy tickets would not continue to be valid during the pool's postseason operation.

—Lewis County residents saw a continuation of the warm weather that had affected the region for the previous two weeks over Labor Day weekend. Temperatures reached 80 degrees on Friday, 77 degrees on Saturday, 71 degrees on Sunday and 79 degrees on Monday. More warm weather was expected for the coming days, with temperatures predicted to reach as high as 84 degrees on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

—Most Lewis County schools had resumed classes by Tuesday, Sept. 4, though Chehalis schools were scheduled to start on Wednesday, Sept. 5. In Centralia, the largest district, 3,187 students began classes, higher than the previous year's 3,085 students.

—A meeting of city, county and airport commission members was held on Tuesday, Sept. 4, to "iron out a row" regarding the firing of Chehalis Airport Manager Larry Davis. The meeting was closed to the public and Lewis County Commission chair Hugh Kalish said any details authorities felt necessary to release would be made available after the meeting. The firing occurred after Davis refused the airport commission's request for him to resign.

—Joseph Stout, a 90-year-old lifetime resident of Big Hannaford Valley, passed away at a local hospital after battling a "lingering illness." Stout was born on May 1, 1872 and had spent his entire life as a farmer.

—Donald Powell, the 8-year-old son of "Mr. and Mrs. Paul Powell," was reported to have suffered a broken leg and "severe bruises" after losing control of his bicycle and striking a pickup truck. Donald was treated at the Morton hospital and later returned home.

—An "all electric, remodeled two-bedroom house" in Chehalis was listed for $6,800 in The Chronicle. The house was listed as having new wiring and plumbing, built-in kitchen appliances and a landscaped yard.