Murder on middle beach aftermath8/11/2023 ![]() “The war had just ended and sentiments between Mexicans and all these white settlers that were coming in were pretty bad,” said Maythee Rojas, a professor of Chicano and Latino studies at Cal State Long Beach who has written about Josefa. The 16-year-old noted in her report - which earned her an A - that racial tension may have been a factor in Josefa’s death. Two years ago, Esmeralda, who was born in the Mexican state of Durango, wrote a paper for her English class titled, “The Hanging of Juanita.” Esmeralda was drawn to the story of Josefa because of their shared background. “What I heard is that some guy grabbed her in the bar and out of defense she stabbed him,” says Esmeralda Nevarez, the school’s student body president. Most of the students grew up either in the town - which is majority white - or surrounding area, and the versions of the story they’d heard throughout their lives have become muddled as if in a game of telephone. “I thought she killed him because he cheated on her,” another volunteers. “Wasn’t she assaulted by him or something and then she killed him out of defense?” a high school student asks. They’re taking Spanish online because their teacher is not fluent enough to instruct them himself. On a Friday morning this fall, half a dozen students sit in a Downieville Elementary and Junior-Senior High School classroom. As Josefa prepared for her hanging, the Steamer Pacific Star reporter wrote, she extended her hand to those around her and to each said, “Adios, señor.” Jose was found not guilty but was warned to leave town within 24 hours. The jury found her guilty of murder, and she was ordered to die by hanging - two hours later. The Steamer Pacific Star reporter, who described Josefa as pretty, “so far as the style of swarthy Mexican beauty is so considered,” said she “presented more the appearance of one who would confer kindness than one who thirsted for blood.” Jose later testified that Cannon called him and Josefa names, according to the Steamer Pacific Star account when Cannon went to enter the house, Josefa stabbed him.īoth Josefa and Jose were taken into custody. The doctor said Cannon offered “pleasant” replies. Soon after, Cannon and Josefa exchanged words in Spanish. The two exited the house together, where they were met by Josefa. While in the doctor’s office, Jose, who lived next door, confronted Cannon about the door. the day of his death to ask for medicine. A doctor said Cannon came to his office about 7 a.m. But no one agrees on what happened next.Īs an 1851 Marysville Daily Herald newspaper article recounts it, Cannon entered the house and “created a riot and disturbance.” She was so outraged, the article said, that when he arrived the next morning to apologize, she stabbed him in the heart.īut the Steamer Pacific Star, a San Francisco newspaper, had a different version of the story. After the festivities, he stumbled down the street before reaching the home Josefa shared with a man named Jose, believed by some to be her husband.Ĭannon crashed through the couple’s door. ![]() One of those celebrating was an Australian miner known in news articles and Downie’s book, “Hunting for Gold,” as Cannon. The streets of Downieville were filled with parades, bands and heavy drinking. ![]() In the summer of 1851, California celebrated the Fourth of July - the first since becoming a state.
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