Tang Xiaoxian: The unsolved murder case of a Chinese man in Phoenix City a hundred years ago

Tang Xiaoxian: The unsolved murder case of a Chinese man in Phoenix City a hundred years ago Phoenix City Tang Xiaoxian One hundred and two years ago, on Friday, February 13, 1914, a...

Phoenix Tang Xiaoxian One hundred and two years ago, on Friday, February 13, 1914, a Chinese man was shot and killed in Phoenix City. From February 14 to March 13, one month later, the Arizona Republic (the name of the newspaper at the time: The Arizona Republican), the Tucson Daily Citizen and the Bisbee Daily Review Review), which reported this story ten times in a row, attracting widespread attention from all walks of life. The case seems simple, but it is confusing. Due to the lack of direct evidence, it is still unsolved whether it was suicide or homicide. Chinese Huang Fang (transliteration of Wong Fong), male, was born in 1891 (the seventeenth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty). He left his hometown in 1909 (the first year of Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty) and came to Arizona, USA. At first, he lived in the southern town of Globe. There he converted to Christianity and entered the Lutheran Church. >>> In early 1913, Huang Fang moved to his uncle's house at 220 East Madison Street in Phoenix, living with his cousin Wong Fie (transliteration) and cousin 'Jassie' Quock Young (transliteration). He opened his own barber shop to make a living. Huang Fei, who was fifty years old at the time, was a blogger (gambler) and had money on hand. His wife is an upright, young and beautiful woman, only around 20 years old. She was married to him through a Chinese marriage agency in Tucson. Huang Fang slept in a large door room separated by a screen, and gradually became familiar with his cousin-in-law. Over time, they fell in love, and actually fell in love. At that time, there were very few Chinese women in the western United States, and only wealthy Chinese men were lucky enough to marry wives. So these men are particularly jealous that other men covet their women. One day in February 1914, Huang Fei's young wife gave him two pieces of paper with Chinese characters written on them. The paper was also wrapped with three copper coins, one of which broke into two halves. Huang Fei didn't know Chinese, so he took the paper to find his friend. His friend told him that it was written on the paper that Guoyang didn't want to be with him anymore, so she filed for divorce. Guoyang is well-informed and is not an idle person. Before 1909, she lived in San Francisco at the Presbyterian Redemption Mission run by Miss Donaldina Cameron. Miss Cameron rescued hundreds of Chinese girls from San Francisco's brothels and educated them as Christians. Those girls learned to speak English, learn to read and write English, learn to cook, sew, and run a household while she was there. With these specialties, they are widely favored by Chinese bachelors in the west. Because Guoyang had lived in the mission house for several years, she knew that divorce was possible in the United States. Perhaps Huang Fei was already worried that his young wife would abandon him. When he saw that the lovers were going their own way and were lost, he made a plan in his heart. As for Huang Fang, he was also deeply worried about his life. He closed the barber shop and put a notice outside the shop saying that the owner was sick and was temporarily closed. He went into hiding for three days. He also wrote a note to his friend, which said: "When I am killed, have Wong Fie arrested!" (When I am killed, have Wong Fie arrested!). In these three days, Huang Fei took a train to other places, seemingly to discuss with the original marriage introducer. Returned to Phoenix late on Friday night, February 13, 1914, and visited a friend around 11:40 midnight. From midnight to 1 a.m., Huang Fang's body was found in the hall behind the screen where he usually slept. He was killed by a bullet to the head. Next to him on the floor was a 32-gauge revolver with a spent bullet. Money and objects are intact. Police Constable John McGrath investigated the murder. He found more than ten cartridges on the ground outside the foyer, as well as a screwdriver used to pry open the door. Since the facts of the shooting were unknown, the police took Huang Fei and Guoyang away for investigation. Guoyang first made up a touching story. She said that she got engaged to Huang Fang a few years ago before she even met Huang Fei. The two separated for a while and unexpectedly reunited in Phoenix City. She claimed that she and her lover had an agreement that if Huang Fei did not agree to divorce, they would both commit suicide. She believed that Huang Fang kept his promise and committed suicide first. However, the police denied this statement because judging from the angle of bullet entry, it was almost impossible to commit suicide in that way. From the analysis of signs at the scene, someone entered the house and committed the murder while Huang Fang was sleeping. After Guo Yang heard what the police said, she provided clues that her husband had withdrawn $1,000 in cash from Valley Bank and was probably out of town hiring someone to kill his love rival. However, Huang Fei insisted that he was out for business and could not be the murderer, and that he was with his friends when Huang Fang died. Since everything was circumstantial evidence, and Huang Fei's friends also provided evidence of his alibi, the police decided not to prosecute Huang Fei or Guoyang and released them. The police quickly rearrested Guo Yang and charged her with illegally entering the United States. No matter how things turned out, Guoyang was convinced that he couldn't stay in Phoenix City anymore. She sent a telegram to Donaldina Cameron informing her of her situation. Miss Cameron immediately came to Phoenix and after confirming that Guoyang was her former student, she took her back to San Francisco. After an autopsy by medical examiner C. W. Johnstone, Huang Fang's body was buried in Loosely Cemetery in Phoenix, which has now been incorporated into the Veterans and Military Memorial Cemetery. In mid-March 1914, Rev. I. F. G. Flanders and Rev. Frey of the Globe Lutheran Church were dissatisfied with the inaction of the police in dealing with their church member Huang Fangming. They led thousands of church members to write to the Arizona Republic to express their concerns. A few days later, Deputy Chief Billy Wolfe responded publicly, saying that after police investigation, no possible suspects had been identified.

The first report of Huang Fang's murder was in the "Arizona Republic" on February 14, 1914

A Lutheran church in the southern Arizona town of Globe

Donaldina Cameron (1869-1968), a missionary of the Presbyterian Church in San Francisco's Chinatown, with the title of "The Angel of Chinatown" Known as Chinatown)

Huang Fang’s burial place: Chinese Circle (Chinese Circle) at Phoenix Ancestors and Military Memorial Cemetery