Crime Immemorial

Twenty-two-year-old Albert Enstrom, twenty-year-old Andrew Johnson, and seventeen-year-old Alfred Nelson were cousins working as ranch hands at a livestock operation near Pelican Point, a remote area on the western shore of Utah Lake, just south of modern-day Saratoga Springs, Utah.

On February 16th, 1895, the trio attended a legal hearing in Lehi concerning a property dispute involving Enstrom’s stepfather, Harry Hayes. They were last seen returning to their ranch that day.

Two days later, neighbors noticed the ranch appeared deserted, but no immediate alarm was raised. The families initially assumed the young men had left for Arizona in search of work, a delay that would prove costly in the subsequent investigation.

On April 15th, 1895, a sheep herder discovered Albert Enstrom’s body floating near the shore of Utah Lake. Five days later, on April 20th, the bodies of Andrew Johnson and Alfred Nelson surfaced approximately three miles away. Each victim had been shot in the head with a .38-caliber revolver, with one also sustaining a gunshot wound to the chest, suggesting execution-style killings.

Investigators believed the men were likely murdered while asleep in their cabin. Evidence indicated that the bodies were transported in a wagon, driven onto the frozen lake, and dumped through a hole cut in the ice. The cold water preserved the bodies remarkably well, though their faces were unrecognizable due to damage from scavenging animals. Missing from the ranch were personal items, including quilts, tools, firearms, and a wagon with a team of horses.

The investigation initially focused on Harry Hayes, Albert Enstrom’s stepfather, due to his involvement in the property dispute and his reportedly indifferent demeanor following the disappearances. In December 1895, Hayes was indicted for the murders based on circumstantial evidence, including witness testimonies about prior threats and his apparent lack of concern. The prosecution painted Hayes as a vengeful figure motivated by the property dispute. In April 1896, he was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

However, newly elected Sheriff George Storrs, who took office after the trial, questioned the conviction’s validity, citing weak evidence. Storrs’s investigation uncovered inconsistencies and led him to advocate for Hayes, whose sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Utah Governor Heber Wells. Storrs then turned his attention to a new suspect: George H. Wright, also known as James G. Weeks.

Wright, a charismatic conman with a history of cattle rustling and fraud, emerged as a compelling suspect. Sheriff Storrs linked him to items stolen from the ranch, including quilts, a Spencer rifle, and a wagon. Wright had visited the Pelican Point ranch in February 1895, posing as a land surveyor while on the run for cattle rustling. Storrs suspected Wright may have been caught stealing livestock by the victims, prompting the murders. Wright’s wife, Jennie, provided damning testimony, revealing that he had returned home with a new wagon and horses around the time of the murders, which he claimed were purchased. She also noted his suspicious behavior, including instructions to hide the horses and his eventual killing of them. Jennie’s affidavit and cooperation with Storrs helped locate stolen goods, further implicating Wright.

Storrs pursued Wright across the Western frontier, from Colorado to Indian Territory, but Wright’s knack for evading capture and using aliases like C.T. Case kept him one step ahead. Despite Storrs’s relentless efforts, Wright was never apprehended for the murders, and the case grew cold.

The Pelican Point Murders have spawned numerous theories about the motive and perpetrator. The prosecution’s case against Harry Hayes hinged on the property dispute with Enstrom’s family, suggesting personal animosity as the driving force. However, the commutation of Hayes’s sentence and Storrs’s doubts cast significant uncertainty on this theory.

The case against George Wright, alias James Weeks, is more compelling to modern observers. His criminal history, presence at the ranch, and possession of stolen goods strongly suggest involvement. Storrs theorized that Wright, caught in the act of stealing livestock, killed the young men to cover his tracks. The execution-style killings and the disposal of bodies in the lake indicate a calculated effort to eliminate witnesses and delay discovery.

Alternative theories have emerged over time, including the possibility of a third party with a grudge against the victims or their families. The property dispute with O.A. Slade, a local landowner who had evicted Enstrom’s family, briefly made him a suspect, but his peaceful reputation and lack of evidence cleared him early on. Some speculate that the murders could have been a random act of violence by a transient, given Pelican Point’s isolation, though the theft of specific items suggests a more deliberate crime.

The Pelican Point Murders remain one of Utah’s most enduring mysteries. The victims—Albert Enstrom, Andrew Johnson, and Alfred Nelson—are buried side by side in a cemetery in Benjamin, Utah, their headstones inscribed with a poignant epitaph: “… But truth shall conquer at the last, for round and round we run, And ever the right comes uppermost, and ever is justice done.”