Timeline of Events
The prosecution’s case against William Magers was built on circumstantial evidence. Here is a timeline of events as the prosecution likely presented them:
● September 4, 1898: Ray Sink leaves his home in Sherman County, Oregon, intending to travel to the Willamette Valley.
● Prior to September 13, 1898: Magers, who had worked for Sink previously, corresponded with him, urging Sink to come to the Willamette Valley.
● Around September 10, 1898: Sink arrives in the Willamette Valley, staying at Manning’s residence in Gervais. He tells Manning he would have to go home before buying a livery stable.
● September 13, 1898: Magers and Sink leave Gervais together in a buggy, driving to Salem, arriving around 10 a.m.. They leave their team at Keeler’s feed yard near the steel bridge.
● September 13, 1898, Evening: Magers and Sink return to Keeler’s feed yard around 7:00 p.m. and take the team, driving away. This was the last time Sink was seen alive in Salem. Around 7:30 pm, they are seen by a witness named Sparr, driving rapidly on a road near the Harritt farm, in Polk county.
● September 13, 1898, around 11:00 p.m.: Magers returns alone to Salem, stabling the team briefly at the Fashion Stables and then leaving for Gervais.
● September 14, 1898: Magers returns the buggy to Manning’s livery barn in Gervais around 10 a.m..
● September 15, 1898: Magers goes to Portland with two women, Nannie Quigley and Kate Lane.
● September 20, 1898: Ray Sink’s body is discovered in the Willamette River, weighted down with sash weights, near the Polk County side of the steel bridge.
● September 23, 1898: Magers is arrested in Portland at the Depot Hotel.
● December 1898: The first trial of William Magers takes place, where he is found guilty of murder in the first degree.
● May 1899: Magers is tried a second time, after the first trial’s guilty verdict was reversed, and he is again found guilty of murder in the first degree.
● February 2, 1900: Magers is executed by hanging.
