Looking back: ‘Accused wife slayer’ enters guilty plea and boy miraculously survives after his heart stopped beating for 28 minutes
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — The Pelky Brothers’ carpenter shop in Blackfoot caught on fire and the blaze nearly burned a baby, The Blackfoot Optimist reported on Nov. 13, 1913.
The carpenter shop was located at the back of a power plant. At about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday the fire was discovered by the manager of the Gem State Lumber Company and “an immediate alarm was given.”
“By 12 p.m., the chemical engine was pouring water in all parts of the burning building but with no avail, for within 15 minutes, the structure and all its contents were in flames,” the article reads.
The addition on the north side of the building was occupied by Henry Wagner and his family. At the time of the fire, Mrs. Wagner was in town shopping. She had left her seven-year-old daughter in charge of the baby.
“Upon hearing of the danger of her child, she rushed into the flames but was forced to return,” the paper explained. “In the meantime, one of the firemen rescued the child, which was not seriously burned.”
Another building occupied by T.E. Kelly went up in flames within 30 minutes. Kelly was asleep at the time of the alarm and had “just enough time” to get dressed when he found his home in flames.
“He succeeded in saving all his furniture but one side of the roof was destroyed,” the paper said. “Several telephone poles and a small room at the back of the power house caught on fire but both fires were soon extinguished.”
The cause of the fire was not known but it was thought it may have been due to a defective flew.
“The building was owned by Judge J.M. Stevens and he stated the loss was comparatively small with the exceptions of the mechanical tools of the Pelky Brothers and furniture belonging to Mr. And Mrs. Wagner,” the article states. “Pelky Brothers’ loss amounted to $965 with no insurance.”
1926-1950
CHALLIS — A 20-year-old “accused wife slayer” entered a plea of guilty to murder charges, the Post Register reported on Nov. 11, 1942.
Augustine Pusateri entered the plea in “an unexpected action” late Tuesday.
Custer County prosecutor M.L. Drake immediately began “submission of proof of guilt to determine the degree of the crime, calling several witnesses for testimony.”
Mrs. Twila Pusateri, 20, a native of Challis, was found dead in a shallow grave a short distance south of Challis on Oct. 26, 1942. She had been missing since the previous afternoon when she left her home to meet Pusateri.
Further details on what exactly happened weren’t clear but police chief J.R. Roubidoux said Pusateri signed a confession in Pocatello “admitting the shooting but maintaining that the gun was discharged accidentally.”
The hearing continued Wednesday after which Judge Stevens was to pronounce his sentence.
1951-1975
IDAHO FALLS — An 11-year-old boy whose heart stopped beating for 28 minutes during an operation in Salt Lake City was returning back to his home in Idaho Falls, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Nov. 11, 1953.
The boy was Robert Hudson, son of Mr. And Mrs. Ray Hudson.
“Physicians say he has made a good recovery from the agonizing experience, during which he may have set a record for the length of time he was kept from dropping into death only by the skill of a surgeon’s trained hands and modern equipment,” the article states.
It continued, “His heart not only stopped beating but several times went into a disordered type of movement, known as ventricular fibrillation which usually is fatal.”
A total of 21 electrical shocks were applied to his heart before it resumed normal beating.
Hudson underwent surgery on Oct. 20, 1953, to correct a “blue baby” condition. He was born with a narrow heart valve, which prevented normal flow of blood to the lungs.
“Doctors reported Thursday Robert’s recovery was good, except for slightly blurred vision which is said to be the result of the long heart stoppage,” the Post Register mentioned. “Doctors say if the brain is deprived of blood for only four or five minutes, the patient cannot live.”
Thanks to the “untiring massaging hand of the surgeon and the widened heart valve” doctors said Hudson “may now look forward to a near-normal life.”
1976-2000
POCATELLO — A Pocatello service station operator was home recovering after the car he as working on “jumped into drive” and pinned him, the Idaho State Journal reported on Nov. 13, 1977.
James R. “Bob” Willard, owner of Wellard’s Conoco at Center and Garfield, broke his leg in the accident.
“The car reportedly lunged forward when another worker accidentally triggered the ignition,” the Journal mentioned.
The vehicle pinned him against a garage lube rack. He was treated at the hospital and released.