John Vaglio (¬1857 - 1912)
John Vaglio came into the Yukon during the gold rush. His wife, Camille, and their daughter Rosina (Rosa) soon joined him. Daughter Christina was born in Dawson. John mined for a number of years and then became the proprietor of the Central Hotel. Around 1910, Camille’s brother Eugene travelled from Italy to join the family. In 1912, Rosa, age sixteen, received unwelcome advances from Eugene, age forty-five.1)
Eugene attempted to criminally assault Rosa and John threw him out of the hotel. Camille persuaded John not to prosecute her brother as it would bring scandal to Rosa. On 4 July 1912, there were American citizens letting off fireworks, and guns shots were at first ignored by inmates of the hotel. Alfred Tetrault, living in a cabin behind the Central, saw Eugene fire shots into the hotel’s kitchen from the back alley, and he heard a woman scream. Mrs. Vaglio, who was up and dressed, was shot twice and stabbed four times. John, still in bed, was shot six times and the two girls were stabbed and shot. Twenty-one shots were fired from three revolvers, one of them a Browning automatic. Eugene was generally considered not to be a good person who did not work unless it was absolutely necessary. It was thought that jealousy over his brother-in-law’s success was a motive for the crime.2)
Camille was forty and the daughters were Rosa (16) and Christina (9). Eugene Vaglio, age twenty-eight, committed suicide by shooting himself. The family, except for Eugene, were buried at the Catholic Church cemetery.3)