Otillio (first name spelling varies greatly from source to source) probably immigrated from home in the late 1880's. Sal Romano's Trento website gives great information on some emigration patterns and I'm guessing Otillio followed this pattern. In 1900 he appears to have been a coal miner in Gray Creek Colorado. If you go to the Colorado Mines link on this website, you will see some Gray Creek mining pictures I think are very interesting. I haven't found him again until he was murdered in 1928.
I imagine it was a warm morning August 20 1928 in the Grand Hotel when Ottilio was shot to death after an apparent struggle in his room in the annex at the hotel. He'd been employed as their night dishwasher but had quit his job and collected his pay very shortly before he was attacked. Witnesses heard some discussion in his room, a struggle, crashing noise and shots. Seven bullet wounds from a .38 were found in his body. SEVEN!!
Otillio was probably around 54 years old when he died. It appears he had no friends or family in the area and was described as "a quiet fellow who did not talk much" . The reports from the coroner's inquest made no mention of any Mafia involvement and the murder was apparently never solved.
For me, this is a sad story of dying alone but perhaps sharing his story bring some justice to the great injustice of an unsolved murder.
This is the first time I have seen this blog. Ottilio was my grandmother's (Emelia Maistrelli Menapace) uncle. She lived in Trinidad when he was murdered. He is buried in the Catholic Cemetery very near my grandmother who died in 1986. To my knowledge, the murder was never solved. According to her, he overheard a "mafia" plot through the transom window above the door and was shot due to the information he over heard. Caryl
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