"Portuguese Joe."

18-year-old Lizzie McDaniels was walking home from a wedding party in Cherokee Flat, California, at around 4:00 am on June 1, 1871. Two companions, Mr. Wells and Miss Glass, walked with her.  Without warning, a man sprang from the bushes, seized Lizzie by the head, slashed her throat from ear to ear, and stabbed her in the heart. The attacker let go, and Lizzie ran about ten feet, then died in the arms of Miss Glass. The attack was so sudden that it took them all by surprise. Wells drew his pistol and fired but missed the man as he ran away.

The killer was a former lover of Lizzie McDaniels, known as “Portuguese Joe.” He had been courting her for about two years but she was trying to discourage him. He said he would kill her if she would not consent to be his bride, but she had not taken his threat seriously.

Portuguese Joe was also known as Austrian George, though some said he was Italian. This was likely to make it challenging to identify the killer. To make matters worse, there were several criminals known as Portuguese Joe operating in the region—a Portuguese Joe in Placer County was convicted of grand larceny, a gang of Mexican horse thieves in El Dorado had a Portuguese Joe, and a Peruvian arsonist in Nevada was called Portuguese Joe. But the community was outraged and determined to capture Lizzie McDaniels’ killer. The Marysville Daily Appeal said, “If taken it is probable that the courts will not be troubled with a trial of his case. Judge Lynch will preside, and a stout rope and short shrift will be given the murderer of Miss McDaniels.”

Lizzie’s Portuguese Joe was captured at his hideout in the mountains near Cherokee on June 5. Though he was not lynched, the Appeal was correct that the courts would not be troubled with a trial. Portuguese Joe was shot through the head while trying to escape. They placed his corpse inside his cabin and set fire to the building. Nothing was left but ashes.

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Sources: 

“Committed to Jail,” Sacramento Daily Record, February 2, 1871.
“Events of the Day,” Critic, June 6, 1871.
“Horrible Murder,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 1871.
“Horrible Murder,” Marysville Daily Appeal, June 2, 1871.
“Killed,” Daily state register., June 7, 1871.
“Not a Mexican,” Gold Hill daily news, September 15, 1871.
“Oroville, June 1st,” Weekly Alta California, June 10, 1871.
“Pacific Coast News,” Cheyenne daily leader. [volume], June 6, 1871.
“Taken Below,” The Placer Herald, July 29, 1871.
“Terrible Murder of Miss Lizzie McDaniels by Her Lover in California,” National Police Gazette, June 24, 1871.
“Thieves Caught,” Placer herald., February 4, 1871.