A loyal reader of this column, originally from Arizona, sent me a yellowed copy of the Phoenix Gazette dated Feb. 6, 1936. It contained a front page story under a bold headline reading: "Boy Tells of Slaying Taylor."

The piece had been posted from Albuquerque by The Associated Press and recounted grim details of the crime. The record would not be worth relating here, except for references to the Penitentes and to nationally recognized author Conrad Richter, a friend and close neighbor of the victim.

From the Gazette and New Mexico newspapers, here is my summary of what followed.

Carl Taylor had come to The University of New Mexico from his native Indiana in 1924 and after graduating, stayed on as a teaching assistant for two more years in the English Department.

In 1930, he became a freelance writer/photographer and received a commission from a London publication to do a series of articles on the Orient.

One of the subjects was on a sect in the Philippines, members of which whipped themselves and held mock crucifixions similar to those of New Mexico's Penitentes.

Upon returning to Albuquerque, Taylor told professor George St. Clair, head of The University of New Mexico English Department, that because he photographed and published his article on the sect's secret rituals, he could never go back to the Philippines, fearing vengeance.

Taylor soon rented an isolated cabin on the forested east slope of the Sandia Mountains, above today's N.M. 14. Early one night he went to a nearby Penitente morada, or "temple of worship," as the press described it.

His purpose was to take photographs inside while "one of the eerie rituals was in progress." A 16-year-old boy from the neighborhood, Modesto Trujillo, accompanied him to carry equipment.

Taylor got his pictures with a flash camera and hastily retreated. According to the Gazette, "he died 24 hours later with three bullets in his brain."

The following night, Modesto Trujillo reported the killing to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Ross Salazar and a deputy went to the Taylor cabin with Trujillo, who told them that the photographer had been shot in front of his fireplace by two masked burglars.

After examining the scene, the lawmen doubted his story and began an investigation. Among those interviewed was the neighbor, author Conrad Richter.

A native of Pennsylvania, Richter came to Albuquerque for his wife's health, and in addition to a residence there, he rented a getaway mountain cabin as his writer's retreat.

He explained to Sheriff Salazar that the day before the shooting, Taylor had jokingly related to him his success in getting photos needed to illustrate an article he was writing. In Richter's words, "he dared the Penitentes' wrath by entering their morada."

Salazar was not persuaded, however, that the sect members had a hand in the murder. Nor did he believe Modesto Trujillo's claim that it had been committed by a pair of burglars.

He and his officers grilled the youth for hours, until Modesto broke down and confessed. In his statement, he said that he had entered the cabin about 6 p.m. and went up behind Taylor, who was seated before the fireplace.

Then he fired three shots into the back of the man's head from a small .32-caliber revolver. Finally, he took from Taylor's pockets $14.50 in cash and $180 in travelers checks.

In spite of that confession, some of Taylor's university friends still clung to the possibility that there might have been a connection in the killing with the photographer's invasion of the morada. But no evidence of that ever surfaced, seemingly confirming the sheriff's original view on the matter.

What is surprising was that the news media, which widely carried the story, used inflammatory phrases as "fanatically religious, weirdest rites, and savage realism," to describe Penitente practices.

Similar harsh language had been commonplace in the books of the late-19th-century writers like Charles F. Lummis and the Rev. Alex M. Darley. It would appear that sensationalism has risen as part of news gathering and even plain story telling since the beginning of time!

Historian Marc Simmons is author of numerous books on New Mexico and the Southwest. His column appears Saturdays.