The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-05-21
MYSTERIOUS MURER.
A Marriage followed by wife
killing.
Latest particulars Of the New York
Sensation.
Nelc York Sun.

in the woods near Bergeline avenue, above
Weehawken, was completely identified
Yesterday as Mrs. Philomena Muller, wife
| of Simon Muller, tobacconist of 502
West Thirteenth street. Mr.. Muller called
at the Morgue at three o'clock in the af-
ternoen, in company with lady whom he
| introduced as Miss Nj aria Schmidt, his
wifes sister. He said they desired to look
at the body. They were led into the damp
vault, and at sight of the body, Miss
Schmidt was overcome, and she retired to
the adjoining basement. Mr.. Muller gaZ-
ed upon the body calmly The jewelry
and clothing of the dead woman were
shown to him, and he positively identified
them as the property of his wife. He said
that he had given her the cameo brooch.
Mr.. Muller said that some time ago his
wife deserted him, and since then she had
not lived with him. Miss Schmidt had
seen her sister about two weeks ago. Mrs.
Muller informed her that she had found de
cent man, who was going to marry her and
| take her to Germany in the steamer Amer
i9ue, which was to sail on the 4th inst.
| When Miss Schmidt told Mr. Muller of this
| he went to the wharf of the Transatlantic
| Steamship company on the morning of
Nav 4, and remained at the gang plank Of
the vessel until all the passengers had
gone aboard. He was certain that his wife
was not among them, but he did not know
her paramour.
Before this Identification was made, the
authorities of Hudson county had obtained
conclusive evidence of the fact that the
murdered woman was Mrs. Philomena Null
ler and that her assassin had married her
on the morning of the day on which
he killed her, and had taken pas
sage on the following day for Europe.
AS Mrs. Finck, the wife of an alehouse-
| keeper in Pierce avenue, West New York,
| was sitting in her saloon on the afternoon
| of Tuesday, the Sd inst, as related in the
| Sun of yesterday, man and woman en-
| tered and sat down at table. The woman
ordered drinks and called for glass of
| beer. Her companion drank soda water.
| While they were there the woman talked
| almost necessarily. She said that they
came from Morrisiania. She seemed to
have plenty Of money. When she paid for
the refreshments, Mrs. Finck noticed a
large roll of bank notes in her pocket-book,
| besides some silver and gold. Before go
ING away the woman borrowed a corkscrew
to open a bottle of Rhine wine which
| she had with her She said
she had bought the bottle in Union Hill.
Mrs Finck minutely described the woman,
and the description tailed exactly with that
| of the woman who was murdered. Pros
ecutor McGill was so impressed with the
accuracy of Mrs. Finck's description that
he specially detailed Detectives Swinton
and Tanning to trace the movements of the
unknown couple. They began their search
on Tuesday evening, and yesterday they
submitted to the Prosecutor a circumstan-
tial account of their discoveries.
They began by looking for the person
from whom the bottle of Rhine wine had
been purchased. Every saloon along the
Boulevard and the Hackensack plank road
was visited, but to no purpose. Continu-
ing their inquiries, they entered an inn
kept by Edward Stabel, on the Weav-
erstown road. When they questioned
| him he said he remembered that on the
day indicated by them a woman had called
at his place and asked for a bottle of Rhine
wine. As he did not have any, he sent his
granddaughter Lizzie Hans, to Mr.. Eber
/ lings store, IN Bergenline avenue for a
bottle of it. While the girl was absent the
woman chatted pleasantly with Stabel. She
| told him, among other things, that she had
| just been married by the Rev Mr.. MabOn,
the pastor of the Grove Reformed Dutch
| church and that she wanted the wine to
celebrate the event, and to treat the minis
ter She also said that she was about to
sail for France. When the girl came back
with the bottle of wine the woman paid
her fifty cents for it, and gave her ten
cents additional out of a five dollar gold
piece that Stabel changed for her.
On leaving the saloon, the woman
was joined by a man. Stabel could
not recollect anything in particular about
the man, except that he had stood outside
on the street while the woman bought the
wine, but he gave very accurate des-
| cription of the woman and her dress, which
tailed both with Mrs. Finck's description of
the woman she had seen, and with that Of
the murdered woman. Mrs. Stabel furnish
ed additional details. She said the woman
came to the saloon on the Sd inst. She
was sure of the date, because on the same
day there was a burial in the Grove Church
Cemetery which is only q short distance
from the inn. The woman told Mrs Stabel
of her marriage, and explained that it had
been secretly performed, because her
brother disliked her husband and had
objected to the match She also said that
she had been married once before, and had
attended a cigar store which her former
husband kept in this city. Mrs. Stabeps
circumstantial description of the woman
tailed yet more accurately than her hus-
bands with that of the murdered woman.