The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-03-11
STRANGELY FIXED UPON HIM.
A Shred of the Murderer's Skin Fount
Between the Dead Girls Teeth.

A curious murder case and mystery.
whose gruesome details would have
done houor to the imagination of Ed
gar A. Poe, has just found its denoue-
ment in the place where the crime was
committed, namely, in Switzerland.
near Berne.
Late in the autumn fair was held
in that city which attracted a large
concourse of people from the neigh
boring villages. Among these was
young country girl, one Anna Hachin-
ger, who came with party of her
friends and neighbors to partake of the
festivities of the occasion. Late in the
evening they all started for their homes
in little hamlet not far from Berne.
It was not till they reached their des-
tination that they discovered that
Anna was missing. Had she Jagged
behind. or, as was more probable, had
she failed to set off at the same time
with her comrades with the intent to
follow them and to catch up with them
laterp
This last solution appears the more
likely, as her corpse, frightfully mutt
shocking manner, was found day or
two afterwards in field not far from
the main road. Search was at once
made for the assassin, but without
| avail. He was not to be discovered,
| and after the first hue and cry was
| over, the affair seemed to have settled
down into one of those mysterious
crimes whose perpetrators are destined
to remain forever unknown.
The police authorities held in their
possession solitary scrap of evidence
against the murderer. The victim
was vigorous and healthy country
girl. She had fought hard, though
vainly. to preserve her honor and her
life. From between her clenched teeth
the physician entrusted with the per-
formance of the post-mortem exam
ination had disengaged fragment of
human flesh. torn off in her struggles,
from the face or the hands of her as
sailant. This ghastly morsel. pre-
served in alcohol, was put carefully
away so as to be ready to produce in
case of need.
| Time went on and the baffled detect
ives failed to find even the slightest
trace of the mysterious criminal. But
the other day q young medical student
in the University of Berne was in the
| dCG Va 10y AAS doiuo uIo oIIcSt COdt W
put on his working jacket, when his
shirt sleeve became disarranged, re-
vealing on his wrist a strengthening
wound which had apparently been
caused by terrible bite. His COM
rades crowded around him, over
whelming him with questions concern
ing the origin of this singular injury.
He stammered, became confused. gave
incoherent and contradictory answers,
and. finally. breaking away from the
crowd, he hurried back to his home.
seized loaded pistol and shot himself
through the head.
The police authorities of Berne be-
! ing informed of this catastrophe, caused
the piece of flesh to be produced and
applied to the wound on the young
mans arm. 1t fitted exactly, and fur
ther investigations with the micro
scope proved the identity of the sui
cide's skin with that upon the frag.
ment. Thus strangely, and through
the workings of the assassin's guilty
conscience, was poor Anna HachingeI
avenged. AS one of the lawyers inter
ested in the case remarked, ''She has
convicted her murderer out of her OWE
mouth. ."-PhiladelphtG Telegraph.