Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1896-05-28
MANY CRIMES,
they Are Charged to Western Minister
saasG Who IL Missing.

Who IL Missing.
Salt Lake City. May 25.-Fou1 play is
suspected in the somewhat mysterious
disappearance of Miss Henrietta Clau.
sen, who has not been seen since Septem-
Der last. She was at that time taking
care of the apartments of Rev. Francis
Hermann, pastor of the First Scandi.
navian Methodist church in this city.
y recent inspection of the CRATE of the
furnace in. the building reveals two
razors and q, butcher knife, garter and
belt buckles and charred bones. The
bones have been turned over to physi-
clans. and the police department. is
making a rigid investigation. Miss Sam.
uelson, friend Of the pastor, also dis
appeared last January. The last heard
Of the pastor he was at Kansas City, on
his way to Iowa. A warrant has been
sworn out for the arrest of the preacher
upon an information charging him with
murder. The warrant is signed by D.
H. Wenger, city magistrate, upon the
complaint of John Hanson, who is the
last man who saw Miss Clausen before
her disappearance from the city.
The tragedy outlined in the above
dispatch is in many respects similar
10 the murders committed by Durrant
in San Francisco. In this case, as in
the other, the sanctuary of God. was
the scene Of the crimes, and the victims
Two women. The pastor of the church,
Rev. Francis Hermann, is accused Of
The murders. The scene of the crimes
was the First Scandinavian Methodist
church at No. 1888 Second East street.
Last year the pastors wife died and he
engaged Miss Clausen, an attractive
young woman of rs, to stop at the
church building, which is large and &C
comodates several families in the wings,
TO look after his apartments.
In September last Miss Clausen sud-
denly disappeared and has not been seen
alive since. Immediately after her dis
appearance the pastor, although the
weather was hot at that season, ordered
big fire built in the furnace of the
basement of the church. He sent every
body away, and, lighting the fire him
self, kept it going for hours. Persons
residing in the neighborhood detected
exceedingly bad odors at the time the
furnace was going and demonstrated
with MIR. Hermann, but he said he want
ID to give the f1ues thorough test be-
fore cold weather came. TWAS in this
furnace few days ago that the body Of
Miss Clawson, together with two black
ened razors, a butcher knife and part
IT woman's garter buck]eswere found.
The other supposed victim was Miss
Annie Samuelson. She was engaged
to be married to the preacher, but
mysteriously disappeared in February
last, and it is supposed her remains
are concealed somewhere about the
church. The police, who have been Sc
cretly working on the case for several
days, found a barrel, the head of which
is covered with human blood, and the
theory is that the murderer, after kill
ing his victims, carried them up on the
barrel head. Blood stains were also
'ound in the furnace door and also on the
floor.
Rev. Hermann, for whose arrest a
warrant has been issued on the charge
of murder, left Salt Lake on May z
for Kansas City, thence for DEBORAH,
Ia, on missionary tour. Since his de-
parture he has not been heard of, and
kilograms sent to both Kansas City
and Iowa have failed TO bring any It'd
ings of him. Among his effects here,
which are in the hands Of the police,
are let ers, articles Of jewelry and cloth
ing belonging to both the dead girls.
Hermann is of Scandinavian descent,
but was born in England. He is about
40 years of age, exceedingly we'll edu-
Gated. He has been married three
times, and it is said all his wives have
died under suspicious circumstances.
In his study were found large collec-
ton of poisons and drugs of various
kinds.
Further developments in the tragedy
lead to the belief that Hermann is
man with record of crime little less
than the notorious Holmes. His first
wife. it is said, died in England under
suspicious circumstances. He was pas
tor of a Scandinavian church at West
Superior, Wis.,, in 1890 and 1891, and
there married highly-respectable lady,
who in less than a year died very sudden
ly with her two-weeks'-old baby. An
inquest was held, but nothing beyond
suspicion of foul play was elected.
Hermann soon married again, and came
to Salt Lake in 1894 with his wife. Be-
fore long a baby was born, and the
mother and child died few weeks
after. AS far as yet discovered, it is
thought he has murdered seven per-
sons.
The church officers say that Hermann
had been suspended for embezzling
church funds, confessed his guilt in that
regard and was waiting hearing be-
fore the annual conference. He was
fine-lOOkin9 man and very penerallv