Connecticut western news., 1896-05-28
MYSTERIOUS KILLING
REV. FRANCIS HsRMANS ACCUSED
 OF MURDERlNG WOMEN.
A Clergyman. Who Is Now Fugitive, Is Alleged to Have Slain His Last Two Vic tIms In His Church-Ths Police Look ing For Him.


 ing For Him.
 SALT LAKE CITY, Mey 26.-This city Las been much aroused by the discovery that the Rev. Francis Hermans, pastor of lhe Swedish Methodist church, is accused of the murder of two women, and that he rremated the body of one of them in the furnace of the church.
 It is thought thnt Hermnus, whose whereabouts are unknown. may intend to leave the country, and Chief of Police Pratt telegraphed to the police of New York and all the leading seaport towns asking them to look out for the fugitive.
 Miss Clawson, who was member of Hermans' church and was in his service as a domestic, disappeared, as near as can be ascertained. on Sept 30 last year How tho girl met her death Is not known. It Is believed that Hermans poisoned her, as several bottles of dendly drugs have been found among his effects
 In the furnace have been found the TO- mains of two razors and carving knife. with which he Is supposed to have cut up the body, which could not have been placed in the small furnace without dissection. The cremation of the body must have taken nearly all of one day, and even thon some ribs and other bones were not entirely con. stunned.
 The doctors say the bones are those of n woman, and the friends of tho missing Miss Clawson are sure that the belt buokle, garter buckles and remnants of jewelry found in the nshes were her property.
 Janitor Johnson of the church says that at the timo when it Is supposed the ere nation occurred Mir. Hermans would not permit him to enter the basement The minister said he was going to build fire for ha Af trvi vir hQ tatn nh Johnson himself had always done such work.
 The minister used charcoal, which was very unusual. as the furnace was built es- pecally for bituminous coal. The odor of burning flesh overoame young man who rooms in an adjoining house He tried to ascertain what was the cause and asked the minister. Said He Was Burning Garbage.
 The latter replied that he had boon burning garbage which soavenger had failed to haul away, and with this ex- planation the young man was satisfied. The first discovery of the bones, razors and knife was made by another minister, who was called to take charge of the church during the absence of Hermans in the east.
 He went down in the basement to look after the furnace and found the remnants
 
 the furnace was smeared with blood. This door was taken off, and an analysis of the stains showed that they arc human blood.
 Miss Clawson. it is said, was in love | with the man. She attended church regu- | larly and was considered a good Christian girl. She appeared to be a favorite with the preacher. at least during the summer of last ysar.
 It has been discovered that another do. mestic. a Sweds named Annie Sam muelson. has also disappeared. She was supposed to have gone to her home In Sweden last fall after the disappearance of Miss Claw son, but she has not arrived there. A search of Hermans trunk has brought to light a number of articles that belonged to Miss Clawson and Miss Samuelson. A watch and ring belonging to Miss Samuelson have also been found in a paw nshop, where the preacher had pawned them. The Rev. K K Mork of Brigham City received letter from Hermans dated Kansas City, May Q, in which he inclosed tho pawn tickets. In this letter he said that he did not expect to live much longer.
 It was discovered that the parson had used a barrel on which to cut up body. | The barrel, with It's telltale blood stains, was found in corner of the basement, | where he had left 1t.
 Just before leaving for tho east carly this month Hermans gave to Mir. John. son box containing eight or ton vials of | poison and some bottles of ohloroform and other drugs, among which was a vial of | pills for producing abortion. Ho had told Johnson that, having studied medicine, he found many of these things useful | Miss Larsen's Statement Miss Samuelson has an aunt, Miss Lar sen, living in this city. "Annio was about | 2e years old" said Miss Larsen. "She came from Sweden about two years ago and was in the employ of Mrs. Brinker and then of Mrs. Hardness, in whose sorv- Ice she remained until the middle of last January. She told mo that she was on. gagged to marry the Rev. Mir. Hermans, whose church she attended. It was dur ing the latter part of January that last saw Annie She oame to mo and told mo she was going to be married shortly. She was ts go to Ogden to visit for few days, and Mir. Hermaps was to join her thero | and marry her.
 "On Feb received telegram from | Ogden signed 'Anpie, saying that she was on her way to Sweden. On the fol. | lowing day I received n letter purportinR to come from her. Is said that everything between her and the clergyman was of, anu e0o Wab unAlOus tO ECU uNng lTou scenes that were painful to her. Mir. Her. | mans. she said. wns her superior socially. and by agreement they had separated" !" Since Miss Samuelson went away noth. ing has been heard from her. She has relatives living at Crookston. Mlnn., but they know nothing of her present whore. abouts. Her people in Sweden have heard nothing from her.
 Hormans called upon Annie's aunt about the timo she received tho telegram and letter. and he also exhibited letter purporting to have been written by her, and which was to tho effect that she had broken the engagement and started for the old country.
 The letters seem to have been written by Hermans himself.
 | hermuns has been married thrce times. | He first married In England, where his wife died suddenly. He married his seo- ond wife in Superior, Minn., and shortly afterward she also died. He remarked again, and his last wife diod In this city about year ngo
 She gave birth to child, which died n few days alterward. The mother, how ever, recovered, and was apparently | healthy for some weeks after her oonfino- ment, wheu suddenly she also passed away in a most mysterious mannor. 1t is learned that Hormans obtained small loans from several persons prior to | his departure. A few days before ho left be entered Conhaim's clothing store and borrowed SEQ from Mir. Conhalm. |