The record-union., 1896-05-17
Robbery Supposed to be the Motive Of
the Assassin.
The Party Who Committed the
Horrible Deed Believed to be a
Young rlan Who Frequently Visi-
ted the Lady, and Had Spent the
Evening on Which the Woman
Was Put to Death in Her Rooms.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16.-An old
| woman with her gray hair dabbled in
! her own blood was found cruelty muir
| dered in the residence of DR.. c. A.
Kleineberg, 1925 Geary street, at
o'clock this morning.
| The woman was Mrs. Philippine
Langfeldt, a wealthy patient of DR..
Kleineberg's, who occupied the two
| front rooms on the second floor of his
| house.
! The body, with the throat slashed
| from ear to ear, was found lying face
! downward with arms outstretched just
across the threshold of the front room
! The woman had been dead for several
hours, showing that the crime had been
| committed some time before midnight
/ The case bears a startling resem-
! blance to the cruel murder of Nellie
| to-day as on the afternoon when her
mutilated body was found.
/ IN this case, however, there are sew
! spection seem to promise something
| definite in the way of a clew to the
cowardly murderer.
/ After dinner Mrs. Langfeldt went to
her room. She was never seen alive by
/ any member of the family after she
! passed up the front stairs.
There was a man, however, who was
with Mrs. Langfeldt as late as $50 in
the evening, and in the absence Of any
other clew the suspicion of her friends
and of the detectives has fallen upon
that man.
Fortunately the detectives have an
accurate description of Mrs. Lang
feldt's visitor, and whether he be inno-
cent or guilty Of this horrid crime, it
Is impossible that much time can elapse
before he is brought in to tell what he
knows and perhaps to answer to the
charge of murder.
The man for whom every detective
and police officer in the department is
now securing the town is a young man,
| who was known to DR.. Kleineberg as
Mr.. Blanther.
Blanther made his first appearance
at the residence of DR.. Kleineberg
about three months ago. when he called
and asked to see Mrs. Langfeldt Blan-
ther presented a letter of Introduction
| from a Mr.. Van Winkle. an old friend
| of the murdered woman, who is now
/ living in Mexico. Blanther represented
| himself as man of means. He told
Mrs. Langfeldt that he was stopping
/ at the Palace Hotel, and made a prac-
/ tice of calling at her room in the even
/ ings to play cards and talk. After sew
/ eral weeks of these regular calls Blan-
| ther announced that he had been called
/ away and would be absent for several
! days.
! Five days ago Blanther again put in
! an appearance. He was cordially well
| coined by Mrs. Langfeldt, and he has
/ been at the house every evening since
/ his return.
| Last night Blanther came as usual
and was admitted at once to Mrs. Lang
! feldt's room. Mrs. Langfeldt was a
woman upward Of GA years Of age, while
/ her visitor was man on the sunny side
/ of 35. During the evening the members
| of the family heard them talking and
/ playing cards in the room; but as that
was the usual programme no particular
attention was paid to them.
| DR.. Kleineberg and his wife occupied
the room Immediately in the rear of
! Mrs. Langfeldt's apartments Mrs
Kleineberg went to bed at $50 O'Clock,
and at that hour Mrs. Langfeldt and her
visitor were playing cards.
At IL o'clock DIR. Kleineberg came
home and went directly to his room.
| At that time all the other members of
the family had gone to bed and the
| house was still. DR.. Kleineberg re-
members that there was no noise in
Mrs. Langfeldt's room at the time. The
lights We're out and he supposed of
course that she had dismissed her vis-
itor and gone to bed
At $50 o'clock this morning Susie
Miller, the young servant girl went
to Mrs. Langfeldts room to bring her
a cup Of coffee. She knocked repeated
ly, but received no answer. which was
the more surprising, from the fact that
as rule Mrs. Langfeldt responded to
the first signal. Soon becoming alarmed.
the girl Susie alarmed the household.
Dr. klelneberg and his son George
attempted to enter the rooms. but
found both doors of the suite locked on
the inside Thereupon the Younger
man climbed out of the front window
OF the corridor and made his way to
that opening into Mrs Langfeldt's par
| lor- Through this he effected an en-
trance.
A horrible sight greeted him. The
loluiHS uoOrS between the two rooms
were wide open, and just within the
front apartment was the dead body of
Mrs Langfeldt horrible cash across
her throat She lay in a pool of clotted
blood. and the same dreadful trace of the
| tragedy that had occurred were to be
seen almost everywhere in the rear
room. The body was fully clothed:
and as the folding-bed used by the de-
ceased had not been let down. it was
| evident that she had been slain before
| her hour for retiring
/ When the officers who were i,nmedi-
ately summoned, arrived on tn. scene
various facts bearing upon the manner
OF the murder were noted In the rear
| room a great blotch OF blood disfigured
the painted floor and the edge of a very
| large rug, which covered all but the bor-
/ der. about three feet in width. IT was
! upon the rug in the center OF which stood
| the card table, that the investigators
decided that Blan ther had first attacked
| Mrs. Langfeldt and cut the horrible
| cash in her throat. While she was vet
| living, or Immediately after she expired
| he dragged her, for some reason. into
the front room, masses of blood show