The herald., 1897-08-31
. ~
A BOILED BODY
One Exhibit in Luetgert's
Trial
THE CHASTITY EXPERIMENTS
WILL PROVE THE DEFENDANT
INNOCENT
THE CHASTITY EXPERIMENTS
The Chicago Sausagemaker Brought
to Trial for Uxoricide-Case
for the State
Associated Press Special Wire.

the preliminary work OF securing the
hurry having been completed. Long be-
fore the case was called the corridors Of
the court were thronged with people
anxious to gain admittance. Contrary
to the expectation of the State the jury
will be asked by the defense to witness
an experiment in a vat in the basement
of the sausage factory. This is to be the
result Of an experiment conducted by
Luetgert's attorneys Saturday and yes
terday.
The body of a man about Mrs. Luet-
gert's age and weight, who met death by
violence Thursday, was taken to the fac
tory at 607 Diversity avenue and i'm.
mersed in a solution of caustic potash
The result exceeds expectations. Ex-
perts reported that after boiling the body
in a Is per cent solution Of potash for
the same length of time, three and one
half hours and under the same circum-
stances as the Stat e alleges Lue CERT dis
integrated the body Of his Wife, COM
plete skeleton of the cadaver remained
intact, and the solution had but little
effect upon the clothing. AS result of
the test the defense WILL it is said, ask
Judge Tuthill to remove the court and
jury to the basement of the big sausage
factory a few hours and witness another
experiment, which the defense claims
will completely dsprove the States
theory of the disintegration. Luetgert
was calm and composed when brought
into court and had apparently beer
i ~
from the daily court room ordeal.
Assistant States Attorney McEwen
formally opened the case for the State
On the wall close to the jury box hung
large maps of the Luetgert sausage fac
tory, Luetgert's home and the surround
ing places where it is charged the pris-
oner killed his wife and then destroyed
the body. The attorney for the state be-
gan with the disappearance of Mrs. Luet-
CERT. May 1st, and next described the
visit on May 4th of Dietrich Bcknes, a
brother of Mrs. Luetgert, when he called
to see his sister and discovered she had
disappeared. He dwelt on the apparen t
Indifference of the husband, the state
ment that he had not informed the DO
lice, but had hired two detectives, and
the invitation to Bicknes to call again
in about week, when he would tell him
If anything had been discovered con-
cerning the whereabouts of his sister.
Attorney McEwen told the jury that
Luetgerts statement that he had hired
two detectives 10 search for his, wife
would be proven false. McEwen said
the theory of the State was that Mrs.
Luetgert accompanied her husband II
the factory. About 1890 her little son
Louis returned from the city and saw her
sitting in the kitchen. The conversation
of the boy with his mother was inter
rupted by Luetgert who came in and or
dered the boy TO bed. Before going to
sleep the boy heard his father descend
ing the back stairs toward the factory.
where ne had slept for some years The
theory of the State was that Mrs Luet-
gert descended the stairs at the same
time and went to the factory. The boy
did not hear her steps, because she wore
house slippers which made no noise
Luetgert and his wife were seen in the
alley in the rear of the house a few min
utes later. They were seen going through
gate, which led to II place except to the
factory
The attorney for the State then de-
tailed the movement at the Luetgert
,factory-turning the steam into the vat.
sending Watchman Bailk shortly after
to drug store, all Of which kept him out
of the factory for an hour and a half
He was away when Mrs. Luetgert was
last seen alive in the alley.
The alleged motive and operating rea-
son which actuated Luetgert, according
to the theory of the State, were then de-
scribed. McEwen said Luetgert despised
his wife. He had threa tened her with
violence. as the evidence for the State
would show. He had no affection for her
and lived alone in the factory, where. the
attorney said, he had been visited by
other women.
Judge Vincent objected to this state
ment, but Judge Tuthill overruled the
objection. McEwen said a witness
would testify that he saw Luetgert choke
his wife once. She said: you need not
kill me as you did that man, for have
no money" This caused Luetgert to sa y
that she would not be allowed to betray
him.
Judge Vincent objected to this state
ment is foreign to the case and not prop
er evidence, but was overruled by the
court. When McEwen concluded, Attor-
Hey NlHCtHl lIdi no OpenlG2
address would be made a present for the
defense. The first witness was then
called, w. H. Haafe Of the city map de-
partment, who testified to the correct
ness of the drawings being used by the
prosecution.
Two other witnesses were examined
Diedrich Bicknesse, brother of Mrs
Luetgert, and Louis Luetgert, the 12-
year-old son of the accused. The testi-
mony of BicknesSe tended in the main
to show the alleged indifference of Lue-
gert to the fate of his wife and the al
legged indisposition to report the matter
of her disappearance to the police de-
partment. o..
Louis Luetgert, who is remarka BIZ
bright lad for his age, produced some
thing of a sensation in concluding his
testimony, and it is believed caused
counsel for the prosecution to regre:
having placed him on the stand The
boy has already been examined twice as
to his knowledge of his mothers disap.
pearance, and in neither case did he re-
fer to having heard his mother about
the house after he had been sent to bed
Today he recounted how he had gone
to circus on the evening of his moth
er's disappearance. He returned about
1890 and found his mother, to whom he
described what he had seen at the cir