The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-09-24
HAD SEEN HER SINCE
THREE WITNESSES SAY MRS. LUETGERT
WAS ALIVE ON MAY 3.
One Witness Slightly Hestates But the Cor
roboration of One Another Makes
Sensational Defense.


sCaieaeo. ILL.,, Sept. 23.-Viewed from
various standpoints, to'days proceedings
in the Luetgert murder trial were the
most remarkable that have occurred
within three weeks. In the face of the
sensational circumstantial evidence
that has been produced to
prove that Mrs. Louise Luet-
gers met death in her husbands
sausage factory on May 1st, three wit
nesses testified to-day that they saw the
woman alive on May 3rd and 4th. One
of these Witnesses talked to her and be-
lieved from description and a photo
graph of Mrs Luetgert, that the woman
he saw was Mrs. Luetgert. This wit
ness was Matt ]. Sholey, bar-keeper
ut the Hotel Maple Kenosha, Wis. lie
said lic saw y strange woman at the ho-
tel Mample on the evening of May ). tie
talked with her nearly ten minutes.
She asked to he directed to the farm of
one Mueller, III the neighborhood, but
as no one seemed to know of such per-
sou the woman left on the following
day. Sholey again saw the woman. He
described her general appearance and
clothing and identified a photograph of
Mrs Luetgert as the woman he saw.
On cross examination, by States AttOr-
ney DcnPCn. witness Sholey at first
fixed the weight of the woman he saw at
130 or 140 pounds Then he hesitated-
said he had got mixed up-and remarked
that the woman weighed 115 to 118
pounds. which was about Mrs. Luet-
gert's weight This hesitation and cor
rection was made much of by the prose
cutiOn. which intimated that it indi-
Gated that Sholey had forgotten the
weight that had probably been told him
at first Policeman Henry Feldshaw, Of
Kenosha. Wis, testified that he saw q
strange woman in the police station of
his town on May 3rd. The witness said
he afterward saw the woman at the
Hotel Maple aud the following day at
the railway station. He described the
woman as wearing a sailor hat and slip
pcrs. One of the slippers she had
worn was found in the police station
after she had left. The witness identi-
fed the picture of Mrs. Luetgert as
closely resembling the woman he saw.
William J. Grunsten. clerk in the
Grant Hotel, Kenosha, identified the
photograph as the picture of woman
he saw in his hotel on May 3rd. He
said she came into the hotel and re-
manned ten minutes. He described the
woman and corroborated the evidence
of the other witnesses.
Emma Schimpke came to the court
room IN the afternoon to hear Rosa
Gleich impeach her evidence given on
Wednesday. Attorney Phalen discover
ed her presence in the room and called
her to the witness stand. When asked
if She had not told Rosa Gleich she had
lied on the witness stand she replied,
II don't remember"
"Did You not tell Harry Fielder you
lied when you said you saw Mr.. and
Mrs. Luetgert May 1st?"
Il don't remember"
did you not tell Rosa Gleich you
did not see Mr.. and Mrs. Luetgert the
night of May 1st?"
II may have said So"
Mrs Matte Sherer, the last witness
of the day, testified positively that EN-
ma Schimpke told her that the testi-
mony the Schimpke girl had given on
the witness stand was untrue.
HIS WOMAN WAS 40 YEARS OLD.
Chicago, ILL.,, Sept. 23.-Late in the
afternoon the witness Sholey who had
testified that he saw Mrs. Luetgert in
Kenosha, and that she was a woman
weighing 140 pounds, announced that
he desired to correct his testimony. He
took the stand and delivered himsel of
the following: "When / said the wo-
man weighed 140 pounds, I meant to
say she weighed about 115. / was
thinking of her age when I made my
former statements"
whats that?" asked States Attorney
Deneen.
II was thinking of her age when I
said she weighed 40 pounds"
"You mean, do you, that she was
about 40 years old. and weighed 115
pounds. Is that it?'
That's it. / was thinking Of her
age"
''That's ALL" said the States attor-
ney, and Sholey stepped down.