The news & observer., 1897-08-31
IA SENSATION SPRUNG
12-YEAR-OLD LUETGERT SAW
MOTHER AFTERWARDS.
THE JURY TO SEE A VAT EXPERIMENT T
A Body Was Boiled in Solution of Caustic
Potash and Did Not Disappear as
Is Claimed in Mrs. luet-
gert's Case.

Chicago, ILL.,, Aug. 30.-The trial of
Adolph Luetgert for the alleged murder
of his wife began in earnest today. Two
witnesses were examined-Diedrich Bick-
lnesse, brother of Mrs. Luetgert, and
Louis l.. Luetgert, the 12year-old son of
the accused. The testimony of Bicknessee
tended in the main to show the alleged
indifference of Luetgert to the fate of his
wife and the alleged disinclinatiOn to re-
port the matter of her disappearance to
the police department
Louis Iuetgert who is n remarkably
bright lad for his age, produced some
thing of n sensation in concluding his tes-
timony, and it is believed caused counsel
for the prosecution to regret having
placed him on the stand. The boy testl-
fed that his mother came to his bed room
after he had retired and some time after
he heard his father descend the back
stairs into the factory.
Contrary ts the expectation of the
State, the jury will oe asked by the de-
fense to witness an experiment in the vat
in the basement of the sausage factory.
This is TO be the result of an experiment
conducted by .Luetgert's attorneys Satur-
day and yesterday.
The body of q man of about Mrs. Luet-
gert's age and weight, who met his death
by violence Thursday, was taken to the
factory at 602 Diversy avenue and i'm
mersed in n solution of cauStic potash.
The result exceeded their expectation.
The experts related that after boiling
the body in - per cent solution of the
potash for the same length of time, three
and Ac-half hours and under the same
circumstances as the State alleges Luet-
CERT disintegrated the body Of his wife,
the complete skeleton of the cadaver re-
mained intact and that the solution had
had but little effect on the clothing. AS a
result of the test, he defense will, it is
said, ask Judge Tuthill to remove his
court and the jury to the basement of the
big sausage factory for few hours and
witness another experiment, which the
defense claims will completely disprove
the States theory of disintegration.
Luetgert was calm and confident look
ing when brought into court and he had
been greatly refreshed by
Sundays respite from the daily court or
deal.
District States Attorney McEwan for
Imally opened the case for the State. On
the wall close to the jury box were hung
large maps of the Luetgert sausage fac
tory, the Luetgert home and all the sur
roundings of the place where 1t Is
lcharged the prisoner killed his wife and
then destroyed her body The attorney
for the State began with the disappear
lance of Mrs. Luetgert on May and next
described the visit on May of Diedrich
Bicknesse, brother of Mrs. .Luetgert, when
he called to see his sister and discov-
cred that she had disappeared. He dwelt
on the apparent Indifference of the hus-
band, his statement that he had not in
formed the police but had hired two de-
tectiyes, and his invitation to Bicknesse
to call again in about a week, when he
would tell him if anything had been dis
covered concerning the whereabouts of
his sister
Attorney McEwan told the jury that
Luctgert's statement that he had hired
two detectives to search for his wife
would be proven false. Mr.. McEwan
said it is the theory Of the State that
Mrs. Luetgert accompanied her husband
into the factory between 1890 and II
o'clock. About 1890 her little sor
Louis returned from the circus and saw
her sitting in the kitchen. The conver-
sation of the boy with his mother was
interrupted by Luetgert, who came in
and ordered the boy to bed. Before go
ing to sleep the boy heard his father
descending the back stairs toward the
factory where he had slept for years.
Mr.. McEwan said that it is the theory
of the State Mrs. Luetgert 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 minutes later. They
were seen going through a gate which
led to no place except to the factory.
The attorney for the State then de-
tailed the movements of Luetgert in the
factory, the turning on of the steam TO
the vat, the sending of Waterman Bialk
out shortly after 10 o'clock to a drug
store and Bialk's subsequent errand to
the drug store, all of which kept him
out of the factory for an hour and 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, was described.
Mr.. McEwan said Luetgert despised his
wife. He had treated her with violence
as the evidence of the State will show.
He had no affection for her and lived
alone in the factory. There, the attorney
said, he had been visited by other wo-