The record-union., 1897-12-17
Police Believe They Have the As
sassin in Custody.
A Russian Known as Albert Hoff Charged
With Committing the Deed.
Positively Identified as the MAN
Seen Leaving the House Where
tho Murder Was Committed
Just After the Dying Woman's
Calls for Help Were Heard.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16.-The
mystery attending the brutal mufoer
of Mrs Mary C.. Clute in a Guerrero
street fiat last evening has apparently
been solved After a severe struggle
she was beaten to death with an iron
coupling pin, which crushed her SKULL
and the police are satisfied that the
man who used this deadly weapon IS
now in custody. He is a Russian
known as Albert Hoff, but his fun
name. as written by himself, is Albert
Frederick George Verenssenockkock- k
hoff. He SAYS he was born in Baden
in 1880. but he does not appear to be oo
years of age. He had been employed
by Mrs. Clute to help her move ana
to make over some mattresses.
Knowing that he had been assisting
in the work of preparing Mrs. Clute
newly rented fiat for occupancy, ana
being satisfied that the carpet layers,
Foley and jackson, who had been there
on the same day, were innocent OF the
crime, the police were on the lookout
for Hoff Greatly to the surprise OF
Chief Lees, the suspected man walked
into the police station to-day and told
a story regarding his visit to the Clute
Dtl dl SNyAAA~A fNN~NN-0'~'
Clever cross-examination, however,
soon involved the Russian in a maze of
contradictions, and he was placed un-
der arrest as a suspect.
Suspicion as to his guilt was sson
changed to certainty, for thf9 everlng
he was positively identified bT Mrs.
L. A. Legg, who occupies the hat d.
rectly under the rooms where the muir
- cI9n n
her invalid father-in-law saw leaving
the house after they had been alarmed
by Mrs. Clute's dying calls for help
Mrs Legg asserts that she cannot be
mistaken. While the aged Mr.. Legg
was trying to summon the neighbors
she took her husbands revolver and
went up stairs. Here she saw Hoff,
got good look at him, and saw him
leave the place after the carpet layers
had gone. and just subsequent to the
commission of the awful crime.
He has also been identified by Foley
as the man who was in the house when
he and Jackson left.
Further strong circumstantial evil
dence that he is the murderer is fur
nished by the fact that he is left
handed, and that his left hand is badly
cut. Inc nange or the coupling PIN
with which Mrs. Clute was killed is
sharp and ragged, and held in a tight
grasp could easily have caused the
wound, which he says was made by a
tack. The police surgeon, however,
says 1t could not have been produced
except by some heavy instrument.
There was evidence of a severe strug-
gle. but no indication that the assassin
accomplished his evident purpose; that
robbery was not his motive is shown by
the large amount of money found in the
rooms.
Hoff, who still maintains his inno-
cence, is a socialist and an anarchist,
and is reputed to be connected with
the nihilists No faith is put in his
statement that he is 67 years old The
explanation of his going to the police
office on his own yolition is found in the
fact that the other men on whom sus-
pcion at first rested did the same, and
their statements We're accepted by the
officers as satisfactory.