Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-28
Lawyer ellis Of Tekemah, Neb., Says
He Saw Mrs. Luetgert.
ASKED Elm TO SECURE A DIVORCE
This Was May 81 or 28--Woman
Identified by Her Picture.
PROGRESS OF THE TRIAL


Waie ellis. an attorney of this place,
claims to have seen the wife of A. l.. Luet-
CERT, who is now on trial in Chicago for her
murder, long after the woman's body is
supposed to have been boiled to pieces in
the sausage factory. He says the woman
came to MIN in the latter part of May and
consulted with him about getting divorce.
His story is as follows:
Il don't like to talk of this matter, but
it is true. l think l saw this woman who
is said to have been murdered. Perhaps l
can do the accused husband no good, for
may not be able to convince the jury that
/ saw Mrs. Luetgert, but if l did not gee
the woman, L saw person who resembles
her in every particular.
Reason He Did Not Speak.
Why did not l speak of it before? For
the very good reason that it never occurred
to me that the woman l saw was Mrs. Luet-
CERT until L entered the court room in Chi
cage Wednesday and heard the latter &c
scribed by one of the witnesses. Then 1
hunted up a photograph of Mrs. Luetgert
and then 1 was certain that l knew some
important facts about the case. said
nothing about it at the time.
Why? Because l W Is in charge of other
business. and our court opens here today
and L could not afford to be detained in
Chlcaso as witness, ana IL tolu all those
lawyers Tor that man what knew might
not have got back home for month.
About noon of May u or IS, l am not
certain which, woman, poorly clad i'll
black dress. entered my law office. She in
qured at once if ] was lawyer, and said
she wanted to consult me about a divorce
suit. She was very nervous.
She said she lived in Chicago where her
husband was wealthy. She had come to
Nebraska from some point to the north,
she said, either Michigan Wisconsin, /
am not certain. She had left her husband
because of his cruelty. and was anxious 10
know if her deserving him would affect her
chances for securing divorce and the Gus
tody of her two children. She said she had
two boys whom she wanted.
She Wanted a Divorce.
''She said she had come to this state be-
cause she understood 1t was easy to get
divorce here. She said she had no money,
but could get some, and desired to know
the full cost of suit. l told her, and she
inquired the way to a hotel saying she
would return in the afternoon and close
the case. l intended to ask her more about
herself when she returned. She did not
tell me her name, and all the time seemed
to want to avoid publicity. That was the
last l saw of her
When l was in the court room in Chica-
go Wednesday last and heard the descrip-
ton of Mrs. Luetgert by one of the wit
neSSeS, L was Sat1SneQ that my strange
visitor was the wife of the sausage max er.
When l got to Omaha last night wired
to the attorneys for the defense, telling
them part of what 1 have here recited.
They wired me to please come to Chicago
at once"
Luetgert's Attorneys Pleased.
CHICAGO. septemte r 2s.-Attorney Vim
cent of the defense is elated over the news
from Tekemah, Neb. He has not decided
whether to have Attorney ellis make a
deposition in Burt county, Nebraska, or
have him come to Chicago as witness to
testify regarding the woman he believes
was Mrs. Luetgcrt.
Talk of Perjury Charged.
limitations that perjury had been COM
mittcd by witnesses for the defense in the
Luetgert murder trial were heard around
the criminal court building today coupled
with suggestion of the grand jury investi-
cation. 1t was said that the prosecution
seriously contemplated seeking the in
dictment of Mary Siemering before the
grand jury now in session During the
time Mary Siemering was on the witness
stand she was questioned sharply by As
sistant States Attorney McEwen relative
to her testimony before the grand jury
which indicted Luetgert. She admitted
that her story before that body as we'll as
kersten, who held Luetgert for trial, was
different in material points to the evidence
she gave at the present trial Her ex-
PLANTATION of the discrepancy was that In
spector Setback had threatened her when
she appeared before the grand jury tell
ing her that if she did not testify against
Luetge-t she would be punished.
Denied by Setback.
Inspector Schaak denounces this state
ment as utterly false. During her story
of. what took place in the East Chicago
avenue police station after her arrest,
Mary Siemeris4g related incidents in which
Assistant States Attorney McEwen's name
figured unpleasantly. The narration
aroused the blood Of the official, who
plainly says the witness falsified, and he
intimated this morning that Mary Stem
ering might have another court experience
in which the charge would be perjury.
The court proceedings opened today with
the appearance upon the witness stand of
DIR. Clarence Rutherford, the Luetgert
family physician. He testified to Mrs
Luetgert's physical condition, stating that
she was in fairly good health. Attorney
Phaten inquired as to the woman's mental
condition. States attorney objected to the
question unless the witness qualified as
an expert upon mental diseases. DR.. Ruth
erford could not do this, and after stating
that he visited the Luetgert family twice
each month and never saw any unpleasant
the witness stand.
Opdyke's Positive Testimony.
An interesting witness was Armadale
Opdyke. a fruit vender from near James
vile. Wis. Opdyke was positive. He said
that on May he was in the vicinity OF
Lake Zurich, near GAINESVILLE. with horse
and wagon. On the night of May o he
camped out, sleeping out in his wagon In
small grove near him he saw two wo-
men. They were lying on the ground and
said they were going to remain there dur
ing the night. Opdyke said he carried an
armful of hay from his wagon to the wo-
men and they made a bed of 1t. The wit
ness positively and Internationally identi-
fed photograph Of Mrs. Luetgert as one
of the women he saw in the woods near
Lake Zurich the night of May g. Opdyke
said he could not be mistaken. He was alb
solutely sure that one of the women was
Mrs. Luetgert On cross-examination he
acknowledged that his identification was
based purely upon the resemblance of Mrs.
Luetgerts picture to one of the women.
Maggie Shaughnessy of 1913 North Robey
street was put on the witness stand to
strengthen the impeachment evidence
against Emma Schimpke. Witness was
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