Evening journal., 1903-02-27
KNAPP SAYS HE
MURDERED FIVE
Horrible Confession of Man
Arrested on Suspicion of
Killing His Third Wife
SUSPECTED OF OTHER MURDERS

Hamilton, o., Feb. 27.-Five muir
ders, the victims of which were all
women, and two of them his wives
such is the revolving record of Albert
Knapp, given yesterday in sworn
confession given by the murderer be-
fore Mayor Bosch.
Knapp, according to the police, is
degenerate of a pronounced type The
murder of his third wife, Annie Cod
dard Knapp, which led to his arrest
Wednesday at the home of his newly
welded wife, in indianapolis, was
done, Il don't know why" to quote the
prisoner.
Knapp's confession, which was
sworn to before Mayor Bosch, is as
follows:
Il have killed Eve women. On jan
uary "a. 1894, killed Emma Littleman
in a lumber yard in Gest street Gin
cinnati On August /, 1894 | killed
May Eckert, in Walnut street, oppo-
site the Y. NJ. c. A., in Cincinnati. On
August Z, 1894, l killed my wife, Jen-
ME Connors Knapp. under the canal
bridge, in Liberty street, Cincinnati,
and threw her body into the canal In
indianapolis, in July, 1895, killed Ida
Gebhard. On December p, 1902, l
killed my wife, Annie Knapp, in Ham
ilton. and threw her into the river at
Lindewald. This is the truth.
Il make this statement by my own
free will and not by the request of
any officer or any one else"
Knapp is now suspected Of stran-
Cling three women at Evansville, Ind,
and to have killed women elsewhere.
He was in the Cincinnati House cf
Refuge when II years old, and new
records are being discovered almost
hourly.
Pressed as to further details. Knapp
said he met the Littleman girl, who
was really only a child, in a lumber
yard, assaulted her. and then choked
her to death when she made an outcry.
When he killed Mary Eckert he went
to a room after her, assaulted her, and.
said Knapp, when she cried l stran-
gled her with a towel and hurried
from the house."
Il was angry at my wife, Jennie
Connors Knapp, when killed her. We
were walking along Liberty street.
sat her down under the bridge on
some pretext or other and choked her
to death. deny that I poisoned her.
1 never told any one that I did. When
she was dead / threw her body into
the canal.
'I killed Ida Gebhard, but my men,
ory is not clear as to what I did. 1
cannot tell what made me kill the peo-
pie. l could not help it. Some kind of
a desire to kill took hold of me and 1
could not resist the temptation to kill.
am sorry for my crimes, but now
hope they will be easy with me"
After the confessions a formal
charge of murder in the first degree
was fled A Cincinnati attorney was
allowed to see Knapp and told him to
make no further statement. Knapp
was surprised that his people had Sc
cured a lawyer for him. Knapp talks
much of the Pearl Bryan murder and
IS afraid of being lynched There is
little danger, however, that the course
Of law will be interfered with.
Knapp made a long statement last
night at the jail. He adhered to his
written confession and added some
points. OF these the most interesting
relates to the fate of his first wife,
Emma Stubs. whose fate had been
overlooked. Knapp declares that she
IS still alive and is now in Louisville,
Ky. He says that she got a divorce
from him. Knapp was asked why he
committed his various crimes and how
he felt.when he was choking a woman
TO death
He said: 'I can't tell. l was seized
with an irresistible desire to choke
them, and / can't help It. l could not
let go when / once began, even if
wanted to. I never feel any remorse,
only a feeling of satisfaction when
know that they are dead. used my
hands in every case, except that Of
Mary Eckert. I choked that woman
with towel, but could have done it
with my hands. l got acquainted with
Mary in Dayton, o., through an adver-
tisement, and when she went to Gin
cinnati l visited ner at her room and
choked her to death one night
Every doctor who has seen Knapp
here agrees that he is a moral per
vert, similar to "Jack the Ripper" ex-
cept that he finds satisfaction in
choking women and children.