The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-04
STANDS BY FATHER WALSER.
PRIEST BROTHER or MURDERED
GIRL FLAWS POLICE.
In Church lie Dcn0unccs the Arrest Of Ilis
Guest. Father WaIser-The Girl Muir
dered with a stone She Kept in Her
Room-Great Crowd At Her Funeral.

| ROOm-(:reat Crowd At Her Funeral.
1oRAiN. Ohio, May s.-The mystery
surrounding the death OF Agatha Reichlin.
who WAS murdered on Thursday, In the
home of her brother, priest. remains AZ
deep as before. The Rev. Father Walser,
who is charged with the crime. spent the
day in Jail sleeping.
The police are a. firmly convinced as
they were when the bloodhounds com
pleted their work that Father Walser is
the guilty man, On the other hand there
are hundreds of men and women who are
loyal to the priest and who declare that
he did not commit the crime.
To-day Father Reichlin. brother OF the
! murdered girl. preached as usual at st.
Josephs Church. The e<lifice was crowded
to the doors. Calm and dignified, he de-
nounced the police for perpetrating what
he said was an outrageous injustice.
His intensity of feeling and perfect self
control won the admiration of all who heard
and saw him. Later in the day when the
body of the unfortunate girl was borne
from the house to church, he followed
the casket and personally sang the re. uiem.
A report was in circulation that two men
were seen carrying ladder on the night OF
the murder from the house of William
Sheehan toward the Rechlin home. There
is evidence that burglars were at work in
| the neighborhood 1t is a point favorable
to Father Waser. Casimr Reichlin.
brother of the priest refuses to aid the police
and the police have not yet made an attempt
to examine infinitely all the clothing Of the
arrested priest.
In spite of the attitude of the Reichlin
brothers toward the detectives and police,
those al work on the case discovered to-
day that the stone used by the murderer
was not brought from the outside of the
house, but was ono which the dead girl
had in her room for many months She
had used it to keep open the door leading
into the hall From this the police infer
that the crime was inspired by what oc
CURED within the room after the invasion
of the murderer.
The murderer did not enter the room
prepared to do murder. The door Of the
girls room leading into that occupied by
the arrested priest, was so barred that it
could not be orened from her side, but
could be from Father Walsers side.
The ladder which was found Leading from
the attic window Immediately after the
murder was SO old and rotten that it would
have been difficult for man of ordinary
weight to have used il.
neighboring grocer informed the de-
tectives that on the night Of the murder
a man stood near his store for several
ing the windows of the Reichlin house.
The identity of this prowler is a mystery
which may have some bearing on the case.
Father Walser passed a quiet Sunday
in his cell at the county Jail. He ate mod
eately and slept good part of the day,
Only two visitors applied for admission.
These were priests who said they came
from Lorain, but gave no names. AS the
Sheriff was absent. they didn't get in.
and was horn at Fedkirch. vorarlaberg
Dec. 4. 1882 His parents died when no
was an infant. During his childhood
he was cared for by his uncle. who sent
him to the common schools until he was
~ years old.
In 1887 he came to America and continued
his studies AT ST. Charles Seminary at Car
thagena, Ohio, for nine years: He was or
ciained to the priesthood on March II. 1873.
8 quarter Of century. He immediately
took charge of the Catholic Church at ST.
Joseph Ohio. Two and one-half years
later he went to northwestern Kansas,
assuming charge of the churches in five
counties.
Later his health failed and he was trans
ferred to Glenwood. Ohio, where he sue
ceeded in increasing the membership and
erecting a 5000 church and a handsome
parsonage,
Later he was sent to Padua. where he
remained three years. From there he
went to Charleston. Mo. There he built
a parsonage, schoolhouse and home for
teachers Five years later he was assigned
to the pastorate of the Montrose parish
at Charleston. and began to finish the
church edifce. then uncompleted. Later
he was transferred to the Fort Wayne. Ind.
mission house, then to Lorain, where he
filed a vacancy until last October, when
he went 10 East Toledo to assist in the work
of the Sacred Heart parish.
Father Walser has travelled much and
ia known to many thousands of Catholics
in the United States He is esteemed as
a man OF broad intellectual attachments.
He celebrated his silver jubilee at Rens-
selaer, Ind, on March II last.
He ceased his labors with the Sacred
Heart parish on last Tuesday. leaving for
Cleveland and Lorain on Wednesday.
He was going to Massillon to take charge
Of st. Mary's German Catholic parish.
He had endeared himself 80 thoroughly
to the membership of tho large Sacred
Heart parish that not one was heard to-day
to express any other thought than that
they believed the pastor to be innocent.