Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-02-26
With Fourth Bride When
Arrested at Indian
apoIis.
CONFESSES TO MAYOR
Admits Having Served
Five Terms in
Prison.

Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 26.-Alfred
Knapp, the Indianapolis man arrested
yesterday, who confessed to the muir
der of his third wife, today made
full confession to five murders.
Among them is that of Ida Gebhard,
the West indianapolis girl who was
found murdered and outraged in a
stable, in July. 1895.
Hamilton, Ohio. Feb. 26.-Albert
Knapp, II, who was arrested at In
dianapolis by Captain of Police Len
chan and Capt Krucker, of the In
dianopolis police, and brought here
on suspicion of having murdered his
29-yearold wife, formerly Hannah
Goddard, of this city, last night made
Il clean breast of his crime.
All afternoon Prosecuting Attorney
Gard, Mayor o. S. Bosch. Director of
Police Mason and Chief of Police
Kuemmerling had the prisoner in the
sweatboX. Knapp long kept his nerve
and insisted he had seen no trace of
his wife since he kissed her goodbye
when she started to visit his sister,
Mrs. Edward King, in Cumminsville,
Cincinnati, on the morning of Dec. %,
1902.
Finally Mayor Bosch got Knapp
alone and by some persuasion secur-
ed complete and astonishing con-
fession. No promises were made to
Knapp, who told all and afterward
led the police to the spot on the
banks of the Miami river where he
had thrown the body in an old suck
er hole two miles below the city.
The police put charge of murder
against Knapp, and will today begin
digging for the body.
Makes Full Confession.
Knapp's confession. which he later
repeated to Chief Kuemmerling and
others. is given out as follows:
Il killed my wife. | did it at
o'clock on the morning of Dec. %. l
don't know why. for we never had
any trouble. | awoke that morning
in a dazed condition and grabbed her
by the neck as she lay in bed, When
l fully awoke | had her by the throat
and l gripped harder and harder. 1t
seemed that | could not let loose, and
l held on till she was dead.
Then l realized my terrible situa-
tion and started to get rid of the
body. l bought a store box for Is
cents and took it up to our rooms. /
doubled up my wife's legs and nailed
up the box. Then | got a wagon and
tried to put the box in. 1t was too
heavy and l got man who was pass
ing to help me, and then | started to
the river, not knowing where to go.
FINALLY, about a mile below town.
] stopped in a bunch of willows at
the sucker hole. \ mail carrier
drove by and 1 dumped the box out
and drove on. When he was out of
sight ] returned and threw the box
in the river, where you Will find it. l
did not murder my second wife, Jen-
ME Corners. who was found in the
canal at Cincinnati, Oct. 3, 1895. |
know nothing of her death
Serves Five Prison Terms.
Knapp admits he served five prison
terms, two in Jeffersonville. Ind, one
in Columbus, Ohio, for an attack on
Cincinnati school teacher, one in Jo-
liet for larceny in Chicago, and one
in Michigan City, Ind, for an attack
on a 13-year-old indianapolis girl.
The generally accepted police opin-
ion is that Knapp is a degenerate,
prompted by an insane frenzy for
crime against women and children.
John Gable. friend of Knapp, who
lives in the same house with Mrs.
Knapp's uncle, Charles Goddard. says
that last September he worked with
Knapp at the Carr mill. One day
Knapp, he asserts, proposed to him
that they go together to The home of
the Misses Graham.
sXNp.II the host II fbot1 ard
then kill them he said, and when
refused Knapp said: 'Pshaw. what's
the difference; nobody win ever know.
Wen throw their bodies in the river.
Ny wife has been treating me mean
lately. and 1 intend to serve her the
same way"
1t is now thought that Knapp, who
lived in the neighborhood, may have
been the author of the attack on the
Motzer children last fall.