The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1904-12-30
MURDER TRIAL Al NEW ULA
NUMBER OF NORFOLK YOUNG
MEN WERE THERE.
TRIAL OF MYSTERY BEGAN TO-DAY

mate OF Or. Mite lstadt OF Norfolk,
Was Found Dead-Dr. Koch, a RI.
val Dentist, is Accused.
i'rom Tuesdays Daily
The famous murder case at New
/ Ulm., Mimi, in which Dr. q. X. Koch.
dentist there, is charged with kin.
ing Dr Gebhardt, another dentist, and
the trial of which began in that city
than IA mere general interest for Nor.
folk people. Not only Is there local
color attached To the mysterious crime
in the fact that Dr. Il. A. Mittclstadt,
Il Norfolk dentist, sat directly behind
the murdered man all through his col.
lcgc career, but IA large number OF
Norfolk young mon, who attend col
lCgC In New Ulm, were shortly ON the
spot whore the crime was committed
and are familiar with the many pcCu.
liar details of tho most remarkable
murder.
Among those who are attending col.
lCGc at New Ulm from Norfolk is ed.
mund Winter, son of H. W. Winter.
lie has been closely following the
case, having bCou in the building soon
after the dead dentist was discovered.
lie is now in Norfolk on his holiday
vacation, and told the story OF the
crime, as he had learned 1t from New
Tim air.
GcbhardL was Il young dentist I'M
married, working In his Office at New
Ulm. On November 20 he was killed.
He was killed by some person who
had entered his Office locked the door.
and who. after committing the crime,
escaped out of a window, working his
way to the ground by clingng to tel
cphone wires, and who has not been
definitely traced since that time.
Editor Saw Murder.
The murdered dentist died from
blows ON the head and with a small
hammer, and from stabs into his
breast and face with knife The fur
niture in his rom was overturned In
the conflict which must have preceded
death, and the walls were bospattorod
with blood. After the murder hand
kcrchicf bearing the initials &c. r. K.'
was found in the room, cOlOrod with
blood. And a most peculiar fact in
connection with the case is the wit
Messing by an editor, Asa Brooks. of
the whole affair, through the transom
and the inability or unwIlingncss of
Brooks to testify as to the murderer
Brooks runs a newspaper Office in
the same building. He heard a noise
upstairs, ran mp TO learn the trouble,
found Gebhardts door locked and
climbed up to the transOm. There
through the aperture. he was astound
ed to see the helpless form Of the den
tst being mutilatcd and manglcd by
the fiendish drives of a knife into his
body. He saw the man who was send
ing that knife into the victim. He ran
down stairs, called another witness
and again went to the transOm. This
time, instead Of having escaped the
murderer, crouchinE behind the safe,
two witnesses. Then the witnesses
left, to call others Meanwhile the
murderer escaped, going out of a win
dow to the ground.
All outgoing trains were watched
and the detectivcs-Of whom there
were many at work on the case-were
satisfied that the murderer still re-
mained in the town of New Ulm
There was a public meeting in
which resolutions to find the murderer
were passed A committee of citizens
was appointed to search down the
murderer. The only clew which was
available seemed to be the handker
chief bearing the initials &c. r. X"
The Handkerchief.
This handkerchief, naturally, i'm
mediately suggested DR.. George X.
Koch, a rival dentist in the town OF
New Ulm Koch said that the hand
kerchief, he thought, had been stol-
en- from his pocket by a cocaine fiend
who, claiming to be a dentist had
called a few days before He de-
clared the cocaine fiend had begged
for drugs a second time and had
been refused. And that, likely, steal
ing the handkerchief, which Koch
had missed after the fellow left, he
had gone to Gebhardt, been refused,
and, later, stealing into the Office |
had approached the dentist busily
him on the head with a hammer and
had later stabbed him to death.
Koch set up an alibi which was ac
cepted for a time in New Ulm.
Later there were attempts made to !
prove that the person who murdered |
Gebhardt was a woman. This was
done because, according to Brooks,
the murderer had small hands and a
delicate makeup, One photographer