The Saint Paul globe., 1905-02-25
REWARD OFFERED FOR
BLOODY MURDERER
Mayor Puts Price of $1,000 on
Head of SchindeIdecker's
Slayer

One thousand dollars reward for the
apprehension of the murderer or muir
derers of Christian H. Schindeldecker,
or for any information leading to their
arrest and conviction, will be paid by
the city of st. Paul.
The following proclamation was is
sued yesterday morning by Mayor
Smith:
Whereas. on Saturday. Feb. 49, at No.
52S West Seventh street, a aw-abiding
and peaceful citizen in the person OF
Christian ii. Schindeldecker, while en-
gagged in the conduct of his business, was
In the open day. murdered under circum-
stances of exceptional brutality; and
Whereas. the efforts thus far made for
the discovery of the author or authors of
said crime have not resulted successfully.
NOW. therefore, L. Robert A. Smith,
mayor of the City-of ST. Paul, do hereby
by virtue of the authority vested in me
by the laws and ordinances of this city,
offer reward of the sum of $1,000 for
the arrest and conviction or for such in
formation as will lead to the arrest and
conviction of the murderer or murdererS
OF the said Christian II. Schindeldecker.
Robert A. Smith, Mayor.
Just one week ago today the body of
Schindeldecker was found in the rear
room of his butcher shop, 525 West
Seventh street, horribly mutilated. To-
day the murderer is still at large and
the police are apparently baffied. No
definite clew has yet been discovered
and the police are no nearer today to
the murderer of the unfortunate
butcher than they were the day of the
murder. Numerous clews have been
run down only to prove false, every
suspicion and theory that was at all
plausible has been carefully considered
and several suspects have been brought
before the authorities only to be re-
leased.
Three Important Theories
Theories without number have been
aired, but only three have been given
any serious consideration by the police
department, and of these, two have
frittered into nothingness. Theory No.
l was that the murderer was a friend
or relative of Schindeldecl1er, the mo-
tive of the crime, revenge. with rob-
bery as cloak; theory No. was to
the effect that the perpetrator of the
deed was an ex-convict, the motive
robbery, while according to theory No.
the murderer was negro.
That the author of the crime was an
eX-convict is scarcely probable, as the
crime was of a bungling nature. II is
a well known fact that a professional
burglar or thief will not resort to MUIR
der only as a last resort. Further, an
experienced criminal would not have
nailed down the latch of the front
coor, which action made considerable
noise, but would have simply inserted
a piece Of wood between the latch and
the upper iron.
Also, would 1t have been possible for
a man, stranger to Schindeldecker,
to have familiarized himself with the
interior or the shop, without attract
ing some attention?
The police say no. That the mur-
derer was familiar with every crook
and turn of the shop cannot be doubt
ed from the course he adopted.
Only friend or relative, they ar
que. could have accomplished this. as
the ordinary customer. while he might
nave easily become familiar with the
front OF the shop, could not have
known the arrangement or disposition
or the rear rooms. Therefore say the
police, even granting that the mur-
derer had visited the place prior to
the crime, he could not know anything
about the rear of the shop, and what
little evidence that has already come
to light conclusively shows that the
man who committed the deed knew
every nook and Granny of the entire
building
The only avenue of escape open to
the murderer was the gate i'm the rear
of the shop leading onto Banfl street
The street was well filed with per-
~o-o po~SihS W anu ITOIl WOrk ana
the presence of a negro on the street
at that hour could hardly have failed
to attract some notice.
When Murderer Worked
1t is now believed that five minutes
after Gerenz had left the shop. the
murderer entered it and that during
the next ten minutes the murder was
committed, the cash drawer and pock-
cts of the dead man rifled, and an es-
cape effected by the assassin.
That the murderer was well ac-
quainted, possibly a relative of his
victim, that there was something deem
er than robbery behind the crime, that
the murderer was familiar with the
shop and the habits of Schindeldecker.
and that he resided in the same part
of the city as did the murdered man. is
the only theory that has held water,
but as yet the police have been unable
to unearth the slightest clew as to
the murderer.
1t is believed by some who have fol-
lowed the crime that there are certain
people in the neighborhood where
Schindeldecker resided who could give
information that would lead to the ar
rest of the real criminal, but no one
has shown any intention of doing so.
Affairs at present are at a standstilI.
although the police are. still making a
determined effort to find something TO
work upon, but unless more substan-
tial clew than any that have here
tofore come to light is discovered
by the detectives, the murder of Schin-
deldecker will never be avenged.