The San Francisco call., 1905-02-01
EVIDENCE
Of MURDER
DISCOVERED
At Least One Of
HOCh'S Wives
Poisoned.
Chicago Police Believe His
Victims Will Number
Twelve.
Supposed Eigamist Arrested in New
York Declares Es Is Not the
Man Wanted.
Special Dispatch to IN. Call.

CHICAGO. Jan. 3l-Poison has been
found in the stomach OF Mrs welker
Hoch, the next to the last wife Of
Johann Roch. The partial result Of
chemical analysis was announced to
day Coroner, Hoffman said he now
considers the evidence of murder
against Hoch to be strong. Chief of Po-
lice O'Neill. meantime. declared his be-
lief that Hoch. married to more than
q score Of women. has murdered at
least twelve Of them. Coroner Hofr-
man said:
4 talked With DR.. Lewke to-day. and
he told me poison had been found. The
detailed result OF the test is not
known We can convict Hoch now
The statement as to thegtwelve mur-
oers was made by O'Neil in "a letter
written by him to Captain James +.
Langan Of the detective bureau Of New
York, in which he requested the
Gotham Police Department to follow
q clew given through an anonymous
letter received by Inspector Shippv
from a woman living at the Belvidere
Hotel. Eighteenth street and Fourth
avenue, New York. In this letter 1t is
lnumated that Hoch married two New
York women, whom he abandoned.
A dispatch from Minneapolis saws DR..
G. l. Hart, who on the night Of June
IS, 1909, tried TO poison his bride of
three days. Mrs Mabel Leichman Hart,
the actress, is supposed to be Hoch
descriptions OF the men tally. say the
police, and their general characteristics
are the same
The more The police and States At
torney in Chicago attempt to unravel
the tangled mix-up in this case the
worse ii becomes. An attempt was
made 10 have Hoch indicted by the
Grand Jury to-day on charges of wife
abandonment and bigsmy- The COM
pialnauts were Mrs. Amelia Augusta
Fischer Hoch. Mrs Anna Hendrickson
Eoch and Mrs. Marie Goerk Hoch. 1t
Was found, however that in bigamv
cases q wife cannot testify against her
husband and that witnesses to the
marriage must be found before action
can be taken. AS the marriages took
place in many different cities. there
will be a long delay before witnesses
can be gathered to give testimony
against Iioch sufficient TO convict him
Some details of the California end to
the history Of Hoch were learned by
Police Inspector Wheeler to-day Mrs
Reichel, widow Of a saloon keeper.
says that Hoch paid attentions to her
across the country from the Pacific
Coast. According TO Inspector Wheeler.
Mrs. Reichel has known Hoch as John
Hoeck for the last five years. When
shown a picture Of the man to-day the
woman identified it as the man who
Courted her in 1904. Three letters,
dated at San Francisco on February
u. Is and Is, 1904, and written
in German, were given to the police
and translated. On the reverse side of
one Of the envelopes was written:
If not delivered in ten days return
10 John Hoeck, 1l04 Clay street, San
Francisco" The letters were written
by Hoch while in the California city
and speak Of the writer's love for the
widow.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31-Johann Hoch
Of Chicago, who was arrested here last
night charged with bigamy and wife
abandonment, after a search extending
throughout the entire country told the
officials at Police Headquarters this
morning that he was anxious to re-
turn TO Chicago at once
When Hoch was arraigned in the Po-
lice Court he was remanded back to
police headquarters for forty-eight
hours. AS the prisoner was leaving the
courtroom he said:
Yes. I am the man wanted in Chi
cago, but they are mistaken as to the
charges. l am wanted for some trou-
Die i had with my Slster-ln-law about
some furniture. The story that l am
2 'Bluebeard' is all foolishness. IN
make somebody feel cheap when | get
back to Chicago. and prove 1 am in
nocent. 1 never had but two wives in
my life"
Some one asked il Hoch meant two
al one time. He laughed
DO you think I'm Mormon?" he
asked. Il know the stories. But look
at me- Would I be fat and happy if /
had a hundred wives2'