Richmond planet., 1906-06-23
TWENTY YEARS
FOR KIDNAPPING
John j. Kean Sentenced fO1
Crime. Wanted Money.


Philadelphia. June 20.-Twcnty years
Of hard labor in solitary confinement
In the Eastern penitenuary was the
sentence pronounced on John Joseph
kean. the abductor of little Freddie
Muth. The enormity OF the mans
crime. which had aroused the whole
city. stirred the officers OF the law
70 quick action, and the swiftness with
which Justice moved has never been
eQualled IN this community. Kean
tell into the clutches OF the law Mon
day afternoon about the time the
courts were closing. Promptly at 10
o'clock Monday morning he was pho
tOgraphed and measured by the Bcr-
tillon method Twenty-Five minutes
later he had been arraigned before a
magistrate and committed 20 court
without bail The grand jury quickly
found a true bill. and at 1l.2O a. m.
he was in the criminal court awaiting
his turn 60 face Judge SuizberEcr. He
pleaded guilty. and shortly after IL
O'Clock the Judge passed sentence
upon him, and at 100 the great iron
doors OF the penitentiary closed be
hind him. In his quick trip from lib-
erty 20 the solitude Of Cherry Hill
no friendly hand or voice was raised
in the prisoners behalf. II he behaves
himself his sentence. under the law.
will be reduced 20 12 years and three
months. The court had the power to
give him a life sentence.
Much sympathy is expressed for the
wife and three children Kean leaves
without means OF support. Mrs. Kean
Is prostrated by the shock and disgrace
that the abduction has brought upon
the family. She will break up her
home here and remove 20 New York,
where she has relatives.
From the day of the Kidnapping
until the arrest Kean had kept the
child in three vacant houses in West
Philadelphia Meantime the entire
detective and police force Of this city
were conducting an unremitting
search. and the authorities OF other
cities had been furnished with a de-
scription OF the boy and his captor.
with instructions to keep a lookout for
the pair
The first information that Kean and
his captive were in the vicinity in
which the arrest was eventually made
came from Joseph Sager. a baker at
Goth street and HaverfOrd avenue,
who told a policeman last week that
he had seen man and boy answering
the description Of the pair in an
oyster saloon at 6013 Haverford ave
nue. shortly after midnight last We'd
nssday. Special Officers Clare and
Vaf0 yVAro
the case AID instructed TO remain In
that neighboThood until further or
ders. They Immediately began a
search of all the vacant buses in the
neighborhood. and their search led
them to the very ho1se occupied by
the abductor and the child. The
dwellings were so constructed. how
ever. that by means of a rear shed
Kean was able To elude the police by
climbing into the back windows of
two adjoining houses. which were also
unoccupied. second investigation
resulted in the recovery of the boy
and the arrest of the kidnapper.
SageT, the baker, was acquainted
with Kean. and the police were thus
enabled To obtain his address. They
visited his home and learned from his
wife that he had not been there with
her knowledge since last Monday, the
day previous TO the abduction. She
stated, however, that he had evidently
crept into the house, as a pillow. an
overcoat and cape were missing
With this clue to work on, the police
redoubled their efforts. They were
certain of the identity of the man. but
all doubts in this direction were re-
moved when Charles J. Cooke. a real
estate dealer. appeared at headquar-
ters with a complaint that John 10.
seph Kean, who had acted as collector
and agent for him. had embezzled
$40O. Specimens of his handwriting
were shown the police. and they were
found 10 be identical with the writing
I'm the letters which the abductor had
begun sending 70 Mr.. Mush