Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-24
HOCH IS EXECUTED
CONTINUED from First Page)


pronounced German accent saying:
Father. forgive them for they know not
what they do. l must die an innocent man.
Good bye" He bit off the last few words
in crisp concsive fashion and just as
soon he had uttered them the drc3
sell.
Dr. Mcnamara, the county physician.
was at Hoch's side the instant he fell and
declared that death had been instantane-
Gus. the neck having been broken.
History of the Case.
Hoch is believed to have come originally
from Horrweiler, a small town in Ger
many not far from Bngen-on-th Rhine
His father, Jacob Schmitt, is said to still
reside there A WIFE supposed to be the
first wife of Hoch, is also living the
same place.
Hoch has always been reticent regard
ing his career in this country, and his
first wife, married in the United States. is
believed to have been Mrs Martha Stein
brecher. to whom he was married in 1895
After living with Hoch for four months
she died. the cause of death being given
as nephritis. in November, 1896. he mar
ried Mary Rankin in this city and left
her the day after the wedding because
she refused to give him money. In April,
1895. Hoch married Martha Hertzfield and
left her in four months after obtaining
from her $500. His next wife is said to
have been Mary Hoch of Wheeling. w. Va.
She died of nephritis after three months
| Ioch has always denied this marriage and
declared that he merely assumed the
! woman's name
| In the fall of 1896 Hoch married Clara
Bartell of Cincinnati and she died within
! three months of the marriage. In Janu-
airy. 1897, he was married to Julia Dose
in Hamilton. o., and abandoned her after
obtaining 500.
In April 1898, Hoch arrested in this
city for selling mortgaged furniture and
served two years in the house of correc-
ton.
In November. 1901. he was married to
Mrs. Anna Goehrke of Chicago, but aban-
doned her after failing to SbtS.:. any money
| from her. April s, 1902 he married. in ST.
Louis. Mrs. Mary Becker. who died early
in 1903. Her relatives have claimed she
! was poisoned.
December TO- 1901. Hoch was married to
Mrs. Marie Welcker. widow of this city,
| the woman for whose murder he was con-
| demned. December 20 the woman became
| i'll and January ~ she died, the cause of
death being stated in the physicians GER
| ti1cate as nephritis. Five days later Hoch
married Mrs. Emile Fischer, "A sister of
| Mrs. Welcker-Hoch. He obtained $3.50 from
her and disappeared. January 10 the hast
| Mrs Hoch reported to the police the dis
| appearance OF her husband Suspicion was
| aroused by her story and the body of Mrs.
Wecker-Hoch was exhumed and 76 grains
| of arsenic were found in the stomach.
Search made for Hoch and he was
| finally discovered in New York. where his
| landlady, Mrs. Kimmerly, reported that she
believed her boarder to be Hoch, because
| he had proposed marriage to her on the
day of his arrival in her house. He was
arrested and later brought to Chicago.
| Was Married Thirteen Times.
] Hoch, after being placed in jail here,
| admitted that he had been married thirteen
/ times, but always denied that he had
caused the death of any of his wives. He
was placed on trial April 10 and on May
| 20 the jury returned verdict finding him
guilty of murder and fixing the punish
ment at death. On June sentence was
passed on him, the date of the execution
being set for June %. Governor Deneen
granted him a reprieve until July 2s
| Within one hour of the time set for his
execution Hoch was given a second respite
| until August %. Before this date arrived,
| however, the supreme court of the state
| granted a supersedeas to permit of the
consideration of his case by the court.
December Is the court handed down a de-
cision, affirming the verdict in the lower
court and fixing the date of execution for
/ February %.
The last effort made by Hoch to secure a
new trial ended on February 81, when Gov
ernor Deneen and the Board of Pardons
refused to interfere in his behalf 1t was
alleged before the board by Mrs. Emelie
Fischer-Hoch that she had been so bounded
| by the police that she had committed per-
jury during the trial and that much of
the evidence which she had given against
| Hoch was not true. A physician also de-
clared that the death Of Mrs. welcker-
Hoch had been caused by kidney disease
and not by arsenical poisoning. On cross
examination before the board, however, he
admitted that he had not made a post
norton examination Of the body of Mrs
! Welcker-Hoch, while three physicians who
had conducted such an examination de-
clared that death was caused by arsenic.