The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-02-11
FINGER PRINTS TELL STORY
Murderer Of Elsie Mi|huff DisC0v-
cred by Cory Mark
LOUIS HEMsTER DECLARED INSANE
MAN WHO CUT LITTLE GIRLS
THROAT HAS BEEN TRACED
BY HIS DlGlTS.

Louis Hemeter, the suspected muir
derer of Elsie Milhuff. the little
Renton girl, the killing of whom caused
so much excitement last May, was de-
clared to be insane by a lunacy COM
mission called by Superior Judge Smell
in Tacoma last week.
Hemeter has been in the Pierce
county Jail for several months await
ing sentence. He was convicted of at
lacking two little girls at Sumner.
Hemeter was at one time in the King
county Jail because of his claims that
he knew something about the murder
of Elsie Milhuff at Renton on May 20.
There was no evidence to warrant the
necessity of holding MIN.
Since being in Jail in Tacoma. Hem
eter's finger prints We're taken by Dep
uty Sheriff Maxey of Kittitas county.
and compared with the imprints of
bloody fingers found on a garment
worn by the Milhuff girl. These prints
have been declared identical.
The physicians who examined Heme-
ter declare he is pervert and dang
erous.
Finger Prints Submitted.
Deputy Sheriff Maxey will appear
before the meeting Of the sheriffs of the
state at Olympia today to show to the
members of the organization the pho
tographs and drawings of finger prints
OF Hemeter.
Maxey will produce the original
prints of the index finger and the
thumb of Hemeters right hand and
compare them with the prints of the
bloody marks found on the child's
clothing, showing the identical similar
itv. He will demonstrate in other ways
the value of the finger print system for
identifying criminals.
The more Maxey studies the draw
ings of the finger prints which are re-
produced in the rough with this story,
the more is he convinced that Heme-
ter is the man who killed the little girl
by cutting her throat.
4hu\ty, ll\ lISo dl I1llcliSDuIS. eau
Of the crime. He had long been a stu
dent of the finger print system. He
quietly went to Renton after everyone
else had given up the search and went
over the ground. He obtained the
clothing the girl wore at the time of
her death, and photographed bloody
finger prints found on the white gar
ments. He ascertained that an timer
ant clock reDairer had been in that
vicinity that afternoon.
Eiemeter Knows Too Much.
! A few months ago Louis Hemeter
was arrested at a little town in Pierce
county charged with attacking two
| LITTLE girls. Soon after he was placed
! in Jail he voluntarily told the officers
of the murder of the Milhuff child. He
was we'll supplied with the details of
the crime and he wanted to talk of
the case whenever anyone would listen
to MIN. The mans demeanor grew sus-
| picious.
! MaXey went to Tacoma, and toe}1
prints of Hemeters fingers and thumbs
These he sent to the United States
government prison at Fort Leaven-
worth for enlargement and comparison.
The result of the comparisons was
sent to MaXey, and so close is the
similarity in the prints that he be-
| lieves it is q big of strong circumstan-
| tial evidence.
Maxey Talks.
Many persons have ridiculed me
for my stand in this finger print mat
ter, said Maxey in a letter to The
Times. and one newspaper in Seattle
| pronounced the system a fake. It is
strange if the finger print system is a
fake that the government will adopt it
! for the Identification Of soldiers and