The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1907-01-03
HYPNOTIzEO INTO
COMPOSING MURDER
Professor Munsterberg's Charge
Against Chicago Police.
TWO ALLEGED VICTIMS NAMED
Strange Theory About Richard G.
Jvens, Who Was Hanged For
Staying Mrs. Hollister-Nicho-
las Says He Was Under a Spell.

Chicago.-The theory advanced by
Professor Munsterberg that Richard
G. Ivens was hypnotized into con-
Tossing the murder of Mrs. Hollister,
for which he was hanged, is denied
by those best in q position to know
the facts, but Howard Nicholas, in
dicted for s~trangling to death Mrs.
Margaret Leslie, an actress, on Oc-
tober Is. and rohbing her of $4,000
worth Of diamonds. declares that a
confession vas hypnotized out of him
by Assistant Chief of Police Schuet-
tier.
Assistant Chief of Police Sehuet-
tier. who was present when Ivens'
confession was first made, said:
This charge that Ivens confessed
killing Mrs. HoIlister while under
a hypnotic spell is not new. 1t was
n of the points insisted on by the
defence at the time of the trial, and
whatever there might have been in.
the theory was brought out as strong
~ then as Professor Munsterberg
has outlined it.
"It has come to be the fashion to
charge me with exercising hypnotic
power over accused men.
"Ivens was in custody a very short
time after the body of Mrs. HOLSTER
was found. He was taken to the
police station and was asked point
blank if he had not murdered Mrs.
HOLSTER. He broke down and con-
fessed then and there.
There were details in the confess
sion hat the reading public never
heard of. By no possible means
could these details have been sug-
gested to Ivens hypnotically by
another person., and yet there de-
veloped after the confession evidence
that what Ivens said was true. 1
don't think the man. even by So
called auto-suggeStion. could have
invented these Details"
"Ivens was guilty beyond any
question of doubt" said State At
torney Healy. who also heard the
confession. He could not have made
the confessi1 IN he did if he had not
beer guilty.
DR.. ]. Sanderson Christisor. a
specialist. prepared a long pamphlet
on the IVens case. in which he took
the ground that the defendant was
hyDnotized by a police official.
Those who are familiar with the
details of the whole case are almost
unanimously If not entirely so. that
Ivens was neither hvDnotized by
another nor by himself. There are
many in Chicago. however, who be-
1ieve others were implicated with
Ivens in the crime.
The assertions made by Nicholas
in this connection are more remark
able than those made by Ivens, and
it was not until a few DAYS ago that
the alleged murderer of Mrs. Leslie
made to Attorney Erbstein the dec
laration that he had been hypnotized
by Schuettler.
81 am innocent of the crime with
which I am charged" said the pris-
Oner. 81 made the confession while
under hypnotic influence. When
was taken into the Office of Assistant
Chief Schuettler he fastened his eyes
upon mine. Instantly I felt a pc,
culiar sensation pass through my
body. I became absolutely helples:
and my mind became a blank. Al
I could see were the cold. piercing
eyes of Schuettler. I could SCI
twelve Schuettlers all about me. L
I turned to the left Or If l turned
to the right I could see nothing bu'
SchuettIer,"