The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1908-11-27
SENSATION IN
MURDER CASE
Paris Police and Press Have
Sought to Shield the Real
Criminals

Paris. Nov. 27.-Paris has been in
q state of intense excitement today
over the developments that have come
thick and fast since last night in the
Ste1nhefl murder case, and the SEN
sat1ons of the day made themselves
felt even in the chamber of deputies,
where many members declared they
would raise the question in the cham
Der. unless the government undertook
to probe the scandal to the bottom.
Madame Steinheil made confession
to two newspaper men last night. She
declared that man named Alexan-
dre Wolff was the murderer of her
husband. Wolff was arrested and ex-
amined by the authorities. He denied
all guilt and said he was ready to
prove an alibi. Madame Steinheil then
weakened and said If it was not Wolff,
the man who did commit the crime
resembled him strangely.
Then suspicion turned upon Madame
Steinheil herself, and at 6 o'clock 1t
was announced that she had been
locked up in the prison of st. Lazare
under warrant Of arrest. No charge,
however, was specified. Wolff also
was held, but not on a warrant.
One Of the surprises Of the day was
the revelation of the fact that Madame
Japy. who was murdered at the same
time as vas Steinheil, was not Madame
Steinheips mother. as had been sur
prised, but her step-mother.
The end of sensational day brought
a crop of sensational rumors. 1t was
said that Minister of Justice BRAND
had ordered an investigation of the
open charges that Madame Steinheil
had been the mistress of NJ. Leydett,
the examining magistrate in the case,
and that M. Leydette had been instru-
mental in sitting the investigation of
the case. Chief Of Detectives Hamard
was credited with the statement that
Wolff had practically established his
alibi and that open suspicion had been
cast upon Madame Steinheil Couil-
laud, the man arrested several days
ago on Suspicion, was released.
The local newspapers published ex-
ira editions throughout the day CIV
ing, under f1aring head lines, the de-
tails Of the woman's statement and
her subsequent examination by M.
Hamard, and the crowds on the boule-
wards fairly mobbed the newsboys in
their eagerness to read the latest de-
velopments.
Behind the interest in the crime
sonages, and the failure of the police
intimations that France is on the
verge of scandal involving high per-
sonlages, and the failure of the police
to clear up the mystery has led to the
open assertion that their lack of
energy is dictated by powerful politi-
cal reasons dating back to the death
in Paris in 1899 of Felix Faure, who
was at one time president of the re-
public.
The public appetite for sensation
was whetted further by NJ. Hamard
who announced at o'clock that the
mystery was not yet cleared up and
that a great surprise might be ex-
pected at any moment.
The crime in question was commit
ted the night of May 81. Madame Japy
was murdered at the same time as
Steinheil. Steinheil was portrait
painter and grand nephew of Meis-
sonier. The assassination of the wo-
man, however, is supposed to have
been incidental to the killing of Stein
he'll. Ae was the man 1t was desired
to get out of the way. Steinheil, his
wife. and Madame Japy lived together
The wife was found bound and gagged
In bed, and at first she declared that
she had been thus treated by three
men and a woman all unknown to her
Alexandra Wolff, the man accused by
Madame Steinheil, is the son of q
woman who was formerly employed
in the Steinheil family as a cook. He
and his mother, whose name is Mari
cite, were at once arrested. 1t trans
pired, however, that Madame Stein
he'll was not the first person to accuse
Wolff. A mechanic named Wagner
told the police a few days after the
cnima that Wolff had aMddonlu cano