Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-10
Inquest Begun Into Rochester
Cemetery Murder.
JED AT VIRGINS SHRINE
Victim Had Gone to Strew Flowers
on Her Fathers Tomb.
FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE
Revealed to Searchers by Rabbit
Running Into Brush That
Hid the Mound

ROCHESTER. \. Y, August Joanna
Schumacher's murder. which was dis
covered yesterday, when. after a search
extending over two nights and day.
her body found n a secluded
spot in Holy Sepulchre cemetery here,
partly covered with eafth and leaves. was
still mystery when the coroner's inquest
began today Relatives of the dead girl,
the constable who found the body and
people who saw the girl going to and in
the cemetery Saturday afternoon had
been subpoenaed to appear Employees of
the cemetery and of St. Demands Semi
nary. which is located near the burial
ground also were summoned District
Attorney Widener conducted the examna-
tion of witnesses. The autopsy completed
last night proved beyond doubt that
criminal assault was the motive for the
crime. and the victim fought her assailant
with all her strength until she was stran-
gled to death.
Suspects Cemetery Employees.
Mrs. Schumacher. mother of the dead
girl, in statement to the press. expresses
her conviction that Anna was slain by an
employee of Holy Sepuchre cemetery. She
bases her belief on the fact that recently
several girls have been followed and
chased by men working in the burial
ground.
Ii seems probable the girl was first
struck down as she knelt in prayer be-
fore the shrine of the Virgin, which
stands in a secluded niche about 300
yards from where her body was found
The shrine bears the inscription, Moth
er of Jesus. pray for the children.
Before the shrine, little children who
go to the cemetery with their parents.
assemble and play.
Discovery by Chance.
BY the merest chance the body was
discovered in "A shallow grave on the
beach of the. Genesee river, which flows
by the cemetery. The theory of the
police is that the assailant drag
ged the senseless girl. feet first, to an
abandoned ice house near the shrine
and there murdered her. A trail
on the ground makes this plausible
Then he carried her body to the rivers
steep bank. with the purpose of throwing
1t into the river. But the loose earth there
suggested the idea of burying it. Hiding
the body in the brush, he went to st. Ber-
nard's Seminary on the boulevard, not
far away and took from the grounds
there a broken spade. Then he dug the
grave only few inches deep and covered
il with earth and leaves. He left the
spade against tree and fled.
That he went to the seminary for the
spade seems to indicate that the muir
derer knows the neighborhood.
Miss Schumacher lived with her mother
at 1872 Cady street. Taking bunch OF
flowers to strew on her fathers grave the
girl left home at 80 o'clock pm. Saturday
and rode in a trolley car to the cemetery,
on the boulevard, four miles north of the
city. She put the flowers on the grave
and fingered so long that it was about
o'clock when she went to Supt. Meischs
o. he trslf, e.rNI fONlr 6r.r,f l. <~f
water. Mr. Meisch saw her walking
toward the shrine of the Virgin; that was
the last seen of her alive by any one save
her murderer.
The Cemetery Searched.
At o'clock Saturday night Mrs. Mary
Schumacher Annals mother, started the
search for her daughter. whose absence
from home at that hour was so unusual
that it worried her.
Two hours later the girls brothers and
sisters drove to the cemetery and search
ed for her until midnight. The search
continued Sunday, nearly a score of rela
tives joining in it; Mrs. Schumacher, tor
tured by her fears. walked for miles
through the big cemetery.
Then the police were informed of the
girls disappearance and a description
of her was sent out, blonde. five feet
six inches tall plump, muscular
Constables Otto Wiedman and Stalhan
Baker of the town of Greece joined in
the search.
Led to Grave by Rabbit.
They were walking on the rivers bank,
when rabbit ran across their path
and into the brush AS the constables
watched the rabbit. they saw. almost hid,
den by the brush. mound of earth that
plainly showed signs of recent spading
Digging in the softs earth with his hands,
Freedman soon uncovered Anna Schu-
macher's form
Hurriedly summoning Coroner Klein
dienst and other officials, the corpse was
removed. 1t showed the fearful struggle
the girl made against her assailant. Her
garments were torn and disarranged. In
her hat which was buried under her,
were her purse. a pair of scissors, a
hat pin and red coral chain and cross.
The scapulars around her neck were
not broken.
Il knew from the. very first that harm
had come to Anna said the weeping
Mrs. Schumacher TO reporter. II knew
that she would have been home unless
harm had come to her. She was not
the kind that stayed away with men
or other girls: she was shy and had no
beauN.