Norwich bulletin., 1909-10-27
Hopes to Escape The Electric Chair
WILLING TO PLEAD GUILTY. AND
 SAVE LONG TRIAL.
cOROKER'S INQUEST AT ISIIP
Old Town Hall Crowded With Curious spectators-Gebhardt and His Wife and Others Testify.

New York, Oct. 26.-Frederick Geb- hardt, alias Otto Mueller, evincing ab- solutely no emotion. told at the cor I oner's inquest at Islip l.. l., today, how he had murdered Anna Luther, the German girl whom he bigamously mar ried, in clump of Long Island wood land a year ago last April.
 After having confessed fully to the police yesterday. it was no surprise when he took the sand today and stolidly repeated that he was the mur- derer. Before testifying he received the usual legal warning, but he elected nevertheless to tell his story. As he testified, his other wife. known as Mrs. Gebhardt, accompanied by her two children, sat near by. She had previ- ously gone, on the stand and testified to her husbands general good charac- ter and his kind treatment of her. for she is remaining loyal to him despite his confession of crime and the fact that he married the Luther girl
 Shot the Girl Twice.
 Gebhardt testified that he had shot the girl twice, then fled precipitately and returned to his home at Astoria. l.. l., the same home at which he was arrested on Sunday night He said he had not gone again to the vicinity of the murder until a few weeks ago. when he took a woman there to look over some land which he hoped to sell her. His braZen attitude and apparent fearlessnessr at that time was indicated when he said today that on this visit he was accompanied by his wife. AL though he knew that the Luther girls bones were lying not far away, he con- ducted the party about the vicinity with no show of terror.
 Expects to Escape First Degree Con
 viction.
 The prisoner was asked the usual formal questions to establish the mur- der, then he was led away to a. cell The inquest will be resumed on Fri day, when several persons who first viewed the body after it's discovery will be called.
 Gebhardt announced today that he had not retained counsel and hoped he would not need a lawyer, as he was willing to plead guilty and save the expense and trouble of a long trial. with the expectation of escaping first degree murder conviction, which means death in the electric chair
 Murderer's Wife Testifss.
 The old town hall at Islip was jam med with curious onlookers when the inquest was begun today. Mrs. Geb- hardt. the wife, was the first witness called. She said that she and her hus- band had not quarreled often and that l1 laG been considerate husband and fond of the two children.
 The woman was almost as calm on the stand while telling of her family relations as was her husband, who testified later. She had never sus-.l pected him of having married another woman, she said, not even when he 1 went to Europe with the Luther girl. 1 He wrote her regularly, she said. and | she had no reason to suspect that he | had contracted bigamous marriage. |
 Under severe cross examination she | finally admitted that Gebhardt had struck her recently and had threatened | to put her and the two children in a | charitable institution. but on the whole | her testimony was strongly in defense l of the murderer
 Other witnesses who knew the Lu- ther girl and were aware of Geb- | hardts marrying her went on the stand | while others identified the iewelry | found near. the skeleton