The San Francisco call., 1910-07-31


lady saw the little girl near the church.
| can prove I was at home on the night
of December 81
How can you remember that you
were at home that night?"
"Oh. 1 was home every night"
Vending covered.
Where were you on the afternoon
of December 80" he was asked.
This time he seemed more guarded.
i don't know where ] was, only
was working at the church every aft
ernoon and never had but a little
while. off. 1 don't remember that day.
But why should 1 run away after girl
was lost. L do nothing.
Maybe when / get back to Louisville
will say something" Vending con-
tinued.
HINTS AT ANOTHER MAN
When asked what he would have to
say he was enigmatical He limited
that another man had access to the
basement in which he had been told
the body lay. There was one man
who worked there before me. He was
janitor and he slept in the little room
under the church He used to come in
after / was there, and other people
used to come into the basement. I
spoke to Father Shumann about it and
he told me to lock the door.
But just left Louisville because
of trouble with my wife and her
brother.
When 1 went away had 500, $40
for my wages. and the rest / had put
in the bank without letting her know.
went to New Orleans. l left on
January IA, l think it was. was
one week in New Orleans and there
was nothing to do there. Then went
to Houston, Tex. and worked in a
general store kept by a man named
Kaller. 1 clean out Office. put box on
elevator, do anything that comes up.
Then ] went to San Antonio"
Why did you move around so?'
Just because want to travel
Vending replied easily. Il worked
one month in San Antonio on ranch
out of town, the Deering-W ranch.
] plow, do anything. About four
months ago / come to San Francisco. |
get a job in Vallejo with Mr. Weide-
mann as a gardener My father is a
gardener. l stay at Vallejo about two
months and then I go to Olema L
drive stage between O1ema and Point
Reyes and carry the mail Last Satur-
day L come to San Francisco to get
work.
SHAVED FOR GIRL
why did you shave your mustache
in Houston?" Vending was asked.
"Oh, I had a girl down there he
replied lightly, and she didn't like It,"
He told of girls" he had everywhere.
Il had a good time everywhere" he
laughed and recited the pleasant chron-
icle of his .1oves" with evident zest
Locally his ''girls" are in Vallejo, OLE
ma, Point Reyes and Inverness.
DO you want to go back?"
Yes, I'll go back. Me afraid of a
murder charge? You crazy If you say
it to me that / am"
Asked to tell more about this mys-
terious person who slept in the base
ment of st. Johns church. vending
was evasive. He declared that he did
not know the mans name, but said that
he is a young man and white. He ex-
planned his assumed name $50 that his
wife could not find him. Three weeks
ago he heard that the police were after
him for the murder of the Kellner girl.
why didn't you surrender yourself
to the police then?'
'I wish that ! had" replied Vending
with some display of sincerity He also,
when discussing his change of occupa-
tion from the piano house to ST. Johns
church, expressed regret. IF ] hadn't
taken that job I wouldn't have had this
trouble" he said.
TALE OF CHASE
Whatever travel tale Vending had
Chief Carney of the Louisville detective
force had an Odyssey of duty to reeite
in the office of Captain of Detectives
Wall yesterday afternoon. The Louis
VILE detective was on his mett1e in this
hunt for there has been strong feeling
in Louisville over the murder of the
Kellner girl, and the police department
had vowed that her slayer would be
a ~
as the most careful and extensive man
hunt ever made.
When the Kellner girl was first
missed" said Chief Carney, there were
many who thought that she had been
kidnapped, but Chief of Police II. Wat
son Lindsey and / would not let the
matter rest that easily. 1t never left
the mind of the chief and me that de-
generate had done away with the child.
But the kidnapping theory was
worked upon extensively. A reward of
$4,000 was offered and everything that
money and brain could do was done to
apprehend the kidnapers. We worked
on the murder theory. 1 detailed my
entire force of 35 men to search for the
body. Every sewer, outhouse and base
ment in the radius of several miles of
the child's home was searched Any
place that was large enough to conceal
the body was examined.
HOW BODY WAS HID
THE way. the body was concealed
was this The furnace of ST. Johns
church IS in the basement and is
reached by a passa geway cut through
the clay bank formation. The man
strangled the girl in the church and
dragged her body into the basement
and placed ii on the top of the clay
bank. under the floor OF the church. He
left it there until it began to decom-
pose. Then be considered burning it
and evidently tried to force it into the