Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-31
Vending, Suspected of Muir
dering Alma KeIIner in Lou
isvi|Ie, Caught in Frisco.
CLEVER DETECTIVE WORK
IN FOLLOWING THE TRAIL
Clue Unconsciously Given to Sleuth
By Missouri Woman.
ACCUSED DENIES THE CRIME
Declares That He Was Fleeing From
His Brother-in-Law, Whose
Anger He Had Incurred.

His Brother-in-Law, Whose
Anger He Had Incurred.
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, July 80
Dragged from beneath a sink in the
washroom Of Sd street lodging house,
where he had been hiding for twenty
four hours. Joseph A. Vending. accused
of the murder of little Alma Kellner in
Louisville. KY, the man who has baf-
fled tie police for four months was ar
rested today by Detectives Burke and
Ryan of the local police department..
Vending admitted his identity, but pro-
tested his innocence of the crime
A few hours after the arrest J. 7.
Carney. captain of detectives of Louis
vile. arrived. to learn tnat his IL .OvO-
mile search for Vending had BEEN
crowned with success. 1t was the tele-
graphed tip from the Kentucky detective
which led to the arrest.
In bis pursuit of the supposed murderer
Carney many times lost the trail. but
the secret of the whereabouts of his
quarry always lay with Mrs. Cora Muena.
a milliner, of Hume, Mo 1t was from
iiNi lbdt NdiHty IdSIleu the AL
formation that led to the arrest.
Clue Given by a Woman.
1t seemed the irony of fate that the
only respectable woman found by Carney
to have been connected with Vending
during his wanderings should have been
the unconscious means of betraying him.
Mrs. Muena met Vending at the home
of her aunt in Houston, Tex and before
she returned to Hume she was engaged
to the dashing young Frencbman. who
dazzled the aunt with tales of wealth
in France which would come to him with
the death of his aged father Before Mrs
Muena left Houston she grew to fear
Vending and after her return to Hume
she broke the engagement
When Carney received the clue that
Vending was working for grocer fn
Houston. the detective began the long
search which led him to every county
seat in Texas At Houston he found that
Vending had gone to San Antonio.
where he had obtained a position on a
ranch twenty-five miles from that town.
A trip to the ranch proved fruitless. as
the hunted man had fed leaving some OF
his effects behind. Here Carney lost tho
trail.
Traced to California.
Returning to Houston he sent a decoy
Mrs. Muena, asking for the address Of
Henry Jacquemin, the name assumed BY
Vending when he left Louisville. The re-
ply intercepted by Carney. informed him
that his prey was in Los Angeles.
The detectives trip to Los Angeles
proved unavailing and he returned to San
Antonio. where he found that Henry Pic
ard, friend of Vending had received a
postal picture card from the fugitive. This
flYDlv loot fiar.
postmarked Rio Vista, Cal.
Carney came Immediately to this city,
where he procured the assistance of the
local detective bureau. Accompanied by
Detective Conlin he went to Rio Vista
to find that the man had disappeared
again, leaving behind him, however, his
name on the pay roll of company
which was building jetties along the
Sacramento river.
Trail Lost and Found.
Then the trail again became so cold
that Carney determined to visit Mrs.
Muena at her home in Hume. He
reached there just in time to prevent
the destruction OF postal which gave
the address of Vending In Vallejo. Cal.
Mrs. Muena had destroyed her corre
spondence with Vending and was on the
point of burning the postal when the
Louisville detective arrived
When the address was flashed to San
Francisco Detective Burke was sent az
once to Vallejo In the possession OF
Alice Miller, with whom Vending had
been living, he found the frgitive's pho
tOgraph and a kit of burg .r's tools. A.
further search of the place led to the
discovery of many articles which had
been taken from the residence of Thom-
as Saunders. which had been burglarized
three times and IL was the house form
erly occupied by Charles Whidmann. for
whom Vending worked as gardener.
Puzzled by a Double.
Vending was soon traced to this city,
but the detectives were thrown off the
track by a strange double. who left t.
suit case in deserted house in the NORTH
Beach foreign quarter. The death by his
own hands of this suspect two days ago
again left the detectives without a scent
but they caught il again when Captain
of Detectives Wall received tip Thurs
day night that the fugitive was in 81
street rooming house. The number given
proved to be a vacant lot. Next door,
however, was a lodging house. frequented
by iaboring men.
Mrs. Mary Moriarity, the owner. said
that a man answering Weddings de-
scription had been there. but had left a
few days before. The detectives were
for twenty-four hours determined this
to make a search.
Vending Found.
Their efforts were rewarded by the dis
covery of Vending beneath the sink or
a Mushroom. When the bullet wound In
his hand and the tattooed ship his
arm were exposed by the officers he ad
mitted his identity.
On the arrival of the detectives with
at the city prison Chief OF Po-
ice Martin and District Attorney Flicker:
were summoned. With the detectives
these two officials remained closeted with
the prisoner for one hour. He protested
MS innocence of the Kellner murder, de-
,laring that he knew nothing Of II until
ne read of the finding of the body. Wend-
ing maintained that he had adopted the
name of his mother to avoid his brother
n-law Louis Arnold, who had pursued
lim from France to make him marry
Madeline Arnold. That the bitterness be-
ween the two men has grown since
he marriage until he feared for his life
was the explanation clung to by Wend-
ing in explaining his fight.
Will Not Resist Extradition.