Semi-weekly herald., 1910-11-28
KELLNER MURDER sus-
PECT TO BE TRIED
Chronology of Famou. keIlner Case.

Dec S,19O9-Alma Kellner disap.
peared from her home.
Jan IA. 1910-Joseph Vending
quit his place as janitor of St Johns
church.
May 80, 19l0-A plumber, digging
beneath the school of St Johns church
found the horribly mutilated remains
OF the Keilner child. Vending sus-
pected and his wife arrested.
| June 5, 1910-Coroner' jury return
ed a verdict of willful murder against
Vending.
June 20, 191O-Grand jury indicted
| Vending for murder in the first de
gree.
June "a. 1910-Wendling eluded his
pursuers at San Antonio. Texas
July 80, 191S-Wendling captured in
San Francisco and returned to Louis.
| Vile.
| LOUISVILLE. KY, Nov 21.-Not
in many years has criminal trial in
| Louisville excited the intense inter.
est exhibited in the case of Joseph
| Vending. the young Frenchman, who
was brought to court today to stand
trial for the alleged murder of little
Alma Kellner whose mysterious dsap.
pearance last winter and the subse,
| quent finding of her mutilated re.
| mains after search of months at.
| rfa bn of of fys, -bNi La
country The police and the prosecut-
ing attorneys office declare they have
evidence sufficient to convict Wend.
ling of the horrible crime of which he
other hand. continues to maintain his
| innocence and at no time since he has
! been lodged in the Louisville Jail has
he manifested any uneasiness over
the outcome of his trial On the con.
trary. according to the Jail attaches
the young man has rather appeared to
enjoy the notoriety.
| That strong circumstantial evidence
exists to connect Vending with the
murder is not to be denied His posi-
| ton as janitor of the school where
| the remains of the little girl were
| found and his flight from the city
soon after her disappearance are con.
sidered the strongest links in the
chain of evidence forged against him.
| Alma Kellner, the eight year old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs Fred F.. Keil-
| ner, left her home in East Broadway
on the morning of December last
to attend mass at St Johns church,
| about three blocks away When she
did not return home at the expected
time her parents made inquiries and
| the next morning a general search
was begun. The general theory was
that it was case of kidnapping and
with the publicity given the case let
ters began to reach the parents at.
tempting to extort money for the re-
turn of the child
From day to day the search con.
tinued for many weeks. The uncle Of
| the child, well-to-do resident OF
Louisville expended much money run.
ming down supposed clues. But no
trace of the little girl was found eth
| er by the police or by private detec.
| tives and the case remained an alb
solute mystery until May 30. nearly
six months after her disappearance.
On May 80 some plumbers employ.
ed to find leak in the water pipes
| under one of the buildings attached
to st. Johns church found in the
| slime and ooze in which they were
digging a part of the remains of the
missing child. Buried nearby were
| found glove which the little girl
| wore and several garments identified
| as belonging to her.
| Further evidence found around the
school building and among the effects
of the janitor, Joseph Vending direct
| ed suspicion toward him and when an
effort was made to capture him it was
| found that he had fled the city in
| January His wife was taken into
custody on suspicion of being an acces-
(, sorry, but was subsequently released.
| A worldwide search for Vending
was then begun. He was traced into
Texas, but eluded the detectives when
| they were almost on the point OF cap.
turing him in San Antonio. Late In
July, however. he was located in San
Francisco through letters he had writ.
ten to woman in Hume, Mo, and TAX.
/ an into custody
Police theory is that the child who
was late for church, was discovered
alone in the church by Vending, the
janitor. who assaulted her and then
dropped the body into the basement
through hole In the sacristy. II Is
believed he tried to burn the body
In the church furnace, and falling, lat
er threw 1t into the old cistern
where 1t was subsequently discovered
The accused man is about twenty.
seven years old and rather good look
ing He is supposed to be a son OF
good family In France. According
to his wife he came to America to