The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-02
wins $4,000 Prize SPOKE TO WTERANSHR BODY FOUNDIl
Alma Kellner's Decomposed
Remains Located Under
Catholic Church
JANITOR UNDERSUSPICION

Admits She Cleaned His Blood.
Stained Clothes About the Time OF
Little Girls Disappearance-Janit-
Or's Whereabouts Not Known.
Louisville, KY, MAY 30.-With the
| finding today of her mutlIated and
decomposed body in an old cistcru
under one of the parish houses of st.
Johns Roman Catholic church, CLAW
and Walnut streets, part of the mys-
terry surrounding the disappearance
on December s. 1909 of Alma Kellner,
years old, daughter of Fred l..
Kellner, was solved.
To clear up the identity of the
slayer, the police are searching for
| Joseph Vending, formerly janitor
of st. Johns church. He has been
missing since January IA. His wife
is under surveillance.
Frank Fehr, millionaire brewer,
uncle of the child, who since her dis
appearance has spared neither time
nor money in the search for her,
positively identified the body found
today.
The body was found only few
yards from the entrance to st. Johns
church, whittier Alma had gone to
attend services the morning OF her
disappearance.
Mrs. Lena Vending, wife of the
missing janitor and housekeeper for
Father Schumann, pastor of St.
Johns church, in sworn statement
| today, admitted Washing the muddy
clothes of her husband shortly after
the disappearance of the Kellner girl.
| The detectives declare these trousers
shirt and hat are still blood stained.
little more than year ago, ac-
cording to police records, Vending
was arrested and fined because of
| improper conduct towards a young
girl, whom he accosted in a street.
The parents of Alma Kellner have
not seen the body found today. Both
are Frustrated, but expressed some
relief at learning finally the fate Of
; their child, who they had feared had
been kidnapped.
The finding of the body, after
months of search throughout tie
United States was by accident On
Saturday the janitor of st. John q
church told Father Schuhmann that
water was collecting under one of the
palish buildings. Plumbers began to
pump out the water. After pumping
only short time the water began to
s'ntll bad and later Shiny object
was discovered A child's foot, vita
]shoe and stocking on, appeared. The
police and coroner were called by ta-
thcr Schuhmann.
liter working for five hours all tn
fragments of the body were collec.-
ed except for the top of the skull aud
the lower part of the right leg. All
tie ribs on the left side were broken
1t appears that the body was
pai tly burned" said Coroner Dun
can, "and l believe quicklime was
used to aid in destroying the bod >
Father Schuhniann said that ne
could remember Lothing extraordin-
AIRY in Vending actions after the
Disappearance OF Anna Kellner. ';e
said:
Vending lett the church withot'
81, ng he was g ,oing to quiz. he
said nothing even to his wife
thought at the time that possibly the
fact that his wife, who is AZ years
old, was much older than he caused
him to leave. He often talked OF re-
turning to his old home in France
His wife wrote his parents at Gen
Ills, Cote dor, France, but they hao
heard nothing of him.
! Vending is described as q year:
old, about feet, 10 inches tall
weight about 100 pounds with {
small black moustache and dark hail
and eyes. His wife says he was {
dseerter from the French army.