The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-31
VENDING FOUND /
IN SAN FRANCISCO
Man Accused of Alma Kellner e
Murder Captured
HE ADMITS HIS IDENTITY
vending Il in the Hands of Detective
Carney of Louisville Who Has
Chased His Prisoner Across
-. ..
'sAaiaa.-4 "
HE ADMITS HIS IDENTITY

San Francisco, July 3o.-Dragged from
beneath sink in the Mushroom OF
Third street lodging house in this city
where he had been hiding for "a hours
Joseph A. vending, accused of the muir
der of little Alma Kellner in Louis
vile, the man whose twisAngs and turn
fngs have baffled the police for foul
months, was arrested today by Detectives
Burke and Ryan of the local police do
partment. Vending admitted his iden
tity He protested his innocence of the
crime.
A few hours after the arrest Captain
of Detective Carney of Louisville arrived
to learn that his 1000 mile search fol
Vending had been crowned with sue
cess. 1t was the final Geographic til
from the Kentucky detective which led te
the capture.
In his relentless pursuit of the sup.
posed murderer Carney many times lost
the trail The secret of the whereabouts
of his quarry always lay with Mrs. Cora
Muena, a milliner of Hume, Mo. 1t was
from her home that Carney flashed the
information that led to the arrest.
1t seemed the irony of fate that the
only respectable woman found by Car
ney to have been connected with Wend-
ling during his wanderings should have
been the unconscious means Of betray-
ing 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 French
man who dazzled the women with tales
of his wealth in France. which would
come to him with the death of his aged
father.
Engagement Broken
Before Mrs. Muena left Houston she
grew to fear vending. and after her re-
turn to Hume she broke the engagement.
When Carney received the clue that
vending was working for a grocer in
Houston the detective began the long
search which led him to every county seat
in Texas. At Houston he found that
vending had fled to San Antonio. where
he had obtained a position on a ranch "a
miles from that town. trip to the
ranch proved abortive, as the hunted
man had fed, leaving some of his effects
behind. Here Carney lost the trail. Re
turning to Houston he sent a decoy let
ter ostensibly written by the aunt to Mrs.
Muena asking for the address Of Henry
Jacquemin. the name assumed by Wend-
intercepted by Carney informed him that
his prey was in Los Angeles.
The detectives trip to Los Angeles
frt,tt M he rof, Go,
Antonio, where he was informed that
Henry jacquard. a friend of Vending
had received a postal picture card from
the fugitive. This communication
written In French. was postmarked Rio
Vista, Cal.
Abandoning his Texas hunting
grounds Carney came Immediately to
this city. where he procured the as
sistance of the local detective bureau
Accompanied by Detective Conlin he
went to Rio Vista The man had fed,
leaving behind him, however, his name
on the pay roll of Il company which
was building 1ettfes along the Sacra-
mento river.
Trail Becomes Cold
The trail then became so cold that
Carney determined TO visit drs. Muena
at her home In Hume He reached
there just in time to prevent the de-
struction of a postal card, which gave
the address of Vending in Vallejo
Cal,
Mrs. Muena destroyed her CORE
spondence with Vending and was on
the point of burning tho postal when
the Louisville police officer arrived.
When the address was flashed to
San Francisco Detective Burk was al
once sent to Vallejo.
In the possession Of Alice Miller
with whom Vending had been liv-
ing. he found the fugitives photograph
and complete kit of burglar tools.
Vending was soon traced to this
city. The detectives were thrown of
tho track by a strange double who left
suit case in deserted house in the
North Beach foreign quarter
The death by his own hand OF the
suspect two days ago again left the
detectives without . scent They
caught 1t again when Captain of De.
tectives Wall received a tip Thursda,
night that the fugitive was in . Third
street rooming house.
The number given proved to be 9
vacant lot.
Next door, however, was a lodgins
house frequented by laboring men.
Wendlinw Found
Mrs. Mary Moriarity, the owner of the
house. declared that man answering
the description of Vending had beer
there. He had left few days before
she said. The detectives were still sus-
picious and after watching the house
for "a hours determined this morning
to make a search. Their efforts were
rewarded by the discovery OF Vending
crouched beneath the sink In q wash.
room. Dragged forth, he did not make
the slightest resistance and when the
bullet wound In his hand and the tattoet
ship on his arm were exposed by his
captors he readily admitted his iden.
tity.
Vending at the city prison Chief Of
Police Martin and District Attorne,
Fickert were summoned. With the de-
tectives the two officials remained closet
ed with the prisoner for one hour. HI
protested innocence Of the Kellner muir
der, declaring that he knew nothing o,
It until he read of the finding Of the
body vending maintained that he hat
adopted the name Of his mother to avoit
his brother-in-law, Louis Arnold, who
had pursued him from France to make
him marry Madeline Arnold, That the
bitterness between the two men hai
grown since his marriage In America
was the explanation the man chung to Il
telling of his flight
VIII Start for Home
vending told Captain Carney he woult
not resist extradition and the latter sait
he would start for home with his prison
er as soon as he was rested from hi
strenuous chase.
A DELAY by a train wreck of one day
on his return from Hume kept Carne,
from being in when the arrest wal
made He was so miles from this city