New-York tribune., 1913-09-15
81 LOVED HER," HE M0ANS
Victim of Butchery Was Anna
Aumuller, a Servant in Par
ish House of Church to
Which He Was At
tached as Curate.
ARRESTED AT ST. JOSEPH 8
Detectives Trace Murderer Through
Pillow Slips and Find That Liaison
Ended in Death-Weeps Over
Picture and Makes Move
Toward Suicide.

Picture and Makes Move
Toward Suicide.
Father Hans Schmidt, alias "A. Van
Dyke" a curate of St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic Church, at No. 405 West 125th
street, was arrested at 3 o'clock yes
terday morning, charged with the muir
der of the woman whose dismembered
body was found in the Hudson River
last week.
The victim was identified as Miss
Anna Aumuller, a young woman who
was employed as servant in the par
ish house of ST. Poniface Church, at
! 47th street and Second avenue, to
which Father Schmidt formerly was
attached.
Fathe. JchmiGt was arrested in the
! paror OF the parish house Of st. Jo-
sephs Church, where, after half An
hour Of grilling by Inspector Faurot
and Detectives Cassassa and O'Neill,
| he broke down and admitted he COM
mitted the crime, the police officers say.
He was taken over the scenes covered
in his story and added many details 70
| his confession. At tie West 1o2d
| street station he was identified by the
agent who rented a fiat TO him. lie
was then taken TO Police Headquar-
ters.
After another examination there he
had formal hearing before Coroner
Feinberg, who remanded him to the
/ Tombs. without bail. under a charge of
homicide in the case of Anna Aumul-
, Ter.
/ Father Luke j. Evers, chaplain OF
the Tombs, after an hours talk with
the imprisoned priest in the afternoon,
said the self-confessed murderer had
told him he had killed the girl because
his patron saint had so ordered il.
Il asked Schmidt why he had muir
dered the girl" said Father Evers. lie
said. L was commanded by my patron.
st. Elizabeth of Hungary. 10 offer a
sacrifice Like the sacrifice Of Abra-
ham. it must be one of blood. SO [
killed Anna Aumuler and after had
done so drank some of the blood in or
der 10 consummate the sacrifice
Bundles Dropped from Ferry.
The scene of tile murder, which, as
the detectives told Of it, was a butch
cry Of most revolving nature was a
third floor rear apartment in the house
at No. rs Bradhurst avenue. 1t was
committed a few minutes before mid
night on September -. and the dis
memberod portions of the body, some
of which were found later at different
places along the shores of the Hudson
River and bay, were carried one at
time by the murderer from the Harlem
fiat TO the Fort Lee Jerry, from which
they were dropped into the river.
weighted with sto. es.
So far as a motive was concerned,
the police last night admitted that
their talks with Father Schmidt pro-
duced nothing more definite than his
eft repeated assertion when questioned
as to his motive:
II loved her"
Inspector Faurot was convinced.
however, that fear Of discovery and ex-
posure was the ruling motive, and that
Schmidt thought 10 end his liai5on and
his fear of the exposure of il. which
would end his career as a priest.
AS CT nf
given out by the police, the priests in
trigue had progressed so far that no
ordinary means would suffice to end it.
He knew the girl when she was a SER
want in the parish house Of ST. Boni-
faces. where he was a curate He
continued his relations with her when
he went to st. Joseph's, and she re-
NAMED at the rectory of St. Boniface's
Church, and finally he placed her in an
apartment, where for a very short time
he continued TO visit her.
Meanwhile the priest and the girl OBJ
tained a marriage license at the City
Hall-this was dated February .6, 1913
and, according 10 the police version
of the confession. Father Schmidt said
he performed a marriage ceremony
himself.
Whether the priest misled the young
woman into the belief that she was
legally married TO him or not. the po-
lice established the fact that she was
an orphan, whose brothers and sisters
are all in Hungary, and with no nearer
relative in this country than a cousin,
who had not seen anything of her for
more than a year.
Flat Rented for Murder.
Partly by reason Of the very brief
period which elapsed between the time
when Father Schmidt rented the Brad