South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-09-15


conferred with his other assistants
and IL was agreed that the authorities
should be notified. The police. how
ever. were even then on Schmidts
trail. and his arrest followed shortly.
Schmidt was taken to the TOmbs.
Coroner Feinberg committed him TO
the Tombs until the inquest is held.
The confession. which the police
say Schmidt signed. follows:
Il met Anna Aumuller two years
ago at the parish house Of St Bon
iface church. She was employed as a
servant there. ] was attracted by her
beauty 1 because infatuated with
her. 1 loved her.
Why He Killed Her
IT killed her because L loved her
so much. She was so beautiful so
good, / could not let her live without
me.
81 had made up my mind that she
and I could not live together. 1 was
a priest and must remain with my
, church. l could not let her go away
from me. So 1 opened the door OF
| the fat. 1 awakened her. 1 told her
had come TO fulfill my threat. Then
I drew the knife across her throat.
ct cut the body into six pieces. l
made trips TO the Fort Lee ferry, each
time with a part of her precious body
| in a bundle When the ferry boat
| TtdCHGu the Va AlAt 81 cam
would throw a piece into the water
and when the boat reached the other
side Of the river j would return and
| go back to the fiat.
After / had disposed OF the body
| I wanted to destroy all evidence Of
the crime. 1 took the mattresses on
which l had slain her and carried II
to a vacant lot and there 1 burned it.
Il am guilty; that is all 1 can say.
| I must pay the penalty. There is
| nothing else for me to do. But
| loved Anna Aumuller
"She wanted me to marry her, and
I procured a marriage license. She
trusted me.
IT am a priest and ordained to per-
form the marriage ceremony. so when
| she insisted upon ceremony 1 mar
| ried myself TO her. There was no
| need OF any other priest doing il. II
was just as absolute as if I had called
in another person with authority 10
perform a marriage ceremony. She
| vas my wife"
Schmidt. after being assigned to
cell in the Tombs, went to sleep.
Born i'm Germany.
The priest, according TO his story,
was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany,
! in 1881. He attended college and at
| the age of Is enrolled in ST. August
ines seminary in Mainz and on Dec.
| %, 1904, was ordained. He held sew
| eral charges in Germany and then
came to America because of poor
health. After remaining in New York
| city a short time he was assigned to
| a church at Louisville, KY. In 1909,
he went to Trenton, n. j., and in Dec.
| 1910, he became assistant to Father
| Braun, rector of st. Boniface's church,
where he met the Aumuller girl.
In Nov, 1912, Schmidt left st. Bon
iface to become assistant rector of st.
| Josephs church, the assignment he
held at the time of his arrest Sunday.
Little is known of the history of
Anna Aumuller before size took en-
plOyment in the St BOniface parish
| house the week before Christmas,
1910. According to a statement issued
| by Father Braun Sunday night. she
left his parish house in the summer
of 1911, returning on Thanksgiving
day. 1912. and left the second time
! Aug. 80, last. AT this time she said
she was about TO be married and go
| to Ohio to live. Father Braun said
that he and his sister, who is his
hOusekeeper, had become attached TO
| the girl because she was very pleasant
! and q faithful worker.
| Girl From Germany.
! "All I know about her." he said,
lis that she came TO this country from
| Germany about two and d half years
| ago. 1 understand she was an or
phan and / have a dim recollection
that she may possibly have come to
us through an advertisement that /
placed in a newspaper for girl.
| While she had no credentials 1 en-
| ployed her"
! Despite her statement to another
! maid employed in the rectOTy that she
was leaving TO be married, Father
Braun said Sunday night that he was
| forced to discharge her two weeks
ago because her mode of living was
unsatisfactory"
While not denying that the Rev.
Hans Schmidt had been ordained and
had been permitted to officiate at
services In this city, an authoritative
statement issued Sunday after his ar
rest from the head Of the New York
diocese, characterized him as a wan
| derer," and not a priest OF the do
cese and was not being so recognized,
although he was assigned TO assist
| the rectors Of its churches.
After his arrest and en- route to the
| Tombs, Schmidt was questioned by the
detectives. They asked him what he
had done with the mattress and he
told them, they said. Inspector
Faurot stopped the machine at the
vacant lot and the charred remains
| Of the mattress were found. Then
| Schmidt was asked where he bought
| the knife and saw with which the
! body OF Miss Aumuller was cut up. He
indicated a shop as they passed IT,
The car was stopped and Schmidt
pointed to a knife with 4 ten-inch
| blade in the window as practically
) identical with the one he used This
| shop is not far from the Tombs
! Further up the street Schmidt. the
police say, pointed to two butchers
| saws in a shop window.
| AZ bought one of those" he said