South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-09-19
AdviCeS From SChmidt'S Birth
place in Germany States
Murderer and Doctor Are
Thought Blood Relations.
SUSPICION GROWS THAT
SLAYER IS IMP0STER
Police Still Search For Missing
Head of ButChered Girl
Lawyer Begins Planning For
Insanity Defense.

NEW YORK. Sept. 1s.--While steps
were being taken Thursday to have a
Jury pass upon the sanity or Father
Hans Schmidt. bit upon bit OF evil
dence was piling up linking closer and
closer the lives OF the slayer Of Anna
Aumuller and his alleged counterfeit
ing partner. DR.. Ernest NlUret.
Muret was the central figIre in the
days developments The priest grew
morose in his cell and talked little.
Muret appeared in court 10 plead
guilty and be held on the charge OF
having dangerous weapon in his
possession.
The pseudo dentist who appears
from information the authorities al
ready have acquired In their search TO
have practiced medicine under other
names in Chicago. ii England. and on
the continent, has been thought by
the police almost from the beginning
to bear some blood relationship To
Schmidt. Thus the advices Thursday
night from Aschaffenburg. Germany.
Schmidts birthplace, that Muret IL
now believed 10 be the murderer's
cousin. Adolf Mueller. caused little
surprise among the investigators.
IL came out also. however. through
the discover OF an engraVer WtO
made copperplates for Schmidt. that
Mure. as he now calls himself, seem
inglv had far closer knowledge than
he has at any time admitted OF
Schnidts counterfeiting operations.
having accompanied Schmidt TO the
engraver's shop when the plates were
secured
AS for Schmidt himself. the many
aliases he used led Inspector FaurOt
TO suspect that the clerical prisoner
might not be the Hans SchItcNt OF
ASchaffenburg. but an impOster.
This theory. while somewhat at cross
purposes with that which brought out
the supposed blood relationship be-
tween the real Hans Schmidt and
Muret. was considered by the inspec-
tor worth while following up.
Is He ImpOSter.
There is no certainty that this fell
low IS the real Schmidt" said the in
spector Schmidt is a natural forger
and could easily nave fixed up the
clerical credentials through which he
obtained positions in ST. Boniface's
church and St gOseph's church"
Schmidt's counsel. Alphonse Keel
BILE insisted that he was not an inn
poster. He told me he was Hans
Schmidt. the priest said the law
yer. Mr. Koelble began Thursday
LAYING the ground work for an insan-
ity defense OF his client. lie let Dis
trict Attorney Whitman know that ne
purposed asking a court inquiry into
Schmidt's sanity.
Another line Of defense however.
seems likely TO be resorted 10 In
secondary way. This IS an asserted
absence Of absolute proof Of Anna
Aumuller's death. Parts OF the girls
body cut up by Schmidt and thrown
innto the Hudson have been recoy-
cred. but the head. which would af-
ford proof positive OF identity, stin
is missing II is this contingency
which is leading 20 the police 10 keep
up a persistent search for the head OF
the victim diver has been en-
gagged TO go over every foot OF the
river bottom in the vicinity where yes
terday a fisherman dragged some OBJ
iect close to the surface and then lost
it, only a strand OF human hair re-
naming on the hook.