Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1913-09-19
PRIEST ADMITS HE
MURDERED GIRL
Confesses to Cutting Up Body
and Disposing of 1t.
Staying MYSTERY IS SOLVED
Curate Says He Killed Girl Because
He Loved Her and Gould Not
Marry Her on Account
of His Church.


in w. 125th-st, Sunday confessed the
murder of Anna Aumuller, parts of
whose dismembered body were found
in the Hudson river and are now in
the Hoboken morgue.
81 killed her because l loved her so
much" he said "She was so beauti-
full, so good, could not let her live
without me. had made up my mind
that she and l could not live together.
was priest and must remain within
my church. could not let her go
away from me-"
Sobbing out this confession of his
crime, the priest was locked in cell
in the Tombs prison.
Traced by Pillow Slip.
The solution of this, the most baf-
fling murder mystery of years, was
brought about by tracing the pillow
slip in which the upper section of the
dismembered torso had been wrapped.
It was found that certain number of
these slips had been sent from the
factory in Newark to the store of
George Sachs at 2768 Sth-av. Sachs
had sold only two pillows. One of
these was satisfactorily accounted
for. The other had been delivered with
some of the furniture to fiat at 6S
Bradhurst-av. The fiat had been
rented by a man of clerical appear
ance, who had occupied it with q
young woman Neither had been seen
there since Sept. 2. The man had
been seen there last, sneaking in and
I,1 ,,yich 70
tion. After waiting few days In
spector Faurot of the detective bu-
reau, who had charge of the case, de-
cided to break down the door,
AS he entered he was confronted by
several evidences of a crime. The
floor was bloodstained and strewn
with fragments of wrapping paper and
pieces of cloth-covered wire such as
had been wound around the packages
containing the dismembered torso.
He also found letter addressed to
Anna Aumuller, care of ST. Boniface's
r. G. church, .47th-st and 2d-av, and
a photograph of the girl. At the rec
tory of st. Boniface's it was found
that the young woman had formerly
been employed there as a servant,
but had been discharged because of
her unsatisfactory mode of living"
1t was learned that the young curate,
Father Schmidt, had been unduly at
tentive to the girl and that he had
been transferred.
The victim of this most grim and
mysterious tragedy of two decades
was beautiful German girl of %.
CoIIapses and Means.
The young priest, who had former
ly been curate at st. Boniface's, was
traced to st. Joseph's in W. 125th-st.
Detectives called at the parish house
and demanded to see him. Nervous
and rubbing his eyes Schmidt, who
had been aroused from sound sleep,
received them in the reception room
of the rectory.
"Mr. Schmidt" said Inspector Fau-
rot. 81 have come TO arrest you for
the murder of Anna Aumuller."
Schmidt collapsed and moaned.
At police headquarters Schmidt
was subjected to a close grilling by
Inspector Faurot. The inspector said:
Schmidt has admitted to us that
he hired the fiat and took the girl
there He said that at midnight on
Aug. 81 he let himself into the apart
ment with the key. He said he had
known the girl for more than two
years and was infatuated with her
Miss Aumuller was asleep in bed, but
he went over to her. He had a large
butcher knife in his hand. He cut her
her throat before she could make an
outcry. He believed he had killed
her and carried her into the bath.
room"
Dsmembers Girls Body.
81 produced diagram of the body
continued Inspector Faurot, "and
showed it to him, and he identified il
as the way he had cut the body to
pieces in the bathtub. He severed the
head, then the upper part of the body
then the arms, the stomach part and
her legs.
"He said he went to a neighborine
store and bought quantity of brown
wrapping paper and then wrapped uI
each part separately. The next day
Sept. 1-Schmidt said he took part
of the body out of the fat He boarded
an 8th-av car, rode down to 125th-st
took crosstown car to the Fort Lee
ferry, boarded a boat and when II
midstream threw the bundle into the
river. He did this five times, until he
had disposed of the last vestige of the
body"