Norwich bulletin., 1914-07-14
FAMOUS TRIALS
TRIAL OF ADoLpH LuETeERr.

On the night of May l. 1897. there disappeared from her home, at Her mitage avenue and Diversey boute-
 yard, Chicago, Mrs. Adolph Luetgert, the wife of a sausage manufacturer of that city. It was one of those mysterious cases which has baffled the most expert police and detectives
 in it's solution. The husband was ar rested for the murder. It was a lond and difficult effort on his part to save himself from execution. for many things seemed to point to his guilt. Eleven jurymen wanted to hang him for the crime after hearing all the evidence but the verdict finally de- cided upon was Imprisonment for life. The task that was set for the pros ecution was not an easy one. Mrs. Luetgeart's body, it was established almost beyond question, had been al- most entirely consumed in dissolved potash in one of the coloring vats of her husbands sausage factory In reducing the body of his victim the murderer had overlooked four vitally discriminating details; two gold rings worn by his wife, the com plete removal of the fragments of the body. bit of peculiarly shaped porcelain tooth, and failure to notify the police of the wonan's disappear ance.
 The rings were identified as she property of the wife. the family den- tist identified the tooth, expert osteol- ogists were able to place the bones that were discovered, but of course
 with no conclusive proof that they | were those of the murdered woman. Luetgert and his wife had not lived |, happily together. She was his second the family when the first wife was living. It was claimed that he was tired of her and desired a younger i and .more attractive woman
 When 1t came to the trial of the husband the task set for States At- torney Deneen was a most difficult one. The body of the victim had been
 practically consumed, and yet it was absolutely necessary not only to prove that she was dead, but that she had met her death at the hands of her husband. as charged in the indict- ment.
 The first trial resulted in a iis- 1 agreement During its progress Die- drich Bicknese, a brother of Mrs. Iuetgert, testified that he had search ed for days for a clew as to his sis 1 ters whereabouts, but had found none. . One week after the commis-
 sion of the crime he notified the po- lice and they summoned Luetgert and questioned him. She disappeared"
 the sausagemaker replied, and I ex- pected her to return and had wished to avoid the disgrace that must attend the disclosure of the facts"
 It was Frank Bialk who gave the ! most damaging testimony as to how he made several trips at the request of the prisoner to drug store on tae his return Luetgert would take the package he brought, and would barri- cade the door to the main factory and busy himself in the engine room It was shown at the trial that the | accused had planned most cunningly. Almost three months before the mur- der he had purchased about s25 pounds of crude potash from a whole ! sale druggist. Late in April, under the prisoners direction. two Poles
 broke the potash into small fragments and later in the same day had as- sisted in placing the broken potash in the middle vat. That night the steam
 was turned on and the potash com- 1 pletely dissolved.
 The accused man was not permit l ted to testify in his own behalf at the frst trial. but during the second bat tie he was enabled to relate the story
 of his life. He vigorously denied the l guilt and on several occasions actually wept. He was stolid and by many conceded to be endowed with wonder 1ul mental and physical energy. The conviction of Luetgert did net | establish beyond contention in the public mind the guilt of the defendeut. In the light of the conviction, hoE- | s, e'i.u tAto AifoihS VI lHc court, tne
 accepted version of Mrs. Buetgert's s
 murder must be taken as the true fis-
 tory of 8 mystery that will always be l tinged with uncertainty
 Luetgert lived less than two years of his iife's sentence, dying in the Joliet penitentlary on July 27, 1898, leaving no confession. His attorney k4aWrence Harmon, at the time of the convicted mans death had just com pleted arrangement to have the records in the case prepared for the Supreme | court.
 i Luetgert's trial was no doubt ,ne
 | Of the most sensational ever held in l Illinois. At his death Drs. Werner and O'Malley held a post -rnortem ex
 animation, disclosing the fact that he
 had died from fatty degeneration of
 the heart