El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-21

- 81 reduced fe blasting
~ 'l~a'S~42-@S and house breaking to a
science. But in the annals of Grim.
fnology two figures Johann J. Hoch and
the Rev Father Hans Schmidt-stanC
boldly forth as arch demons. Each
sorely tried the skill, persistence and en-
durance of the detectives, who searched
high and low for them before they were
run to cover. One, Hoch. was not only a
murderer but many times a bigamist,
while Schmidt has just been convicted of
one Of the foulest murders ever perpe
trated in New York city.
By a strange coincidence Detective
John J. O'NeiH, who ranks high in the
Detective Bureau Of the metropolis, cap
tured, single handed, the .bigamist and
was directly and solely responsible for
the solution of the appalling murder Of
Anna Aumueller, parts Of whose dismem-
bered body were found floating in the
North River, where they had been tossed
by the priest-slayer.
Some detectives assert that every
really battling crime mystery can only be
solved by deductions arrived at after
deep thought, patience and untiring eff
fort on the part of the police. Such
statement at once stamps the man max
ing it as one of mediocre ability. The
really shrewd and successful detectives
frankly admit that chance. luck or CO.
incidence-can it what you will-plays
big part in the solution of many of the
most celebrated cases. No better illus
tration Of this is needed than the facts
surrounding the arrest of Hoch, due first
to chance and then to the ready wit of
the detective in selling opportunity when
it presented itself.
The capture of Schmidt. on the other
hand, was only accomplished after scores
Of the very flower Of the New York De-
tective Bureau, ably led by Inspector
Joseph A. Faurot, had secured that city
and northern New Jersey for every likely
and tangible clew that bore on the case.
The logged persistence of O'Nein in
hanging grimly to the trail laid by
flimsy clew uncovered in the early stages
Of the man huntwas finally productive of
result, and when the doors leading to the
murder flat, wherein lay teIltale evil
dences of the revolving crime that had
been committed there. were thrown open
this detectives reward came.
The true acts surrounding the arrest in
New York city Of Hocb have never been
told. and it. amply proves that constant
vigilance and alertness of mind are neces-
sary to bring a new detective to the
front, provided he desires to win promo
ton through merit alone
Johann Hoch is still referred 10 as one
Of the cleverest criminals to expiate his
crime on a gaIlows. A chemist by pro-
fession, he came originally from Herr
weller, a small town in Germany not far
from Bingen-on-the-Rhine. There he
married, but he did not bring his wife to
this country with him. Immediately
upon his arrival in America the records
show he made a business Of preying upon
gullible and foolish women, especially
widows, whom he induced to marry him. /
He promptly so arranged matters as to
get hold Of their property, and, this done,
he would desert them. If they pursued
him and became troublesome he would
consent to a reunion, remaining with
them only long enough to seize the op-
portunity to poison and make way with
them HOch stands without a peer as a
bigamist, for the records Of criminology
in America do not contain such another.
The records show that at least fifty
women fell victims to his wiles, only
HOch himself knowing the exact num-
Der. With his bigamist tendencies he |
freely mixed murder, choosing, with cum (
King calculation, arsenic as the best
agent with which to rid himself of his
burdensOme mates and thus evade dis
covery. He was cunning enough to know
that arsenic is one of the component |
parts Of the embalming fluid commonly /
employed by undertakes, and by its use
he hoped to escape suspicion. A chemist
himself, he was an adept at mixing all
sorts Of drugs, but, like all criminals of
his class, his cunning proved his undo
ing, for by overplaying his part he be-
hayed himself
In looking back and picking up the
loose threads in the skein Of Hoch's life
the police discovered that in the year
1898 he had married in Chicago a Mrs.
Marie Steinbruecher. After living with
HOch for four months she died, the cause
of death being given as nepbritis. It
may be noted that none of Hoch's wives
were noted for longevity. The same
year, it was ascertained, he married
Mary Rankin in Chicago, but deserted
her the day after the wedding when she
fatty refused to either give him money
or place her property in his hands. A few
months later Hoch again blossomed forth
as bridegroom, this time choosing as his
mate Martha Hertszfield, whom he de-
serted in four months, after obtaining
5000 from he-.
His next appearance was in Wheeling,
w. Va. where he claimed young
woman by the name of Mary Hoch as his
bride. She, too, died suddenly of nephri-
It's. Her funeral occurred three months