Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-18
Murderer Delivers a Fare.
well Talk Before His
Prison Execution.
KILLED ANNAAUMULLER
Grewsome Butchery of His
Sweetheart Is Atoned
With Own Life.

Ossining, n. Y, Feb. 1S.-Hans
Schmidt was electrocuted at Sing Sing
prison today for the murder of Anna
Aumuller Sept. 2, 1913.
Schmidt went quietly to the death
chamber. accompanied by the princi-
pal keeper and the Rev. Father Cashin,
thu prison chaplain. Leaving the
death house, he said goodbye to those
who remained. When he entered the
chamber, the guards attempted to di-
rect him toward the chair but Schmidt
gently shook them off and insisted on
addressing the II witnesses. The
guards desisted from their efforts, and
with Father Cashin standing at one
side and the keeper at the other,
Schmidt said:
Asks Forgiveness.
Gentlemen, l ask forgiveness of all
those have injured or sCandalized. !
forgive all those who have injured me.
Ny last wish is to say goodbye to my
dear old mother"
Schmidt then seated himself in the
electric chair and the current was ap
piled three times. Within minute he
was dead. He had spent the night up
TO midnight in praying and talking
with Father Cashin, and slept from
midnight TO O'Clock, when he was
awakened for breakfast. He would
take only cup of coffee.
Body Washed Up on Shore.
New York. Feb. 18.-When the torso
Of Anna Aumuller's body was washed
up on the New Jersey shore of the
Hudson river there started search
which has had but few parallels in the
annals Of New York crime. There was
but one faint clue, a FELLOWSHIP on
which was embroidered the letter "a"
but it was just such a pillow slip as
might be found in hundreds of homes
or stores There was not even laun-
dry mark to aid the police. With this
slender clew, Inspector Faurot took
personal charge of the case, and on
Sept. Il, 1918, IL days after the murder,
Hans Schmidt, an assistant priest at
an uptown church, was arrested, charg-
ed with the crime. An hour before
the arrest the inspector had broken
into a fat and found a long bladed
butchers knife and other evidence
that the murder had been committed
there. Schmidt confessed and his sole
defense was that ii was blood sacri-
fee murder" The body had been dis
membered and presumably all OF 1t
was thrown into the river, although
the head was never found. Schmidt
was twice placed on trial, the first
Jury, In December, 1913, failing to
reach verdict In February, 1914,
he was found guilty.
Had Career Of Crime.
Besides the sordid story Of Anna
Aunuller's infatuation for Schmidt,
the tsials revealed that his was a ca
rser of crime. He was engaged in a
countsrfeiting scheme at the time the
murder was committed, and DIR. a.
Nuret, who posed as a dentist, was
sent TO the penitentiary for seven years
as Schmidt's accomplice in the latter's
scheme. II was found that Schmidt
also had posed as a physician. that he
had committed numerous forgeries and
had been guilty Of other frauds. His
attorneys pleaded their client was in
sane. The slayer, however, always
contended that he was sane. He TOOK
no active part IN his own defense.
When he was sentenced he thanked the
court and expressed desire to be exc
cuted al once. He maintained the same
stolid oomposure through all the va
r10us stages of his case