The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-16
HELD FOR KILLING
WIFE HE BURIED
Undertaken Tells Of Staying
Wife. Forging Certificate
and Burying Her.
CAUGHT At CLUB FEAST
Mother and Brother in Same
Flat Knew Nothing OF
Tragedy.
CAUGHT At CLUB FEAST

JUST as the run OF the becfsteak Il inner
of the Ourselves club at 2ss East Eight
ty-siAth street was reaching it's height
last night Detective Arthur Butts OF
the Third district entered the hall and
heckoned to one Of the joymakers A
word that he was wanted outside on
important business and the man took of
his cap and apron. rolled them up under
his arm and asked what he could do
for his visitor.
~ that moment Harry \. Schroeffe'
manager for the undertaking establish
nent OF rhi,ip voelker at 33s Eas,
Eighty-s!x'h street. was under arrest for
wife murder with attending circum-
stances which the police say have rarely
been equallcd in police history.
The charge which SchrocfYel afterwar rc
admitted. according e. the police. is that
early on the morning Of December 20 ne
strangled his wife Ida during "A quarrel.
and leaving her dead on the iioor went
calmly to sleep on the bed in the room .
that on the following morning he car
r,ed the body into the undertaking e.
taolishinent without the knowledge OF his
mother and brother. called IN an e'n-
balmcr as IL she were 4 strange. forged
n death certificate and later buried the
body in Woodlawn Cemetery. ard ap-
parently thought no more Of the matter.
KILLED In Heat Of Passion.
I; iequired only short course OF
questions after Schrocifcl had reached
the Third Detective Bureau boz East
iIs,h stree, before Deputy Assistant Dis
sri. rod h. ,a
detectives. announced that the man had
made full confession OF crime he
declares was committed IN the heat of
passion. while the attempts tn cover II
all up were inspired by panic Owe the
result.
Sshroeffcl. 80 Years old. smooth face,
wearing glasses and well dressed. looks
more like a downtown business man than
funeral director. His wife Ida was
fv" years his junior and with the other
relatives lived above the Noelker cstab-
lishment.
There was n little celebration on the
night OF the 2Sth. the man said. and
some drinking. Toward the close. he
and his wife got into a quarrel. which
continued after they had reached theiv
bedroom. lie tried tn quiet her. She.
lie says. became abusive and called him
names
II told her to shu, W" hc told the d.
tec,lvcs. "bu; she told me I couldn,
make her do H. and she became worse.
~ las, ran UP to hey. grabbed her.
threw my left ann around her neck and
put my ,igh, hand bver her mouth.-just
to make her shut up. Tn" first thing
knew she went limp and saggcd down on
the floor. ! lel; her drop and went on to
bed The ueNt morning ! woke up and
A.. f,.,, eh..r. "A I hat
she was dead
The subsequent steps taken we're
describe Il by the man with every detail :;
How h.. carried the body downstairs
and arranged II as II II were n body
which came from the outside. forging
Of the death certificate. using thc name
Of Or. Leopold Freiberger of 70 West
ll?th street. and then the sudden an-
ysarance o' the authorities.
ON the following day after IL" hom
eide q letter Was received At In" hoard
OF Hea.-h from a physician r"s'ding in
the neigliborhood in which h" said that
something was wrong with tho death ~
Mrs Schroffel AZ 35S East Eighty
sixth street.
Heard Screama. V~ Wrote.
The writer said he had heard screams
the nigh, tefor" and these screams
ended suddenly. The name NJ the man
is withln,d. bu. on the MORNING of the
3Cth Coroner Reardon visited III" un-
drrtaking csta blishmcnt and questioned
who said that his wife had
died Of lobar pneumonia. iIc also Ques-
toned III. mother and brother.
The hody was ordered 10 the norgie
as q matter Of procaution and On the
same day an autopsy WAS performed by
Drs Schulze ami Schwartz. They could
not And any traces Of poison or wound
hut they did Nnd bruises on the cheek.
on the nose and on the neck. They
though, death might have been due to
n asphyxiation or strang,ilatiOn. hut re-
framed from setting forth their suspi-
cions for police reasons. The body was
buried the next day and nelRhbors went
with II to the cemetery.
DeAective Arthur Butts was pm, on the
case and. armed with all the facts. began
20 cultivate the acquaintance of Slhroer-
fe, He also went around to zee br
who declared he had never
attended tho woman and had never
written n death certificate \ mn" WIS
here and there. the detective
said last night. and acting in coopera-
ton with the District Attorneys office
he arrest was made,
81 have realized since that time that
made a terrible mistake" SchrorYe, II
quoted as saying to the authorities 81
never meant u kill her and | should
have gone To the police the first thing
the mex, morning. lost my head and
thought of the other way
tie ia locked mp without bail