Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-25
Newspapers Fooled
California Aliens
Perfect KIDNAPPING
F. B. !. Says Press Ruined
His Plan; To Turn Him
Over to State.
~ the Associated Press.


SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 25.-
Federal officers announced inten-
lions today of giving Wilhelm Jakob
Muhlenbroich to State authorities
for prosecution as the kidnaper OF
Baby Marc de Tristan, jr., and &C
knowledged that newspaper pub
licity had wrecked his plans to COM
NIT the perfect kidnapping"
Meanwhile. the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, which kept the Ger
man alien incommunicado, con-
tinued its check to see if he might
have been the man who kidnapped
Charles MattSon in Tacoma, Wash,
the night of December o. 1896, and
left his mutilated body in snow
patch near Everett, Wash, IS days
later.
Assistant F. B. I. Director Earl L.
Connelley refused to disclose def
nitely whether Muhlenbroich had
been linked to the Tacoma crime.
but the fact that his custody trans
fer to State authorities impended
was taken to indicate the link had
not been established.
William Mattson. brother of the
Tacoma victim, was flown here with
F. B. I. agents to confront Mullen
broich, but whether he identified
the man was undiScloSed
Faces Life Sentence.
The kidnap-slayer of the little
Mattson boy faces probable death
sentence. Muhlenbroich. if con-
Victed in the De Tristan case under
California law, can be sentenced
only to life imprisonment unless it
is proved he harmed his 21a-year-
old victim. Federal authorities have
revealed nothing so far to indicate
any Federal law was violated in the
kidnapping.
Little Marc, son of the Count
and Countess Marc de Tristan of
nearby Hillsborough, was returned
to them unframed Sunday night,
two and one-half days after he
was found in the distant Sierra
Nevadas with Muhlenbroich, who
was overpowered by residents of
the area.
Mr. Connelley. after confer
ence with San Mateo County au-
thorities last night, announced the
40-year-0ld German alien would be
turned over to them as soon as
''minor details were worked out.
Il think we have an absolute case
against the mani don't know
what more you could ask" Mr.. Con-
nelley added.
Studied Society Pages.
For months, the F. B. L officer
said, Muhlenbroich had studied So
ciety pages. from which he COM
piled a list of 100 children with
wealthy parents.
The Federal agent further dis
closed
That Muhlenbroich finally de-
cided to kidnap the De Tristan
baby, obtained numerous maps of
the mountain country where he in
tended to hide out, but while con-
Quoting negotiations for 100000
ransom, and then seized the little
boy from his nurse near the De Iris
tan home last Friday morning.
That Saturday night he drove
into Placerville from the nearby
mountains, saw headlines of the
kidnapping in newspapers, became
panicky and fed back into the
hills. where he lost his way.
The next morning he asked direc-
tions Of Cecil Wetzel and Ellis Wood,
who had heard of the kidnapping and
became suspicious of his having
the curly-haired boy with him. They
overpowered him and called the
+. B. 7.
DesertiOns Disclosed.
Muhlenbroich was disclosed as
deserter from the German Army
end the French Foreign Legion in
q biogra ply released by the F. B. I.
The bureau said the alien, born
January 5. 1900, in Neuwerk, was
called into the German Army in
1917 deserted and escaped to Hol-
land; returned in 1918 to Germany
and rejoined the Army. and then
deserted again into Holland.
Returning to Germany in 1919.
Muhlenbroich served in the Army
in Russia until October, 1920. Then
he went into France where, he said,
he was forced to join the French
Foreign Legion at the point of a
bayonet" Ordered to French Indo-
China with the Legion, he deserted
the ship at the Suez Canal.
In than t,,rnei RI tho 600 and
worked as a merchant sailor. going
to the Dutch East Indies, South
America and the United States. He
jumped ship in August, 1924, here.
He worked as a barber here and at
nearby towns until March, 1929,
when he returned to Germany to
visit relatives. He came back to
the United States via Canada in
January, 1885, as an emigrant under