Show SALT LAKE GRUESOME HORROR one of the crimes crime s oi of tile the ten cen pit tury has evidently been committed in in salt lake city I 1 A WOMAN THE VICTIM 1 I tragedy enacted at the Neth methodist odist church the clr hody body was wa cremated efforts oatha murderer to destroy the Evidence bones Done fell Th the grate of the fair nace Together with ruckle buckles from froin the woman apparel and tvr two and a Butel knife the he instruments with which it issup Is gnp the horrid deed wr wan committed silt salt lake city may 23 in alt all hu man probability salt lake city has hai been the scene of ef a butchery that stands almost without a parallel in the annals of crime and one seeking for a companion alece to the gruesome grue tome horror will seek eek in vain aln it bears bean some ome resemblance to the murder committed by durrant became came in this case too the sanctuary of god was the scene beccne of the crime and the victim was w a woman but the salt lake fiend outdid durrant be became cRuse alter after mutilating ti the body he deliberately proceeded to cremate it the scene ot of the tragedy was wa the first scandinavian methodist Method let church at no second exit east this house of worship 1 is across the street from the presbyterian church and diagonally through the block from the police tta sta lion rev francl francis hermann Is I 1 the pastor although in an assistant from provo lit in charge during hit his absence in the eat east Rev Hermann Is 1 very well known in this city especially among the seen scan by whom lie he it is considered it a man of god leal last year the ministers wife died and shortly before he went east in september 1895 to attend a church confere conference oce mix atlas clawson CI awson in an attractive young woman perhaps 25 years year of age stopped at the church building which Is large and in the wings accommodated several families and looked after the pastors pat tors apartments mr hermann returned from the conference late in september the day being thursday and mix miss clawson remained as a usual until the following sunday morning when she remarked to mrs irs 11 II artents H peterson Pe terron who resides redde in apartments on the north side fide ot of the church that she he was wa going to call on tire mn hanton hanson a friend residing on center treet street she added that she he would be back in the evening to attend services and would probably leave the following day monday to visit a girl friend in the country tor for three day when the she would return that was wa the list lat ever teen seen ol of her while the young woman had no parents in this country at least for the he was wa a scandinavian the she had many friends rl endi and her absence was wai soon loon noted then inquiries were made but no one could give any information as to the girls whereabouts until at last lait it is I 1 said aid mr air hermann tinted that a letter had been received from helena dating that the she was in a house home of ill tame there something occurred about the time the girl disappeared that to li now vividly recalled by the people living in the church building in all probability it wait wa sunday sep 39 29 that atlas clawson went out to make her call on the day following mr hermann told the janitor of the place a man named johnton johnson to clean out the big heating furnace in the be ment and prepare it for a fire A mr herman said bald he wanted to try the pipes janitor johnson johnon cleaned out the fur nace and carried six alx lx bucket of coll coal into the basement and was preparing to build a fire when the pastor said he wished wuhen to attend to that thai himself hi melt and told the janitor to retire this was wa just juit after the noon non hour and soon oon the furnace was wa going at full blast A 3 oung man who works nights was sleeping lit in the roum occupied by his ht family and the heat shortly became so 10 intense and such ich odors odon were given out that he became and had to be splashed with water before he re ills his parents parenti went down to the basement to remonstrate but mr air hermann kept hit his fire going merrily until nearly arquite or quite 6 during all this time he remained alone in the basement TH after a time the fire incident was forgotten a and nd recently mr hermann went cat cast to attend conference on ference and solicit funds for lils his church during his hi absence he called on i t gentleman from provo to take charge of the church and he la Is still there happens the acting pastor was wai a friend of tiles miss claw son ion or at least lead h he e took a an n active interest Inte reit in her welfare and from all that can be gathered wait VIM not quite satisfied with the mysterious manner in which she disappeared what led him to do it no one kno kloas jve but a few days ago he went down into the he t mouldy bouldy basement bai ement which has for so 0 o long served only as a a ren delvous for cats once there he looked inta the furnace and to lit his surprise found lit the hie ash receiver under the grate two razors a butcher anifet a garter buckle a belt buckle and a number of human bones bone all ai of course badly charred further wa and it w was found that theil the door io to the fur beet hace was st smeared neared with blood with rea son on tw to believe th atthe buckles were from apparel worn by ass mss clauton clauson the officers officer were called in and empty sacks in which cha charcoal rhoal had been brought info the basement base meni were found the bones bone were turned over oer to t a num ber of physicians and all unhesitatingly identified them aig as those these jofs lof a human being and almost certainly a female mrs mn H H 11 peterson an estimable lady whose husband li Is employed in the i department resides on the north side of the church she of course known rev hermann intimately and was wai well acquainted with mil clawson Cla wion she knew nothing about the discoveries made in Inthe the basement under her apart merit ments but talked readily mr hermann came back from the east on a thursday day of list lat september she he baid and on the sunday following miss clawson told me she he was going to visit a friend on center treet street but would return in the evening she also alo said aid that the next day sunday she ehe expected to go out into the country tor for a few days to visit friends lendi fr but would come back I 1 presume she ahe returned sunday evening but do not know as ai I 1 am not a member of the congregation do you remember the occasion when mr hermann built a fire in the furnace quite well it was dortly shortly after his hi return in fact I 1 saw law him carrying a large sack down dawn into the basement ba ement but do not know what it t contained I 1 re member that the fire created an intense heat in the apartments apart menti and remarked upon it to my husband but he did not consider cont lder it anything extraordinary did you ever notice anything becu liar about the relations loni between mils clawson and mr hermann not at all I 1 remember that on one occasion oc catlon cation mr hermann remarked to me that miss mil clawson had made a proposal to him I 1 think it was wa very nice of him to say ay that ml tiles clawson was wai a good girl and she he cared a great deal for mr hermann from other persons it was wa learned that mr hermann returned from erom the east recently but left again two wo weeks ago the acting pastor tilted stated that hit his last lait address addren was wa kanins kanini city where he was on may ath on hit his way to decorah la ia the th rello relics found in the ash receiver of the furnace furnish a very important clue the bones bone razors knife and buckles had become separated from the mass mac through the action of the heat and dropped through the grate without being destroyed df troyed the clavicle Is from three and a half to four inches long and was w first shown to dr richard Rf chardi who instantly identified it and pronounced pronoun ed it to be probably the bone of a woman it was wa afterwards shown to drs meacham Mea chani wilcox wright fowler niles and others other with will out any explanation and all agreed with dr richard statement in addition there are twelve or fifteen pieces piece of ribs and eight or ten vertebrae which have also alo been pronounced those of a woman the blood smeared door ol of the furnace hi has been taken ta ken off and Is now in the handt hands of dr mechem mecham lilt ills test show how it to be blood and further that it to 1 not the blood of a fowl As ai stated bated several everal acci sacks that had contained bained charcoal had be been en used in the furnace on this occasion occa ilon and dr rich ards opinion isthan it that the purpose wa to add to the heat and at the same came time counteract the odor from the burning body the basement bai ement should properly be called in an excavation for it li Is nothing more it li Is perhaps eight feet deep and Is situated under the rear part of t the he church the entrance if 16 through a hall opening into the rear yard and it was wa in this thi hall that mrs mn peterson saw law mr hermann carrying the sack lack the furnace I 1 to about in the center of the excavation and of the sort usually large building a A small coll coal chute on the south louth tide side ozithe basement ment 1 Is almo 10 1 0 t the only source of light when the entrance door Is lc closed loed and it Is 1 so 10 dark that nothing can be dis die berned in the gloomy place the present whereabouts of rev hei mann are unknown but efforts ar are e being made to locate hint him officers officer believe the lh matery stefy will toon soon lie be cleared |