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Show ALLEGED SLAYER OF IS. GRDFF CEHI Man Taken in San Francisco Believed to Bc Stranglcr of Salt Lake Woman. In the arrest of a man giving the name or Elmer Schmidt in San Francisco yesterday, the local police believe that William Schmidt, sought the country over during the lust ten weeks as the murderer of Mrs. Marcla S. Groff, who was strangled to death at her home, 222 East Second South street, this city, January 21, Is In custody. Every description so far obtained of the man under arrest corresponds strikingly with the description of the alleged murderer mur-derer in the possession of the Salt Lake police department. Schmidt was arrested ar-rested at I o'clock yesterday afternoon by Detectives Gallagher and Dolan of the San Francisco police, on Information furnished by the detective department of the Southern Paclllc railroad. Telegrams, giving In Uctail the personal per-sonal characteristics of the alleged murderer, mur-derer, were rushed to San Francisco by Sheriff Joseph C. Sharp last night, and If tho reply Justifies tho presumption that the real Schmidt Is In custody, a request for requisition papers will bc made upon Governor William Spry this morning, and Sheriff Sharp, accompanied by a deputy, will leave for Smi Francisco tonight or tomorrow morning. First Intimation that Schmidt was under arrest was received by Chief of Police TJ. F. Grant at S o'clock yesterday morning In a telegram from II. .7. Small, superintendent of motive power of the Southern Pacific at San Francisco, stating that " ISlmcr Schmidt had applied for work as a bollcrmakcr and was being detained by the railroad i agents for investigation. Other telegrams followed and the police wore soon con- i vinced that the man wan William Schmidt. 1 As It was au Interstate ca3e. Chief i Grant turned the telegrams over to the 1 sheriff and the latter wired at once to ( the San Francisco police, requonling 1 them to hold Schmidt until on ofilcer , could be sent for hlni. Meanwhile tele- 1 grams pasHed between Special Agent , Kindlon of the Southern Pacific and Spe- 1 cial Agent Joseph Jones of the Oregon , Short Lino, with tho result that the San ( Francisco p'ollce were called Into the case , and Schmidt was turned over lo Ihem. I W, J. Groff, son of the murdered woman, wom-an, a local railroad telegrapher, declared (Continued on Page Nino.) ALLEGED SLAYER OF MRS. GROFF CAUGHT (Continued from Pago One.) last night that the arrest of Schmidt was the result of constant Investigation conducted by himself and detectives he had employed to trace Schmidt's movements move-ments since he left the city the day following fol-lowing the murder. According to Groff, Schmidt went from' Salt Lake to Los Angeles An-geles and has been working at his trade of bollermakcr in various California towns. William Schmidt, a. German, between .'10 and 35 years of age, was brought Into the murder case three days after her body was found. The police learned positively pos-itively that the night of the crime he was with the womnn in the Fritz cafe, 211 South State street. F. Hoffman, a waiter at the cafe, told ihe police that Schmidt had declared that he would get even with the woman for an alloged wrong. The two left the cn.fc together and no one has been found who saw Mrs. Groff alive; after that. Her body was found at midnight mid-night by John Lorain Rose, a waiter who lived In her apartments. She had been strangled by means of a wet towel, twisted about her throat. Lorain was held for several days as a possible suspect. sus-pect. Schmidt was seen the following day at the Boer saloon In West First South street. He entered the saloon on his way to the depot, carrying two suit cases, and bade the bartender good-bye. The latter, Joseph Olscn, said last night that he could recognize, Schmidt easily because of the eccentric characteristics of the man. The pollen say that Schmidt Is not well balanced mentally and that If he is tho murderer It will be easy to ontaln a confession from him. A special dispatch to The Tribune from San Francisco last night tells of Schmidt's arrest and of his refusal to discuss the accusation against him, despite de-spite tho utmost efforts of the San Francisco Fran-cisco police to obtain a statement from him. He refuses even to give an account ac-count of his movements since Mm dale of the murder, though, according to telegrams tele-grams received by tho police hore, he admitted ad-mitted to tho railroad officers that he bad worked in Ocdcn early In Jun.iary, It Is known that William Schmidt came to Salt Lake from Ogden January 11, ten dayo before the murder. He worked In tho machine sIioph of the Southern Pacific Pa-cific at Ogden as a. strikebreaker. Five hundred circulars describing Schmidt were sent out by the Salt' Lake police three days after the murder. I In Is eald to be 5 feet 7 Inches tall, woUhs lfiO pounds, has heavy, black hair, "sqtilnty" eyes, according to reports at hand. |
