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Subject: [NYMONROE-L] Monroe Co., NY Dec 24, 1891 (part 4)
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 19:54:26 EST

Rochester, Monroe, NY
Democrat & Chronicle
Dec. 24, 1891

(Continuation from part 3)


RELATION OF THE TRIO

The woman whose mixed relations with the German and the Italian undoubtedly
led to the death of the latter has led a life crowded with complications with
men. She is a German, 35 or 36 years of age. Her name before she changed it
for that of her first husband was Mary KIMMERMAN. She had three husbands. The
first one is dead and, it is thought, was dead when she married WOLFSCHLAGER,
who was her second choice. The dead man was her third husband. She is not an
attractive woman, but is big in body and rough and coarse in her actions and
language. In spite of the fact she was married to DEMICO she was known to her
acquaintances by the name of WOLFSCHLAGER, and at the place where she worked
was known by the name of her second husband, as is shown by the fact that
when a Democrat and Chronicle reporter called at Whipple's yesterday
afternoon and asked if it was there that Mrs. DEMICO worked, he was told that
no woman by that name was known by the firm. When the newspaper man spoke the
name of WOLFSCHLAGER it was immediately recognized as that by which the woman
who had been called away from work in the morning was known.

Little is known about the woman at the store. She has been employed by
Whipple at different times during the past two years and was considered a
good worker. She was known as "Black Mary" as well as by the name of
WOLFSCHLAGER. Yesterday morning she reached the store a few minutes later
than 7 o'clock, the hour at which the employes are supposed to begin work.
Several women besides her were employed in picking over beans, but nearly all
of them are Russians and it is not thought that she ever talked over her
affairs with any of them. It would seem that the woman preferred the company
of men to that of members of her own sex, and that all her time was passed in
cultivating the acquaintance of those with whom a matrimonial alliance was
possible, or with whom relations warmer and closer than the relations of mere
friendship could be maintained.

The circumstances connected with Mary KIMMERMAN'S first marriage can be of no
interest now. The woman's first husband is out of the way, whether dead or
alive, and is in no way connected with the tragedy of yesterday morning. But
with Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER, there is more to do now than with any other person
affected by the death of Charley DEMICO. He is the man who last saw the
Italian alive and the man who saw him die. What part he played in the tragedy
will probably never be known from anything that he will say, but it is highly
probable that when all the circumstances of the case are laid before a jury
of twelve just men, they will point so strongly to the conclusion that DEMICO
did not kill himself, but that he was murdered by the only man who was near
him at the hour of the tragedy, that Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER will be convicted of
the crime of murder.

The German was nearly twice the age of his wife when he married her eight
years ago. He is now 63 years old, but is a vigorous man and looks younger,
although his wits are not very sharp. He was born in Germany and although he
came to this country in 1865, almost twenty-seven years ago, he speaks
English very brokenly and is not easily understood by persons not familiar
with the German language. Almost immediately on his arrival in this country
he came to Rochester, and he has resided here ever since, with the exception
of a few months passed in Minnesota. He has no trade, but is a common laborer
and during his residence in this city has been employed on a thousand and one
jobs. He has gone about the city trimming trees and vines wherever he could
get the work to do, and also has worked with a pick and shovel. It has been
thought that he was a peaceable fellow. Although he drank he seldom became
intoxicated in public places and has been mixed in few drunken broils.

It seems that the matrimonial relations of WOLFSCHLAGER have been as varied,
almost as those of his wife. He had a wife in the poor house and is the
father of half a dozen children besides those he has had by the woman he
married eight years ago. He denies that he has two wives, but there is no
doubt but that he was married twice. Indeed, the woman who is now known by
his name gives as an excuse for marrying DEMICO the knowledge that
WOLFSCHLAGER has another wife living.

It would seem that the first few years of the married life of WOLFSCHLAGER
and his second wife were marked by no more differences than are common in the
domestic life of people of their class. In fact, no evidence exists that the
two had any serious trouble until Charley DEMICO made his appearance and
captivated the fancy of Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER. DEMICO was about 37 years old. He
was born in Italy, but had been a residence of the United States for ten
years and was a naturalized citizen. He was a day laborer in the service of
T. Oliver & Sons.

If improper relations were maintained by DEMICO and Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER
previous to the middle of last winter, the jealousy of the woman's husband
was not excited, but in the spring of the year and during the early part of
the summer the intimacy of the Italian and the woman was so apparent that it
could not be misunderstood, and WOLFSCHLAGER became angry and jealous. At the
time the German and his wife were living on Union street.

In June WOLFSCHLAGER went West, as far as St. Paul, intending to have his
wife follow him and live with him in the Minnesota city. He thought by doing
this he could break up the associations that had caused him trouble in
Rochester. He secured work as soon as he reached St. Paul, and began sending
money to his wife when he began receiving wages. He sent her several small
sums of money, and finally gave her $25 to pay the expenses of herself and
children to St. Paul, intending that they should all live together there. It
seems that during the time that Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER was in Rochester after
husband left St. Paul, her affection for the Italian warmed and increased to
such an extent that she found it almost impossible to part with him. So the
two were married, the woman representing to the minister who performed the
marriage ceremony that WOLFSCHLAGER had died in the West, and when Mrs.
WOLFSCHLAGER-DEMICO started for St. Paul she was accompanied by the Italian.
It was during the latter part of July that the couple and the children left
Rochester.

The two men and the woman lived together in St. Paul and their relations were
of a decidedly complex nature. Naturally WOLFSCHLAGER was not exactly
satisfied with the turn of affairs, but he continued to work and contribute
to the support of the family. But peace under the circumstances was
impossible and about ten weeks ago there was a dissolution of the triple
alliance. One Monday morning DEMICO started back to Rochester. The next
morning the woman followed him. WOLFSCHLAGER had not been apprised of the
intentions of the couple and consequently their departure was a surprise to
him. But he remained in St. Paul for about six weeks after the man and the
woman had left the city.

About four weeks ago the little German also came back to Rochester. He hunted
about for his wife and found her and DEMICO living together in the house on
Pinnacle avenue in which the Italian was killed yesterday. He was not
surprised to find things as they were, but he was more than surprised to
learn that his wife and DEMICO had been married. He had not heard of the
alliance until he returned to Rochester. He could not believe what he was
told until he was assured of the truth by the minister before whom the
Italian and the woman had gone through the marriage ceremony.

For four weeks, then, WOLFSCHLAGER has been brooding over this desertion of
himself for another man by his wife - an action that has caused men of all
times and all countries to commit murder. He was given room in the house on
Pinnacle avenue, but not as the head of the family or as husband of the woman
to whom he had been married eight years ago. He saw the Italian and his wife
maintaining the relations of husband and wife, while he was compelled to cook
his own food and sleep with one of the children. He did not go to work,
feeling sick and downcast, but passed all the long hours at his disposal in
brooding over his troubles. Surely, he had plenty of food for thought.

There was no change in the relations of the trio as the days passed. The
young man was the husband of the woman and the head of the house, and the old
man was crowded out. There was no room for him.

Tuesday night the unhappy family retired at an early hour, the Italian and
the woman in one bed, the old man in the other. This order of things had been
maintained since WOLFSCHLAGER'S return from the West. As the woman must go to
her work at 7 o'clock it was necessary for her to arise at an early hour, and
yesterday morning DEMICO got up at 5:30 o'clock and prepared breakfast for
her chatting with her and appearing cheerful enough. He had no employment for
the day and after the woman had eaten her breakfast he told her that he was
going back to bed to get another nap. This he did and the woman passed out of
the house.

There are but three rooms on the second floor of the little house on Pinnacle
avenue. Two bed rooms extend the length of one side of the structure, and
adjoining the rear room is a sort of kitchen in which there are a stove and a
table. The other corner of the house is taken up by a closet and a stairway.
Ascending the stairs, one enters the kitchen, which is connected with the
rear bedroom by a door. There is also a door between the front bedroom and
the rear room. When Mrs. WOLFSCHLAGER passed through the kitchen on her way
down stairs her older husband was seated by the table mentioned. That was the
last she saw of him until he rushed into the place in which she was working
and told her that DEMICO had committed suicide.

The children left the house soon after 8 o'clock. All attended school, but
before it was time for them to start the old German sent one of the little
girls to Eisenberg's saloon to get him some whisky. He gave her 10 cents and
when he had drunk the liquor she purchased with the money he sent the oldest
girl out, this time for 5 cents worth.

The children were all out of the house before 9 o'clock and WOLFSCHLAGER and
DEMICO were the only persons left in the rooms. DEMICO was asleep in the rear
bedroom and WOLFSCHLAGER was sitting in the kitchen under the influence of
the liquor that he had drunk.

What followed?
Can there be any other plausible explanation of the death of DEMICO, which
came within an hour, than that which would name Jacob WOLFSCHLAGER as the
cause of it? Imagine the circumstances. DEMICO was asleep and completely at
the mercy of the man whose wife he had stolen. WOLFSCHLAGER, of course, was
thinking over his troubles. He had not taken enough whisky to stupify
himself. On the contrary what he had drunk was calculated to inflame his
brain rather than full it. What more natural than that he should think of
revenge? What more natural than that when he realized that DEMICO was at his
mercy he should go and look at his enemy and, finding the man lying on his
back with his neck exposed and extended, should think how easy it would be
for him to get revenge in one quick stroke of his razor for all the wrongs
that he had suffered? This must have been the way of it. There can be no
other explanation. WOLFSCHLAGER nerved himself to the deed. He took his razor
from his trunk, felt its edge, instinctively, as he walked back to the side
of the bed on which his prostrate enemy lay, and then, after a moment's
hesitation, he made one quick thrust with the deadly blade.

It was a deep cut, severing the windpipe and a jugular vein of the Italian,
but with his last breath the dying man leaped from the bed. The blood was
flowing in a steady stream from the cut and by the course it took on the
floor of the bedroom can be seen the movements that the Italian made. He
staggered to the window of his room, then to the door communicating with the
front bedroom, then out into the kitchen and down the stairs. He managed to
reach the lower hall, but his foot was hardly off the last step of the
flight, when he fell to the floor and died, lying in a pool of his own blood.

The Italians occupying the first floor of the house heard the noise made by
their murdered countryman as, fatally wounded, he leaped off the bed. Later
they heard the fall in the hall and they cautiously investigated into the
cause of the unusual sounds. They started to ascend to the second floor but
got no farther than the foot of the stairs. They almost stumbled over the
body of DEMICO before they knew of its presence.

When they saw the blood and prostrate form they turned and fled, and one of
them ran to the nearest house and summoned William KARGES, the owner of the
structure in which the murder had been committed.

Mr. KARGES hastened to where the form of the murdered man lay, and after
taking a glance at the body started for a doctor. But he was confused, and
after having gone only a little way he returned to assure himself that the
Italian was dead. After making a hasty examination he concluded that the body
was lifeless. Then he went to Bender & Schauman's undertaking rooms and
hastily told the story of the death of DEMICO, as far, as he knew it. The
coroner was immediately notified. What followed, how WOLFSCHLAGER hastened to
his wife with the story of suicide on his lips, how the police and the
coroner were put in possession of the facts of the case is told in another
place.

CLEANED THE RAZOR

Soon after the arrival of Coroner KLEINDIENST, that official noticed
WOLFSCHLAGER lurking around and rather abruptly he asked:
"What was this done with?"
"With a razor."
"Where is the razor?"
"In my trunk," replied WOLFSCHLAGER.
A little later WOLFSCHLAGER led the way to his trunk and opened it. Reaching
down in the bottom, he pulled out a razor, which he said had been used by
DEMICO in committing suicide. The instrument showed no trace of the bloody
deed. When the coroner referred to this fact, WOLFSCHLAGER stated that after
DEMICO was dead, and before he went to notify the woman, whom both the men
claimed as wife, he took the razor and washed and wiped it.

While WOLFSCHLAGER was explaining this, the coroner's eyes were gazing at an
article of clothing that was partly concealed in the trunk. It was a gauze
shirt, and the sleeves were all covered with blood. When WOLFSCHLAGER had
done talking, the coroner reached down, and, pulling the shirt out, he held
it up before the man and asked how the blood came to be on it.

WOLFSCHLAGER answer was that he used it in trying to stop DEMICO'S bleeding.
He said that he took it and wound it around DEMICO'S neck, in an attempt to
save the life of the would-be-suicide.

At the police station Detectives FURTHERER and SKUSE secured a change of
linen and took it down for WOLFSCHLAGER. When they handed it into the cell
and told him to take off his shirt and put on those furnished, he meekly
obeyed, without uttering a word. The sleeves of the shirt that he removed
were red with blood.
Coroner KLEINDIENST will summon a jury this morning and will begin the
inquest at 10 o'clock.

WHAT WOLFSCHLAGER SAYS

The little old German who is the cause of all the trouble was seen in his
cell by a Democrat and Chronicle reporter last night. There is so much German
mixed with his English that it is difficult to understand what he says, but
an tntelligible conversation was carried on slowly. WOLFSCHLAGER repeated the
story of the borrowing of the razor that he had told in the morning. Then was
asked what he did when he heard the noise that made him think the Italian was
choking.

"I wend indo der bedroom," he replied, "unt Charley grabbed me by der collar.
I god away and den he wend down der stairs."

"Where did you go when you got away from Charley?" was asked.
The German sat down on the edge of his cot and refused to answer this
question, saying that he had told where he had gone. He worked his feet
nervously while telling about his experience with "Charley" and gazed
steadily at one spot in the wall of his cell.

Then he was asked what had been done with the razor when it fell from the
Italian's hands.
"I picked id up and washed id und put it away in my drunk," was the reply.
The old fellow told the reporter a great deal about his family relations, but
as what he said has already been told it is unnecessary to quote him. He
showed a slight gash on his wrist, but when asked in what manner it was
received he said that he "didn't know."

WOLFSCHLAGER sat until long after midnight on the cot in his cell at the
police station sullenly regarding the attendant on his occasional visits. No
further attempts were made to get any statements in regard to the crime from
him.
****



---
Glenda Whitaker Subyak
Monroe Co. & N. Y. State News Coordinator
Find your Ancestors at:
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http://PikeCoILGenWeb.org

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