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Killer Priest Hans Schmidt · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Hans Schmidt, an apparently ordinary Catholic priest during the turn of the century,
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  concealed a sinister secret beneath his pious facade. Born in Aschaffenburg, Germany,
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  in eighteen eighty one, Schmidt was ordained as a Catholic priest in nineteen o
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  six. Following his religious duties in his home country, he was dispatched to
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  the United States in nineteen o nine, making a brief stop in Louisville,
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  Kentucky, before ultimately settling at Saint Boniface's Parish in New York, New York.
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  It was in the bustling city of New York that Schmidt's involvement in the
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  highness murder and dismemberment of his wife, Anna al Muller. Yes, despite
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  being a priest, he had a wife, came to light. This shocking
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  case captivated the city and became sensationalized in the tabloids. Schmidt was eventually convicted
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  and sentenced to death by electrocution at Singh Singh Prison in Ossening, New York.
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  To this day, Schmidt remains the sole Catholic priest in the United States
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  to have faced capital punishment, While the Catholic Church has not been immune to
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  scandals. Schmidt's transgressions stand out prominently in its history. In addition to the
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  murder of Anna Almuler, Schmidt engaged in a wide range of criminal activities,
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  earning him the reputation of a peculiar and malevolent individual. Let us delve into
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  some of the most abhorrent deeds committed by Hans Schmidt. Undoubtedly one of the
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  most infamous priests in American history, he murdered his secret wife and their unborn
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  child. Hans Schmidt made a perplexing decision to marry his housekeeper, Anna Almuller,
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  despite being a priest. Their wedding on February twenty sixth, nineteen thirteen,
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  was likely considered void by the Catholic Church due to his status. Unfortunately,
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  almost six months later, on September second, nineteen thirteen, Schmidt brutally
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  murdered Almola in her Manhattan apartment. The motive behind the heinous act was to
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  conceal the fact that she was pregnant with his child, which would expose their
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  forbidden relationship. He likely killed and dismembered a young girl. Following his transfer
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  from Germany to the United States in nineteen o nine, Hans Schmidt was appointed
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  to Saint John's Parish in Louisville, Kentucky. Despite his brief stay at Saint
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  Johnnies, Schmidt's difficult nature led to his subsequent transfer to Saint Boniface's Parish in
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  New York City. However, during his time at Saint John Yess, a
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  distressing incident occurred when a young girl named Alma Catharine Kellner went missing from the
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  church. Tragically, Kellner's lifeless body was discovered in the church cellar in May
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  of nineteen ten. The manner in which he had been murdered and dismembered bore
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  a chilling resemblance to the fate suffered by Schmidt's wife, Anna Almuller. This
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  led to speculation that the nine year old Kelner may have been a disturbing precursor
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  to the heinous acts committed by the young priest. He probably let another man
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  take the fall for him. Although Hans Schmidt was never held accountable for the
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  killing of Alma Katharine Kelner, another individual was Joseph Wendling, originally from France,
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  was employed as a janitor at Saint John's Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
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  When the young girl went missing. Subsequently, Wendling was captured, and despite
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  the striking resemblance between Kellner's murder and dismemberment and Schmidt's modus operandi, Wendling was
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  found guilty and given a life sentence in prison. He planned murders for insurance
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  gains. Doctor E. Murray, a dentist, was the accomplice of Hans
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  Schmidt in their criminal activities. Together, they utilized a covert second apartment as
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  their temporary base of operations to devise a fraudulent scheme. However, when authorities
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  stumbled upon Schmidt's secret dwelling, they conducted a raid and apprehended Murray, who
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  was attempting to eliminate any traces of their illicit endeavors. Without hesitation, Murray
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  promptly divulged the nefarious intentions that he and Schmidt had harbored a macabre plan to
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  carry out a series of murders and subsequently profit from the victim's life insurance policies.
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  Despite their sinister plotting, their intentions were thwarted as they were apprehended before
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  they could execute their heinous acts. He possibly killed a woman in Germany before
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  Schmidt's violent actions in the United States. It is believed that his series of
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  murders might have originated in his home country of Germany. In Schmidt's hometown of
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  Aschaffenburg, a murder occurred involving a young woman. German authorities discovered evidence linking
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  the sinister priest to this crime. Unfortunately, the German police were unable to
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  interrogate Schmidt before his execution, resulting in the case remaining unsolved. He faked
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  insanity to get a hung jury. Hans Schmidt's trial for the murder of Anna
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  Almler commenced on December seventh, nineteen thirteen. The defense team, headed by
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  Attorney W. Mk Olcott, did not attempt to refute Schmidt's involvement in the
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  atrocious crime. Instead, they pursued a different strategy, portraying him as a
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  mentally disturbed individual rather than a calculated and cold blooded killer. This approach proved
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  somewhat effective, resulting in a hung jury with a vote of ten two