A Book of the Saint Paul Police 1838 - 1912 — 13
Detective Thomas Haggerty, one of the best known members of the police force, attached to the Central Station detail, was drowned in Heron Lake, Jackson county, November 14th, 1904, while duck shooting. The body was recovered and brought to St. Paul where he was buried with civic honors.
Christmas eve of 1904 was marred by two murders. Harry Cannon killed Percy Young in their room at 249 1-2 E. 7th street and Al Mahler stabbed a companion known as John Johnson. Cannon was found guilty and sent to the penitentiary. Mahler made his escape.
On the 3rd of January 1905, Richard Cronin, night jailer at the Margaret street substation died in the patrol wagon, while struggling to keep Charles Wilson, an unruly prisoner, in the wagon.
On the 17th of January 1905, Theodore Bunker one of the best known undertakers in the Northwest, took his own life by drinking poison.
On the 3lst of January 1905, Sergeant William Towhy, one of the oldest members of the police force, tendered his resignation to go into the hotel business.
On the 20th of January 1905, Charles M. Banks was sentenced by Judge Kelly to 12 years in the state’s prison. Banks was known as the St. Anthony Park terror. Over a dozen women had been criminally attacked during the “reign of terror.”
On January 27th, 1905, the Bannon Department store was destroyed by fire entailing a quarter of a million dollar loss, and several policemen and firemen had narrow escapes.
On March 7th, 1905, Henry Kunitz, a prisoner at the county jail, killed himself by eating broken glass.
On February 18th, 1905, Christian H. Schindeldecker, a butcher at 523 West 7th street, was murdered, and this was perhaps the most sensational murder ever occurring in the Northwest. Chief O’Connor did perhaps the greatest piece of work in his history in ferreting out the murderer. While attempting to fill an order for meat the man was felled by a blow from a dull instrument and dragged to the rear of the store, where probably coming to life from the unconsciousness produced by the first blows, the body was mutilated with a meat cleaver. The murderer then dragged the body into the ice box, dropped it on the floor and locking the ice box made his escape. Edward Gottschalk was arrested by the police February 22nd, 1905 and kept closely guarded at the Central station. On February 27th, after Chief O’Connor had woven a complete web around Gottschalk, he made public the fact that he was arrested. The police then began a search for Joe Hartmann, a mere boy who was wanted as an accomplice of Gottschalk’s. Gottschalk was a fisherman. He had put up a plea of innocence. While the inquest was going on at the morgue on March 18th, 1905, the body of Joe Hartmann was found near the boom weighted down with flat irons. Gottschalk later was indicted by the Grand Jury and after considerable delay was brought to trial, and appeared before Judge Lewis for trial on May 11,1905, and astonished everyone by pleading guilty to the murder of Joe Hartmann whom he had killed to seal his lips, lest he testify against Gottschalk. Judge Lewis immediately sentenced Gottschalk to die on the gallows. On July 20th, 1905 Gottschalk outwitted the law. Phillip Martin, a deputy sheriff, acting as death watch, left Gottschalk in his cell about 11 o’clock in the morning. About 1.30 the murderer was found dead, hanging from the roof of his cell. He had torn strips from his mattress and made a rope. The police of the entire country and all the detectives of prominence have said that Chief O’Connor’s work in this case was excelled by no detective’s work at any time on any great American case to that date. It immediately stamped him as one of the greatest criminal catchers in the country.
On May 17th, 1905, Thomas Grace, one of the pioneer citizens, died.
On May 4th, 1905, Anton Wirl during a family quarrel shot and seriously wounded James Wirl, a young son, at their home 894 James street.
On April 13th, 1905, William Williams, a degenerate staying at the home of Mrs. John Keller, Reid Court, shot and killed Mrs. Keller and her son Johnnie. Williams pleaded guilty on May 20th, 1905, and on Tuesday February 13th, 1906 walked gamely to his death. The execution was a very unusual one. Williams’ drop was not properly arranged by the officials in charge, and spectators stated that the drop was not deep enough, and that deputy sheriffs had to hold the rope to keep Williams’ feet from touching the floor, and in consequence he was slowly strangled to death.
While the Williams murder was exciting daily attention, and the Schindeldecker murder was still fresh in everyone’s mind a third tragedy resulted in the death of Peter E. Raferty, a special patrolman, who was murdered when he surprised two safe blowers at work in the office of the Johnson Lumber Company at 7th and Kittson streets. Harry Laramie and James R. Eagan were arrested for the crime after some clever work by Chief O’Connor, and his men and the prisoners were tried and after a rather sensational trial were acquitted.
On May 2, 1905, forty men were added to the St. Paul police force.
On April 28th, 1905, George Mahon was found guilty of the murder of his wife, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He shot her seven times during a quarrel at their home on Sibley street.
On September 26th, 1905, Edward W. Bennett, Secretary to the Vice President of the Northern Pacific, was arrested on the charge of jury tampering. He was afterwards acquitted.
On September 17th, 1905, John Wynacht, a well known character about town known as “Hot Tomale John,” was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for an assault with a knife on Albert Haas, who recovered.
October 29th, 1905, Charles Vitt was shot by Patrolman Burke as the result of a practical joke. Some friends of his locked him into a smoke house at 229 East 7th street, and the patrolman hearing the noise in the smoke house thought it was a burglar, who resisting arrest was shot. Vitt recovered.
James Newman walked into a 7th street pawn shop September 14th, 1905, and shot Benjamin A. Fink, a clerk, who later recovered. Newman pleaded guilty and was given a three and one-half years sentence in the penitentiary.
On November 1st, 1905, Andrew McGill, postmaster of the city, former governor and one of the most prominent republican statesmen of Minnesota in a quarter of a century, died suddenly.
On November 22nd, 1905, Allen Fagley, a son of one of the most prominent clothing men in the city, was accidentally drowned at Lake Elmo.
On January 5th, 1906, a coroner’s jury found that F. J. Flannigan had been killed in a fight with Thomas Murray. Murray was acquitted.
