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A young woman had been murdered. Her body had been dismembered,
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wrapped in separate packages and thrown into the Hudson River.
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And the evidence was leading investigators directly to Father Schmidt.
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When detectives confronted him, they expected denials, perhaps outrage. After all,
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accusing a priest of murder was no small matter in 1913. Instead,
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Schmidt confessed. But what he told investigators about his motive
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was even more disturbing than the crime itself. He claimed
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he'd received a command from heaven that God required a
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human sacrifice and that the young woman he had murdered
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was the offering he had chosen to make. Well, then
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came the detail that would transform an already sensational murder
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into one of the most infamous crimes of the early
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20th century. Schmidt claimed that after cutting the woman's throat,
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He drank some of her blood. The newspapers would soon
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give him a name that followed him all the way
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to the electric chair. The Vampire Priest. I'm Alan Searcy,
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the American Onstorian, and this is Southern Ghost Stories. Tonight
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we're going back to New York City in 1913 when
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a priest's secret relationship, a gruesome discovery along the Hudson River,
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and a confession involving blood sacrifice would expose a darkness
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hidden beneath the collar of a man of God. Hans
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Schmidt was born in 1881 in a Bavarian town along
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the Main River in Germany. He grew up in a
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country where the Catholic Church occupied a powerful position in
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everyday life. Priests were respected figures entrusted with spiritual welfare
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of the communities. Their authority extended beyond the church walls
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into schools, homes, and family affairs. For a young man
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entering the priesthood, the path ahead was supposed to be
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one of discipline, sacrifice, and service. But even during his
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early years, Schmidt was developing a reputation that would later
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raise troubling questions about his fitness for the clergy. Accounts
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of his life describe unusual behavior, dishonesty, and a fascination
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with religious rituals that went far beyond ordinary devotion. His
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history would eventually include allegations of forgery and other fraudulent activities.
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There were warning signs, yet somehow Schmidt continued along the
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path of becoming ordained. In 1904, he became a Catholic priest.
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To the people who encountered him in church, he was
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Father Schmidt, a man who devoted his life to God.
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But being ordained didn't erase the darker aspects of his personality.
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In 1909, Schmidt crossed the Atlantic and arrived in the
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United States. Like millions of European immigrants before him, he
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came to a country offered the possibility of a new beginning.
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New York City was home to a large German-speaking population.
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and German priests were needed to minister to immigrant communities.
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For Schmidt, America also offered something else. Distance. Whatever scandals, accusations,
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or straight-up questionable behavior he had left behind in Germany,
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he now had an opportunity to establish a new reputation.
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He would eventually serve at St. Joseph's Church in Harlem.
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It was there his carefully constructed life began to unravel.
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Anna Ameler was a young German immigrant trying to make
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a life for herself in New York City. She was
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in her 20s, far from the country of her birth,
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and working to support herself in one of the busiest
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cities in the world. Like many immigrant women of her generation,
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Anna found employment performing domestic work. At some point, her
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path crossed with that of Father Schmidt. Short in connection
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with the parish, and the priest soon took an interest
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in her. Exactly how their relationship began is difficult to
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reconstruct more than a century later. More of what the
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public eventually learned came from Schmidt himself, a man whose
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statements were frequently contradictory, and his credibility was deeply compromised.
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What is certain is that the two became intimately involved.
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For Schmidt, the relationship violated the vows and obligations of
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his priesthood. For Anna, it placed her in a dangerous
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and unequal position. Here was a man with religious authority,
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social standing, and a position of trust. A man who
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could offer affection and promises, but who could never openly
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acknowledge her as his wife without abandoning the life he
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had chosen. Their relationship had to remain hidden. Eventually, Schmidt
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arranged for an apartment at 68 Bradhurst Avenue in Harlem.
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Away from the church and its watchful congregation, the couple
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could meet in privacy. Schmidt even went so far to
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conduct a private marriage ceremony. He claimed that he and
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Anne had been married, although the ceremony had no standing
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as a legitimate Catholic marriage. It was one more example
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of strange contradictions that defined his life. Here was a
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priest who had taken the vows of celibacy, yet he
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maintained a secret romantic relationship. He was supposed to uphold
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the laws of the church, yet he performed a ceremony
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that mocked the very institution he represented. And he was
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a man who preached morality while living behind a wall
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of deception. Well, then Anna became pregnant. For an ordinary couple,
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the news might have meant preparing for a family. For Schmidt,
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it threatened to expose everything. A pregnant mistress could not
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easily be explained away. There'd be questions about a father.
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Questions about where Anna was living. Questions about the priest
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who had been visiting her. If the truth emerged, Schmidt
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could face disgrace, removal from ministry, and the destruction of
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the identity he had worked so hard to maintain. We
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cannot know precisely what Anna believed would happen next. Perhaps
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she expected Schmidt to leave the priesthood. Perhaps she believed
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that the private ceremony made them husband and wife. Perhaps
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she hoped they could find some way to build a
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future together. Whatever her expectations, Anna was approaching a moment
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when she needed support and security. Instead, she was living
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with a man who would soon become her murderer. On
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the night of September 2, 1913, Anna was inside the
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apartment on Bradhurst Avenue. Outside, New York City continued its
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restless activity. Electric streetcars carrying passengers throughout the city. Elevated
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trains rumbled overhead. Families crowded into tenements, and the streets
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of Harlem were alive with the sounds of rapidly growing metropolises.
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Inside the apartment, however, something terrible was about to happen.
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According to Schmidt's subsequent confession, Anna had gone to sleep.
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He armed himself with a large knife. Then, while she
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lay defenseless, he attacked. Schmidt cut Anna's throat, inflicting a
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wound so severe that contemporary descriptions emphasize the extraordinary violence
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of the assault. She had little chance of surviving. The
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young woman who had trusted him who had shared his
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secret life, and who was curing his child. She was dead.
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But what happened next would make the case notorious all
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over the country. Schmidt claimed he knelt beside Anna's body
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and drank some of her blood. He described the murder
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as a religious sacrifice. He insisted he had been commanded
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to perform it. In his story, the killing was not
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simply an act of violence. It was a ritual. An
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offering made in obedience to a supernatural voice. There's no
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reason to accept his claim divine command is genuine, nor
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can every sensational detail of his confession be independently established.
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But the fact that he made such claims was enough
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to horrify the public. A Catholic priest admitting to murder,
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that was shocking. A priest describing the murder as a
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blood sacrifice seemed almost impossible to comprehend. And still the
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horror was not finished. Schmidt now faced the practical problem
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of concealing what he had done. Anna's body was inside
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the apartment. If someone discovered it, the trail would lead
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directly to him. He decided to make the body disappear.
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Using a knife, he dismembered Anna's remains. It was a
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prolonged and gruesome task, one that transformed the apartment to
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a crime scene he could never completely erase. He wrapped
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portions of her body in cloth and other materials, preparing
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them for removal. His plan was to carry the packages
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away from the apartment, and disposed of them in the
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Hudson River. The water, he apparently believed, concealed the crime.
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It was a terrible miscalculation. The Hudson River has long
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been one of New York's great commercial arteries. Steamships, ferries, tugboats,
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and barges move constantly across the water. On either side,
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docks and industrial buildings line the waterfront. In 1913, thousands
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of people crossed the river every day. It was an
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ideal place for a man who wanted to disappear in
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a crowd. Schmidt transported the wrapped remains toward the waterfront
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and used the river to dispose of them. Imagine the scene,
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passengers traveling between New York and New Jersey, thinking about work, family,
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or the journey ahead. Among them was a man who
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had committed a murder. A man carrying packages that concealed
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the remains of the woman he had killed, the woman
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he loved. He didn't look like a monster the newspaper
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would later describe. He was just another traveler. That was
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perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the case. Schmidt's clerical
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identity had allowed him to move through society with a
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degree of trust that few other men enjoyed. People were
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accustomed to seeing priests as figures of reassurance. They weren't
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accustomed to seeing them carrying the evidence of a murder.
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Schmidt threw the package into the Hudson, trusting the river
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would just take it far away. He had gone to
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extraordinary lengths to conceal Zanna's death. But the Hudson was tidal.
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Its currents didn't obey the wishes of a murderer. And
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within days, the river began returning what he had tried
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to hide. In early September 1913, human remains began appearing
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along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. One
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of the discoveries was made near the waterfront at Cliffside Park.
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The remains had been wrapped and discarded, but the river
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had carried them back toward the shore. Authorities were summoned.
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At first, investigators had no idea who the victim was.
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They knew they were dealing with a homicide, and the
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manner in which the remains had been handled suggested that
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someone had gone to considerable trouble to conceal the victim's identity.
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The body was carved up, and the relatives couldn't recognize it.
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There was no simple way to establish a name, and
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the killer had apparently counted on exactly that. But detectives
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in 1913 were not without resources. They could examine clothing
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and fabric, They could question merchants and landlords. They could
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trace purchases, interview witnesses, and follow the movements of people
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who had disappeared. They also understood something fundamental about violent crimes.
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No matter how carefully a killer attempted to destroy evidence,
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there was almost always something left behind. A receipt, a
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piece of cloth, a witness who remembered a face, a
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room that had been cleaned a little too thoroughly. As
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investigators worked to identify the remains, the case began attracting
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newspaper attention. The discovery of a dismembered woman in the
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Hudson River was horrifying enough, but the most shocking revelations
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were still to come. Detectives eventually connected the victim to Anna.
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From there, the investigation led to an apartment at 68
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Bradhurst Avenue and toward the man who had rented it,
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Father Hans Schmidt. By the time investigators examined the Bradhurst
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Avenue apartment, Schmidt had attempted to eliminate the evidence of
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Anna's murder. The room had been cleaned. The body was gone.
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At first glance, the apartment might have appeared ordinary, but
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blood is hard to remove, particularly when it seeped into
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the cracks and grain of wooden flooring. Investigators found evidence
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that a violent crime had taken place inside. The apartment
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was no longer merely the secret meeting place of a
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priest and his lover. It was the scene of a murder,
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and Schmidt was now the principal suspect. Detectives began piecing
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together his relationship with Anna. They learned of the apartment.
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They learned the two had been involved. They learned the
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young woman was gone. The evidence pointed in one direction,
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but there was still a problem. Schmidt was a priest.
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An accusation of this magnitude would generate an enormous scandal,
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and investigators had to be certain they were confronting the
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right man. When they finally approached him, They were prepared
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to question him by Anna's disappearance and the evidence recovered
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from the apartment. What they received was a confession that
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would make headlines all over the world. On September 13, 1913,
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three New York City police officers arrived at St. Joseph's Rectory.
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Among them was Inspector Joseph Farratt, an experienced investigator whose
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work helped establish modern criminal identification techniques in the New
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York Police Department. Schmidt was summoned to meet with the officers.
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When he appeared, his composure almost gave him away. He trembled.
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He buried his head in his hands. The detectives questioned
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him about Anna. Then they showed him her photograph. Detective
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John O'Connell asked whether he had killed her. Schmidt didn't answer.
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The question came up again. Still, no answer. Finally, when
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asked a third time, the priest admitted what he had done. Yes,
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I loved her. That's an extraordinary response. He did not
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say that he hated Anna. He did not describe a
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violent quarrel or some act of revenge. He claimed he
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loved her. Schmidt provided a detailed account of the killing
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and the disposal of her remains. He explained how he
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had dismembered the body and made repeated trips across the
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Hudson River to throw the packages into the water. He
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also told detectives where he had burned the mattress from
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the apartment. But when investigators asked why he killed her,
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Schmidt offered explanations that seemed to come from two entirely
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different worlds. At the time, he described the murder as
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a consequence of an impossible relationship. He was a priest.
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He loved Anna. He could not marry her openly and
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remain in the church. He could not bear the thought
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of losing her. In one account of the confession, he
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claimed that he had killed her because he could not
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allow her to live without him. But Schmidt also claimed
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the murder had been commanded by a higher power. He
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spoke of voices and religious visions. He compared the killing
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to the biblical story of Abraham, who was commanded to
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sacrifice his son Isaac. In the Bible, Abraham is stopped
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before carrying out the sacrifice. Schmidt, however, claimed that his
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own sacrifice had been completed. He described the murder as
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an offering of blood, and he maintained that consuming it
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as blood had become part of the ritual. To investigators,
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the confession raised a disturbing question. Was Hans Schmidt mentally ill?
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Or was he using religious madness as an excuse for
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a murder he had deliberately planned? And that question soon
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became the central issue in his trial. But before the
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case reached a courtroom, detectives made another discovery. The murder
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of Anna was not the only secret in Father Schmidt's life.
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As police searched Schmidt's belongings and examined his associates, they
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uncovered evidence of an entirely separate criminal enterprise. Counterfeiting! Father
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Schmidt had apparently been involved in a scheme to manufacture
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fraudulent American currency, and one of the men connected to
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the operation was a dentist named Dr. Ernest Murrett. Police
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found equipment and materials associated with the production of counterfeit money,
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including printing plates and partially destroyed impressions of currency. The
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discovery suggested that Schmidt's criminal activities extended well beyond his
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secret relationship with Anna. He was not just simply a
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priest who had committed a single terrible act. He was
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a man who had spent years concealing aspects of his
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life from people around him. The revelations also prompted investigators
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to look more closely at his past in Germany, and
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what they learned was troubling. Schmidt's history included reports of
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bizarre conduct and difficulties with church authorities. A letter from
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Germany indicated he had previously been suspended from priestly duties.
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The image of the respectable clergyman began to collapse. Newspapers
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eagerly reported every new revelation. The public learned about the
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secret apartment, the relationship, the murder, the dismemberment, and the
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counterfeit money. Every discovery seemed to make the case even
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more extraordinary. And the police were not the only ones
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interested in Schmidt's past. Journalists began asking whether the priest
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might have been involved in other unsolved crimes. And one
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of those inquiries led them hundreds of miles away from
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New York, to Louisville, Kentucky. Years before Anna's murder, Hans
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Schmidt had spent time in Louisville, He had arrived in
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1909 and stayed for a period with a local priest.
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His time there coincided with one of the most disturbing
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criminal investigations in Louisville history, the disappearance of an 8-year-old
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named Alma Kellner. On December 3, 1909, Alma vanished while
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on her way to church. Her disappearance shocked the community.
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Search parties scoured the neighborhood and authorities pursued leads in
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00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:33.779
an effort to determine what had happened to the girl.
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Months passed. Then in 1910, Alma's remains were discovered on
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church property. The investigation eventually focused on Joseph Wendling, a
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church janitor who was convicted of a murder. But when
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Schmidt was arrested in New York City three years later,
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newspapers remembered he had been in Louisville during the period
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surrounding Alma's disappearance. The coincidence attracted immediate attention. Newspapers reported
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about Schmidt's time in Louisville and possible knowledge of the case,
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but no credible evidence established he had participated. Alma Kellner's murder.
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Joseph Wendley's conviction remained in place. Schmidt was never shown
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to be responsible for Alma's death, but still the inquiry
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demonstrated just how far the shock waves from New York
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City had traveled. In December 1913, Hans Schmidt went on
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trial for the murder of Anna Amler, but then the
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case had become a national sensation. The public was fascinated
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with the trial. How could a man trained to preach
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compassion and forgiveness commit such a brutal act? How could
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someone entrusted with the care of souls justify killing the
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woman he loved? The defense did not seriously dispute Schmidt
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had killed Anna. Instead, its attorneys argued he was insane.
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A few weeks into the trial, after hearing the evidence,
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and deliberating, the jurors remained divided. The first trial ended
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with a hung jury. Schmidt had to be tried again. Well,
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a month later, Hans Schmidt returned to court, and the
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central issues remained the same. Was he criminally responsible for
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Anna's death? The defense again presented evidence of mental illness.
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but the second jury reached a different result. They all agreed.
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Hans Schmidt was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was
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sentenced to die in the electric chair. For Schmidt, however,
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the legal battle was not over. His attorneys pursued appeals,
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arguing that errors occurred in their proceedings, and the case
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00:20:26.890 --> 00:20:31.630
eventually reached New York's highest court. Well, the court considered
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the evidence of insanity, but concluded the conviction would stand.
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The judgment left Father Schmidt facing execution. There would be
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no third trial. By February 1916, Schmidt's appeals had been exhausted.
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He had been transferred to Sing Sing to await execution.
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The electric chair had been introduced in New York during
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the late 19th century as an alternative to hanging. Supporters
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00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:57.960
had originally promoted electrocution as a more modern and supposedly
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humane method of execution. But whatever its intended purpose, the
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electric chair had become one of the most feared instruments
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of capital punishment in America. Condemned prisoners were strapped into
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a wooden chair. Electrodes were attached to their bodies and
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a powerful electric current was passed through them. For Schmidt,
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00:21:14.670 --> 00:21:17.809
there was little left to do but wait. Reports described
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him as increasingly withdrawn during his final days. But Anna
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00:21:21.250 --> 00:21:24.309
had been murdered. Hans Schmidt had killed her. And he
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was legally responsible. On February 18, 1916, Schmidt was executed
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in an electric chair at Sing Sing. He was 34
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years old. The man who had once claimed to act
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on orders from heaven was dead. And the sensational case
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00:21:38.470 --> 00:21:41.910
of the vampire priest had finally come to an end.
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So if you want to hear more stories like this,
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check out my new book, Fear and Folklore, Vampires. It's
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available on Amazon. All kinds of weird stories about people
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drinking blood and people who are vampires or thought they
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were vampires. So it's available on Amazon. It's Amazon Plus.
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can read it for free. All my books are on
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Kindle Plus. The Sausage King. Southern Ghost Stories. Downtown Nashville.
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So please leave a review where you found the show.
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00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:08.460
And also, the Ghost of Gallatin Haunted Tour, it's winding down.
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A few more days left in October, but we're doing
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tours Friday and Saturday night. Come take a walk around Gallatin,
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Tennessee with me in the Historic Square. Have you guys
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been to Monster City Madhouse yet? The new shirt man
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your order. So be sure you like Southern Ghost Stories
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on Facebook and Instagram, and send me questions. I've got
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a Q & A coming up in November in a
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00:22:44.970 --> 00:22:48.720
few weeks. Send me your questions at southernghoststories at gmail.com.
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I'd like to interact with you guys. I've got a
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few stockpiled, but I'm always looking for more questions. So
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thank you for listening to Southern Ghost Stories. I'm Alan Searcy,
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00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.839
the American Hauntstorian, and I'll see you guys again tomorrow.
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00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:14.359
Coming October 2nd, the gates open at Smith County's scariest attraction,
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Nightmare Hollow. Located at 160 Marina Lane, Carthage, Tennessee, every
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Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10.30, admission starts
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at $ 20 with fast pass and VIP options. Nightmare Hollow
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is a haunted trail located at Defeated Creek Marina and Campground.
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Recently rebranded from Nightmare on Marina Lane, Nightmare Hollow has
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made several upgrades for this season, including... an additional trail,
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upgraded scenes, fast pass and VIP options, and a gift
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shop featuring local vendors and merchandise featuring our logo and characters.
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Come out and see what all the hype is about.
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200 years ago, Louisville, Kentucky was known as the graveyard
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of the West. Yellow fever hit the town so hard,
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gravediggers stacked bodies in mass unmarked graves, their names lost
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00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:05.279
to time. A century later, the Ohio River rose and
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00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:07.920
swallowed the city whole. The bodies it pulled from the
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00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:11.329
ground floated up against the cast iron storefronts, bumping against
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00:24:11.390 --> 00:24:15.029
the glass like they wanted back inside. This fall, Old
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Fashioned Express invites you to climb aboard the haunted trolley
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tour and take a trip back in time through Louisville's
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grim history. Ride a vintage trolley through the gaslit streets
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of Old Louisville, the Highlands, and downtown. And, if you dare,
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00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:33.619
abandon the safety of your trolley to walk the darkened
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streets where terrible tragedies occurred. Reserve your seat now at oldfashionedexpress.com
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for you.
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A young woman had been murdered. Her body had been dismembered,
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00:00:42.909 --> 00:00:45.829
wrapped in separate packages and thrown into the Hudson River.
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00:00:47.109 --> 00:00:50.030
And the evidence was leading investigators directly to Father Schmidt.
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00:00:51.549 --> 00:00:57.399
When detectives confronted him, they expected denials, perhaps outrage. After all,
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00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.859
accusing a priest of murder was no small matter in 1913. Instead,
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00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:06.879
Schmidt confessed. But what he told investigators about his motive
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00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.920
was even more disturbing than the crime itself. He claimed
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00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:14.890
he'd received a command from heaven that God required a
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human sacrifice and that the young woman he had murdered
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00:01:20.049 --> 00:01:25.189
was the offering he had chosen to make. Well, then
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00:01:25.230 --> 00:01:28.230
came the detail that would transform an already sensational murder
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00:01:28.269 --> 00:01:30.189
into one of the most infamous crimes of the early
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20th century. Schmidt claimed that after cutting the woman's throat,
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He drank some of her blood. The newspapers would soon
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give him a name that followed him all the way
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to the electric chair. The Vampire Priest. I'm Alan Searcy,
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00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:51.950
the American Onstorian, and this is Southern Ghost Stories. Tonight
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00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:54.250
we're going back to New York City in 1913 when
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a priest's secret relationship, a gruesome discovery along the Hudson River,
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00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:02.060
and a confession involving blood sacrifice would expose a darkness
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hidden beneath the collar of a man of God. Hans
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00:02:07.629 --> 00:02:10.990
Schmidt was born in 1881 in a Bavarian town along
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the Main River in Germany. He grew up in a
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country where the Catholic Church occupied a powerful position in
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everyday life. Priests were respected figures entrusted with spiritual welfare
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of the communities. Their authority extended beyond the church walls
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into schools, homes, and family affairs. For a young man
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entering the priesthood, the path ahead was supposed to be
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one of discipline, sacrifice, and service. But even during his
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early years, Schmidt was developing a reputation that would later
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raise troubling questions about his fitness for the clergy. Accounts
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of his life describe unusual behavior, dishonesty, and a fascination
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with religious rituals that went far beyond ordinary devotion. His
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history would eventually include allegations of forgery and other fraudulent activities.
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There were warning signs, yet somehow Schmidt continued along the
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path of becoming ordained. In 1904, he became a Catholic priest.
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To the people who encountered him in church, he was
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Father Schmidt, a man who devoted his life to God.
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But being ordained didn't erase the darker aspects of his personality.
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In 1909, Schmidt crossed the Atlantic and arrived in the
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United States. Like millions of European immigrants before him, he
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came to a country offered the possibility of a new beginning.
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New York City was home to a large German-speaking population.
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and German priests were needed to minister to immigrant communities.
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For Schmidt, America also offered something else. Distance. Whatever scandals, accusations,
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or straight-up questionable behavior he had left behind in Germany,
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he now had an opportunity to establish a new reputation.
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He would eventually serve at St. Joseph's Church in Harlem.
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It was there his carefully constructed life began to unravel.
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Anna Ameler was a young German immigrant trying to make
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a life for herself in New York City. She was
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in her 20s, far from the country of her birth,
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00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:14.990
and working to support herself in one of the busiest
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cities in the world. Like many immigrant women of her generation,
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Anna found employment performing domestic work. At some point, her
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00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.819
path crossed with that of Father Schmidt. Short in connection
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with the parish, and the priest soon took an interest
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in her. Exactly how their relationship began is difficult to
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00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.439
reconstruct more than a century later. More of what the
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00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.040
public eventually learned came from Schmidt himself, a man whose
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00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:46.639
statements were frequently contradictory, and his credibility was deeply compromised.
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What is certain is that the two became intimately involved.
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For Schmidt, the relationship violated the vows and obligations of
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00:04:55.189 --> 00:04:58.689
his priesthood. For Anna, it placed her in a dangerous
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00:04:58.730 --> 00:05:04.040
and unequal position. Here was a man with religious authority,
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00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:08.220
social standing, and a position of trust. A man who
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could offer affection and promises, but who could never openly
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00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:13.990
acknowledge her as his wife without abandoning the life he
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00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:20.769
had chosen. Their relationship had to remain hidden. Eventually, Schmidt
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00:05:20.790 --> 00:05:24.509
arranged for an apartment at 68 Bradhurst Avenue in Harlem.
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Away from the church and its watchful congregation, the couple
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could meet in privacy. Schmidt even went so far to
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00:05:32.870 --> 00:05:37.389
conduct a private marriage ceremony. He claimed that he and
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00:05:37.449 --> 00:05:40.120
Anne had been married, although the ceremony had no standing
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00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:43.240
as a legitimate Catholic marriage. It was one more example
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00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:47.180
of strange contradictions that defined his life. Here was a
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00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:49.879
priest who had taken the vows of celibacy, yet he
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00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:53.899
maintained a secret romantic relationship. He was supposed to uphold
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00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:56.959
the laws of the church, yet he performed a ceremony
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00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:01.000
that mocked the very institution he represented. And he was
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00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.120
a man who preached morality while living behind a wall
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of deception. Well, then Anna became pregnant. For an ordinary couple,
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00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.350
the news might have meant preparing for a family. For Schmidt,
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00:06:14.050 --> 00:06:18.149
it threatened to expose everything. A pregnant mistress could not
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00:06:18.310 --> 00:06:22.129
easily be explained away. There'd be questions about a father.
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00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:26.509
Questions about where Anna was living. Questions about the priest
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00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:31.060
who had been visiting her. If the truth emerged, Schmidt
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00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:35.430
could face disgrace, removal from ministry, and the destruction of
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the identity he had worked so hard to maintain. We
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00:06:39.269 --> 00:06:42.670
cannot know precisely what Anna believed would happen next. Perhaps
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00:06:42.709 --> 00:06:46.240
she expected Schmidt to leave the priesthood. Perhaps she believed
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that the private ceremony made them husband and wife. Perhaps
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she hoped they could find some way to build a
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future together. Whatever her expectations, Anna was approaching a moment
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when she needed support and security. Instead, she was living
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with a man who would soon become her murderer. On
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the night of September 2, 1913, Anna was inside the
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apartment on Bradhurst Avenue. Outside, New York City continued its
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restless activity. Electric streetcars carrying passengers throughout the city. Elevated
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trains rumbled overhead. Families crowded into tenements, and the streets
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of Harlem were alive with the sounds of rapidly growing metropolises.
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Inside the apartment, however, something terrible was about to happen.
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According to Schmidt's subsequent confession, Anna had gone to sleep.
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He armed himself with a large knife. Then, while she
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lay defenseless, he attacked. Schmidt cut Anna's throat, inflicting a
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wound so severe that contemporary descriptions emphasize the extraordinary violence
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of the assault. She had little chance of surviving. The
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young woman who had trusted him who had shared his
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secret life, and who was curing his child. She was dead.
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But what happened next would make the case notorious all
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over the country. Schmidt claimed he knelt beside Anna's body
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and drank some of her blood. He described the murder
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as a religious sacrifice. He insisted he had been commanded
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to perform it. In his story, the killing was not
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simply an act of violence. It was a ritual. An
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offering made in obedience to a supernatural voice. There's no
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reason to accept his claim divine command is genuine, nor
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can every sensational detail of his confession be independently established.
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But the fact that he made such claims was enough
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to horrify the public. A Catholic priest admitting to murder,
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00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:46.039
that was shocking. A priest describing the murder as a
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00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:50.399
blood sacrifice seemed almost impossible to comprehend. And still the
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horror was not finished. Schmidt now faced the practical problem
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of concealing what he had done. Anna's body was inside
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the apartment. If someone discovered it, the trail would lead
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directly to him. He decided to make the body disappear.
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Using a knife, he dismembered Anna's remains. It was a
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prolonged and gruesome task, one that transformed the apartment to
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a crime scene he could never completely erase. He wrapped
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portions of her body in cloth and other materials, preparing
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them for removal. His plan was to carry the packages
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away from the apartment, and disposed of them in the
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Hudson River. The water, he apparently believed, concealed the crime.
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It was a terrible miscalculation. The Hudson River has long
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been one of New York's great commercial arteries. Steamships, ferries, tugboats,
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and barges move constantly across the water. On either side,
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docks and industrial buildings line the waterfront. In 1913, thousands
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of people crossed the river every day. It was an
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ideal place for a man who wanted to disappear in
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a crowd. Schmidt transported the wrapped remains toward the waterfront
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and used the river to dispose of them. Imagine the scene,
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passengers traveling between New York and New Jersey, thinking about work, family,
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or the journey ahead. Among them was a man who
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had committed a murder. A man carrying packages that concealed
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the remains of the woman he had killed, the woman
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00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:21.960
he loved. He didn't look like a monster the newspaper
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would later describe. He was just another traveler. That was
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perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the case. Schmidt's clerical
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identity had allowed him to move through society with a
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degree of trust that few other men enjoyed. People were
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accustomed to seeing priests as figures of reassurance. They weren't
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accustomed to seeing them carrying the evidence of a murder.
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Schmidt threw the package into the Hudson, trusting the river
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would just take it far away. He had gone to
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extraordinary lengths to conceal Zanna's death. But the Hudson was tidal.
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Its currents didn't obey the wishes of a murderer. And
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within days, the river began returning what he had tried
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to hide. In early September 1913, human remains began appearing
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along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. One
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of the discoveries was made near the waterfront at Cliffside Park.
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The remains had been wrapped and discarded, but the river
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had carried them back toward the shore. Authorities were summoned.
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At first, investigators had no idea who the victim was.
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They knew they were dealing with a homicide, and the
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manner in which the remains had been handled suggested that
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someone had gone to considerable trouble to conceal the victim's identity.
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The body was carved up, and the relatives couldn't recognize it.
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There was no simple way to establish a name, and
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the killer had apparently counted on exactly that. But detectives
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in 1913 were not without resources. They could examine clothing
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and fabric, They could question merchants and landlords. They could
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trace purchases, interview witnesses, and follow the movements of people
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who had disappeared. They also understood something fundamental about violent crimes.
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No matter how carefully a killer attempted to destroy evidence,
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there was almost always something left behind. A receipt, a
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00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:11.590
piece of cloth, a witness who remembered a face, a
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room that had been cleaned a little too thoroughly. As
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investigators worked to identify the remains, the case began attracting
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newspaper attention. The discovery of a dismembered woman in the
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Hudson River was horrifying enough, but the most shocking revelations
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were still to come. Detectives eventually connected the victim to Anna.
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From there, the investigation led to an apartment at 68
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Bradhurst Avenue and toward the man who had rented it,
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Father Hans Schmidt. By the time investigators examined the Bradhurst
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Avenue apartment, Schmidt had attempted to eliminate the evidence of
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Anna's murder. The room had been cleaned. The body was gone.
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At first glance, the apartment might have appeared ordinary, but
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blood is hard to remove, particularly when it seeped into
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the cracks and grain of wooden flooring. Investigators found evidence
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that a violent crime had taken place inside. The apartment
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was no longer merely the secret meeting place of a
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priest and his lover. It was the scene of a murder,
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and Schmidt was now the principal suspect. Detectives began piecing
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together his relationship with Anna. They learned of the apartment.
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They learned the two had been involved. They learned the
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young woman was gone. The evidence pointed in one direction,
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but there was still a problem. Schmidt was a priest.
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An accusation of this magnitude would generate an enormous scandal,
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and investigators had to be certain they were confronting the
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right man. When they finally approached him, They were prepared
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to question him by Anna's disappearance and the evidence recovered
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from the apartment. What they received was a confession that
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would make headlines all over the world. On September 13, 1913,
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three New York City police officers arrived at St. Joseph's Rectory.
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Among them was Inspector Joseph Farratt, an experienced investigator whose
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work helped establish modern criminal identification techniques in the New
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York Police Department. Schmidt was summoned to meet with the officers.
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When he appeared, his composure almost gave him away. He trembled.
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He buried his head in his hands. The detectives questioned
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him about Anna. Then they showed him her photograph. Detective
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John O'Connell asked whether he had killed her. Schmidt didn't answer.
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The question came up again. Still, no answer. Finally, when
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asked a third time, the priest admitted what he had done. Yes,
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I loved her. That's an extraordinary response. He did not
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say that he hated Anna. He did not describe a
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violent quarrel or some act of revenge. He claimed he
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loved her. Schmidt provided a detailed account of the killing
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and the disposal of her remains. He explained how he
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had dismembered the body and made repeated trips across the
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Hudson River to throw the packages into the water. He
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also told detectives where he had burned the mattress from
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the apartment. But when investigators asked why he killed her,
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Schmidt offered explanations that seemed to come from two entirely
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different worlds. At the time, he described the murder as
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a consequence of an impossible relationship. He was a priest.
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He loved Anna. He could not marry her openly and
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remain in the church. He could not bear the thought
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of losing her. In one account of the confession, he
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claimed that he had killed her because he could not
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allow her to live without him. But Schmidt also claimed
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the murder had been commanded by a higher power. He
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spoke of voices and religious visions. He compared the killing
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to the biblical story of Abraham, who was commanded to
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sacrifice his son Isaac. In the Bible, Abraham is stopped
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before carrying out the sacrifice. Schmidt, however, claimed that his
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own sacrifice had been completed. He described the murder as
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an offering of blood, and he maintained that consuming it
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as blood had become part of the ritual. To investigators,
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the confession raised a disturbing question. Was Hans Schmidt mentally ill?
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Or was he using religious madness as an excuse for
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a murder he had deliberately planned? And that question soon
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became the central issue in his trial. But before the
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case reached a courtroom, detectives made another discovery. The murder
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of Anna was not the only secret in Father Schmidt's life.
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As police searched Schmidt's belongings and examined his associates, they
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uncovered evidence of an entirely separate criminal enterprise. Counterfeiting! Father
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Schmidt had apparently been involved in a scheme to manufacture
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fraudulent American currency, and one of the men connected to
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the operation was a dentist named Dr. Ernest Murrett. Police
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found equipment and materials associated with the production of counterfeit money,
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including printing plates and partially destroyed impressions of currency. The
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discovery suggested that Schmidt's criminal activities extended well beyond his
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secret relationship with Anna. He was not just simply a
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priest who had committed a single terrible act. He was
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a man who had spent years concealing aspects of his
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life from people around him. The revelations also prompted investigators
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to look more closely at his past in Germany, and
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what they learned was troubling. Schmidt's history included reports of
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bizarre conduct and difficulties with church authorities. A letter from
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Germany indicated he had previously been suspended from priestly duties.
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The image of the respectable clergyman began to collapse. Newspapers
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eagerly reported every new revelation. The public learned about the
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secret apartment, the relationship, the murder, the dismemberment, and the
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counterfeit money. Every discovery seemed to make the case even
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more extraordinary. And the police were not the only ones
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interested in Schmidt's past. Journalists began asking whether the priest
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might have been involved in other unsolved crimes. And one
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of those inquiries led them hundreds of miles away from
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New York, to Louisville, Kentucky. Years before Anna's murder, Hans
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Schmidt had spent time in Louisville, He had arrived in
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1909 and stayed for a period with a local priest.
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His time there coincided with one of the most disturbing
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criminal investigations in Louisville history, the disappearance of an 8-year-old
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named Alma Kellner. On December 3, 1909, Alma vanished while
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on her way to church. Her disappearance shocked the community.
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Search parties scoured the neighborhood and authorities pursued leads in
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an effort to determine what had happened to the girl.
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Months passed. Then in 1910, Alma's remains were discovered on
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church property. The investigation eventually focused on Joseph Wendling, a
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church janitor who was convicted of a murder. But when
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Schmidt was arrested in New York City three years later,
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newspapers remembered he had been in Louisville during the period
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surrounding Alma's disappearance. The coincidence attracted immediate attention. Newspapers reported
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about Schmidt's time in Louisville and possible knowledge of the case,
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but no credible evidence established he had participated. Alma Kellner's murder.
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Joseph Wendley's conviction remained in place. Schmidt was never shown
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to be responsible for Alma's death, but still the inquiry
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demonstrated just how far the shock waves from New York
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City had traveled. In December 1913, Hans Schmidt went on
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trial for the murder of Anna Amler, but then the
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case had become a national sensation. The public was fascinated
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with the trial. How could a man trained to preach
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compassion and forgiveness commit such a brutal act? How could
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someone entrusted with the care of souls justify killing the
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woman he loved? The defense did not seriously dispute Schmidt
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had killed Anna. Instead, its attorneys argued he was insane.
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A few weeks into the trial, after hearing the evidence,
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and deliberating, the jurors remained divided. The first trial ended
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with a hung jury. Schmidt had to be tried again. Well,
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a month later, Hans Schmidt returned to court, and the
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central issues remained the same. Was he criminally responsible for
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Anna's death? The defense again presented evidence of mental illness.
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but the second jury reached a different result. They all agreed.
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Hans Schmidt was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was
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sentenced to die in the electric chair. For Schmidt, however,
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the legal battle was not over. His attorneys pursued appeals,
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arguing that errors occurred in their proceedings, and the case
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eventually reached New York's highest court. Well, the court considered
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the evidence of insanity, but concluded the conviction would stand.
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The judgment left Father Schmidt facing execution. There would be
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no third trial. By February 1916, Schmidt's appeals had been exhausted.
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He had been transferred to Sing Sing to await execution.
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The electric chair had been introduced in New York during
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the late 19th century as an alternative to hanging. Supporters
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had originally promoted electrocution as a more modern and supposedly
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humane method of execution. But whatever its intended purpose, the
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electric chair had become one of the most feared instruments
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of capital punishment in America. Condemned prisoners were strapped into
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a wooden chair. Electrodes were attached to their bodies and
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a powerful electric current was passed through them. For Schmidt,
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there was little left to do but wait. Reports described
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him as increasingly withdrawn during his final days. But Anna
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had been murdered. Hans Schmidt had killed her. And he
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was legally responsible. On February 18, 1916, Schmidt was executed
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in an electric chair at Sing Sing. He was 34
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years old. The man who had once claimed to act
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on orders from heaven was dead. And the sensational case
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of the vampire priest had finally come to an end.
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So if you want to hear more stories like this,
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check out my new book, Fear and Folklore, Vampires. It's
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available on Amazon. All kinds of weird stories about people
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drinking blood and people who are vampires or thought they
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were vampires. So it's available on Amazon. It's Amazon Plus.
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You can read it for free. Or Kindle Plus. You
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00:21:57.430 --> 00:21:59.289
can read it for free. All my books are on
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Kindle Plus. The Sausage King. Southern Ghost Stories. Downtown Nashville.
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So please leave a review where you found the show.
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And also, the Ghost of Gallatin Haunted Tour, it's winding down.
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A few more days left in October, but we're doing
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tours Friday and Saturday night. Come take a walk around Gallatin,
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Tennessee with me in the Historic Square. Have you guys
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been to Monster City Madhouse yet? The new shirt man
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is a whole lot of fun, Gravestone. Featuring a mashup
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of Tombstone and the Universal Monsters, this Monster City Madhouse
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exclusive shirt is made from a comfortable 60-40 polyester cotton blend.
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With quotes like, I'm your huckleberry, and hell's coming with me.
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you'll be ready to unleash monster justice. So when you
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go to monstercitymadhouse.com, use promo code SAVE10. Get 10% off
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your order. So be sure you like Southern Ghost Stories
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on Facebook and Instagram, and send me questions. I've got
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a Q & A coming up in November in a
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few weeks. Send me your questions at southernghoststories at gmail.com.
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I'd like to interact with you guys. I've got a
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few stockpiled, but I'm always looking for more questions. So
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thank you for listening to Southern Ghost Stories. I'm Alan Searcy,
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the American Hauntstorian, and I'll see you guys again tomorrow.
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Coming October 2nd, the gates open at Smith County's scariest attraction,
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Nightmare Hollow. Located at 160 Marina Lane, Carthage, Tennessee, every
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Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10.30, admission starts
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at $ 20 with fast pass and VIP options. Nightmare Hollow
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is a haunted trail located at Defeated Creek Marina and Campground.
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Recently rebranded from Nightmare on Marina Lane, Nightmare Hollow has
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made several upgrades for this season, including... an additional trail,
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upgraded scenes, fast pass and VIP options, and a gift
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shop featuring local vendors and merchandise featuring our logo and characters.
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Come out and see what all the hype is about.
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200 years ago, Louisville, Kentucky was known as the graveyard
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of the West. Yellow fever hit the town so hard,
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gravediggers stacked bodies in mass unmarked graves, their names lost
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to time. A century later, the Ohio River rose and
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swallowed the city whole. The bodies it pulled from the
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ground floated up against the cast iron storefronts, bumping against
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the glass like they wanted back inside. This fall, Old
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Fashioned Express invites you to climb aboard the haunted trolley
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tour and take a trip back in time through Louisville's
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grim history. Ride a vintage trolley through the gaslit streets
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of Old Louisville, the Highlands, and downtown. And, if you dare,
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abandon the safety of your trolley to walk the darkened
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streets where terrible tragedies occurred. Reserve your seat now at oldfashionedexpress.com
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and use the code podcast10 for 10% off. We're waiting
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for you.
