Some of his statements were ridiculous. For instance, he did not know
what quarter of the city the woman lived in. He did not know how she
had been murdered. He said he climbed through a window and killed the
woman. When pressed, he said the window was the dining-room window.
In view of the fact that she was killed while working in a little
open, outdoor kitchen when murdered, the police became satisfied that
Devel was not the man, and ordered the pursuit of Holz resumed by all
departments.
The case even then was a remarkable one, and one which would have
defied any theoretical detective. The police proved that it was
impossible that Devel should be confessing in order to shield
Holz--first, because he never knew Holz; and second, because the
police had informed him that the real murderer was in custody, in
order to discover a reason for his confession. It was suspected that
Devel was partly insane and seeking notoriety. Everything in his life
refuted that idea. He was a quiet, orderly citizen, who seldom read
newspapers, and who neither was interested in crime or criminals.
He owned a small business in Lubeck, attended to it strictly, drank
little, and apparently was as sane as any one.