MIUmiE WILLIAMS. ADELE OOVELLE. 
 ALDINE WiLNDA.— AplbenRuB ub CBBe E 
 \j lObU PRB«B ABfiuctt PCAeUeBu RubwFR Alao^ 
 ^ I*: PKftaAB i^bepBa. Address GEOEGE S. ^BA- ^ 
 
 X HAM, CSIj Hall, PMladeli)hJa, Penn., U. S. A, 
 
 THB BXfXlUOT ATTOBN£T AJTD MATOS 
 OF FMIIJU;>£I<PHIA« 
 
The 
 
 Holmes -Pite^el 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Greatest Crime of the fentury 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 SEARCH FOR THE MISSING 
 PITEZEL CHILDREN 
 
 BY 
 
 DETECTIVE FRANK P. QEYER 
 
 OF THE BUREAU OF POLICE, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, 
 OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 
 
 A TRUB DBTECTIV^ STORY 
 
 By permission of the District Attorney and Mayor of the 
 City of Philadelphia 
 
 FULLY ILLUSTRATED 
 
 PUBLISHERS' UNION 
 1896 
 
COPYEIGHT 1896 
 BY 
 
 FRANK P. GEYER 
 
eHltA^ELPJilA 
 
 eeORGC^S. GRAHAM, 
 
 c^ ^^ Z^^" ^^ -^^^^U^ a^^ 
 
 ^k4MZZtcyfli^;i^.^y c^^viJ^M^i^ 
 
^-^a^*?^^^ <:%j^^«<^^ 
 
 ya...<y^ y. 
 
 _ PHILAPELPHIA 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is not possible to find in the annals of crim- 
 inal jurisprudence, a more deliberate and cold 
 blooded villain than the central figure in this story, 
 nor would the most careful research among the 
 records of the prominent murder trials that have 
 absorbed public attention during the past century, 
 disclose the careful planning that made possible the 
 apprehension of Holmes, the prosecution to an 
 almost miraculous ending of the search for the 
 missing children, or the equal of the forensic skill 
 and cunning that wove the close web in which this 
 man of many names and many murders was en- 
 tangled. 
 
 That Holmes committed four murders has 
 been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, and 
 that his timely arrest prevented three more mur- 
 ders is ecLually sure. If the Chicago "Castle" 
 could give up its guilty secrets, there is more than 
 a strong suspicion that the list of Holmes crimes 
 would be materially lengthened. We do know that 
 fraud, deliberately planned and coolly executed, the 
 blackest treachery toward his associates, a long term 
 of brutal cruelty toward the helpless woman and her 
 children who were in his clutches, and the marvel- 
 ous duplicity and falsehood practiced upon the 
 three women who each believed herself to be his 
 lawful wife, are to be added to the list. 
 
 A remarkable thing about a murderer who has 
 
ackieved the notoriety of Holmes, is the fact that 
 no flowers nor gifts were sent to him by morbid 
 sympathizers. The story of the search for the 
 missing children reads like a romance, and its 
 almost miraculous conclusion is another proof that 
 detective acumen and tireless patience will find the 
 unguarded spot which always exists in the armor 
 of the most wily criminal. The reader will echo 
 the remarks of the learned judge, who, in charging 
 the jury that convicted Holmes, said: "Truth is 
 Stranger than Fiction, and if Mrs. Pitezel's Story 
 is true— (and it was proven to be true)— it is the 
 Most Wonderful Exhibition of the Power of Mind 
 Over Mind I Have Ever Seen, and Stranger than 
 any Novel I Have Ever Read." 
 
 It is fitting that this true story that outrivals 
 fiction should be published. The tone of the narra- 
 tive is wholesome. Even youth may profit by it. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGE 
 
 Who was Perry ? 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 lusurance Money Claimed . . . . . 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Insurance Co, Suspicious .... 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Clang of the Cell-Door .... 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Wages of Sin 99 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 In the Toils 138 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 ' ' A Slippery and Subtle Knave " . . 145 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Pitezel Children 155 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 On the Trail 173 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Untiring Pursuit . . . . . . 183 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 An Expert in Crime 203 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Search Rewarded 215 
 
CHAPTER Xni. PAGE 
 
 Forging the Links ...... 237 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 How to Find the Boy 255 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Detective Puzzled 267 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Beginning of the End 281 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 "When He Came" 289 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Chain Complete 299 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Justice Cried " Amen " 305 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Looking Backward 317 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 A Triple Alliance 325 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 A Friend in Kced 333 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Excluded Testimony 337 
 
 CHAPTER XXrV\ 
 
 Chronology 346 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 Speech of Hon. George S. Graham ... 371 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 Motion for New Trial 406 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 The Decision of the Supreme Court , . . 489 
 
List of Illustrations^ 
 
 PAGE 
 
 No. 131'' /'allowhill St., Philadelphia, Pa. , . 19 
 
 Alice Pitezel 38 
 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel 55 
 
 RearofNo. 1316CallowhillSt 74 
 
 Holmes' " Castle " at Chicago, Ills. ... 91 
 
 Poplar Street House, Cincinnati, Ohio . . . 110 
 No 26 Winooski Ave., Burlington, Vt. . . .127 
 Fac-simile of Holmes' Letter to District Attorney 
 
 Graham 149 
 
 Fac-simileof the Worthless Promissory Note . .160 
 
 Detective Frank P. Geyer 182 
 
 Nellie Pitezel 199 
 
 Howard Pitezel . ... . . . 218 
 
 No. 241 Forest Ave., Detroit, Mich. . . .235 
 
 Rear of No, 241 Forest Ave 254 
 
 Fac-simile of Alice' s Letter to Her Grandparents 264, 265 
 No 16 St. Vincent St., Toronto, Canada . . . 275 
 Spade Used by Holmes in Burying Alice and Nellie 294 
 Little Teeth of Howard Pitezel . . . .311 
 
 Cottage at Irviugton, Ind 362 
 
 Rear of Cottage at Irvington, Ind 379 
 
 Fac-simile of Letter from "Jim'' to Holmes . . 398 
 Fac-simile of the "Ritual" Letter. . . . 415 
 
"Foul Deeds will rise, 
 though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes." 
 
 " Let guilty men remember, their black deeds. 
 Do lean on crutches made of slender reeds." 
 
THE HOLMES-PITEZEL CASE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHO WAS PERRY? 
 
 Meeting of Eugeue Smith and B. F. Perry — Smith sees 
 Holmes — Perry disappears — Discovery of a Corpse — Con- 
 dition of the Corpse — Coroner's Inquest — Identification as 
 Perry, 
 
 I^r the latter part of August, 1894, Eugene 
 Smith, a house carpenter, was passing along Cal- 
 lowhill Street, between Thirteenth and Broad 
 Streets, in the city of Philadelphia, when his at- 
 tention was attracted by a somewhat conspicuous 
 sign in the bulk window of the house numbered 
 1316. The house was one of a row of red brick, 
 two and a half stories high, and immediately op- 
 posite the old abandoned station of the Philadel- 
 phia & Reading Railroad. The sign was made 
 out of a sheet of muslin stretched across the win- 
 dow, and on it was printed in black and red let- 
 ters, " B. F. Perry, Patents Bought and Sold." 
 
 (13) 
 
14 SMITH SEES HOLMES. 
 
 Smith was an inventor and had recently pat- 
 ented an ingenious device for a saw sett which he 
 was very desirous of turning into money. So 
 stopping a moment, he decided to seek the advice 
 and assistance of Perrj-, wlio was in tlie business 
 of buying and selling patents. 
 
 When Smith walked into the store, he was 
 greeted by a tall, raw-boned man, witli a some- 
 what sharp countenance, who announced himself 
 as the proprietor Perry, and who readily listened 
 to Smith's explanation of the merits of his new 
 saw sett. Perry requested Smith to furnish him 
 with a model of his invention, which the latter 
 promised to do. 
 
 The next day Smith called again, taking with 
 him the model, the merits of which he explained 
 more fully and in greater detail. In the course 
 of the conversation, Smith informed Perry that 
 he was a carpenter by trade and was anxious to 
 secure work, whereupon Perry employed him to 
 construct a rough counter required for business 
 purposes, in the first floor storeroom of the 
 house. It was while working at this counter, 
 that Smith saw a man enter, give a sign to Perry, 
 and pass up the stairway in the rear of the front 
 room, into the upper or second story of the house. 
 
WHO WAS PERRY? 15 
 
 Perry followed this man upstairs and shortly re- 
 turned to the first floor and resumed his conversa- 
 tion with Smith. Smith never saw this man at 
 the house but once, but he afterwards identified 
 him as H. H. Holmes. 
 
 In the afternoon of Monday, September 3d, 
 Smith called at No. 1316 to see Perry again, and 
 to ascertain if any progress had been made in the 
 sale of the patent. As he stepped into the store, 
 he discovered it was vacant, and observed also 
 that there was no one in the rear room of the first 
 floor. Thinking that Perry was in the upper 
 floor, or was temporarily absent upon an errand 
 in the immediate neighborhood, Smith took a 
 seat, and had an opportunity of observing the 
 contents of the store. On a nail were hanging a 
 hat and a pair of cuffs, and on the counter were 
 several bottles and a few other articles of incon- 
 siderable value, which appeared to make up the 
 stock in trade of the patent dealer. After wait- 
 ing a short time. Smith halloed at tlie top of his 
 voice, but received no answer. He then went 
 out and asked a neighbor if she had seen Perry 
 about. She told him that very often Mr. Perry 
 went around the corner to a saloon and would 
 probably return shortly. Smith remained for 
 
16 PERRY DISAPPEARS. 
 
 half an hour, and then as Peiry did not letuni, he 
 departed, closing the door ufier him. Saiilli \\as 
 annoyed at Ids i'ailure to see Peny, and also be- 
 cause the place had been left (^pen and aj piaently 
 uuprotected, and he made it a point to re'aun 
 early the next morning, Tuesday the -1th in.st. 
 He found the door shut, but not locked, just as 
 he had left it. The chair in which he had si.t the 
 day before, was in the same place he had left it, 
 and apparently had not been moved. The hat 
 and cuffs still hung upon the nail. He hallooed; 
 "Perry" several times, but received no answer. 
 He then walked up the stairs leading to the 
 second floor, and looking towards the front room, 
 observed a cot, but it was unoccupied. He then 
 turned to the left and looking into the back room, 
 his gaze met a sight that chilled his blood. Ly- 
 ing prostrate on the floor, with his feet towards 
 the window, and his head to the door, was a man, 
 dead, — the face disfigured beyond recognition by 
 decomposition and burning, and surrounded ap- 
 parently by evidences of an explosion. The sun 
 was shining brightly through the window, and 
 directly on the upper part of the body, and it 
 needed no second glance from Smith to convince 
 him of his duty to summon the police. 
 
WHO WAS PERRY f 17 
 
 Leaving the house without delay, he hurried to 
 the nearest station house and returned with two 
 officers, who on their way, stopped for Dr. Scott, 
 the nearest physician. 
 
 The upper part of the body was found to be 
 much decomposed. The left arm was extended 
 along and close to the left side, the right arm 
 across the breast, — altogether a very peaceful 
 posture. He was rigid and straight as if lie 
 had been ceremoniously laid out in death. The 
 left side of the shirt and the left brenst had 
 been burned, and the nuistailie on one side and 
 the forelock of hair was singed. The body under 
 the arm was not burned at all. From the mouth 
 had flowed a consideiable quantity of fluid, 
 slightly tinged with blood, which stained tlie floor 
 for a foot or two alongside the bod}-. 
 
 By reason of decomposition and the burns, it 
 seemed impossible to identify the body lo a cer- 
 tainity, as that of Perry, although the clothing 
 was the same which Smith had seen Perry wear. 
 The color of the hair and the length of tlie body, 
 and the general appearance was the san:ie as 
 Perry. At the side of the body lay the fragments 
 of a large brcken bottle, a pipe filled with tobacco 
 and a burnt match. The tobacco in the pipe had 
 
18 CONDITION OF THE CORPSE. 
 
 been but slightly charred. The outside window 
 shutters were bowed, the window was up, and the 
 fireboard at the chimney near which the body lay 
 was open at an angle of about eight inches. 
 
 The body was at once removed to the city 
 morgue, ivhich is in the immediate rear of No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street., and on the same day the cor- 
 oner's physician made an autops3^ The brain 
 was normal, the body well nourished, the lungs 
 were congested, the heart empty and normal and 
 free from clots, indicating that death had been 
 very rapid with him. The stomach exhibited 
 alcoholic irritation and emitted a strong odor of 
 chloroform. Whatever caused death, caused pa- 
 ralysis of the involuntary muscles, as the bladder 
 had emptied and regurgitation took place from 
 the mouth, where the body lay. 
 
 The burns on the body as described, were also 
 noted by the coroner's physician. An inquest by 
 the coroner quickly followed and a verdict of 
 death from congestion of the lungs, caused by the 
 inhalation of flame, or of chloroform or other poi- 
 sonous drug was rendered ; although the coroner's 
 physician testified that he believed death was due 
 to chloroform poisoning. The police and the few 
 neighbors of the vicinity discussed the case in a 
 
No. 1316 Callowhill St., PHrLADELPHiA, Pa. 
 
 ( Where Holmes murdered B. F Pitezel ) 
 
WHO WAS PERRY? 21 
 
 desultory sort of a way for some days. The cor- 
 oner's jury had found the body to be that of B. 
 F. Perry, and the question of the identification of 
 the body as Perry appeared to be established. 
 
 But who was Perry? From whence had he 
 come? Was he murdered or had he committed 
 suicide ? Or was he killed by the explosion of an 
 inflammable substance in the bottle which was 
 found broken at his side? He appeared to have 
 just lighted his pipe. Was this the act which 
 ignited the flame that destroyed his life ? If so, 
 how came his body to recline in sucli a peaceful 
 attitude? But the lungs were found to be con- 
 gested, and the stomach when opened, gave forth 
 a distinct odor of chloroform. Could lie, in com- 
 mitting suicide, have caused the explosion when 
 dying? If he had inhaled chloroform, how came 
 this drug in the stomach ? These and a thousand 
 other questions were propounded, only to be un- 
 answered. It was a mystery, and the solution did 
 not appear to be in sight. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 INSURANCE MONEY CLAIMED. 
 
 Letters from Jeptha D. Howe — Cashier Cass Calls on Mrs. 
 Holmes — Holmes Writes to Cass — Holmes Calls on Presi- 
 dent Foiise — Howe Presents Letter of Attorney from Mrs. 
 Pitezel — Perry and Pitezel tlie Same — President Fouso 
 Talks with Alice — Holmes Meets Howe — Marks of Identi- 
 fication—The Body Disinterred— Howe Paid $9,715.85 
 Insurance Money — Affidavits of Alice Pitezel aud H. H. 
 Holmfes — Smith Fails to Recognize Holmes. 
 
 In all great cities, unclaimed bodies are held at 
 the morgue for a certain length of time, to await 
 identification and a claimant. Perry's body lay in 
 the Philadelphia Morgue for eleven days, and 
 was then buried in the Potters Field. 
 
 Before the burial, however, two letters were re- 
 ceived in Philadelphia, one by the coroner, and 
 the other by the officers of the Fidelity Mutual Life 
 Association. These letters came from Jeptha D. 
 Howe, a young attorney of St. Louis, Missouri. 
 He stated that he. represented Mrs. Carrie A. 
 Pitezel, the wife of Benjamin F. Pitezel. That 
 Pitezel was insured in the Fidelity Company 
 
 (22) 
 
84 CASHIER CASS CALLS OX MRS. HOLMES. 
 
 for Ten Thousand Dollars and that his wife was 
 the beneficiary named in the policy. That the 
 man who was found dead at No. 1316 Callow- 
 hill Street, and who was known as B. F. 
 Perry, was Benjamin F. Pitezel, and tliat he 
 (Howe) would shortly visit Philadelphia with a 
 member of the Pitezel family for the purpose of 
 identifying the body, and claiming the insurance 
 money. 
 
 The books of the company showed that a 
 policy had been issued on the life of Benjamin 
 F. Pitezel on November 9th, 1893, and that 
 the insurance had been effected through the 
 branch office of the company in Chicago, 
 Illinois. 
 
 A communication was at once forwarded by 
 the company to its manager in Chicago, instruct- 
 ing him to learn all that was possible concerning 
 Pitezel, and particularly to ascertain the names 
 of persons who had known Pitezel in Chicago. 
 The situation as presented to the officers of the 
 company at this time, aroused their suspicions, 
 and they proceeded with caution. 
 
 The company then received word from Mr. 
 Cass, the cashier of the Chicago office, that 
 the only man who knew Pitezel well, was H. 
 
iXtiUEAJS'CE MONEY CLAIMED. 25 
 
 H. Holmes, who lived at Wiliiiette, Illinois. 
 Mr. Cass was instructed to go to Wilmette and 
 interview Holmes. He found that Holmes was 
 away, but he saw Mrs. Hohnes, who offered to 
 communicate with her liusband. She said her 
 husband was moving about all the time anil was 
 not at home, but that she would communicate 
 anything to him the agent had to say. She 
 would not tell the agent tvhere her husband was, 
 although she admitted slie heard from him every 
 day or so. Mr. Cass gave the woman a clipping 
 from a Chicago paper, which stated that Perry 
 had been found in Chicago^ and she promised to 
 send it to her husband. 
 
 On September 18th, tlie Chicago manager of 
 the company received a letter from Holmes, 
 dated Columbus, Oliio, September 17th, and the 
 next day a second letter, dated Cincinnati, Sep- 
 tember 19th. 
 
 These two letters here given in full, exhibit the 
 enormous capacity of Mr. Holmes for duplicity 
 and deceit. In view of the subsequent develop- 
 ments of the case, they portray his niaiiy resour- 
 ces for meeting an occasion, and a sagacity, 
 which would have served him well, had he chosen 
 to earn an honest living. 
 
'26 SOLMES WRITES fO CASS. 
 
 Columbus, Ohio, 
 
 Sept. 17, 1894. 
 E. H. Cass, Esq., 
 
 R. 46,-115 Dearborn, 
 
 Chicago, 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 I am iu receipt of a letter from my 
 wife, stating that you called on her in regard to 
 Mr. Pitezel. She also enclosed me clipping from 
 paper, which I presume j^ou gave her. Tlie ad- 
 dress given in same is wrong. It should be Madi- 
 son St. or Avenue on the south side of the city, and 
 if I remember correctly, it is No. 6343, as stated 
 in the clipping. At all events it is very near the 
 63rd Street entrance to the World's Fair grounds, 
 in some hotel that was formerly used as a flat 
 building and on E. side of Street. 
 
 Following tlie question asked, I would say, that 
 I do not know who did his dental work, thougli I 
 do not think he took ver}^ good care of his teeth 
 and may have had none done. 
 
 I remember that seven or eight years ago when 
 working for me, he had to give up work for some 
 time on account of neuralgia in his teeth. Mr. 
 Fay should be able to identify him readily, as he 
 knew him quite well, as I remember Chat when 
 Mr. Fay and I occupied an office on Dearborn 
 Street, Mr. Pitezel was there almost daily, he 
 having a patent coal bin on exhibition there. In 
 a general why I should describe Ijim a man nearly 
 
INSURANCE MONk^ CLAIMED. 21 
 
 six feet high, (at least five feet ten inches) always 
 thin in flesh and weighing from one hundred and 
 forty-five to one hundred and fiftj'-five fbs., hav- 
 ing very black and somewhat coarse hair, very 
 thick, with no tendency towards baldness ; his 
 mustache was a much lighter color and I think of 
 a red tinge, though 1 have seen him have it col- 
 ored black at times, which gave him quite a dif- 
 ferent appearance. I remember also that he had 
 some trouble with his knees, causing them to be- 
 come enlarged directly below or in front of same, 
 as a result of floor laying when he was in the con- 
 tracting business, but wliether this was a tempor- 
 ary or permanent affair, I am unable to state. 
 He also Ijad some sort of a warty growth on tlie 
 back or side of his neck, which prevented him 
 from wearing a collar when working. Aside from 
 these points, I can think of nothing to distinguish 
 liim from other men, unless it be that his forehead 
 was lower than the average and crown of head 
 higher, causing one to notice same. I do remem- 
 ber, however, that he had, or at least had late in 
 1893 a boy about twelve years of age who looked 
 so much like him, that if compared with body 
 supposed to be his father would show the identity 
 I should think, and if he is still unburied, there 
 are plenty of people there who have known him 
 intimately, among them being a Mr. Heywood, 
 near 69th and Peoria or Paulina Streets, who 
 is, I think, a relative ; also a Mr. William Coyler 
 
28 HOLMES WRITES TO CASS. 
 
 or Collier living on West side, who was with him 
 a great deal. If the identity is not cleared up by 
 the time you receive this letter and you wish me 
 to, I will go to Chicago any time after Wednesday 
 next, provided you will pay my transportation 
 tlieie and return. I should want same extended 
 several days, however, so that I could stay a 
 short time while there. I feel sure that Mr. 
 Fay and myself could pick him out among a 
 hundred. I would be willing to go without pay 
 in ordinary times, but can hardly afford to do so 
 now. 
 
 Mr. Pitezel is owing me One hundred and eighty 
 Dollars, and if he is in reality dead, I should be 
 glad to have that amount retained from the sum 
 payable on his policy and apply same on my own, 
 as I very much need it. I sent you a check from 
 Indian Territory early in the spring to partially 
 cover my insurance and incidentally directed it to 
 Montreal, instead of Fidelity and it was returned 
 to me at a time when I needed money very much 
 to complete a trade, and used it then hoping to 
 replace it soon. 
 
 My affairs are not in a good condition and I 
 need insurance more than at any time. I have 
 done a good deal for his family within the past 
 eight years and I think if need be, I could get an 
 order from his wife, authorizing you to retain the 
 amount due me. 
 
 If you see fit to wire me, please do so by Western 
 
J.S'SUlLiXCE MOS'EV CLAIMED. 29 
 
 tJiiion and I will act in accordance with your 
 suggestions. 
 
 Yours Respectfully, 
 
 H. H. Holmes. 
 
 Holmes, of course, knew when he wrote this 
 letter, that Pitezel's body was not in Chicngo 
 awaiting identification. He knew that it was in 
 Philadelphia, and yet how cleverly he uses the 
 niis statement in the Chicago pa])er, to his advan- 
 tage, and as a cover for himself! But he was 
 anxious to be on the ground when the final act in 
 the scheme of fraud, intrigue and deception, 
 should be performed, and so two days later, he 
 addresses Mr. Cass again as follows : 
 
 Grand Hotel, 
 
 C:incinnati, Sept. 19, 1894. 
 E. H. Cass, Esq., 
 
 115 Deaiborn St., Chicago. 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 Since writing to you yesterday, I 
 have seen from a file of Philadelphia papers, that 
 the supposed body of Pitezel is in the hands of 
 the coroner there instead of in Chicago, as per 
 clipping you sent me. I shall be in Baltimore in 
 a day or two, and I will take an afternoon train 
 to Philadelphia and call on your office there, and 
 if they wish me to do so, I will go with some rep- 
 
30 tiOLJ^ES WRITES tO CAS^. 
 
 resentative of theirs to the coroner's, and I think 
 I can tell if the man there is Pitezel ; — from what 
 I read here, I cannot see anything to lead me to 
 think tliat the person killed was other than a man 
 by the name of Perry. 
 
 Yours Respectfully, 
 
 H. H. Holmes. 
 Will you kindly ask Mr. Fay to write me at 
 Columbus, Ohio, if he will, I shall return there 
 about Saturday. 
 
 To these letters, a polite response was sent to 
 Holmes from Mr. Cass, stating in substance that 
 the officers of the company were grateful to him 
 for the information which he had so kindly fur- 
 nished, and that after Mr. Holmes had finished his 
 business in Baltimore, he would oblige them still 
 further by coming to Philadelphia, examining the 
 body and giving the company his views as to its 
 identity. He was also assured that his expenses 
 to and from Baltimore would be defrayed. 
 
 After reading this story of crime to the end, 
 the reader is requested to turn back to these two 
 letters and re-read them. One may then ask, if 
 this great criminal has not proved himself to be as 
 expert and as audacious in deceit and fabrication, 
 as he has been bold and heartless in murder, — 
 veril}' an artist in roguery. 
 
tNSVMi^CE MONEY CLAIMED. 3i 
 
 On September 20th, Holmes culled at the office 
 of the company in Philadelphia, No. 914 Walnut 
 Street. He saw Mr. Fouse, president of the com- 
 pany, and told him the correspondence he had had 
 with the Chicago manager, of which, of course, 
 j\lr. Fouse had knowledge. 
 
 Holmes asked Mr. Fouse about the circumstances 
 of the death, which were related to him very briefly. 
 Holmes said it was a peculiar case and asked Mr. 
 Fouse the cause of death, and the verdict of the 
 coroner's jury was communicated to him. He 
 was then asked to give a description of Fitezel 
 which he did. 
 
 Mr. Fouse told Holmes that Mrs. Pitezel's at- 
 torney, Jeptha D. Howe, had telegraphed him that 
 he was coming to Pliiladelphia with a member of 
 the family, and the body which had been interred 
 in the Potter's Field, would no doubt, be taken up. 
 Mr. Fouse said he did not know precisely the time 
 Howe would arrive and that Holmes had better 
 leave his address, so in case the body was taken 
 up, he could secure his (Holmes') opinion of its 
 identity. Holmes replied that he had business in 
 Nicetown, (a suburb of Philadelphia) and if he 
 went away the next day he would leave word 
 with the company, where he could be found. He 
 
32 ffOWE PRESENTS LETTER OP ATTORNEY. 
 
 also promised, if possible, to call at the office the 
 next niorning. The next day, September 21st, 
 Jeptha D. Howe called at the office of the com- 
 pany and presented to President Fuuse a letter 
 from R. J. Linden, Supeiintendent of Police of 
 Philadelpliia, introducing him. This letter was 
 accepted as a sufficient voucher for Mr. Howe. It 
 had been obtained from the superintendent on the 
 strength of a letter presented to him by Howe, 
 and from a friend of the superintendent's in St. 
 Louis. The letter was given to Howe to identify 
 him, and for no other purpose. Howe produced a 
 letter of attorney from Mrs. Pitezel, and also 
 quite a number of letters which Mrs. Pitezel had 
 received from her husband, while lie was living as 
 B. F. Perry at No. 1316 Callowhill Street. He said 
 that Pitezel had assumed the name of Perry, be- 
 cause he had some financial transactions in Ten- 
 nessee, which for the time embarrassed him and 
 made it advisable for him to change his name and 
 his location. Howe did not go into this matter 
 very minutely. Mr. Fouse told Howe that the 
 company had become quite convinced that Perry 
 and Pitezel were one and the same, but they were 
 not convinced that the dead man found was Pite- 
 zel^ the man whom they had insured, Howe ex- 
 
INSURANCE MONEY CLAIMED. 33 
 
 pressed astonishment at this, whereupon Mr, 
 Fouse asked him to give a description of Pitezel, 
 which he did. This description tallied in all re- 
 spects with the description furnished. 
 
 This conversation took place in the forenoon of 
 September 21st, and Howe informed the president 
 that Pitezel's daughter, Alice, had come with him 
 from St. Louis; that Mrs. Pitezel was ill from 
 nervous prostration and was unable to make such 
 a long journey. He was asked to bring Alice to 
 the office after dinner. Mr. Fouse talked with 
 Alice when Huwe brought her in the afternoon. 
 She was a girl fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 very reticent, embarrassed and stupid. She cor- 
 roborated tlie descriptions given of Pitezel by 
 Howe and Plolmes. Mr. Fouse then informed 
 Howe of the visit of a Mr. Holmes, a gentleman 
 who claimed to be an old friend of Pitezel's, nnd 
 who had been his employer in years past. He 
 asked Howe if he knew Holmes. Howe replied 
 he did not. At this juncture, word was received 
 by Mr. Fouse that Holmes had returned and was 
 in the building. Mr. Fouse so informed Howe 
 and asked him whether he would like to meet 
 Holmes. He said he would. Holmes was then 
 conducted into the room, and Mr. Fouse intro- 
 
34 PBESIDENT FOUSE TALKS WITH ALICE. 
 
 duced Howe to Holmes. They both accepted the 
 introduction^ and met ajyparently as strangers. 
 They both shook hands. Holmes, hoAvever, at once 
 recognized Alice, and told her he supposed she 
 recognized him, and she said she did. She had 
 been carefully instructed in the part she was to 
 play in the performance, and she did it well. 
 Holmes had evidently told her that her papa 
 \\as really dead, and the company would never 
 l»ay the insurance money if they discovered that 
 Holmes and her papa had been so intimate. Mr. 
 Fouse then took up the statements that had been 
 made by the three persons, Holmes, Howe, and 
 Alice Pitezel, and then said, as they intended to 
 disinter the body, marks of identification had 
 better be prepared to which thej^ all could sub- 
 scribe. Before assenting to this, Hoive straightened 
 himself vp and said : (j-ef erring to Holmes') Who is 
 this mail ? Why is he here? What is his purpose ? 
 Mr. Fouse at once proceeded to fully and frankly 
 explain to Howe how Holmes had come there, 
 and referred to the letters the company had re- 
 ceived from the Chicago manager. Howe said 
 that this was satisfactory. 
 
 The marks of identification, — a wart on the 
 neck, a cut on the leg, and a bruised nail of the 
 
INSURANCE 3I0NEY CLAIMED. 35 
 
 thumb, together with certain peculiarities of the 
 teeth were then agreed upon, and an engagement 
 was made for all parties to report at the coroner's 
 office the following day, Saturday, September 
 22d, and with the coroner's physician proceed to 
 the Potters Field, disinter the body and look for 
 the marks of identification. The next day the 
 party, consisting of the deputy coroner, his physi- 
 cian. Inspector Perry, Howe, Holmes, Alice Pite- 
 zel, Eugene Smith, and President Fouse, all went 
 to the Potters Field. When the party arrived, 
 they discovered that the body had been disin- 
 terred by order of the coroner, and was in the 
 dead house. The sight was terrifying, as the 
 corpse was greatly decomposed. 
 
 The coroner's physician put on his rubber 
 gloves, tore away the garments at places where 
 the marks were supposed to be, but he was un- 
 able to find them. At this moment. Holmes 
 pulled off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, took a 
 surgeon's knife from his pocket, put on the rubber 
 gloves, turned the body over, cut aAvay the gar- 
 ments, washed off the skin at the back of the 
 neck, and pointed out the wart, which he re- 
 moved. He also showed the cut on the leg and 
 the bruised nail of the thumb, which he also re- 
 
36 MBS. FITEZEL PAID $9,715.85. 
 
 moved and handing them to the coroner's physi- 
 cian, he requested that he preserve them in alco- 
 hol. Alice Pitezel was not permitted to witness 
 this scene, but after Holmes liad finished his self- 
 imposed task, and after all portions of the body 
 had been covered up, save the mouth, she was led 
 sobbing to the table, and after looking at the 
 teeth, said they appeared to be like her papa's. 
 
 The party then left the field and Howe asked 
 Mr. Fouse for his opinion, and if he was satisfied. 
 Mr. Fouse said he would hold the matter under 
 consideration. On the following Monday, Sep- 
 tember 24th, the ofiicers of the company held a 
 conference and concluded that the identification 
 was satisfactory and complete and so informed 
 Howe. Howe then represented Mrs. Pitezel as 
 being very poor and sick and greatly in need of 
 money ; that her husband had left her nothing, 
 and he wanted to know how soon the claim could 
 be paid. After some little consideration, the 
 officers of the company decided to pay the claim 
 at once, provided the expenses to which this com- 
 pany had been put in the effort to identify the 
 body were deducted. To this Howe reluctantly 
 assented, and thereupon a check to his order as 
 attorney in fact for Mrs. Pitezel for $9715.85 was 
 

 Alice Pitj:zel. 
 
INSURANCE MONEY CLAI3IED. 39 
 
 drawn and delivered to him, and the policy of in- 
 surance was surrendered. The company also 
 paid Holmes ten dollars to defray his expenses 
 incurred in coming from Uiillimore. The com- 
 pany within the next two weeks received letters 
 from Mrs. Pitezel, Alice Pitezel, Holmes and 
 Howe, expressing their appreciation of tlie prompt 
 manner in which the claim had been settled. 
 
 On Sunday, September 23d, 1894, in response 
 to the urgent request of Holmes, wlio said he de- 
 sired to leave the city as soon as possible, the cor- 
 oner permitted him and Alice Pitezel to subscribe 
 to affidavits, in which they certify to the indentity 
 of the body as that of B. F. Pitezel. The folio- 
 ing are copies of these statements. 
 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel, 
 
 1316 Callowhill Street. 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 I live at No. 6343 Michigan Avenue, St. Louis, 
 Mo. I am in my 15th year. Benjamin F. Pitezel 
 was my father. He was 37 years old this year. My 
 mother is living. There are five children. My 
 father came East July 20th. He first went from 
 St. Louis to New York, and left there August 
 11th. We learned of his death through the 
 papers. I came on with Mr. Howe to see the 
 body on Saturday, September 22d. I saw a body 
 3 
 
40 AFFIDAVITS OF ALICE PITEZEL AND HOLMES. 
 
 at the city burying ground, and fully recognized 
 the body as that of my father by his teeth. I am 
 fully satisfied that it is he. 
 
 Signed, 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 Witnesses, 
 
 Jeptha D. Howe. 
 O. LaF. Perry. 
 Sept. 23d, 1894. 
 
 H. H. Holmes, 
 
 701 63rd Street, Chicago, 111. 
 I knew Benjamin F. Pitezel 8 years in Chicago. 
 Had business with him much of that time. More 
 recently he had desk room in our office. I received 
 a letter from E. H. Cass, agent of the Fidclitj- 
 Co. about Benjamin F. Pitezel, sending a clipping. 
 I came to Philadelpliia and saw the body on Sat- 
 urday, September 22d, at the city burial ground. 
 I recollect the mole on the back of the neck, and 
 low growth of hair on the forehead, and general 
 shape of the head and teeth. His daughter had 
 described a scar on tlie right leg below the knee, 
 front. I found this on the body as described by 
 Alice. I have no doubt whatsoever but what it is 
 the body of Benjamin F. Pitezel, who was buried 
 as B. F. Perry. I last saw him in November, 
 1893, in Chicago. I heard he used an assumed 
 name recently. I never knew him to use any 
 
INSURANCE MONEV CLADIED. 41 
 
 other name but his own. I found him an honest, 
 honorable man in all dealings. 
 Signed, 
 
 Harry H. Holmes, 
 Witnesses, 
 
 O. LaF. Perry. 
 Jeptha D. Howe. 
 
 Eugene Smith was present at this disinterment 
 and examination in Potters Field. He had seen 
 Holmes once at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, but 
 failed to recognize him at the exhumation of the 
 body. Had he done so, the scheme of fraud and 
 murder would have been disclosed then and there, 
 and the lives of the three children saved. He 
 says now that he had a suspicion that the man he 
 saw at the Potters Field was the man whom he 
 had seen at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, and that 
 he was more than once on the point of speaking 
 of it to Mr. Fouse, but feared making a mistake 
 and so remained silent. 
 
 In this instance at least, silence was not the 
 " eloquence of discretion." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE INSURANCE COMPANY SUSPICIOUS. 
 
 Inspector Gary not Satisfied — Gary Visits Major Harrigan 
 at St. Louis. — Letter from a Train Robber — Gary Visits 
 Hedgepeth — Search for Holmes — Pinkerton Aid Secured — 
 Holmes Arrested in Boston — Holmes True Name Herman 
 Webster Mndgett— Mrs. Pitezel Decoyed to Boston and Ar- 
 rested — Holmes' Several Wives — Holmes Regrets His Con- 
 fidence in Hedgepeth. 
 
 The Fidelity Mutual Life Association, has a 
 detective department of its own. It is under the 
 direction of Inspector W. E. Gary, a very shrewd, 
 painstaking and capable ofiicets who has had a 
 long experience in investigations relating to life 
 insurance risks. 
 
 Mr. Gary not only questioned the proof of the 
 identity of the body as that of Pitezel, but he 
 was dissatisfied with the conclusion then reached, 
 that the man found, dead, had died as the result 
 of an accident, as the appearances of the body 
 with the broken bottle and pipe and the dead 
 match at its side, seemed to prove. 
 
 The officers of the company, however, had paid 
 
 the claim, and the matter was soon forgotten in 
 
 (43) 
 
U GABy VISITS 3IAJ0B HARRIGAN AT ST. LOUIS. 
 
 the multiplicity of duties incident to the business 
 of a great insurance company. 
 
 Early in October, about two weeks after Jeptha 
 D. Howe departed with the check for $9,715.85, 
 business of importance, having no relation what- 
 ever to the Pitezel case, called Inspector Gary to 
 St. Louis, Missouri. 
 
 On October 9th, while sitting in the branch of- 
 fice of the company in St. Louis, a messenger 
 called with a letter from Major Lawrence Har- 
 rigan, Chief of the St. Louis Police, stating that 
 he, (Harrigan) had received a communication 
 from a prisoner in the city prison, about an insur- 
 ance case which the Fidelity Mutual Life Associa- 
 tion had investigated, and suggesting that some 
 officer of the company should at once call upon 
 him. 
 
 This message caused Inspector Gary to visit the 
 chiefs office without delay, and there Major Har- 
 rigan handed him a letter he had received from 
 Marion C. Hedgepeth, a prisoner who was tiwait- 
 ing sentence for train robbing. This letter which 
 is here given in full will be more fully understood 
 when the reader is informed, that Mudgett (or 
 Holmes) was known in St. Louis, Missouri, as H. 
 M. Howard, and that in July of 1894 he had been 
 
THE INSURANCE COMPANY SUSPICIOUS. 45 
 
 incarcerated in the city prison under that name 
 on a charge of swindling in connection with the 
 purchase and sale of a drug store. 
 
 " St. Louis, Mo., 
 Tuesday, October 9th, 1894. 
 Major Lawrence Harrigan, 
 Chief of Police. 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 When H. M. Howard was in here 
 some two months ago, he came to me and told me 
 he would like to talk to me, as he had read a great 
 deal of me, etc.; also after we got well acquainted, 
 he told me he had a scheme by which he could 
 make $10,000, and he needed some lawyer who 
 could be trusted, and said if I could, he would see 
 that I got $500 for it. I then told him that J. D. 
 Howe could be trusted, and he then went on and 
 told me that B. F. Pitezel's life was insured for 
 $10,000, and that Pitezel and him were going to 
 work the insurance company for the $10,000, and 
 just how they were going to do it ; even going 
 into minute details ; that he was an expert at it, 
 as he had worked it before, and that being a drug- 
 gist, he could easily deceive the insurance com- 
 pany by having Pitezel fix himself up according 
 to his directions and appear that he was mortally 
 wounded by an explosion, and then put a corpse 
 in place of Pitezel's body, etc., and then have it 
 identified as that of Pitezel. I did not take much 
 
Jfi LETTER FROM A TRAIN-ROBBER. 
 
 stock in what he told me, until after he went out 
 on bond, which was in a few days, when J. D. 
 Howe came to me and told me that that man 
 Howard, tliat I had recommended him to, had 
 come and told him that I had recommended Howe 
 to him and had laid the whole plot open to him, 
 and Howe told me that he never heard of a finer 
 or smoother piece of work, and that it was sure 
 to work, and that Howard was one of the smooth- 
 est and slickest men that he ever heard tell of, etc., 
 and Plowe told me that he would see that I got 
 $500 if it worked, and that Howard was going on 
 East to attend to it at once. (At this time I did 
 not know what insurance company was to be 
 worked, and am not sure yet as to which one it is, 
 but Howe told me that it was the Fidelity Mutual 
 of Philadelphia, whose office is, according to the 
 city directory, at No. 520 Olive Street.) Howe 
 came down and told me every two or three days, 
 that everything was working smoothly and when 
 notice appeared in the Globe Democrat and 
 Chronicle of the death of B. F. Pitezel, Howe 
 came down at once and told me that it was a 
 matter of a few days until we would have the 
 money, and that the only thing tliat might keep 
 the company from paying it at once, was the fact 
 that Howard and Pitezel were so hard up for 
 money, that they could not pay the dues on the 
 policy until a day or two before it was due, and 
 then had to send it by telegram, and that the 
 
THE mSUMANCE COiMPANV SUtiPIClOUS. 47 
 
 company might claim that they did not get the 
 money until after the lapse of the policy ; but 
 they did not, and so Howe and a little girl (I 
 think Pitezel's daughter) went back to Philadel- 
 phia and succeeded in identifying and having the 
 body recognized as that of B. F. Pitezel. Howard 
 told me that Pitezel's wife was privy to the whole 
 thing. Howe tells me now that Howard would 
 not let Mrs. Pitezel go back to identify the sup- 
 posed body of her husband, and that he feels al- 
 most positive and certain that Howard deceived 
 Pitezel and that Pitezel in following out Holme's 
 instructions, was killed and that it was really 
 the body of Pitezel. 
 
 The policy was made out to the wife and when 
 the money was put in the bank, then Howard 
 stepped out and left the wife to settle with Howe 
 for his services. She was willing to pay him 
 il,000, but he wants 82,500 and so -12,500 of 
 the money is held until they get over squabbling 
 about it. Howard is now on his way to Germany, 
 and Pitezel's wife is here in the city yet, and 
 where Pitezel is or whether that is Pitezel's body 
 I can't tell, but I don't believe it is Pitezel's body, 
 but believe that he is alive and well and probably 
 in Germany, where Howard is now on his way. It 
 is hardly worth while to say that I never got the 
 8500 that Howard held out to me for me to intro- 
 duce him to Mr. Howe. Please excuse this poor 
 writing as I have written this in a hurry and have 
 
48 GABY VISITS HEDGEPETB. 
 
 to write on a book placed on my knee. This and 
 a lot more I am willing to swear to. I wish you 
 would see the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company and see if they are the ones who have 
 been made the victim of this swindle, and if so, 
 tell them that I want to see them. I never asked 
 what company it was until to-day, and it was after 
 we had some words about the matter, and so 
 Howe may not have told the proper company, but 
 you can find out what companj^ it is by asking or 
 telephoning to the different companies. When I 
 asked Mrs. Pitezel's address he waited a long time 
 and finally said it was No. 6342 S. Michigan Ave. 
 Please send an agent of the company to see me if 
 you please. 
 
 Yours Resp., etc., 
 Marion C. Hedgepeth. 
 
 It was in compliance with this request that In- 
 spector Gary, accompanied by a stenographer, 
 visited Hedgepeth in the city prison and obtained 
 from him a sworn statement, which was in effect a 
 reiteration of the declarations made in the letter, 
 except that in addition to all that had been dis- 
 closed by Howe after his return from Philadel- 
 phia, he told Hedgepeth that he verily believed 
 that the body was really Pitezel's, and that 
 Holmes had either murdered him, or Pitezel had 
 
THE INSURANCE C03IPANY SUSPICIOUS. 49 
 
 been killed in the explosion when setting up the 
 job of substitution. 
 
 With a cop3' of this letter and the statement 
 Inspector Gary returned at once to Philadelphia 
 and promptly reported the new revelation to the 
 officers of the company. These gentlemen con- 
 sidered the story to be a fake, — a tale manufac- 
 tured by a wily criminal for selfish purposes, and 
 they refused to believe it or attach any importance 
 to it whatever. Not so, however, with Inspector 
 Gary. He believed the statement to be true. 
 He pointed out matters referred to in Hedgepeth's 
 letter, which could not have been known to 
 Hedgepeth, and must have been communicated by 
 either Howe or Howard, and precisely as he had 
 related them. Hedgepeth states that the premium 
 on the policy was sent by a telegram from New 
 York, as indeed it was, and on the very day it tvas 
 due, August 9th. How could he have known that 
 fact? It was known onlj' to the officers of tlie 
 company and the conspirators. Gary finally 
 persuaded the officers of the company to permit 
 him to make a search for Holmes, and as the work 
 progressed, proofs that the company had been 
 made the victim of a swindle, multiplied. The 
 aid of the Piukeiton Detective force was now 
 
50 H0L3TES A K RESTED IN BOSTON. 
 
 secured. Holmes was first searched for in Kings- 
 ton, Canada, and then in Detroit, but without re- 
 sult. He was finally traced to Burlington, Ver- 
 mont, thence to Tilton and Gilmanton, N. H. 
 At the last named place it was found that Holmes 
 or Howard, two of his aliases, was really Herman 
 Webster Mudgett ; that his father's home was in 
 Gilmanton, and that he was visiting his old home 
 while under the surveillance of detectives. He 
 was kept under a close shadow and followed to 
 Boston, where on November 17, 1894, he was 
 arrested and taken to the police station. 
 
 Strange to say, his arrest was effected not on 
 the charge of swindling the insurance company, 
 but on a telegram from Fort Worth, Texas, charg- 
 ing him with horse stealing, — another of his 
 criminal operations. At the time of the arrest, 
 Mr. Perry, one of the officers of the company, 
 (who had seen Mudgett at the company's office in 
 Philadelphia, and in the Potters Field at the ex- 
 humation of the body) went to Boston. Upon 
 seeing Mr. Perry at the city police station, Mud- 
 gett or Holmes, as we shall call him, threw up 
 his hands and said he guessed he was wanted in 
 Philadelphia by the Fidelity, and not in Fort 
 Worth for the horse business. In fact he ex- 
 
THE INSURANCE COMPANY SUSPICIOUS. 51 
 
 pressed a decided disinclination to revisit Fort 
 Worth, Texas, as he knew that horse thieves and 
 swindlers are liable to receive much more per- 
 emptory attention from the populace in that sec- 
 tion than in the north. 
 
 Holmes had rented a house in Burlington, Ver- 
 mont, for Mrs. Pitezel, who had with her, her 
 baby and eldest daughter, Dessie, about sixteen 
 years of age. She was brought to Boston by a 
 decoy letter, devised by the Pinkertons and writ- 
 ten by Holmes, and was arrested and placed iu 
 the city police station. When arrested. Holmes 
 was found in the company of Miss Georgiana 
 Yoke, whom he had married under the name of 
 Henry Mansfield Howard. This lady soon 
 proved herself to be an estimable and an honest 
 woman. She had been cruelly and heartlessly 
 deceived, and soon learned that she was one of 
 several victims, for he had not only a lawful wife 
 living near his old home in New Hampshire, but 
 he had married at least one other woman, who 
 honestly believed herself to be his wife. 
 
 His confidence in Hedgepeth can only be ex- 
 plained by his evident admiration for a man who 
 had achieved great notoriety as a train robber. 
 It was a weakness, which Holmes has many times 
 
55 SIBS. PITEZEL DECOYED TO BOSTON. 
 
 regretted. He has just as much deplored the 
 other mistake he made, in omitting to pay Hedge- 
 peth his promised reward and share of the money, 
 for it is quite evident that while Hedgepeth told 
 the truth in his letter to the chief of police and 
 in his statement to Inspector Gary, his expose was 
 in revenge for the chagrin he suffered, when he 
 realized he was forgotten at the time of the dis- 
 tribution of the proceeds of the robbery. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 
 
 Holmes' First Confession — Admits Conspiracy to Defraud — 
 Substitution of a Corpse — A Plausible Statement — Details 
 of the Conspiracy. 
 
 The eclio of the clang of the cell door through 
 the corridor of the police station in Boston, had 
 scarcely died away, before Holmes inaugurated a 
 system of fabrications, the chief object of which was 
 to deceive and mislead the police authorities and the 
 officers of the company he had robbed. He admitted 
 that a fraud had been perpetrated, and that he was 
 one of a band of conspirators, who had successfully 
 imposed upon a life insurance company, and had 
 secured upwards of ten thousand dollars, by the 
 substitution of a corpse, for the supposed dead 
 body of the insured. He said the cadaver had 
 been obtained from a medical friend of his in New 
 York, whose name he refused to disclose. Holmes 
 is greatly given to lying with a sort of florid 
 ornamentation, and all of his stories are decorated 
 with flamboyant draperies, intended by him to 
 
 ^53) 
 
64 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 strengthen the plausibility of his statenienLs. li\ 
 talking, he has the appearance of cunclor, be- 
 comes pathetic at times when pathos will serve 
 him best, uttering his words with a quaver in his 
 voice, often accompanied by a moistened eye, then 
 turning quickly with a determined and forceful 
 method of speech, as if indignation or resolution 
 had sprung out of tender memories that had 
 touched his heart. 
 
 Here is his first confession, made November 
 19th, 1894, to O. M. Hanscom, Deputy Superin- 
 tendent of Police, Massachusetts, and John Corn- 
 ish, Superintendent of the Pinkerton Detective 
 Agency of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 Boston, Mass., 
 
 November 19, 1894. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) What is Pitezel's 
 name? 
 
 A. B. F., I think Benjamin Fuller. 
 
 Q. When did you last see Pitezel ? 
 
 A. I cannot give the day. I will leave a blank 
 and fill it in. 
 
 Q. State it in your own way. 
 
 A. Well, I saw him last in Detroit and it was 
 
Benjamin' F. Pitkzei. 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOB. 67 
 
 in the neigliborliood of three weeks ago, but I can 
 give the exact date by consulting my wife. 
 
 Q. Do you know where he was stopping in 
 Detroit ? 
 
 A. No, I don't know. He had been there 
 several days before waiting for me to come 
 there. 
 
 Q. When was the last time before that that 
 you saw him ? 
 
 A. Well I had not seen him but once since this 
 Philadelphia occurrence and that was in Cin- 
 cinnati, probably two weeks before that. 
 
 Q. You went from New York with the trunk 
 and body ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And turned the check over to him ? 
 
 A. That was on Sunday. 
 
 Q. You know what date? 
 
 A. No, it was the Sunday nearest the first of 
 September. 
 
 Q. After turning over to him the check for 
 the trunk when did you see hini next? 
 
 A. About ten days or two weeks, I should 
 say, in Cincinnati. 
 
 Q. Then you gave him your instructions as ti> 
 how to proceed with the body? 
 
58 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 A. He had tJiose before. 
 
 Q. Those had been given to him some time 
 before ? 
 
 A. Ves, sir. 
 
 Q. So that you did not see him after turning 
 over to him the checks until you next met liim in 
 Cincinnati ? 
 
 A. No, sir. I think there must have been two 
 weeks. It must have been more, because it was 
 three weeks before I went on to Philadelphia. 
 It must have been at least ten days or two weeks 
 after the payment of the money. 
 
 Q. You had no occasion to meet him in Phila- 
 delphia during the interim between giving him 
 the check and the finding of the body ? 
 
 A. He went right away, or was to go to New 
 York. 
 
 Q. As soon as he prepared the body his in- 
 structions were to go to New York ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, and I went that night really 
 within three hours after the body had landed in 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Q. You next saw him in Cincinnati? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Some two weeks? 
 
 A. Well, it must have been nearer five weeks, 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 59 
 
 about ten clays or so after the payment of the 
 money. I have no means of knowing just how 
 many clays between. 
 
 Q. How did he get possession of the tlireo 
 children ? 
 
 A. Well, one he got in Cincinnati and the 
 other in Detroit. The boy he '^ook there. 
 
 Q. Did you see the child with him in Cincin- 
 nati. 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. By whom was it turned over to him ? 
 
 A. The three children,— or rather to be more 
 explicit, after we came to Philadelphia to identify 
 the body, the little child Alice, who was there 
 with Mr. Perry about the identification, went as 
 far as Indianapolis with me and I left her there 
 and "went further on to St. Louis where the 
 mother was, and as soon as the money was paid 
 over to the attorney and given to this .woman, 
 why a portion of it I took and the other two 
 children and went to Cincinnati calling for this 
 one in Indianapolis. 
 
 Q. By " this woman " you mean his wife? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. Now, when I landed in Cincin- 
 nati I had three children ; two I took at St. 
 Louis, boy and girl, and one from Philadelphia 
 
60 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 that I Lad jnst stepped off the train at Indian- 
 apolis and took from there where she had been at 
 the Stebbins Hotel. 
 
 Q. In whose charge at the Stebbins Hotel was 
 this child ? 
 
 A. She was hardly with any one, she was four- 
 teen or fifteen years old. 
 
 Q. Was she stopping under her own name? 
 
 A. No, under the name of Canning. 
 
 Q. You took three children and went to Cin- 
 cinnati ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Where you met the father ? 
 
 A. The father, and then it was arranged, — the 
 mother wanted to see him if she could without 
 the children knowing he was alive. 
 
 Q. Was the mother with you ? 
 
 A. No, not then, but she was to follow. I was 
 to go to Cincinnati and get a house and have 
 them go there and stay for the winter, all the 
 whole family, and it was arranged that he should 
 see her fur a few days and then he was going 
 South where he used to be in the lumber business, 
 but he had been drinking and before I knew it 
 he went in where the children were stopping and 
 saw those three, and the mother had threatened in 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. n 
 
 case that they knew that he was alive she would 
 not go any further in it, because she thought it 
 would all come out. He is a man that drinks 
 some. So we compromised there by his taking 
 enough to go there and keep these three chil- 
 dren away from tlie mother, so he took one of 
 them and I took the other two to Chicago, be- 
 cause I had business there, thinking that it would 
 not call anyone's attention so quick if he travelled 
 with the boy alone as if there were three. Then 
 I took them to Detroit and he was already there 
 and took the other two, dressed the smallest girl 
 as a boy, but this girl Alice is dressed, I suppose 
 now, as a girl and there are two boys and one girl. 
 
 Q. The two boys, would that mean the eldest 
 and the next to the eldest? 
 
 A. No, there is only one boy really. 
 
 Q. Which other one was dressed as a boy ? 
 
 A. The youngest girl. 
 
 Q. How old is she ? 
 
 A. Not over 11 years old. 
 
 Q. Did you get a suit of clothes in Detroit? 
 
 A. He got them. 
 
 Q. How long did you remain with him in De- 
 troit ? 
 
 A. Oh, I think 1 got in there Saturday and he 
 
62 nuUIES' FIRST CONFEtSSION. 
 
 went away Monday, I think. Anyway, we had 
 intended to get the children there and let the 
 mother know that they were there, but still he 
 ■wanted to see her very bad. 
 
 Q. He did not succeed in seeing his wife iu 
 Detroit? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. She did not join him there ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Did you see him leave Detroit? 
 
 A. No, I did not. I kept away wholly from 
 him ; that is, he met me. I can't think of the 
 street, it is a street they have been repairing. 
 We went out on the street cars. 
 
 Q. It is not really clear to my mind now why 
 the family should be broken up, why the three 
 children should go one way and she with the two 
 children the other way. 
 
 A. The first intention was to have them all 
 go to Cincinnati and stay there for the winter, 
 get a furnished house and have her stay there un- 
 til any noise might blow over, and he was going 
 into the South on lumber business and I about my 
 general business. When I got down there I met 
 him. I had the three children and he had been 
 waiting there some days and 1 stayed there with 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 63 
 
 him that uight, and the next day instead of doing 
 as he agreed, he had been drinking a little and he 
 went and saw the children which he agreed nut 
 to do under any circumstances. 
 
 Q. That, of course, gave it away that he was 
 alive ? 
 
 A. Of course, we could not get them away in 
 a moment. 
 
 Q. Your theory was that it was necessary for 
 the three children to accompany him for the 
 safety of the scheme? 
 
 A. Well, if the mother knew that they knew 
 then she would immediately throw it over as she 
 said, and I think she will tell you so herself. 
 
 Q. At the same time I suppose there was 
 some fear that they might in some way, betray 
 the fact that he was still alive ? 
 
 A. Well, they could not all be together and 
 go to school ; you could nut depend upon 10 
 or 11 year old children to keep the fact : keep 
 them from speaking among themselves or before 
 strangers, neither could 3'ou get them to go 
 under another name and carry it out at that 
 age. 
 
 Q. Do you know what his next point was ? 
 
 A. He was going to New York and then if he 
 
64 H0L3IES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 could get through on the boats, if thej had not al- 
 ready been taken off he was going tliat way, and 
 if they had he was going to go down by land as 
 far as Key West I think, some very southern 
 point. He knows the South, which I don't. I 
 have been on the Eastern coast more. He had 
 some lumber business there. And I think tlie 
 safest way is to go to the railroad brokers to see 
 if he went by boat, because he always buys these 
 scalpers tickets when he can. 
 
 Q. About what date then do you place him in 
 New York ; according to your reckoning, what 
 dates should he have been tliere ? 
 
 A. I am thoroughly honest in saying that I 
 cannot say what day, but if you will leave it I 
 can get it. It was about a month ago. 
 
 Q. Under what name was he travelling at that 
 time? 
 
 A. Well, T. H., or anyway it was made out 
 of the name he used in the South, only he turned 
 it round about. He was there under the name 
 of Benton T. Lyman, and I think it was L. T. or 
 L. B. Benton. Benton was the name which was 
 agreed upon quite a while before. 
 
 Q. That is the name under which he corres- 
 ponded with you ? 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 65 
 
 A. I was going to address him through either 
 Chicago or New York Personals. 
 
 Q. Had you any cipher code that he under- 
 stood ? 
 
 A. Yes sir, but that was only fur his writing 
 to me, because of his going from place to place, to 
 places where the mails did not go ; very often I 
 hardly thought it was safe. After I got his letter, 
 anything of importance I was to put in either the 
 Chicago Tribune, or the New York Herald in the 
 way of a personal letter. We have done that a 
 few times in years past. 
 
 Q. Was it agreed what the '' ad " should be ? 
 
 A. No, it would be in shape so that he would 
 understand all well, or if anything new that came 
 up should cause him to move again, it would be 
 taken through them. 
 
 Q. Then you believe that he and the children 
 are all alive and well ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You have every reason to believe that? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Would there be anything about his effects 
 that would in any way serve to give notice if any- 
 thing had occurred to him ? 
 
 A. No, I am sure of that because I was in a 
 
66 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 little difficulty in St. Louit> last suimuer, and so 
 we talked over at that time all the names aud 
 everything. I had a good many pa[)er6 on me at 
 that time. He had allowed his beard to grow and 
 he has new teeth. He had them all extracted. 
 He said he was going to have them the first thing 
 when he got to New York. He has not nearly 
 as many as the body and that can be easily estab- 
 lished. In fact, it is easily proven also, that I 
 left Philadelphia also on Sundav night before the 
 time when lie was last seen by the coroner's 
 witnesses, — outsiders saw him after I left Phila- 
 delphia. My wife and I went through on a Pull- 
 man. 
 
 Q. If you were obliged to establish the fact, 
 can you show any meetings with him after leaving 
 him in Philadelphia at the time you gave him the 
 check for the trunk ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, I think I can. While they were 
 made as secret as they could be, we sat for a good 
 hour in the hotel. I took the children to a cer- 
 tain hotel in Cincinnati and kept them upstairs, 
 and I sat down for a good length of time in their 
 writing room, and I was writing and they knew 
 me well by sight there, and I think I can estab- 
 lish that fact. 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 67 
 
 Q. Was he there ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You sat there with him ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. No, it was at the other hotel. 
 
 Q. What hotel ? 
 
 A. Well, I would have to see a Cincinnati 
 directory. I could pick them out. 
 
 Q. Now at any other point? How about 
 Detroit ? 
 
 A. He slipped in there where the girls stayed 
 and I happened to be in there at the time once. 
 We kept as far apart as we could there and I 
 took him out of Detroit, that is, from the centre 
 part out where the children met him, in a big 
 trunk. 
 
 Q. The same as you had shipped his body 
 before. 
 
 A. Yes, sir. We had a scare there. I got 
 some word from Chicago, but it pertained to this 
 Fort Worth matter, that officers had been there, 
 looking for us, and I knew if they obtained a clue, 
 they could easily trace me to Detroit, so I came 
 out from his place there and took him outside the 
 city almost, and took the children out in a buggy 
 to where he was. The children were apparently 
 with me. They knew me as their uncle. 
 
68 HOLMES' F1U6T CONFESSION. 
 
 Q. You were known to the " children as their 
 uncle ? 
 
 A. They knew different, but in the houbc 
 where they stayed, I was known as such. 
 
 Q. That was in Detroit ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. By getting a plan of Detroit, I 
 could tell where it was, the streets where th^ girls 
 stayed, if it became necessary to substantiate my 
 statements, and I go there, they would know me 
 also as being there. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) Where did you take 
 the trunks from ? 
 
 A. I took it more than two miles and let him 
 out. 
 
 Q. In a house or in the woods ? 
 
 A. Way outside of the city. I went to a 
 stable and got a horse and wagon there. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) Did you drive the 
 wagon ?• 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. It must have been an express ? 
 
 A. No, it was a buggy with sort of heavy 
 back. I tried to get an express wagon and they 
 had not anything except a very large one, so the 
 trunk went on behind by tying it on. I don't 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 69 
 
 think he went more than a mile in tliat way, a 
 mile or two. 
 
 Q, (By Mr. Cornish.) Who helped you to 
 put the trunk in the buggy? 
 
 A. I put in the trunk. 
 
 Q. Did you put it in alone ? 
 
 A. I put it in alone. 
 
 Q. Did you take it nut alone ? 
 
 A. No, all I liad to do was to put the lid back 
 when he got out. 
 
 Q. Was that on the roadway ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. Well, it was outside of the city, 
 about two miles from the centre of the town. 
 The occasion of it was that I thought that officers 
 were then watching him, but not me. 
 
 Q. Did you see him after that? 
 
 A. Yes, just long enough to drive out with the 
 children in the buggy. 
 
 Q. The children did not go with you on this 
 first trip ? 
 
 A. Oh no, I took him in a light buggy, and he 
 waited there for the children. 
 
 Q. That same day did you drive out with the 
 children? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
70 HOLMES' FIRST COXFESSIOX. 
 
 Q. (By Mr, Hansconi.) Wliat was the object 
 of going out there that way? 
 
 A. I had got word from Chicago tliat officers 
 from Fort Worth were there. I thought then 
 it was on this matter, and said they liad got 
 track of both of us. He was at Fort Worth with 
 me. 
 
 Q. Then the last time you met was when you 
 took the children out there to see him. The last 
 time that you actually saw him ? 
 
 A. Yes. It was somewhere about 4 o'clock in 
 the afternoon of the day that I carried him out in 
 the trunk. He had gone across from there, from 
 a certain place where I left him, over to another 
 place of meeting. 
 
 Q. Did you go across the bridge ? 
 
 A. No, I did not go over with him. I did not 
 go for a C'luplo of days. I had to wait to get 
 them. I cariied the children out to him. He 
 W!is to send in a boy for the satchel. I did not 
 take it away because I feai-ed the officers were 
 watcliiiig and we were only going out to ride. 
 
 Q. From that j)oint he started ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Towards Canada? 
 
 A. No, I don't think so. It was spoken of 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 71 
 
 that he would go to Detrnit after Toronto, aiid 
 wait there until I could get the wife and the other 
 two children, and he hated to go aw.ay without see 
 ing them. 
 
 Q. Have you heard from him since ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. All you know about New York and about 
 his taking a steamer for any point in tlie South or 
 for South America is what had been previously 
 agreed upon ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you have not heard yet? 
 
 A. No, sir, it is hardly time. 
 
 Q. Under what name was he to address you ? 
 
 A. Well, I can't tell you that, any more 
 than he asked me particularly what name, and I 
 said it was safe enough to address me as Howard 
 at Room 30, No. 69 Dearborn St., Chicago. 
 
 Q. Under the name of Howard or Holmes? 
 
 Q. Yes, almost any strange name to them, 
 either those two, or some name that did not be- 
 long in the office. 
 
 Q. Was this correspondence to be sent in any 
 care ? 
 
 A. In care of Mr. Frank Blackman. 
 
 Q. Who is Frank Blackman ? 
 
72 HOLMES' FIEST CONFESSION. 
 
 A. A real estate dealer, and during my ab- 
 sence from the city he was liaving charge of my 
 money affairs there. 
 
 Q. How many weeks ago or days ago, was 
 this final and last meeting with him in Detroit? 
 
 A. As near as I can guess it was three weeks 
 ago. 
 
 Q. About three weeks ago that you left De- 
 troit ? 
 
 A. Possibly a little more. I can give those 
 dates by referring to others, that is, my wife. 
 
 Q. Have you any reason to believe that there 
 is any mail waiting for you at this Chicago, Dear- 
 born St. office ? 
 
 A. We got some this morning. It comes as 
 fast as it is received. 
 
 Q. Since delivering the children to him on the 
 outskirts of Detroit, you have not seen or heard 
 from him directly or indirectly? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Has his wife been in search of him lately? 
 
 A. Oh no, because after this break that he 
 made in regard to seeing the children, I have had 
 to tell her while I could get her in shape to send 
 her to him, that he was here and there and put 
 her off. 
 
Eeau of No. 1316 Callowhill St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
THE CLANG OF THE <OELL DOOR. 75 
 
 Q. You have put her off by telling her that 
 her husband was at different points about the 
 country ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, I acted under him. 
 
 Q. Such is the fact ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And she has been to Toronto in pursuit of 
 them ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, and Ogdensburg and Burlington, 
 Vt. I have expected every day to get w^ord 
 where he was, and that was my idea of getting 
 her here, so to ship her and the children from 
 here. 
 
 Q. I want to know whether or not you have 
 taken her from point to point with the under- 
 standing that she was to see her husband ? 
 
 A. She was to have met him at Detroit. In 
 fact, she was to meet him in Cincinnati. 
 
 Q. She was to have met him in Cincinnati and 
 then she went from Cincinnati to Detroit ? 
 
 A. No, sir, she went to Galva, her old home, 
 and was to wait there until I telegraphed her and 
 got their homes in Cincinnati. 
 
 Q. Did she do it ? 
 
 A. No, sir, because when he saw the children 
 I sent word then for her to go to Chicago and 
 
76 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 from there to Detroit. It broke her plans com- 
 pletely up when he saw the children. He begged 
 of me not to let her know it, because he wanted 
 to see her and I agreed to go as far as Detroit 
 and take a house there and see her alone, 
 and then let the children go and tell her after- 
 wards. 
 
 Q. But he did not see her in Detroit ? 
 
 A. No. When he was sober he saw the diffi- 
 culty of having the children stay with her after 
 he had seen them on account of their talking. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) You said that your 
 wife could fill out certain blanks that you have 
 left? 
 
 A. She remembers everything for a year past. 
 
 Q. Have you remembered where you stopped 
 in Philadelphia? 
 
 A. Yes, it is near 
 
 Q. Was it 13th Street at the house of a Mrs. 
 Dr. Alcott ? 
 
 A. That is the name, but it is on 11th Street, 
 unless I am very much mistaken, near No. 1900 on 
 11th Street. Dr. Howell is the name that I went 
 under. The doctor s name is Alcott. (Alcorn.) 
 
 Q. At the time that you went to Detroit, your 
 wife was in Indianapolis ? 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 11 
 
 A. Well, which time ? 
 
 Q. The time that you were going to meet 
 Pitezel. Your wife left Indianapolis on October 
 12th, and joined you somewhere near Peru ? 
 
 A. I think it was near Peru, it was an adjoin- 
 ing place on the road. 
 
 Q. Then you arrived in Detroit, Friday, Oc- 
 tober the 12th ? 
 
 A. I will not say as to the date. 
 
 Q. That is from your wife's memorandum ? 
 
 A. I think you can depend upon her. 
 
 Q. Do you remember where you stopped in 
 Detroit ? Was it Park Place ? 
 
 A. Well, we first went to a hotel. 
 
 Q. No. 40 Park Place ? 
 
 A. I can't tell as to numbers. It was near 
 what they call, — yes. Park Place. 
 
 Q. And you took your meals at the Cadillac ? 
 
 A. Yes, mostly. 
 
 Q. Do you know when you left Detroit to go 
 to Toronto ? 
 
 A. I think we were there just a week and two 
 days, in Detroit. 
 
 Q. You arrived in Toronto on October 18th 
 in the evening ? 
 
 A. I don't think those dates will corres- 
 
78 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 pond, because I think we were at this house a 
 week. 
 
 Q. This is taken from a memorandum book in 
 your wife's hand. " Arrived at Toronto October 
 18th and went to the Walker House." 
 
 A. Then you can depend upon it. 
 
 Q. On Saturday the 20th you went to Niagara 
 and stopped at the Imperial Hotel on the Canada 
 side? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, that is right. 
 
 Q. On Sunday the 21st you returned to To- 
 ronto and went to the Palmer House ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. October 25th you went to Prescott and 
 stopped at the Imperial Hotel ? 
 
 A. I don't think that was the name of the 
 house. 
 
 Q. On October 27th you crossed to Ogdens- 
 burg. New York ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. On the 31st went to Burlington, Vermont, 
 and took up your residence at No. 19 George 
 Street ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. In all the places, in Ogdensburg 
 I tried to get a suitable place to leave the family. 
 I did not want to keep them around. 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 79 
 
 Q. Did Mrs. Pitezel go to all these places with 
 you? 
 
 A. Well, she left Toronto the day before we 
 did and went to Ogdensburg direct. 
 
 Q. She did not touch Prescott or Niagara, that 
 is, only through Prescott to Ogdensburg. 
 
 A. That is all. 
 
 Q. On November 5th, did you obtain any money 
 from your wife in Burlington ? 
 
 A. She was carrying a thousand dollars for me, 
 and, without being explicit as to date, she gave it to 
 me. 
 
 Q. What did you tell her you were going to 
 do with it ? 
 
 A. I told her I was going East to meet some- 
 one from Chicago. 
 
 Q. You stated where East? 
 
 A. Kingston, and in fact I used it to pay bills 
 in the East that I was owing years ago for my edu- 
 cation in Gilmanton, N. H. where my father and 
 mother live. 
 
 Q. So that it was expended at Tilton and 
 Gilmanton ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. On that same day on arrival in Tilton you 
 went to the Adams Express Office ? 
 
80 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 A. States Express, I think it was. 
 
 Q. And got a box about four feet long, two 
 and a half feet wide, and one and a half feet 
 thick, what did that contain ? 
 
 A. That was filled with blankets and things 
 from my buildings in Chicago, new ones, blankets 
 and spreads. 
 
 Q. To whom did you take the box ? 
 
 A. Well, I gave my part of them, in fact I 
 guess all of them went to Gilmanton to my mother 
 and one of my brothers. 
 
 Q. During all the time that you were at Til- 
 ton, Franklin and Gilmanton, your wife thought 
 you were witli this lawyer in Kingston ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, she did not know that I had any 
 relatives ; and I will say, that she has not known 
 that this woman or any of the family has been go- 
 ing from place to place. I had to send her ahead 
 or to follow. 
 
 Q. That is, Mrs. Pitezel ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. My wife has known nothing of 
 the insurance matter in any way, shape or form. 
 
 Q. When did Mrs. Pitezel first become ac- 
 quainted with this scheme? 
 
 A. Well, it is pretty hard to tell, because I 
 found out a week or two ago here, that her oldest 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 81 
 
 daughter had known of it in the summer ; that her 
 father had told her if anything happened to him 
 not to be worried ; that he wauld not be dead, and 
 whether it was the same case with Mrs. Pitezel or 
 not, I cannot tell, but my object in leaving Phila- 
 delphia a little ahead of when it should come out 
 in the papers, was so to get there, to sort of break 
 it to her, tell her if she saw it in the papers it was 
 not a fact. Now, to the best of my knowledge 
 and belief that was when she first knew of it. 
 
 Q. Did she know from the papers, anything 
 about the finding of the body of Perry before you 
 saw her ? 
 
 A. They found it out in the morning in the 
 papers, that is, the family, the entire family read 
 it and naturally supposed it to be true. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) Did it seem to be gen- 
 uine grief on their part ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, the doctor even was called. 
 
 Q. Then really you believe that was the first 
 they knew ? 
 
 A. Yes, this oldest daughter was taking on just 
 as bad as any and I know now that she knew or 
 supposed it was not really death. 
 
 Q. The mother is rather an illiterate, plain 
 person ? 
 
82 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) Then you saw her the 
 day she read this in the paper ? 
 
 A. The night. 
 
 Q. What conversation did you have with her 
 then? 
 
 A. I told her then that she need not worry. 
 
 Q. Did you on that evening tell her that her 
 husband was alive ? 
 
 A. Yes, I am sure of that. 
 
 Q. Then if you told her that her husband was 
 alive, there must have been some conversation that 
 you had with her in regard to the job that was put 
 up in Philadelphia ? 
 
 A. Oh yes, I spoke to her the next day. That 
 is why I hastened there. In fact, I told him to 
 hold on, not to leave the house, not prepare this 
 body until Monday some time, but the evidence 
 seems to show that he got scared or something 
 and did not want to stay with it over night. 
 
 Q. Before calling on Mrs. Pitezel did you see 
 Jeptha D. Howe ? 
 
 A. I did not see him until the next morning. 
 I remember that I got in on the six something 
 train and went to the office to see him and he had 
 gone, and I saw him the following morning. I 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 83 
 
 had seen him previously about the arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 Q. Did you tell him of your interview with 
 Mrs. Pitezel ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he then see her ? 
 
 A. I think it was the next day. 
 
 Q. Were you with him at the time ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. At her house or his office ? 
 
 A. At his office. 
 
 Q. Did she go alone to his office or did you 
 take her there ? 
 
 A. I think I took her the first time and intro- 
 duced her. Oh, I remember she was there in the 
 morning waiting and we were both there waiting 
 when Mr. Howe ciime on the landing there. 
 
 Q. Was there anybody at the interview or 
 conference, except yourself, Howe and Mrs. Pite- 
 zel? 
 
 A. I don't think there was, unless a young 
 lady that sat there, a stenograplier. I am almost 
 sure a stenographer was there. 
 
 Q. Was she engaged in taking dmvn this con- 
 versation ? 
 
 A. No, I don't tliink so. 
 
84 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION, 
 
 Q. When was the next conference, and where ? 
 
 A. I think she went there the next day at Mr. 
 Howe's office and was there before I got there ; in 
 fact, I don't think I saw her much that date only 
 as she came out of there just for a minute or two, 
 on the landing to talk. 
 
 Q. Did she object very strenuously to carrying 
 out this sclieme ? 
 
 A. No, not then after I explained it. She said 
 she ivas in it and would do her best to carry it 
 out. 
 
 Q. What inducements did you hold ovit to her 
 to carry on this scheme ? 
 
 A. It was the money. 
 
 Q. Was she promised any amount of money? 
 
 A. No, it was agreed that this money sliould 
 be used to protect the property in Fort Worth, 
 that her husband and I were both interested in. 
 
 Q. At that time was there anytliing stated to 
 Howe, or by Howe, as to what his fees were to 
 be? 
 
 A. It was spoken of and he said it would be 
 all right, he would not set a price, but really the 
 object he had in going to take hold of the case 
 was to get money to liberate his other client who 
 was in jail. (Marion Hedgepeth.) 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 85 
 
 Q. How many interviews did you have alto- 
 gether with Howe, when Mrs. Pitezel was pres- 
 ent? 
 
 A. Oh, perhaps half a dozen. 
 
 Q. Running over how many days? 
 
 A. Well, perhaps ten days, because in the 
 meantime I went away to Franklin, I know, and 
 then there was an interview after I got back, after 
 he got the money. 
 
 Q. In each of these interviews in which Mrs. 
 Pitezel was present, she knew, or was led to be- 
 lieve that her husband was still alive ? 
 
 A. Oh yes, she did. And one thing, it was 
 agreed between Howe and myself, that Mrs. Pite- 
 zel should not know but what he thought it was a 
 genuine death. 
 
 Q. What was that ? 
 
 A. It was agreed between Howe, the attorney, 
 and myself, that Mrs. Pitezel did not know that 
 he was acting in an underhand way. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) Has Mrs. Pitezel re- 
 ceived any letters from her husband since she was 
 in Detroit ? 
 
 A. I think it was since then, one in a sort of 
 cipher. I have been in the habit for years of 
 using cipher and they fixed one up, a simple de- 
 
86 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 vice, using figures instead of letters. Aside from 
 this there was none. 
 
 Q. She has received one ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, she read part of it to me. 
 
 Q. Where was it from ? 
 
 A. Well, it was written, I know, in Detroit. 
 He had me keep it so if she got anxious and wor- 
 ried to say he was all right. 
 
 Q. He wrote a cipher letter to his wife and 
 that was entrusted to your custody ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. I think it was given to her in 
 Ogdensburg, at some point on my travels since. 
 She might not recall it, it was all in figures. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) You stated that there 
 was to be some arrangements made so that you 
 could communicate through the New York Htrald 
 or Chicago Tribune ; did you have any such com- 
 munication ? 
 
 A. No, sir, that was after he got away. There 
 was no occasion then. But instead of my writing 
 him, I was to communicate with him there and 
 my mail was to have come from Chicago, I was 
 not to have it direct. 
 
 Q. Now, I am going to ask you a question. 
 From whom did you get the body in New York ? 
 
 A. Well, I have refused thus far to state. I 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 87 
 
 told Mr. Perry I thought I would, but if Pitezel 
 comes up in a few days I would rather not tell 
 that, because I was concerned years ago with this 
 doctor, in something not exactly of this nature, 
 but so intimately that in the position he is in, it 
 would hurt him very much. Of course, I will if 
 it comes right down to saving myself. 
 
 Q. I think that while you are telling this thing, 
 you should tell the whole truth right as it is. It 
 is a matter that must come out in time and now 
 is as good a time as any other. 
 
 A. I think you will agree with me, that I have 
 tried since I told Inspector Watts that I would 
 not tell anything but the truth, that I would try 
 to make it plain, but it is more than that. He is 
 a man now well enough to do, so that if my wife 
 becomes penniless, if I am shut up for a term of 
 years, I think I can call upon him for help. 
 
 Q. Then you understand that the party who 
 furnished you the body had no guilty knowledge ? 
 
 A. They did, they knew well enough while it 
 was being talked over ; they knew from our past 
 connection well enough, from the receipts that we 
 got from the insurance company, he knew what 
 the body was going to be used for. The very 
 fact that I wanted one with a wart on the neck. 
 
88 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 Q. Was the body placed in the trunk in the 
 house there ? 
 
 A. I'd rather not answer that. I don't want 
 to antagonize you in the least, but for the time be- 
 ing I'd rather wait. 
 
 Q. Where was the trunk purchased? 
 
 A. It was a trunk that we had back and forth. 
 It had been tliere in his house, an old trunk pur- 
 posely, so as not to draw attention to it. I can- 
 not tell where it was purchased, years old. The 
 trunk belonged to him. 
 
 Q. How much money did Mrs. Pitezel give 
 you? You said that she gave you -11,800 to be 
 given to Pitezel ? 
 
 A. It came in a lump sum. I can give you 
 a rough guess within a few hundred dollars that 
 was paid by the insurance company and I cannot 
 tell. (Figures it up). In the neighborhood of 
 $7,000. 
 
 Q. That is what she gave you ? 
 
 A. I can put it in this way, that Howe gave 
 Mrs. Pitezel just about $7,000 and she gave me 
 ^5,000 something odd. 
 
 Q. Tliat is, that Howe gave Mrs. Pitezel 
 $7,000 about and Mrs. Pitezel gave you $5,000 ? 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 89 
 
 A. Yes, and before that to pay a certain bill 
 there. 
 
 Q. What was the bill, a bill to Becker? 
 
 A. Yes, and |400 that I was owing, attorne3''s 
 fees on another matter, so directly and indi- 
 rectly she caused to come into my hands about 
 $7,000. 
 
 Q. What disposition was made of that ? 
 
 A. Well, to make it clear I will have to ex- 
 plain the business in the South to a certain ex- 
 tent. We took of a party by the name of Will- 
 iams, a certain piece of property to build upon, 
 agreed to pay her $10,000 for it, and last spring 
 from time to time we paid her $2,500. This we 
 sent to her, and the receipt was in the shape of 
 several pieces of paper, notes, and quite a con- 
 siderable amount was sent to take them up. I 
 forget how much, less than $5,000. 
 
 Q. Do you remember one night in Indianapo- 
 lis telling your wife that you had sold certain 
 Fort Worth property for $35,000, $10,000 to be 
 paid in cash, and the balance in bonds and mort- 
 gages ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, this very piece of property she 
 supposed. 
 
 Q. Now then you took a roll of bills out of 
 
90 HOLBIES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 your pocket, was that supposed to be part of the 
 $10,000 ? 
 
 A. I think she has got the two dates con- 
 founded, because I went to Detroit to consum- 
 mate this sale that she was so anxious to have 
 made. 
 
 Q. This took place in Detroit? 
 
 A. Yes, the last time. 
 
 Q. And you told her that Blackman had 
 $5,000? 
 
 A. The question was naturally where was the 
 $10,000. I told her that |5,000 I sent to Chicago. 
 I don't think I said to Blackman, though she was 
 led to think that. 
 
 Q. Part of it you entrusted to her ? 
 
 A. I gave her a thousand dollars. 
 
 Q. In Cincinnati how much did you give Pite- 
 zel? 
 
 A. In Cincinnati only a very little, a couple of 
 hundred dollars. 
 
 Q. In Detroit ? 
 
 A. I think it was $1,825, or twenty odd dol- 
 lars, making the two sums $2,000 with what I had 
 given him in Cincinnati. 
 
 Q. That is the amount that Pitezel got out of 
 the whole affair? 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOB. 93 
 
 A. Hardly, because he profited out of what 
 was got out of this Fort Worth. Tliat was all in 
 cash. 
 
 Q. How much had Mrs. Pitezel ? 
 
 A. Oh, very little, a few hundred dollars. His 
 orders were to give it to her from time to time. 
 
 Q. How much was allowed to Jeptha D. Howe? 
 
 A. He took $2,500. 
 
 Q. Do you remember how many times you saw 
 Pitezel in Philadelphia after or before j^ou had 
 taken the house on Callowhill Street? 
 
 A. Once or twice I guess before and perhaps 
 three times, very few times publicly. I would try 
 to meet him perhaps on the street cars or corners, 
 I kept away purposely from his place of business. 
 
 Q. How many times did you visit the house on 
 Callowhill Street? 
 
 A. I think three times. 
 
 Q. You ivent zvith him to buy the furniture ? 
 
 A. I think I was with him when he bought 
 the first of the furniture, but he went one way 
 and I another, to hunt up furniture houses, and I 
 think it was at one of those places that we had 
 found what we bought. 
 
 Q. Who paid for it ? 
 
 A. He paid for it. 
 
94 H0L3IES' FIEST CONFESSION. 
 
 Q. Do you remember the name ? 
 
 A. No, I can go to it readily. It seems as 
 though it was on 13tli Street. 
 
 Q. Do you remember the man from whom you 
 purcliased it ? 
 
 A. I could tell him by sight. 
 
 Q. Did you have an invoice of what you 
 bought ? 
 
 A. No, he paid. I don't think there was any 
 bill. It was sent down the next day, and then he 
 told me he went back again and bought some 
 other things. 
 
 Q. Were you with him in any other store in 
 Philadelphia, outside of this furniture store ? 
 
 A. It don't seem to me as though I was. 
 
 Q. Prior to that? 
 
 A. Yes, prior, I think we went into one or two 
 places together to see about furniture. 
 
 Q. Prior to his securing the house on Callow- 
 hill Street, where did he room ? 
 
 A. It seems to me it was on Arch Street. It 
 was near 11th. I know I had to come down from 
 where I was rooming and go a little ways on Arch, 
 where it said " boarding house," on Arch or Vine 
 Street. ^ 
 
 Q. Did you visit him in his room there ? 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 95 
 
 A. Yes, I think once or twice. 
 
 Q. Had you any correspondence or made any 
 arrangement with this party in New York in re- 
 gard to securing this body ? 
 
 A. I saw him personally when I was in New 
 York just before going to Philadelphia, and then 
 after that I went up once, I guess the Thursday 
 before I got it on Sunday. 
 
 Q. What was the occasion of your going to 
 New York from Philadelphia ? 
 
 A. Why we found afterwards we were right in 
 front of the morgue, but we did not know it then, 
 and I know this man there and I had no other 
 place to go for it. 
 
 Q. Then your purpose for visiting New York 
 was simply to see this man in regard to getting 
 the body ? 
 
 A. Yes, I don't think there was any other 
 business transacted there, though he sent from 
 there some of his insurance premiums, but that 
 was before we had gone to Philadelphia, that was 
 paying the six months' premium or the balance, I 
 don't know how much. 
 
 Q. That was telegraphed to Chicago? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did you furnish the money ? 
 
96 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 A. Yes, in a sense, on account of his drinking 
 some, I generally carried the money. 
 
 Q. It was sent by him ? 
 
 A. I cannot tell that particular money, 
 whether is was through him or me, but between 
 us we furnished the money. 
 
 Q. It was telegraphed ? 
 
 A. Yes, I had nothing to do with the sending 
 of it. He went on himself to see about it. 
 
 Q. Where did you meet this party in New 
 York about the body ? 
 
 A. It was at the house — I would rather leave 
 that out. 
 
 Q. I tell you again, that unless Pitezel is pro- 
 duced alive we must consider Pitezel dead. 
 
 A. I understand it and that is why I say that, 
 which I can prove in Philadelphia to the contrary. 
 I don't care how soon Pitezel is brought to the 
 front now. I have almost got to do it to protect 
 myself. It is not that I wish to go back on him 
 by any means. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) You expect in any 
 event that there will be imprisonment go with it ? 
 
 A. I certainly do. I told my wife, I begged 
 her to go away and drop it because I expected a 
 term at the penitentiary. 
 
THE CLANG OF THE CELL DOOR. 97 
 
 Q. Of course, it is desirable for you not to be 
 held for the greater offence ? 
 
 A. I certainly don't want to be held for mur- 
 der. While I am bad enough on smaller things, I 
 am not guilty of that and I certainly can prove in 
 Philadelphia by records, etc., they would remem- 
 ber because I was sick at the time, fees to por- 
 ters, etc., prove that I was out of Philadelphia ; 
 that he was seen alive after that, if I am allowed 
 a chance to do it. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) I understand you to 
 say, that you had previously had connections with 
 his doctor in New York ? 
 
 A. Yes, that is the greatest reason why at this 
 time 
 
 Q. Of a criminal nature ? 
 
 A. Well, I cannot be expected to answer that, 
 I don't think. It was not an insurance arrange- 
 ment hardly, but any way, we both profited by it. 
 
 This statement it will be observed, leaves ob- 
 scure the whereabouts of the three children. He 
 places them in South America with their father, 
 and describes one of the girls as being dressed as 
 a boy. The main purpose of the interview was to 
 ascertain, whether Pitezel was alive or dead, and 
 
98 HOLMES' FIRST CONFESSION. 
 
 if alive, how the substitution of a dead body, ob- 
 tained in New York, had been effected. The fate 
 of the children was overlooked for the time. 
 That they had been murdered was not dreamed 
 of ; in fact, the case was too fresh, and oppor- 
 tunity had not yet arrived for either the police or 
 the detectives of the company to verify or disprove 
 the statements of the prisoner. The authoritie 
 were yet groping in the dark. 
 
CHAPTER V, 
 
 ] THE WAGES OF SIN. 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel Questioned by the Police— Her Pitiable Condi- 
 tion — Complicity in the Plot — Tries to Shield Her Hus- 
 band — Prepared for His Disappearance — Believed Him 
 Alive— Gives Holmes $7,000— Had Parted with Three 
 Children — Other Details of the Examination — The Pris- 
 oners Taken to Philadelphia — Holmes Tries to Bribe De- 
 tective Crawford — Committed for Trial — Howe Brought 
 from St. Louis — H. H. Holmes, Benjamin F. Pitezel, 
 Carrie A. Pitezel and Jeptha D. Howe Formally Indicted 
 by the Grand Jury. 
 
 Poor Mrs. Pitezel ! What a wretched plight 
 she was in ! Her husband had disappeared ; 
 Alice, Nellie and Howard were in unknown 
 hands, her other two children, Dessie, her eldest 
 daughter, and her year old infant, were witliout a 
 protector, and she was in prison, under suspicion 
 of having been a party to a conspiracy to cheat 
 and defraud an insurance company. 
 
 After Messrs. Hanscom & Cornish had obtained 
 the statement from Holmes, given in full in the 
 previous chapter, they turned their attention to 
 Mrs. Pitezel. She occupied a cell in the same 
 
 (m 
 
100 3IES. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 police station in which Holmes was detained, and 
 her grief and surprise over her arrest and incar- 
 ceration were so great, that the hearts of the 
 officers were moved to pity. 
 
 It is to be regretted, that in this interview, 
 Mrs. Pitezel was not as truthful and as frank as 
 she subsequently became with the authorities in 
 Philadelphia. She was evidently inspired by a 
 desire to shield her husband, whom she then be- 
 lieved to be alive, notwithstanding her statement 
 to the contrary. Her denial of her complicity in 
 the scheme to cheat and defraud the insurance 
 company by the substitution of a body, was un- 
 true. 
 
 She had been informed of the scheme from its 
 inception, both by Holmes and her husband, and 
 although at first she earnestly and sincerely ad- 
 vised against it and pleaded with her husband 
 not to join Holmes in such a nefarious piece of 
 business, she ultimately acquiesced in it, and was 
 quite prepared for the disappearance of her hus- 
 band for a time, in accordance with an under- 
 standing between them. When Howe paid to 
 her, her share of the money, about 17200, she be- 
 lieved the plot had been successfully carried out ; 
 that her husband was alive, and would ultimately 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 101 
 
 disclose his whereabouts to her and would, when 
 prudent, return to his home. 
 
 This much may be said for her. She was lead- 
 ing a miserable existence in poverty, with a large 
 family of five children. She was in ill health, and 
 tied by marriage to a crook, a man whose instincts 
 were low and criminal, — much given to drinking 
 alcoholic stimulants excessively, and who had 
 been for j^ears a close associate and companion of 
 Holmes'. Her participation in the crime, how- 
 ever, was without excuse, and she was properly 
 apprehended and charged with conspiracy. It 
 was her plain duty to have prevented the con- 
 summation of the scheme at all hazard, — even if a 
 bold stand for truth and honor had caused a sep- 
 aration from her husband. 
 
 Her punishment, however, has been severe, 
 much more dreadful than any that could have 
 been inflicted by the law, and while some may 
 condemn her, many will not hesitate to pity one, 
 who now carries with her such a weight of woe. 
 
 Upon being questioned by the officers, she an- 
 swered as follows : 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) Where is your home ? 
 
 A. My home is in Galva, 111. 
 
 Q. Now this matter about the death of your 
 
102 3IBS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 husband and the identification of the body, the 
 collection of the insurance, etc., when was the 
 matter first brought to your attention? 
 
 A. Why, I saw it in the paper first. 
 
 Q. You saw that a death had occurred? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. The death of whom ? 
 
 A. B. F. Perry. 
 
 Q. And did you understand at the time that 
 your husband was living in Philadelphia under 
 the name of Perry ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you know what street and number he 
 had located on ? 
 
 A. No. 1316, I think, Callowhill Street. 
 
 Q. Before the time that you got this news 
 from the press or in some other way, had you 
 known anything about this scheme ? 
 
 A 
 
 Q 
 
 A 
 Q 
 
 you' 
 A 
 
 Q 
 
 A 
 
 No, they did not tell me anything about it. 
 Nothing had been said to you about it ? 
 No, they did not tell me anything about it. 
 Have you one of your daughters here with 
 
 Yes, sir. 
 
 Is she the eldest daughter? 
 
 Yes. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 103 
 
 Q. Is she the one that went to identify her 
 father ? 
 
 A. No, slie is not the one. 
 
 Q. After seeing the death in the paper, who 
 was the first to speak to you about it'^ 
 
 A. Mr. Becker was tlie first one that I spoke to. 
 He saw tlie account in the paper, of course, and he 
 was our groceryman and I talked to liim about it. 
 
 Q. Where were you living then? 
 
 A. In St. Louis. 
 
 Q. What street and number? 
 
 A. It is Carondelet; it is a part of St. Louis. 
 
 Q. How long had you been living there? 
 
 A. Oh, we moved there in May ; about the 
 first of May. Well^ maybe it was the middle of 
 May. 
 
 Q. Did 3Ir. Holmes come to your Jiouse soon 
 after the annou7icem('nt of the death to see you ? 
 
 A. J think it was a week after. 
 
 Q. Now what did he say to you about it ? He 
 then told you the scheme, did he, tliat 3'our hus- 
 band was not dead? 
 
 A. Why, I told him that I saw something in 
 the paper in regard to my husband and I wanted 
 to know if that was my husband and if it was 
 true, and he said, " You need not worry about it, 
 
104 3IES. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 there is no use in worrying about that," and he 
 would not say much more about it. He went and 
 talked with the children and only stayed a little 
 while that evening and went away. 
 
 Q. Up to that time had you mourned your 
 husband as dead ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you believe he was dead ? 
 
 A. Yes, I believed he was dead. 
 
 Q. Had you taken any steps in the matter? 
 
 A. I spoke to Mr. Becker and he went down 
 to the police, and then there had been one or 
 two reporters out. 
 
 Q. But a week had elapsed ? 
 
 A. I think it was about a week, I won't be 
 positive about that. 
 
 Q. Had you sent any word to Philadelphia? 
 
 A. No, I had not. 
 
 Q. Had you written ? 
 
 A. No, I did not try it, I did not know what 
 to do. 
 
 Q. What did Mr. Becker tell you to do ? 
 
 A. He thought I had better employ an attor- 
 ney and have it attended to. 
 
 Q. Did you employ an attorney ? 
 
 A. I did not just then, not right that day. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 105 
 
 Q. Did you make any arrangements to recover 
 the body ? 
 
 A. No, I did not. 
 
 Q. Had you received a telegram or any word 
 from Holmes before he called upon you ? 
 
 A. No, I did not. 
 
 Q. Had it been talked over w^ith you that such 
 an occurrence might take place, that is, that your 
 husband might absent himself and let the report 
 go out that he was deacl? Had such a report 
 ever reached you ? 
 
 A. No, not up to this time. 
 
 Q. Never had been talked over with you ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Had you no intimation, not the slightest 
 sign that it had been talked over ? 
 
 A. Not before that, I had no knowledge of 
 what was to be done. 
 
 Q. Had you any money by you at the time 
 this occurred ? 
 
 A. No, I did not have but little. 
 
 Q. How much did you have ? 
 
 A. Five or six dollars, I think. 
 
 Q. He had not sent you much money ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Well, on this first visit that Holmes, or 
 
106 3IBS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 Howard, whoever he is, made to you, did he tell 
 you before lie went out that your husband was 
 living, that you need not worry about it? 
 
 A. Well, he spoke to that effect, I don't know 
 as those were the exact words. 
 
 Q. Did he ease your mind regarding the death 
 of your husband befoi'e he went away, telling you 
 that your husband was not dead? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did he go into tke story that your husband 
 was insured ? 
 
 A. No, he did not go into the story then. 
 
 Q. Did you know that your husband had an 
 insurance on his life ? 
 
 A. I knew he had an insurance on his life, 
 but I did not know whether it was all paid or not. 
 It was not paid up, and I did not know even 
 when I heard of the death, whether it was all 
 paid up. 
 
 Q. Did you know the amount of the insur- 
 ance ? 
 
 A. I did at the time he insured. 
 
 Q. How much? 
 
 A. $10,000. 
 
 Q. Who collected that money? 
 
 A. Mr. Howe. 
 
777^ WAGES OF SIN. 107 
 
 Q. As your attornej ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did he turn that money over to you? 
 
 A. Well, most of it was turned over to me. 
 
 Q. What did you do with it ? 
 
 A. Well, Mr. Howard had some of it. 
 
 Q. How much did Mr. Howard have of the 
 110,000? 
 
 A. I don't know exactly that. 
 
 Q. You understood they paid the full amount, 
 110,000? 
 
 A. Yes, 
 
 Q. After Mr. Howe had made the payments 
 then you turned over a large portion of that 
 money? This is not an}^ effort to entrap you. 
 We simply want to get at the facts. 
 
 A. Well, I understand you, and am trying to 
 give you the facts as well as I can. 
 
 Q. How much of that $10,000 did you turn 
 over to Howard, (Holmes) ? 
 
 A. I don't know as I can tell you the exact 
 amount. 
 
 Q. Can you remember ? 
 
 A. No, I can't. 
 
 Q. Was it 17,000? 
 
 A. It must have been pretty well on to that. 
 
108 3IES. riTEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 Q. He States it was about $7,000. 
 
 A. Well, that is correct, I think. 
 
 Q. Did you turn over that money to any other 
 person than him ? 
 
 A. No, no person only what the attorney and 
 the expenses were, that was all. 
 
 Q. How much did that amount to, the attor- 
 neys and the expenses? Can you remember that ? 
 
 A. No, I can't. They made out a memoran- 
 dum of it, Mr. Howe did. He just made it out, 
 and I don't know, they got into a kind of fussing 
 about it, and, by the way, they did not give me 
 the statement of it. 
 
 Q. You did not get that ? 
 
 A. No, I have no statement of it at all. 
 
 Q. After having paid the expense and $7,000 
 more or less that 3^ou gave Howard, what portion 
 of the $10,000 had you left ? 
 
 A. Well, I guess about $500. 
 
 Q. You had really about $500 out of the 
 whole business? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Do you know how much of it your hus- 
 band had? 
 
 A. No, that is something I can't answer, for I 
 don't know. 
 
The Poplar Street House, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 ( Wliere Holmes intended to murder the children.) 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. Ill 
 
 Q. When did you last see your husband ? 
 
 A. I saw him last the 9th day of July, and I 
 have not seen him since. 
 
 Q. The 9th day ? 
 
 A. It was either tlie 8th or 9th of July that 
 he left home in the evening, and I went down to 
 the Union Depot and that was the last. 
 
 Q. In St. Louis? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did he correspond with you after that ? 
 
 A. Up to the time that I saw it in the paper 
 he did, but I have never heard from him since, 
 only just what Mr. Howard says, that is all. 
 
 Q. Now, what has Mr. Howard said to you 
 about the whereabouts of your husband since that 
 time ? 
 
 A. Well, the only place that I know of where 
 he has been, is Montreal and Toronto. 
 
 Q. How do you know that he was in Mon- 
 treal ? 
 
 A. I don't know for a certainty, I could not 
 swear only as I have heard it. 
 
 Q. From whom ? 
 
 A. From Mr. Howard. 
 
 Q. That he was in Toronto and Montreal ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 7 
 
112 MRS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 Q. Has he told you that you would meet him 
 at any other place ? 
 
 A. He said I might see him at Detroit, or 
 Toronto, or Burlington, but I have never seen 
 him. 
 
 Q. Then you had hopes when you went to 
 Burlington, that you might meet him ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. And failing to find him in Burlington, 
 where did you expect then to see him ? 
 
 A. Well, I don't know. I gave up all hopes 
 of seeing him. 
 
 Q. He has kept you moving, hasn't he ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. I wish to ask you one question direct. Do 
 you believe now that your husband is alive ? 
 
 A. Well, there must be something in it. I am 
 sure I could not swear to it for I don't know for a 
 fact that he is alive. All I know is, what you 
 have been telling me, and what he has been telling 
 me, and that is all I know. 
 
 Q. But he has kept you moving from point to 
 point ; I would like to have you tell it in your own 
 way. 
 
 A. Well, I have been moving from one point 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 113 
 
 to another. I have been just heartbroken, that is 
 all there is about it. 
 
 Q. Yes, I know, we are sorry for you. Can 
 you tell me the points in the order of them, 
 how you have been moving about since you left 
 home ? 
 
 A. I went to my parents, from there to 
 Chicago, from Chicago to Detroit, and from there 
 to Toronto, from there to Ogdensburg, from there 
 to Burlington. 
 
 Q. And that is where you were yesterday ? 
 
 A. Yes, Burlington. 
 
 Q. Have you had confidence in Howard all the 
 way through, that he would finally take you to 
 your husband ? 
 
 A. Why, I thought so. 
 
 Q. Has your confidence ever been shaken ? 
 
 A. Well, sometimes I thought maybe he was 
 fooling me or something. 
 
 Q. By the way, did you have a cipher, any- 
 thing in the shape of a cipher, by which your 
 husband could communicate with you privately, 
 any system of communication, numbers, char- 
 acters ? 
 
 A. Oh no, we do not write that way. 
 
 Q. You never wrote that way ? 
 
114 3IRS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY TEE POLICE. 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Did you ever expect to get any such letter 
 from your husband, written in any mysterious way, 
 ciphers of any kind? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Did Holmes ever read to you at any time 
 since the money was collected, say at the time you 
 were in Detroit, did he ever read anything to you, 
 purporting to be a letter from your husband writ- 
 ten in cipher, did you receive something of that 
 kind? 
 
 A. Well, I think he did have something of 
 that kind that was written in that way, and said 
 it was from him. That is all I know. 
 
 Q. Was it in any envelope ? 
 
 A. No, I guess not. 
 
 Q. Did you see the paper that he had ? 
 
 A. Why, it was just a small piece of paper. 
 
 Q. He read something to you from that 
 paper ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did you have the paper in your hand ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. What did it say ? 
 
 A. Why, just said that he was well and all 
 right and I need not be worrying all the time. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 115 
 
 Q. You went to Detroit, expecting to meet 
 your husband there? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. When he read that letter to you, do you 
 remember where you were then ? 
 
 A. In Toronto, I think. 
 
 Q. You went to Detroit and from Detroit to 
 Toronto ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. In Detroit did you expect to meet your 
 husband there ? 
 
 A. I thought I would see him, he said I 
 would. 
 
 Q. How many of the children had you with 
 you ? Just had the little girl and the babe ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Qo And the other three children were with 
 whom, so far as you know ? 
 
 A. They were at Covington. 
 
 Q. With whom ? 
 
 A. I don't know who they were with. I 
 asked him the name and he simply told me who 
 they were with, said she was a widow, a nice 
 woman. 
 
 Q. Now, how long ago was it that you parted 
 with these three children ? 
 
116 3fRS. PITEHEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 A. I have nut seen Alice for two months, and 
 have not seen the others for 
 
 Q. Alice went awa}- first ? 
 
 A. Yes sir. 
 
 Q. She went to identify the body of her 
 father ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you have not seen her since ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. In whose keeping was she, into whose 
 charge did you give her at the time she went on 
 to view the body ? 
 
 A. Mr. Howe took her. 
 
 Q. Who is he ? 
 
 A. He is the lawyer, the attorney. 
 
 Q. That was acting for you ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. A St. Louis man ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know where his office is in St. 
 Louis ? 
 
 A. Well, it is in the Commercial Building. 
 
 Q. Into his keeping you placed the girl? 
 
 A, Yes, they wanted me to go, but I was very 
 .Mck at the time. 
 
 Q. And Alice went on with him? 
 
THE WAGES OF SIX Hi 
 
 A. Yes. Well, he turned Alice over to Mr. 
 Holmes then, and he brought her on to Coving- 
 ton. 
 
 Q. Did you see her in Covington ? 
 
 A. No, sir, I was not in Covington at all. 
 
 Q. Have you some friends in Covington ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. You have not seen her since she went on 
 to view the body ? 
 
 A. No, sir, I have not seen her since. 
 
 Q. Into whose custody did you place the 
 other two ? 
 
 A. He took the other two, that is, Holmes, 
 took them from St. Louis to Covington, where 
 Alice was. 
 
 Q. You don't know whether they actually 
 went to Covington or not ? 
 
 A. No, I am just telling you. 
 
 Q. That is right. What was his reason fur 
 taking them ? What reason did he give ? 
 
 A. The only reason was he said he would take 
 them there and I could go home and make my 
 parents a visit, and not to be bothered with them, 
 because my parents were getting along in j^ears, 
 and he would take the children and then I could 
 go over there when I got through visiting. 
 
118 3IES. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 Q. He was going to take them to meet Alice ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And that they would all be stopping M'ith 
 some widow lady. 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did he give the name ? 
 
 A. No, sir, I told you he did not. 
 
 Q. Did he say anything about that they were 
 going to Covington to meet their father ? 
 
 A. No, sir, he did not say that. 
 
 Q. Has he ever told you since then, that they 
 were with the father? 
 
 A. No sir. 
 
 Q. Then you still believe that they are in 
 Covington ? 
 
 A. No, sir, he told me he took them to To- 
 ronto, that is all I know about it. I don't know 
 where they are. All I know is that he said he 
 would take them from Covington to Toronto. 
 
 Q. You understood from him that they are 
 there ? 
 
 A. At Toronto. 
 
 Q. With friends of his, or whom do you be- 
 lieve them to be with, your husband ? 
 
 A. No, he said he would give them to some 
 friends there. I don't know whether he has. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 119 
 
 Q. We believe this man to be a very bad man, 
 and we want to get at all the truth. 
 
 A. Well, that is as far as I know. I can't 
 tell you anything more, because I don't know. 
 
 Q. You did not understand then that these 
 children were going to join their father? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Has he ever told you about dressing one of 
 the girls in boy's clothing ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. He never told you about those things? 
 
 A. Well, I have one boy. 
 
 Q. There is a boy and two girls ? 
 
 A. Whoever told you that ? 
 
 Q. We have been talking with him. We are 
 not doing anything to undertake to make you feel 
 bad, we are trying to get at the matter and sift it. 
 He has kept you moving about the country from 
 point to point, and you look as tliough you had 
 been through a good deal and we want to get all 
 the light we can. We don't believe in this man 
 very much. That is why we are asking you these 
 questions. 
 
 A. Do you know where the children are ? 
 
 Q. No, that is one of the things we want to 
 find out. We want to find them as much for your 
 
i20 iMHs. pitezeL quEsrtoMt) bT the PottcE. 
 
 sake, as well as for any other reason in the world. 
 In fact, we may say that all these questions that 
 are being asked you now regarding these children 
 are in your behalf. Holmes is locked up in this 
 very building, and we have been talking with him. 
 
 A. / thought maybe I ivould see the children 
 here. 
 
 Q. Holmes is locked up, you knew that, didn't 
 you? 
 
 A. I didn't know it until I came up here. 
 
 Q. He has not given you to understand that 
 the children were with their father ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Is there anything else that you can think 
 of that he has said about the whereabouts of the 
 children ? 
 
 A. That is the last that I know about it. 
 
 Q. You have met him a number of times at 
 these different points ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. He has kept you moving on ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) Have you heard from 
 Alice since she has been away ? 
 
 A. I have not heard from her from Covington 
 since I was home. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIK liJl 
 
 Q. Have you received a letter from her from 
 Covington ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Had she written it herself ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir, she and Nellie had written it 
 themselves. 
 
 Q. Did you keep the letter ? 
 
 A. No, I did not keep the letter. 
 
 Q. Do you remember what they said ? 
 
 A. Well, they said they were well and the 
 woman was real good to them, said she was an 
 awful kind lady, that they would like to see 
 mama, and wanted to know how the baby was, if 
 it could talk yet and how grandma and grandpa 
 were and they hoped they would see mama soon. 
 I think that is about the extent of it. 
 
 Q. That was sent where, to Galva ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did you receive any letters from them from 
 any other point except Covington ? 
 
 A. No, I think not. 
 
 Q. Did you get any from them from Toronto? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. The only correspondence you had from 
 them was in Covington ? 
 
 A." Yes, sir. 
 
122 MRS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 Q. And that was during the time you were in 
 Galva ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you ever write to your children ? 
 
 A. Wh}', certainly. 
 
 Q. How often ? 
 
 A. Well, I wrote them several letters while I 
 was home in Galva. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Hanscom.) But you only heard 
 from them once ? 
 
 A. Well, I think I got two letters. 
 
 Q. (By Mr. Cornish.) How did you direct your 
 letters ? 
 
 A. Directed them to Alice Pitezel, Covington, 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Q. Did you mail it yourself? 
 
 A. My father mailed it. 
 
 Q. Have you written to them since at Coving- 
 ton or Toronto ? 
 
 A. Why, yes, I have sent them several letters. 
 
 Q. Who did you send them by, mail them 
 yourself ? 
 
 A. No, I did not mail them myself. 
 
 Q. Who mailed them ? 
 
 A. Holmes mailed them, I suppose. I had 
 given them to him to mail. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 123 
 
 Q. Did you write to your father and mother at 
 Galva ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you mail any of them ? 
 
 A. I mailed one from Chicago. 
 
 Q. Have you written to them since ? When 
 you were in Toronto and Detroit and those other 
 places ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you mail those ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Who did? 
 
 A. I gave them to Mr. Holmes to mail. 
 
 Q. Who suggested that you should employ Jeptha 
 D. Howe as counsel? 
 
 A. Mr. Howard. {Holmes). 
 
 Q. The first time that he called upon you in 
 St. Louis did he suggest that you employ Mr. 
 Howe? 
 
 A. No, not that night. 
 
 Q. The next day ? 
 
 A. I don't remember that I saw him the next 
 day, I think it was two days after that. 
 
 Q. Then he suggested that you should employ 
 Mr. Howe ? 
 
124 3IRS. FITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 A. Yes, I think it was a couple of days, I can't 
 give it exactly. 
 
 Q. You went by the name of Adams in Detroit, 
 Toronto and Ogdenshurg ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And by the name of Cook in Burlington 
 
 A. Yes, that is right. 
 
 Q. Did Mr. Holmes tell you to use those 
 names ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Where were you stopping in Burlington? 
 
 A. Winooski Avenue, No. 26, I think. 
 
 Q. How many times did you see Holmes in 
 Burlington? 
 
 A. Well, that is kind of a hard question to 
 answer, I don't remember, four or five times. 
 
 Q. Did he call at the house ? 
 
 A. Yes sir, but he never stayed any length of 
 time. 
 
 Q. Did he give you any money there ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you receive a package from him last 
 Saturday by express ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What did that contain ? 
 
 A. It contained two tickets, railroad tickets. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 125 
 
 Q. And a letter ? 
 
 A. A short letter in it. 
 
 Q, What did the letter contain ? 
 
 A. Just for me to pick up my things and come 
 to Lowell Sunday night, and then Sunday morn- 
 ing this Mr. Lane came and gave me another let- 
 ter from him, that just stated for me to come 
 straight on to Boston, that he would see me 
 through. 
 
 Q. You have told all you know about this 
 matter ? 
 
 A. Yes, I have told about all I can remember, 
 it is mixed up anyway. 
 
 Q. Did you make an}' attempt to find the chil- 
 dren there in Toronto ? 
 
 A. They were not there when I was there. 
 
 Q. After you had left, lie told you that tliey 
 were there ? 
 
 A. That was when I was in Burlington, he 
 said tliey were there. 
 
 Q. That was the first that you knew of the 
 children being in Toronto ? 
 
 A. That was the first I knew that they were 
 there, and this letter came for me to come on down 
 here, and, of course, that ended it. 
 
 Q. How did he explair .o yon tliat the chil- 
 
126 3IRS. PITEZEL QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. 
 
 dren had left Covington for Toronto ? Why did 
 he change their location ? 
 
 A. Well, he said he thought it would be bet- 
 ter to have them up there, and I could go and see 
 them there, that they would be closer to me. I 
 thought, of course, I should go there to see them. 
 
 Q. Where were you, when he told that they 
 were in Toronto ? 
 
 A. I was in Burlington. It is just lately. 
 
 Q. He did not tell you where they were in 
 Toronto ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Whether they were in school or at a pri- 
 vate house ? 
 
 A. No, sir, I could not find them if it was a 
 case of life and death. 
 
 Q. When your husband went away from St. 
 Louis, did he tell you that he was going to Phila- 
 delphia or Chicago ? 
 
 A. He went to Chicago. He told me that he 
 was going there to dispose of some lumber. He 
 did not say he was going to Philadelphia when 
 he went away. 
 
 Q. And then you heard from him in Chicago 
 that he was going to Philadelphia ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN, 129 
 
 Q, That was under the name of Pitezel ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he tell you in that letter from Chi- 
 cago, that he was going by the name of Perry ? 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. In the letter'after that ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 On Monday, November 19, 1894, Thomas 
 Crawford, one of the detectives of the Bureau of 
 Police of Philadelphia arrived in Boston, with 
 warrants for the arrest of Holmes and Mrs. Pite- 
 zel, both of whom, however, consented to go to 
 Philadelphia without the formality of a requisi- 
 tion from the Governor of Pennsylvania. The 
 party consisted of Detective Crawford, Inspector 
 Perry of the Insurance company, H. H. Holmes, 
 Miss Yoke, whom he had married under the name 
 of Howard, Mrs. Pitezel and her infant and 
 Dessie Pitezel. On the journey, Holmes reiter- 
 ated his statement that Pitezel was alive, and in 
 South America, and that the children w^ere with 
 him. That he had given Pitezel $1,600 and had 
 sewed $400 in Alice's dress or chemise. He said 
 he left Alice in Indianapolis, (after taking her to 
 Philadelphia) and then got the other two children 
 and bronght them to her. He then took them all 
 8 
 
130 THE PRISONERS TAKEN TO PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 to Detroit, where they met Pitezel, and then the lat- 
 ter and the three children sailed for South 
 America. He said he and Pitezel were to keep 
 track of each other through the personal column 
 of the New York Herald. 
 
 He said to Dessie Pitezel : " Don't worry Des- 
 sie, you and your father will meet before long, and 
 you will see your sisters and 3^our brother." He 
 told her she might expect to see her father in 
 Philadelphia. He reiterated to Crawford his 
 story of the manner in which the corpse had been 
 obtained in New York, and laughed at the bun- 
 gling manner in which Pitezel had left tlie body ; 
 that he had particularly instructed Pitezel how to 
 place the body, to put the chloroform in its mouth 
 and to press the sides, so as to work it down the 
 throat ; that Pitezel had left the body with its 
 hand across the breast, looking as if it had died a 
 peaceful death, whereas the man was supposed to 
 have died a horrible death. He said he instructed 
 Pitezel how to fix the bottle and the pipe, so as to 
 have it appear as if in lighting the pipe the ben- 
 zine had exploded and killed the man. On the 
 train Holmes asked Crawford, if he believed in 
 hypnotism. Crawford said " No." He said he 
 could hypnotize people very easily, and wanted to 
 
THE WAGES OF SIN. 131 
 
 try his powers on Crawford, but the invitation 
 was declined. The sort of hypnotism Holmes 
 was most proficient in was best exhibited when he 
 offered to give Crawford |500 dollars for a pur- 
 pose not stated, but quite well understood. That 
 bait was also declined. 
 
 On Tuesday, November 20th, 1894, the party 
 arrived at the Central Station, City Hall, Phila- 
 delphia. Holmes and Mrs. Pitezel were given a 
 hearing and were at once committed to prison to 
 await trial. Dessie Pitezel and the baby, were 
 placed in the kind care of Benjamin Crew, Esq., 
 Secretary of the Society to Protect Children 
 from Cruelty. Within the next few days, Jeptha 
 D. Howe was brought on from St. Louis, on the 
 charge of conspiracy and was held in $2,500 bail 
 to answer at court. In due time the case reached 
 the office of George S. Graham, Esq., District At- 
 torney. In this office an indictment was pre- 
 pared, charging H. H. Holmes, Benjamin F. Pite- 
 zel, Carrie A. Pitezel, and Jeptha D. Howe with 
 having fraudulently and wilfully conspired to 
 cheat and defraud the Fidelity Mutual Life 
 Association, out of the sum of 110,000 dollars, 
 by means of the substitution of a body for 
 that of Benjamin F. Pitezel. This indictment 
 
132 INDICTED BY THE GRAND JURY. 
 
 Wits formally presented to the Grand Jury and a 
 true bill was found, and tlie matter rested in 
 that shape until Holmes created another sensa- 
 tion by making a second so-called confession. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IN THE TOILS. 
 
 The Insurance Company Not Idle — Efiforts to Locate Pitezel— 
 Holmes in His Cell — The Arch-Scoundrel Changes Hie 
 Base — Sends for the Superintendent of Police — Admits 
 Lying — Pitezel Dead and the Children in London — Holmes' 
 Second Confession in Detail — Efforts to Verify or Disprove 
 It — The Children Still Missing — Groping in the Dark — 
 Thomas W. Barlow, Esq., Retained for the Insurance Com- 
 pany — A new Indictment — The Trial — Holmes Happy — 
 Sentence Deferred. 
 
 Between the arrest of these parties and their 
 indictment, the officers of the Insurance Company 
 were not idle. Mrs. Pitezel soon learned the 
 wisd(nn of sincerity and truthfulness, and became 
 communicative, and day by day the history of the 
 crime was laid bare. Every effort was made to 
 locate Pitezel and to find the children, and no ex- 
 pense was spared in running out all sorts of clues. 
 While this was going on, Holmes was occupying 
 his solitary cell in the county prison. He had 
 been for years a very busy man and never before 
 had such an opportunity for reflection and self-ex- 
 amination. As time passed, the probability that 
 
 C133) 
 
134 SENDS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE. 
 
 Pitezel was not only not alive, but had been mur- 
 dered at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, pressed itself 
 upon the officers of the Company, and the District 
 Attorney as well, and this impression soon found 
 its way to Holmes in his prison cell. He now dis- 
 covered that a change of base was necessary. He 
 remembered a conversation that had taken place 
 between him and Inspector Perry, after his arrival 
 in Philadelphia. In this interview, Mr. Perry 
 a-ked him this question : Who helped you to 
 double up the body in New York City and put it 
 in a trunk? Holmes said: "I did it alone. It 
 is a trick I learned at Ann Arbor, Michigan, while 
 studying medicine there." 
 
 Mr. Perry knew that when the body which had 
 been found at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, was re- 
 moved to the morgue, it was straight and rigid 
 and two men had carried it, one at the head and 
 the other at the feet, — so another question was 
 asked Holmes : " Can you tell me where I can 
 find a medical man or a medical authority, which 
 will instruct me how to re-stiffen a body after 
 rigor mortis has once been broken ? " To this 
 inquiry. Holmes made no answer. 
 
 On December 27th, 1894, Holmes sent for R. 
 J. Linden, Esq., Superintendent of Police of the 
 
IN THE TOILS. 135 
 
 Department of Public Safety of Philadelphia. He 
 told the superintendent that he was very sorry 
 he had been so untruthful in his former state- 
 ments, when he had declared that Pitezel was 
 alive, and was in South America, and that the 
 children were with him. He said he was now pre- 
 pared to tell the truth, the whole truth and noth- 
 ing but the truth ; that Pitezel was not alive, but 
 dead, and that it was really Pitezel's body which 
 had been identified in the Potters Field; that the 
 children were not with their father, but with Miss 
 Williams, who had taken them to London, where 
 they could easily be found. He then dictated to 
 a stenographer, the following statement, which is 
 called by the police. Confession No. 2. 
 
 Statement. 
 
 I contemplated defrauding the insurance com- 
 pany in August or September, 1893, in connection 
 with Benjamin F. Pitezel. No one else was in the 
 plot until July, 1894. Mrs. Pitezel was then in- 
 formed of it by Pitezel. About August 1st, on 
 my release from jail in St. Louis, I outlined the 
 conspiracy to Howe and showed him how L in- 
 tended raising money to liberate Hedgepeth from 
 jail, I having told Hedgepeth of it while in jail 
 
136 HOLMES' SECOND CONFESSION. 
 
 and agreed to raise $300 to help him out. Howe 
 at that time had no idea of joining in the con- 
 spiracy. I went from St. Louis to Chicago to 
 raise some money there, and went to New York 
 where I got $600 from Minnie Williams. I then 
 arranged with Pitezel that he should provide a re- 
 treat to stop at after the conspiracy was consum- 
 mated and also to get his teeth altered. Leav- 
 ing him in New York, I came to Philadelphia to 
 look for a house. I took part of No. 1905 I'iorth 
 lltii Street. Three days later Pitezel caiue and 
 took the house No. 1316 Callowhill Stree^*., which 
 he furnished partially with chemicals and bottles 
 to represent a patent dealer. 1 visited this house 
 I think four times besides the day on which he 
 died. I visited the house about the last of August 
 and stayed five or six hours. At that time Pite- 
 zel was despondent. I found he had been drink- 
 ing and took him to task for it. He remarked 
 tliat he guessed he had better drink enough to kill 
 him and have done with it. He borrowed %\b from 
 me and I left about 4 o'clock. To the best of my 
 knowledge I next saw him on the following Sat- 
 urday, September 1st, at the Mercantile Library, 
 and quite late that evening he came to my house 
 on North 11th Street and said he had received a 
 
TX THE TOILS. 137 
 
 telegram that his baby was sick and he had to go 
 home. I said we had better arrange how his busi- 
 ness should be run and he told me he could get a 
 party to come to the place. I raised no objection 
 to his going. When we got the arrangements all 
 made he said : " You will have to let me have 
 some money to go with." 
 
 I asked him where the $150 were that he told 
 me he had a few days ago. He said : " Well I 
 haven't got it." T could not give him any at that 
 time. This was about 9 o'clock in the evening. 
 I promised to go down in the morning, but before 
 leaving we arranged that I should go in his place 
 and take care of the sick baby and start the body 
 there. The next morning, Sunday, about 10:30, 1 
 went to his house. I had been provided with a 
 key to go in with. I found no one there either on 
 the first or the second floor, where his slee[)ing 
 apartment was. He had a cot there which I do 
 not think he ever made up. I went over to the 
 Mercantile Library and stayed there about an 
 hour, and then went up on Broad Street where I 
 had a private mail box, but did not get any mail, 
 bought a morning paper and went back to the 
 Callowhill Street house. I found no one there and 
 knew that no one had been there while I was 
 
138 HOLMES' SECOND CONFESSION. 
 
 away. T went upstairs and laid down on the cot 
 and read the paper. It was probably about 12 
 o'clock when I got back. After reading the paper for 
 about a half hour, I went to his desk to write some 
 letters, and found there a scrap of paper with a 
 figure cipher on it that we used, and it said : 
 " Get letter out bottle in cupboard." I kept that 
 piece of paper until in Toronto, where I used it in 
 sending a cipher to Mrs. Pitezel and tried to 
 imitate his figures. I got the letter and it told 
 me that he was going to get out of it, and that I 
 should find him upstairs, if he could manage to 
 kill himself. I went upstairs and looked in the 
 clothes press on the second floor, which was the 
 only place I had not been on that floor. Not find- 
 ing him there I ran up to the third story, opened 
 the door, and saw him lying on the fioor appar- 
 ently dead. I felt his pulse and laid my hand on 
 his and found it was cold. His eyes were partially 
 closed. I then had to leave the room on account 
 of the fumes of chloroform being so strong. I 
 went and opened the window in the other room 
 and came back and started to go in again, but had 
 to give it up, and went to the second floor again. 
 As soon as I could, I did go in again and found 
 that he was lying on his back with his left hand 
 
IN TEE TOILS. 139 
 
 folded over his abdomen and his right hand lying at 
 his side. I did not keep the letter which was in 
 the bottle, but destroyed it with other papers the 
 next day on the train going from Philadelphia to 
 St. Louis. I removed the furniture from the third 
 story room and took it to the second storj^ leaving 
 the body until the last. Then I brought the body 
 down into the second story, and arranged it in 
 the way it was found. This was about 3 o'clock. 
 I had arranged with Pitezel, that when he should 
 place the substitute body, a bottle should be 
 broken which it was supposed that he had in his 
 hand when the explosion occurred, and that the 
 fragments should be scattered around the room. 
 I held the bottle up and broke it with a blow of 
 the hammer upon the side. That bottle con- 
 tained benzine, chloroform and ammonia, which 
 was to be used for burning the floor to indicate that 
 an explosion had occurred. I took some of this 
 fluid and put it upon his right hand and side, and 
 on the right side of his face and set fire to it. I 
 then arranged the articles that he had taken from 
 his pocket putting them back again, and hung his 
 vest in the second story bedroom, and the coat in 
 the first story where he had been in the habit of 
 keeping it. I gathered together the rubber tube, 
 
140 HOLMES' SECOND CONFESSION. 
 
 towel, and a bottle of chloroform and left the 
 house as soon as I could, about a quarter of four. 
 I then went to Broad Street station and found 
 that the train for the west would leave in thirty 
 minutes, and another at 10:25 P. M. I went im- 
 mediately to No. 1905 North llth Street and 
 packed my things, and started for St. Louis that 
 night. I found a letter to Mrs. Pitezel in liis 
 clothing, which I took with me and put with the 
 other papers in my inside vest pocket. I think I 
 threw away the key to the house, which I had and 
 put back the regular key where lie usually kept it, 
 and instead of locking the door, I left it open a 
 few inches. I got to my house about 5 o'clock. 
 M}^ wife was not well, and I went to work and 
 straightened things and got the packing done 
 before it was dark. When I found the body, the 
 pockets of the pants were turned out, and his 
 knife and the key of the house were lying on a 
 chair. Up to this time, Howe was in the con- 
 spiracy. The following Wednesday night I got 
 to St. Louis, and on that day I had seen in a St. 
 Louis paper, a report that the body had been 
 found. I went immediately to Howe's office, 
 having made up my mind, that as he knew of it, I 
 had better let him settle up the insurance. He 
 
JN THE TOILS. 141 
 
 was not there. I went to Mrs. Pitezel's and 
 found that they had also seen the report. The 
 children were greatly worried, but Mrs. Pitezel 
 was not, as she believed that the scheme had 
 been carried out. We talked the matter over a 
 couple of hours, and I came back that night and 
 saw Howe and explained what had been done, not 
 telling him that it was Pitezel, but leaving him to 
 believe that the plan of placing a substitute had 
 been carried out, and retained him on behalf of 
 Mrs. Pitezel to procure the money from the Com- 
 pany, He suggested that she have some of her 
 neighbors write first, inasmuch as it would not 
 look well for her to immediately run off and get 
 a lawyer ; this was done. At the time of the dis- 
 covery of the body, a towel was over his face. 
 The tube was fastened to the bottle by a cork with 
 a quill ; then he had tied around a string to keep 
 the chloroform from running too fast. I think the 
 rubber tube was four or five feet long. I took the 
 tube with me. His wife asked me what that was 
 for. I think I took the cork and quill out of the 
 house also. 
 
 (In answer to questions) : It did not occur to 
 me when I found that Pitezel was drinking, to 
 
142 A NEW INDICT3IENT. 
 
 give him a little chloroform. I had nothing to do 
 with his taking the chloroform. 
 
 This statement Holmes reiterated to the officers 
 of the company and efforts to verify or disprove 
 it were renewed with vigor. January, February, 
 March and April of 1895, came and went, and yet 
 the most earnest work failed to discover the chil- 
 dren, or obtain any clue of them, after tliey had 
 disappeared from Toronto on October 25th, 1894, 
 to which place they had been traced. Furtlier- 
 raore if it was Pitezel's body that was found in 
 the Callowhill Street house, there was no substi- 
 tution, and an indictment charging the conspira- 
 tors with having substituted a body, would not 
 meet the case. 
 
 At this juncture, the officers of the Company, 
 under the advice of District Attorney'' Graham, 
 retained Thomas W. Barlow, Esq., a member of 
 the Philadelphia bar. The District Attorney had 
 associated Mr. Barlow with him in many cases in 
 previous 3'ears, and they were in thorough accord. 
 A brief of all the facts of the case was carefully 
 prepared and eventually a new indictment was 
 found, charging H. H. Holmes, Marion C. Hedge- 
 peth, and Jeptha D. Howe, with having conspired 
 to cheat the Insurance Company, by alleging that 
 
IN THE TOILS. 143 
 
 one B. F. Pitezel, who had been insured in said 
 company had died as the result of an accident. 
 This indictment was ingeniously constructed to 
 meet the facts of the case, within the grasp of the 
 Commonwealtli. If a body had been substituted 
 and Pitezel was alive, it was good ; if the body 
 found was really Pitezel's and he was dead and 
 had committed suicide, it was equally good, as a 
 clause in the policy made it null and void, in case 
 of self destruction. It was then determined to 
 hold any further investigation of the case in abey- 
 ance, until a trial should be had under this new 
 bill, the prisoner convicted, and remanded to 
 prison to await sentence. 
 
 On June 3d, 1895, the prisoner was called for 
 trial on the new bill. He was defended by able 
 counsel, who presented a bold front on behalf of 
 their client on the first day of the trial. On the 
 second day they weakened and advised their cli- 
 ent to plead guilty. This he did with alacrity, as 
 he thought the end of his troubles was in sight. 
 He was informed by his counsel, that the maxi- 
 mum term of imprisonment in Pennsylvania for 
 conspiracy, was two years, and if he pleaded 
 guilty he might possibly get less. The prisoner 
 hastened to take advantage of such a comfortable 
 
144 THE TRIAL. 
 
 means of retreat. He really looked happy when 
 the Judge said he would not sentence him then, 
 but would consider his case at a later day. 
 
 In the Court Room closely observing the pris- 
 oner, was Detective Frank P. Geyer, of the 
 Bureau of Police of Philadelphia. Mr. Geyer 
 had been requested to be present by the District 
 Attorney and Mr. Barlow. A few days later, Mr. 
 Barlow was made Special Assistant District Attor- 
 ney, and the great work of uncovering one of the 
 greatest criminals of modern times immediately 
 commenced. 
 
CHAPTER Vir. 
 
 " A SLIPPERY AND SUBTLE KMAVE." 
 
 Holmes' Interview with the District Attorney — The Human- 
 ity of Justice — Holmes Urged to Produce the Pitezel 
 Children — His Apparent Candor — Disposition of the Chil- 
 dren — Four Hundred Dollars Pinned in Alice's Dress — 
 Nellie Disguised as a Boy — The Loudon Address — Holmes 
 and Miss Williams Agree upon a Cipher — The New York 
 Sunday Herald — Correspondence with Scotland Yard. 
 
 Holmes was removed from the couit room to 
 an apartment in the City Hall, designated as the 
 cell room, where prisoners are detained after trial, 
 or while waiting their conve3ance to the county 
 prison. As Holmes sat cheerfully chatting with 
 one of his counsel, a message reached them from 
 the District Attorney, requesting a conference at 
 once, touching the whereabouts of the children. 
 This meeting took i)lace in ]\Ir. Graham's (>ffice. 
 In the middle of the office was a long table. 
 Holmes and his counsel sat on one side of this 
 table, and Mr. Graham and Mr. Barlow on the 
 other. The District Attorney opened the confer- 
 ence by informing Holmes, that the cfficers of the 
 
 (145) 
 
146 INTERVIEW WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 Commonwealth were very anxious to find the 
 Pitezel children and restore them to their mother ; 
 that he had decided to abandon the case against 
 Mrs. Pitezel, as she had suffered quite enough for 
 any part she had reluctantly taken in the perpe- 
 tration of the fraud on the Insurance Company, 
 and that he intended to set her at liberty without 
 delay ; that the uncertainty of the fate of Alice, 
 Nellie, and Howard, coupled with the death of her 
 husband, (of which she and all parties were now 
 quite convinced), had almost dethroned her rea- 
 son, and that every instinct of humanity dictated 
 a pressing necessity for haste in any effort which 
 could be made to bring her children to her, and 
 that the immediate recovery of the children would 
 remove a growing suspicion that they had been 
 foully dealt with. 
 
 " It is strongly suspected, Holmes," said Dis- 
 trict Attorney Graham, " that j^ou have not only 
 murdered Pitezel, but that you have killed the 
 children. The best way to remove this suspicion, 
 is to produce the children at once. Now where 
 are they? Where can I find them ? Tell me and 
 I will use every means in my power to secure their 
 early recovery. It is due to Mrs. Pitezel and to 
 yourself, that the children should be found. You 
 
"4 SLIPPERY AND SUBTLE KNAVE.'' 147 
 
 were arrested in November last and j-ou said the 
 cliildren were with their father in South America. 
 It is now May, and we have heard nothing of 
 them. We know your November statement to be 
 untrue, because I am quite convinced that their 
 father died on the second day of September last, at 
 No. 1316 Callowhill Street. You subsequently said 
 tliat Pitezel was dead and that you gave the children 
 to Miss Williams in Detroit, and you have further- 
 more given several variations from this last state- 
 ment. I am almost persuaded that your word can- 
 not be depended upon, yet I am not averse to giv- 
 ing you an opportunity to assist me in clearing u}) 
 the mystery which surrounds their disappearance 
 and their present abode, and I now ask you to an- 
 swer frankly and truthfully. Where are the chil- 
 dren ? " 
 
 While Mr. Graham was talking. Holmes listened 
 quietly and attentively, and made no response un- 
 til he was sure that the District Attorney had 
 paused for a reply. He then said with every ap- 
 pearance of candor, that he was very glad of the 
 opportunity thus afforded him to assist in the 
 restoration of the children to their mother. 
 
 " The last time I saw Howard," he said, " was 
 in Detroit, Michigan. There I gave him to Miss 
 
148 DISPOSITION OF THE CHILDREN. 
 
 Williams, who took him to Buffalo, New York, 
 from which point she proceeded to Niagara Falls, 
 After the departure of Howard, in Miss Williams' 
 care, I took Alice and Nellie to Toronto, Canada, 
 where they remained for several days. At Tor- 
 onto I purchased railroad tickets for them for 
 Niagara Falls, put them on the train, and rode 
 out of Toronto with them a few miles, so that 
 they would be assured that they were on the right 
 train. Before their departure, I prepared a tele- 
 gram which they should send me from the Falls, 
 if they failed to meet Miss Williams and Howard, 
 and I also carefully pinned in the dress of Alice, 
 four hundred dollars in large bills, so Miss Will- 
 iams would be in funds to defray their expenses. 
 
 " They joined Miss Williams and Howard at 
 Niagara Falls, from which point they went to 
 New York City. At the latter place. Miss Will- 
 iams dressed Nellie as a boy, and took a steamer 
 for Liverpool, whence they went to London. If 
 you search among the steamship offices in New 
 York, you must search for a woman and a girl and 
 two boys, and not a woman and two girls and a 
 boy. This was all done to throw the detectives 
 off the track, who were after me for the insurance 
 fraud. Miss Williams opened a massage estab- 
 
4;^5<A.<^ /^.^^^•:>-t^,*-:::^^.^.^ ^:^ c^^v^ c^^ ^z.^^ ^ ^A-^ ^— "^ 
 
 j ^ 4ii!3u, .<;;fc^ ^ 0<i^ju-^ (i./w-_^ -7^«-. — -Tt---^ ^^ 2^-o ^7^-Ji, ^l^yi-t. 
 Fac-Simile of Holmes' Lettek to District Attorney Graham. 
 
"A SLIPPERY AND SUBTLE KNAVEJ' 151 
 
 lishmeiit at No. 80 Veder or Vadar Street, Lon- 
 don. I luive no doubt the clnldren are with her 
 now, and veiy likely at that place." 
 
 Holmes said further that he and Miss Williauis 
 had agreed upon a ci[)her, which they were to use 
 in counnuuicating with each other in the personal 
 colunni of the New York Herald, and that if an 
 advertisement were prepared in accordance with 
 this cipher, very doubtless she would be heard 
 from in a very short time, and the children re- 
 covered. 
 
 He further denied with great emphasis, that he 
 had killed Pitezel, or had harmed the children and 
 became almost tearful when he exclaimed to the 
 District Attorne}", " Why shonld I kill innocent 
 children ? " 
 
 The conversation then became general, during 
 which time Holmes exhibited no embarrassment 
 whatever until he was asked by Mr. Bailow : 
 "Please give me the "name of one respectable 
 person to whom I can go, either in Detroit, Buf- 
 falo, Toronto, Niagara Falls, or New York, who 
 will say that they saw Miss Williams and the 
 tliree children together." This question staggered 
 him for a moment, but he ({uickly recoveixl him- 
 self and said in an injured tone, that the question 
 
152 THE NEW YORK SUNDAY HERALD. 
 
 implied a disbelief in his statement. He was 
 promptly told that it certainly did, and further- 
 more, that the speaker believed his entire story to 
 be a lie from beginning to end. This drew a 
 vehement protest from Holmes and he declared 
 his readiness to furnish the cipher, with which an 
 advertisement in the Herald should be made up, 
 and by means of which the children would be re- 
 covered. 
 
 He Avas told to prepare the cipher and he said 
 he would send it to the District Attorney from the 
 prison. 
 
 A day or two later, this letter was received by 
 District Attorney Graham, from Holmes : 
 
 May 29, '95. 
 District Attorney Graham. 
 Dear Sir : — 
 
 The adv. should appear in the Neiv 
 York Sunday Herald and if some comment upon 
 the case can also be put in body of paper stating 
 absence of children and that adv. concerning ap- 
 pears in this paper, etc., it would be an advantage. 
 Any word you may see fit to use in adv. will do 
 and if a long one, only one sentence need be in 
 cipher as she will know by this that it must come 
 from me as no one else, unless I told them, could 
 have same. 
 
"J SLIPPERY AND SUBTLE KNAVE.' 153 
 
 Perhaps the first sentence should be — Impor- 
 tant to liear before 10th. Cable. Also write 
 to Mr. Massie. Aplbcnliun — iib — CBRc — etc. 
 
 The Xetv York Herald is (or was a year ago) to 
 be found at only a few places regularly in London. 
 Very Respectfully, 
 H. H. Holmes. 
 
 REPUBLICAN republican ^,, ^^epBc 
 
 ABCDEFGHIJ klmnopqrst uvwxyz. holmes 
 
 The suggestions contained in this letter were 
 strictly complied with. The Philadelphia corres- 
 pondent of the Neio York Hrald, was taken into 
 the confidence of the District Attorney's office, 
 and an article was prepared, commenting upon 
 the case and published in the same edition, Sun- 
 day, June 2d, 1895, in which the following ad- 
 vertisement in the personal column appeared : 
 
 " MINNIE WILLIAMS, ADELE COVELLE. GEK- 
 ALDINE WANDA.-AplbeuRun nb CBKc EBLbvB 
 lOtli PREeB ABnucu PCAeUcBu RubuPB. Also write 
 pk PRaaAB cbepBa. Address, GEORGE S. GRA- 
 HAM, City Hall, Philadelphia, Penn., U. S. A." 
 
 This cipher would have conveyed to Miss Will- 
 iams, the following message : 
 IMPORTANT TO HEAR BEFORE 10th 
 CABLE RETURN CHILDREN AT ONCE. 
 ALSO AplbcnRun nb CBRc EBLbiB 10th 
 
154 CORRESPONDENCE WITH SCOTLAND YARD. 
 
 PREeB ABiuicu PCAeUcBu Ru buPB. Also 
 WRITE MR. xMASSIE. HOLMES. 
 write pk PRaaAB. CbepBa. 
 Address, etc. 
 
 It was determined to open a correspondence 
 with the Scotland Yard offices in London, and ask 
 their aid in searching for the childi'en. It was 
 soon discovered, however, that there was no Veder 
 or Vadar Street in London and a request for the 
 assistance of the police authorities in that city 
 was abandoned for the present. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PITEZEL CHILDREN. 
 
 Holmes' Story not Credited — Nettie aud Miuuie Williams — 
 Holmes Declares Sliuuie Murdered Her Sister — Tlie Search 
 lor the Children Decided upon. The Route Proposed — 
 Holmes' Cunuing — Iniportaut Clues— Release of Mrs. 
 Pitezel — Mrs. Pitezel's Statement — Nitro-Glyceriue — 
 Holmes' Letter to Mrs. Pitezel — Detective Geyer. 
 
 No one in the District Attorney's office be- 
 lieved a word of the story that Hohnes had told 
 about the children, and it was determined to 
 make a patient and persistent search among tlic 
 cities in the West for information or clues which 
 would lead to their recovery if alive, or the 
 discovery of their bodies if dead. It was a gigan- 
 tic task and almost a hopeless one, but neither its 
 great size nor the strong improbability of success, 
 was permitted to interfere with the plans which 
 were then perfected. 
 
 Rumors of the remarkable disappearance of 
 two sisters, Nettie and Minnie Williams, had be- 
 come current. They had been last seen in the 
 
 jompany and under the protection of Holmes, 
 
 (155) 
 
156 SEARCH FOR THE CHILDREN DECIDED UPON. 
 
 and a piece of real estate in Fort Worth, Texas, 
 of which they were owners, was found to have 
 been conveyed to Benton T. Lyman, (which was an 
 alias of Benjamin F. Pitezel) and into the pos- 
 session and control of Holmes. Holmes had ad- 
 mitted his intimacy with these women and told a 
 startling story of the Holmes type, describing 
 his return one night to the home of the Williams 
 sisters, of his discovery that Minnie in a moment of 
 rage had killed Nettie and how he had shielded 
 the former, by taking Nettie's body out on the 
 lake at Chicago and quietly sinking it. This story, 
 as untruthful and as improbable as any he ever 
 told, had left an impression upon the minds of the 
 officers of the Insurance Company and of leading 
 police officials. They reasoned, and with some 
 force, that while they were quite ready to believe 
 that Holmes had killed the little Pitezel children, 
 they did not think it possible that such an astute 
 and wily criminal, had left a trace behind him, 
 and that most probably the bodies of the children 
 had been sunk in some lake or river, just as 
 Nettie Williams had been. They further reminded 
 the District Attorne}' and his Assistant, that the 
 children had disappeared in October, 1894, and it 
 was then June, 1895, and it was hardly to be ex- 
 
THE PITEZEL CHILDEEX. 15'^ 
 
 pected that after such a hipse of time a clue which 
 would lead to the discovery of their bodies or the 
 means adopted in disposing of them, could be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The proposition therefore, to go over the route 
 taken by Holmes, in company with the children, 
 starting from Cincinnati, thence to Indianapolis, 
 Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and Burlington (Ver- 
 mont) savored very much of a wild goose chase, and 
 ■would be moreover a waste of time and mone3^ 
 After Holmes had been arrested in Boston, the 
 detectives of the insurance company had 
 traced the children to Cincinnati and thence to 
 the cities above named, until Detroit was reached, 
 ivhen Howard disaj^jjeared. The two girls with 
 Holmes, were then traced to Toronto, whe7i they 
 disappeared, and so it looked very much as if the 
 story Holmes had told of having given Howard to 
 Miss Williams in Detroit, and then sent the girls to 
 her from Toronto, was true. 
 
 Holmes however did not tell this story nntil 
 after he knew that the insurance detectives had dis- 
 covered the houses he liad rented in Detroit and 
 Burlington and so he adjusted himself to the sit- 
 uation from time to time as it arose. 
 
 The newspapers were regularly served to 
 
158 ntPORTANT CLUES. 
 
 Holmes in the county prison and he employed 
 his time in keeping pace with the news as it came 
 to him. 
 
 A few important clues had, moreover, been 
 overlooked. When he was arrested, a tin box con- 
 taining title and other papers and private memo- 
 randa, were found. Among the papers Avere ten or 
 twelve letters from Alice and Nellie, written to 
 their mother and grandparents from Cincinnati, 
 Indianapolis, and Detroit, and which they had 
 evidently given to Holmes to mail. A number of 
 letters written by Mrs. Pitezel in Detroit and 
 Toronto, were also found in the box. She said 
 she had given them to Holmes to mail and was 
 surprised when informed that they had been found 
 in his box. These letters constituted a ver}^ im- 
 portant clue and they will be given in their proper 
 place in this narrative. The other clue was a 
 small bunch of keys, found by Miss Yoke (Mrs. 
 Howard) in her truidc and surrendered b}- her to 
 the officers. 
 
 District Attorney Graham and his Assistant, 
 Mr. Barlow, were not affected by any pessimistic 
 view of the situation. They did not believe that 
 a man could kill three children and escape dis- 
 covery. They believed that the children were 
 
r$ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 #^-!s- 
 
THE PITEZEL CHILDREN. 161 
 
 alive or in hiding, or if they had been murdered 
 all previous efforts to find them had been unskill- 
 fully made, and they resolved to undertake a care- 
 ful and patient search for the blunder which a 
 criminal always makes between the inception and 
 the consummation of his crime. 
 
 About tiiis time the District Attorney, as already 
 stated, determined upon the release of Mrs. Pite- 
 zel. She had given a full, frank and truthful 
 statement of all she knew of the case. She stated 
 she had given Holmes about !i!^6,700 of the 87,200 
 she had received from Howe, and Holmes had 
 given her a note drawn to the order of B. B. 
 Samuels for 'llGiOOO. Here is an exact copy of 
 this note. 
 
 There was no endorsement on the back of this 
 note. 
 
 That after she had given Howard and Nellie to 
 Holmes, to take to Cincinnati, to join Alice, she 
 had gone to the home of her parents in Galva, 
 Illinois. That in response to a letter from Holmes, 
 she went on October 13th, 1894, to Deivoxt, ivliere 
 he said she ivonld meet her hnnhand. 
 
 That upon her arrival in Detroit, Holmes met 
 her and said, that V>q\\ had found it impossible to 
 remain in Detroit, and had gone to Toronto. That 
 
162 3IES. PITEZEL'S STATEMENT. 
 
 on October 18th she went to Toronto, where 
 Holmes told her, that Ben got frightened because 
 of his belief that the detectives were after him, 
 and had gone to Montreal. He showed her a note 
 written in cipher, which he said Pitezel had sent 
 to her. That under the advice and direction of 
 Holmes, she journeyed with her children wearied 
 and worn out with travel and anxiety, to Pres- 
 cott, thence to Ogdensburg, and finally to Bur- 
 lington, Vermont, where Holmes rented a house 
 for her, — he giving her name as Mrs. Cook, and his 
 own as Judson, and alleging that she was his 
 sister ; that while in Burlington, Holmes, brought 
 a package of nitro-glycerine to the house and 
 placed it in the cellar. That he wrote her a note^ 
 requesting her to carry the packaye to one of the 
 %ipppr floors^ which she did not do. That while in 
 the Burlington house. Holmes came there and 
 went into the cellar, and after a while she followed 
 him and found him removing some boards on the 
 cellar floor. She says he exhibited much con- 
 fusion when he found her observing him, and 
 shortl}' after left the house. 
 
 On June 19, 1894, Mrs. Pitezel entered lier own 
 recognizance to appear when wanted, and was at 
 once set at liberty. 
 
THE PITEZEL CHILDREN. 163 
 
 On the day of her discharge, she received the 
 following remarkable letter from Holmes: 
 
 Philadelphia, June 17th, '95. 
 Mrs. Carrie A. Pitezel. 
 Dear INIadam : — 
 
 I have been exceedingly anxious 
 during the last mouths to communicate with you, 
 but have been completely headed off in every 
 direction. I learn that you will shortly be set 
 at liberty, and I shall take this letter to City 
 Hall with me and then give it to my attorneys 
 to be sent to you, as the prison regulations do 
 not prohibit my doing so. I have been re- 
 peatedly called cruel and heartless during the 
 past six montlis, and by those who were at tlie 
 very time doing more than I, that was both cruel 
 and heartless towards you. Within ten days 
 after you came here arrangements were made 
 with my attorney to furnish bail for you and a 
 house to live in. We were refused permission 
 to see you, although you remember coming here 
 from Boston, it was promised I should see you. 
 Later I offered to make arrangements with your 
 lawyer for tlie same. jNIr. Barlow of the District 
 Attorney's ofQce, told me I could do nothing and 
 that I need not worry myself about you as you 
 are being cared for. Within three days after you 
 came here you had been made to believe so much 
 from others that you forgot that for years I had 
 
164 HOLMES' LETTER TO SIRS. PITEZEL. 
 
 done all 1 could do for you and yours and that it 
 was hardly likely that all at ouce I should turn 
 and do all I could against you. 
 
 Facts you should know are as follows : Ben 
 lived West, and while drunk at Ft. Worth, Texas 
 married a disreputable woman by the name of 
 Mrs. Martin. (Write E. Otto, also Boarding 
 House bet. Houston and Throckmorton Sts., on 
 1st St., where they lived as Mr. and Mrs. Lyman.) 
 When he became sober and found what he had 
 done, he threatened to kill himself and her, and I 
 had him watched by one of the other men until 
 he went home. When we straightened up the 
 bank account, he had fooled awaj^ or been robbed 
 by her of over $850 of the money we needed there 
 so much. Later he wanted to carry out the in- 
 surance work down in Mississippi, where he was 
 acquainted, and I ^^•ent there with him, and when 
 I found out what kind of a place it was, would 
 not go any further with it thei'e and told Jiim so, 
 and he said if I did not, he would kill himself and 
 get money for you, etc. To get him out of the 
 notion. I told him I would go to Mobile and if I 
 could get what was wanted would do so, if nut, I 
 would go to St. Louis and write for him to come. 
 I did not go to Mohile. Was never there in my 
 life. When I reached St. Louis I wrote him, and 
 in the letter he left me after he died, he said he 
 tried to kill himself with laudanum there, and 
 later I found out this was so. (Henry Rogers, 
 
THE PITEZEL CHILDREN. IGS 
 
 Prop, of Hotel at Perkinsville, Ala.) Where lie 
 was very sick. He also wrote you he was sick 
 there, I think you told nie. Here in Phila. \^e 
 were not ready. He got word baby was sick and 
 he had to own to me he had drank up the $35.00 
 I gave him extra in N. Y., and then I told him I 
 would settle up everything, as if we carried it 
 out, he might get to drinking and tell of it. He 
 begged me not to do it, and at last I concluded to 
 try again, but thought it best to have him think 
 for a week or two that I was not going on with it, 
 so lie would sober up and be himself. I blame 
 myself for this and always shall, for the next day 
 when I went to his store I found him as I have 
 described, and Perry or the detectives have got 
 the cipher slip he left me, or at all events, it was 
 in the tin box they took. He asked me to get 
 you a house in Cincinnati, on ac. of good schools, 
 etc., and I did so, but did not dare take you tliere 
 after Howe and McD. threatened my arrest, and 
 so made arrangements with Miss W. to live with 
 you. She took Ploward with her from Detroit be- 
 cause he would quarrel with the girls if no grown 
 person was with them, and he wanted his father's 
 watch and Alice wanted to keep it, and so I took 
 it, telling them I wanted to show it to you and 
 Dessa, and bought all three of them each a cheap 
 watch. When I found the conditions in Toronto 
 were not as Miss W. thouglit they were, and I 
 was getting word from Chicago every day that I 
 
 10 
 
166 HOLMES' LETTER TO MRS. PITEZEL, 
 
 was being followed, I thought best to go out of 
 the country altogether, and the Ins. Co. know 
 the children A. and E. were at their hotel at 1 
 o'clock the afternoon you left Toronto, and be- 
 tween then and when I saw you at 4 o'clock at 
 the store where I was buying some things for 
 them, I had been to my wife's hotel twice and 
 was with you again at 6:30, and had meantime 
 started the children to J\Jiss W. and eaten my 
 supper. From that time until my anest in Bos- 
 ton, if I could now be allowed to sit down with 
 you and my wife, I could show where every half 
 hour was spent. In Boston I recvd. letter 
 from Miss W. that the}^ would leave there in a 
 few days, and if the detectives would now go, as 
 I beg of them, they could trace out the N. Y. end 
 of the matter and stop all the unnecessary delay 
 and expense. This would spoil their theories and 
 would not be a sufficiently bloodthirsty ending of 
 the case to satisfy them it seems. As soon as 
 they got a house and were settled, they w^ere to 
 send word and you were to then go to them, and 
 this was why I wished you to take a furnished 
 hduse so you could get rested and not be at ho- 
 tels. I made arrangements for Miss W, to tell 
 3'ou all, when you Avere settled. If you had 
 known they were following you, you would have 
 been worried, and I think you will remember I 
 tried to do all I could to keep you from it, and 
 we had to get rid of the old trunks and get the 
 
TEE PITEZEL CHILDREN. 167 
 
 things into bundles, so there would be no check- 
 ing. There is a bundle of yours now at the Bur- 
 lington Depot marked with the name you Avent 
 by there, which I have forgotten. I was as care- 
 ful of the children as if they were my own, and 
 you know me well enough to judge me better 
 than strangers here can do. Ben would not have 
 done anything against me, or I against him, any 
 quicker than brothers. We neve?- quarrelled. 
 Again, he was worth too much to me for me to 
 have killed him, if I had no other reason not to. 
 As to the children, I never will believe, until you 
 tell me so yourself, that you think they are dead 
 or that 1 did anything to put them out of the 
 way. Knowing me as you do, can you imagine 
 me killing little and innocent children, especially 
 without any motive ? Why, if I was preparing 
 to put them out of life was I (within an hour be- 
 fore I must have done it if ever) buying them 
 things to wear and make them comfortable, even 
 underwear for them to take to Miss W. for How- 
 ard, (which I can prove I bought in Toronto,) if 
 as they would have you believe, Pat had taken 
 him and killed him weeks before. Don't you 
 know that if I had offered Pat a million dollars, 
 he would not have done a thing like this. I 
 made a mistake in having it known that Miss W. 
 killed her sister, as it tends to make her more 
 careful about her movements, but I could hardly 
 do otherwise, when I was accused of killing them 
 
168 HOLMES' LETTER TO MRS. PITEZEL. 
 
 both. Now after they get ck~)ne trying to make 
 the case worse than it is, you will fiiul that they 
 will trace the children to N. Y. and to the steamer 
 there. Next to you, I have snffered most about 
 them, and a few days ago gave the District Attor- 
 ney all facts I could, and if nothing comes of it 
 soon, I hardly expect anything new to occur until 
 I can be taken to Ft. Worth and arrange the 
 property so Mr. Massie, her old guardian, can take 
 lier part of the money to her in London. By ad- 
 vertising, if she knows there is mone}" for her, 
 and it conies through Mr. Massie safely, she will 
 find some way, (probably through her Boston 
 friend,) to get it. As long as there is nothing to 
 gain, she will hardly come out openly and lay 
 herself liable to arrest. I dislike fearfully to go 
 to Ft. Worth to serve a term, as the prisons there 
 are terrible. I had rather be here five years than 
 there one, and in going, there is no better way to 
 have you know I am still willing to do all 1 can 
 for you and yours. I blame tlie Company here for 
 keeping you shut up six months in this den, for 
 worrying yon about your children not being alive 
 and for their trying to separate my wife from me, 
 for these things do not concern them, but 1 have 
 never blamed them for otherwise making me all 
 the trouble they can. I would do the same with 
 another if the tables were turned. As matters 
 now stand, I have got here, in Illinois and in 
 Texas, between fifteen and twenty years of im- 
 
The riTEZEL children. im 
 
 prisonnient a\^■aiting nie. If the children can be 
 found, 1 want to finish here and in lilinois first., 
 hoping by that time the Texas matters may blow 
 over or that I may die ; l)ut if they are not found 
 before my sentence expires liere, if any arrange- 
 ment can be made so papers can be filed in Texas 
 to bring me back here or to Illinois, after I have 
 served tliis first small charge in Texas, so I do n(»t 
 have to stay and serve the others there until after 
 my northern term is served, I will go and dm all I 
 can to both get the property straightened there, 
 so you can liave a small income and arrange for 
 recovery of the children. Hen's death was genu- 
 ine and you were entitled to the money, and if it 
 had not been for H. and McD., you would to-day 
 have been in Cincinnati with all the children. 
 
 About the money — Ben asked me to use most 
 of it to pay debts and ari-ange so some steady in- 
 come should come to you from the South. The 
 note you got in St. Louis was made by him in the 
 spring and some money was due on it. We were 
 f)wing Miss W. about 15,000. T gave -$1,000 to 
 her in Detroit (also S400 to Alice in Toronto) 
 and you have no reason to think I was not intend- 
 ing to take care of you then, more than in years 
 before, and now if I can get to Ft. Worth with- 
 out running risk of staying there more than one 
 year, I will soon straigliten so as to get you 
 money while I am there in jail. Mr. Shoemaker 
 went there two weeks last winter and started mat- 
 
170 HOLMES' LETTER TO MRS. PITEZEL. 
 
 ters, but until I can go there and be taken into 
 court, nothing more can be clone I fear. There 
 are some letters at the City Hall that I promised 
 Alice I would save for her, as I did not dare let her 
 carry them with her, and if after they get through 
 with them, you can get them, I wish you would do 
 so, also Ben's watch. Howard has the other things. 
 I don't know what you will do meantime, if you 
 gain your liberty here, but rest assured I will do 
 all I can at the earliest possible moment. So far 
 as the children's bodily health is concerned, I feel 
 sure I can say to you the}- are as well to-daj' as 
 though with you, also that they will not be turned 
 adrift among strangers, for two reasons. First, 
 Miss W., although quick tempered, is too soft 
 hearted to do so; second, if among others where 
 their letters could not be looked over and de- 
 tained, the}^ would write to their grandparents, 
 (not to 3'ou, as I instructed Miss W. from Boston 
 in answer to her letter to me. if she heard of my 
 or our arrest, to have children think we were lost 
 crossing to London.) They have no doubt writ- 
 ten letters which Miss W., for her own safety, has 
 withheld. 
 
 If there are any questions you wish to ask me, 
 make a list of them and send to one of my attor- 
 neys. I have refrained from asking you anj^lest 
 you would think that the object of my letter. I 
 have no desire to do anything to cause your 
 lawyer or the prosecution any unnecessary work 
 
The pitezel children. i7i 
 
 or annoyance, and if you write me, shall isimply 
 answer questions asked. Shall not advise or ques- 
 tion you, nor would 1 have done so if allowed to 
 have seen you during past months, though it 
 would liave saved them much unnecessary delay 
 and expense to have had us eliminate some of 
 the features of the case by comparing memories. 
 I, at least, hope your suffering here is nearly 
 ended. 
 
 Yours Trul3^ 
 
 H. H. Holmes. 
 
 The foregoing narrative substantially presents 
 the case, known to, and considered by the District 
 Attorne3''s office at the time arrangements were 
 perfected, which permitted of the release of Mr. 
 Geyer from his routine duties in the Police De- 
 [)artment. He had been for twenty years an 
 esteemed and trusted member of the Philadelphia 
 Detective Bureau. He had had a vast experience in 
 detective work, and more particularly in murder 
 cases and justly enjoyed the friendship and confi- 
 dence of the District Attorney, and his assistant, 
 as much because of his high personal character, as 
 his skill and dexterity in his profession. Funds to 
 defray the expenses of the search were readily fur- 
 nished by the officers uf the Insurance Company, 
 notwithstanding their belief that little more could 
 
172 DETECTIVE GEYER. 
 
 be accoinplislied than threshing over old straw. 
 On the evening of June 26th, 1895, full of hope 
 and courage Detective Geyer started on his 
 journey. But we will let him tell his own story. 
 
DETECTIVE GEYER'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE Til AIL. 
 
 Defective Geyer Uudeitakes the Seaicli — Arrival at Ciucin- 
 nati — Searching Hotel Registers — Holmes Located at two 
 Hotels under Two Aliases — Hotel Clerk Reoogviizes Photo- 
 graphs of Holmes and the Children — Holmes Rents a 
 House under Another Alias — Holmes gives Away a Stove 
 —Geyer Starts for Indianapolis. 
 
 About the time of tlie trial and conviction of 
 Holmes, I was sent for by Mr. Barlow, to call 
 upon liim at the District Attorney's office. On 
 my arrival there, 1 was informed that Mr. Graham 
 liad decided to send me West to make a search for 
 the missing Pitezel children. Arrangements were 
 then made with the snperintendent of police to 
 detail me for the task, and preparations were com- 
 pleted for the start. Several conferences were 
 held with the officers of the insurance company, 
 and the District Attorney and his assistant, and I 
 soon became familiar witli every point of the case. 
 Eight months having elapsed since the children 
 liad been heard from, it did not look like a very 
 encouraging task to undertake, and it was the 
 
 {17V 
 
m ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI. 
 
 general belief of all interested, that the children 
 would never be found. The District Attorney 
 believed, however, that another final effort to find 
 the children should be made, for the sake of the 
 stricken mother, if for nothing else. I was not 
 placed under any restrictions, but was told to go 
 and exercise my own judgment in the matter, and 
 to follow wherever the clues led me. I was well 
 piovided with money, and with a Godspeed and 
 well wishes from all Avho weie interested, I started 
 on my journey. 
 
 I left Philadelphia on Wednesday evening, 
 June 2Gth, 1895, for Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving 
 there on the 27th at 7.30 P. ^[., registered at the 
 Palace Hotel, and after partaking of some lunch, 
 I proceeded to police headquarters, where T met 
 ni}- old friend, Detective John Schnooks. I ex- 
 plained to him the nature of my visit to Cincin- 
 nati, and he requested me to call in the morning 
 and have a conference with Superintendent Philip 
 Dietsch. An hour or two was spent with 
 Schnooks rehearsing some of our old stories, after 
 which I returned to the hotel for a good night's 
 rest. Bright and early the next morning, I arose 
 and after eating a hearty breakfast, I started for 
 the city hall, where I met Superintendent 
 
O.V THE TRAIL. l?o 
 
 Dietsch. One half hour or more was spent 
 with him going over the case and givhig liim my 
 reasons for believing that Holmes had had the 
 children in Cincinnati, Ohio. Reaching his hand 
 under his desk, his finger was placed on a touch 
 button that summoned a messenger from the 
 detective department, who was instructed to send 
 Detective Schnooks into the office. A moment 
 or two later Schnooks made his appearance, and 
 the superintendent instructed him to render me 
 all the assistance in his power, in the effort to 
 locate the children. Bidding the superintendent 
 good da}-, Schnooks and I left the office and com- 
 menced the greatest search I have ever had in my 
 twenty years' experience in the detective business. 
 When I left Philadelphia, I was provided with 
 photographs of Holmes, Pitezel, Alice, Nellie, and 
 Howard Pitezel, Mrs. Pitezel, Dessie and the 
 baby, also of Mrs. Pitezel's trunk, (the one 
 Holmes borrowed from her in Detroit, Michigan, 
 saying that he wanted it for the purpose of get- 
 ting Ben out of the town, as the detectives were 
 onto him), a photograph of a missing trunk which 
 belonged to the children ; also of a trunk belong- 
 ing to Mrs. Howard. As I knew that Holmes 
 had left St. Louis on September 28th with the 
 
176 SEARCHING HOTEL REGISTERS. 
 
 two children, Nellie and Howard, I suggested to 
 Schnooks, that we first search the hotels around 
 the depots to see if a man registered there on 
 that da\-, who had three children with hiui, a boy 
 and two girls. We called at a number of hotels, 
 but niet ^^•ith no success. We finally struck a 
 cheap hotel at Xo. 164^ Central Avenue, known 
 as the Atlantic House, and upon examining the 
 register, we discovered that on Friday, Sejjtember 
 28th, 1894, there aj^peared tlie name of Alex. E. 
 Cook and three chihlren. The photographs of 
 Holmes and the three children were shown to the 
 clerk, who could not s;iy [)Ositively that they were 
 the photographs of the people wh(; had sto})ped 
 there, but thought they resembled them very 
 much. Recalling to my mind that Holmes had 
 Mrs. Pitezel living in Burlington under the name 
 of Mrs. A. E. Cook, I felt convinced that I was on 
 the right track. The clerk informed us that these 
 l)arties only remained over night, leaving the fol- 
 lowing morning. Tiianking the clerk for his kind 
 attention, we left the hotel and continued our 
 search among such hotels as we had not visited, 
 and when we arrived at the Hotel Bristol, corner 
 of 6th and Vine Streets, we discovered that on 
 Saturday, September 29th, 1894, there appeared 
 
ON THE TRAIL. 177 
 
 on tlie register the name of A. E. Cook and three 
 childieii, Clevehuid. They were assigned to room 
 No. 103, a room whicli contained two beds. Mr. 
 W. L. Bain, a clerk at tlie liotel, recognized tlie 
 photographs of Holmes and the children, as the 
 party who registered there under that name. The 
 register showed that they left the Bristol on Sun- 
 day, September 30th. 
 
 Knowing that Holmes was in the habit of rent- 
 ing houses in most every city he visited, I deter- 
 mined to give up the search among the hotels and 
 make some inquiry among the real estate agents 
 and ascertain whether he had rented a house in 
 Cincinnati. After visiting quite a number of 
 them,, we called at the office of J. C. Thomas, No. 
 15 East 3d Street. His clerk informed us that 
 Mr. Thomas had gone to his home in Cnmmins- 
 ville, a suburban town about five miles from Cin- 
 cinnati. A photograph of Holmes was siiown the 
 clerk, who had a distinct recollection of having 
 seen the original in the office with a small boy. 
 The photograph of Howard was then produced 
 and he identified it as the boy who was with 
 Holmes. The clerk was unable to give us any 
 further information in regard to the renting of the 
 houses, as the books were locked up, and Mi'. 
 
178 HOLMES RENTS A HOUSE. 
 
 Thomas Lad tlie keys. We then delermiued to go 
 to Cumminsville and find Mr. Thomas, so off we 
 started, and when we reached Cumminsville, we 
 were unable to locate our man, — nobody appeared 
 to know him, and in consulting the directory his 
 name did not appear in it, ([)robably he had not 
 lived there long enough.) We returned to Cin- 
 cinnati somewliat disappointed, and as it was after 
 business hours, we were cum2)elled to give np the 
 search. 
 
 The next morning we were at the real estate 
 office of Mr. Thomas again, and as soon as he 
 arrived, we lost no time in consulting him. We 
 showed him the pictures of Holmes and Howard 
 Titeze], which lie immediately recognized as that 
 of a man who had a small boy v.ith him, and who 
 rented a house from him at No. 305 Poplar Street, 
 on Friday, September 28th, 1894, paying $15 in 
 advance for it and giving the name of A. C. Hayes. 
 Mr. Thomas informed us that his tenant had only 
 remained in the house about two daj^s, when he 
 left for parts unknowji, but suggested tliat we call 
 on Miss Hill, who lived at No. 303 Poplar Street, 
 (next door), as he thought she would be able to 
 give us some information concerning him. We 
 immediately left for No. 303 Poplar Street, where 
 
ON THE TRAIL. 179 
 
 we met Miss Hill, whom we found to be very will- 
 ing to tell us all she knew about the strange ten- 
 ant. She said there was really very little to tell. 
 The first she noticed of him was on Saturday 
 morning, September 29th, when a furniture wagon 
 was driven in front of No. 305 Poplar Street and 
 a man and small boy alighted. The man took a 
 key out of his pocket, and after opening the door 
 of No. 305, a large, iron cylinder stove, such as is 
 used in barrooms or a large hall, was taken out of 
 the wagon and carried into the house. As there 
 was no other furniture taken in, it aroused her 
 curiosity and she spoke of it to several of her 
 neighbors. She was doubtless observed by Holmes 
 doing this, for on tlie next morning, September 
 30th, (Sunday) he rang her bell, and told her he 
 was not going to occupy the liouse and that she 
 could have the stove. 
 
 Having located Holmes and the children at 
 two hotels in Cincinnati, and discovered the two 
 false names he assumed. Cook and Hayes, I felt 
 justified in believing that I had taken firm hold 
 of the end of the string which was to lead me ul- 
 timately to the consummation of my difficult mis- 
 sion. I was not able to appreciate the intense 
 significance of tlie renting of the Poplar Street 
 
iBb ON THE TRAIL. 
 
 house and the delivery of a stove of such immense 
 size there, but I felt sure I was on the right track 
 and so started for Indianapolis, from Avhich point 
 several of tlie cliildren's letters found in Holmes' 
 tin box had been dated. 
 
^I^Z'C-^t.^^ 
 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE UNTIRING PURSUIT. 
 
 The Search iu ludiauapolis — Holmes Took Alice Pitezel to 
 Cincinnati — The Three Canning Children Identified as the 
 Pitezel Children — Mrs. Holmes Registered as Mrs. Georgia 
 Howard — Represents Her Husband as Wealthy — Holmes 
 as an Uncle — Holmes' Schemes to Get Rid of Howard — 
 The Children Homesick — Chicago — The Search for a Trunk 
 — Geyer Calls on Pliimmer — Plnmmer Admits Knowing 
 Holmes, bnt Denies Ever Seeing the Children— A German 
 Chambermaid Recognizes Photographs of the Children — 
 How the Children Passed Their Time— The Picture of the 
 Trunk Identified— Holmes as Harry Gordon — Mrs. Gordon 
 — Interview with a Janitor — The Williams Girls Again — 
 Search for a Bricklayer. 
 
 Saturday evening, June 29t]i, at 7:30 o'clock, 
 I arrived at Indianapolis, Indiana, registering at 
 the Spencer House. After partaking of a lunch, 
 I started out in search of police headquarters, 
 which I found to be located on Alabama Street, 
 south of Washington Street. Entering the build- 
 ing, I met Captain Splann, who is in charge of the 
 detective corps. Introducing myself, I told liim 
 what my business was in Indianapolis and he re- 
 quested me to see Superintendent Powell. About 
 this time a report came in that a man had been 
 
Id4 HOLMES TOOK ALICE PITEZEL TO CINCINNATI. 
 
 shot and killed in the Jiorthern part of the city, 
 and that the murderer had escaped. The captain 
 was compelled to start for the scene of the mur- 
 der, and invited me to accompany him, which I 
 did. On our arrival at the house, we learned that 
 the man was not dead, but was suffering from the 
 result of a pistol shot wound in the neck. The 
 usual preliminaries were gone througli with, and 
 after obtaining an accurate description of the 
 would-be murderer, we left the house in search of 
 Superintendent Powelb and while looking for 
 him, I met several of the city detectives. Cap- 
 tain Splann gave them a description of the man 
 who was wanted, and requested tiiem to make 
 search for him at once. Shortly after we met the 
 superintendent, who advised me to call at police 
 headquarters the next morning, telling me that he 
 would detail a good man to aid me, and that he 
 would render me all the assistance in his power. 
 
 Sunday morning, bright and early, I called at 
 police headquarters, where I met Superintendent 
 Powell, who introduced me to Detective David 
 Richards and informed me that he had assigned 
 him to assist me in my investigation in Indianap- 
 olis. Richards and I retired to a private room 
 and after explaining the case to him we left head- 
 
THE VNTIEINO PURSUIT. Ih", 
 
 quarters to continue the searcli for the missing- 
 children. 
 
 I suggested to Richards that we first make in- 
 quiry among the hotels near the Union Depot and 
 on going to tlie Stubbins House and examining 
 the register, we found that on September 24th, 
 1894, was an entry in tlie name of Etta Pit- 
 sel, St. Louis, Mo., and that the hotel records 
 showed she left on the morning of September 
 28th. Further inquiry elicited the fact that the 
 girl was brought there b}- a man known to Mr. 
 Robert Sweeney, the clerk, as Mr. Howard, and 
 that on Friday morning, September 28th, he had 
 received a telegram from Mr. Howard, dated St. 
 Louis, requesting him to have Etta Pitsel at the 
 Union Depot to meet St. Louis train for Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio. This was the day Holmes left St. Louis 
 with Nellie and Howard Pitezel, telling their 
 mother that he was going to take them to Indian- 
 apolis, where they would be taken care of b}- a 
 kind old lady. Mr. Sweeney full}^ identified the 
 picture of Alice Pitezel, as the girl who stopped 
 at the Stubbins House ; also that of Holmes, as 
 the man whom he knew as Howard and to whom 
 he had given Alice Pitezel on the St. Louis train 
 for Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
18(i THE THREE CAAXfX(; CHILDhEN. 
 
 Feeling confident that Holmes had returned to 
 Indianapolis, 1 continued to search among the 
 hotels. The register of a number of hotels was 
 examined in the neighborhood of the depot, but 
 we failed to get any further information regard- 
 ing the children. We then went to the place 
 known as the Circl'3, where there are severat 
 liotels. We called upon the proprietor of the 
 Hotel English, and asked permission to examine 
 his register of Septem!)er, 1894. Turning to Sep- 
 tember 30th, we discovered on the register tUe 
 three Canning children, Galva, Illinois, room No 
 79. i\Ir. Duncan, the clerk was shown the pic- 
 tures of the children who were registered there 
 under the name of Canning, and positively identi- 
 fied, them. He also identified the picture of 
 Holmes, as that of the man who had brought 
 them there and who took them away on the next 
 morning, Monda}^ October 1st. Knowing that 
 tiie children's grandparents' name Avas Canning 
 and that they lived at Galva, Illinois, I was con- 
 vinced that I was on tlie riglit track, and with re- 
 newed energy, I determined to find out where 
 they were taken to ou Monday morning, October 
 1st. Every hotel and lodging house in Indian 
 apolis was searched, but no record could be found 
 
THE VXTIRING PURSUIT. 187 
 
 of where the chiklreu had stopped. Finally it 
 dawned upon Kicliaids, that in September, 18*.'4, 
 there had been on Meridian Street within fifty 
 feet of the Circle, a small hotel known as the 
 Circle House. This hotel had been closed for a 
 long time, but we determined to find the proprie- 
 tor, a Mr. Merman Ackelow. Inquiry around the 
 Circle as to where we could find him, brought 
 fortli the information that he had moved to West 
 Indianapolis, but that we could find his clerk, 
 a ]\Ir. Reisner, near the Union depot. Off we 
 started at once to find the clerk and located him 
 in a hotel south of the depot, and ascertained 
 from him that the register and all the records be- 
 longing to the Circle House, were in charge of 
 an attorney named Everett. We then made ar- 
 rangements with Mr. Reisner to meet us at the 
 lawyer's office the following morning, ^londay, 
 July 1st, 1895. According to promise, Richards 
 and I were at lawyer Everett's office at 9 A. M. on 
 Monday, where we met clerk Reisner. The reg- 
 ister was produced, and turning over to October 
 1st, found a similar entry to that in the Hotel 
 English, three Canning children, Galva, Illinois, 
 room -No. 24. ^Ir. Reisner in looking over tlie 
 cash account, informed us that thev had left there 
 
188 3IRS. UOUIES REGISTERED AS MRS. HOWARD. 
 
 October 6tli. It was easily observed that the 
 books of the Circle House were kept without 
 much system, cuusequently we had to rely ou 
 dates giveu us by Reisuer as being accurate. 
 
 In making my search among the hotels, I dis- 
 covered that Holmes had his wife registered at 
 the Circle Park Hotel under the name of Mrs. 
 Georgia Howard. The entry was made Septem- 
 ber 18th, and slie remained there until September 
 2-lth. This was tlie time when Holmes, with 
 Howe and Alice Pitezel was in Philadelphia for 
 the purpose of identifying Pitezel's body. While 
 at the Circle Park Hotel, Mrs. Howard became 
 very intimate with the proprietress, a IVIrs. Rodius. 
 She informed her that her husband was a very 
 wealthy man, and that he owned real estate and 
 cattle ranches in Texas; also had considerable 
 real estate in Berlin, Germany, wJiere they in- 
 tended to go as soon as her husband could gel Ijis 
 business affairs into shape to leave. 
 
 The Circle Park Hotel is also situated in the 
 phice known as the circle and is within one hun- 
 dred feet of the Circle House, where Holmes had 
 the children. September 30th, Mrs. Howard's 
 name re appears on the Circle Park Hotel register 
 and she remains there until October 4th, showing 
 
THE UNTIRING PURSUIT. 189 
 
 that she was almost within speaking distance of 
 the Pitezel children, yet she was in absolute 
 ignorance of it. 
 
 I suggested that we go to West Indianapolis 
 and have an interview with Mr. Herman Ackelow, 
 the former proprietor of the Circle House, to see 
 if he could throw any light upon the whereabouts 
 of the children. When we reached West Indian- 
 apolis, we found that Mr. Ackelow was running a 
 beer saloon. It did not require a great deal of 
 ceremony to introduce ourselves, after which I 
 spoke to him about the children. He had a dis- 
 tinct recollection of them and recognized the pho- 
 tograph of Holmes as the man who brought them 
 and took them away from his hotel. Holmes 
 represented to INIr. Ackelow, that he was their 
 uncle, — their mother, who was a widow, Avas his 
 sister, and that she would be with them in a few 
 days. Holmes said that Howard was a very bad 
 boy and that he was trying to place him in some 
 institution, or bind him out to some farmer, as he 
 wanted to get rid of the res]3onsibility of looking 
 after him. 
 
 Mr. Ackelow also informed me, that on numer- 
 ous occasions he had sent his oldest boy up to the 
 children's room to call them for their meals. His 
 
190 THE SEARCH FOR A TRUNK. 
 
 son Avould return to liini and tell liini tlitit he 
 found the children crjing, — evidently heart- 
 broken and homesick to see their mothei", or liear 
 from iier. 
 
 From the fact that Holmes had told Mr. vVcke- 
 low that he wanted to get rid of Howard, I came 
 to the conclusion at once that he had murdered 
 him, but where, up to this time, I was unable to 
 deternjine. 
 
 ]n an interview I had with Mrs. Pitezel in the 
 Moyamensing Prison, Philadelphia, she told me 
 that the trunk the children had with them when 
 they left her at St. Louis, Mo., was missing. 1 
 then interviewed Holmes, as to what he had done 
 with it, and he informed me that lie had left it in 
 a hotel on West Madison Street, about lift}- feet 
 from the corner of Ashland Avenue, Chicago, 
 Illinois. 
 
 Information had also been sent me by the 
 Fidelity Company, that their general manager in 
 Detroit, Michigan had positive informat^ion that 
 Holmes and the boy were seen in Detroit, Michi- 
 gan, where Holmes had rented a house. 
 
 While I felt somewhat reluctant to leave In- 
 dianapolis, as something seemed to tell me that 
 Howard never left there alive, I decided I would 
 
THE UNTIRING PURSUIT. 191 
 
 abandon the searcli there for the time being, and 
 go to Chicago, Illinois and see it" 1 could verify 
 the trunk story. At 11:40 A. M., July 1st, ISUl, 
 I left Indianapolis, Indiana, l\)r Chicago, 111., ar- 
 riving there at 5:30 P. M., and registei'ed at tlic 
 Imperial Hotel. After supper I went to Police 
 Headquarters, and after going through the usual 
 preliminaries of introducing myself, I informed 
 the ("aptain in charge of Detective Headquarters, 
 why I was in Chicago. He listened with much 
 interest to my story and requested me to call early 
 in the A. M., when he would introduce me to In- 
 spector Fitzpatrick. 
 
 Tuesday morning, July 2d, I called at Police 
 Headquarters, and learned that the Inspector had 
 been detained on some business and would not be 
 at the office for some time. I was then introduced 
 to Detective Sergeant John C. McGinn, and was 
 informed that he was assigned to assist me in my 
 investigation in Chicago. 
 
 llie story of the finding of the body at No. 
 1316 Callowhill Street, and the mysterious disap- 
 pearance of the children was all told to i\Ic(iinn. 
 We then left Police Headquarters, and I suggested 
 tliat we call on Wliarton Plunnner in room No. 
 1218 Chamber of Commerce Puilding. Plummer 
 
192 GEY Ell CALLS ON PLUMMER. 
 
 was Holmes' attorney and had represented him in 
 S(;me of his business ventures. Holmes had in- 
 formed me prior to leaving Philadelphia, that 
 Plummer had taken dinner with him at the hotel 
 where tlie children were stopping on West Madi- 
 son Street, and that he (Plummer) had seen the 
 girls. Entering the office, I handed m}^ card to 
 Mr. Plummer, who requested ns to be seated. I 
 then opened up a conversation with him regard- 
 ing Holmes and the missing children. He ad- 
 mitted having seen Holmes in Cliicago about the 
 time referred to and said that he met him on the 
 North side, and thought it was on Division Street, 
 and that they went into a restaurant and had some 
 lunch. Pie positively denied having been at 
 the hotel where Holmes stopped, and declared 
 most emphatically that he had never seen the 
 children. 
 
 Having learned in Indianapolis, that the cham- 
 bermaid, Caroline Klausmann, who had charge of 
 the room in the Circle House, which the children 
 occupied, had moved to Chicago, I determined to 
 locate her if possible. We learned that she was 
 stopping at No. 223 West Clark Street and upon 
 making inquiry at the above number, we ascer- 
 tained that she was employed at the Swiss Hotel, 
 
THE UNTIEING PURSUIT. 193 
 
 on Wells Street between Ohio and Indiana 
 Avenues. We then proeeeded to the Swiss Hotel 
 where we met Miss Klausmann, whom I found to 
 be a middle aged German woman, unable to speak 
 English. As I was familiar with the German 
 language, I explained wh}^ I came to see her and 
 showed her the photograplis of the children. 
 She recognized them at once, and with tears in 
 her eyes described to me how they would employ 
 their time while she was at tlie hotel in Indian- 
 apolis. She said that the children were always 
 drawing pictures of houses, or engaged in writ- 
 ing, and that she frequently went into their room 
 and found them crying. Observing that they 
 were alone at the hotel, she naturally believed 
 they were orphan children, and when she found 
 them crying, she thought they Avere crying over 
 the loss of their father and mother. She said it 
 grieved her very much to think she was unable to 
 speak English, so that she might have sympatliized 
 with them. She identified the picture of the 
 missing trunk, as the one the children had with 
 them at the Circle House. After leaving Miss 
 Klausmann, we concluded we would go to the 
 West side and endeavor to locate the hotel where 
 Holmes claimed to have left the missino- trunk. 
 
UM HOLMES AS HARRY GORDON. 
 
 We went to West Madison Street and Ashland 
 Avenue, but were unable to locate any hotel as 
 described by Holmes. However, we made a 
 search of the register of every hotel within a mile 
 of where Holmes had said the children had 
 stopped, but were unable to h)cate them. We 
 returned to the City Hall, and after a half hour 
 consultation, we agreed to return to Ashland 
 Avenue and West Madison Street and make an- 
 other search for the hotel. We did not find a 
 hotel, but succeeded in finding a lodging house, 
 about fifty feet from the corner of Ashland 
 Avenue on West Madison Street, just as described 
 by Holmes. This house had beeu occupied at that 
 time by a Miss Jennie Irons, whom we found about 
 five blocks further west on West Madison Street. 
 The photographs of Holmes and the children 
 were then shown to Miss Irons, but she failed to 
 identify the children, but thought she had seen 
 the man. Subsequent developments have proved 
 that Holmes, under the name of Harry Gordon, 
 occupied apartments with ]\Iiss Irons in 1893, 
 having witli him a woman who was known as 
 Mrs. Gordon, and has been since identified as 
 jNIiss Emily Cigrand, a wonuin who mysteriously 
 disappeared from No. 701 Sixty-Third Street, 
 
THE rxrrnrxa rrn.'^rFr. i!tr. 
 
 Chicago, tlie lioiise that lias since hecoiue famous 
 as " The Castle." 
 
 As Holmes had lived with INIiss Irons, he had 
 no difficulty in describing the place to me. How- 
 ever, neither the children, nor the tiamk had been 
 there. 
 
 As there was nothing to be learned from Miss 
 Irons, I concluded that my next move would bo 
 to visit Pat Quinlan, Holmes' janitor at the 
 block, Sixty-third and Wallace Streets, opposite 
 Englewood Station. So getting on a cable car, 
 we started for Quinlan's home, and on our arrival 
 there we discovered there was only one entrance 
 to the upstairs of the big building. Going up a 
 dark winding stairway, we reached the second 
 story, and knocking at the door, we Avere re- 
 quested to come in. Quinlan is a man about five 
 feet, eight or nine inches, slim build, light curly 
 hair, sandy mustache, and looks to be about 
 thirty-eight j-ears old. I presented my card to 
 hiui and he requested me to be seated, after 
 which I began my conversation about Holmes 
 and the missing Pitezel children, trying to im- 
 press Quinlan all the while, that I believed he 
 knew all about them. Quinlan told me the last 
 time he saw Holmes, was in the fall of 1894, on 
 
196 INTERVIEW VnrH A JANITOR. 
 
 the North side in Chicago. He was with another 
 man, whom Qiiinhm says he did not know. 
 Quinlan spoke to Holmes and said: "Hello, 
 where did you come from?" Holmes answered 
 and said : " I have just come from home." Quin- 
 lan thought he meant Wilmette. I questioned 
 Quinlan closely in regard to the Pitezel children. 
 He admitted that he knew them very well, but 
 positively denied knowing anything whatever of 
 their whereabouts, and that if he did know he 
 would be only too willing to render all the assist- 
 ance he could to locate them. He expressed liis 
 belief, that if the body found at No. 131G Callow- 
 hill Street was that of Pitezel, that Holmes had 
 murdered him, and subseqnently murdered the 
 cliildren, and if such were the case. Holmes 
 should be liung for it, and that he, (Quhilan) 
 would only be too willing to spring the trap. 
 Quinlan said from what he had read of Holmes 
 since the case has gained publicity, he sincerely 
 believed that Holmes set fire to the block and in- 
 tended to destroy him and his famil}'. 
 
 During my last interview with Holmes in Moy- 
 amensing Prison, he told me he had given the 
 children to a man named Edward Hatch, who 
 was formerly a bricklayer and had done odd 
 
THE UNTIRINQ PURSUIT. 197 
 
 chores around the block in Chicago. He said 
 that QuinLin and Dr. Robinson were well ac- 
 quainted with him, so while at Quinlan's, 1 
 thought I would take advantage of the oppor- 
 tunit}', and question Pat as to wliat he knew 
 about Hatch. He informed me tJiat he knew a 
 bricklayer by that name, who had done some 
 work for Holmes, and that he was a hardworking, 
 industrious man. I then told him about what 
 Holmes had said about giving Hatch the children. 
 Quinlan denounced Holmes as a dirty, lying 
 scoundrel and said that Hatch would not be 
 guilty of doing anything tliat was Avrong. I also 
 interviewed Qainlan in regard to the Williams 
 girls, who were formerly at tlie Castle. He said 
 he knew Minnie and had met her at the block. 
 No. 701 West Sixty-third Street, and that Holmes 
 introduced her to him and his wife, as his cousin, 
 and also introduced her to Mrs. Holmes as his 
 cousin. He said positively, that he never saw 
 Nettie Williams after this case was made public. 
 
 I next interviewed Dr. Robinson, the proprie- 
 tor of the drug store on the first floor in the 
 Castle. He had no recollection of knowing a 
 man named Hatch, but said he had seen both 
 Minnie and Nettie Williams tosrether at the block 
 
198 SEARCH FOR A BRTCKLAYER. 
 
 ill June, 1804, and saw iMinnie tliere alone about 
 one month later. The Doctor's opinion of 
 Holmes was not a very good one. 
 
 The story Holmes gave me about Hatch and 
 the children, was his very latest, and was told 
 immediately after he learned that I was about to 
 make a new search for the children. He had al- 
 ways stuck to his romance about giving them to 
 Minnie Williams, but he was evidently anticipat- 
 ing tlie possibility of just what followed, so he 
 rigged up the Hatch tale and arranged it to suit 
 possible future developments. 
 
 The next move we made was to try and locate 
 Hatch. We found by consulting a directory, that 
 a man by the name of Edward Hatch, a brick- 
 layer by trade, lived at No. 6248 Sangamon 
 Street. This is about six blocks from the Castle, 
 so we concluded to go there at once and see if 
 we could find him. On our arrival at the house, 
 we found that it was occupied by a colored fam- 
 ily and that Hatch had moved out about ten 
 months before. Inquir}' was made in the neigh- 
 borhood, but no one appeared to know where he 
 had gone. We then visited a Mr. Glenister, who 
 resides on Union Street above Twenty-eighth 
 Street, who is the Secretary of the Bricklayers' 
 
Nellie Pite/el. 
 
THE UNTTIilNa PrnSUTT. 201 
 
 Union and tried to ascertain from him if there 
 was such a person connected with their Union as 
 Hatch. Mr. Glenister searclied the records for 
 ns, but ^^•as unable to find the name. We then 
 went to a number of buildings in course of erec- 
 tion and made inquiry among the brickhayers, but 
 no one appeared to know a man b}' that name, 
 wlio followed the trade of a bricklayer. 
 
 I then decided to leave the search for Hatch in 
 tlie hands of Detective McGinn, and to go to 
 
 Detroit. 
 12 
 
CHAPTER XT. 
 
 AN EXPERT IN CRIME. 
 
 Detroit — Holmes Rents a House — Howard with Him — Alice 
 jind Nellie at the New Western Hotel — Holmes as G. 
 Howell — Search iu Holmes' House — Alice and Nellie 
 Again Identified — Picture of the Trunk Again Recog- 
 nized — Mrs. Pitezel at Geis' Hotel — Under Great ]\[ental 
 . Strain — Mrs. Pilezel and Her Children but a Few Blocks 
 Apart — Holmes' Skillful plotting. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, July 4th, I left Chi- 
 cago for Detroit, Michigan, arriving there at G 
 P. M. and registered at the Hotel Normaiidie. I 
 Avent at once to police headquarters, where I met 
 Detective Thomas Meyler, an old personal friend 
 of mine, to whom I explained the nature of my 
 visit. I was then introduced to the captain in 
 charge and repeated my story of the missing chil- 
 dren. He requested me to call in the morning 
 and see Superintendent Starkweather. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 5th, I was at 
 police headquarters, where I met the superin- 
 tendent who assigned Detective Tuttle to assist 
 me in my search in Detroit. The same old story 
 was told to him and off we started. 
 
 (203) 
 
•?0t HOUTES PxENTS A HOUSE. 
 
 The first jilace at wliicli we called was at the 
 ciffice of the Fidelity j\Iutual Life Insurance Com- 
 pany, where we met Mr. Frank R Alderman, the 
 general manager for JNJicliigan. After obtaining 
 from liim the name of the real estate agent who 
 rented a house to Holmes, we left the office and 
 went to No. 60 Monroe Street, where we met a 
 Mr. Bonninghausen, the agent referred to. Hand- 
 ing him my card, I requested a private interview 
 which he granted, and after propounding several 
 questions to him, I learned that on or about the 
 13th of October, 1894, a gentleman called at his 
 office, representing that he wanted to rent a liouse 
 for a widowed sister who had three children. lie 
 said he desired a house that was on the outskirts 
 of the city, if it were possible to get one. 
 
 This just suited the agent, as he had a house at 
 No. 241 E. Forest Avenue in wdiich he had a per- 
 sonal interest, and which had been without a ten- 
 ant for a long time. The agent identified the pho- 
 tograph of Holmes, as that of the man ^^ho in- 
 quired for the house and said that Holmes took 
 tlie number and was informed tliat he would find 
 the kej's at Mr. McAllister's drug store on Forest 
 Avenue, which is just a few doors below No. 241. 
 About two hours later Holmes returned to Mr. 
 
AX EXPERT IX CRIME. 2iir, 
 
 BdiHifiigliauseiis office and inforiued liiui tljat tlie 
 lioiibe was just what he wanted. He paid five 
 dollars in advance, and said that when his sister 
 arrived, which would be in tliree or four days, he 
 would return and pay six months' rent in advance, 
 as he did not intend living with her, and wanted 
 to see that she was properly provided for. Mr. 
 Ijonninghausen said he was under the ini[)ression 
 that Holmes had a small boy with him when he 
 rented the house, describing him as a boy about 
 nine or ten years old. A Mr. Moore, who was in 
 the office at the time Holmes rented the house, 
 and who by the wa}' is the present occupant, cor- 
 roborated Mr. Bonninghausen as to Holmes hav- 
 ing the boy Howard with him while in Detroit. 
 
 Leaving the real estate office, I was somewhat 
 impressed with the belief that my theory, that 
 Howard had never left Indianapolis alive, was 
 wrong. However, I decided to make a search 
 among the hotels, and see if I could locate the 
 children, suggesting to Tuttle that we first visit 
 those near the depot. The first few we visited 
 failed to give us any further information, but 
 when Ave examined the register of the New West- 
 ern Hotel. P. W. Cutter, proprietor, we discovered 
 the name of Etta and Xellie Canning, St. Louis, 
 
20G ALICE AXD NELLIE AT THE GREAT WESTERN. 
 
 Mo., room No. 5, made October 12th, and evidently 
 about midnight. The photographs were shown 
 Mr. Cotter, who positively identified the girls as 
 having stopped there, and that of Holmes as the 
 man who had brought them there, registered their 
 names, and who called tlie next day and took them 
 away. Mr. Cotter was quite positive that there 
 were but two children and that they had no trunk 
 with them. The register of the Circle House in 
 Indianapolis, showed that the children had left 
 that hotel on the 6th of October, and they ap- 
 peared to have arrived in Detroit, ^Michigan, Oc- 
 tober 12th. Tliis was a matter for serious consid- 
 eration, as it made an interval of six days to be 
 accounted for between Indianapolis and Detroit. 
 
 Having satisfied myself that the two girls had 
 been in Detroit, I determined to try and locate 
 Holmes, and ascertain if the boy had stopped with 
 him, so we continued our search among the hotels, 
 and on the register of the Normandie, I found an 
 entry October 12th, 1894, " G. Howell and wife, 
 Adrian." Having become thoroughly familiar 
 witli Holmes' handwriting and knowing that the 
 name " G. Howell " was one of his many aliases, I 
 felt convinced that it M^as his registry. The pho- 
 tographs of Holmes and his wife were shown the 
 
AX EXPERT IX CRIME. 207 
 
 Clerk, who was not positive as to Holmes, but was 
 sure that tlie woman liad stopped at the hotel 
 about that time. The record of the hotel proved 
 that Holmes and his wife left there October 13th 
 after supper. 
 
 After leaving the Normandie, I decided to visit 
 the house No. 241 East Forest Avenue. On 
 arriving there we were met by Mrs. INIoore, who 
 very kindly admitted us to the house and gave us 
 the privilege of examining the cellar. I found 
 that it was divided into three parts. The front 
 which extended across the entire width of the 
 house, had a cemented floor and contained a wood 
 and coal bin, and a large portable heater about 
 four feet in diameter. The part in the rear to the 
 west side of the house, was used as a wash room, 
 having a large stationary washtub in it and a 
 board floor. The part to the east side was used 
 for storage purposes, and it also had a cement 
 floor and cellar steps leading to kitchen on first 
 floor. A careful examination of both the cement 
 and board floor, proved that they had not been 
 tampered with. 
 
 There was a dijor opening out of the wash room 
 to a stairway, which leads to the back yard, and 
 is covered with a cellar door. The stairway w^as 
 
208 SEAKVJf IX HOLMES' HOUSE. 
 
 encased by a brick wall, which served as a foun- 
 dation for a rear porch. Tlds foundation is about 
 three feet six inches above the cellar floor and it 
 was tliscovered after Holmes left the house, that 
 a hole had been dug back of the wall facing the 
 cellar steps, about four feet long, three feet wide, 
 and three feet six inches deep. 
 
 Mr. Boninghausen and INIr. Moore having in- 
 formed me that they had seen a bt)y with Holmes 
 when he rented the house, Detective Tuttle and 
 I searched every spot of ground adjacent to the 
 premises to see if the earth had been disturbed, 
 but we could find no evidence of it. We then 
 made an examination of tiie cellar heater and dis- 
 covered the door to be thirteen inches wide and 
 eight inches high, and the cylinder about four feet 
 in diameter, but there was no evidence, nor had 
 there been, that the furnace had been used for 
 any improper or unusual ])urpose, so JNlr. i\loore 
 said. I called on Dr. McAllister who had posses- 
 sion of the keys. I showed him the picture of 
 Holmes, and he identified it at once as that of a 
 man to whom he had delivered the keys. We 
 then returned to Police Headquarters, and after a 
 short consultation, we decided to keep up the 
 hunt for Alice and Nellie, and also to locate 
 
AN EXPERT IN CRDIE. 209 
 
 Holmes and liis wife. 1 had a iiieiuoraiiduin of 
 the address given by Aliee in her letter written 
 in Detroit, October 14th, 1894, at No. 91 Congress 
 Street. This house was ke[)t by Mrs. Iviieinda 
 Burns. She distinctly lemembered having ac- 
 commodated two little girls, who came thei'e on 
 October 13th and left October 19th. She said u 
 gentleman had called on her on tiie morning of 
 tlie 13th of October, rented the room and paid 
 one week's rent in advance, after which lie left 
 and returned again in less than an hour, bringing 
 the little girls with him. He introduced them to 
 j\Irs. Burns as Miss Annie and Miss Amy. 
 
 jNlrs. Burns said the children were never out of 
 their room and occupied their entire time reading 
 and drawing. They had no trunk w ith them, but 
 each carried a small satchel. They were very 
 <j[uiet and reserved, and at no time did tliey reveal 
 their identit}-. 
 
 When shown the pictures of Holmes, and Nellie 
 and Alice Pitezel, she identified the girls at once 
 as the children who had stopped with her, and 
 Holmes as the man who had rented the room for 
 them. 
 
 Not having been able to trace Hulmes to any 
 other hotel, we concluded to try the boarding 
 
210 ALICE AXD NELLIE AGAIN IDENTIFIED. 
 
 houses, so away we journeyed, and the reader can 
 imagine the task in going to many, many houses, 
 ringing the bells, showing the pictures and telling 
 the story to every person who came to the doors. 
 We finally located a house at No. 54 Park Place 
 kept by a Mrs. May Ralston, who when shown the 
 pictures of Holmes and his wife, identified them 
 as a couple who had come there in October, 189-1, 
 paid the rent for a room for one week, but onlj^ 
 remained four or five days. While at Ralston's 
 they were known as Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, and he 
 represented that they were members of the 
 theatrical profession. The pictures of the trunks 
 were shown Mrs. Ralston and she picked out 
 the picture of Mrs. Howard's canvas covered 
 trunk as the one the couple had in use at her 
 house. 
 
 The disappearance of the children"s trunk was 
 the source of much annoyance to me, and I de- 
 termined, if possible to locate it. Several days 
 were spent among expressmen, freight depots, 
 omnibus companies, express offices, hackmen, and 
 liver^mien, but we could get no clue to it. 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel having informed me that she liad 
 stopped at Geis's Hotel while in Detroit, I deter- 
 mined to go there and interview the jiroprietor 
 
AX EXPERT IX CRIME. 211 
 
 and others connected with the hotel, from whom 
 I might obtain information which would be of serv- 
 ice to me in the effort to locate the children. I 
 found in looking over the register, that the only 
 party who had stupj)ed there, and who would an- 
 swer the description of Mrs. Pitezel, Dessie and 
 the baby, had registered on October 14th, 18iJ4, m 
 the name of Mrs. C. A. Adams, and daughter, 
 Chicago, room No. 33. Miss Minnie Mulholland, 
 the housekeeper, identified the picture of Mi-s. 
 Pitezel, Dessie and the baby as the parties who 
 had registered there in October under the name of 
 Adams, and had occupied No. 33, having with 
 them two trunks, one a large top flat trunk, and 
 the other very small. Miss Mulholland identified 
 the picture of the flat top trunk I showed her, as 
 one similar to that which Mrs. Pitezel had with 
 her while at the hotel. 
 
 Miss Mulholland in describing Mrs. Pitezel, alias 
 Adams, says she looked like a woman who was 
 bowed down with trouble. She was never out of 
 her room, and was apparently suffering great men- 
 tal anxiety. She occupied a back room, but as 
 Miss Mulholland had a room facing the street, she 
 consented to allow her the use of it during the 
 da}'. When Mrs. Pitezel said she was going to 
 
•212 LWDER a BEAT MENTAL STRAIN. 
 
 leave, Miss Mulholland told her she would send 
 for the omnibus company to move her trunk for 
 her. Mrs. Pitezel objected to this, and said thai 
 she would look after that herself, and went out 
 and emploj^ed an ordinary car man. This was 
 evidently done so that the detectives could not 
 trace her baggage through the express office. In 
 doing this, she was acting under instructions from 
 Holmes, who never transferred his baggage by ex- 
 press, but always secured a man on the street to 
 do it. 
 
 Geis's Hotel is not more than three or four 
 blocks from Mrs. Burns' house at Xo. 01 Congress 
 Street. 
 
 The children, Alice and Nellie had arrived at 
 the last named place on October 13th, and Mrs. 
 Pitezel and Dessie and the baby had registered at 
 (ieis's on the 14th, so it become perfectly evident 
 that the mother, Alice and' Nellie were in Detroit 
 at the same time, and but a i(i\\ blocks apart, the 
 former supposing her children to be in Indian- 
 apolis, and the latter led to believe by Holmes 
 that their mother was in Galva, Illinois. At this 
 very tin^e the children wrote a letter from No. 
 91 Congress Street to their grandparents at Galva, 
 in which thev sent a messaoe to their mother. In 
 
AX F.xrEur IX crime. 213 
 
 botli })laces I learned tliat the travellers 011 this 
 sad journey kept close within their rooms. 
 
 What falsehoods, what fabrications were made 
 up hy this accomplished liar, to induce or loice 
 tlie little girls to keep in doors may never he 
 told, Tuiless he for once sjjeaks the truth. To 
 Mrs Pitezel, of course, he held up the terrible 
 possibility of Ben being traced by tile detectives 
 through her movements, hence the necessity for 
 seclusion. 
 
 I found that Mrs. Pitezel and the two children 
 who were travelling witli her, Dessie and the 
 baby, had left Geis"s Hotel on October 18th, and 
 Alice and Nellie from No. 91 Congi'ess Street on 
 October 19th, and that Holmes and his wife from 
 No. 54 Park Place on October 18th. 
 
 It must have taken very careful management to 
 have moved these three separate parties from De- 
 troit to Toronto, without either of the three dis- 
 covering either of the others, but this great ex- 
 pert in crime did it, and did it successfully. His 
 wife (or j\Irs. Howard, who supposed she was his 
 wife) was in total ignorance of the whole scheme. 
 She was not only unaware of the proximity of 
 Alice and Nellie, and of Mrs. Pitezel and her 
 other two children, but she did not know them 
 
214 HOLMES' SKILLFUL PLOTTING. 
 
 and liad never seen them, and supposed that her 
 husband (Holmes) was travelling from city to city 
 selling leases upon an alleged patent copier, or col- 
 lecting mone3'S from corporations and merchants 
 using such copiers. This was his story to her, 
 and it is the only bright spot in this entire story. 
 It might be said to the credit of Holmes, that al- 
 though he had deceived and betraj^ed this woman 
 into marrying him, when he had a lawful wife 
 (and still another wcmian who called herself liis 
 wife) living, he never permitted Miss Yoke to dis- 
 cover that he was a swindler or worse. He evi- 
 dently desired to hold her respect for him until 
 tlie very last. 
 
 I concluded my search in Detroit on Sunday, 
 July 7th, and in tlie evening of that day, took the 
 train for Toronto, at wliich place I arrived the 
 next morning at half past nine o'clock. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SEAKCH REWARDED. 
 
 Arrival at Toronto — The Telltale Register — G. Howell aud 
 Wife Again — The Children in Toronto — H. Howell and 
 Wife — Gej'er Plans a Campaign — Meets the Newspaper 
 Men — The Aid of the Press Invoked — A Disheartening 
 Search — The House in a Field — The Pile of Loose Dirt — 
 Sales of Half-tickets — Geyer Visits Prescott and Niagara 
 Falls— Back in Toronto— Holmes Traced to No. 16 St. 
 Vincent Street — Spades are Trumps — The Search in the 
 Cellar — Finding the Bodies of Alice and Nellie Pitezel — 
 Disposition of the Remains — The St. Vincent House Be- 
 sieged by Reporters and Sketch Artists. 
 
 I WAS not a stranger in Toronto. M^- business 
 had previously called me to that city on several 
 occasions, and so when I arrived at the station, I 
 directed the cabman to take me to the Rossin 
 House, where I had stopped before. After break- 
 fast and a short rest from ni}^ long and tiresome 
 ride, I gathered up my bundle of papers and 
 photographs and proceeded to the police head- 
 quarters. 
 
 On entering the detective department, I met 
 another old friend, Alf. Cuddj^ and after shaking 
 hands with all the boys, whom I had met before. 
 
21 (J a. HOWELL AND WIFE AGAIN. 
 
 I was t;ikeu into tlie office of the ever kind, affa- 
 ble and courteous inspectoi-, Mr. Stark, to whom 
 I told the oft repeated story. He listened to nie 
 very attentively, and then took nie into the room 
 of Chief Constable Grassett, whom I had not had 
 the pleasure of meeting before. To him 1 pre- 
 sented my letter of introduction from the super- 
 intendent of police of Philadelphia, and recounted 
 to him the object of my errand. The chief as- 
 sured me that his department would do every- 
 thing in their power to assist me, and sent a mes- 
 senger for Inspector Stark to come into the room. 
 He instructed the inspector to detail a man to 
 work with me as long as he was needed. Tliank- 
 ing the chief for his courtesy and attention, I re- 
 turned with the inspector to the detective de- 
 partment, where my old friend Cuddy ^-as as- 
 signed to help me out in Toronto. Tliis suited 
 me very well, as I knew Cuddy to be an energetic 
 fellow and not afraid of work, and willing to 
 keep on until every clue liad been run out, and 
 the investigation either a success or a failure. 
 Into a private room we went, and I narrated the 
 entire story to Cuddy, so that lie would know 
 what lie was doing. 
 
 Proceeding as I did before, I thouglit it wise to 
 
Howard Pitezel. 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 219 
 
 examine the registers in the hotels around the 
 Grand Trunk Depot, and we first wended our 
 way to the Walker House and asked permission 
 to see the register of 1894. We were informed 
 that it had been packed away in the storeroom, 
 but if it was important they would send a bell 
 boy to get it. We told the clerk we would con- 
 sider it a great favor if he would do so, and in a 
 few minutes we had the register iu our possession. 
 Turning over the leaves until we came to October 
 18th, we found that " G. Howell and wife, Co- 
 lumbus," had registered for supper that day and 
 left after dinner on the 20th, occupying room 
 No. 14. 
 
 Our next visit was to the Union House. There 
 the same request was made and complied with, 
 and on the 18th of October we found the name of 
 " Mrs. C. A. Adams and daughter, Columbus." 
 Having located Holmes and Mrs. Pitezel, the next 
 thing to do was to locate the girls, so we contin- 
 ued our search among the hotels, until we reached 
 the Albion, and upon examining the register there 
 found the names of " Alice and Nellie Canning, 
 Detroit." This registry was made October 19th 
 and had evidently been written by one of the 
 girls. 
 
220 THE CHILDREN IN TORONTO. 
 
 The photographs of the girls were then shown 
 to Mr. Herbert Jones, the chief clerk of the hotel, 
 who positively identified them as the pictures of 
 the children who were brought to the hotel by 
 their porter, George Dennis, on Friday evening, 
 October 19th. Mr. Jones also informed us that 
 on the morning following their arrival, a gentle- 
 man called to see them and was there on almost 
 every succeeding day during their stay at the ho- 
 tel, with the exception of Sunday. The picture 
 of Holmes was shown Mr. Jones. He recognized 
 it as the man who called at the hotel for the chil- 
 dren in the mornings of the days they stopped at 
 the hotel. He said this man took the children 
 away with him for the day, but they usually re- 
 turned alone in the evening for supper. On the 
 morning of the 25th of October, this same man 
 called as usual at the hotel, paid the children's 
 board bill, took them away with him, and that is 
 the last time they were seen by him or any one in 
 the hotel. 
 
 Holmes having left the Walker House on the 
 afternoon of October 20th, and knowing that he 
 was in Toronto as late as the 25th, I determined 
 to discover whether he had registered and re- 
 mained in another hotel, — so I continued my 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 221 
 
 search until we arrived at the Palmer House, and 
 there, under date of October 21st, we found him 
 registered under the name of " H. Howell and 
 wife, Columbus," room No. 32. 
 
 So thoroughly convinced was I that Holmes had 
 rented a house in Toronto, Ontario, that after 
 hearing Mr. Jones' story, I wrote in my report to 
 the Superintendent of Police in Philadelphia, 
 dated at Toronto, July 9th, 1895, the following : 
 
 ^'It is my impression that Holmes rented a 
 house in Toronto the same as he did in Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, and that on 
 the 25th of October he murdered the girls and 
 disposed of their bodies by either burying them 
 in tlie cellar, or some convenient place, or burning 
 them in the heater. I intend to go to all the real 
 estate agents and see if they can recollect having 
 rented a house about that time to a man who only 
 occupied it for a few days, and who represented 
 that he wanted it for a widowed sister." 
 
 Inspired by the belief that perseverance and 
 energy would bring forth some good result, I de- 
 termined to get a Toronto directory and prepare 
 a list of real estate agents, and interview each 
 and every one of them, — so on Wednesday morn- 
 ing, July 10th, I went to Police Headquarters, 
 
222 GEYEB PLANS A CAMPAIGN. 
 
 where I met Cuddy and suggested my idea to 
 him. It was a big task, yet it had to be done, so 
 in we started upon the directory, — Cuddy reading 
 off the names while I copied them. It took some 
 time to prepare the list, and when finished we 
 started, first going to those who were in the busi- 
 ness portion of the city. It took considerable 
 time to impress each agent with the importance 
 of making a careful search for us, and before we 
 knew it, night was upon us and the real estate 
 offices were closed. Seriously meditating as to 
 the best method to pursue to arouse the citizens 
 of Toronto, I then determined to meet the news- 
 paper men, give them my views of the case and 
 explain to them my theories, so that the matter 
 would be brought before the public, and the story 
 of the disappearance of the children read in every 
 household in the city. That night I was besieged 
 by a number of reporters who called at my room 
 in the Rossin House. I gave them the whole 
 story, and told them I was prepared to let them 
 have the photographs of Holmes and the children, 
 and would esteem it a favor if they would publish 
 them. I also requested them to call the attention 
 of real estate agents and private renters to the 
 matter, so that if any person had rented a house 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 223 
 
 under such circumstances as I described, I would 
 be glad to have them communicate with me. The 
 next morning every newspaper published in Tor- 
 onto, devoted several columns to the story of the 
 disappearance of the children, and requested all 
 good citizens to forward any information they 
 might have to Police Headquarters, or to me at 
 the Rossin House. 
 
 Thursday morning, July 11th, Detective Cuddy 
 and I continued our search among the real estate 
 agents. We found a majority of them prepared 
 to meet us, for they had read the morning papers 
 and our task was thus facilitated very much. In 
 the afternoon, we decided to visit several suburban 
 towns, known as Mimico and North and South 
 Parkdale, so away we went singing the same old 
 story to each and every agent we came across. 
 However, we kept fighting on, hoping against 
 hope, with no word or sign of encouragement. 
 Another day went by and there was not the slight- 
 est clue to give us a grain of comfort. On our 
 return to Police Headquarters, we received word 
 that a man giving the name of Holmes had rented 
 a house on the outskirts of the city, — a house that 
 stood in the middle of a field, and was surrounded 
 by a board fence six feet high. This house was 
 
224 THE HOUSE IN A FIELD. 
 
 situated at Perth and Bloor Streets. We wanted 
 nothing more, and away we journeyed. We found 
 the house situated as already described, and occu- 
 pied by an aged couple with a son about twenty 
 years old. After introducing ourselves as officers, 
 we ascertained from the old gentleman, that they 
 had only lived there a few months, and did not 
 know who occupied the house tlie previous Octo- 
 ber. We explained to them our suspicions and 
 said that we believed that Holmes had murdered 
 the children, and had buried them somewhere 
 under the house. " That accounts for that pile of 
 loose dirt under the main building," said the old 
 man. " Get a shovel " was Cuddy's suggestion, 
 so the old man led the way to show us how we 
 could get under the house, while the young man 
 went in search of a shovel. He soon returned, 
 and taking off our coats, we crawled into a small 
 hole and were soon underneath the floor of the 
 main building. The floor was not more than two 
 feet above the earth, and it did not take us long 
 to discover what the old gentleman meant by the 
 pile of loose dirt. As it was getting dark, we le- 
 quested that some light be furnished. The boy 
 crawled out from under the floor and in a short 
 time we had several coal oil lamps burning and 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED, 225 
 
 commenced digging, feeling positive that we 
 would unearth the children. A hole was dug 
 about four feet square, when it was decided to 
 give it up for the night and return the next morn- 
 ing. Friday morning, July 12th, I called at Police 
 Headquarters and met Cuddy, and proposed to 
 him that we go and see the agent who rented the 
 house Perth and Bloor, and see if he could iden- 
 tif}^ tlie photograph of Holmes as the man who 
 had rented the house. The agent was not a very 
 early riser, consequently our patience was taxed 
 in waiting for him. However, when he came and 
 looked at the picture, he said that it was not the 
 man. Again were we disappointed, and the bal- 
 ance of the day was spent at the Grand Trunk 
 Depot, in trying to ascertain if there had been 
 any half tickets sold on the morning of the 25th 
 of October from Toronto to Suspension Bridge. 
 The ticket agent treated us very courteously, and 
 examined his records and found that on that day, 
 there had been only one whole ticket sold for 
 Niagara Falls, or Suspension Bridge. In answer 
 to a question, whether a conductor would take a 
 whole ticket for two children, he said he would, 
 so we were unable to say positively that Holmes 
 had not sent the girls to the Suspension Bridge to 
 
m 
 
 226 GEYEB VISITS FBESCOTT AND NIAGARA FALLS. 
 
 meet Minnie Williams, as he claimed to have 
 done, — he going as far as Parkdale. We then 
 endeavored to learn through the freight office, 
 what amount of baggage was shipped to Prescott, 
 Canada, on the night of the 25th of October and 
 the morning of the 26th. We learned that two 
 pieces had been sent there on the night of the 
 25th, and one piece on the morning of the 26th. 
 This corresponded with the amount of baggage 
 carried by Holmes and Mrs. Pitezel, and con- 
 vinced me that Prescott was the place they had 
 gone to, and in the event of not meeting with suc- 
 cess in Toronto, I determined that Prescott would 
 be my next stopping place. As Flolmes had left 
 the Walker House on the afternoon of October 
 20th, and his whereabouts from that time until 
 the afternoon of the 21st not being known, I was 
 impressed with the belief that he had taken his 
 wife to Niagara Falls ; so on Saturday morning, 
 July ]3th, I concluded that I would go tliere and 
 see if I could locate them, and if so, ascertain 
 whether the}^ had the children with them. Tak- 
 ing the boat to Lewistown, and from there the 
 trolley cars, I arrived at Niagara Falls, (Canada 
 side) about eleven A. M., and began a search 
 among the hotels, and in a short time my labor 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 227 
 
 was rewarded bj locating them at King's Imperial 
 Hotel, where they arrived on the afternoon of the 
 20th, and left on the afternoon of the 21st. There 
 were no children with them, and they had evi- 
 dently gone there simply to view the Falls. I re- 
 turned to Toronto and visited a number of the 
 newspaper offices for the purpose of examining 
 their files, and made a list of private renters who 
 advertised their houses to rent, as I intended to 
 call upon every one of them in person. I was so 
 positive that Holmes had disposed of the children 
 in Toronto, that I could not think of leaving, 
 until I had made a more extended search. Tliat 
 evening I met Cuddy, and we discussed our plans 
 for Monday morning. 
 
 Sunday, July 14th, was devoted to writing home 
 and to meditating over the case, and the probable 
 chances of success. 
 
 Monday morning, July 15th, I went to Police 
 Headquarters and joined Cuddy, He appeared to 
 be somewhat more cheerful than usual, and when 
 I suggested that we would start out and search 
 among the private renters, he informed me that 
 they had received another report about a man 
 who had rented a house on St. Vincent Street, 
 whose description corresponded with that of 
 
228 BACK IN TORONTO. 
 
 Holmes, and he suggested that we run this clue 
 out before doing anything else. Notwithstanding 
 his fine spirits, he remarked that he guessed it 
 would prove to be a wild goose chase, similar to 
 the many that we had already enjoyed. In look- 
 ing over the newspaper files, I discovered that 
 there was a house to rent at No. 16 St. Vincent 
 Street and to inquire of Mrs. Frank Nudel, at No. 
 54 Henry Street. Detective Cuddy was person- 
 ally acquainted with Mr. Frank Nudel, who is 
 connected with the Educational Department of 
 Toronto, and he suggested that we stop and see 
 him before going to the St. Vincent Street house. 
 We found Mr. Nudel, who told us that his wife 
 was the owner of the house No. 16 St. Vincent 
 Street and that she had rented it to a man some 
 time last October, who only occupied it for about 
 one week. Thanking him for this information, 
 we started for the St. Vincent Street house, but 
 instead of going to No. 16, we called at No. 18 to 
 see an old Scotchman named Thomas William 
 Ryves, who had notified one of the inspectors of 
 police that a man answering Holmes' description, 
 and whose picture with the Pitezel girls he had 
 seen in the Toronto papers, had occupied the 
 house No. 16, next to him, and had told him he 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 229 
 
 had rented it for a widowed sister, who was at 
 Hamilton, Ontario, and that he expected lier there 
 in a few days. We found Mr. Rj^ves a very 
 pleasant old man to talk to, and after propound- 
 ing the usual questions to him, lie immediately 
 recognized the photograph of Alice, but he was 
 not positively sure of Holmes. He said he never 
 got a good look at Nellie and could not say 
 whether or not it was her picture. He told us 
 that the man asked him to loan him a spade, as 
 he wanted to arrange a place in his cellar for his 
 sister to put potatoes in. He said that the only 
 furniture that was brought to the house was an 
 old bed and mattress, and a big trunk. The 
 trunk was taken away from the house, but the bed 
 and mattress were left there. By this time we 
 had heard sufficient to convince us that we were 
 on the right track, and bidding the old gentleman 
 good day, we requested him to meet us again at 
 his house in one hour. We lost no time in going 
 to Mrs. Nudel's house, and ringing the bell the 
 summons was answered by her daughter. We 
 asked if Mrs. Nudel was at home and received an 
 answer in the affirmative ; " Tell her," I said, 
 " we want to see her at once, it is very impor- 
 tant." We were requested to take a seat in the 
 
230 SPADES ARE TRU3IP. 
 
 parlor, and in a few minutes Mrs. Nuclei made her 
 appearance, and without giving her a cliance to 
 say much, I produced the pliotograph of Holmes, 
 and asked her if she had ever seen the original of 
 that picture. Mother and daughter both looked 
 at it at the same time, and answered together, 
 " Why, yes, that is the man who rented the St. 
 Vincent Street house last October and only occu- 
 pied it for a few days." Mrs. Nudel said the 
 man represented that he wanted it for a widowed 
 sister, who was coming on from Detroit, Michi- 
 gan. This seemed too good to be true, and our 
 anxiety to examine the house was so great, that 
 we hurriedly thanked her and left. We at once 
 returned to No. 18 St. Vincent Street where we 
 met Mr. Ryves anxiously awaiting for our return. 
 Requesting him to loan us a shovel, he went into 
 the house and came out with the same spade he 
 had loaned to Holmes. We rang the bell at No. 
 16 St. Vincent Street. The door was opened by 
 the lady of the house, a Mrs. J. Armbrust. Mr. 
 Ryves introduced us and told her we would like 
 to go into the cellar. She kindly consented and 
 ushered us back into the kitchen. Lifting a large 
 piece of oilcloth from the floor, we discovered a 
 small trap door, possibly two feet square in about 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 231 
 
 the centre of the room. Raising this, I discovered 
 that the celhir was not very deep but it was very 
 dark, so I asked Mrs. Armbrnst to kindly provide 
 us with some himps. In a short time she had 
 them ready, and down into the cellar we went. 
 The cellar was very small, about ten feet square, 
 and not more than four and a half feet in depth. 
 A set of steps almost perpendicular lead to it 
 from tlie old-fashioned trap door in the middle of 
 the kitchen floor. 
 
 Taking the spade and pushing it into the earth, 
 so as to determine whether it had been lately dug 
 up, we finally discovered a soft spot in the south- 
 west corner. Forcing the spade into the earth, 
 we found it easy digging, and after going down 
 about one foot, a horrible stench arose. This con- 
 vinced us that we were on the right spot, and our 
 coats were thrown off, and with renewed confi- 
 dence, we continued our digging. The deeper we 
 dug, the more horrible the odor became, and 
 when we reached the depth of three feet, we dis- 
 covered what appeared to be the bone of the fore- 
 arm of a human being. Throwing some dirt into 
 the hole, in order to keep down the stench as 
 much as possible, we left the cellar and went into 
 the kitchen, where I had a conference with Cuddy 
 
232 FINDING THE BODIES OF ALICE AND NELLIE. 
 
 and advised him to communicate with Inspector 
 Stark and tell him of our discovery and have him 
 suggest over the telephone what undertaker we 
 should employ to remove the bodies. Cuddy ac- 
 quiesced in what I said, and we started for the 
 nearest telephone, which we found in a telegraph 
 office on Yonge Street, a short distance from the 
 St. Vincent Street house. Cuddy called up the 
 inspector, told him of our discovery, and re- 
 quested him to recommend an undertaker to take 
 charge of the bodies. The inspector after con- 
 gratulating us, told us to go to B. D. Humphrey, 
 an undertaker on Yonge Street, and make any 
 proper arrangements with him. We found Mr. 
 Humphrey at his establishment, and requested 
 him to assist us in the exhumation of the bodies. 
 I suggested to him to take several pairs of rubber 
 gloves with him, as the bodies were in such a state 
 of putrification, it would be impossible to lift them 
 out of the hole without them. We then returned 
 to the St Vincent Street house, accompanied by 
 Mr. Humphrey and into the cellar we went again. 
 Mr. Humphrey after preparing himself for the 
 task, jumped into the hole already made by Cuddy 
 and myself and assisted us in the work. In a 
 
THE SEARCH REWARDED. 233 
 
 short time we unearthed the remains of the two 
 little girls, Alice and Nellie Pitezel. 
 
 Alice was found lying on her side, with her 
 hand to the west. Nellie was found lying on her 
 face, with her head to the south, her plaited hair 
 hanging neatly down her back. While we were 
 making preparations to lift them out of the hole, 
 a messenger was dispatched to Humphrey's under- 
 taking establishment to send two coffins to No. 16 
 St. Vincent Street. In a short *»te the wagon 
 arrived and the coffins were taken into the 
 kitchen, and we proceeded to lift the remains out 
 of the hole. As Nellie's limbs were found rest- 
 ing on Alice's, we first began with her. We 
 lifted her as gently as possible, but owing to the 
 decomposed state of the body, the weight of her 
 plaited hair hanging down her back, pulled the 
 scalp from off her head. A sheet had been spread 
 in which to lay the remains, and after we suc- 
 ceeded in getting it out of the hole, it was placed 
 in the sheet, taken upstairs, and deposited in the 
 coffin. 
 
 Again we returned to the cellar, and gently 
 lifting what remained of poor Alice, we placed 
 her in another sheet, took her upstairs, and placed 
 her in a coffin by the side of her sister. The 
 
234 THE ST. VINCENT HOUSE BESIEGED. 
 
 bodies were immediately removed to Mr. Humph- 
 rey's establishment, after which they were sent 
 to the nioigue. By this time Toronto was wild 
 with excitement. The news had spread to every 
 part of the city. The St. Vincent Street house 
 was besieged with newspaper men, sketch artists, 
 and others. Everybody seemed to be pleased 
 with our success, and congratulations, mingled 
 with expressions of horror over the discovery 
 were heard everywhere. 
 
 I then telegraphed the first result of my search 
 to District Attorney Graham and to superintend- 
 ent of the Philadelphia police, and thus it was 
 proved that little children cannot be murdered in 
 this day and generation, beyond the possibility 
 of discovery. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FORGING THE LINKS. 
 
 iSO. IG St. Vinceut Street — Fair Without, a Charnel House 
 Witluu— Tlie Little Wooden Egg— Clothing Identified— 
 Great Excitement in Toronto — Mrs. Pitezel Summoned 
 from Galva, Illinois — The Preliminary Inquest — Arrival 
 of Mrs. Pitezel — A Mother's Anguish — Mrs. Pitezel Iden- 
 tifies the Bodies — Mrs. Pitezel's Testimony — Testimony 
 of Mr. Ryves — The Burial — Mrs. Pitezel in Kind Hands, 
 
 The house where the children were found, is a 
 quaint little two-story cottage of an old and sim- 
 ple style of architecture. It stands back a few 
 feet from the sidewalk, — the narrow plot of lawn 
 in front being enclosed with a wire net fence five 
 feet high and beautified with a few blossoming 
 flowers. A veranda tastefully decorated Avith a 
 clinging clematis, adds much to the homelike ap- 
 pearance of the place. The front doorway opens 
 into a hallway, which divides the house in half 
 and continues to the kitchen. The cottage con- 
 tains six medium sized rooms, below, including a 
 kitchen and a pantry, three on either side of the 
 
 hall, and there are four small rooms above. A 
 
 (237) 
 
238 THE LITTLE WOODEN EGG. 
 
 single gable window looks from the upper stor}- to 
 the street. At each end of the house are three 
 small windows, none of them much larger than 
 the window in the front. The back yard is 
 small, and is reached from the kitchen by a short 
 set of steps. 
 
 Feeling somewhat fatigued over the day's work, 
 I determined to spend the evening at the Rossin 
 House in writing to my superintendent and others, 
 and to map out a plan for the next day, as our 
 work was not completed. As the bodies were 
 badly decomposed, personal identification might be 
 difficult and I determined if possible to find some 
 evidence which would aid in establishing tlieir 
 identity, — so I concluded to learn if possible, who 
 had occupied the house after Holmes had left it. 
 The next day, after meeting Cuddy at police 
 headquarters, we started off to find the tenant 
 who succeeded Holmes in the St. Vincent Street 
 house. We were not long in ascertaining, that 
 after Holmes had left, the house had been occupied 
 by a family named MacDunald, who only re- 
 mained a very short time, but no one was able to 
 tell us where they had moved to. However, hy 
 diligent search we located them at No. 17 Russell 
 Street. We called at their home, where we met 
 
FORGING THE LINKS, 239 
 
 Mrs. MacDonald and after introducing ourselves, 
 told her the object of our visit. She said that all 
 she had found at the house No. 16 St. Vincent 
 Street, was an old bedstead and mattress. I 
 then questioned her as to whether she had any 
 children, and she informed me that she had a boy 
 about sixteen years old whc was not at home at 
 that time. I requested her to send him to police 
 headquarters as soon as he arrived home, and 
 bring with him anything he had found in the St. 
 Vincent Street house. Bright and early the next 
 morning young MacDonald, appeared at police 
 headquarters with a little wooden egg, which 
 when parted in the middle, would disclose a 
 snake, which would spring oat. He said he had 
 found this egg in a small leather caba, in one of 
 the closets on the second floor. I had been sup- 
 plied with a list of the playthings the children had 
 with them, and one can imagine my surprise and 
 elation when I found in this list, a description of 
 just such an egg as the MacDonald boy found. 
 It was one of the links which contributed to mak- 
 ing the identification sure. Another link in this 
 chain was supplied by Mrs. Armboust. The 
 children were found buried in a nude condition, 
 and the manner in which their clothing had beao 
 
240 CLOTHING IDENTIFIED. 
 
 disposed of was one of the points of my inquiries. 
 A part of a waist, and wliat appeared to be a 
 piece of ribbon were found when the children 
 were exhumed. When Mrs. Armbrust was clean- 
 ing the house after moving in, she noticed some 
 rags and straw hanging from the chimney in the 
 north front room. These she pulled down and 
 found a part of a striped waist of a graj^ish color, 
 a piece of a woolen garment of brownish red, and 
 a part of a dress of bluish color. The straw had 
 been lit but had not burned, as the clothing had 
 been shoved into the chimney too tightly. A 
 pair of girl's button boots were found in the wood 
 box ; also one odd boot and other parts of the 
 clothing of a female. All this had been thrown 
 away by Mr. Armbrust, but they answered the 
 description of the clothing worn by the Pitezel 
 girls, given by their mother. 
 
 The missing trunk had not been forgotten dur- 
 ing all this time, and it was frequently spoken of 
 by Cuddy and myself. After having heard from 
 Mr. Ryves, that a large trunk had been brought 
 to the house, the idea suggested itself to us, that 
 possibly Holmes might have murdered the boy in 
 Detroit, placed him in the trunk, and shipped 
 him to the St. Vincent Street house to dispose of 
 
FORGING THE LINKS. 241 
 
 the body. I determined if such were the case, 
 not to leave Toronto until I had satisfied myself 
 on this point, — consequently we employed sev- 
 eral men to dig. up every inch of the entire cellar 
 and we thoroughly examined the barn and out- 
 houses, but without result. 
 
 The finding of the bodies, as I have said before, 
 caused great excitement in Toronto, and if the 
 good people of that city had been furnished with 
 an opportunity, I am sure they would have made 
 sliort shrift of Holmes. Preparations were made 
 for the inquest, which was to be conducted by 
 Coroner Johnston, and in the meantime I was re- 
 ceiving dispatches from District Attorney Gra- 
 ham, of Philadelphia, regarding Mrs. Pitezel, who 
 was at Chicago, Illinois, and whom he had in- 
 structed to go to Toronto, Canada, to meet me, 
 and if possible identify the children. 
 
 On Tuesday morning, July 16th, Coroner Johns- 
 ton summoned a number of jurors to be present 
 at the morgue that evening at half-past seven 
 o'clock, also requesting my attendance there at 
 the same hour. This was to be the preliminary 
 inquest to view the bodies. 
 
 7:30 P. M. we all appeared at the morgue, and 
 Coroner Johnston opened the inquest, after which 
 
242 GREAT EXCITEMENT IX TOROXTO. 
 
 the jury was sworn. Then the superintendent 
 of the morgue was sent for and everything being 
 ready, the coroner directed the jury to examine 
 the bodies. In the dead house they went, but I 
 assure you that their stay was a very limited one, 
 as the odor from the decomposed remains was un- 
 bearable, and Coroner Johnston adjourned the in- 
 quest until Wednesday evening, July 17th, to be 
 held in the Police Court, City Hall. On Wednes- 
 day evening I attended the inquest and was re- 
 quested to recite the story of Holmes, and the in- 
 surance swindle, and the disappearance and the 
 finding of the children. I was kept on the wit- 
 ness stand about two hours and a half, and then 
 after hearing several other witnesses, the investi- 
 gation was adjourned to await the arrival of Mrs. 
 Pitezel. Thursday morning, July 18th, I re- 
 ceived a dispatch from her, stating that she had 
 left Chicago and was on her way to Toronto. I 
 watched all incoming trains during the day, and 
 at 7:30 P. M. I again went to the Grand Trunk 
 Depot, and was surprised to see so many people 
 there. This was due, however, to the fact that 
 Mrs. Pitezel had been interviewed by a number 
 of newspaper men before leaving Chicago, and 
 they had wired her time of departure for Toronto 
 
FORGING THE LINKS. 243 
 
 to the Toronto papers. Shortly after my arrival 
 at the station, the Canadian Pacific train from 
 Chicago came in, and I observed Mrs. Pitezel 
 getting off the car. I had a difficult task to make 
 my way through the crowd to reach her, but as 
 quickly as possible I placed her in a carriage and 
 took her to the Rossin House, where I had made 
 arrangements to have her placed in a room oppo- 
 site my own, and I requested that no one should 
 disturb her. Mrs. Pitezel reached her room in an 
 absolutely prostrated condition. The cliamber- 
 raaid had very kindly volunteered to render her 
 such assistance as was possible, and after apply- 
 ing restoratives, she soon revived sufficiently to 
 talk to me. Amid her tears and moans, she said, 
 " Oh, Mr. Geyer, is it true that you have found 
 Alice and Nellie buried in a cellar ? " I did all I 
 could to calm her, and told her to prepare for the 
 worst. She told me that she would try to bear 
 up with it and would do the best she could. I 
 then told her as gently as possible, that I had 
 found the children, but did not describe to her 
 their horrible condition, nor under what circum- 
 stances they were discovered. After remaining 
 with her a short time, I asked several of the 
 ladies connected with the hotel to visit her room 
 
244 A 3I0THER'S ANGUISH. 
 
 and say a comforting word to her, which they did, 
 and it seemed to have a good effect upon her. 
 
 Frida}^ morning, July 19th, I knocked at Mrs. 
 PitezeVs door, and I found that she had improved. 
 She said she had not slept very well, but felt 
 somewhat rested. I then left her and told her 
 I would go out and make arrangements for tak- 
 ing her to the morgue during the day to look at 
 the children. I then went to Police Headquarters 
 and met Cuddy, after which we called at Coroner 
 Johnston's house. He informed us that he would 
 have the bodies so arranged that we could bring 
 the mother to look at them at four o'clock that 
 afternoon. Cuddy and I then returned to the 
 hotel, where every care that human forethought 
 could suggest, had been taken to prepare Mrs. 
 Pitezel for the awful task necessity imposed upon 
 her. I told her that; it would be absolutely im- 
 possible for her to see anything but Alice's teeth 
 and hair, and only the hair belonging to Nellie. 
 This had a paralyzing effect upon her and she al- 
 most fainted. At -i P. M. we had a carriage at 
 the Rossin House, and I informed her that we 
 were ready to proceed to the morgue. In a few 
 minutes she was ready, and after supplying our- 
 selves with brandy and smelling salts, we started 
 
FORGING TEE LINKS. 245 
 
 for the morgue, where we found a number of cu- 
 rious people on the outside awaiting our arrival. 
 Mrs. Pitezel was seated in the waiting room, 
 while I went into the dead house to see that 
 everything was in readiness, before we conducted 
 her in. 
 
 I found that Coroner Johnston, Dr. Caven and 
 several of his assistants, had removed the putrid 
 flesh from the skull of Alice ; the teeth had been 
 nicely cleaned and the bodies covered with can- 
 vas. The head of Alice was covered with paper, 
 and a hole sufficiently large had been cut in it, 
 so that Mrs. Pitezel could see the teeth. The 
 hair of both children had been carefully washed 
 and laid on the canvas sheet which was covering 
 Alice. Coroner Johnston said that we could now 
 bring Mrs. Pitezel in. I entered the waiting 
 room and told her we were ready, and with Cuddy 
 on one side of her, and I on the other, we 
 entered and led her up to the slab, upon which 
 was lying all that remained of poor Alice. In an 
 instant she recognized the teeth and hair as that 
 of her daughter, Alice. Then turning around to 
 me she said, "Where is Nellie?" about this time 
 she noticed the long black plait of hair belonging 
 to Nellie lying in the canvas. She could stand it 
 
246 3rRS. PITEZEL IDENTIFIES THE BODIES. 
 
 no longei", and the shrieks of that poor forlorn 
 creature are still ringing in my ears. Tears were 
 trickling down the cheeks of strong men who 
 stood about us. The sufferings of the stricken 
 mother were beyond description. We gently led 
 her out of the room, and into the carriage. She 
 returned to the Rossin House completely over- 
 come with grief and despair, and had one fainting 
 spell after another. The ladies in the hotel visited 
 her in her room and spoke kindly to her, and ex- 
 pressed their sympathy with her in her sad be- 
 reavement and this seemed in a measure to ease 
 her mind. At 7 P. M., I received word from 
 Coroner Johnston, that if it were possible, he 
 would like to have Mrs. Pitezel attend the in- 
 quest that evening and give her testimony. 
 While I did not think she was in a fit condition 
 to leave the hotel, I communicated to her what 
 Dr. Johnston had said, and she said she thought 
 she would be able to go and get through with it. 
 About 7:30 P. M. I called a carriage and we started 
 for the City Hall, where I gave Mrs. Pitezel in 
 charge of the matron and then went into the 
 court room and informed Coroner Johnston that 
 Mrs. Pitezel was ready to testify. He requested 
 me to bring lier into the room, whereupon Detect- 
 
FORGING THE LINKS. 247 
 
 ive Cuddy and I led her in and placed her on a 
 seat beside the Coroner, and in a few moments, 
 after taking the necessary oath, she began her 
 story. For two hours and a half this poor woman 
 was kept on the stand and prodded with all kinds 
 of questions. So weak did she become, that at 
 times her voice was inaudible, and several times 
 we feared she would totally collapse. Finally the 
 Crown's Assistant Attorney thought he had heard 
 enough and consented to allow her to leave the 
 stand. She was returned to the matron's j'oom 
 and was scarcely there, when she became hyster- 
 ical, and her shrieks for Alice, Nellie and How- 
 ard, could have been heard a block away. Sev- 
 eral doctors present at the inquest immediately 
 prescribed for her, and after working with her 
 about one hour, we got her in a condition to move 
 her to a hole.. The matron at the City Hall was a 
 professional nurse, and volunteered to accompany 
 Mrs. Pitezel to the hotel and remain with her 
 during the night, if I so desired it. I was only 
 too willing to have her join us and render the 
 poor woman all the assistance and sympathy pos- 
 sible. I sent for a carriage and we returned to 
 the hotel, where Mrs. Pitezel spent a terrible 
 night. 
 
248 TESTIMONY OF MR. EWES. 
 
 The story as revealed by the witnesses at the in- 
 quest was very clear, after it had been unravelled. 
 Holmes and his wife had left Detroit on October 
 18th, arriving in Toronto the same day, register- 
 ing at the Walker House as G. Howell and wife, 
 Columbus. Mrs. Pitezel and Dessie and the baby, 
 left Detroit the same day, but two hours later, 
 registering at the Union House under the name of 
 Mrs. C. A. Adams and daughter. 
 
 Alice and Nellie left Detroit the following day, 
 October 19th. Holmes met them at the Grand 
 Trunk Station and turned them over to George 
 Dennis, a hotel porter, who took them by direc- 
 tion of Holmes to the Albion Hotel, where they 
 remained until the morning of October 25th. 
 Holmes called for the girls on the morning of the 
 20th and returned them to the hotel about six 
 o'clock in the evening of the same day, and this 
 he repeated every morning and evening except 
 Sunday until the morning of the 25th, when he 
 took them away finally, for they did not return. 
 He paid for their board every morning and the 
 last payment was made on the 25th. 
 
 On October 20th Holmes rented the house No. 
 16 St. Vincent Street of Mrs. Christiana Niidel, 
 and said he wanted it for his widowed sister, who 
 
FORGING THE LINKS. 249 
 
 was coming from Detroit. He rented the house 
 for six months, at ten dollars for the first month, 
 and twelve dollars per month for the remainder of 
 the term. He took the key and went awa}^ 
 Mrs. Nudel heard nothing more until nearly the 
 end of the month, when she learned that the house 
 was empty, and that the key liad been left with 
 Mr. Ryves, the next door neighbor. 
 
 Mr. Ryves saw the little girls on the veranda of 
 the house and once in the yard. He saw Holmes 
 there. Holmes told him different stories. The 
 first day he met him he said he was renting the 
 house for a sister who was coming from Hamilton. 
 He said she had a family of four children, and 
 that he would board with them as he had secured 
 a situation in Toronto. He brought a trunk with 
 him first, and later on a mattress and bedstead 
 Avere brought and remained on tlie veranda for 
 two days. Tiie day Ryves saw the girls in the 
 yard, Holmes came over and borrowed a spade 
 from him, saying that lie was going to fix a place 
 ill the cellar to hold potatoes. He borrowed the 
 spade about four or five o'clock in the afternoon 
 and returned it between eight and ten o'clock 
 the next morning, handing it over the fence to 
 Mr. Ryves. Mr. Ryves never saw the girls again 
 
250 TESTBIONY OF 3IB. EYVE8. 
 
 after seeing them in the yard. The day after 
 Holmes returned the spade, he came to the house 
 and removed the trunk, and left the key with Mr. 
 Ryves. The latter went into the house the next 
 day and into the cellar to look where the potatoes 
 were to go and he found fresh earth scattered 
 around the bottom of the cellar and some loose 
 boards lying on top. Mrs. Pitezel identified the 
 little wooden egg as a trinket which Alice had, 
 and which she used to carry in a little leather 
 caba. 
 
 Nothing could be more surprising than the ap- 
 parent ease with which Holmes murdered the two 
 little girls in the very centre of the city of To- 
 ronto, without arousing the least suspicion of a 
 single person there. It startles one to realize how 
 such a hideous crime could be committed and de- 
 tection avoided. Surely if the investigation and 
 search for the children had not been made by 
 the Philadelphia authorities, these murders would 
 never have been discovered, and Mrs. Pitezel 
 would have gone to her grave without knowing 
 whether her children were alive or dead. This 
 was the one consolation she had in the very dark- 
 est hour of her life. She knew the fate of her 
 unfortunate daughters— the mystery of their dis- 
 
FORGING THE LINKS. 251 
 
 appearance had been solved, and the only remain- 
 ing problem was the discovery of her little son, 
 Howard. She could not believe he was dead, and 
 clung fondly to the hope that he would ultimately 
 be found alive. 
 
 Holmes was successful in maintaining the same 
 conditions in Toronto, as he had in Detroit. Mrs. 
 Pitezel was at the Union Hotel, and Alice and 
 Nellie at the Albion, although each party was ig- 
 norant of the proximity of the other. 
 
 On the afternoon of July 19th, 1895, the re- 
 mains of the little girls were buried in St. James' 
 cemetery, the expense being borne by the author- 
 ities of Toronto. It was a sad scene. In the 
 meantime I received orders from District Attor- 
 ney Graham to return to Detroit and resume my 
 search for the boy Howard. I left Toronto, Sun- 
 day, July 20th, (in company with Mrs. Pitezel) 
 and arrived in Detroit on the afternoon of the 
 same day. Mrs. Pitezel did not stop in Detroit, 
 but continued on to Chicago in charge of some 
 good women, of a Christian Endeavor Society, 
 who volunteered to see to her. 
 
 I had finished a part of my task, and the ful- 
 fillment of the other part now confronted me. 
 Where was the boy Howard? Had he been 
 
252 FORGING THE LINKS. 
 
 placed in some institution, as Holmes had inti- 
 mated his intention of doing, or was he hidden in 
 some obscure i)lace beyond reach or discovery ? 
 Was he alive or dead? I was puzzled, non- 
 plussed, and groping in the dark. I could not 
 turn back, — I was directed to go on, and I deter- 
 mined to do so, hoping that patience and persist- 
 ent hard work might finally lead me to the light. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HOW TO FIND THE BOY. 
 
 Geyer Agaia iu Detroit — Where is Howard Pitezel ?— Did He 
 Leave Detroit Alive? — Reviewing the Evidence — Another 
 Search at No. 241 E, Forest Avenue — Geyer Does Some Hard 
 Thinking — Review of Holmes' Movements — Copy of Letter 
 From Alice to Her Grandparents, Found iu the Possession 
 of Holmes — Its Pitiable Tale — Holmes' Fiendish Treat- 
 ment of Both Mother and Children — A Friend Warns 
 Holmes to Leave Detroit — The Murder of the Children 
 Postponed — The Furnace Theory. 
 
 About 5 P. M. I went to the Detroit Police 
 Headquarters, where I met Detective Meyler, who, 
 after congratulating me upon my success in To- 
 ronto, informed me that the Superintendent would 
 not be in his office until the following morning. 
 
 That Sunday evening I spent in recounting to 
 Meyler the story of finding the girls, after which 
 I retired for the night. 
 
 Monday morning, July 22d, I reported at Police 
 Headquarters and met Superintendent Stark- 
 weather, who agaiu detailed Detective Tuttle to 
 assist me in Detroit. I decided to go over with 
 greater care, the evidence which proved Howard 
 to have been seen in Detroit, and called with 
 
 Tuttle on Mr. Frank R. Alderman, the manager 
 15 (255) 
 
256 REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE. 
 
 of the Fidelity Mutual Life Association for Mich- 
 igan. When the case was first investigated by 
 the detectives of the insurance company, Mr. 
 Boninghausen, the real estate agent who rented 
 No. 2-11 E. Forest Avenue to Holmes, said that 
 the latter was accompanied by a small boy, but 
 when I called upon him again, in company with 
 Mr. Alderman, he declared that he had no abso- 
 lutely positive recollection of the matter, but that 
 Mr. Moore, who subsequently rented the same 
 house, had said that he had noticed a boy with 
 Holmes. This knocked out one of the supports of 
 the Detroit theory, and we then sought out Mr. 
 Moore and found him at No. 241 E. Forest Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Moore said that he had never been positive 
 about the presence of the boy with Holmes. Sev- 
 eral persons with children were in Mr. Boning- 
 hausen's office at the time, and he said he tliovght 
 one of them, a small boy, was with Holmes, but 
 he was not sure. 
 
 At this time we made, with Mr. Moore's per- 
 mission, another thorough search of the premises, 
 No. 241 E. Forest Avenue, including the barn, out- 
 houses and yard, and I felt fully convinced that 
 if the boy had been murdered there, his body had 
 been consumed in the large furnace of the house. 
 
HOW TO FIND TEE BOY. 257 
 
 We then went to the Wabash railroad station 
 to ascertain the number of half tickets, which ar- 
 rived from Chicago at 11:15 P. M., on October 
 12th, 1894. An effort was made to find the can- 
 celled tickets of this date and train, but they had 
 all been destroyed. I was still very much at sea 
 about Howard, and I did some very hard thinking 
 on the subject. Time and time again I reviewed 
 the facts known to me. Holmes arrived in 
 Detroit on the evening of October 12th. He sent 
 the girls into the station and told them to remain 
 there and wait for him. He then rejoined his 
 wife, (who was also with him, but ignorant of the 
 presence of the children) and took her to the 
 hotel. He then left his wife and returned to the 
 station and took the girls to the New Western 
 Hotel, where they were registered as Etta and 
 Nellie Canning. The next day, the 13th, he 
 moved them to a boarding house kept by Mrs. 
 Lucinda Burns, No. 91 Congress Street. At this 
 house Alice wrote a letter to her grandparents, 
 which she gave to Holmes to post, and which he, 
 as usual, omitted to do. This was one of the let- 
 ters found in the possession of Holmes when he 
 was arrested. 
 
258 H0L3IES' TREATMENT OF MOTHER AND CHILD. 
 
 This letter was unsigned, but it was written by 
 Alice, because it is in her handwriting and she re- 
 fers to her sister Nell. The letter enclosed two 
 pages of note paper, on which the children had 
 made rude drawings of houses, one of which bore 
 the caption " Uncle Tom's Cabin." This was 
 copied from a picture in Mrs. Stowe's book, which 
 the girls had. Under the drawing of the cabin 
 was written, "All these pictures was drawn at 
 No. 91 Congress Street, Detroit, Mich." 
 
 This letter is dated October 14th, 1894, just 
 two days subsequent to their arrival in Detroit, 
 and on the very day their mother, (Mrs. Pitezel), 
 their sister Dessie, and the little baby, Wharton, 
 ariived in Detroit, where they were to meet Pite- 
 zel, so Holmes said. This little party registered 
 at Geis's Hotel, as Mrs. C. E. Adams and daugh- 
 ter. Geis's Hotel is not over five blocks from No. 
 91 Congress Street, so when this poor child Alice, 
 was writing to her grandparents to Galva, Illinois, 
 complaining of the cold, sending a message to her 
 mother, asking for heavier and more comfortable 
 clothing, wishing for little Wharton, the baby 
 who would help them to pass away the time, — 
 while this wearied, lonely, homesick child was 
 writing this letter, her mother and her sister and 
 
sow TO FIND THE BOY. 259 
 
 the much wished for Wharton, ivere ivithin ten 
 minutes ivalk of her^ and continued there for the 
 next five days. More than that, — this unparalleled 
 villain who had robbed the Insurance Company of 
 Ten Thousand Dollars, and in turn fraudulently 
 secured Sixty-Seven Hundred Dollars of the swag 
 from Mrs. Pitezel, was at that very moment mak- 
 ing arrangements to kill the girls and bury them 
 at No. 241 East Forest Avenue. The hole wliich 
 he had dug, (which he admitted he had dug to 
 bury therein, he said, a tin box containing valu- 
 able papers, — a hole four feet long, three and a 
 half feet deep and three feet wide) was intended 
 as a grave for the little girls. This was the rea- 
 son he did not purchase them any warmer cloth- 
 ing, notwithstanding it was coming winter. It 
 was unnecessary to spend any money for clothing, 
 when they were to die so soon. 
 
 The reason this plan was not executed in De- 
 troit, was because of a notice he received from 
 one of his Chicago friends, wlio knew of the in- 
 surance swindle and from whom he received a 
 friendly tip, warning him that detectives were on 
 his track. This notice came to him by telegram 
 and caused him to move his field of operations to 
 Toronto. 
 
260 A FRIEND WARNS IIOUIES TO LEAVE DETROIT. 
 
 To me the significant part of this letter was the 
 expression, " Howard is not with us now." Why 
 did not Alice say to her grandpaients where tliey 
 had separated from Howard? A simple phrase or 
 sentence would have told the story. I believe 
 these children, after leaving Indianapolis and 
 reaching Detroit, the city to which Holmes had 
 brought her mother, and sister and her little 
 brother, were kept in a state of fear or apprehen- 
 sion. The evident design of Holmes was to keep 
 the children in ignorance of the proximity of 
 their mother and he quite likely told them that if 
 their identity were discovered, their father, wlio 
 was being hunted by detectives, would be appre- 
 hended. They gave their name as Canning, (the 
 name of their grandparents) at his suggestion, 
 and kept close indoors just as he advised. The 
 proposed boat ride the}' speak of in their letter, 
 and which was not taken because the weather was 
 too cold, was deferred most likely by their sup- 
 posed friend. 
 
 In one of his numerous statements made in 
 prison to various persons, and to District Attorney 
 Graham, Holmes said he had given Howard to 
 Miss Williams in Detroit, who had taken him tu 
 Buffalo. I did not believe a word of the Wil- 
 
HOW TO FIND THE BOY. 261 
 
 liams part of this statement, but still my suspi- 
 cion of Mr. Holmes' character for truth and verac- 
 ity did not assist me in clearing up the veil of 
 mystery which surrounded the disappearance of 
 the little boy. 
 
 The hole in the cellar of the Forest Avenue 
 house, and the great size of the cellar furnace, the 
 expression in the letter I have quoted, and the 
 uncertainty of Mr. Moore's memory as to the 
 presence of a boy in Boninghausen's office, be- 
 came the basis of numerous theories. One idea 
 clui]g to me tenaciously. I could readily imagine 
 Howard separated from his sisters the night of 
 the arrival of the party in Detroit : of Holmes 
 taking him to a quiet place until he was wanted ; 
 of the renting of the Forest Avenue house and 
 the digging of the hole ; of the discovery by 
 Holmes of the great size of the cellar furnace, 
 which caused him to change his proposed means 
 of disposing of the body ; of the murder and in- 
 cineration of the corpse by the method so readily 
 at hand. 
 
 Nothing had ever been discovered in the fur- 
 nace by the new tenant, Mr. Moore, which indi- 
 cated that a body had been consumed therein, — so 
 after the fullest consideration of all that the most 
 
262 THE FURNACE THEORY. 
 
 persistent search could reveal, I finally concluded 
 that the separation from Howard had taken place 
 prior to the arrival of Alice and Nellie i)i Detroit, 
 and not after, and I decided to search for him else- 
 where, and wired to Philadelphia my purpose to 
 return to Indianapolis. 
 

 
 -^^^— c-—^^ ^:X^ -^vo---t^-^ 
 
 Fac Simile of Letter from Alice to her Grandparents. 
 

 (Found in Holmes' Posession when Akricsted.) 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 
 
 Once More in Indianapolis — Days of Fruitless Work — Every- 
 body Willing to Aid — Scores of People Suggest Clues- 
 Has the Clever Criminal Outvpitted the Detective? — 
 Copies of the Children's Letters — Keen Analysis of their 
 Contents — The Evidence of an Envelope — Geyer Ordered 
 to Chicago — Chicago Police Dig up the Skeleton of a 
 Child — The Skeleton is not Hovrard's — Geyer Goes to 
 Philadelphia for Consultation and Rest. 
 
 I LEFT Detroit on the afternoon of July 23d, 
 and arrived in Indianapolis the next morning, 
 having been delayed on the route at Peru, In- 
 diana. I again registered at the Spencer House 
 and lost no time in going to police headquarters, 
 where I met Superintendent of Police Powell, to 
 whom I confided my purpose of resuming my 
 search for the Pitezel boy in Indianapolis. De- 
 tective Richards was again detailed to assist me, 
 and we at once mapped out a plan of operations. 
 We procured a directory of the city and made a 
 list of every real estate agent in Indianapolis and 
 vicinity and commenced to interview every one of 
 
 them with the hope of finding a house that had 
 
 (267; 
 
2{i8 SCOEES OF PEOPLE SUGGEST CLUES. 
 
 been rented early in October of 1894, to ii man 
 who wanted it for a widowed sister, and wlio oc- 
 cnpied it but a short time. Holmes had given 
 this " widowed sister " story in Cincinnati, De- 
 troit, and Toronto, and I believed he had told the 
 same falsehood in Indianapolis. 
 
 Our search continued in this manner for days, 
 yet I learned nothing which gave me the least as- 
 sistance in obtaining the clue for which I was so 
 anxiously seeking. The newspapers had published 
 columns of the Toronto story and my return to 
 Indianapolis was heralded abroad in conspicuous 
 head lines. All of the papers published pictures 
 of Holmes and Howard Pitezel, and it seemed as 
 though every man, woman and child in Indiana 
 was alert and watchful, and aiding me in the work 
 of finding the missing child. 
 
 Scores of citizens called upon me at the Spencer 
 House, making suggestions and giving me many 
 supposed clues, all of which were faithfully run 
 out. The number of mysterious persons who had 
 rented houses in and about Indianapolis multi- 
 plied from day to day, and Detective Richards 
 and I were not permitted to rest a moment. 
 Days came and passed, but I continued to be as 
 much in the dark as ever, and it began to look as 
 
THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 269 
 
 though the bold but clever criminal, had out- 
 witted the detectives, professional and amateur, 
 and that the disappearance of Howard Pitezel 
 would pass into history as an unsolved mystery. 
 
 About this time I received a communication 
 from Assistant District Attorney Barlow, who 
 was holding up the Philadelphia end of the line 
 with great hopefulness and patience. He sent me 
 an anal3^sis of three of the children's letters writ- 
 ten from Indianapolis, which threw more light 
 upon the matter, and brought me more closely to 
 the track of the destroyer of innocent children. 
 These three letters now given, are exact copies of 
 the originals. 
 
 " Indianapolis, Ind , 
 
 October 6, 1894. 
 
 Dear Mamma, Geandma and Grandpa : — 
 We are all well here. It is a little warmer 
 to-day. There is so many buggies go by that you 
 cant hear yourself think. I first wrote you a let- 
 ter with a crystal pen, but I made some mistakes 
 and then I am in a hustle because Mr. H. has to 
 go at 3 o'clock I don't know where. It is all glass 
 so I hafto be careful or else it will break, it was 
 only five cents. Mr. H. went to T. H. Indiana 
 last night again. Their was a poor boy arrested 
 
270 COPIES OF THE CHILDREN'S LETTERS. 
 
 yesterday for stealing a shirt he said he had no 
 home the policeman said he would buy him a suit 
 of clothes and then send him to a reform school. 
 The patrols are lots different here than they are 
 in St. Louis & Chicago, they couldnt get away 
 if they wanted to. We hafto get up early if we 
 get breakfast. We have awful good dinners 
 pie fruit and sometimes cake at supper and this 
 aint half. They are all men that eat at the tables 
 we do not eat with them we have a room to our- 
 selves. They are dutch but they can cook awful 
 nice. Their is more bicycles go by her in one day 
 than goes by in a month in St. Louis. I saw two 
 great big ostriges alive and we felt of their 
 feathers they are awful smooth | they are black 
 with white tails they are as big as a horse. Why 
 have buffaloes got big rings in their noses for I 
 want Grandma and grandpa to write to me. Is 
 the baby well and does he like coco I want you to 
 all write why dont you write mama. I will close 
 for this time goodby wiite 
 
 Yours truly, 
 Nellie Pitezel 
 
 over 
 Alices ej-es hurts so she wont write this time. 
 
 Indianapolis Ind. 
 
 Oct. 6th 1894. 
 Dear Mamma. 
 
 We are all well except I have got 
 a bad cold and I have read so much in Uncle 
 
THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 271 
 
 Tom's book that I could not see to write yester- 
 day when Nell and Howard did. I am wearing 
 my new (ders) dress today because it is warmer to 
 day. Nell Howard and I have all got a crystal pen 
 all made of glass five cents a piece and I am writing 
 with it now. I expect Grandma and Grandpa 
 was awftd glad to see you. The hotel we are stay- 
 ing at faces right on a big wide bulvard and there 
 is more safties and bugies passing than a little bit 
 and how I wish I had a safty. Last Sunday we was 
 at the Zoological Garden in Cincinnati, O. And I 
 expect this Sunday will pass away slower than I 
 dont know what and Howard is two dirty to be seen 
 out on the street to-day. Why dont you write to 
 me. I have not got a letter from you since I have 
 been away and it will be three weeks day after 
 tomorrow. It is raining out now quite hard. 
 Nell is drawing now. The hotel is just a block 
 from Washington Street and that is where all the 
 big stores are. There is a shoe store there And 
 there has been a man painting every day this 
 week. They give these genuine oil painting away 
 with every $1.00 purchas of shoes with small 
 extra charge for frames. You cant get the 
 pictures with out the frames though I wish I 
 could get one you dont know how pretty they 
 are. We go there every day and watch him 
 paint. He can paint a picture in IJ minutes aint 
 that quick. Nell keeps joring the stand so I can 
 hardly write I mad half a dozen mistakes on the 
 
272 COPIES OF THE CHILDREX'S LETTERS. 
 
 other side just because she made me. This letter 
 is for you all because I cant write to so many of 
 you I guess I have told all the news so good bye 
 love to all and kisses 
 
 Your loving daughter 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 
 P. O. Write soon Howard got a box of col- 
 lars and took one out and lost box and all the 
 contents. 
 
 Monday morning. 
 Do Mamma 
 
 J ust got a letter from you say- 
 ing that the babe was cross and Dessa and 
 Grandma was sick. How is Grandpa I hope you 
 will all feel better I thought you would not be 
 home sick at all when you got there but it seems 
 as though you are awful homesick Who met you 
 at the depot did you get there Satarday or Sun- 
 day. I dont like to tell you but you ask me so I 
 will have to. H. wont mind me at all He wanted 
 a book and I got life of Gen. Sheridan and it is 
 awful nice but now he dont read it at all hardly. 
 One morning. Mr. H. told me to tell him to stay 
 in the next morning that he wanted him and he 
 would come and get him and take him out and I 
 told him and he would not stay in at all he was 
 out when he came. We have written two or 
 three letters to you and I guess you will begin to 
 get them now I will send this with my letter that 
 
THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 273 
 
 I wrote yesterday and didnt send off Hope you 
 will all keep well 
 
 continued 
 I have just finished Uncle Tom's Cabin and it 
 is a nice book. I wish I could see you all. This 
 is another cold day. We pay $12.00 a week for 
 our room and board and I think that is pretty 
 cheap for the good meals we have Yesterday we 
 had mashed potatoes, grapes, chicken glass of 
 milk each ice cream each a big sauce disli full 
 awful good too lemon pie cake dont you think 
 that is pretty good. They are Germans. I guess 
 I will have to close so good bye, love to all and 
 kisses. Write soon keep well 
 Yours Truly 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 
 In Mr. Barlow's view, these letters negatived 
 the statement made by Mr. Ackelow, the proprie- 
 tor of the Circle House, that the children had 
 left that hotel on October 6th. The first letter 
 written by Nellie, is dated October 6th. The next 
 letter written by Alice, is also dated October 6th, 
 but it was evidently written the day after Nellie 
 had written her letter and should have been dated 
 the 7th. 
 
 "•Alice's eyes hurts," writes Nellie, "so she 
 won't write this time." " I have read so much in 
 
274 KEEN ANALYSIS OF THEIR CONTENTS. 
 
 Uncle Tom's book," writes Alice, "that I could 
 not see to write yesterday when Nell and Howard 
 did." 
 
 October 6th was on Saturday, the next day, 
 was of course, Sunday, the 7th. It is quite evi- 
 dent, that Alice wrote on Sunday, the 7th, be- 
 cause she speaks of wearing her new dress ; that 
 slie expects " this Sunday to pass away slower 
 than I don't know what," that " Howard is too 
 dirty to be seen out on the street to da}-, etc." 
 If there is an}^ doubt that this letter was written 
 on Sunday, October 7th, it is completely dispelled 
 by the third letter with its simple heading, 
 " Monday morning," without any date affixed in 
 which she sjDcaks of having written tivo or three 
 letttrs to her mother, and "I will send this with 
 my letter I wrote yesterday and didn't send off," 
 and that they had ice cream and an extra good 
 dinner the day before. This letter was evidently 
 written, Monday, October Sth, and the children 
 had evidently continued at the same hotel, the 
 Circle House, and had not left it on October 6th. 
 
 I again interviewed Mr. Ackelow the Circle 
 House proprietor, and examined the books of the 
 hotel with greater care and soon discovered, that 
 the last payment of their board was made on Octo- 
 
THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 277 
 
 her lOtli, on which day they had left., and not on 
 October Glh, ;is first stated. As I had ascertained 
 to a certainty tliat the 'cliildren liad arrived in 
 Detroit on tlie evening of October 12th, I found I 
 was hot on the track, and with only forty-eight 
 hours to be accounted for. Howard had disap- 
 peared in the forty eight hours, and either in 
 Indianapolis, or between that city and Detroit. 
 The Monday morning letter was of great signifi- 
 cance in its relation of Howard's alleged misbe- 
 havior. " One morning Mr. H. told me to tell 
 him to stay in the next morning, that he wanted 
 him and would come and get him and take him out 
 and I told him and he would not stay in at all, he 
 "vas out when he came.''^ ' 
 
 This is precisely what Holmes did at the Albion 
 Hotel in Toronto; he called for the gi7'ls and took 
 them out on the morning of October 26th, and they 
 never returned. Poor little Howard, if he had 
 known the fate that was in store for him, he 
 would have continued to stay out " when he 
 came." 
 
 Mr. Ackelow told me that Holmes spoke of 
 Howard as a mischievous boy and hard to con- 
 trol, and said he intended placing him in some in- 
 stitution or in some good home on a farm. 
 16 
 
278 THE EVIDENCE OF AN ENVELOPE. 
 
 Holmes told this story so that when Howard 
 was separated from his sisters, his disappearance 
 would arouse neither curiosity nor suspicion. It 
 worked well too, because neither Mr. Ackelow 
 nor any attache of the hotel was able to say, 
 whether Howard left before or at the same time the 
 girls left. 
 
 Mr. Barlow further informed me, that the en- 
 velope which had enclosed a letter written by 
 Alice to the Fidelity IMutual Life Insurance Asso- 
 ciation, thanking them for the prompt payment of 
 the insurance policy had been mailed on October 
 11th, and was postmarked " Chic. Richmond & 
 Cin. R. P. O.," — a government post route between 
 Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Detroit. 
 Thus it appeared reasonably certain, that the 
 party were on a train somewhere between these 
 cities on October 11th. 
 
 Thursday morning, August 1st, I received a 
 telegram from District Attorney Graham, direct- 
 ing me to go to Chicago and have an interview 
 with the police authorities in the city, who were 
 reported to have dug up the skeleton of a child at 
 Holmes' Block, No. 701 West 63rd Street, Chi- 
 cago. That evening I left Indianapolis and 
 reached Chicago the next morning (Friday). At 
 
THE DETECTIVE PUZZLED. 279 
 
 police headquarters, I met Chief Brandenaugh 
 and Inspector Fitzpatrick, with whom I had a 
 conference lasting several hours. I heard enough 
 to convince me that they had not found the re- 
 mains of Howard. 
 
 Another telegram then reached me from Mr. 
 Graham, requesting me to return to Philadelphia 
 for a consultation, and I immediately left on the 
 Pennsylvania Limited, arriving home the next 
 day at 4:17 P. M. 
 
 I went direct to the District Attorney's office 
 in the City Hall, where I was warmly greeted by 
 Mr. Barlow, who informed me that I had been 
 summoned home for a few days rest and for con- 
 sultation, and that I was to resume work in the 
 case again as soon as the preparations for a fresh 
 start were completed. 
 
 Mr. Barlow's confidence in our ability to find 
 Howard never faltered. The mere fact that I had 
 searched every real estate office in Indianapolis, 
 and had for days run out every supposed clue 
 presented, and had failed to find even a trace of 
 the boy, had no effect upon him. He believed 
 that skill and patience would yet win, and said, 
 that when Mr. Graham and he and I met on Mon- 
 day, we would consider further plans for search- 
 
280 GEYER GOES TO PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 ing in Indianapolis and vicinity, and if not success- 
 ful there, then among the junction towns between 
 Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Detroit. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 Consultation in the District Attorney's Ofl&ce — Holmes 
 Again Questioned — The Monumental Liar Repudiates 
 His Former Statement — Introduces the Mysterious Hatch 
 — A Fresh Start — W. E. Gary Associated with Geyer — 
 Chicago Again — The Janitor of the "Castle" and His 
 "Wife Interviewed — Outlying Towns Searched for Clues — 
 Third Return to Indianapolis — Kindness of Authorities 
 and Citizens — Nine Hundred Clues Run Out— Irvington, 
 Ind.— The Veil About to Lift. 
 
 Monday morning, August 3d, I met the Dis- 
 trict Attorney and his assistant in their office in 
 the city hall, and remained in consultation with 
 them the greater part of the day. After Alice 
 and Nellie had been found in Toronto, Holmes 
 had been brought to the city hall in Philadelphia 
 and vigorously examined in the hope of securing 
 from him some admission which would assist me 
 in finding Howard, but not a word did he say, 
 which threw a particle of light upon the matter. 
 His former statement in which he had given with 
 great detail, the particulars of his meeting with 
 
 Miss Williams, and how he had given Howard 
 
 (281) 
 
28:3 OUTLYING TOWNS SEARCHED FOR CLUES. 
 
 into her care in Detroit, whence she had taken 
 him to Buffalo, he repudiated, and he now intro- 
 duced the mysterious Hatch. According to 
 Hohnes, Hatch was the miscreant who had prob- 
 ably shed the blood of innocent childhood, and 
 not he, and he was willing, he said, to do all in 
 his power to ascertain what this bad man Hatch 
 had done with Howard. 
 
 This examination, which had been conducted 
 by Mr. Barlow, was fully related to me, but we 
 obtained not a grain of comfort from anything 
 that this king of fabricators had said. 
 
 The officers of the insurance company now 
 took a new grip on the case, and expressed their 
 determination to hold on until the mystery which 
 shrouded the disappearance of the little boy was 
 cleared up,^so the preparations for a fresh start 
 included the assignment of Mr. W. E. Gary, the 
 chief inspector of the company, to accompany me 
 on the journey. This was agreeable news to me, 
 because Mr. Gary was not only a pleasant com- 
 panion, but he was able and skillful in detective 
 work, and possessed a large stock of patience, — 
 an absolutely essential element in such a case as 
 we had in charge. 
 
 On Wednesday evening, August 7th, we left 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 283 
 
 Philadelphia and went direct to Chicago, arriving 
 the next afternoon. In company witii Inspector 
 Fitzpatrick, we w^ent to the Harrison Street Sta- 
 tion and had an interview with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Patrick Quinlan, who were under arrest on suspi- 
 cion of having been associated with Holmes in 
 alleged crimes committed in the Sixty -third Street 
 house, known as the " Castle." Our object was 
 to ascertain if Holmes had taken the children to 
 Chicago, after leaving the Circle House in Indi- 
 anapolis on October 10th. Both Quinlan and his 
 wife stoutly maintained their ignorance of any 
 knowledge of the children, and I am bound to 
 say I believed them. 
 
 On Sunday, August 11th, Mr. Gary and I left 
 Chicago for Logansport. From Logansport we 
 went to Peru, Indiana, thence on following days 
 to Montpelier Junction, Ohio, and Adrian, Mich- 
 igan. In each of these towns we spent days in 
 searching among hotels and boarding houses and 
 in interviewing real estate agents, but all to no 
 purpose, and we finally concluded to return to 
 Indianapolis and settle there and search until 
 District Attorney Graham and his assistant, Mr. 
 Barlow, told us to stop, or until we had found the 
 boy. I must <3onfess that I returned to Indian- 
 
284 KINDNESS OF A UTHOBITIES AND CITIZENS. 
 
 apolis in no cheerful frame of mind, and the large 
 jtock of hope which I had gathered up in the 
 District Attorney's office in the Philadelphia City 
 Hall was fast dwindling away. There was noth- 
 ing to do, however, but to go at it again, so head- 
 quarters at the Spencer House was once more 
 established. My confidence in our ultimate suc- 
 cess, was sustained at all times by my continued 
 faith in the Indianapolis theory. I believed the 
 boy had been murdered in Indianapolis, or in some 
 nearby town, but my ill success in locating the 
 house, after so much effort and such wide pub- 
 licity, greatly annoyed and puzzled me. The 
 mystery seemed to be impenetrable. 
 
 The desire on the part of the police authorities 
 of Indianapolis to assist me in the search, never 
 wavered. On this, my third return to that city, 
 I was greeted with the same kindness and un- 
 varying courtesy I had enjoyed on the previous 
 occasions. In fact, this can truthfully be said 
 of the police authorities in all the citi'es embraced 
 within the circuit, from Cincinnati to Toronto, 
 where my mission had taken me. Everywhere I 
 found kind hearts and willing hands, ready to 
 assist me in running to earth one of the most ac- 
 complished villains of modern times, and if ancient 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 285 
 
 times produced his equal, I have yet to read of 
 him. 
 
 The Indianapolis newspapers, published an- 
 nouncements of the renewal of the search in that 
 city, and reports from many kind and well dis- 
 posed persons, of mysterious people who rented 
 houses for a short time and then disappeared, 
 came pouring in again. Not a single suggestion 
 was unheeded and every report was carefully and 
 patiently investigated. The advertisements of 
 private houses for rent early in October of 1894 
 were listed and each one visited and examined. 
 No less than nine hundred supposed clues were 
 run out. We then commenced a search of the 
 small towns just beyond the city of Indianapolis, 
 and finally finished the work in all, except Irving- 
 ton. About this time I wrote a letter to District 
 Attorney Graham, repeating to him all that I had 
 reported almost daily to Superintendent of Police 
 Linden, and concluded by saying : " By Monday 
 we will have searched every outlying town, ex- 
 cept Irvington, and another day will conclude 
 that. After Irvington, I scarcely know where we 
 shall go." On Tuesday morning, August 27th, 
 we took the trolley line for Irvington, a most 
 beautiful town, about six miles from Indianapolis. 
 
286 NINE HUNDRED CLUES RUN OUT. 
 
 As there are no hotels in the town, we decided to 
 look up the real estate agents. A short distance 
 from wliere the cars stop, I noticed a sign of a 
 real estate office, and in we went. Opening up a 
 package of papers and photographs which I had 
 carried, and which I had untied and tied over a 
 thousand times, until it had become soiled and 
 ragged from wear, I asked a pleasant faced old 
 gentleman who greeted us as we entered the 
 office, if he knew of a house in his town, which 
 had been rented for a short time in October of 
 1894, by a man who said he wanted it for a wid- 
 owed sister. I then handed him a photograph of 
 H. II. Holmes. The old gentleman who proved to 
 be Mr. Brown quietly listened, and then adjusting 
 his glasses took a long look at the photograph. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " I remember a man who rented 
 a house under such circumstances in October of 
 1894, and this picture looks like him very much. 
 I did not have the renting of the house, but I had 
 the keys, and one day last fall, this man came into 
 my office and in a very abrupt way said, I want 
 the keys for that house. I remember the man 
 very well, because I did not like his manner, and 
 I felt that he should have had more respect for 
 my gray hairs." 
 
THE BEGINNING OF TEE END. 287 
 
 While the good old man was talking, Mr. Gary 
 and I stood still. When he had finished, we 
 looked at each other and sat down. We had 
 found the clue at last. 
 
 All the toil ; all the weary days and weeks of 
 travel, — toil and travel in the hottest months of 
 the year, alternating between faith and hope, and 
 discouragement and despair, all were recompensed 
 in that one moment, when I saw the veil about to 
 lift, and realized that we were soon to learn where 
 the poor little boy had gone with Holmes, " when 
 he came." 
 
 " Truth, like the sun, submits to be obscured 
 but like the sun, only for a time." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 "WHEN HE CAME." 
 
 A Warm Trail— The One and a Half Story Cottage— Search- 
 ing the Cellar — Broken Trunk Under the Piazza — A Strip 
 of Blue Calico — Amateur Detectives — Finding the Charred 
 Eemains — The Boy's Coat — Geyer Has a Good Night's 
 Eest. 
 
 Mk. Gary and I did not remain seated very- 
 long. Mr. Brown offered to take us to Dr. 
 Thompson, the former owner of the house, and we 
 thankfully accepted his invitation. Dr. Thomp- 
 son's office was near by and when we entered, 
 Mr. Brown introduced us as two detectives from 
 Philadelphia in search of one of the Pitezel chil- 
 dren. The doctor at once recognized the photo- 
 graph of Holmes and identified him as the man 
 who had rented the house he formerly occupied. 
 He said further that a boy in his employ, named 
 Elvet Moorman, had seen Holmes and a little boy 
 he had with him at the time. A messenger was 
 dispatched for Elvet, and the instant he saw 
 Holmes' photograph he said : " Why tliat is the 
 
 man who lived in our house, and who had the small 
 
 (289) 
 
290 SEARCHING THE CELLAR. 
 
 boy with him." He also recognized Howard's 
 picture as that of the boy whom he had seen at 
 the house with Hohnes. Our anxiety to get to 
 the house and to search the premises can be im- 
 agined. We asked the doctor to show us the 
 way. On our arrival at the house, I found it to 
 be a one and a half story cottage, standing some 
 little distance from Union Avenue, in the extreme 
 eastern part of the town. Across the street is a 
 Methodist church and two hundred yards to the 
 south are the Pennsylvania railroad tracks. The 
 house stands in a secluded place, and there are no 
 other houses in the immediate neighborhood. To 
 the west is a small grove of young catalpa trees, 
 and to the east is a large common. There are two 
 roads leading to the street cars which run into In- 
 dianapolis. 
 
 On entering the house, we searched the cellar 
 first. I found it divided into two apartments, — 
 the rear having a cement floor and evidently in- 
 tended for a wash room and the front having a 
 clay floor, but as hard as flint. It was quite evi- 
 dent that there had been no disturbance of the 
 floor in the cellar, and so we decided to make a 
 search on the outside. To the right wing of the 
 house is attached a small piazza, with open lattice 
 
" WHEN HE CA3IE." 201 
 
 work under the floor. In looking through this 
 lattice work, I discovered the broken remains of a 
 trunk. It took but a moment to remove the 
 steps leading up to the piazza floor, and crawling 
 under I brought out what proved to be a strong 
 piece of evidence against the distinguished crim- 
 inal who was sitting in his cell in the Philadelphia 
 County prison, and wondering how near I had set 
 my feet on his tracks. When I brought out the 
 piece of the trunk, I discovered that a strip of 
 blue calico had been pasted along the side seam 
 and evidently intended to repair and cover it. 
 The calico was about two inches wide, and had 
 printed on it the figure of a white flower. I felt 
 sure that I had found at least a portion of one of 
 the trunks that had given me so much anxiety, 
 and I was very careful to see that it was deposited 
 in a safe place for future use as evidence. I ob- 
 served, under the piazza, that the earth had been 
 disturbed, and procuring a shovel dug very deeply 
 to ascertain if a body had been buried there, but 
 no evidence of that nature was discovered. We 
 then turned our attention to the barn and other 
 outhouses. In the barn I found a large coal 
 stove, called the " Peninsular Oak," and some 
 other articles of furniture. 
 
292 A STRIP OF BLUE CALICO. 
 
 The stove was three and a half feet high, and 
 about twenty-two inches in diameter, — the entire 
 top working upon a pivot. On the top I found 
 what appeared to be blood stains. We then ex- 
 amined the floor of the barn and the grounds 
 about the house, and wherever we discovered a 
 soft spot in the earth, we dug deeply to see if a 
 body was buried there. 
 
 By this time, several hundred people had gath- 
 ered about the house, seriously interfering with 
 our operations, but all expressing great sympathy 
 with us in our work, and as it was almost evening 
 I decided to defer a further search until the fol- 
 lowing day. I ascertained also that the house 
 had been rented by an agent in Indianapolis by 
 the name of J. S. Grouse and I wanted to see him 
 before the sun went down. Mr. Gary and I then 
 took the trolley car into Indianapolis and called 
 at once upon Mr. Grouse. I learned that the 
 house had been rented to a man who wanted it 
 for his widowed sister by the name of Mrs. A. E. 
 Gook, who intended to open a boarding house. 
 He paid one month's rent in advance, and was 
 never seen again. When I produced the plioto- 
 graph of H. H. Holmes, it was promptly identi- 
 fied as that of the man who had rented the house. 
 
The Spade with which Holmes Buried Alice and Nellie 
 JN the Cellar 
 
" WHEN HE came:' 295 
 
 As Holmes had registered at the Hotel Bristol in 
 Cincinnati as A. E. Cook and three children, I 
 felt certain that I was working in the right direc- 
 tion. 
 
 After leaving the real estate office, I sent the 
 following telegram to Mrs. Pitezel, Galva, Illi- 
 nois: 
 
 " Did missing trunk have a strip of blue calico, 
 white figure over seam on the bottom." To this 
 telegram I received the following reply : 
 
 " Yes, missing trunk had a strip of blue calico 
 white figure on the bottom." 
 
 Cakrie a. Pitezel. 
 
 While I was at the telegraph office, I received 
 a telephone from the Indianapolis Evening News 
 Office, requesting me to call there without delay. 
 At the news office I met Mr. Brown, their city 
 editor, who told me that Dr. Barnhill the partner 
 of Dr. Thompson was on his way from Irvington 
 and that he had something of importance to com- 
 municate to me, and that I should wait for him. 
 The doctor arrived in a few moments and opened 
 a small package containing several pieces of 
 charred bone, which he declared were a portion of 
 the femur and skull of a child between eight and 
 twelve years old. The piece of the skull showed 
 
 17 
 
296 AMATEUR DETECTIVES. 
 
 the sutures plainly. Dr. Barnhill then explained 
 that after Mr. Gary and I had left the Irvington 
 house, he and Dr. Thompson had continued the 
 search. They were accompanied by two boys, 
 Walter Jenny and Oscar Kettenbach. One of 
 the boys suggested that they should play detective 
 and they went together into the part of the cellar 
 having a cemented floor, and in which there was 
 a chimney which extended above the roof of the 
 house. In the chimney was a pipe hole about 
 three feet six inches from the floor. Young 
 Jenny put his arm in the opening and pulled out 
 a handful of ashes, among which was one of the 
 pieces of bone, which Dr. Barnhill brought to me. 
 The boys continued to bring out ashes and pieces 
 of bone and then ran and called the doctors, who 
 soon determined the character of the discovery. 
 
 This information induced me to return to the 
 house that evening, and upon our arrival, we 
 found the entire neighborhood assembled there. 
 I requested the Marshall of Police who was pres- 
 ent to clear the house, which he did in short or- 
 der. The doctors and several members of the 
 Press were then admitted, and we. proceeded to 
 the cellar, and with hammer and chisel I took 
 down the lower part of the chimney. I then took 
 
"WBEN HE came:' 297 
 
 an old fly screen which I found in the house, and 
 used it as a sieve, and as the ashes and soot were 
 taken from the chimney, I passed it through the 
 screen and found an ahiiost complete set of teeth 
 and a piece of the jaw, which I turned over to 
 Dr. John Quiucy Byram, a dentist, for examina- 
 tion. At the bottom of the chimney was found 
 quite a large charred mass, which upon being cut, 
 disclosed a portion of the stomach, liver and 
 spleen, baked quite hard. The pelvis of tlie body 
 Avas also found. All this was handed to Dr. 
 Barnhill for examination. 
 
 In tlie chimney we also found some of the iron 
 fastenings which belonged to the trunk, some 
 buttons, a small scarf pin, and a crochet needle. 
 Upon searching for outside evidence, we found a 
 boy's coat in possession of a grocer in Irvington. 
 The grocer said that early in October, of 1894 a 
 man called at his store and left the coat with him, 
 saying that a boy would call for it the next morn- 
 ing, but the boy never came. Thoroughly con- 
 vinced that we had found all that remained of lit- 
 tle Howard Pitezel, we returned to Indianapolis 
 and at once repaired to the City Hall where we 
 had a consultation with Superintendent of Police 
 Powell. 
 
298 GEYER HAS A GOOD NIGHT'S BEST. 
 
 The superintendent advised us to see the cor- 
 oner, Dr. Castor, a suggestion which we acted 
 upon the next day. 
 
 That night I enjoj-ed the best night's sleep I 
 had had in two months. I was sure that my work 
 was complete, and as I fell into an easy slumber, 
 I thought that after all, the business of searching 
 for the truth was not the meanest occupation of 
 man. It is the manner in which it is searched 
 for that sometimes makes it ignoble. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE CHAIN COMPLETE. 
 
 A Coroner's Inquest Again — Mrs. Pitezel Summoned from 
 Galva, 111.— Identifies the Piece of Trunk— Identifies the 
 Clothing and Toys — Moorman's Testimony — Other Perti- 
 nent Testimony— Surgical Instruments Sharpened— Thanks 
 for Generous Aid — Return to Philadelphia — This Monster 
 Must be Punished. 
 
 The day following our discoveries at the Ir- 
 vington house, we were requested by the Sheriff 
 of the county in which Irvington is situated, to 
 appear before the Grand Jury. This request we 
 complied with, and we recited the whole Holmes - 
 Pitezel story to that body. 
 
 The coroner, Dr. Hiram A. Castor, held an in- 
 quest. To this sad scene, Mrs. Pitezel was jigaiii 
 summoned. She had hoped to the last that her 
 little son had been placed in some institution, or 
 in the care of some person in a secluded part of 
 the country. 
 
 It will be remembered that Holmes declared 
 this to be his purpose to Mr. Ackelow, the pro- 
 prietor of the Circle House, and Mrs. Pitezel al- 
 
 (299) 
 
300 MOORMAN'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 ways clung to the hope that Howard would ulti 
 mately be found alive. The Irvington revelation 
 came to her, therefore, with all the force of a 
 dreadful shock and it was a great tax on her 
 strength to leave Galva again and make another 
 sad journey to Irvington. 
 
 She identified the overcoat found at the 
 grocer's, as Howard's. She had repaired it in a 
 number of places and sewed a new pocket in it, 
 and had no difficulty in proving the identification. 
 The piece of trunk was easily recognized, because 
 of the strip of calico which her father had pasted 
 along the bottom. A little spinning top and a tin 
 man, which Pitezel had bought for Howard at the 
 World's Fair and which I had found in the house, 
 were also identified. Mrs. Pitezel had placed 
 them in the trunk herself at the time of the de- 
 parture of Holmes with Nellie and Howard from 
 St. Louis. A little scarf-pin and a pair of shoes 
 she also identified as Howard's, and a crochet 
 needle that belonged to her daughter Alice. 
 These had all been found in the Irvington house. 
 
 Elvet Moorman testified that he went over to 
 the house one afternoon early in October of 1894 
 and saw a transfer wagon with furniture unload- 
 ing, and a man and a boy assisting in transferring 
 
THE CHAIN C03IPLETE. 301 
 
 the articles to the house. Later in the afternoon 
 of the same day he went over to milk a cow that 
 was kept in the barn, connected with the house. 
 While he was milking, the man who was with the 
 boy, came to him and asked him to assist him in 
 putting up a stove, which he did. Moorman 
 asked the man why he did not make a gas connection 
 (for natural gas) and use a gas stove, and the man 
 said that he did not think gas ivas healthy for chil- 
 dren. A photograph of Holmes was shown the 
 witness and he identified it as the man whom he 
 had assisted in putting up the stove. He also 
 said that the photograph of Howard Pitezel shown 
 him, was that of the boy he had seen with 
 Holmes, and who was present when the stove was put 
 up. He also said that after Holmes and the boy 
 disappeared, he had examined the house and 
 found a lot of corn rubbish on the floor that 
 seemed to indicate that a fire had been made with 
 corn cobs. 
 
 Dr. Byram, a dentist, identified the teeth and 
 portion of the jaw as those of a child between the 
 ages of eight and eleven years, and Dr. Barnhill 
 declared the bones found to be portions of a 
 skeleton of a child between the ages of seven and 
 ten years. The large portion of charred remains 
 
302 SURGICAL INSTBU2IENTS SHARPENED. 
 
 found, contained the liver, the stomach and por- 
 tions of the intestines. 
 
 Albert Schiffling testified that he keeps a repair 
 shop at No. 48 Virginia Avenue, Indianapolis. 
 On the 3d of October, a man, whom he identified 
 as Holmes, came into his shop accompanied by a 
 small boy. Holmes had two cases of surgical in- 
 struments, which he wanted sharpened. He re- 
 turned for the instruments on October 8th, paid 
 for the repairs and took them away. Other testi- 
 mony and identifications of Holmes and Howard 
 were heard, but all in corroboration of the evi- 
 dence which I have briefly stated. Dr. Byram, 
 the dentist, very cleverly and skillfully mounted 
 the teeth on wax jaws, which exhibited their 
 character and their age most admirably, and Doc- 
 tors Barnliill and Thompson, made a very exhaus- 
 tive and scientific report of the other contents of 
 the chimney which had been found, and the 
 coroner's jury had no difficulty in finding tjjat lit- 
 tle Howard Pitezel had come to his death at the 
 hands of H. H. Holmes. 
 
 Our work being done, we visited the City Hall 
 and thanked Superintendent Powell and his as- 
 sistants for their kind and courteous treatment 
 during our stay in Indianapolis. In fact we were 
 
THE CHAIN C03IPLETE. 303 
 
 grateful to everybody, for we had received from 
 all citizens the most generous and unselfish aid in 
 tlie performance of our task, — so bidding farewell 
 to our many friends, we left for Philadelphia, ar- 
 riving home Saturday, September 1st. 
 
 The District Attorney and his Assistant, Mr. 
 Barlow and I had a happy meeting. They, like 
 myself, had been giving to the case, the days and 
 weeks of a summer of almost unprecedented heat 
 and we all rejoiced over the success and end of the 
 search. 
 
 Much remained, however, to be done. The 
 greatest of criminals had yet to be brought to an- 
 swer for his foul deeds. All that had been un- 
 earthed, would count for but little, if this wretch 
 were permitted to elude the firm grasp of the law 
 or to avoid a punishment, not such as he deserved, 
 but that which is provided under the orderly 
 forms of legal procedure, and we then and there 
 fully and freely consecrated the best that was in 
 us, to the consummation of that great end. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 JUSTICE CRIED "AMEN." 
 
 The Trial — Desperate Fight for Postponement — Application 
 for Postponement Refused — Holmes Dismisses his Coun- 
 sel — Holmes Conducts His Own Case — Holmes' Shrewd- 
 ness — Playing for Sympathy — Holmes' Lawyers Re-enter 
 the Case — Mrs. Pitezel's Heart Breaking Narrative — The 
 Murderer Unmoved — Testimony of Miss Yoke — Holmes 
 Cross-examines the Woman He had Foully Wronged — Ad- 
 missions of Prisoner's Counsel — Testimony of Physicians 
 — The Worthless Note — How Holmes Deluded Mrs. 
 Pitezel — All Doubts Dispelled — Murder in the First De- 
 gree — Press and People Congratulate Prosecutors and 
 Detective. 
 
 Herman W. Mudgett, alias H. H. Holmes, 
 
 was indicted on the day of September, 1895, 
 
 by the grand jury of Philadelphia County, for the 
 murder of Benjamin F. Pitezel on September 2, 
 
 1894. On September 1895, the prisoner 
 
 was arraigned and entered a plea of "not guilty," 
 and in answer to the question propounded to him 
 by the crier of the court, " Pleading not guilty, — 
 How will you be tried ? " He answered, " By 
 God and my country." 
 
 Upon this occasion he was represented by two 
 
 (305) 
 
30G DESPERATE FIGHT FOR P0STP0NE3IENT. 
 
 young attorneys, who had been advising him 
 since his incarceration in the county prison in 
 November of 1894, and one of whom assisted in 
 his trial for conspiracy in June of 1895. They 
 had visited him in prison, scores of times and were 
 familiar with every point and detail of his case. 
 The officers of the commonv\^ealth had been grop- 
 ing in the dark, following this clue and then that, 
 but his own attorneys were, or should have been 
 in the broad light of knowledge of all that Holmes 
 knew concerning Pitezel and his fate, and the de- 
 struction of the children. After the entry of the 
 plea of " not guilty " by the prisoner, and issue 
 had been joined between him and the Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania, the District Attorney 
 asked the court to fix a day for the trial. He 
 suggested that a time be set so remote, that ample 
 opportunity should be given for the prisoner, as 
 well as for the commonwealth to 23repare for the 
 great contest which should decide the guilt or in- 
 nocence of the accused. The court then stated 
 to all parties, that the trial should take place on 
 Monday, October, 28th, five weeks distant, and 
 gave notice to both sides to be prepared. In spite 
 of this notice, when the day fixed arrived, Octo- 
 ber 28th, the prisoner and his counsel made one 
 
JUSTICE CRIED ''A3IEN." 307 
 
 of the most desperate fights for postponement 
 ever witnessed in a criminal trial. 
 
 One of the city newspapers said : " It was not 
 that the struggle was long, or conducted with any- 
 fine display of legal generalship, but it was fierce, 
 painful and impressive while it lasted, suggesting 
 the wild mad cries and writhings of a murderer, 
 already condemned and battling with inexorable 
 jailers on the way to the scaffold." 
 
 The application for a postponement was refused, 
 thereupon counsel asked permission to withdraw 
 from the case. This was also refused, — the Court 
 reminding counsel, that they had represented the 
 prisoner for many months, and had ample time 
 for the preparation of the trial. Counsel then 
 had a consultation with the prisoner, and returned 
 to the bar of the court with the astounding state- 
 ment that the prisoner had dismissed them from 
 the case, and that he had declared it to be his 
 purpose to conduct his own defense. The court 
 then warned counsel not to leave the case, even 
 in the face of a dismissal by the prisoner, and 
 directed them to proceed and defend their client. 
 This the attorneys refused to do, and they left 
 the court room. The Hon. Michael Arnold, who 
 presided at this trial, is not only a good lawyer 
 
308 HOLMES CONDUCTS HIS OWN CASE. 
 
 and a wise judge, but lie is conspicuous for his 
 abundant stock of good common sense, so not- 
 withstanding the desertion of the attorneys for 
 the defence, he directed the case to proceed. 
 Then followed one of the most remarkable scenes 
 ever witnessed in a court room. The prisoner, on 
 trial for his life, cross- questioned each juror as he 
 appeared for examination on his voire dire, and 
 with an ability and shrewdness which astonished 
 every person within hearing. It soon became 
 quite evident, that the wily criminal was playing 
 for sympathy, but he did it all too well, for not a 
 few among the spectators in the court room 
 quickly determined that Holmes was quite as able 
 as his counsel, and that their absence was no loss 
 to him. Apart from this, amid the examination 
 and challenging of the jurors, both the Court and 
 District Attorney were careful to see that a fair 
 and impartial jury was empanelled, — not a man 
 being accepted who exhibited any prejudice or 
 bias against the prisoner. The American love of 
 fair play, even to one so base and vile as Holmes, 
 protected the prisoner in his rights, and nothing 
 was permitted to enter the case which would jus- 
 tify the slightest criticism. When the examina- 
 tion of witnesses commenced, the Court repeatedly 
 
JUSTICE CRIED '' AMEN.'' 309 
 
 instructed tlie prisoner as to his rights, and when 
 sustaining or overruling his objections, explained 
 to him the reason for so doing. 
 
 On the second day of the trial, the young law- 
 yers, who had departed with such dramatic effect 
 the day before, returned, and the trial proceeded 
 in an orderly manner to the end. 
 
 The trial was distinguished by a dignity and 
 decorum, which was maintained at all times, de- 
 spite the sensational and dramatic disclosures 
 which came naturally from the testimony, or the 
 characteristic behavior of the prisoner, as he 
 squirmed in tlie net in which he was caught. 
 
 When the entire audience was dissolved in 
 tears at the pitiful, lieart-breaking narrative of 
 Mrs. Pitezel, the prisoner sat unmoved in the 
 dock, scribbling notes and occasionally glancing 
 at the woman, whose husband and children he had 
 so cruelly murdered. 
 
 When Miss Yoke, the young woman whom he 
 had so grievously wronged, appeared upon the 
 stand, the prisoner suddenly began to weep, and 
 industriously applied his handkerchief to the tears 
 which came or appeared to come from his eyes. 
 
 At the close of lier examination in chief, Holmes 
 insisted upon conducting the cross-examination 
 
310 3IRS. PITEZEUS HEARTBREAKING NARRATIVE. 
 
 himself, iii the face of the protest of liis counsel 
 and he did his best to catch her eye and to break 
 the face of the terrible disclosures she had made. 
 
 The character of the prisoner's grief may be 
 better understood, when a remark he made to his 
 counsel, just before he arose to cross-examine Miss 
 Yoke, is known. He was overheard to say : " I 
 will now let loose the fount of emotion." Who 
 has ever seen or heard of his equal ? 
 
 The details of the trial have been widely pub- 
 lished. Whatever doubt existed as to the death 
 of Pitezel was dispelled by the admission of the 
 prisoner's counsel at the trial, who said that the 
 body found at No. 1316 Callowhill Street on the 
 second day of September, 1894, was Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel, and therefore the testimony of the more 
 or less numerous citizen, who had declared that 
 he had seen Pitezel alive in St. Louis, Mobile, 
 Chicago and other places a week or so before the 
 trial and who was so evidently drawing upon his 
 imagination, was not required in evidence- 
 Prisoner's counsel also admitted that Holmes 
 was present at No. 1316 Callowhill Street on Sep- 
 tember 2d, but contended that Pitezel had been 
 found dead, — that he had committed suicide. 
 Three physicians, one of them an eminent expert 
 
JUSTICE CRIED ''AMEN.'' 313 
 
 in toxicology, Dr. Henry Leffman, all testified 
 that the condition of the body wlien found ex- 
 cluded the possibility of suicide, and that the man 
 had been killed by chloroform poisoning. His 
 robbery of Mrs. Pitezel of the insurance money, 
 his repeated assurances to her that her husbaiid 
 was alive, the manner in which he had taken her 
 from Galva to Detroit, " to meet Ben," then from 
 Detroit to meet him " because Ben was followed 
 by detectives," on to Toronto to meet him there, 
 then upon her arrival in Toronto, his declaration 
 that Ben had gone to Montreal, their subsequent 
 trip to Burlington, Vermont, and his many, man}' 
 lies to her were all recited in pitiful tones by the 
 distressed and grief-stricken widow ani mother. 
 
 One of the hardest blows received by the pris- 
 oner, was from the testimony of Sidney L. Sam- 
 uels, Esq., a member of the bar of Fort Worth, 
 Texas, an accomplished lawyer and gentleman, 
 who when upon the stand referred to Holmes, 
 (much to his disgust) as " the individual sitting 
 in the cage." Mr. Samuels came all the way 
 from liis home in Texas to Philadelphia, to prove 
 that the note which Holmes gave to Mrs. Pitezel 
 was worthless. Mr. Samuels had written the 
 body of the note himself and gave it to Holmes to 
 
314 THE WORTHLESS NOTE. 
 
 have it signed by Benton T. Lyuuin, who was no 
 other than Titezel himself, who in Jiinuary and 
 February of 1894 was in P^ort Worth assisting 
 Holmes in the perpetration of one of his Minnie 
 Williams schemes. When Holmes returned, he 
 produced another note, and told Mr. Samuels 
 that he had lost the first note. This note he gave 
 Mrs. Pitezel. It was not endorsed on the back, 
 and had never been negotiated, and it Avas a 
 worthless piece of paper. The note he alleged he 
 had lost, he pahned off on the poor deluded 
 woman, taking from hev all but five hundred dol- 
 lars of the seven;y-two hundred dollars she had 
 received from Howe. 
 
 Miss Yoke was with Holmes in Philadelphia at 
 the timie of the murder. She said that in the 
 evening of September 1st, a man called at No. 
 1905 TTorth 11th Street, where she and the man 
 slie s apposed ivas her husband were stopping. 
 The /isitor, Hjlmes told her, was a me.ssenger 
 from an official of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Coripany, who had advised him that this gentle- 
 man would meet him the next morning at Nice- 
 town, a suburb of Philadelphia. (He afterwards 
 admitted to her that this man who called, was 
 Pitezel.) She said that Holmes left the house on 
 
JUSTICE CRIED ''AMEN." 315 
 
 the morning of September 2d at ten or ten-thirty 
 o'clock, and returned about four o'clock. He 
 then said he. had seen the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 man but had not completed the business matter 
 with him and might return, and that he would 
 like to leave for the West that evening. He told 
 her to tell Dr. Alcorn, that they were going to 
 Harrisburg, Pa., and not to let her know that 
 their destination was Indianapolis. This was the 
 time he said he went to No. 1316 Callowhill 
 Street and found Pitezel dead in the third story 
 of the house, discovering that he had committed 
 suicide. 
 
 His presence at the house at the time of death, 
 his concealment of the death both from the au- 
 thorities and from Mrs. Pitezel, the proof that the 
 man had not died from chloroform self-adminis- 
 tered, his robbery of Mrs. Pitezel and the insur- 
 ance swindle, mingled with his audacious fabrica- 
 tions, made up one of the strongest cases of cir- 
 cumstantial evidence ever presented in a criminal 
 court, and when the jury returned a verdict of 
 murder in the first degree, in the language of Mr. 
 Samuels, Justice cried " Amen " to the verdict, 
 and the people and press poured in their congrat- 
 ulations upon the District Attorney and his As- 
 
316 MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE. 
 
 sistant and the able and faithful detective, Mr. 
 Geyer, whose noble work, revealed the bloody 
 tracks of a human monster, whose like we hope 
 never to see again. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 LOOKING BACKWARDS. 
 
 The Motive For the Murders— Pi tezel Knew too Much — The 
 Entire Family in the Way of The Arch Plotter— The In- 
 surance Fraud the Means to the End — Separating the 
 Family — A Grave Dug for Alice and Nellie — Chloroform 
 Found in the Burlington House — Mrs. Pitezel's Suspicious 
 Aroused — The "Eye That Never Sleeps" — Holmes' 
 Arrest Prevents Three More Murders. 
 
 What was the motive for these murders? 
 Why did he kill Benjamin F. Pitezel? And after 
 committing that foul deed, why was it necessary 
 to remove Pitezel's family? That he fully in- 
 tended to murder Mrs. Pitezel and Dessie and 
 the baby, Wharton, is too evident for contradic- 
 tion. Apart from his suspicious behavior at Bur- 
 lington, recited by Mrs. Pitezel in her testimony 
 at the trial, the commonwealth had further evi- 
 dence on this point which it was not permitted to 
 disclose. 
 
 The cellar of the Burlington house was never 
 
 searched until the week of the murder trial in 
 
 Philadelphia, when a thorough investigation of 
 
 (317) 
 
318 THE 5I0TIVE FOR THE 3IURDERS. 
 
 the premises was made by request of District At- 
 torney Graham. Jerome Dumas, the Burlington 
 cliief of police ordered every part of the cellar to 
 be carefully examined, with the result of finding 
 in a little recess back of a joist in the cellar 
 and under the first floor, a bottle containing eight 
 or ten ounces of chloroform. As every step of 
 Mephistopheles is marked by a track of fire, so do 
 the devious paths of Herman Webster Mudgett, 
 alias Holmes, bear tlie scent of the deadly chloro- 
 form. Holmes found that it was a more difficult 
 task to dispose of Mrs. Pitezel and her eighteen 
 months' old baby and her daughter Dessie, a vigor- 
 ous girl of sixteen years, than it had been to de- 
 stroy the younger children, so he deferred that 
 part of his scheme until it was too late, and hence 
 the discovery of the bottle of chloroform just 
 where he had placed it. He was arrested before 
 he was able to return to Burlington, Vermont, 
 after his visit to Gilmanton, New Hampshire. In 
 fact he knew he was being shadowed by detect- 
 ives while he was visiting Gilmanton, and jour- 
 neyed to Boston, where he believed his chances 
 for escape were greater. 
 
 But we have asked what was the motive for 
 these murders? The reader will remember a 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS. 'M 
 
 statement Holmes makes in liis letter to Mrs. 
 Pitezel just before she was released from the 
 Philadelphia county prison. He said " VVe never 
 quarreled," alluding to the relations which h.id 
 existed between Pitezel and himself. This was a 
 base falsehood ; — they had quarrelled. They had 
 a dispute in Chicago in June or July of 1894. 
 The subject of the dispute was the interest wliich 
 Pitezel claimed to own in the Castle property in 
 Chicago, and the Williams real estate in Fort 
 Worth, Texas. He told Holmes that he was tired 
 of scheming and wanted to return to his home, 
 (which was in St. Louis) and lead a quiet and 
 peaceful life with his family. He declared that he 
 was part owner of the Chicago real estate, and 
 that the title to the Fort Worth property was in 
 his alias, Benton T. Lyman, and he wanted to be 
 paid the value of his interest and play quits. 
 
 Pitezel drank heavily and while under the in- 
 fluence of liquor, talked a good deal. It is im- 
 possible to say just how much of the past life of 
 Holmes, Pitezel knew ; what secrets of the Castle 
 he carried in his breast and whether if he opened 
 his lips he could have sent Holmes to prison or 
 the scaffold. He certainly knew enough to make 
 him in his cups a dangerous associate. 
 
320 HTEZEL KNEW TOO MUCH. 
 
 Holmes quieted Pitezel, by suggesting that they 
 should work out one more scheme together and 
 that should end their relations. That scheme was 
 to cheat and defraud the Fidelity Mutual Life As- 
 sociation of Philadelphia, in the perpetration of 
 which, Holmes saw the opportunity to rid him- 
 self of every person, Pitezel, his wife and his 
 cliihlren, who could lay claim to a dollar of the 
 value of the real estate. Incidentally he proposed 
 to reap every dollar of benefit from the insurance 
 swindle. 
 
 Proceeding to carry out his scheme, he directed 
 Pitezel to lease a house in Philadelphia, to which 
 he Si! id he would bring the body which was to be 
 substituted for Pitezel's. Pitezel advertised him- 
 self as a dealer in patents, but Holmes showed him 
 a splendid recipe for a solution for cleaning 
 clothes, containing chloroform., benzine, and am- 
 monia and which they should manufacture and 
 sell. Thus chloroform was introduced into the 
 house in an unspicious manner. While poor 
 Pitezel was waiting for the cadaver which Holmes 
 assured him he was arranging to obtain. Holmes 
 murdered him. He went to St. Louis and saw 
 Mrs. Pitezel. He did not dare to tell her that her 
 husband was dead. No tale of suicide would have 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS. 321 
 
 been accepted by Mrs. Pitezel, who had been re- 
 ceiving cheerful letters from her husband., and mure- 
 over he wanted to dispose of her eventually and 
 the opportunity to do that would present itself, 
 when he led her from city to city to meet her 
 husband. He told her that Ben was alive, and 
 suggested that some member of the family should 
 return with him to Philadelphia to identify the 
 body. This was the first move he made in sepa- 
 rating the family. Alice Pitezel went to Philadel- 
 phia and after identifying the body as that of her 
 father, he took her to Indianapolis where he left 
 her in the Hotel English. Holmes went back to 
 St. Louis again. By this time the insurance 
 money was paid. He then robbed the poor woman 
 of most of the $7,200 she had received from her 
 attorney Howe, and holding up to her the horror 
 of discovery of her husband by detectives, said the 
 family should separate. " The Insurance Company 
 knows that you have five children, and you must 
 separate," said Holmes. Nellie and Howard were 
 then handed over to his tender care and they went 
 with him to Cincinnati, "where Alice was under 
 the care of such a good woman, and where they 
 could go to school until all the clouds had rolled 
 
 by." 
 
322 SUPABATING the FAMILY. 
 
 He moved the tliree children October 1st, 1894, 
 to Indianapolis and on the 10th of that month 
 killed Huward in the house at Irvington. Thus 
 two of his victims had been disposed of, the father 
 and the son. 
 
 He now moved Alice and Nellie to Detroit and 
 hired the Forest Avenue house where he intended 
 to kill them and bury them in the hole he had 
 dug. To Detroit he also invited Mrs. Pitezel and 
 Dessie and the baby, " where Ben was Avaiting to 
 see her." 
 
 Some hitch occurred in Detroit, and he moved 
 his three parties to Toronto, where on October 
 25th, two other members of this obnoxious family 
 were disposed of. He wasgetting along very well. 
 He had killed four people in three different places, 
 and without arousing the interest or any inquiry 
 from anyone. The promise to see Benin Toronto 
 was not fulfilled. Ben was in Montreal, so he re- 
 moved the remainder of his company to Burling- 
 ton, Vermont, where he thought he would be able 
 to clean up the job, by removing Mrs. Pitezel and 
 her youngest and eldest child. 
 
 He found the task a hard one. Mrs. Pitezel's 
 suspicions w^hich had been dormant so long, were 
 now aroused and she was on the alert. To give 
 
LOOKING BACKWARDS. 323 
 
 himself an opportunity to think over the matter 
 more carefully, he concluded to visit his old home 
 in Gilmauton, New Hampshire, where for the first 
 time tlie " eye that never sleeps " rested upon liim. 
 No one more quickly discovered tliis than Holmes 
 himself, and he went hurriedly to Boston, but only 
 to walk into tlie cell of tlie felon. His scheme 
 had failed after all. He was quite content to 
 stand the punishment of imprisonment for the in- 
 surance fraud, but he was awfully afraid of the 
 gallows. He used all tlie cunning for which he 
 lias become famous, in avoiding an issue which 
 might end in death to him. He who had dealt de- 
 struction to others, was afraid of it himself, and so 
 followed his confessions and statements and 
 counter statements as he squirmed and struggled 
 in the net. 
 
 The destruction of Pitezel and his. family with- 
 out detection, would have left Holmes the sole 
 and undisputed owner of the real estate, they 
 jointly held, as well as of the money received 
 from the Insurance Company. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 
 
 Holmes' Desperate Fight to Exclude Miss Yoke's Testimony — 
 Declared Her to Be His Lawful Wife — His Unexampled 
 Duplicity With Women — Mrs. Herman Webster Mudgett 
 — Mrs. Harry Howard Holmes — Mrs. Henry Mansfield 
 Howard — He Lies About His Parents When the Truth 
 Would Have Done as Well— He Tells to His Sister Ihe 
 Greatest Lies He Ever Told. 
 
 There is just one clean, bright spot in the 
 career of Mudgett, alias Holmes, alias Howard, 
 alias etc., etc., for which he should have some 
 credit, and that is, the care he exercised in keep- 
 ing from the women whom he had deceived, his 
 various schemes and crimes, and especially is this 
 true of Miss Yoke. He told her that his name 
 was Holmes, but that his uncle, Henry Mansfield 
 Howard, of Denver, Colorado, had devised prop- 
 erty to him, provided he would assume his name 
 and thus he married Miss Yoke in Denver under 
 the name of Howard. 
 
 From the time of their meeting, during their 
 engagement, and after the marriage ceremony 
 that followed, Miss Yoke was taught to believe 
 
 (32.5) 
 
326 A TRIPLE AUJAKCE. 
 
 that her supposed husband was engaged prin- 
 cipally iu the business of selling or leasing a new 
 and improved patent copier, and had acquired 
 considerable property by devise from his Denver 
 uncle. Their journey to Texas was made for the 
 alleged purpose of taking possession of a ranch, 
 which his uncle had willed to him. Upon arriving 
 at Fort Worth, he told her, that squatters were 
 in possession of the ranch and as squatters' rights 
 received more seiious recognition in the South 
 than in the North, and as he was afraid he might 
 be in personal danger if he announced himself or 
 ajipeared as the owner of the ranch, Henry ]\Ians- 
 field Howard, they had better, for the time being, 
 take the name of Pratt. Thus he appeared in 
 Fort Worth with Pitezel as D. T. Pratt, and 
 Pitezel, who was also there at the time, took the 
 name of Benton T. Lyman. 
 
 Miss Yoke never knew that Lyman was Pitezel, 
 until Holmes was arrested in Boston. Although 
 she had accompanied Holmes on the tour from 
 Detroit to Burlington, she never knew that Mrs. 
 Pitezel and her children were travelling from city 
 to city, under the care of her supposed husband ; 
 nor had she the slightest knowledge of the scheme 
 to defraud the insurance company, or of the ficti- 
 
A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 327 
 
 tious names lie was giving, or of the hideous crimes 
 Holmes had committed on the way. Nor did Mrs. 
 Pitezel know that Holmes was travelling with 
 Miss Yoke, nor had she ever heard of her and 
 never knew of her until the arrest in Boston. 
 Upon the trial, Judge Arnold in charging the 
 jury said: "Truth is stranger than fiction, and if 
 Mrs. Pitezel's story is true it is the most wonder- 
 ful exhibition of the power of mind over mind I 
 have ever seen and stranger than any novel I ever 
 read." 
 
 The claim made by Holmes at the trial, that 
 Miss Yoke was his lawful wife, is entirely in keep- 
 ing with his record for deceit and audacity. He 
 was married to Clara A. Lovering on July 4th, 
 1878, and this woman is now living in Tilton, 
 New Hampshire. He was married to Myrta Z. 
 Belknap on January 28th, 1887, under the name 
 of Hariy Howard Holmes. 
 
 On February 14th, 1887, a little over two u<eeks 
 after his marriage to Miss Belknap, he filed in the 
 Supreme Court of Cook County, Illinois, in the 
 city of Chicago, a petition praying for a divorce 
 from Clara A. 3Iuclgett nee Lovering on the ground 
 of infidelity. On June 4th, 1891, this petition 
 was dismissed for failure of prosecution and hence 
 
328 A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 
 
 it clearly appears that his lawful wife is Mrs. 
 Clara A. Mudgett, who now resides at Tiltoii, 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 On September 19th, 1893, he made application 
 to the Fidelit}' Mutual Life Association for a 
 ilO,000 policy of insurance and named therein 
 in his own handwriting as beneficiary, "My wife, 
 Myrta Z. Holmes." At this very time, Septembei", 
 1893, he was engaged to be married to Miss Yoke 
 and in fact married lier in Denver in the following 
 January, 1894. 
 
 It need cause no surprise therefore, to learn 
 that when Miss Yoke was called to the witness 
 stand at the trial, she gave her maiden name. 
 She had become familiar with the marriage record 
 of her supposed husband, and was fully convinced 
 that she was not his lawful wife and had been 
 grossly and cruell}^ deceived. 
 
 When arrested in Boston, Miss Yoke met the 
 sister and brother of Holmes, and her eyes were 
 opened and her real position made clear. Holmes 
 had told her that he was the last of his race and 
 that his parents and brothers and sisters had long 
 since departed this life. This lie he had evidently 
 told also to Miss Belknap, for in his application 
 for insurance in September, 1893, he declared 
 
A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 329 
 
 that his mother had died at the age of fifty-eight 
 years of a disease he did not remember, and his 
 father at the age of sixty-two from injur}- to his 
 foot. 
 
 One may readily imagine Miss Yoke's amaze- 
 ment when she learned of the existence of Mrs. 
 Mudgett, at Tilton, New Hampshire, and of the 
 further shock she experienced when she learned 
 that upon leaving her at Burlington, New Hamp- 
 shire, "to go on a business trip," he had revisited 
 his real wife at Tilton, resumed his relations with 
 her, took her to the house of his parents who were 
 living and in good health at Gilmanton, and re- 
 mained with her and them at the homestead for 
 two or three days, and upon leaving promised his 
 wife to return the following April, and never 
 desert her again. 
 
 This is the position in which Holmes found 
 himself at the homestead : — a wdfe at Wilmette, 
 Illinois, another waiting for his return at Bur- 
 lington, New Hampshire, and his real wife, taking 
 him back and receiving him with a loving and 
 forgiving spirit,— notwithstanding his petition for 
 divorce for alleged infidelity, a charge which was 
 doubtless as false and as wicked as his own de- 
 praved heart, 
 19 
 
330 A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 
 
 His situation was one fraught with peril, so he 
 concluded to open up a line of retreat. He told 
 one or more members of his family, that he had 
 had a remarkable experience. (His introduction 
 to this story was certainly true.) He said he had 
 been in a railroad collision in the West and had 
 teen severely injured. When he awakened out 
 of the unconscious condition caused by the injury, 
 he found he was in a hospital. He further dis- 
 covered to his amazement that all memory of his 
 former self had been blotted out. Who he was, 
 his name, his occupation, his home, his parents, 
 his friends, — the memory of all had fled. On tha 
 night of the accident a curtain had dropped be- 
 tween him and his past, and all idea or knowledge 
 of his former self had been swept into oblivion. 
 To the hospital in which he was treated, came a 
 beautiful woman, who brought flowers to the sick 
 and read to them from good books, and with her 
 gentle voice sought to bring cheer into the dull 
 hospital wards. This sweet woman brought 
 flowers and read to him, and finallj' fell in love 
 with him and he with her. Upon his convales- 
 cence they were married. This good woman was 
 very rich and was deejily touched when she ob- 
 served the suffering he constantly endured, as he 
 
A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 331 
 
 in vain endeavored to regain the threads of 
 memory of his past. Finally, through her in- 
 fluence and wealth, she secured the assistance of 
 a great surgeon who performed a wonderful oper- 
 ation upon his head. When he came out of ether, 
 to his amazement his memory had like a flood 
 come back upon him and to his unspeakable 
 horror he realized what a wrong he had committed 
 in marrying the sweet woman who had adminis- 
 tered to him as lie lay helpless and sick in the 
 hospital. Pie remembered then that he was a 
 married man and that his real wife, Carrie 
 Mudgett, was living. 
 
 He further said to his family that he had not 
 told this lovely woman that she was not his wife, 
 and betrayed to them the deep grief and distress 
 from which he was suffering in the unusual situa- 
 tion in which he found himself and for which he 
 was really not responsible. 
 
 This alleged patroness of the hospital and reader 
 to the sick was Miss Yoke, for this he told his 
 sister. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that there was 
 not a word of truth in this story, from beginning 
 to end. Miss Yoke was not the patroness of a 
 hospital, nor had she visited or read to the sick, 
 
332 A TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 
 
 nor had she met him in such an institution, nor 
 was she wealthy. 
 
 What a wonderful meeting it would be, between 
 these three women, — Mrs. Mudgett, Mrs. Holmes, 
 and Mrs. Howard. If each would tell the other 
 the tales he had told, what an *' infinite and end- 
 less liar " they would prove him to be. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A FEIEND IN NEED. 
 
 Geyer Receives a Cipher Letter, with the Key Attached — Was 
 It an Efifort to Divert the Detective from His Pursuit? — 
 Letters from the Insane — Holmes Taught Ciphers to His 
 Friends. 
 
 Holmes was never so much in need of his 
 friends as he was in the summer of 1895. The 
 hunt for the missing children, was known to the 
 uttermost ends of the country, and if the District 
 Attorney's office received suggestions of all sorts 
 and kinds, anonymous and otherwise, so did Mr. 
 Holmes. That he had sympathizing friends out- 
 side, friends who would have been helpful to him 
 had opportunity offered, cannot be questioned. 
 
 These friends were aware that all mail sent to 
 Holmes to the Philadelphia County prison was 
 inspected before delivery to the prisoner, and 
 some of it for proper public reasons, never reached 
 the prisoner. One of these friends undertook by 
 a device to divert Detective Geyer from the pur- 
 suit of the track of Holmes, just as he was leav- 
 ing Indianapolis after his second visit. The de- 
 
 ism) 
 
334 A FRIEND IN NEED. 
 
 tective received at the Spencer House an anony- 
 mous letter in cipher, ivith the key attached, advis- 
 ing him that an important letter had been sent to 
 Holmes to Philadelphia ; that the writer was ad- 
 vising the detective at great personal risk and 
 that the letter should be opened and inspected 
 before delivery to the prisoner. The letter came 
 in due course and a copy of it is given elsewhere. 
 
 This letter tells Holmes not " to worry about 
 the boy ; he is safe and sound," and at first it gave 
 the impression, that Holmes had in some way con- 
 veyed to an outside party the place where the re- 
 mains of the boy had been buried, and that the 
 boy's remains had been removed from the place of 
 concealment. 
 
 After careful deliberation, the District Attor- 
 ney's office concluded that it was a trick or device 
 for a purpose not very clear and it was totally dis- 
 regarded, and the search subsequently continued 
 with the result already narrated. This is one of 
 the many letters, some in cipher which were re- 
 ceived and are now among the great mass of 
 manuscript which have accumulated in the case. 
 Newspapers evidently make their way into lunatic 
 asylums, for letters from the insane came in by 
 the score. The name of Holmes also seemed to 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED. 335 
 
 become as common as Brown or Smith, for many 
 letters referring to this person and that person by 
 the name of Holmes and requesting infoimation 
 as to comparisons of points of identity with the 
 prisoner were received. 
 
 One of the letters received in cipher is given 
 below. This letter is very easily read by drop- 
 ping every other sentence, separated by commas. 
 
 'Aug. 2d, 1895. 
 Friend H. H. H :— 
 
 I, and Jim, will not, saw and, 
 split, the wood. They, can't and, don't, want to, 
 know, whether there is, anything, around or, 
 about, the, conservatory or, green house, I, think, 
 will leave, the dog, for, Mrs. John, Cleveland, at 
 Bleak House, to-morrow. Will, join him under, 
 cover, and fix, all, circus board, signs, there. 
 Same, time I will, sigh for, Ponto's fate and yours 
 in his misfortune. 
 R. I. T. U. A. L. Friend, 
 
 L. S. Page. 
 
 " Friend H. H. H :— 
 
 I will not split. They don't 
 know anything about conservatory. I will leave 
 for Cleveland to-morrow. Will cover all signs. 
 Same cipher." 
 
336 A FRIEND IN NEED. 
 
 This letter was apparently written by some one 
 familiar with the famous Chicago " Castle," and 
 referred to a place, a " conservatory " not known 
 to the police. As it had no relevancy to the 
 Philadelphia case, it created little or no comment 
 and is given simply to illustrate how the habit of 
 writing ciphers into which this great criminal had 
 drifted, had been taught to his friends and was 
 made a method of communication between them. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE EXCLUDED TESTIMONY. 
 
 Witnesses liom Six States and the Domiuion of Canada — 
 Thirty-five Witnesses Positively Identify Holmes — Holmes 
 Grows a Beard — "The Individual in the Cage " — The Dis- 
 trict Attorney Thanks Officials and Witnesses — Devoted 
 Services of the Officers of the Insurance Company. 
 
 Thirty-five witnesses, who were not citizens 
 of the state of Pennsylvania and who were not 
 subject to the subpoena or process of the Phila- 
 delphia court, responded to the request of the Dis- 
 trict Attorney to appear at the trial. These wit- 
 nesses were from Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Irving- 
 ton, Detroit, Toronto, Burlington (Vermont), 
 Boston and Fort Worth, Texas. 
 
 At the proper time after Mrs. Pitezel had told 
 her sad story, District Attorney Graham offered 
 to prove that Holmes had murdered Howard Pite- 
 zel at Irvington, Indiana, and Alice and Nellie 
 Pitezel at Toronto, Canada. This offer was made 
 to show what the prisoner had done during his 
 flight from Philadelphia around the circuit of the 
 cities he made until he reached Boston, where he 
 
 (337) 
 
338 THE EXCLUDED TESTIMONY. 
 
 was arrested. Tliat the murder of Pitezel and 
 the murder of the children were really paits of 
 one transaction, with one design, to wit, the ex- 
 termination of the Pitezel family, and the evidence 
 was admissible in proving the motive and purpose 
 of the prisoner. The Trial Judge sustained the 
 objection of the defence to this offer and the case 
 went to the jury on the testimony produced by 
 the commonwealth, which related simply and 
 solely to the murder of Pitezel at No. 1316 Cal- 
 lowhill Street. 
 
 The witnesses, produced with so much labor 
 and expense, were, in consequence of this decision 
 of the Court, not called, and what they would 
 have said on the witness stand was not given to 
 the public. 
 
 It will be, therefore, of much interest to note 
 that they each and all identified the prisoner. 
 Holmes had permitted his beard to grow during 
 his confinement, but his active participation in the 
 examination of jurors and witnesses as the trial 
 proceeded, together with large and finely executed 
 pliotograplis of the prisoner as he appeared with- 
 out a beard at the time of his arrest, enabled every 
 witness to identify him at once and beyond a 
 question or shadow of doubt. He was identified 
 
THE EXCLUDED TESTIMONY. 339 
 
 by W. L. Bain, clerk of the Hotel Bristol, Cincin- 
 nati, as the man who brought the three Pitezel 
 children to that hotel on Saturday, September 
 29th, and registered as " A. E. Cook and three 
 children " ; by J. C. Thomas as the person who 
 rented No. 305 Poplar Street, Cincinnati, under 
 the name of " A. C. Hayes " ; by Miss Etta Hill 
 as the person whom she saw take a large stove 
 into the Poplar Street house and who the follow- 
 ing day came to her, said he had concluded not to 
 keep the house, presented her with the stove and 
 departed. 
 
 Of the Indianapolis witnesses, Wm. Sherman 
 Welch, of the Stubbins House, said Holmes whom 
 iie saw in court, was the man who brought Alice 
 Pitezel to that hotel on September 24th, registered 
 her as " Etta Pitsel," and took her away four days 
 later. He was also identified by Herman Acke- 
 low, proprietor of the Circle House, as the person 
 who brought the three children, Alice, Nellie and 
 Howard, to his hotel on October 1st and took 
 them away on the 10th ; also by J. C. Wands as 
 the man who rented the Irvington house " for his 
 sister, Mrs. A. E. Cook;" by Dr. J. L. Thomp- 
 son, who saw him at the house at Irvington, after 
 he had taken possession, and by Elvet Moorman 
 
340 THE EXCLUDED TESTDIONY. 
 
 who assisted hira in putting up the stove, while 
 Howard Pitezel, the little hoy, stood hy looking on. 
 
 The Detroit witnesses were equally positive as 
 to the identification. 
 
 Peter Cotter, of the New Western Hotel, iden- 
 tified the prisoner as the man who brought Alice 
 and Nellie to his hotel and registered them as 
 "Etta and Nellie Canning." Mrs. Lucinda Burns 
 was positive he was the man who brought Alice 
 and Nellie to her boarding house. No. 91 Congress 
 Street. It was from tliis house that Alice wrote 
 her last letter, in which she complained of " al- 
 most freezing in that thin jacket," and said, 
 " Howard is not with us now." No one can read 
 that letter without the conviction that Holmes 
 had cautioned the children about speaking of 
 when and where Howard had left them. It is in- 
 conceivable that Alice would have written a let- 
 ter to the home folks, simply saying that Howard 
 was no longer wath them, and no more, unless she 
 had been following the instructions of the arch- 
 fiend who was waiting for his opportunity to put 
 them to death, and who had already made an end 
 of the boy. 
 
 George Dennis, runner for the Albion Hotel, 
 Toronto, said Holmes was the man who placed 
 
THE EXCLUDED TESTIMONY. 341 
 
 Alice and Nellie in his care on the evening of 
 October 19th, and instructed him to take them to 
 his hotel. Herbert Jones, clerk of the Albion, 
 identified Holmes as the man wiio called for the 
 little girls every morning, returning them ev^ny 
 evening, until the morning of October 25th, when 
 he paid their board in full, and took them away. 
 They never returned. 
 
 Mrs. Nudel and her daughter, Miss Minnie, 
 said Holmes was the man who rented the house 
 No. 16 St. Vincent Street, for "his widowed sis- 
 ter." 
 
 Thomas W. Ryves of No. 18 St. Vincent 
 Street, identified the prisoner as the man who on 
 October 24th, borrowed his spade, " to dig a pit 
 for potatoes," in the cellar of No. 16 St. Vincent 
 Street, and who returned it the next day, the 
 25th. He told Mr. Ryves that his widowed sister 
 and her children were to occupy the house. 
 
 W. B. McKillip, said Holmes was the man who 
 rented the house in Burlington, Vermont, gave 
 his name as Judson and said he wanted the house 
 " for his widowed sister, Mrs. A. E. Cook." 
 
 Sydney L. Samuels Esq., a lawyer of Fort 
 Worth, Texas, at the request of District Attorney 
 Graham, journeyed all the way from his home to 
 
34'J THE EXCLUDED TESTDTONV. 
 
 the city of Philiideli)hui, to testify :is to his 
 knowledge of the fraiululeut and bogus note wliieli 
 Holmes used in robbing Mrs. Pitezel. Mr. 
 Samuels came North on this long and tiresome 
 journey, to assist the law officers of the Common- 
 wealth in administering public justice, and. re- 
 fused the compensation which he could have 
 properly claimed for such a protracted absence 
 from his professional duties and business at home. 
 His identification of the prisoner. Holmes, as 
 "the individual in tlie cage," (meaning the 
 prisoner's dock) will never be forgotten by those 
 who witnessed it. The tone of contempt with 
 which Mr. Samuels used the expression, drew the 
 hot blood to the prisoner's cheek, and he threw a 
 quick glance at the lawyer-witness, full of 
 malevolence and which boded ill for him, had the 
 prisoner been free, and a bottle of chloroform 
 handy. 
 
 The reader will not fail to observe how plainly 
 marked was the track of the prisoner, once it was 
 discovered. He used the same names repeatedly 
 and rented a house in each of the cities, Cincin- 
 nati, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto and Burling- 
 ton, and told practically the same falsehood in 
 each instance. 
 
THE EXriA'DED TESTLWONY. 3VZ 
 
 The detection of tliis great eriniiiial and tlie 
 preparations for tlie trial, was a work of great 
 labor, but the burden was made easier by officials 
 and citizens in all the cities and towns where 
 Holmes and his victims had been traced. 
 
 After the trial had ended, District Attorney 
 Graham sent to each of the police officials of Cin- 
 cinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto, Burling- 
 ton and Boston, and to all the witnesses who had 
 attended the trial from distant parts, the follow- 
 ing official communication : 
 
 Nov. 6th, 1895. 
 I desire to express to you my warm 
 appreciation of the manner in which you so kindly 
 aided the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the 
 recent trial of Hermann W. Mudgett, alias H. 
 H. Holmes charged with Homicide. 
 
 Your loyalty and fidelity, and your willingness 
 to so cheerfully assist in dispensing justice, deserve 
 my highest commendation. 
 
 The result of the trial will be of benefit, not 
 only to Pennsylvania, but to all communities 
 wherever justice is vigorously and impartially 
 administered through the orderly procedure and 
 under the forms and protection of Law. 
 Sincerely Yours, 
 
 George S. Graham. 
 
344 THE EXCLUDED TESTI310NY. 
 
 In this connection and as a conclusion to this 
 story of unparalleled crime, it is proper to speak 
 of the unselfish and devoted services of the of- 
 ficers of the Fidelity Mutual Life Association. 
 Mr. L. G. Fouse, the distinguished President of 
 the Company and his associates furnished the of- 
 ficials of the county, charged with the prosecu- 
 tion, with every possible aid and assistance, 
 measured neither by what it cost in money nor in 
 effort, and prompted by the highest considerations 
 of humanity and the demands of public justice. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 1800. Herman Webster jNIudgett born at 
 ifinu teth. Gilmanton, New Hampshire. 
 
 1S7S. He is married to Clara A. Loveriiig 
 July -ith. at Alton, New Hampsliire, by John 
 W. Canrrier, Justice of the Peace. 
 1SS7. He is married to Myrta Z. Belknap 
 Jan. 2sth. under the name of Harry Howard 
 Holmes. 
 tsst. He files in the Superior Court of 
 Feh. 14th. Cook county, Illinois, a libel in di- 
 vorce against his wife, Clara A. Lev- 
 ering Mudgett, praying that their 
 marriage may be dissolved. 
 isoi. The said court orders this suit to be 
 j-ii«e 4th. dismissed for default of appearance 
 of complainant. 
 1S03. He meets Miss Georgiana Yoke in 
 March Chicago. 
 
 1S93. He makes application for a twenty 
 
 Sept. Moth. year optional insurance for 110,000 
 
 in the Fidelity Mutual Life Associa- 
 
 (345) 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 isoa, 
 
 Xoi'. Oth. 
 
 Snuie Slottth. 
 
 ISO-t. 
 
 Jan. iifh. 
 
 Sun, 
 
 feb. 
 
 April. 
 
 Ajiril. 
 
 tiou in wliich lie avers: ^'^ Mother died 
 at oS, doiit remember tlie disease, tio 
 acute disease. Father died at 62 from 
 ivjary to Ids foot.'" 
 
 Fidelity Mutual Life Association in- 
 sures Benjamin F. Pitezel in the sum 
 of 'tl 0,000. 
 
 Holmes is engaged to be married to 
 Miss Yoke under the name of Henrj' 
 Mansfield Howard. 
 He is married to Miss Yoke in Den- 
 ver, Colorado, by the Rev. Mr. Wil- 
 cox, and the}' journey on their honey- 
 moon to Fort Worth, Texas. 
 Mudgett and Pitezel, (the former 
 under the name of D. T. Pratt and 
 the latter under the name of Benton 
 T. Lyman) in Fort Worth, Texas, 
 where they engage in building a 
 store property on land formerly 
 owned by Minnie Williams. 
 Pitezel leaves Fort Worth and goes 
 to Chicago. 
 
 Mudgett and Miss Yoke leave Fort 
 Worth and journey to Denver, Col- 
 orado. 
 
CHRONOLOGY 
 
 ?A1 
 
 June Sfh. 
 June lath. 
 
 July tOth. 
 
 July 3Stti. 
 July 29th. 
 
 July 3l8t. 
 
 Tliej- make their appearance in St. 
 Louis. 
 
 About this date Holmes (Mudgett) 
 and Pitezel go to Memphis, Tennes- 
 see. In this vicinity they first con- 
 sider the location of tlie place Avhere 
 they propose to execute the insurance 
 fraud. 
 
 Holmes and wife return to St. Louis. 
 Holmes purchases a drug store in St. 
 Louis, Missouri, under the name of 
 Howard, upon which he gave a mort- 
 gage. 
 
 Holmes is arrested in St. Louis by 
 the Merrill Drug Company and sent 
 to prison under a charge of fraud and 
 for selling mortgaged property. The 
 man " Brown," to whom he sold it is 
 supposed to have been Pitezel., Dur- 
 ing his imprisonment in the St. Louis 
 jail, he meets Marion C. Hedgepeth. 
 He is released on bail. 
 He is rearrested and again committed 
 to prison. 
 
 He is again released on bail furnished 
 by Miss Yoke. 
 
348 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Anattut 9. He is in New York and Philadel- 
 
 3 atiii s. pliia. 
 
 Aua. 4th. Miss Yoke (Mrs. Howard) leaves 
 Lake Bluff, Illinois, where she was 
 visiting, and journeys to Philadel- 
 phia. 
 1S04. Sunday. Holmes meets Miss Yoke 
 
 Aug. 3th. at Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, 
 and takes her to a boarding honse, 
 No. 1905 N. 11th Street (Mrs. Dr. 
 Alcorn's.) He tells Miss Yoke he is 
 selling a patent letter copier. 
 
 Aug. 9th. Holmes telegraphs $157.50, (the half 
 yearly premium on the Pitezel policy), 
 to the Chicago office of the Fidelity 
 Mutual Life Association. 
 
 Aug. 17th. Pitezel, under the name of B. F. 
 Perry, rents No. 1316 Callowhill 
 Street and pays |10 on account of 
 the rent to Walter W. Shedaker, 
 Agent. 
 
 Aug. mn. Holmes and Pitezel purchase second 
 hand furniture of John F. Hughes, 
 No. 1037 Buttonwood Street, which 
 was sent to No. 1316 Callowhill 
 Street. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Aug. tsth. 
 
 Aug. ana. 
 
 Aug. 22a 
 to Sept, 1st. 
 
 Sept. 1st. 
 
 Sept. Xd. 
 
 Pitezel calls at the furinciire store 
 alone and purchases a cot and some 
 old matting. 
 
 Eugene Smith calls upon Pitezel and 
 sees Holmes pass into the house and 
 go upstairs. 
 
 Pitezel is seen in and about No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street by a large number 
 of persons. 
 
 Evening. Pitezel calls upon Holmes 
 at No. 1905 North Eleventh Street. 
 Holmes leaves No. 1905 N. 11th 
 Street at about 10.80 A. M. He re- 
 turns about 4 P. M. He tells his 
 wife (Miss Yoke) that the man who 
 called the evening before, was a mes- 
 senger from the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road Company and that he could 
 have an interview with a Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad official the next day 
 at Nicetown. This Sunday morning 
 he said he was going out to Nice- 
 town to see the official and that if 
 he was successful, and as their week 
 was up, they would probably start 
 West that night. 
 
350 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 3rt. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 4th. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 4th. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 6th. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 5th. 
 
 Evening. Holmes and Miss Yoke 
 leave Philadelphia on the 10.25 train 
 and went direct to Indianapolis. 
 They arrive in Indianapolis and reg- 
 ister at the Stubbins House. 
 They take boarding at No. 488 North 
 Illinois Street, Indianapolis. 
 Pitezel's body found at No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street by Eugene Smith. 
 Coroner holds first inquest. 
 Holmes goes to St. Louis, calls upon 
 Mrs. Pitezel and tells her to go to 
 Howe with the papers, meaning in- 
 surance policy, etc. She takes papers 
 to Howe. Holmes told her that a 
 body had been substituted for her 
 husband and that " Ben was alive 
 and all right," and not to worry. 
 Fidelity Mutual receives a telegraphic 
 dispatch from George B. Stadden, 
 Manager for Missouri, at St. Louis, 
 stating that " B. F. Perry, found 
 dead in Philadelphia, is claimed to be 
 B. F. Pitezel, who is insured on 
 044145. Investigate before remains 
 leave there." 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 351 
 
 About this time Howe writes to the 
 company in Philadelphia, stating that 
 he was counsel for Mrs. Pitezel, the 
 beneficiary under the policy and 
 would come on with a member of the 
 family to identify the body, etc. 
 Sept. 13th. Pitezel's body buried as B. F. Perry 
 
 in Potters Field, Philadelphia. 
 Sept. oth Holmes was with Miss Yoke at her 
 to Sept. 10th. mother's home in Franklin, Indiana, 
 leaving her he said to go to St. Louis 
 again or to Cincinnati, and then to 
 Indianapolis. At this time Holmes 
 was occasionally with his other wife 
 at Wilmette, Illinois. He was likely 
 with her on September 11th. At 
 Indianapolis he tells Miss Yoke that 
 he had heard from the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad ofBcial in Philadelphia about 
 the copier and they were ready to 
 pay over the money, and they had 
 directed him to come on at once. He 
 left her at the Circle Park Hotel, In- 
 dianapolis, and went to Philadelphia. 
 Sept. inh. He writes a letter to Mr. Cass, Chi- 
 cago Cashier of the Fidelity, stating 
 
352 CHBONOLOOY. 
 
 that his wife (Wilmette wife) had 
 told him that information was wanted 
 of B. F. Pitezel, who was found in 
 Chicago as B. F. Perry. 
 Sept. istit. He writes another letter to Cass, say- 
 ijig that he overhears the body was iu 
 Philadelphia and not in Chicago, and 
 that he would go to Philadelphia if 
 his expenses were paid. 
 
 See these letters. Pages 26 and 29. 
 
 Sept. ioth. Holmes leaves Indianapolis for Phila- 
 delphia. He again stops at No. 1905 
 North 11th Street ; Mrs. Alcorn's. 
 
 Sept. zoth. He calls at the office of the company 
 in Philadelphia, No. 914, Walnut 
 Street. He tells Mr. Fouse, Presi- 
 dent of the Company that he had 
 corresponded with Cass. He asks 
 Fouse about the circumstances of the 
 death, which Fouse relates briefly. 
 Holmes said it was a very peculiar 
 case, and asked INIr. Fouse the cause 
 of death, etc. 
 
 Bept. 20th. Alice writes her first letter to the 
 home folks. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 353 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., 
 
 Cor. Filbert & llth sts., Sept. 20, 1894. 
 Dear Mamma and the rest : 
 
 Just arrived in Phila- 
 delphia this morning and 1 wrote you yesterday 
 of this. Mr. Howe and I have each a room at the 
 above address. I am going to the Morgue after 
 awhile. We stopped off at Washington, Md., 
 this morning, and that made it six times that we 
 transferred to different cars. Yesterday we got 
 on the C. and O. Pullman car and it was crowded 
 so I had to sit with some one Mr. Howe sit with 
 some man we sit there quite awhile and pretty 
 soon some one came and shook hands with me. I 
 looked up and here it was Mr. Howard. He did 
 not know my jacket, but he said he thouglit it 
 was his girl's face so he went to see and it was me. 
 I don't like him to call me babe and child and 
 dear and all such trash. When I got on the car 
 Tuesday night Mr. Howe ask me if I had any 
 money and I told him 5 cents so he gave me a 
 dollar How I wish I could see j^ou all and hug 
 the baby. I hope you are better. Mr. H. says 
 that I will have a ride on the ocean. I wish you 
 could see what I have seen. I have seen more 
 scenery than I have seen since I was born I 
 don't know what I saw before. This is all the 
 paper I have so I will have to close & write 
 again. You had better not write to me here 
 for Mr. H. says that I may be off to-morrow. 
 
354 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 If you are worse wire me good-bye kisses to 
 all and two big ones for you and babe. Love 
 to all. 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 
 Sept. atat. Howe and Alice Pitezel called at In- 
 surance Office. Holmes calls same 
 time. Tliey meet as strangers, al- 
 though they had travelled together 
 from some point in Ohio to Washing- 
 ton, D. C. Howe and Alice got off at 
 Washington and Holmes took train 
 for Philadelphia. Howe and Alice 
 came to Philadelphia on later train. 
 That day Holmes took Alice out to 
 see the sights of the city and then 
 to Mrs. Alcorn's that night, stating 
 that she (Alice) was his little sister. 
 Alice slept in the 3d story next to 
 Holmes' room which communicated 
 with it. Alice had stopped with 
 Howe at the Imperial Hotel, 11th 
 and Filbert Streets, from which place 
 she wrote two letters. Following are 
 copies : 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 355 
 
 Imperial Hotel, 
 
 Eleventh, above Market Street, 
 
 Hendricks & Scott, Propr's., 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 21, 1894. 
 Dear Mamma and Babe : 
 
 I have to write all the 
 time to pass away the time. 
 
 Mr. Howe has been away all morning. Mamma 
 have you ever seen or tasted a red banana? I 
 have had three. They are so big that I can just 
 reach around it and have my thumb and next 
 finger just tutch. I have not got any shoes yet 
 and I have to go a hobbling around all the time. 
 Have you gotten 4 letters from me besides this? 
 Are you sick in bed yet or are you up ? I wish 
 that I could hear from you but I don't know 
 whether I would get it or not. Mr. Howe tele- 
 graphed to Mr. Beckert and he said that he would 
 write to you toniglit. I have not got but two 
 clean garments and that is a shirt and my white 
 skirt. I saw some of the largest solid rocks that 
 I bet you never saw. I crossed the Patomac 
 Itiver. I guess that I have told all the news; So 
 good bye Kisses to you and babe. 
 
 Yours loving daughter, 
 
 Miss E. A. Pitezel. 
 If you are worse telegraph to the above address. 
 Imperial Hotel, 
 Eleventh above Market Street. 
 
856 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 .'.mperial Hotel, 
 
 Eleventh above Market Street, 
 
 Hendricks & Scott, Propr's., 
 
 Philadelahia, 189-. 
 
 Dear Dessa : 
 
 I thought T would write you a little 
 letter and when I get to Mass. you must all 
 write to me. Well this is a warm day here how 
 is it there. Did you get your big washing done 
 if I was there you would have a bigger one for I 
 have a whole satchel full of dirty clothes. I bet 
 that I have more fruit than all of you. Dessa I 
 guess you are without shoes for I guess they don't 
 intend to get me any. H. has come now so I 
 guess I have to go to dinner. 
 
 Dessa take good care of mama. I will close 
 your letter and write a little to Nell and Howard 
 next time so good bye love to you with a kiss. 
 
 Dear Mama : 
 
 I was over to the insurance office 
 this afternoon and Mr. Howe thinks there will be 
 no trouble about getting it. They asked me 
 almost a thousand questions, of course not (;[uite 
 so many. Is his nose broken or has he a Roman 
 nose. I said it was broken. I will have to close 
 and write more tomorrow so good bye love to all 
 with kisses to all. Your loving daughter, 
 
 E. Alice Pitezel. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 357 
 
 Sept. 21st. At the conference at the company's 
 office on tliis day, the marks of iden- 
 tification were agreed upon. 
 Sept. S2d. Pitezel's body exhumed at Potters 
 Field. Holmes finds wart on neck 
 and other marks of identification, and 
 says the body is that of B. F. Pitezel. 
 Alice recognizes teeth of her father. 
 He takes Alice to No. 1904 North 
 11th Street. 
 
 Sept. 23€i. Holmes and Alice make affidavits be- 
 fore Coroner Ashbridge that the body 
 found as B. F. Perry at No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street was that of Benja- 
 min F. Pitezel. That evening Holmes 
 and Alice leave for Indianapolis. 
 
 Sept. 24th. They arrive in Indianapolis. He 
 registers Alice as Utta Pitsel in his 
 handwriting. 
 
 Sept. 24th. Insurance Company pays Howe <f9- 
 715.85, face of insurance policy, less 
 expenses. 
 
 Sept. 24ih. Alice writes another letter home. 
 The person alluded to in these letters 
 as 4, 18, 8, is the children's cipher 
 for Holmes. 
 
358 crrRoxoLonv. 
 
 Stubbins' Euro[)ean Hotel, 
 One square north of Union Depot on Illinois 
 Street. 
 
 Indiana POL rs, Ind., 
 
 Sep. 24, 1894. 
 Dear Ones at Home, 
 
 I am glad to hear that yon 
 are all well and that you are up. I guess you 
 will not have any trouble in getting the money. 
 4, 18, 8 is going to get two of you and fetch you 
 here with me and then I won't be so lonesome 
 at the above address. I am not going to Miss 
 Williams until I see wliere 3'ou are going to live 
 and then see you all again because 4, 18, 8 is 
 afraid that I will get two lonesome then he will 
 send me on and go to school. I have a pair of 
 shoes now if I could see you I would have a nough 
 to talk to you all day but I cannot very well write 
 it 1 will see you all before long though don't you 
 worr}'. This is a cool day. jNIr. Perry said that 
 if you did not get the insurance all right through 
 the lawyers to rite to Mr. F'oust or Mr. Perry. I 
 wish I had a silk dress. I have seen more since I 
 liave been away than I ever saw before in my 
 life. I have another picture for your album. I 
 will have to close for this time now so good bye 
 love and kisses and squesses to all. 
 Yours daughter, 
 
 Etta Pitezel. 
 
 P. O. I go by Etta here 4, 18, 8 told me to O 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 359 
 
 Howard O Dessa, O Nell O Mamma, O Baby. 
 Nell you & Howard will come with 4, 18, 8, &' 
 Mamma and Dessa later on won't you or as 
 Mamma says. 
 
 Etta Pitezel. 
 
 Sept. atth. 
 
 Sept. ftSth. 
 
 Holmes goes to St. Louis and re- 
 mained there until the 28th. 
 Holmes gets $6,700 of the insurance 
 money out of the S7,200 received by 
 Mrs. Pitezel from Howe. He gives 
 her the bogus note. 
 Holmes takes Nellie and Howard 
 from Mrs. Pitezel at St. Louis. Alice 
 joins them at Lidianapolis and she 
 goes with Holmes, Nellie and Howard 
 to Cincinnati, where Holmes registers 
 at the Atlantic House under the 
 name of Alexander E. Cook and 
 three children. 
 
 He rents No. 305 Poplar Street from 
 Mr. J. C. Thomas and takes a large 
 stove to this house. Over night of 28th 
 he remains at Atlantic House and on 
 the 29th he takes them to Hotel Bris- 
 tol, registers there as A. E. Cook and 
 three children, and remains there un- 
 
360 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 til Sunday, September 30th when he 
 left with the children for Indianapolis 
 and registers them at Hotel English 
 as " Three Canning children." 
 Oct. 1st. Mrs. Pitezel left St. Louis for Galva, 
 Motuuiii. Illinois with Dessie and the baby. 
 Galva was the home of her parents. 
 Holmes takes the children to the Cir- 
 cle House, Indianapolis (registers as 
 "Three Canning children") where 
 they remained until October 10th. 
 oet. 1st. Alice and Nellie write letters as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind., 
 
 Oct. 1st, 1894. 
 Dear Mamma. 
 
 We was in Cincinnati yesterday 
 and we got here last night getting that telegram 
 from Mr. Howe yesterday afternoon. 
 
 Mr. H. is going to-night for you and he will 
 take this letter. We went us three over to the 
 Zoological Garden in Cincinnati yesterday after- 
 noon and we saw all the different kinds of animals. 
 We saw the ostrich it is about a head taller than 
 I am so you know about how high it is. And the 
 giraffe you have to look up in the sky to see it. 
 I like it lots better here than in Cincinnati. It is 
 such a dirty town Cin. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 363 
 
 There is a monument right in front of the hotel 
 where we are at and I should judge that it is 
 about 3 times the liight of a five story building. 
 I guess I have told all the news so good bye love 
 to all & kisses. Hope you are all well. 
 Your loving daughter, 
 
 Etta Pitezel. 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind., 
 
 Oct. 1st, 1894. 
 Deae Mamma, Baby and D. 
 
 We are all well here. 
 Mr. H. is going on a late train to-night. He is 
 not here now I just saw him go by the Hotel He 
 went some place I don't know where I think he 
 went to get his ticket. 
 
 We are staying in another hotel in Indianapolis 
 it is a pretty nice one we came here last night 
 from C. 
 
 I like it here lots better than in C. It is quite 
 worm here and I haveto wear this warm dress 
 becaus my close an't ironet. We ate dinner 
 over to the Stibbins Hotel where Alice staid and 
 they knew her to. We are not staying there we 
 are at the English H. 
 
 We have a room right in front of a monument 
 
 and I think it was A. Lincolns. Come as soon as 
 
 you can because I want to see you and baby to. 
 
 It is awful nice place where we are staying I don't 
 
 21 
 
364 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 think you would like it in Cincinnati either but 
 Mr. H. sais he likes it there. 
 
 Good bye your dau. 
 
 Nellie Pitezel. 
 
 Oct. 5th. Holmes rents the house at Irvington 
 from Mr. Grouse (J. C. Wand's 
 clerk.) He said he wanted it for his 
 sister, Mrs. A. E. Cook and her chil- 
 dren, and that she intended using it 
 as a boarding house. 
 Oct. eth, 7th, Children write letters home. 
 
 Oct. loth. Howard disappears on this day. 
 
 Same day. Holmcs takes Alicc and Nellie from 
 the Circle House. 
 
 Oct. lath. Evening. Holmes arrives in Detroit. 
 Himself and Miss Yoke in one party ; 
 Alice and Nellie in another. He 
 registers the children at the New 
 Western Hotel as Etta and Nellie 
 Canning, St. Louis, Mo. He regis- 
 ters himself and Miss Yoke at the 
 Hotel Normandie " G. Howell and 
 wife, Adrian." 
 
 Oct. lath. Mrs. Pitezel, Dessie and the baby 
 leave Galva, Illinois for Detroit, stop- 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Oct. 15th. 
 
 Oct. ISth. 
 
 ping in Chicago. Holmes has writ- 
 ten to her that " Ben " was waiting 
 to see her in Detroit. 
 Holmes and Miss Yoke remove from 
 Hotel Normandie to No. 54 Park 
 Place. He gave their names as Mr. 
 and Mrs. Holmes. 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel, Dessie and the baby ar- 
 rive in Detroit, and register as C. A. 
 Adams and daughter at Geis's 
 Hotel. 
 
 Alice writes her last letter. 
 Holmes takes Alice and Nellie to 
 boarding house of Lucinda Burns at 
 No. 91 Congress Street. 
 About this date, Holmes rents of Mr. 
 Boninghausen the house No. 241 E. 
 Forest Avenue. Mr. Boninghausen 
 does not remember name Holmes 
 gave. In the rear of cellar under 
 porch of the house, Holmes digs a 
 hole four feet long, three and a half 
 feet wide, three feet six inches deep. 
 Holmes and Miss Yoke leave Detroit 
 for Toronto, Canada. He tells Mrs. 
 Pitezel that Ben had gone to Toronto. 
 
CHBONOLOGY. 
 
 At Toronto Holmes registers at 
 Walker House as Geo. H. Howell 
 and wife, Columbus. Some day Mrs. 
 Pitezel, Dessie and the baby left 
 Geis's Hotel, Detroit for Toronto ; 
 were met at Grand Trunk depot by 
 Holmes and taken to the Union 
 House, where they register under 
 the name of C. A. Adams and 
 daughter. 
 
 Alice and Nellie leave Detroit for 
 Toronto ; arrive in the evening about 
 8 o'clock ; were met by Holmes who 
 turned them over to George Dennis, 
 a hotel porter, for the Albion Hotel, 
 and they were registered as Etta and 
 Nellie Canning, Detroit. 
 Holmes rented house No. 16 St. Vin- 
 cent Street of Mrs. Nudel. Said his 
 name was Howard and that he 
 wanted it for his sister. 
 Same day Holmes and Miss Yoke 
 went to Niagara Falls. 
 They returned and registered at the 
 Palmer House under the name of 
 Howell. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 367 
 
 Oct. 24th. Holmes borrows a spade from Mr. 
 Ryves, No. 18 St. Vincent Street to 
 dig a hole in the cellar, " for the 
 storage of potatoes." While in 
 Toronto, Holmes called at Albion 
 Hotel for Alice and Nellie every 
 morning, returning them in the even- 
 ing. 
 
 Oct. 25th. On the morning of this day, he takes 
 Alice and Nellie from the Albion 
 Hotel, paying their account for board 
 in full. The children disappear. 
 
 Oct. 2sth. He requests Mrs. Pitezel to go to 
 Ogdensberg. He tells her Ben is in 
 Montreal. He said that he had 
 rented a house in Toronto, but that 
 two detectives on bicycles were 
 watching it, and it would not be safe 
 for Ben to visit h-er there. 
 
 Oct. 2eth. Holmes and Miss Yoke leave Toronto 
 and go to Prescott, Canada ; remained 
 there over night. 
 
 Oct. 3ist. He is found at Burlington at the Bur- 
 lington House ; registered as G. D. 
 Hale, Columbus, Ohio. He moved 
 to rooms at Mr. Aherns, where he 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Xov. leth. 
 
 Nov. 17th. 
 
 gave the names of himself and Miss 
 Yoke as " Mr. Hall and wife." 
 He rents a house No. 26 Winooski 
 Avenue of W. B. McKillip under the 
 name of J. A. Judson, for his sister 
 Mrs. Cook. 
 
 Between these dates visited his par- 
 ents at his old home in Gilmanton, 
 New Hampsliire ; resumes his rela- 
 tions with his real wife, Mrs. Mud- 
 gett. He tells a romantic story ac- 
 counting for his absence from home. 
 He is arrested in Boston. 
 He makes his first confession. He 
 says Pitezel is alive in South 
 America, or on his way there, and 
 that the children were with him. He 
 said Pitezel was bound for San Salva- 
 dor. That their means of communi- 
 cation was to be in the personal 
 column of the New York Herald. 
 Mrs. Pitezel is arrested on the same 
 day. 
 
 Holmes and Mrs. Pitezel brought to 
 Philadelphia; committed to county 
 prison. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 369 
 
 nee. iSth. 
 
 nee. 17th. 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel makes a full statement to 
 Mr, Fouse and Mr. Perry of the 
 Fidelity Mutual Life Association. 
 Holmes now says Pitezel is dead, and 
 that the children were given to Miss 
 Williams, who took them to Europe. 
 Makes another confession, declaring 
 that Pitezel was dead and that he 
 had committed suicide. 
 1S9S. Holmes is tried for conspiracy to 
 
 June 3€j. cheat and defraud the Insurance Com- 
 pany, and on the second day of the 
 trial, pleads guilty. 
 
 June filth. Detective Geyer leaves Philadelphia 
 and commences his search for the 
 children. 
 
 July 15th. Geyer finds the bodies of Alice and 
 Nellie in the cellar of the Toronto 
 House, No. 16 St. Vincent Street. 
 
 Aug. 27th. Geyer finds the remains of Howard 
 in the house at Irvington, a few miles 
 from Indianapolis. 
 
 Sept. 12th. Holmes is indicted in Philadelphia 
 for the murder of Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel. 
 
 Sept. 23d. He pleads not guilty. The Court 
 
370 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 fixes the day of the trial to be 
 October 28th. 
 
 Oct. xsth. Motion for continuance denied. Trial 
 commences, and continues until 
 November 2d. Jury render a ver- 
 dict : " Guilty of murder in the first 
 degree." 
 
 Nov. isth. Motion for a new trial argued. 
 
 Nov. 3oth. Motion for new trial overruled. 
 Holmes sentenced to be hung. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 SPEECH OF HON. GEO. S. GRAHAM, DISTRICT AT- 
 TORNEY. 
 
 With submission to your Honor ; Gentlemen of 
 the Jury : I am quite sure that it is with a feel- 
 ing of relief that you see the end of this trial rap- 
 idly approaching, and that you, who have been 
 taken from your homes, your places of business, 
 and practically imprisoned during the whole 
 length of these proceedings, are now to be re- 
 leased and permitted to return and resume your 
 usual places and duties in society. I know, also, 
 that you feel relieved, because the speaking at the 
 conclusion of the case is to be somewhat limited. 
 Instead of the three speeches that were contem- 
 plated yesterday afternoon, in view of the illness 
 of Mr. Shoemaker, T have voluntarily waived that 
 which is the right of the Commonwealth— to 
 close ; the right of the Commonwealth is not only 
 to open or sum up, but to close the argument in 
 this case. 
 
 I propose, therefore, to ask you now, to join 
 with me in reasoning for a little while about the 
 
372 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 evidence which you have heard — the testimony in 
 this case. I am going to ask you to give me your 
 best attention, and your best thought, while I try 
 to refresh your recollection, and aid your reason 
 in reaching right conclusions from the evidence. 
 After which I propose to leave the final argument 
 to my young friend who represents the prisoner 
 at the Bar. I ask you to listen to him, and the 
 reasons he may assign, and if they are consistent 
 with the evidence in the case, and in your judg- 
 ment more nearly accord with the truth, as you 
 see it, adopt them ; and if the firm finger of duty 
 points you in that direction, acquit this prisoner 
 and set him free. 
 
 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the 
 prosecutor in this case. You will take up this 
 Bill of Indictment and read, "The Commonwealth 
 of Pennsylvania, against Herman W. Mudgett, 
 alias H. H. Holmes." The Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania wants no victim. The Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania does not ask for the con- 
 viction of this man, though he may be covered 
 with the evidences of guilt in other matters, un- 
 less in this specific case now on trial, the testi- 
 mony that you have heard points indubitably to 
 his guilt and authorizes his conviction. I ask 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 373 
 
 your attention to the evidence, because I propose 
 to say to you that, after a careful perusal of it, 
 my mind is forced to the conclusion that I must 
 press upon you the discharge of a great, and per- 
 haps to you, a trying duty. I believe that I can 
 take up the testimony in this case just as it stands 
 to-day, and lead you through it by a straight path 
 to but one conclusion, and that conclusion abso- 
 lutely inconsistent with the innocence of the pris- 
 oner at the Bar. If it were not so, it would be 
 my duty to abandon this case. If it were not so, 
 or if, in that review, my mind would hesitate in 
 reaching a conclusion, because of the weakness of 
 the evidence or any defect in the proof, then it 
 would be my duty to say that there is a doubt of 
 this prisoner's guilt and he is entitled to the ben- 
 efit of that doubt, and upon that doubt he ought 
 to be acquitted. 
 
 The task laid before me is this : I must point 
 out from this evidence the facts which prove con- 
 clusively that this prisoner at the Bar murdered 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel, at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, 
 on the 2d day of September, 1894, — so conclu- 
 sively that there will not be a single doubt left 
 lurking in your minds — so positively that you will 
 feel under your oaths as jurors that there is but 
 
374 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 one course left open for you, and that is to find 
 the verdict pointed out to you in the opening of 
 this case — the higliest known to the law — a ver- 
 dict of murder in the first degree. 
 
 It is true, as my friend on the other side has 
 said, this case has consumed five days. It is true 
 that a large amount of testimony has been pro- 
 duced; that a great number of witnesses have 
 been called to the stand for the purpose of estab- 
 lishing the Commonwealth's case ; but that ought 
 not to be a subject of complaint from the defend- 
 ant — that care has been taken ; that the testimony 
 has been carefully selected ; that it has been mar- 
 shalled in court ; that it has been presented to 
 you, with all the time necessary for its inspection 
 and consideration — that ought not to be a subject 
 of complaint from the prisoner; for the Common- 
 wealth is bound to prove its case from the initial 
 step, down to the very last syllable of testimony 
 requisite to make it complete. 
 
 The Commonwealth has done so in this case. 
 The Commonwealth has proved by testimony 
 every step in this important proceeding, out of the 
 lips of thirty-five witnesses who have been ex- 
 amined before you. We have endeavored to es- 
 tablish it link by link, one by one, each one sepa- 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 375 
 
 rate and distinct from the others, but together 
 making the chain complete and perfect. 
 
 May I recall to your attention, without attempt- 
 ing to read this mass of testimony, but with a 
 word here and a suggestion there, what we have 
 listened to during these past five days ? 
 
 I am sure there is not a man in that jury-box, 
 but will be grateful to me for redirecting his at- 
 tention to that which must be the basis of his ac- 
 tion — to wit, the evidence in the case. I am sure 
 you want to know it ; I am sure you want to re- 
 member it ; I am sure you want to act intelli- 
 gently upon it : and I am firmly convinced that 
 you wish to reach a right conclusion from it. 
 
 The testimony began with the calling of Miss 
 Jeannette Pitezel to the stand. You remember 
 her. That was her first appearance in the case. 
 She has been called quite a number of times since. 
 She was called then but for one single purpose. 
 This picture (liolding up picture of Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel) was shown to her, and she was asked the 
 question, *' Whose picture is that ? " That wit- 
 ness identified this picture, used so frequently 
 during the trial — the picture of the dead man. 
 " That's the picture of my father, Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel." That was her identification. 
 
376 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 The next witness called was a young man from 
 the Detective Bureau, who established the iden- 
 tity of two other pictures that you and I have 
 used so often in this case. These are the pictures 
 of the prisoner (holding up two pictures of 
 Holmes). We feared, since the prisoner during 
 his imprisonment had chosen to cultivate a beard 
 upon his face, that when the witnesses would be 
 called into this court room during the trial, there 
 might be difficulty in identifying him, and the 
 Commonwealth's case might be imperilled for lack 
 of identification, and so, as a precautionary meas- 
 ure, we procured these pictures of him as he was 
 when these witnesses saw him, in order that we 
 might have them here, in this enlarged form, for 
 the use of the witnesses in identifying him, and so 
 that they might not be puzzled in so doing by his 
 changed appearance. When he entered the prison 
 cell, his face was like that (holding up the picture 
 of the prisoner without a beard). He has not 
 shaved since that time and this beard has grown. 
 Why ? Of course, I do not know ; but it was my 
 duty — and that of my colleague, Mr. Barlow, who 
 attended to these arrangements — it was our duty 
 to see that no injury should come to the Common- 
 wealth's case by reason of any change in his ap- 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 377 
 
 pearance while in the prison cell, and that our 
 witnesses might be aided in their identification by 
 this counterfeit presentment of what he was at 
 the time of these occurrences. 
 
 The next witness you listened to was Mr. Eu- 
 gene Smith. I am not going to read the testi- 
 mony he gave you, but simply ask your attention 
 to it again. He came in here and told you the 
 story of the finding of the bodyo He knew No. 
 1316 Callowhill Street. He had visited the place 
 on business several times. He went into the store 
 or office on this Monday afternoon, the 3d of Sep- 
 tember, and he saw no sign of Pitezel, everything 
 was in place there, but no man was there ; the 
 door closed, but not locked. He found articles of 
 clothing hanging in the room. After waiting 
 some time and unable to wait any longer, he 
 passed out, but returned again the next morning. 
 He found the room precisely as he had seen it on 
 Monday afternoon — no change in appearance; 
 even the articles of clothing that were hanging in 
 the room were in the same place. It looked sus- 
 picious to him ; it immediately excited his atten- 
 tion, and he commenced to look through the house. 
 He tells you how he went through that office or 
 store part of the building, back to the entrance to 
 
378 ABGmiENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 the stairway, and passed on up to the head of the 
 stairs, or the landing on the second floor. He 
 tells you how the door to his left on this landing 
 opened into the back room, and that along the 
 entry way in front of him there was another door 
 leading into the front room. Hastily glancing 
 from where he stood into that front room, he saw 
 a cot, but it was empty ; no one seemed to be 
 there. Then turning, he looked into the open 
 door at his side, when, lo ! there upon the floor he 
 discovered the body of a man. Looking in hast- 
 ily, and supposing that the man had probably 
 been killed or shot, he did not enter. Instantly 
 descending the stairs, he summoned two police 
 officers ; and they, in turn, summoned Dr. Scott, 
 who lived in the neighborhood. All of them re- 
 turned to the house, and he tells you what they 
 saw ; the position of the body lying perfectly 
 straight on its back on the floor, the right arm 
 laid across the breast, the left hand down at the 
 side, the limbs straight out from the body, the 
 heels together, the feet in position, the whole in- 
 dicating all absence of struggle and a condition 
 of perfect tranquility and repose. 
 
 Smith was examined and questioned on this 
 matter with a wonderful amount of insistance, 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 381 
 
 where it v/as wholly unnecessary, about a little 
 incident which occurred and which he related of 
 the prisoner. Of course, the Commonwealth 
 wanted to show that the prisoner had been there ; 
 that he knew this house ; that he was in the habit 
 of visiting it ; that he was not a stranger to Pite- 
 zel. This was one of the steps in that direction, 
 and therefore Mr. Smith was asked to relate what 
 occurred on the occasion of one of his visits to 
 this store. He had visited this store before the 
 Monday and Tuesday to which I have called your 
 attention. He says, " I went in there ; I had some 
 business with Mr. Pitezel. While I was there, 
 this prisoner came into the room and, with some 
 sign or motion, that called Pitezel's attention, he 
 passed directly on." He seemed to be familiar 
 with the place — to be no stranger there. He 
 knew where to go ; that house was no un- 
 known place to him. Pitezel was his tool, his 
 creature, and with a wink, or a nod, or a beck, or 
 whatever it might be called, he silently sum- 
 moned him to attend him, and then passed, as the 
 witness said, through this door (indicating on the 
 plan of the house) up the stairs. He was asked 
 by the prisoner, " Well, did you see me pass up 
 
 the stairs?" Of course he did not. The wit- 
 22 
 
382 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 ness said what any witness would say under those 
 circumstances, — " I saw him — that door being 
 open, and the stairs being there and starting at 
 the door, and my chair being down near the front 
 of the room with a direct view to the door — I saw 
 him pass and turn in that direction." Of course, 
 that meant, speaking about such an event as you 
 or I or any other person would, that he saw him 
 pass upstairs. That is what he meant. There 
 was no other exit in that direction, but to go up- 
 stairs. But the prisoner, with insistance, thought 
 he had made a point upon Mr. Smith that might 
 effect his credibility and said, " Did you see me go 
 upstairs? How could you see me go upstairs 
 when the stairs are not in view from where you 
 sat?" Why it was perfectly plain. He saw him 
 turn in that direction, and possibly step upon the 
 first step ; that would be within the line of his 
 vision, and therefore he would say, I saw you go- 
 ing upstairs to the upper story. 
 
 But, gentlemen, that is only a little incident in 
 the case, and is of very minor importance ; 
 whether or not they went up in the second story, 
 or whether they went out into the back yard, 
 does not matter at all, so far as the Common- 
 wealth's case is concerned. The fact that this 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 383 
 
 man Holmes was there — the fact that he was on 
 terms of intimate acquaintance with the pro- 
 prietor of that place, and had knowledge of the 
 place itself as shown in his leading the way after 
 beckoning the deceased to follow — these are the 
 facts that rise out of this little circumstance, and 
 are important as showing how completely he was 
 at home in Pitezel's house. That was the testi- 
 mony of Smith. 
 
 Then you will remember that the prisoner, who 
 had been conducting his own case, interrupted the 
 examination of Smith and said that he would like 
 to have a plan of the house. We complied with 
 his request and called Marshall Pugh, who was 
 employed in the Board of Surveys, one of the City 
 Departments, and proved the making of this plan, 
 and that it had been correctly made. The exam- 
 ination of Mr. Smith was then proceeded with to 
 its end. 
 
 Our next step was to call Mr. Ran, the photog- 
 rapher, who presented for our better understand- 
 ing of the situation, two pictures, one picture of 
 the front of the house No. 1316 Callowhill Street, 
 where the body was found, and the other a picture 
 showing the rear of the same house and for our 
 information the double window, in the second- 
 
384 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 story room, with its large white shutters. These 
 photographs were then offered in evidence. 
 
 We then proceeded with the facts of the case, 
 and called Dr. Scott, whom you will all remember 
 — a clear, bright, intelligent witness ; crisp, plain, 
 and strong in his talk. He came to the stand and 
 told you what he saw when he went into No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street, when summoned by the officers. 
 We have the advantage in Dr. Scott of not simply 
 an ordinary witness. We have an intelligent phy- 
 sician ; an observing man, who looks closely and 
 scans everything in that room ; who takes partic- 
 ular note of the body, who pays particular atten- 
 tion to everything there. He corroborates Smith 
 in all the details with relation to the position of 
 the body, and the position of the man's arm, and 
 the burning of the body, the singeing of the mous- 
 tache, the singeing of the hair on his head, and 
 how the skin was taken off his hands, how the 
 clothing over the chest was burned through to the 
 flesh, and the flesh underneath burned ; how, in 
 the position in which the arm was placed, the un- 
 der side of the arm being against the body, it was 
 absolutely protected from the flame, so that not one 
 particle of fire touched the under side of that arm ; 
 and demonstrating that it was burned while lying 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 385 
 
 in that position upon the body, and also described 
 the skin hanging off the hand where the fire and 
 flame had blistered it. He tells you about these 
 points. He goes into minute description of the 
 clothing — how it was tucked down into the 
 trousers, with nothing disturbed — everything as a 
 man fixes his own clothing when about to start 
 out upon the highway, or go about his business. 
 He gives you all these details, and tells you how 
 reposefuUy and how tranquilly the body was ar- 
 ranged. There it lay. I want you to remember 
 in this connection, gentlemen, another circum- 
 stance that may be of some importance to you in 
 arriving at the truth. When we take up the 
 story of this prisoner, as told in his confession, it 
 may be important to remember another thing 
 stated by the Doctor. There was a discharge 
 from the mouth. There was a fecal discharge, and 
 the bladder also was empty. These were the re- 
 sults of a condition that comes on when death is 
 imminent — the relaxation of the involuntary 
 muscles of the body, so that what a man could do 
 in health to prevent these discharges could not be 
 done in that condition, and the contents of his 
 bowels and bladder flowed from him. That, gen- 
 tlemen of the jury, was the condition of this body 
 
386 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 on the second floor of this house — the flow from 
 the mouth, and the other discharges from his per- 
 son, occurred on that floor. The dead man died 
 there. There was no trace of any discharge on 
 the tliird-story floor. 
 
 Dr. Scott not only testified to what took place 
 at No. 1316 Callowhill Street, but he also testified 
 to what took place at the post mortem examina- 
 tion. You will remember his testimony. You 
 will recall that he covered two points — what was 
 found in the room No. 1316 Callowhill Street and 
 what Dr. Mattern found in the body at the time 
 he made the post mortem examination of it. He 
 told you about the congested condition of the 
 lungs. He told you about the empty condition 
 of the heart, indicating speedy death — paralysis 
 of the heart — that the man died instantly, quickly. 
 He told you about the condition of the stomach, 
 the kidneys, and tlie liver, these all denoting an 
 alcoholic condition, showing that the man was a 
 heavy drinker of alcoholic stimulants, and that 
 irritation of the stomach due to alcohol was also 
 present, but that there was no irritation there due 
 to the action of chloroform, although he told you 
 another thing, — that there were about two ounces 
 of chloroform found in the stomach. The doctors 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 387 
 
 both told you the smell was strong, and could not 
 be mistaken. Otherwise the stomach was what 
 they call an empty stomach. That does not 
 mean literally void of every particle of food, but 
 practically an empty stomach. There was mucus 
 there, but remember he testified that that chloro- 
 form in the stomach had not produced any irrita- 
 tion of the membrane or lining of the stomach — 
 not a particle. That chloroform in the stomach 
 had never produced the slightest effect upon the 
 dead man. That was Dr. Scott's testimony. 
 
 Maintaining the order of proof, we next call 
 Dr. Mattern : Dr. Mattern told you very much 
 the same things that Dr. Scott did. He repeated 
 to you the story of the post mortem examination 
 of the body of Pitezel. He told you of the con- 
 gested condition of the lungs. He told you of 
 the condition of the heart, the condition of the 
 stomach, the liver, the kidneys, and all the vis- 
 cera. The result of the examination of the body 
 of this man was to enable these doctors to say to 
 you, as a positive fact in this case, and one that 
 is not disputed, for there is no one to contradict 
 the statements that they make, (and that is one 
 of the things it is important for you to remember) 
 — that this man died from chloroform poisoning. 
 
388 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 That you have an undisputed fact in this case. 
 He was poisoned with chloroform ; there is no 
 doubt about the cause of his death. That is a 
 fact that stands before you undisputed. This 
 man died from the effects of chloroform. It was 
 chloroform poisoning that took away his life, so 
 that, although you may find in the description 
 given by Dr. Scott, and by Mr. Smith, that there 
 was an attempt to create an appearance in the 
 room where the body was found whicb would lead 
 one into the belief that an explosion had taken 
 place in that building, you are freed from the fur- 
 ther consideration of all idea of an explosion hav- 
 ing taken place. Indeed it is admitted that no 
 explosion killed this man. While it is true that 
 the flames touched his clothing, and partially con- 
 sumed it, and burned and blistered his flesh, — yet 
 they did not kill him. While the broken jar, and 
 the other evidences of that explosion were pres- 
 ent, they were artificially produced by somebody 
 with the intention to mislead and deceive. There 
 was no explosion. Holmes now admits that he 
 himself broke this jar, and Doctor Scott demon- 
 strated the fact that it had not exploded. Even 
 the smartest, even the brightest, even the keenest 
 criminal will make mistakes, and when Holmes 
 
AEGU3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 389 
 
 broke that jar, he broke it leaving the glass par- 
 ticles or fragments lying inside the bottle, whereas 
 an explosion would have scattered them all about 
 the room. I want you to remember, therefore, 
 gentlemen, at this stage of the argument, that the 
 Commonwealth has established one fact beyond 
 contradiction, which is that this dead man was 
 killed by the use of chloroform poisoning. Two 
 witnesses have sworn to this fact — no one has 
 contradicted them — and the defence admits that 
 this was the cause of death. 
 
 The next witness was a very important wit- 
 ness in this case. I will now simply call your 
 attention to what he testified to, and to the sub- 
 ject upon which he testified, for I do not propose 
 to discuss the effect of his testimony at this point. 
 I refer to the testimony of Dr. Henry Leffman, 
 one of the most distinguished analytical chemists 
 perhaps in this country — a man of fine scientific 
 attainments, of splendid intelligence and culture. 
 He comes upon the stand and gives to you his 
 story as an expert upon the subject of chloroform, 
 and states certain facts to you, to which I will 
 advert in a short time, and by the help of which 
 I will discover to you, not only that this man was 
 poisoned with chloroform poison, but that that 
 
390 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY 
 
 chloroform poison was not self-administered. In 
 other words that the deceased did not commit 
 suicide. 
 
 After Dr. Leffman, comes Samuel H. Ash- 
 bridge, the Coroner. You will remember, of 
 course, that he did not testify to any facts from 
 his own knowledge. That was not the object in 
 calling him. The Commonwealth was talking a 
 second step in the progress of this case. It had pro- 
 duced the evidence of the finding of a dead man, 
 and that this dead man had been poisoned. It 
 had shown by the aid of Dr. Leffman, and the 
 circumstances of the finding of the body and the 
 post mortem examination, that he was not self 
 poisoned. Now the Commonwealth must proceed 
 to show you, for we can assume nothing, that that 
 dead man was Benjamin F. Pitezel, the man 
 named in this indictment as the subject of this 
 murder. We called Coroner Ashbridge ; why ? 
 We could not call Alice Pitezel, the child who 
 identified him before the Coroner ; we could not 
 call her to prove that that stiff and disfigured 
 corpse, upon which her young eyes gazed at the 
 Potter's field, was the body of her dead father. 
 We could not produce her for that purpose, for 
 the mother had told us that the last she saw of 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 391 
 
 her was her dead body in the morgue in the 
 city of Toronto, in a foreign jurisdiction. No, 
 that piece of evidence the Commonwealth could 
 not produce, but the Commonwealth proceeds 
 formally, and in an orderly manner, to establish 
 to your satisfaction that this body was the body 
 of Benjamin F. Pitezel. Is it not strong proof to 
 take the prisoner's own statement for it? Is it 
 not beginning at a good point to ask the Coroner 
 to identify the prisoner's own affidavit, in which 
 he swore that that was the body of Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel that lay in that upper room ? Fortunately 
 for us, for the prisoner was the man who handed 
 it to the Coroner, and so made it evidence against 
 him, we were able to get Alice Pitezel's affidavit 
 on that point, as delivered by him to the Coroner. 
 By Coroner Ashbridge we begin to establish the 
 second point, and take the second important step 
 by proving the identity of this corpse. 
 
 But, gentlemen, we did not stop with the two 
 affidavits, one made by this prisoner, and the 
 other by Alice Pitezel. The Commonwealth had 
 abundant evidence, I think, to prove that this was 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel. We determined to do it 
 thoroughly, for we did not know how much of an 
 attack would be made by the defence upon the 
 
392 ARGU3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 question of identity. We had no knowledge 
 where the attack might be made, and as this 
 seemed to be one of the points threatened, we 
 marshalled one bit of evidence after another, 
 until there can be no doubt in the mind of any- 
 one about the body of Benjamin F. Pitezel. That 
 it was his body cannot be gainsaid. Let me say 
 to you once more gentlemen, and let it be said so 
 as to set at rest this question forever, the man 
 who was sent from time into eternity in that sec- 
 ond-story room at No. 1316 Callowhill Street was 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel, the companion, the friend, 
 the colleague of the prisoner who sits in the dock, 
 and he knows it as well as I, for he identified him 
 to the Coroner, and he took the dead man's little 
 daughter there to swear that it was her father's 
 body. 
 
 We next went into the neighborhood ; we pro- 
 duced William Moebins, a bar tender in Mr. 
 Richards' saloon. He waited upon Perry, as 
 Pitezel was called while living in Callowhill 
 Street, the Saturday night before his body was 
 found. He had seen him before. He had seen 
 him in there, talking with Mr, Richards, the 
 saloon keeper, and he knew Mr. Perry — Mr. B. 
 F. Perry. Now, of course, it would have done us 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 393 
 
 very little good to have simply stopped there, and 
 proved that this was B. F. Perry, who lived in 
 that house, but we go a step further, and we hand 
 this picture to him, and ask him, " Is this the 
 picture of the man that you knew as B. F. 
 Perry ? " (handing to the witness the picture of 
 Pitezel.) He said, "Yes, that is the picture of 
 the man I knew as B. F. Perry." So we estab- 
 lished clearly that that man who lived in No. 1316 
 Callowhill Street as B. F. Perry was B. F. Pitezel. 
 
 We called the last witness's employer, the sa- 
 loon keeper himself, Mr. Richards. Mr. Richards 
 had changed two ten dollar bills for him that day, 
 the Saturday before the murder, the Saturday be- 
 fore this body was found, and he says he knew 
 Benjamin F. Perry. He was asked, " Is that the 
 picture of the man you knew as Benjamin F. 
 Perry ? " and he replied, " It is." That is Pite- 
 zel's picture. Another witness says Pitezel and 
 Perry are one. 
 
 We also called Mr. Hubbard and Mr. Lampen, 
 and they established that this picture was the pic- 
 ture of Perry. Well, now, all that, gentlemen, is 
 persuasive, but it only goes part of the way in es- 
 tablishing the identity of the corpse, for I want to 
 discuss this testimony with you frankly, and as I 
 
394 ARGmiENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 would with my own self, trying to ascertain only 
 the truth. We prove but a single fact, to wit, that 
 B. F. Perry and B. F. Pitezel are the same. You 
 understand that that proves the identity of one 
 person under these two names, which is corrobo- 
 rative only, of the identity of the body that was 
 found there. But we went further, and now, 
 abandoning for an instant the order of proof, I 
 wish to call your attention to this fact. Not only 
 were these five or six neighbors called to prove 
 that Perry was Pitezel, but we produced the 
 patrol sergeant of police. And here came in a 
 new kind of testimony. The other witnesses had 
 looked on the living man called B. F. Perry, and 
 then they had looked upon this picture, and said, 
 " The man who was living was the same man 
 whose picture you present to us." But Police 
 Sergeant Sauer comes upon the stand, and he is 
 asked the question, " Were you in that room that 
 day ? " He says, " Yes." He was asked, " Did 
 you see the man that lay stretched out on the 
 floor ? " He says, " Yes, the body was beginning 
 to decompose ; it was considerably discolored," 
 and all that. He was asked further, " But are you 
 able to identify that picture?" Why, you re- 
 member gentlemen how that man told you he was 
 
ABGmiENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 395 
 
 standing or sitting over there in this court room 
 among the witnesses for the Commonwealth, when 
 he happened to see this picture, as it was handled 
 before you and identified by the witnesses, and 
 subsequently placed by me standing upright on 
 that desk and facing where he sat, and identified 
 it as the likeness of the dead man from that distant 
 point. " Why, that is a picture of the man I saw 
 lying on the floor at No. 1316 Callowhill Street," 
 he stated to you when placed on the witness stand. 
 That is identification. That picture of B. F. 
 Pitezel is the picture of the man who was killed 
 by the use of chloroform poison in No. 1316 Callow- 
 hill Street. 
 
 But, gentlemen, we did not stop even there in 
 our efforts at identification. Not only has Holmes 
 or Mudgett identified him ; not only has Alice 
 Pitezel identified him ; not only have these half 
 dozen people said Perry and Pitezel were the 
 same ; not only has the police sergeant told you 
 that that picture was the picture of the man who 
 was poisoned ; but we go out to the grave itself, 
 and from its dark recesses, we bring forth silent 
 but persuasive testimony on the question of iden- 
 tity. Pieces of the clothing that was around the 
 dead body were taken from it by the Doctor. 
 
396 ARGU3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 Here is a piece of the shirt that this man wore ; 
 poor Mrs. Pitezel was called back again to that 
 stand, and you may remember the broken sobs 
 with which slie exclaimed, " Oh, that's Benny's 
 shirt that he took with him Avhen he left St. Louis 
 for Philadelphia." That burned fragment is 
 part of the clothing that the wife identifies as 
 that of her husband's, buried with the body, deep 
 down in that dark grave, it comes forth to the liv- 
 ing light to proclaim that the body resting there 
 was not the " stiff " gotten from New York, but 
 was the body of Holmes' friend, Benjamin F. 
 Pitezel. 
 
 Look at this necktie ; the necktie of a poor 
 man. This has been disfigured by being in the 
 grave, for it was taken from his dead body. Mrs. 
 Pitezel said it was Benny's. Dessie, the daugh- 
 ter, comes upon the stand, and tells you a little 
 incident that must have impressed you with its 
 truthfulness. One part of the necktie is better 
 than the rest, you observe, and she says, " I asked 
 papa before he left, one day, if he wouldn't let me 
 take that lower portion to put into a crazy quilt." 
 What more natural than for a girl to do that very 
 thing ? That piece of silk that was fresh and 
 clean, because it had been covered by the vest 
 

 
 f/' 
 
 
 Fac-Simile of Letter from "Jim" to Holmes. 
 
 ■X 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 399 
 
 and the coat when worn and was thus protected 
 and preserved — she wanted to cut off that portion 
 to make up into a crazy quilt, just as girls will 
 do. She says, " That's my father's necktie." 
 Does anyone doubt it ? 
 
 The trousers were identified in the same way. 
 
 So that, gentlemen of the jury, out of the very 
 tomb comes the voice of identification, confirming 
 what all these living witnesses have said, and what 
 the police sergeant has so emphatically said " This 
 is Pitezel." Pitezel's identification is complete. 
 
 So the Commonwealth has taken the second 
 
 step in this trial. It has reached another point of 
 
 advance. It has proved to your satisfaction that 
 
 this man was killed by chloroform poison. It has 
 
 proved, in addition, that the man who was thus 
 
 killed was Benjamin F. Pitezel, the friend of this 
 
 prisoner. Before finally leaving the question of 
 
 identity, I simply, in a word, call your attention 
 
 to what took place in the Potter's Field; you 
 
 will remember that the body was exhumed in the 
 
 presence of Dr. Mattern, Mr. Fouse, Mr. Perry, 
 
 the prisoner, Jeptha D. Howe, of St. Louis, and 
 
 Alice Pitezel, whom, the prisoner had taken from 
 
 her mother, and sent in company with Howe to 
 
 Philadelphia, and whom he had with him up at 
 23 
 
400 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTBIOi ATTORNEY. 
 
 No. 1905 N. 11th Street at that boarding house. 
 He had taken her out to the Potter's Field. This 
 body was identified by the marks upon it, the 
 wart upon the back of the neck, the mark across 
 the bone below the knee, the bruised finger, the 
 color of the hair and of the mustache. It was 
 there identified as the body of Pitezel again. 
 
 Now after this testimony had been offered, the 
 next witness was Dr. Alcorn. You will recall 
 Mrs. Alcorn ; she kept a boarding house at No. 
 1905 N. 11th Street, at which Holmes boarded 
 with Miss Yoke, under the name of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Howell. She came upon the stand to prove that 
 he was there, and to prove that Miss Yoke was 
 there as Mrs. Howell, as she honestly believed 
 herself to be; to prove the length of time that he 
 was there, from the beginning of August — about 
 the first week in August — down to that fateful 
 second day of September, and to prove that he 
 left this city hurriedly, quickly, on that second 
 da}' of September 1894, although his wife was 
 sick, and part of the time confined to bed, unable 
 to be up and about — not in a fit condition to take 
 a long journey — yet on that Sunday night, that 
 fateful Sunday night, when this man was killed 
 in No. 1316 Callowhill Street, Holmes in company 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 401 
 
 with his wife practically fled from the city of 
 Philadelphia, and went out to the West. Think 
 of the circumstances under which he left! Not 
 those of an honest man, travelling in the ordinary 
 way. You or I would have said to Mrs. Alcorn, 
 " It's none of your business, Madam, if we did 
 not wish to tell her where we were going"; but 
 that is not the characteristic of this man ; wher- 
 ever a lie could serve the purpose, he preferred it 
 to the truth. But he had a reason for concealing, 
 if possible, where he was going, fearing subse- 
 quent inquiry as to what his destination would 
 be, so he told Miss Yoke to say so, and he himself 
 told Mrs. Alcorn, " We are going to Harrisburg," 
 when in point of fact, they were not, but took the 
 10:25 train for Indianapolis. 
 
 Why did he go away hastily? Why did he 
 conceal the place of his destination ? Was it be- 
 cause all that transpired on that Sunday in No. 
 1316 Callowhill Street was haunting him and pur- 
 suing him ? As lie tells you, he came into Miss 
 Yoke in an excited condition ; he helped to pack 
 her trunk ; he hastened to catch the 10:25 train, 
 and left Philadelphia leaving a lie behind him at 
 the boarding house, as to where he v/as going. 
 That was Mrs. Alcorn's testimony. 
 
402 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 The next witness called was John Grammar. 
 You will remember that he lived in the same 
 house ; that he was one of the boarders in Mrs. 
 Alcorn's house, and he corroborates what she says 
 as to their residence there, and their time of leav- 
 ing. 
 
 Then came three witnesses upon the question 
 of identification. I have already adverted to what 
 their testimony was. One witness procured Perry 
 or Pitezel his boarding house. Mrs. Harley, with 
 whom he boarded, identified his picture. Miss 
 Alice Pierce, who kept the cigar store, testified as 
 to how he came in to buy cigars, identifying him. 
 
 We then took up another branch of the case — 
 the insurance conspiracy. Mr. Perry was called. 
 He began to tell the story of the insurance con- 
 spiracy ; the policy of insurance was identified ; a 
 policy issued on the life of B. F. Pitezel ; the re- 
 ceipt was also identified, showing the settlement 
 that was made, and how, by reason of this con- 
 spiracy, nearly 110,000 were taken out of the 
 treasury of that company. This is only an inci- 
 dent. The insurance matter, except as it plays the 
 part of being the beginning of these occurrences, 
 each connected with tlie death of Pitezel, and 
 sheds light on the motive of the prisoner, is prac- 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 403 
 
 tically uniiuportant. The insurance company it- 
 self is not a factor in this case. The Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania is the prosecutor. The 
 insurance company has nuthing whatever to do 
 with it, beyond having been the victim of the con- 
 spiracy and having paid its money upon the policy 
 of insurance, on Pitezel's life. 
 
 The money was paid. The conspiracy had been 
 successful appaiently. Holmes was profiting by 
 the result. Pitezel was dead, and out of the way, 
 and very soon his widow and children were taken 
 on a curious journey, and the effort is made by 
 the prisoner to conceal everything pertaining to 
 the family. 
 
 Mr. Gary comes upon the stand, and gives us 
 an inkling as to how the conspiracy was first dis- 
 covered awa}^ out in the St. Louis jail. Hedge - 
 peth, a fellow prisoner with this man, to wliom 
 part of the proceeds had been promised, tells the 
 Cliief of Police of St. Louis that he and Pitezel 
 and others had perpetrated a fraud upon the insur- 
 ance company. Gary interviews him. What was 
 said in that interview is not given in evidence to 
 you, but in consequence of that interview, search 
 is made for this man, the prisoner, and an earnest 
 effort was made to find him, only, at that time, be- 
 
404 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 cause it was supposed tliat he was guilty of a 
 fraud and a cheat, and that he had succeeded in 
 cheating the insurance company out of money. 
 The search for him led through the States, up into 
 Canada, back into the States again, and finally n[) 
 to Boston, where he was arrested and brought 
 back to Pliiladelphia. Then it was that we 
 proved that part of our case to which Mr. Hans- 
 corn, the Deputy Superintendent, from Boston, 
 has testified. Holmes was not arrested in Boston 
 upon this charge of cheatii]g the insurance com- 
 pany, but was arrested npon another charge — that 
 of being a horse thief. He was accused of being a 
 horse thief, who was wanted in Texas. He was 
 wanted in Texas to be dealt with according to 
 their law, upon the information that he was a 
 horse thief. He was arrested in Boston, held 
 there until he voluntarily said to the Chief, fear- 
 ing the kind of Southern justice that is meted out 
 to horse thieves, for they do not stand in high fa- 
 vor in the South, or among the rural populations, 
 the prisoner bethought himself, " Well, all they 
 have got on me in Philadelphia is the charge of 
 conspiracy, for which I will get two years' impris- 
 onment at the outside; I will- be comfortably 
 housed and fed and taken care of, and at the end 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 405 
 
 of two years, I'll get out again, and probably es- 
 cape this pending accusation down at Fort Worth, 
 Texas," and so — shrewd, skillful fellow that he is, 
 he says to the Chief of Police, " I'll volunteer to 
 go to Philadelphia." It speaks well for the hospi- 
 tality of our City. He preferred it to Texas. 
 He was willing to go to Philadelphia. It did not 
 need any warrant to bring him here. He was not 
 waiting for any requisition from the Governor of • 
 Pennsylvania upon the Governor of Massachu- 
 setts, asking for the return of Hermann W. Mud- 
 gett, alias H. H. Holmes. These formalities were 
 dispensed with. Ho said, *' I'll go to Philadel- 
 phia," and Detective Crawford brought him to 
 Philadelphia. Before he left the city of Boston, 
 he made a statement to Mr. Perry. He confessed 
 the fraud that had been perpetrated upon the in- 
 surance company, and voluntarily and of his own 
 free will and accord, told Mr. Perry about this 
 cheat and this fraud. You remember, I am sure, 
 what Mr. Perry related as his statement to him. 
 It was to the effect that himself and Pitezel, and 
 Jeptha Howe, of St. Louis, and Hedgepeth, who 
 was in jail, had joined in a conspiracy to cheat 
 the insurance company, and he said that they had 
 sent to New York to procure a dead body that 
 
406 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 would look as much like Pitezel a^i possible, and 
 that they were going to use that dead body, and 
 that they did use it, and tliat Pitezel himself, you 
 Avill remember, was living and in South America 
 at that time, and had the boy, little Howard, with 
 him. That is his first story. I want you to listen 
 to these statements. They are marvellous produc- 
 tions in the line of fiction ; they are wonderful 
 statements, with scarcely an element of truth in 
 them. The facility with which this man could 
 utter one falsehood after another must be appar- 
 ent to you in your observation of this testimony, 
 and from the statements that you have heard, not 
 only from the officials, but from the lips of this 
 pure, good woman, whom he called his wife, Miss 
 Yoke. Think of it ! Think of it ! Think of tlie 
 deception and the falsehood ! Think of his deceit 
 to her I He meets her in St. Louis. He is gohig 
 to engage her as his wife. He then tells her the 
 story of a fictitious uncle, with his millions, or 
 whatever the estate may have been, and who had 
 requested that he, H. H. Holmes, should take the 
 name of Henrj^ Mansfield Howard, and thence- 
 forth be known as his heir. He enters into one 
 of the most sacred relations in life with deception 
 and deceit upun him. He marries her as Henry 
 
ARGmiENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 407 
 
 Mansfield Howard. Then he goes down to Fort 
 Worth masquerading as Pratt. " Why," said 
 he to this confiding woman, "I have been out 
 to one of tlie ranches that my uncle left ; " — one 
 of those ranches of this fictitious uncle — a ficti- 
 tious ranch, — " and fonnd squatters down there, 
 and you know the people of the South favor 
 squatters more than the people of the North do ; 
 so it wouldn't be safe for me to be known as Mr. 
 Henry Mansfield Howard, the heir of my uncle, 
 and the claimant of this ranch ; oh, no ! " Then 
 he masquerades as Pratt. In the line of this 
 story, during all his journeys, he never once places 
 his own name upon the register of a hotel, and 
 never once places upon the register the real name 
 of anyone that is with him. Lies supply the place 
 of the truth at every point, and false registry is 
 the order of his journey at every hotel. Upon 
 every step, from point to point, as we go through 
 this evidence, we find Mudgett, alias Holmes, a 
 fabricator and a falsifier. 
 
 But this is a degression, so I ask your attention 
 to his statement again. He tells you that a body 
 was substituted. Was there a body substituted ? 
 Don't you believe with me that that man (point- 
 ing to Pitezel's picture) was the man who was 
 
408 ARGUME\*r OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEV. 
 
 buried in Potter's Field? Don't you think with 
 nie that that man was the man whose body was 
 fijund in tliat second story room ? Lie No. 1. 
 But he says, "B. F. Pitezel is down in South 
 America, and he has little Howard with him." 
 Oh, gentlemen, that is an awful, a frightful state- 
 ment. What fearful twisting and destruction of 
 the truth! Pitezel in South America ! He had 
 seen his body taken up out of the Potter's Field, 
 and made little Alice testify that it was the body 
 of her father — down in South America ! It is a 
 wonder that the lie did not scorch his lips, as the 
 flames scorched the dead body of Pitezel and con- 
 sumed the flesh. Little Howard with his father 
 in South America ! Gentlemen, think of it, and 
 then recall in that connection the broken utter- 
 ances of that poor woman, Mrs. Pitezel, as she was 
 about to leave the stand, when she said, in answer 
 to the question where did you see Howard last ? 
 " I last saw little Howaid's belongings in the cor- 
 oner's office in Indianapolis." Little Howard in 
 South America with his father ! God help such a 
 liar! 
 
 But he is not done yet. I now call attention 
 to his statement to Mr. Hanscom. I am not 
 going to repeat all this statement of his to Mr. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 409 
 
 Hanscom. I do not want to weary you, but I do 
 feel obliged to go over the testimony at some 
 length in the performance of what I conceive to 
 be a solemn duty. Therefore 1 ask you j^atiently 
 to listen to me while I call your attention to a 
 few more of the things which this man has said. 
 
 A statement was made by him in Boston, and 
 was taken down at that city. Mr, Hanscom, the 
 police official, who came upon this stand, told you 
 how it was taken by Miss Annie Rtjbbins, a ste- 
 nographer, word for word. We do not depend 
 upon the frailt}^ of human memory to recall what 
 this man said in this instance. It comes to us 
 with all the strength and power of a written 
 statement, taken down question and answer, just 
 as it transpired in that office in Boston, where he 
 poured out new fabrications for the purpose of 
 misleading and deceiving. He was examined as 
 follows : By Mr. Hanscom : " Q. What is Pite- 
 zel's name? A. B. F., I think — Benjamin Fuller. 
 Q. When did you last see him ? A. I can't give 
 you the da3^ I'll leave a blank and fill it in." 
 Oh, how sly and sharp he is — how skillful in 
 fencing in his answers ! Mr. Hanscom says : 
 " State it in your own way. A. Well, I saw liim 
 last in Detroit. It was in the neighborhood of 
 
410 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 three weeks ago, but I can give you the exact 
 date by consulting my wife." The alleged wife 
 who was with him then was Mrs. Howard. She 
 has been on tlie stand. Did he consult her as to 
 that date, when he had seen Mr. Pitezel alive in 
 the city of Detroit ? Did he make any effort to 
 find out the date? Not a single one. Why, gen- 
 tlemen, no effort was made solely because he 
 knew that Pitezel was then rotting in his grave, 
 and was not in Detroit. He could gain nothing 
 by consulting or questioning tliis woman. She 
 had not seen him in Detroit. He had never seen 
 him in Detroit; that was a falsehood told to mis- 
 lead the authorities. He was then asked, " Do 
 you know where he was stop[)ing in Detroit ? " 
 '* A. No, I don't know ; he had been there several 
 days waiting for me to come there." Would he 
 not have known where he was stopping? Why 
 did he not name some hotel and thus seem candid 
 in his answer? He was afraid the officers might 
 send to the hotel to find out. He is covering it 
 up. " Q. When was the last time before tliat 
 that you saw him ? " " A. Well, I had not seen 
 him but once since this Philadelphia occurrence." 
 (Quoting further from the statements made in 
 Boston.) 
 
ARGUMENT OF TEE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, 411 
 
 He told Mr. Hanscom that he had seen Pitezel 
 in Philadelphia, and having procured a corpse in 
 New York, had packed it in a trunk, and that he 
 put that trunk on the express, and had given the 
 check for it to Pitezel. Of course, he made it 
 near the first Sunday in September. He was 
 telling a falsehood for the purpose of misleading 
 the officer, and yet it was with relation to the 
 frauds that he had confessed. 
 
 Gentlemen, there is one point in this connec- 
 tion that has always been a subject of thought with 
 me, and I conceive it to be a strong argument 
 against this man and his defence in this case. 
 Will you follow me a moment, while I point it 
 out. Remember that he had confessed to the 
 story about the fraudulent insurance. There 
 was nothing in that to be concealed, because he 
 had confessed that he was guilty. He had 
 cheated this company. He had confessed, and he 
 was going back to go into prison for it. Wh}-, 
 under those circumstances, was it necessary for 
 him to lie ? The truth would have been sufficient 
 then. It cannot be said that it was to get the 
 money from the insurance company, for that was 
 already secured, and was in his pockets. It was 
 not for that purpose. Why did he lie? What 
 
412 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 was his motive ? What was he concealing by these 
 falsehoods about Pitezel living? The insurance 
 fraud was exploded ; he had confessed his guilt in 
 cheating the company. The money had been re- 
 ceived ; nothing was to be gained either in the 
 way of money or freedom from imprisonment, for 
 he had admitted his crime, and he was going back 
 to Philadelphia to go to jail. Gentlemen, there 
 is only one thing that explains that falsehood, ut- 
 tered by the prisoner to Mr. Hanscom. When he 
 said he saw Pitezel alive, he knew that Pitezel 
 was dead, murdered by him. He feared prosecu- 
 tion for that murder. There is no other explana- 
 tion — no other reason. The cheating of the in- 
 surance company had been confessed ; the money 
 secured upon the policy had been divided, yet he 
 lied about Pitezel and about the children. To 
 Perry, he said, " Pitezel is in South America, and 
 Howard is with him." To Mr. Hanscom, he said, 
 " Pitezel was in Detroit three weeks ago," and 
 then subsequently he said, " I saw him in Cincin- 
 nati." Then he tells about the use of a dead 
 body. That it was not Pitezel, but merely some 
 corpse that was used to stand for his body, and 
 goes through the long story of the cheat and fraud 
 upon the insurance company, with which you are 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 413 
 
 familiar and with vvhicli I will not now weary 
 yoii. 
 
 While we were on the line of proving these 
 confessions of his, we proved another, which was 
 taken after he came to Philadelphia. The first 
 confession was simply taken by question and an- 
 swer. This one is in a more solemn form. We 
 now come to an oath bound statement. I wonder 
 if, when he has taken the solemn obligation of an 
 oath, he will tell the truth. I wonder if now, 
 when he is sworn, he will tell us really what has 
 taken place ; let us see. Being first duly sworn, 
 he says, " That while incarcerated in jail in St. 
 Louis, Missouri, he met one Hedgepeth." — Well, 
 then, it was true that Hedgepeth was with this 
 man out in the St. Louis jail, and was his com- 
 panion in the conspiracy — " who said that for 
 $400, he could secure his release from imprison- 
 ment." (Quoting further therefrom.) 
 
 Think of the audacitj^ of the man, afterwards, 
 in Mr. Fouse's office, after these occurrences that 
 he is speaking about, but before this confession 
 was made. After the insurance was claimed by 
 Jeptha D. Howe. When Jeptha D. Howe came 
 into the office, Mr. Holmes was announced. Mr. 
 Holmes was in waiting outside. ]\Ir. Holmes 
 
414 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 walked in. Mr. Howe Wcas sitting there. He pre- 
 tended he did not know Mr. Howe — not he. An- 
 other deception ; another fraud ! He does not 
 know Mr. Howe ! JMr. Fouse has to turn and say, 
 "Why, INIr. Howe, let me present Mr. Holmes," 
 and Mr. Holmes bows and shakes hands with 
 Mr. Howe, and makes a new acquaintance. 
 Think of it, and remember he lias known him 
 out there in St. Louis for some time. Howe had 
 been sent for by Hedgepeth, and as Miss Yoke 
 said, was brought to the jail to act as this prison- 
 er's counsel, and saw him in the jail and talked 
 with him in the jail. Oh, how deceit and decep- 
 tion and fraud run all through every statement, 
 from beginning to end I 
 
 Then he goes on telling about the relation of 
 Howe to the conspiracy ; that Howe was in it 
 How he got word while in Philadelphia, that they 
 had a body which could not be used, and that he 
 sent to New York and got another body which 
 had a small wart on the neck ; that he then con- 
 cluded not to take any more chances to carry out 
 the scheme, and that he brought that body to 
 Philadelphia and left it in the care of Pitezel. 
 This "stiff" that he procured in New York, and 
 brought to Philadelphia, he left with Pitezel, who 
 
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ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 417 
 
 was to carry out the details of the scheme at that 
 place. He then left Philadelphia at 10:30, in 
 company with his wife, and she was taken sick, 
 as lie says. But no, that is not true for she was 
 sick when he took her away. The truth is that 
 he hurried her away while she was sick. Then 
 he stopped off at Indianapolis, and stayed there 
 one night, reaching St. Louis on Tuesday night, 
 when he went directly to the office of McDon- 
 ald & Howe ; that he afterwards went to Pite- 
 zel's house, in St. Louis, and found his wife and 
 children very much excited about the news which 
 they had seen in the paper ; that he then went 
 about 9 o'clock the next morning to Howe's of- 
 fice, and asked him to help out in the matter, etc. 
 He then goes on with the story of the identifica- 
 tion, and tells the story of the fraud. He then 
 tells about the meeting in St. Louis, when they 
 met to divide the plunder at INIcDonald & 
 Howe's office. Mrs. Pitezel was there present. 
 The spoils were divided ; Mrs. Pitezel got her lit- 
 tle share out of the proceeds of the money from 
 her husband's death. Ten thousand dollars were 
 paid, but how much of it went to poor Mrs. Pite- 
 zel? She was a party to the conspiracy, as the}^ 
 say, but she was in the hands of a sharper. Five 
 
418 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 thousand dollais were taken on one pretext, and 
 with reference to how it was taken, departing 
 again, slightlj-, from the order of testimony, I ask 
 that you will remember Mrs. Pitezel's testimony 
 on that subject. She tells you that Holmes said, 
 " Now, we'll go to the bank and pay a note there 
 that your husband owes,"' and he took her to the 
 bank. They went inside, and there Holmes ob- 
 tains from this woman, out of her satchel, -15,000. 
 He then walks around in the bank to another 
 window, and pietends to be paying this note. I 
 say " pretends," because the evidence in this case 
 shows conclusively the falsity and deception of 
 the man beyond question, and that he was literall}- 
 and absolutely deceiviug her in what he said and 
 did. Fortunately, we have this note. Here it is, 
 and we have also a picture of it, which we can 
 handle with more safety. You ^^ill notice that 
 the note is for $16,000, dated May 16th, 1894, and 
 due September 16th, 1894, drawn to the order of 
 Mr. Samuels. You will notice on the original note 
 that it bears no endorsement. Mr. Samuels never 
 endorsed that note. Y'ou can see, therefore, that 
 it was not negotiable. It could not pass from one 
 man to anotlier. That simply says that Mr. 
 Lyman owes Mr. Samuels this money. If it had 
 
AROUMEKT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 410 
 
 been deposited in Lank for collection, upon the 
 back would have been found the words "de- 
 posited for collection," and the signature of Mr. 
 Samuels, and his signature would have given the 
 bank the right to collect it. But no, this note 
 has never been negotiated. In point of fact, no 
 note was at that bank. There was nothing to be 
 paid there, and a fraud was being perpetrated 
 upon Mrs. Pitezel. 
 
 But if we had any doubt before, I am sure that 
 doubt is absolutely removed when we hear Mr. 
 Samuels on the stand. You remember him, the 
 lawyer from Fort Worth — his clear-cut, plain, and 
 frank answers. He had no trouble in telling you 
 the story of that false note. " Why," says he, 
 "the body of that note is in my handwriting, I 
 filled that in for this man," or " for that individ- 
 ual there," for that is the way he designated him, 
 if you may remember^" I filled it in for that in- 
 dividual ; he came to negotiate a loan from my 
 brother ; the note was drawn for $16,000, and he 
 took the note away to get it signed by his partner, 
 Benton F. Lyman," that being the name used by 
 Pitezel. He was to take the note away and get 
 Pitezel to sign it, and then bring it back. What 
 did he do? He came back to Mr. Samuels, and 
 
420 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 lie said, " Oh, I mislaid that note or lost it ; T 
 doiTt know where it is, but I iiave had this new 
 note made to take its place," and the new note is 
 handed over to Mr. Samuels, and upon it he loans 
 this man $2,500, and that new note — that real 
 note is in the hands of these gentlemen in Fort 
 Worth, Texas, and this dead man stands debtor 
 to them upon it to-day, unpaid, uncancelled, while 
 this note written by Mr. Samuels in his own hand- 
 writing is fraudulently concealed by Holmes, and 
 fraudulently produced to Mrs. Pitezel as if it 
 were a living debt, though it is nothing more than 
 a piece of paper, and does not stand for a single 
 dollar. So the story goes. The money is divided 
 and Holmes gets this $5,000. He has matle his 
 profit by the transaction. He is the man who re- 
 ceived the proceeds from the insurance on the 
 life of Pitezel, and he starts away. 
 
 Then c ^mes the story of Mrs. Pitezel. Gentle- 
 men, you remember that story; I am not going to 
 weary you by its repetition. In all the fifteen years 
 of my service in this office, I do not remember a 
 story that stirred my heart or moved my sensibili- 
 ties like the broken sentences of that womnn, 
 when, Avith evident suffering in every line and 
 jnark upon her face, in the supreme effort that she 
 
AllGUMEXT OF THE DISTRTCT ATTORNEr. 421 
 
 made to control herself, and to avoid breaking- 
 down, she told that pitiful, yet uiurvellous story, 
 of how this man led her from place to place in 
 the pursuit of her husband. I do not see, for the 
 life of me, how he coukl sit there in the dock un- 
 moved and look her in the face, conscious, as lie 
 must be, of the awful wrong that he has perpe- 
 trated upon her — how he could sit there and look 
 her in the face, and listen to the harrowing tale of 
 suffering and agon}-, without wincing, without 
 changing a muscle — he is a man of steel 5 with a 
 heart of stone, and remains utterly unmoved. 
 
 Gentlemen, there was once during the course of 
 this trial that tears seemed to come to his eyes, 
 and he appeared to be moved when Miss Yoke 
 came upon the wituess stand the first day. But 
 it was a subject of such universal comment that 
 you must have noticed it as well as I, and others 
 that when she was recalled to the stand the sec- 
 ond day, no tear dimmed his eye. The questions 
 of his lawyers showed that the tears of the first 
 day were summoned to influence her-, to excite 
 her pity for him so that in telling her story she 
 might be induced to favor him. But on the sec- 
 ond day, when his lawyer's shafts were dipped in 
 malice, and question upon question was thrust 
 
422 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 at her regardless of liow tlie}^ placed lier before 
 the world or the coiiimuiiity, he sat as stony, as 
 immovable, as when jMrs. Pitezel told her pitiful 
 story from the witness box. 
 
 That was a strange stor^-, gentlemen ; if you 
 and I had read it in fiction, we would say perhaps 
 that the novelist had overdrawn or overstated 
 the facts ; that he had overdrawn the story, and 
 made it stronger than our imagination or fancy 
 could tolerate. 
 
 Now, let us return to that story. After Alice 
 was taken to Phikidelphia to identify the father, 
 she was taken back to Indianapolis. He went to 
 St. Louis, and saw tlie mother, and took from her 
 the other two children. There are now three 
 children started upon the journey in one group. 
 In a few days, he starts the mother upon lier 
 travels, and with her are Dessa and the baby, 
 forming a second group. In a little while after 
 that, Miss Yoke proceeds with him. They are 
 travelling in three detachments, each utterly ig- 
 norant of the location and proximity of the other. 
 Mrs. Pitezel does not know where the three chil- 
 dren are located : Miss Yoke does not know that 
 Mrs. Pitezel is travelling with Dessa and the 
 babv, and that the three children are also under 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 4J:i 
 
 his control. Another exhibition of the marvellous 
 ingenuity, craft, cunning, and power of this man. 
 Travelling in three separate detachments, and in 
 the city of Detroit, stopping within a few blocks 
 of each other. The hotels have been named at 
 which they stopped, within a few blocks,— the 
 mother yearning to see her children, and yet ig- 
 norant of their whereabouts, and kept from com- 
 municating with them; the children pleading to 
 communicate with their mother, and yet, kept 
 from communication with her ; within four blocks 
 of each other in the same city, and kept apart. 
 Poor Mrs. Pitezel ! The will o'the wisp, the 
 hope of meeting Benny, held out, and held out to 
 her day after day! " Oh," said he, "Benny will 
 be in Detroit." She is at Galva, Illinois, with her 
 parents. He tells her to come in the middle of 
 the week, but no, her eagerness to meet her hus- 
 band prompts her to start early, and she leaves 
 for Detroit from her home on the 13th of October. 
 " Where is Ben ? " " Well, well find Ben in To- 
 ronto." They go to Toronto. You remember 
 the days they spent there. "Oh, he'll come over 
 here and see you when I get a house; he wanted 
 to come and see you without the children being 
 present ; it'll never do to permit the children to 
 
424 JEGUiVEXT OP THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 know that lie is living; he can't show himself in 
 the presence of the children." That is Holmes' 
 story. Gentlemen, right in that connection, let 
 me call your attention to something he said to 
 Mr. ITanscom. In that statement to Mr. Hanscom, 
 \\v tells this remarkable story. Said he, "Pitezel 
 \\ ;is in Detroit, and of course I was keeping hira 
 <!!i! (jf the sight of the children, but one day he 
 gii; to drinking while in Detroit, and before I 
 knew it, he walked right in to the children, where 
 tin' three children were, and they all saw him, 
 ;iii.l they all knew him, and he was there with the 
 chiUlren, and I permitted him then to take the 
 cliiMren away with him." That is what he told 
 [{.ijiscom. Let us now see how that fits with 
 what he told Mrs. Pitezel. "Oh," says he to 
 Mrs. Pitezel, " wait until I get a house; it will 
 never do to have Mr. Pitezel come and visit you, 
 and have your children see him." Why he told 
 Hanscom that he had called on those three chil- 
 dren in. that hotel in Detroit, and that the chil- 
 dren knew all about his being alive. — " Oh, wait 
 until I can get a house for you, and then with the 
 children away, he can come into the house and 
 see you, and the children will not know it." A 
 man has to be a good liar, with a strong memory. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 425 
 
 if he wants to make all the stories that he tells fit 
 each other. His story told to Haiiscom is vitally 
 different from his story told to Mrs. Pitezel. 
 Poor Mrs. Pitezel, however, was lured on and on 
 and on, and finally is taken to Prescott, in Canada, 
 thence to Ogdensburg, New York ; thence to Bur- 
 lington, Vermont, and at last to Boston to be ar- 
 rested. He brings her to Boston to be arrested. 
 What talent he displays! Here are the three de- 
 tachments travelling separately, each kept in ig- 
 norance of the existence of the others, with this 
 prisoner the postmaster for Mrs. Pitezel and the 
 children ; with orders to collect her letters at 
 every post-office upon their route; this postmaster 
 for these innocent little children, who wanted to 
 write letters to Dear Mamma — every letter inter- 
 cepted, and those letters found in his tin box, 
 identified in broken sentences by Mrs. Pitezel on 
 the witness stand when she exclaimed in anguish ; 
 " Oh, that's Alice's " ; " That's Nellie's " ; " That 
 was done by Alice " ; " That's my letter." Was 
 ever power over a family more complete than this 
 man's power over these people ? Every letter in- 
 tercepted — no communication between them. Not 
 one syllable from child to mother ; not one sylla- 
 ble from mother to child. Did I speak wrong- 
 
426 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 fully, geiitleiiien, or was I cruel in making the 
 statement when I said that this man was a man of 
 steel, with a heart of stone ? Anyone that would 
 take tliese children's letters addressed to their 
 mother, and hide and conceal them, may justly be 
 charged with being heartless, and with being 
 cruel beyond comparison. He is the jailor of the 
 family. He suppresses and destroys their mail. 
 No, lie does not destroy it ; for in almost eveiy 
 case of villainy, and criminality, somehow or 
 other, whether it be Providential for the detection 
 and punishment of the rascal or not, I cannot 
 tell, but somehow the villain overreaches himself 
 in his efforts at concealment, and here and there a 
 telltale fact comes to light and points the uner^ 
 ring finger of accusation at him, saying " That's 
 the guilty man." Yes, this is a marvellous story, 
 and tlie conclusion of it is not less marvellous 
 than the rest. 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel and Dessa have appeared before 
 you. Mrs. Pitezel was asked, " When did you 
 see those children again?" and her heartrending 
 answer some of us may remember for many, many 
 years to come ; it was pitiful, it was infinitely sad 
 coming from a heart broken with grief — " Oh, I 
 didn't see them acfain until I saw Alice and 
 
ARGU3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 427 
 
 Nellie in the morgue in Toronto, and the last be- 
 longings of little Howard in the Coroner's office 
 in Indianapolis." What a tale of horror and of 
 woe is infolded in tliat harrowing sentence. How 
 this woman's pitiable plight should have moved 
 ever}' man of us to treat her with the^ utmost 
 consideration and kindness, yet I say to you, 
 gentlemen, that my blood boiled with indignation 
 yesterday when counsel, with mistaken zeal, at- 
 tempted to harrow up that poor woman's soul, 
 and attempted to press her with questions under 
 disguise, for the purpose of making her appear a 
 party to the conspiracy in this case. Wliy, of 
 course, she knew what her husband was going to 
 do ; she was particeps crhimiis to the extent that 
 she concealed that fact to protect her husband, 
 and that is all that they can charge against her. 
 The counsel for the prisoner was compelled to 
 probe with questions, and he said, "Weren't 3-ou 
 arrested in Boston ? "' " Weren't you brought back 
 under arrest? " " Weren't you put in the county 
 prison ? " " Weren't you indicted for conspiracy ? " 
 In the name of justice, has there not been enough 
 done ? Yes, they think this is necessary. One 
 nnn-e burden must be added. This man wants to 
 make her appear to have been as black as he in the 
 
428 ARGVMENT op the DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 conspiracy. That was the object — to aigiie against 
 her credibilit}^ — to make her appear to be a co-con- 
 spirator with him, and therefore not worth}^ of be- 
 lief. But every step of that journey was coriub- 
 orated practically by Dessa ; everything that oc- 
 curred in it was corroborated by her. Think of tiie 
 cipher letters that he prepared ! What a disingen- 
 uous, uncandid, and villainous man it is who would 
 prepare a cipher letter to bring into that mother's 
 presence, and read to her as if coming from her 
 little children. Those children whose voices she 
 could never hear again were to be misrepresented 
 by that cipher letter as if speaking to her. Think 
 also of the other cipher letter, purporting to have 
 come from her husband. \\''ell might they be in 
 cipher. Well might he attempt to disguise them 
 in some form, pretending that one came from the 
 children, (then dead,) and that one came from 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel, (who was mouldering in his 
 grave,) telling her of his whereabouts in Montreal. 
 Was there ever a case of moi-e wicked and inex- 
 cusable deceit than this ? Why did he adopt all 
 this duplicity? Why was he guilty of all this 
 subterfuge ? Why was it that he deceived every- 
 body with these stories ? Gentlemen, there is but 
 one answer, and it is that in the room on the 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 429 
 
 second story of No. 1316 Callowhill Street, he 
 took the life of Benjamin F. Pitezel. Now why 
 do I say that? I say it because this evidence 
 shows it, and I am going to demonstrate to you 
 that fact out of this testimony — demonstrate to 
 you the fact that this man did destroy Benjamin 
 Pitezel in No. 1316 Callowhill Street. He was 
 telling these malicious lies to cover up a horrible 
 murder. In the first place, there is no doubt that 
 it was Pitezel, whose body was found as described. 
 There is no doubt that he came to his death from 
 chloroform poisoning. That is an unquestioned, 
 uncontradicted fact in this case. There is no 
 duubt that he was seen alive up until about ten 
 o'clock on Saturday night, out buying his whiskey 
 to take his dilnk — buying his cigars at the cigar 
 store to smoke. He had written to his wife a 
 few days before that he expected to go home and 
 see her, and he had told her that if he could 
 succeed, he was going to bring her and the chil- 
 dren on to Philadelphia. Nothing in the whole 
 case, from beginning to end, to indicate a suicidal 
 intent or purpose on his part — not a particle of 
 evidence produced for the purpose of showing that 
 he ever attempted to commit suicide. Not one 
 word from the wife ; not one word from his 
 
430 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 letters; not one word IVdm liis neighbors, but 
 what indicated u hopeful outlook on the future — 
 a building up of plans a« to what he was going to 
 do in that future. He saj'S, " I am going to visit 
 St. Louis ; but if I can succeed in establishing a 
 business here, I'm going to bring you and the 
 children on to Philadelphia." That was the out- 
 look of the man. He was buying his whiskey; — 
 he was a free drinker; he was buying his cigars; 
 he was a smoker, laying in a stock for that 
 Sunday — not laying in death for himself — he 
 was going to live ; he was going to drink his 
 whiskey, and since he could not, under the Excise 
 laws, get it on Sunday, he was laying in a stock 
 on the Saturday night before, so that everything 
 indicated a purpose of life, and not a purpose of 
 suicide. 
 
 Now, then, we see him alive and well, and ap- 
 parently all right at that time. There is no 
 doubt, gentlemen, in this case, for it is proved 
 out of this man's own lips, (pointing to the pris 
 oner) and out of the lips of ]Miss Yoke, that on 
 that fateful Sunday, he, the prisoner, spent the 
 greater part of the day at No. 1316 Callowhill 
 Street ; in other words the day that Pitezel was 
 done to deatli, Holmes was ni that house ; he is 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 431 
 
 fixed in that house by liis own statements made 
 more than once, and by the testimony of his al- 
 leged wife, Miss Yoke. Remember that what she 
 says is very significant. 
 
 " Somebody came on Saturday night to his 
 house, and sent a message upstairs; the man, 
 wlioever it was, would not come upstairs, so 
 Holmes went down to see him, and came back 
 and told her " — and there again comes in the old 
 deception — "it is a man from the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company, with whom I am about to 
 close a deal, and I am going out to Nicetown to- 
 morrow to see him." This was not true for 
 afterwards in Philadelphia, he told Miss Yoke 
 that the man who called on that Saturday night 
 was Benjamin F. Pitezel. Benjamin F. Pitezel 
 called on that Saturday night. The man with 
 whom he had an engagement the next day was 
 Benjamin F. Pitezel ; and I asked Miss Yoke tlie 
 question whether Holmes was at home the next 
 day. The answer was : " No, he went out about 
 ten or half past ten in tlie morning, and did not 
 come back until the afternoon, about half past 
 three or four o'clock." All of those intervening 
 hours he spent in No. 1316 Callowhill Street, on 
 the day of the murder. Here, then, we find Pite- 
 
43-3 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 zel was alive and well on Saturday night, at Ox 
 about ten o'clock. His body is found on Tuesday 
 morning in a state indicating that he had been 
 dead fur probably two days. On Monday, no 
 living person was about tliere; Smith came in on 
 Tuesday and found the deceased. On Sunday, 
 Pitezel was killed; on Sunday Holmes was in the 
 house with him ; on Sunday he spent several 
 hours in that house. He is the man who was 
 present when Pitezel died. Benjamin F. Pitezel 
 and Herman H. Mudgett, in No. 1316 Callowhill 
 Street met on that Sunday. Now we can under- 
 stand why he tells these stories about Pitezel 
 being alive. If this was a substituted cor])se, 
 then he cannot be convicted of murder. He has 
 confessed the insurance fraud. He has got the 
 money for the insurance. No motive or induce- 
 ment to lie on that account; but because back of 
 that is the crime of murder, therefore he denies 
 these stories, explaining that Pitezel lives, and 
 tliat a substituted body has been put in that 
 place, and he tells you himself that he was there. 
 He tells you, by his questions to the witnesses on 
 the stand, that he was there. You remember 
 M'hat he said to Miss Yoke. He did it with one 
 purpose, but I argue to you a totally different 
 
AE0U3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 43;i 
 
 effect. He said, "Miss Yoke, did you notice my 
 appearance when I came in on thai Sunday after- 
 noon, between hali past three and four?" She 
 said "Yes." He aslced, "V/asn't I excited?" 
 Now this man, with liis story of Pitezel's suicide 
 discovered by liim, wants to make us believe that 
 he came in excited, because of that discovery, but 
 I will tell you the secret of his excitement. Miss 
 Yoke said to him, '' No, you looked worried, and 
 you were hot," Why, of course, lie was worried, 
 and had reason to be worried, because those hours 
 were spent in doing a fellow-being to death — 
 worried — yes. It was worriment that made him 
 start for the West that night with his wife ; it was 
 fear that made him get away from this city before 
 the body was discovered. He had cause to be 
 worried that night ; there is no doubt of that. 
 He was excited. I suppose such a thing would 
 make him excited. I do not know of much else 
 that would. You have seen him ; you have a 
 right to observe him, not only as he sits here 
 now, but as he stood there and conducted his own 
 case. Y^ou observed him as he addressed physi- 
 cians, as a physician, a skillful man, addressing 
 them upon scientific subjects. You observed him, 
 the man whose very life is at stake, in this awful 
 
 25 
 
4;m AnavMFXT or the Disriurr attorney. 
 
 ordeal, displaying more calmness than even I 
 could, conducting the examination of the wit- 
 nesses, one after the other, and manifesting an 
 absolute want of all fear, nervousness, or fright. 
 Yet I think there is one thing that Avould make 
 him nervous; I think there is one thing that 
 would make him \vorried, and that was what took 
 place at No. 1316 Callowhill Street on that day, 
 not the discovery of a suicide, but the recollection 
 of a murder. 
 
 Now let us consider all his stories of what took 
 place there. We have put in evidence his confes- 
 sion or statement to Captain Linden. Months 
 have elapsed since the murder before this state- 
 ment is made. These stories that he has told about 
 the substitute body — about Pitezel living and the 
 children have been discounted and disbelieved ; 
 everybody who has come in contact with him has 
 told him that they did not believe them. He tliinks 
 it is necessary to frame a new story, as he sits down 
 in Moyamensing Prison, with nothing else to do 
 but to coin narratives to exculpate himself. He 
 fashions a new statement which is to be palmed off 
 upon the authorities, and upon the public. Now, 
 what is that statement? That statement admits 
 that it is Pitezel who is dead ; no longer are we 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DTSTRICT ATTORXEY. 435 
 
 sent roaming- into Soutli America, or off to De- 
 troit or up to Montreal, in Canada, to find Pitezel. 
 He now admits that Pitezel is dead, and that this 
 was Pitezel. It has become evident that the 
 story of a substituted corpse has been so much 
 discredited and is so generally disbelieved that it 
 is now necessary to bow to the inevitable and ad- 
 mit the body to be that of Pitezel. " Oh," he 
 says, " but I did not kill him ; he died from sui- 
 cide." This man who was out the night before, 
 apparently happy, and making provision for his 
 comfort for the next day, not intending to die, 
 but intending to live, and intending to have some 
 of those things that he considered necessar}' fur 
 his comfort tlie next day — Holmes claims has 
 committed suicide — that this man who was writ- 
 ing to his wife, " I am coming out to see you, and 
 if I can make arrangements to conduct business in 
 J'hiladelphia, I am going to bring you and the 
 children and the baby " — and that baby seemed 
 to be very dear to him — " I am going to bring 
 you to Philadelphia, and we'll live here " — this 
 man, Holmes says, committed suicide. All the 
 surroundings in this case deny that he thought of 
 suicide ; the evidence springing from the finding 
 of the body denies that he committed suicide, and 
 
AM] ARGUMENT OF THE DISTHTCT ATTORNEY. 
 
 the story that Holmes tells of how the suicide 
 which lie alleges was committed is absolutely im- 
 pof^sil)lt\ and is rebutted by the testimony in this 
 case, and I will show you, I believe, as clearly as 
 mathematical demonstration, that Pitezel was not 
 self-destroyed, but that he was destroyed by a sec- 
 ond person in that house, and in that room. Why 
 do I say that? I say it because the evidence war- 
 rants it. Holmes tells you that when he went in 
 there, and I want to direct your attention specially 
 to this remarkable story — " When I went into that 
 room, I found Pitezel lying on the floor dead." 
 Then lie constructs a remarkable story telling of 
 a wonderful arrangement, all coined in the mint 
 of his own fancy, intended to explain how Pitezel 
 had committed suicide, Avhich you can readily see 
 is wortliy of his keen mind and thought, and 
 which never came from the mind, or from the 
 thought of Pitezel, — an ignorant man, as he calls 
 him in one of his confessions. Why, up there on 
 the till id floor, he says, Pitezel had arranged a 
 mpchnnical contrivance that would do justice to 
 the ingenuity of a Holmes — to the skill of a IMud 
 gptt. On a chair, according to his story, is a gal- 
 lon bottle — a bottle that would hold a gallon of 
 chloroform — an enormous quantity — put on a 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 4:J7 
 
 chair; underneath the bottle on the seat of the 
 chair on each side is a block holding up the bot- 
 tom of the bottle so that as the bottle reclines on 
 the chair, the bottom is higher than the neck. 
 There is carefully inserted through the cork, which 
 cork is fastened tightly into the mouth of the bot- 
 tle, — a quill, and then over the quill is fixed a 
 rubber tube, which leads down fioni the chair, 
 down to a towel that is spread over the face of the 
 deceased, the rubber tube, using his own language, 
 being " constricted at the center." The tube was 
 tied at the center so as to i)revent the fluid from 
 flowing rapidly down, and he says that, in that 
 condition, this man came to liis death. That he 
 found him there — that he found him there in that 
 third-story room, and that he took those things 
 away from this man, and took this man himself — 
 this slight, slim built, thin man, Holmes, took 
 Pitezel, weigliing 175 or 180 pounds, who must 
 have been then a stiff, rigid corpse, and dragged 
 him—he did not attempt to carry him across — but 
 dragged him down the stairs from the third-storv 
 room to the second-story room, and there placed 
 him in the position of repose in which he was 
 found lying, and he tells you that that condition 
 of repose in which he was found on the second- 
 
AoS ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 story floor was precisely the same as that in which 
 he was found on the third-story floor, describing 
 him in precisely the same position down there. 
 
 Was he describing a real scene or a fancied one? 
 Where is that gallon bottle ? Where is that tube? 
 Where is any part of this strange suicidal device! 
 Nothing of it found, not a trace of it anywhere 
 Why has it so mysteriously disappeared ? Gentle 
 men, it never had an existence except in the fab 
 ricated story of this prisoner. The first question 
 I ask is why, in the name of common sense, did he 
 not leave him on the third-story floor? What ne- 
 cessity was there for bringing him down to the 
 second-stor}^ ? Could he not just as well have 
 burned and disfigured him up there on the third- 
 story floor, as he could on the second-story, and 
 would not his deception have been as successfully 
 practiced on the third floor as on the second floor? 
 
 Gentlemen, that body was never on the tliird- 
 story floor. The relaxation of the invokintary 
 muscles, and the involuntary discharges from the 
 person took place at or immediately before disso- 
 lution. These discharges were found on the sec- 
 ond-story floor, not on the third-story floor, clearly 
 indicating that death took place where the body 
 was found. This is a very significant fact. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 439 
 
 The next tliiiig to which I ask your attention is 
 this. When that body was found down on the 
 second-story floor, it was in perfect order. The 
 perfect order in which everything was showed 
 that it had never been dragged down those stairs 
 by a second person. The clothing was not dis- 
 arranged. Dr. Scott is careful to tell you that 
 the shirt and underwear were carefully tucked 
 down into the trousers, with everything in their 
 perfect place, just as a man would fix himself, and 
 just as no one else could do it for him, and any- 
 body who knows anything about the preparation 
 of a corpse for burial, will readily understand 
 why. A corpse is not dressed in clothing, as a 
 rule, but covered, because of the difficulty of 
 dressing the corpse, and a second person not being 
 able to adjust the clothing in nice order all over 
 the person. This man's body showed tliat he had 
 never been dragged down those stairs. It was 
 not disordered. 
 
 Now gentlemen, unless he had found him be- 
 fore rigor mortis set in — that is, the stiffening of 
 the corpse — he could not have fixed him in that 
 position on the second floor ; he could not have 
 done it; it would have been perfectly impossible 
 for him. Yet the very period that he fixes — the 
 
no ARGUMENT OF THE DTSTEICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 very time that he fixes as the time of his visit to 
 that place is after that corpse is stiff and cold ; 
 after it is dead and rigor mortis has set in. 
 
 I now ask your attention to another thing. He 
 said that the body was lying upon its back and 
 flat. I wish one of you would tr}', when you go 
 to your room — I do not want to do it here, for it 
 might appear like an effort after theatrical effect 
 — to lie down upon the flat of 3^our back, with 
 your head on the floor, and the head turned to one 
 side, and see whether any fluid, in order to go 
 through that tube called the oesophagus, into the 
 stomach, would ni^t have to run up hill. Put your- 
 self in that position, and see if it is not so. Ac- 
 cording to the prisoner's story the chloroform 
 passed from the bottle down the tube to the 
 towel, thence into the mouth and then into the 
 stomach. Gentlemen that chloroform did not 
 run up hill. 
 
 Now, the prisoner must account for this fluid or 
 chloroform in the stomach. Do you remember 
 what Detective Geyer said he told him ? He said 
 he told him that, as part of what lie had informed 
 Fitezel to do — he had told Pitezel to take this 
 stiff, as they called it — this dead body that was to 
 be substituted and to put chloroform in its 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 441 
 
 st.)mach. He said to put it in the mouth of the 
 dead corpse, and then work the body like a bel- 
 hnvs, so as to force it down into the stomach. 
 That is what he said. And I argue to you that 
 that is the way he passed the chloroform into 
 Pitezel's stomach. This man who told Pitezel 
 how to do it knew how to do it himself, and the 
 chloroform which was found in that body, that 
 had never irritated the walls and surface or lining 
 of the stomach, was put in there after death, and 
 the testimony of two physicians positively shows 
 that it never flowed into that stomach, as Holmes 
 says. 
 
 Now let me call your attention to another 
 point. In his questions to Dr. Leffman, and to 
 Dr. Scott, he tried to create the impression that if 
 this bottle was eighth-tenths full, would not 
 chloroform flow down that pipe, and on to the 
 towel, into the man's throat, filling up the throat 
 and forcing itself through into the stomach. Now 
 there are two difficulties about that theory that he 
 did not anticipate, and I could see when Dr. 
 Leffman made his answer to him, what the effect 
 was. It was like a stunning blow in the face. 
 When Dr. Leffman answered him, "Why," said 
 he, " it couldn't flow hardly faster than it would 
 
442 ARGUMENT OF THE DTSTRWT ATTORNEY. 
 
 evaporate in the condition in which you put it." 
 Now think of that. Here is a bottle corked 
 tightly, a quill drawn through the cork, a pipe 
 leading from that quill down to the towel ; not one 
 particle of air can get into that bottle, and unless 
 the air can get into the bottle, the fluid will not 
 flow out. The fluid will not flow faster than the 
 air can pass it in the passage wnj of that pipe, 
 and that pipe was tied in the center so as to con- 
 strict it. You and I have seen it illustrated. 
 When a barrel of liquid of any kind is opened, 
 they knock the bung out in the top or bore a 
 hole through to let the air in, or the contents will 
 not flow out freely at the spigot. They bore a 
 hole in a barrel, when they put the spigot in, so 
 that the air may get in and cause the liquid to 
 flow out. Dr. Leffman says, in speaking of this, 
 " It would not flow out faster than it would 
 evaporate." Gentlemen, if it would not flow out 
 faster than it would evaporate, how in the name 
 of common sense could it collect in the throat in 
 such quantity that it would force itself down into 
 the stomach after death? Again, another diffi- 
 culty. The Doctor has said to you, and that is 
 uncontradicted here, that a dead oesophagus will 
 not pass any liquid. With the beginning of every 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 443 
 
 act of swallowing, there is a voluntary act on your 
 part. The will transfers food beyond the point 
 of the tongue, and you start it upon its way down 
 to the stomach. After that, it is involuntary, by 
 the closing of the oesophagus behind, and the 
 opening of it in front, pressing the food down to 
 its place. A dead cesophagus or a dead tube 
 leading to the stomach will not pass any liquid in 
 that way. There must be artificial aid, or there 
 must be a second person. A second person stand- 
 ing in his position could do it. He would take 
 the body and make a bellows of it, and create a 
 vacuum, and draw the liquid down. That is what 
 he would do, and that is what he did do. But the 
 dead oesophagus is another difficulty in the way 
 of his story. 
 
 Now gentlemen, you are to try this case accord- 
 ing to the evidence — not according to anything 
 else, but according to the evidence. It is the duty 
 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to make 
 out this case beyond a reasonable doubt. It is to 
 be decided according to the evidence that you 
 have heard, the testimony that is before you, and 
 the only testimony before you is the testimony of 
 these witnesses to whom I have referred. It is 
 
444 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 from their testimony, standing uncontradicted, 
 that this man's fate must be determined. 
 
 Let me now read you a few important answers 
 from Dr. Leffman's testimony. This is very im- 
 portant, and it is testimony to which I ask your 
 careful attention. He testified as follows: 
 
 " Q. You are a graduate of what school ? 
 
 A Jefferson Medical College. 
 
 Q. Are you an analytical chemist? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You have taught chemistry, I believe? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You are a professor of that branch ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Are you connected with any institutions ? '" 
 (He then goes on and tells what institutions he is 
 connected with.) 
 
 " Q. Are you familiar with the effects and use 
 of chloroform ? 
 
 A. I have seen chloroform administered a great 
 many times in the course of my attendance in 
 college, and I have administered it a great many 
 times to small animals. I have never seen a death 
 from chloroform in my experience. 
 
 Q. What are the immediate effects of the iii- 
 lialation of chloroform ? 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 445 
 
 A. The first effect of the mhahitioii of chloro- 
 form is some excitement and stimulation, \vhirh 
 varies a great deal in different individuals, and 
 also varies with regard to the administrator. Ex- 
 pert operators can administer chloroform so as to 
 produce very little disturbance. It is not exactly 
 a spasmodic condition ; it is rather one of intox- 
 icating excitement, which is soon followed by a 
 condition of relaxation and insensibility. In 
 animals the effect is usually violent, in the nature 
 of a fright, but the effect soon becomes that of in- 
 sensibility." 
 
 So that the tendency of a person under the in- 
 fluence of chloroform would be to move restlessly, 
 there being an inclination to motion, and a man 
 could not compose himself and lie down, saying, 
 " I will put this towel over my face, and I'll have 
 this tube come down and feed the towel with 
 chloroform, and I'll just go to sleep." He couldn't 
 do it. It is physically impossible for him to do so. 
 There would be a spasm; there would be con- 
 tortion ; there would be motion of the body that 
 would displace that pre-arranged condition. And 
 why? Because he cannot control himself in ap- 
 proaching unconsciousness. I think a man at the 
 beginning might say, " I'll do this," yet the chloro- 
 
41(i ARGUMKXT OF TlfF DIsTUICT ATTORNEV. 
 
 form takes away liis Ihought and his reason, so 
 that he is unable to do it, and becomes uncon- 
 scious in the very act of struggling. If any of 
 you gentlemen have ever taken any anesthetic 
 preparatory to having a tooth extracted, yon may 
 remember that while you breathed the gas, you 
 found it grew harder, and that suddenly, with a 
 gasp and a struggle, you passed into unconscious- 
 ness. Well, you could not arrange yourself after 
 that, because the next thing you know is when 
 the dentist taps you on the chin or on the head, 
 and says, " Sit up ; it's all right." You have been 
 unconscious all that time, absolutely ignorant of 
 what was done to you, with no power to place 
 yourself in any position. Now Dr. Leffman was 
 furtlier examined : 
 
 "■ Q. Is there any struggle before insensibility 
 takes place ? 
 
 A. There very often is a struggle by the pa- 
 tient being apparently not exactl}- aware of the 
 character of the struggle. It is rather an involun- 
 tary struggle, or at least, a semi-conscious con- 
 dition. 
 
 Q. An effort of nature, is it not, to resist the 
 effects ? 
 
 A. To resist the effects. Also it is probably 
 
ARGU3IENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 447 
 
 connected with the dh"ect intoxicating effect of 
 the drug. 
 
 Q. The description given us in this case by 
 those who found the body describe it as being 
 found lying upon the back with one arm placed 
 thus (indicating) across the bod}-, the right arm, 
 and the left arm close to the side, the feet stretched 
 out, heels together, in a composed condition, lying 
 on the back. I want to ask you whether or not it 
 is possible for a man to administer chloroform to 
 himself and then compose himself into such a po- 
 sition as that? 
 
 A. I think not." 
 
 Now this is the only testimony you have on that 
 subject, and his answer is, " I think not." That 
 is his opinion as an expert — that it cannot be 
 done. 
 
 '' Q. Why ? 
 
 A. No one is aware of the time when con- 
 sciousness ceases. Judging from my own expe- 
 rience, I have been four times under the influence 
 of anesthetics, there is a condition of confusion 
 before true insensibility comes on, and it would 
 be, I think, impossible for anyone to arrange the 
 body in a perfectly composed condition like that 
 entirely by the person's own act. It would not, I 
 
448 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 think, be a natural position into which the body 
 would come by a person administering chh)roform 
 to liimself." 
 
 A man would be apt, if he had had it put to 
 his lace, to have fallen forward on the floor, or 
 caused a struggle, and have thrown down and 
 displaced that tube. He could not have been 
 found as this man describes him, in that composed 
 condition, if the chloroform was self-administered. 
 Dr. Leffman said that it could be administered 
 in sleep without awaking a person. This man 
 Holmes did not have to ring the doorbell to enter 
 this house. He had a key. The testimony has 
 shown you that, and he could enter it when he 
 pleased. If the man happened to be in a drunken 
 sleep, if he had a pint of whiskey, and was in an 
 intoxicated sleep, then how easy the task to ad- 
 minister chloroform to him, and then compose 
 him, while the body was still fresh and warm, and 
 put him in this position — how easily that could 
 be done ! Holmes could enter with his key ; he 
 had access to the house — access to the man — 
 knowledge of the condition around the house — 
 ability to use the chloroform — everything in his 
 favor ; it was no trouble to him. 
 
 Dr. Leffman was further examined as follows ; 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTBTCT ATTORNEY. 449 
 
 " Q. Is chloroform easy to swallow ? 
 
 A. It is rather objectionable ; the taste. It is 
 an irritable substance, and its taste is of a disa- 
 greeable sweet character, so that it is even diffi- 
 cult for persons to swallow it in small amounts." 
 
 He illustrated by a few drops in water. 
 
 This question was then put to him : 
 
 " Q. If a person was lying on his back, flat on 
 the floor, with a tube leading from a bottle con- 
 taining chloroform to the mouth, could there be 
 any of that pass into the stomach in that posi- 
 tion ? " 
 
 Now this is the testimony of a competent ex- 
 pert on the subject, a man of keen, clear judg- 
 ment ; it is the uncontradicted testimony in the 
 case, and there has been no effort to conti'adict it 
 — not one word said against it by anybody. It 
 is the absolutely uncontradicted testimony, and 
 counsel accepted it on the other side as a true 
 statement. The answer was : 
 
 "A. If it ran into the mouth in considerable 
 quantity it would produce a choking effect which 
 would cause the prisoner to move about and dis- 
 turb the condition. I do not tliink it could flow 
 quietly without disturbing the individual, from 
 
 the tube down into the stomach. 
 26 
 
450 ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 Q. State whether or not the direction would 
 be rather up hill than down hill, to flow into tlie 
 stomach through the oesophagus ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. If lying on the back> it would have to flow 
 uphill? 
 
 A. Rather up hill, a little higher level. 
 
 Q. How about the bronchii and the lung cav- 
 ity connecting with it in that position ? 
 
 A. They are always distended. The bronchii 
 are stiff walled and there would be some possibil- 
 ity of the chloroform, probably of some of it get- 
 ting into the bronchii. It is a volatile vapor, and 
 some of the vapor would pass in there also. At 
 the temperature of the body it is decidedly vola- 
 tile. 
 
 Q. The absence of chloroform in the bronchii 
 would indicate what, under those circumstances?" 
 
 You will remember that there was none found 
 in the bronchii. His answer was : " A. It 
 would indicate that there was no very great 
 quantity in the mouth." So that the physical 
 conditions in this dead man's case deny the piis- 
 oner's theory. His theory and his story is that it 
 flowed down in such quanlllios that it forced it- 
 self down into the stoinaeh, but none was found 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTEWT ATTORNEY. 451 
 
 in the bronchii ; none was found to have pene- 
 trated there, and I said to him, " Doctor, wliat 
 does the absence of it there indicate ? " He said, 
 " It indicates that there was never very much in 
 tlie mouth." There could not have been. There- 
 fore, there was not this quantity that Avould have 
 forced it into the stomach, and the very physical 
 condition of this corpse denies the story of the 
 other side, that was artfully pahned off upon the 
 officials, to explain the death of Benjamin F. Pite- 
 zel. 
 
 Dr. Leffman further testified : 
 
 " Q. Could the chloroform pass a dead oesoph- 
 agus without outside aid of a living person ? 
 
 A. I think not. The oesophagus is collapsed 
 in its active condition, and I do not think a dead 
 oesophagus could swallow any appreciable amount 
 of chloroform. 
 
 Q. Explain to the jury what the oesophagus is? 
 
 A. It is the tube leading from the mouth to 
 the stomach. It is the tube through which the 
 food passes. It is a muscular tube which the 
 food is passed down by a sort of contraction, the 
 tube contracting after the food and expanding be- 
 fore it, so that the food is quickly passed on into 
 the stomach. The bronchii, or trachea, which are 
 
452 ABQUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 the bronchial divisions of trachea, are the tubes 
 leading to the lungs. They are stiff walled, al- 
 waj's open, and rather larger than the oesoiDhagus. 
 At the upper part, at least. They divide and 
 sub-divide, becoming very small, penetrating all 
 parts of the lungs. 
 
 Q. Does or does not the act of swallowing re- 
 quire an effort of the will ? 
 
 A. It requires an effort of certain muscles. 
 Not exactly of the will. 
 
 Q. A voluntary act ? 
 
 A. It requires 'the act of certain muscles, of 
 living tissue. It is really involuntary in the sense 
 that when the food once starts we cannot control 
 it. After it starts we cannot control it. The 
 first part of the act is voluntary, but back of tlie 
 back part of the tongue the food goes without our 
 control. It requires the action of living tissue. 
 It is a reflex effect ; that is, it requires an irrita- 
 tion of tlie surface of the mouth and swallowing 
 tube, which is returned by a nerve current back 
 to the muscles that perform the act. 
 
 Q. Would tliere be any effect upon the lining 
 of the stomach visible in a post mortem examina- 
 tion due to the taking of chloroform in the 
 stomach in life ? 
 
AMUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 453 
 
 A. I would expect to see tlie stomach irri- 
 tated — the lining membrane irritated as by an 
 ordinar}^ irritant. 
 
 Q. Would the absence of that irritation indi- 
 cate that the chloroform had been inserted in life 
 or after death ? 
 
 A. The absence of the irritation would indi- 
 cate that the chloroform had not been in the 
 stomach long enough to produce any of its effects. 
 It would indicate at least an introduction of the 
 chloroform very near to death. 
 
 Q. After death would it produce an irrita- 
 tion ? 
 
 A. It would produce no irritation after death. 
 
 Q. So that if it were inserted after death, you 
 would not find the irritation ? 
 
 A. No, sir." 
 
 Now both doctors are positive that an examina- 
 tion upon the post mortem disclosed no irritation 
 of the walls of the stomach due to chloroform. 
 
 Q. So that if it were inserted after death, 
 you would not find the irritation ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 ■ Q. If it were inserted in life, you would ex- 
 pect to find that as one of the natural conse- 
 quences? 
 
454 ARGmiENT OF THE DISTlilCT ATTOKNEY, 
 
 A. Yes, sir." 
 
 Now I ask your atteutioii to this question: 
 
 " Q. Taking the history of this case as I have 
 given it to you, could you say whether or not, in 
 your opinion as an expert, the chloroform in this 
 case was self-administered or administered by a 
 second person ? 
 
 "The Prisoner: 1 object to that question, 
 for this reason, that I think it should be stated 
 distinctly as to wliat the District Attorney means 
 by ' as this case has been stated.' " 
 
 The District Attorney then stated : 
 
 " I will repeat it, I have stated to you. Doc- 
 tor, that this body was found lying upon its back 
 upon the floor, with one hand laid across the body 
 in this wise (illustrating), and the other lying 
 close to the side, both limbs stretched out, heels 
 together, and the whole body in a condition or 
 pose of repose, and there was congestion of the 
 lungs, and empty heart, and while there was an 
 alcoholic condition of the stomach, there was no 
 irritation of the lining, but there was chloroform 
 in the stomach, a pipe filled with tobacco lying at 
 the side, a burned match beside it. Those are 
 the conditions as I intended to describe them.'* 
 
 That is the answer to the statement of this 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 455 
 
 man ; the very condition physically and other- 
 wise of this body indicate that it could not have 
 been self-administered. That man did not die by 
 his own hand. If he did not die by his own hand 
 then it was by the defendant's hand, for he was 
 the only person who was with him at the time. 
 
 "Q. It could not have been self -ad ministered 
 under those conditions ? 
 
 .\. No, sir." 
 
 Now you are to try this case according to the 
 evidence, and that is the uncontradicted evidence 
 in this case ; the evidence that this could not 
 have been self-administered, the finding of that 
 body, the place where it was, the surrounding 
 conditions all clearly indicate that this man was 
 not self-poisoned, but was poisoned by a second 
 person. 
 
 See how far in our progress we have come. We 
 have established that this is Benjamin F. Pitezel, 
 we have established that he has died of chloro- 
 form poisoning, we have established that that was 
 not self-administered, but administered by a sec- 
 ond person ; we have shown that he was there in 
 that house on that fateful Sunday alone with the 
 dead man , we have' shown that every story told 
 by him to explain his presence was false , we have 
 
4r>(J ARGUMENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 shown lliut his theory and therefore his allegation 
 of suicide was false; we have shown the effort at 
 concealment when there was no other object unless 
 it be that the defendant knew he had committed a 
 murder and was telling these falsehoods one after 
 the other to conceal it. Upon no other hypoth- 
 esis can his conduct be explained than that lie 
 was concealing the crime of murder. That is 
 what made him flee from city to city, that is what 
 made him take this wife with him upon this won- 
 derful journey, that is what made him take even 
 the children along, that is what made him conceal 
 the letters and that is w^hat made him shut off 
 communication between the different members of 
 that household. This man was fleeing from the 
 shadow of murder ; that was the crime he was 
 seeking to avoid, that was what he was fleeing 
 from. It w'as the menace of pursuit and detec- 
 tion that made him take this journey which, if it 
 had not been interrupted at Boston, would only 
 have terminated when he reached Berlin with his 
 alleged wife. Miss Yoke. 
 
 I have now occupied joxxv time a great. deal 
 longer than I expected, and I trust you will at- 
 tribute it only to the desire I have to fully aid you 
 by every thought I can present on this testimony. 
 
ARGmiENT OF THE DISTRICT ATTOENEY. 457 
 
 You are to listen to counsel upon the otlier 
 side. I do not know what they will say, I do not 
 know what their line of defence will be. You 
 must remember that the Commonwealth is 
 obliged to grope in the dark ; we have not the 
 aid of an opening speech from my friend to in- 
 di' "^e the line of defence, so I am left completely 
 \n the dark as to what course the argument on 
 the other side is going to take. But I want 
 to call your attention to the limitation put upon 
 it by the evidence. Under this evidence there 
 is only one thing the counsel can argue to you, 
 which is that Pitezel committed suicide and was 
 not murdered. There is nothing else in this case 
 but that narrow question, and it is in the line 
 of that thought I have called your attention to 
 the facts and circumstances, and the testimony of 
 the experts which exclude the theory of suicide. 
 It is in that connection I have called your atten- 
 tion to Pitezel's own declaration and what he said 
 and did, indicating his hopeful outlook on the 
 future, and shown that there is not a scintilla of 
 evidence here to indicate any intention upon his 
 part to commit suicide, and I ask you if it is pos- 
 sible upon the statements of this man concerning 
 the mechanical contrivance of a bottle, a tube 
 
458 A Rd CM EST OF THK DL'^TRlCr ATTORNEY. 
 
 and a towel ; the condition in which the deceased 
 was [ihiced and the circumstances under whicli 
 the body was found, you are going to set aside the 
 weight of this mass* of testimony pointing to 
 a guilty crime and say that this subterfuge, this 
 tricky statement shall work an acquittal of the 
 prisoner, when the charge is so thoroughly and 
 completely brought home to him by the evidence 
 in this case ; such evidence as that of Dr. Leff- 
 man, who says it would be impossible for the 
 chloroform to be self-administered, the untenable 
 description of the contrivance ftir the alleged self- 
 adminstration in which, the Doctor says, there is 
 no provision made for an air vent so that the air 
 might enter and the liquid flow out of the bottle. 
 The story of the explanation of how suicide was 
 committed will not stand the test of criticism, and 
 how the defence of suicide is going to be sup[)orted 
 by any reasonable argument I am at a loss to un- 
 derstand. I ask you to confine yourselves to the 
 testimony concerning the facts in this case : not 
 the statements of counsel, not the things outside 
 of the case, but to the evidence as you have heard 
 it and as I have endeavored to review it and re- 
 call it to your memory so that you ma}^ be able to 
 be guided by it in reaching a proper result. 
 
ABGUMEXT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 459 
 
 Now this btrange trial is drawing rapidly tu a 
 close. It has been dramatic in its incidents, but 
 those incidents have nothing to do with the case. 
 The fact that this man appears without counsel 
 and then with counsel has nothing to do with the 
 question of his guilt or innocence. The simple 
 question is, Has the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
 vania, as it is bound to do, made out its case 
 beyond a fair and reasonable doubt ? If you 
 believe it has, then your duty is to find a ver- 
 dict of murder of the first degree against this 
 man. 
 
 I told you in the opening that, while iu this 
 bill of indictment there were several degrees of 
 guilt which you might find in your verdict, and 
 that you might also find a verdict of not guilty, 
 yet the evidence would point indubitably to one 
 result ; this man is either innocent and ought to 
 be acquitted, or is guilty of murder in the first de- 
 gree. There is no middle ground in this case. It 
 is the highest crime known to the law under the 
 circumstances surrounding the deceased, fur he 
 was poisoned to death, and the poisoning itself 
 indicates a clear intent to kill. If this man were 
 poisoned then there was the purpose to kill, and 
 it was a wilful, premeditated and deliberate mur- 
 
-16(1 ARai'MKXT OF THE DISTRICT ATTOKNEr. 
 
 der, and lliis prisoner is responsible in the highest 
 form of verdict you can render. 
 
 I know it is not a pleasant or agreeable duty to 
 be called upon as you are, taken from your ordi- 
 nary pursuits and selected to sit here and as part 
 of the administration of criminal justice, to sit in 
 judgment upon the life of a fellow man. You 
 doubtless find it repugnant and disagreeable, ai.d 
 I can readily understand how you might shrink 
 from finding such a verdict as the one I ask in- 
 volving the consequences it does; so as my con- 
 cluding thought I appeal to your manhood and 
 sense of right and ask you to do what the crier of 
 the court has asked you to do, " Stand together, 
 good men and true." 
 
 You have hearkened to the evidence. I ask 
 you to complete the work Avhich the law has cast 
 upon you by fearlessly, manfully and honestlj' de- 
 claring your judgment upon this evidence, no 
 matter what that judgment may involve to this 
 man ; no matter what its consequences may be to 
 the Commonwealth. It requires courage to dis- 
 charge one's duty in times of peace ; in the tem- 
 ple of justice, as part of the administration of the 
 criminal law, just as it does upon the field of bat- 
 tle in its flame and smoke. The man who faces 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DISrRTCT ATTORNEY. 4G1 
 
 the cannon's month, the man who faces the charg- 
 ing legiment, has no greater or higlier conrage 
 tlian tlie man who sits calmly in the place of a 
 juror, rising in his majesty, might and strength as 
 an individnal man to discharge fearlessly a great 
 and solemn duty. I ask you to stand as men, and 
 if you believe this man is guilty, aye, though it 
 consign him to punishment that involves death, he 
 true to your conscience, be true to your oaths, 
 discharge that duty fearlessly in the sight of God 
 and man, and remember you are not responsible 
 for his fate. That was sealed in the silence of 
 that Sunday in No. 1316 Callowhill Street. He 
 wrouglit the facts and fashioned the circumstances 
 that brought him here. You are not responsible 
 for his being here or for his trial upon this charge ; 
 you are only respojisible as good men and true for 
 the finding of a righteous, an honest, and a just 
 verdict. 
 
 I ask you, therefore, while guarding against 
 prejudice, while guarding against any false ap- 
 peal, not to be afraid to do your duty like men 
 and not to cower in the presence of that duty 
 though it involves things upon your part whicii 
 are repugnant, things that are repellant, things 
 that you would far rather shift away from you and 
 
4(1.! ARGUMKXT OF THE DISTBICT ATTOllXEY. 
 
 uvoicl encountering. I ask you to Tace the duly 
 raid acquit j-ourselves like men. I \iwo\\ that 
 great stress will be laid upon " A i easonable 
 doubt." "If you have a doubt this man is enti- 
 tled to the benefit of it." So he is, but it must 
 not be a doubt suggested by the desire to avoid 
 tlie performance of an unpleasant duty. If the 
 evidence fails to make the case out he is entitled 
 to his acquittal, but you are asked to perform no 
 higher function here than in your own home or 
 office or place of business. If this evidence would 
 convince you as men outside of this Court of this 
 man's guilt it ought to convince you equally in 
 the jury box. 
 
 There are no tuo standards of judgment, there 
 are no two standards by which to reach the result. 
 Your minds must operate siin])ly and only as plain 
 lioiiest men. Isecause 3"0u are sworn as jurors; 
 you are given no higlier [lOwer of discrimination, 
 no greater judgment ; you are asked sini[i]y io ae- 
 ([liit yourselves as in the everyday affairs of life. 
 If this testimony convinces you of his guilt you 
 must say so ; if it convinces you of his innocence 
 lionestly then yt)U should acquit. 
 
 I ask 3'ou to remember this testimony, I ask 
 you to remember that it is uncontradicted, that 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE DTSTniC'T ATTOUNEY. MX:. 
 
 there is not one scintilla of evidence to attack tlie 
 statement of Dr. Leffnian, that there is not one 
 scintilla of evidence to attack the statement of 
 Dr. Scott or of Dr. Mattern ; those statements 
 stand before you unchallenged. Nay, I go further 
 and say they stand before you admitted. They 
 are admitted in this case. In the face of this evi- 
 dence and his statements ; in the face of his flight 
 far away, there can be but one conclusion in your 
 minds I am sure, and that is that the man in the 
 dock is guilty in the manner and form in which 
 lie stands indicted of this ciime. 
 
 I thank you for your patience and earnest atten- 
 tion. I iiave been talking to you for nearly two 
 liours and a half, very much longer than I ex- 
 pected, and although perhaps uninteresting and 
 rather prosaic and full of detail, you have given 
 me your earnest attention from beginning to end. 
 I ask you to give it now to my adversary and then 
 to the Court and to the end, and with your ver- 
 dict whatever it may be conscientiously reached I 
 will be satisfied. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 Commonwealth 1 Court of Oyer & Terminer 
 
 vs. I Philadelphia County. 
 
 Herman W. Mudgett, alias ( Sept. Sessions, 1895. 
 
 H. H. Holmes. J No. 466. 
 
 motion for new trial, 
 
 Arnold, J. The first three reasons assigned for a 
 new trial, to wit, that the verdict is against the evi- 
 dence and the law, render necessary a statement of the 
 facts, a? +,hey were developed by the evidence at the 
 trial. 
 
 The defendant aud Benjamin F. Pitezel,the deceased, 
 were engaged in a conspiracy to cheat and defraud the 
 Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadel- 
 phia. In pursuance of their scheme, Pitezel obtained 
 a policy of insurance on his life, dated November 9th, 
 1893, for $10,000, payable to Carrie A. Pitezel, his wife. 
 Pitezel lived in St. Louis, and the defendant at Wil- 
 mette, a town about fourteen miles from Chicago. 
 Pitezel left St. Louis to come to Philadelphia on July 
 29th, 1894, rented and occupied the house No. 1316 Cal- 
 lowhill Street, assumed the name of B. F. Perry, and 
 held himself out as a dealer in patents. The defendant 
 appears to have come to Philadel[)hia shortly there- 
 after, and took board for himself and putative wife on 
 August 5th, 1894, at No. 1905 N. 11th Street, a distance 
 of nearly two miles from the house in which Pitezel 
 lived. On Tuesday, September 4th, 1894, Pitezel was 
 found dead in his house ; his body was lying on the 
 27 (465) 
 
466 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 floor, composed in position, but decomposed in condi- 
 tion ; his right arm was laid across his breast; his left 
 arm was lying by his side ; his breast was burned, ex- 
 cept that part of it which was covered by his arm ; his 
 face was black from decomposition, and there was a 
 strench arising from his body, which indicated that he 
 had been dead for several days. Beside him was a 
 pipe, filled with tobacco, but not smoked ; also a burnt 
 match. There was also a broken bottle, containing a 
 mixture of benzine, chloroform and probably ammonia, 
 near to his side, so that the appearance of things indi- 
 cated that there had been an explosion. Pieces of the 
 bottle, however, were not scattered about the floor, nor 
 sticking in the side of Pitezel, as might have been ex- 
 pected in case of an explosion, but they were all on the 
 inside of the bottle. 
 
 Pitezel was last seen alive by several witnesses on 
 Saturday, September 1st, 1894, on the evening of which 
 day he purchased a pint of whiskey, and took it home 
 with him. Subsequent developments proved that Pite- 
 zel came to his death on Sunday, September 2d, 1894, 
 and that his body lay unseen by any witness, so far as 
 knuwn, until Tuesday, September 4th, 1894, when it was 
 discovered by a man named Eugene Smith, who had 
 called to see Pitezel on the day before, but not finding 
 Pitezel, and getting no response to his call for Pitezel, 
 went away and returned the following day, Tuesday, 
 and upon going to the second story, saw Pitezel's body 
 lying on the floor. Smith went immediately to the 
 police station, obtained two officers, and also a neigh- 
 boring doctor, with all of whom he returned to the 
 house, and found the body in the condition above de- 
 scribed. The coroner's physician was also sent for, 
 and upon an examination of the organs and vital parts 
 of the deceased, the conclusion of the coroner's physi- 
 cian, and Dr. Scott, who took part in the examination, 
 was that Pitezel had been killed by chloroform poison- 
 ing, and that the chloroform was not self-administered. 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 467 
 
 His lungs were congested ; his heart was empty, which 
 indicated sudden death ; there was very little food in 
 his stomach; his kidneys were alcoholic and so was his 
 stomach. The doctors found half an ounce or more of 
 chloroform in the stomach, but as the stomach was not 
 irritated, their conclusion was that the chloroform was 
 put in after death. On the night of September 2d, 
 1894, the defendant suddenly and hurriedly left Phila- 
 delphia, giving a false destination to his landlady. He 
 had been away from his boarding house from 10:30 A. 
 M. to 4 P. M. that day, and when he returned he was 
 excited, nervous and worried, and his underclothing 
 was wet with perspiration. Pitezel was buried, under 
 the name of Porry, as a pauper in the Potter's Field. 
 Several days thereafter, the officers of the life insur- 
 ance company received word from the defendant that 
 the man who was buried under the name of B. F. 
 Perry, was the person who was insured in their com- 
 pany under the name of Benjamin F. Pitezel, and he 
 offered to furnish proof of identification of the body. 
 The agent of the company went to see the defendant at 
 his house at Wilmette, but did not find him. He 
 found, however, a lady who said she was the defend- 
 ant's wife. Shortly thereafter, a letter was received 
 from the defendant, stating that he had heard, through 
 his wife, that he was wanted, and in due course the 
 defendant came to Philadelphia after having arranged 
 that Alice Pitezel, the daughter of the dead man, 
 should also come here for the purpose of identify- 
 ing the body. Accordingly the body was exhumed on 
 September 22d, 1894, and was fully identified by the 
 defendant and by Alice Pitezel as the body of B. F. 
 Pitezel. On that identification, the insurance com- 
 pany paid the amount of the policy, on September 
 24th, 1894, to one Jeptha D. Howe, attorney in fact for 
 Carrie A. PitezeL After the money was obtained, it 
 was taken to St. Louis, where Howe retained $2,500 for 
 a fee ; $5,000 was obtained from Mrs. Pitezel by the de- 
 
468 3I0TI0N FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 fendaat, upon his statement that her husband owed 
 that amount on a note; and the balance was used in 
 paying sundry expenses, Mrs. Pitezel retaining only 
 $500 of the money. The note which the defendant 
 stated he paid with the $5,000 was not a valid note; 
 nothing had ever been advanced on it; nothing was 
 due upon it ; and nothing was actually paid upon it, the 
 defendant, in fact, keeping the money. After the 
 money was received, the defendant deceived Mrs. Pite- 
 zel by telling her that her husband was not dead ; that 
 he would return to her as soon as possible, coming to 
 her by way of Puget Sound. He also obtained from 
 her the custody of her two children, Howard and 
 Nellie, taking them to Indianapolis, as he said, to meet 
 their sister Alice, where the family were to be reunited. 
 He also induced Mrs. Pitezel to leave her home, taking 
 her remaining daughter and a babe with her, and going 
 to Detroit, upon the promise of the defendant that he 
 would produce her husband in that city. There he 
 registered her under a false name, kept her two or 
 three weeks without producing her husband, giving 
 her, among his excuses for not doing so, his assertion 
 that Pitezel was being watched by detectives. From 
 Detroit, he led her to Toronto ; thence to Prescott, 
 Canada; thence to Ogdensburg, New York; and thence 
 to Burlington, Vermont, all the while promising to 
 produce her husband to her, and her children also. In 
 some of these places, he rented furnished houses for 
 her to live in, and set her to housekeeping. In Bur- 
 lington, Vermont, he put dynamite in the cellar among 
 the potatoes, telling her to take the dynamite from the 
 cellar and carry it to the top of the house. She did 
 take it from the cellar, but did not take it to the top of 
 the house, for the reason, as she said, that it might ex- 
 plode, and do damage to the things stored there. From 
 Burlington, Vermont, Mrs. Pitezel, and the two chil- 
 dren she had with her, went with a messenger sent l-.y 
 the defendant, to Boston, where the defendant and 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 469 
 
 Mrs. Pitezel were arrested about November 19th, 1894, 
 aud held to await requibitiou. The defeudant was 
 wanted by the authorities iu Texas upon a charge of 
 horse stealing, aud also by the authorities in Peuusyl- 
 vania to answer for cheating aud defrauding the life 
 insurance company, or any offense which miglit be 
 alleged against him During all the journey in search 
 of her husband aud children, the defendant told Mrs. 
 Pitezel that ho was in correspondence with her chil- 
 dren, and had seen her husband, and would produce 
 him and them at the various places to which he took 
 her; but all this was a deception and a falsehood, for 
 she never saw her husband, and all she saw of her chil- 
 dren were the dead bodies of two of them at the morgue 
 in Indianapolis. After the defendant was brought to 
 Philadelphia, he was indicted upon the charge of con- 
 spiracy to cheat and defraud the life insurance com- 
 pany, by palming off a spurious body as that of Pitezel, 
 and on that indictment, pleaded guilty, and sentence 
 was suspended awaiting further investigation by the 
 authorities. Mrs. Pitezel was confined iu prison seven 
 months aud then discharged. In consequence of 
 further investigation, an indictment was found by the 
 Grand Jury on September 12th, 1895, charging the de- 
 feudant with the murder of B. F. Pitezel on September 
 2d, 1894. At the tiial, it was proved by several wit- 
 nesses, and admitted by the defendant's counsel, that 
 B. F. Pitezel was dead. It was also proved by the 
 statement of the defendant to the superintendent of 
 police, and one of the detectives of Philadelphia, as 
 well as admitted by defendant's counsel, that the de- 
 fendant was in Pitezpl's house on Sundaj^ September 
 2d, 1894, the day on which, according to the evidence, 
 Pitezel was killed. The theory of the defendant's 
 counsel, for no evidence was offered by him to sub- 
 stantiate the theory, was that it was a case of self- 
 murder; and that the defendant, fearing that the 
 policy of insurance would be vitiated by the suicide of 
 
470 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 Pitezel arranged the body in the manner in which it 
 was found, set fire to and burned it, and placed tlie 
 broken bottles alongside of it, for the i)urpose of mak- 
 ing it appear that Pitezel had died an accidental death, 
 caused by the explosion. 
 
 Three questions were submitted to the jury to de- 
 termine. First, was Benjamin F. Pitezel dead. Sec- 
 ond, did he die a violent death ; and third, if he died a 
 violent death, did he commit suicide or did the defend- 
 ant kill him. An answer to either one of these ques- 
 tions in favor of the defendant would have entitled 
 him to an acquittal. The jury resolved them all 
 against the defendant, and found him guilty of murder 
 of the first degree. Upon the hearing of the motion 
 for a new trial, I had the valuable aid of my colleagues, 
 Judges Thayer and Willson. The evidence was le- 
 hearsed and it is our unanimous opinion that the ver- 
 dict of guilty of murder of the first degree is fully jus- 
 tified by the evidence, and upon the facts of the case, 
 there is no ground shown for a new trial. 
 
 The fourth reason assigned is new matter discovered 
 since the trial. At the argument it was developed that 
 this so-called after-discovered evidence was manufac- 
 tured for the purpose and is utterly unworthy of belief, 
 and we will not notice it farther. 
 
 The fifth and sixth reasons assigned are that the 
 District Attorney, in his opening speech, made state- 
 ments which were not proven, and which related to 
 other crimes which could not be part of the evidence; 
 and that the Court erred in not allowing an affidavit to 
 be filed, and an exception to the statements made in 
 the District Attorney's opening speech. These rea- 
 sons, no doubt, are based upon a recent ruling of the 
 Supreme Court, in Holden vs. The Penna. E. E. Co., 
 1G9 Pa., 1, in which that Court granted a new trial be- 
 cause of the remarks of counsel in summing up the 
 evidence ; abuse of witnesses, and other outrageous 
 misconduct, which the Supreme Court properly re- 
 
BIOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 471 
 
 buked, by granting a new trial. A similar decision 
 was niade in Waldron vs. Waldron, 156 U. S. 360 and 
 cases cited, ''t is manifest that there is a difference 
 between opening speeches and summing up. In sum- 
 ming up a case, counsel can be and should be kept 
 strictly within the evidence given at the trial, and 
 abuse of witnesses without cause, and without decency, 
 should be promptly checked, and if repeated, should 
 militate against a verdict obtained by such means. In 
 the opening, however, counsel often state matters 
 which they expect to prove, but fail to prove^ either 
 from want of witnesses, or by reason of the evidence 
 being excluded by the Judge, who cannot be expected 
 to know in advance whether the case outlined by coun- 
 sel will be permitted to be proven. As to the exception, 
 it must be noticed that an exception is always pre- 
 ceded by an objection, and the exception is then taken 
 to the act of the Judge in sustaining or overruling the 
 objection. In this case, no objection whatever was 
 made, and consequently an exception has nothing 
 upon which it can be based. An exception, like an ob- 
 jection, must be taken at the time the objectionable 
 act is done, either in offering evidence; or in remarks 
 to the jury. The District Attorney's opening speech 
 was made on Monday, October 28th, and no exception 
 thereto was asked for until November 1st, or four days 
 thereafter. 
 
 The remarks of Judge Dean in Commonwealth vs. 
 Welier, 167 Penna., 164, are so apropos in this connec- 
 tion, that we quote them verbatim : " The attitude of 
 defendant's counsel, as exhibited by the record, is in 
 substance this: Counsel for the Commonwealth erred 
 in the matter of his addressing the jury. I erred by 
 remaining silent when I should have promptly brought 
 his error to the notice of the Court by objection ; the 
 Court committed no error, but its judgment should be 
 reversed because I did not perform my duty." This 
 illustrates the dilemma in which counsel are placed by 
 
472 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 their own conduct. According to all law and reason, 
 the exception was- asked fur too late, even if it had 
 been preceded hy an objection made in time. 
 
 If it be said that the defendant was at this time 
 without counsel, the answer is that it was his volun- 
 tary and deliberate choice. He was indicted Septem- 
 ber 12th, 1895. On September 23d, he was arraigned. 
 The record shows that his two counsel were present 
 with him at the arraignment. October 28th, or five 
 weeks thereafter, was fixed for his trial. Counsel 
 stated at the arraignment that they would not be 
 ready, and when the case was called for trial moved 
 for a continuance, which being refused, they first 
 threatened to withdraw from the case, and on being 
 told that they could not wiilidiaw without leave of the 
 Court, tliey entered upon the trial by questioning the 
 talesmen, as they were called to serve as jurors. 
 
 After being thus engaged for some time they held a 
 consultation with their client, and the defendant then 
 announced that he had dismissed his counsel and 
 would thereafter conduct the case himself. Other 
 counsel were assigned him, but he rejected their serv- 
 ices. 
 
 The Constitution of Pennsylvania as well as of the 
 United States, secures to persons accused the right to 
 have counsel to assist them at their trial, but it does 
 not attempt to force counsel upon them. The right of 
 ever}' man to plead his own cause is a natural inherent 
 right. The right to have counsel is given by the Con- 
 stitution, and no man can be deprived of the right to 
 defend himself or be compelled to have the services of 
 counsel. 
 
 The Constitution also secures to the defendant the 
 right to a speedy public trial. This was given in re- 
 turn for the right which the Commonwealth possesses 
 to a like speedy public trial, and it is not within the 
 power of persons accused to say when they will be 
 willing to be tried, or to defeat a trial by dilatory mo- 
 
3I0TI0N FOR NEW TRIAL. 473 
 
 tions and practices such as were resorted to in tliis 
 case. Nor was the defendant without counsel, for dur- 
 ing the recesses of Court and in the morning before 
 the openiog of Court he was in consultation with the 
 same counsel whom he had dischai'ged, and on the 
 evening of the second da3^ the counsel determined to 
 return and take part in the trial, but [permitted the de- 
 fendant to make another dilatory motion, which was 
 overruled, and the counsel immediately returned to 
 the conduct of the case. 
 
 The opening speech ot" the District Attorney con- 
 tained no statement not induced and justified by the 
 remarks of the counsel for the defendant at the very 
 beginning of the trial, when they asked for a continu- 
 ance, because, as they said, there were to be three 
 cases of murder tried, two of which were alleged t<j 
 have been committed out of the jurisdiction of this 
 Court. 
 
 In Commonwealth vs. Hanlon, 8 Philadelphia Ee- 
 ports, 423, it was decided by Judge Ludlow, that refer- 
 ence in opening by the prosecuting attorney to the fact 
 that the prisoner had been guilty of other crimes is not 
 a reason for a new trial. The Court very properly con- 
 sidered an opening speech like an offer of evidence 
 which is rejected. An offer of evidence, which is re- 
 jected, does not furnish a reason for the release of a 
 prisoner charged with murder or to annul the verdict 
 and require a new trial. Com. vs. Crossmire, 156 Pa., 
 310. 
 
 In the summing up of the District Attorney, no 
 allusion was made to these extra-territorial murders, 
 evidence of which had been excluded, for the reason 
 that no such connection between them was shown, as 
 was required in Shaffner vs. The Commonwealth, 72 
 Pa. 60, another case of murder by poisoning in order 
 to obtain insurance money; although there are c;ises 
 in which evidence of two murders at the same time 
 may be given on the trial of one, as in Brown vs. The 
 
474 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 Commonwealth, 76 Pa. 319; or cases in which an in- 
 heiitauce is secured by the killing of two persons at 
 different times, as in Goerson vs. The Commonwealth, 
 99 Pa. 388, and 106 Pa. 477. 
 
 In charging the jury I was careful to instruct them 
 that it was their duty to lay aside all impressions, and 
 not be influenced by anything which they heard of 
 other cases than the one on trial and decide the case 
 only on the evidence given at the trial. Here I am 
 tempted to say that the offer by the District Attorney 
 of evidence of the murder of other members of Pite- 
 zel's family might well have been admitted to show the 
 defendant's purpose to kill them all in order to rid 
 himself of their claims for the money he had illegally 
 obtained horn Mrs. Pitezel, and therefore the opening 
 speech of the District Attorney was not open to ob- 
 jection. The violent death of at least four members of 
 the family after they were within the defendant's toils, 
 woidd justify the belief that they were murdered by 
 the defendant, and that the murders were all part of 
 one common design, and included the entire Pitezel 
 household. The dynamite placed in the Burlington 
 house by the defendant with his directions to Mrs. 
 Pitezel to remove it, looks as if he intended to take her 
 off by an explosion. 
 
 The seventh reason is that the District Attorney, in 
 his closing speech, mentioned the death of the children, 
 and the finding of their dead bodies in the morgue. 
 In all cases of crime, especially cases of alleged mur- 
 der, we naturally want to know what was the motive 
 for the killing, although absence of proof of motive is 
 not fatal to the prosecution. Commonwealth vs. Buc- 
 cieni, 153 Pa. 525. The motive alleged for the killing 
 in this case was a desire to obtain the insurance upon 
 the life of Pitezel. The insurance money was payable to 
 his wife. When she received the money, the defendant 
 obtained from her at least $5,000 of it, in payment of 
 an alleged debt which Pitezel did not owe. It became 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 475 
 
 necessary i'or him to induce Mrs. Pitezel to believe 
 that tiie money was obtained by fraud, and tlierefore 
 did not belong to her; that her husband was still alive, 
 and the defendant promised to produce Pitezel to his 
 wife in the several cities to which he took her. He 
 also obtained possession of three of her children, and 
 lured her through the several cities in the vain search 
 for her children, as well as her husband. As his 
 motive was thus to obtain her money by deceiving her, 
 it was necessary to receive her evidence of the decep- 
 tion practiced upon her in the several cities to which 
 he took her, and having entered upon the story of her 
 travels with him it was impossible, as well as improper, 
 to receive only part of that story, and not hear all of 
 it to its conclusion, which was that she did not find her 
 husband, and that she never saw her childien until she 
 saw their dead bodies in the morgue. No evidence was 
 received as to the manner of the death of the children, 
 or who caused their death, if they had been killed, but 
 a simple statement completing the story of his decep- 
 tion and falsehood practiced upon her, without in any 
 way whatever incriminating him in their murder, if 
 they were killed. 
 
 Eighth, ninth, and tenth reasons. Much of what 
 has been said under the seventh reason applies to 
 these reasons. As Mrs. Pitezel's story was clearly 
 competent evidence in the case, it could not be broken 
 up into pieces and only part of it given. The effort of 
 the defendant to drag into the case troubles which 
 Pitezel had in Terre Haute, Indiana, had nothing 
 whatever to do with the case, and we think the evi- 
 dence was properly rejected. 
 
 Eleventh reason, (a) Puling that defendant's wife 
 was a competent witness. A lady named Georgiana 
 Yoke, who was married to the defendant under the 
 name of Howard, on January 17th 1894, was called as a 
 witness to testify against the defendant. It was 
 alleged that, at that time, he had a wife living at 
 
476 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 "Wilinette, Illinois, to whom tlie agent of the insurance 
 Company went when he was looking for the defendant. 
 The agent of the company obtained from the lady who 
 answered to the name of Mrs. Holmes a photograph of 
 herself, with a babe in her arms, which ai)pears to be 
 from three to six months old. Shortly thereafter, the 
 agent of the company received a letter from the de- 
 fendant, stating that he wrote it in consequence of the 
 message left with his wife. In another letter from the 
 defendant he alluded to his marriage to this lady in 
 Illinois. Upon these statements made by the defend- 
 ant in writing, it was considered that tlie marriage 
 with Miss Yoke was null and void ; that she was not his 
 wife; and consequently she was permitted to testify 
 against him. When the testimony was offered, I was 
 inclined to believe that the jury were to pass upon the 
 question of his previous marriage, in order to deter- 
 mine the competency of the witness, but subsequent 
 reflection, led me to the opinion that, as the Judge is 
 the trier of the competency of the witnesses (Lyon vs. 
 Daniels, 12 Pa. 197) the matter should not be referred 
 to the jury, and consequently it was not in my charge; 
 but I quoted her testimony to the jury and treated it 
 as competent, upon my judgment that the marriage 
 between the defendant and Miss Yoke was absolutely 
 null and void. Second marriages, where there is a 
 former husband or wife living, are not only voidable, 
 but they are absolutely void ah initio. Thomas vs. 
 Thomas, 124 Pa. 646. Divorces are not granted in such 
 cases, but decrees of nullity of marriage may be ob- 
 tained, according to the forms of procedure followed 
 in divorce cases. But a decree of nullity is not es- 
 sential, the only object of obtaining a decree being to 
 make certain, positive, and record evidence of the 
 nullity of the marriage. 
 
 In 1st Greenleaf on evidence, Section 339, it is said 
 that, " On a trial for polygamy, the first marriage be- 
 ing proved and not controverted, the woman with whom 
 
MOTION FOB NEW TRIAL. 477 
 
 the second marriage is had is a competent witness, for 
 the second marriage is void." . . . "It seems, 
 however, that a reputed or supposed wife may be ex- 
 amined on her voir dire, as to facts showing the in- 
 validity of the marriage." * * * "Where the parties 
 had lived together as man and wife, believing them- 
 selves lawfully married, but had separated on discover- 
 ing that a prior husband supposed to be dead, was still 
 living, the woman was held a competent witness 
 against the second husband, even as to facts communi- 
 cated to her by him during her cohabitation." 
 
 In this state, it was decided by Judge Pearson, of the 
 Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, that a 
 party to a second marriage is a competent witness to 
 prove its illegality. Shaak's Estate, 4 Brewster, 305. 
 
 In the present case. Miss Yoke testified that, after 
 her marriage, the defendant talked with her about his 
 first wife, who lived in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, 
 and told her that he had received word that the woman 
 in Gilmanton was dead. At the argument, the District 
 Attorney produced a certified copy of the record of a 
 proceeding in divorce in Cook County, Illinois, by Her- 
 man W. Mudgett against Clara A. Mudgett, and in his 
 petition sworn to December 11th, 1886, the present de- 
 fendant swore that he was married to Clara A. Mudgett 
 on July 4th, 1878, at Alton, New Hampshire. The case 
 was dismissed by the court on June 4th, 1891, for want 
 of prosecution. As the competency of this witness was 
 a question for the court, the production of this record 
 satisfies me that he was not only married to the lady 
 in Wilmette, Illinois, but that he had a former wife liv- 
 ing in New Hampshire at the time he married Miss 
 Yoke, and consequently the marriage with her was null 
 and void. 
 
 Proof of the ceremony of marriage in such cases is 
 not necessary. No better evidence is required than a 
 man's declaration against himself in a question involv- 
 ing the competency of a putative wife to testify against 
 
478 3I0TI0N FOB NEW TRIAL. 
 
 him. This is called direct proof, and is as effective as 
 proof of a ceremony. Heffner vs. Heffuer, 23 Penna. 
 104; Greeuawalt vs. McEnelley, 85 Penna. 352; even in 
 criminal cases arit^iug out of marriage ; Commonwealth 
 vs. Wyman, 3 P>rewster, 338; 2 Greenleaf on Evidence, 
 section 461, and note. 
 
 In Forney vs. Hallaeher, 8 Sergeant & Eawle, page 
 159, Judge Gibson decided : — 
 
 That, "to support an action for criminal conversation 
 there must be an actual marriage, but it is quite an- 
 other thing to say that such marriage shall be proved 
 only by the oath of an eyewitness to the marriage 
 ceremony. We at once feel the good sense of the rule 
 that excludes the mere reputation of marriage which 
 always arises fi'om the declarations or ads of the plain- 
 tiff himself. But how a defendant's unqualified and 
 positive acknowledgment of the marriage in fact can 
 be excluded on any principle or rule of evidence I am 
 at a loss to discover." 
 
 Inasmuch as the defendant had in writing admitted 
 that the lady in Wilmette was his wife, and also written 
 about his marriage to her, I have no doubt whatever 
 that his declaration against himself justified me in con- 
 sidering him a married man at the time he entered into 
 the contract with Miss Yoke, and therefore that she 
 was not his lawful wife. Consequently she was a com- 
 petent witness against him, and as such she was prop- 
 erly admitted. 
 
 Eleven, (b) Allowing evidence of the whereabouts 
 of the children and finding their dead bodies in To- 
 ronto. This has been sufficiently answered in the con- 
 sideration of the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth rea- 
 sons. 
 
 Eleven, (c) Permitting jurors to enter the box who 
 upon their voir dire stated that they had formed or ex- 
 pressed an opinion regarding the guilt or innocence of 
 the defendant. The question raised by this reason has 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 479 
 
 been so often considered by the Supreme Court of this 
 State, and decided in favor of the competency of such 
 jurors, that it would be a work of supererogation to 
 cite all the authorities in support thereof. 
 
 I refer to Commonwealth vs. Crossmire, 156 Penna. 
 304, as probably the latest decision on the subject. No 
 more can be required of persons called as jurors than 
 their oath that they can decide the case according to 
 the evidence, laying aside any impression they may 
 have or opinions they have formed. That evidence 
 may be required to change their opinion does not mili- 
 tate against them as jurors, for it is manifest that with 
 jurors as well as judges evidence is required to change 
 impressions or opinions. There was no talesman re- 
 ceived as a juror who did not come clearly within the 
 rule laid down, and was not entirely competent to serve 
 as a juror according to all the law on that subject. The 
 jury was an uncommonly intelligent jury, selected by 
 the prisoner himself, who seemed disposed to reject all 
 who were untidy and unintelligent in appearance. The 
 defendant certainly had twelve intelligent and thought- 
 ful men to decide his case. They were selected by him- 
 self, with discretion and judgment. They were un- 
 biased by fixed immovable opinions, listened atten- 
 tively to the evidence, and rendered a verdict accord- 
 ing to their oaths on the evidence only. 
 
 The twelfth reason is that the court erred in charg- 
 ing the jury by giving undue prominence to the evi- 
 dence given by the Commonwealth, and not sufficient 
 prominence to the evidence favorable to the prisoner. 
 
 The statement upon which this reason is based is not 
 true. There was no evidence given by the defense, 
 and, therefore, nothing of that character for the judge 
 to call to the attention of the jury. 
 
 In the argument it was alleged that the cross-ex- 
 amination furnished the prisoner's defense. As before 
 said, there was a theory advanced that Pitezel com- 
 mitted suicide ; that he arranged a bottle containing 
 
480 3I0TI0N FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 chloroform and attached it to a rubber tube with a 
 quill outlet; that he put the bottle on a chair beside 
 him, and that the chloroform ran down through the 
 tube into or upon a cloth on his mouth, and thus pro- 
 duced his death, but there was no evidence that such a 
 bottle or tube was found in the house. 
 
 Detective Geyer stated that the defendand told him 
 that the body found at No. 1316 Callowhill Street was 
 a substituted body which he had procured from a 
 medical friend in New York, and brought to Phila- 
 delphia in a trunk; that he met Pitezel in Philadelphia 
 and gave him the check for the trunk, and then left for 
 the West, and the next place he saw Pitezel was in 
 Detroit, Michigan. He stated that he told Pitezel how 
 to prepare the substituted body, by laying it on the 
 floor, placing an arm across its breast, pouriug a liquid 
 iuto the stomach and then setting fire to it. 
 
 Geyer testified in a subsequent interview, that the 
 defendant told him that the story about there being a 
 substituted body in No. 1316 Callowhill Street was not 
 true, and that the body found there was really the body 
 of Benjamin F. Pitezel. He also told the detective that 
 when he went to the house on Sunday, September 2, 
 1894, he found Pitezel dead on the third story, lying on 
 the floor, with his arm across his breast, with a bottle 
 of chloroform on a chair with a gum hose and quill at- 
 tached to it, so arranged that the chloroform would fall 
 on a piece of cloth across Pitezel's mouth; that he 
 found a note which told him to look in a bottle in a 
 closet, that he broke the bottle and found a note in 
 cipher from Pitezel, which told him that Pitezel was 
 tired of life and had committed suicide ; that he found 
 the body in the third story and dragged it to the second 
 story back room and placed it in the position in which 
 it was found, taking a bottle of liquid and placing it 
 alongside the head, breaking it, lighting a pipe, throw- 
 ing the pipe on the floor, lighting matches and throw- 
 ing them down, to make it appear as though an ex- 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 481 
 
 plosion had taken place there. He told Captain Linden, 
 superintendent of police, the same stories, retracting 
 the first before telling him the second. The testimony 
 of Detective Geyer and of Captain Linden on this sub- 
 ject was read in the charge to the jury. 
 
 Tliat the first story, to wit, that there had been a 
 substituted body placed in the house, was false, is 
 proved by the defendant's own admissions. In an affi- 
 davit made before the Coroner on September 23, 1894, 
 the defendant swore that he learned of Pitezel's death 
 through the newspapers, and saw and identified the 
 body at the City Burial Ground. He also swore that 
 the last time he saw Pitezel alive was in November, 
 1893, in Chicago, which was another deliberate false- 
 hood. The truthfulness of tiie second assertion, to 
 wit, that Pitezel had committed suicide, was submitted 
 to the jury with as much emphasis as any other part of 
 the case. A repetition in detail of these inconsistent 
 stories would only tend to bring out in a stronger light 
 the untruthfulness of the defendant, and his utter un- 
 reliability. To dwell on these inconsistent stories 
 would only bear so much the harder upon the defend- 
 ant. The condition of the body when found, to wit, a 
 discharge of the bowels and the bladder, which the 
 physicians testified generally accompany death, and 
 which takes place at or immediately before dissolution, 
 showed that Pitezel was not killed on the third floor, 
 but on the second floor, where he was found. 
 
 There was evidence in the case which proved that 
 the defendant was furnishing money to support Pite- 
 zel, that Pitezel was addicted to the use of liquor to 
 excess, and that he had purchased a pint of whiskey 
 the night before the day on which he was killed. It is 
 not a violent presumption to infer that the defendant 
 found Pitezel under the influence of liquor and then 
 resolved upon killing him in order to get rid of the 
 burden of supporting him and to obtain the money 
 from ihe insurance company. Confiimation of this 
 28 
 
482 MOTION FOB NEW TRIAL. 
 
 may be found in a question put by the defendant to 
 Dr. Mattern in Avhich the defendant aslced the doctor 
 whether he was prepared to give a professional opinion 
 as to the effect that one-half hour before Pitezel died 
 or at the time of his death, he was not in an insensible 
 condition from the excessive use of alcohol. This sug- 
 gestive question, like several other questions put by 
 the defendant to witnesses, indicates his knowledge of 
 Pitezel's condition, and justified the inference of the 
 jury that the defendant administered the chloroform 
 to Pitezel. 
 
 Under our code of criminal procedure it is not neces- 
 sary to set forth in the indictment or prove in detail 
 the exact manner in which a murder has been com- 
 mitted. If it were it would be impossible in many 
 cases to furnish such proof, and therefore many guilty 
 persons would escape. 
 
 In Twitchell's case, 1 Brewster's Eep., page 551, the 
 defendant was convicted on the theory tliat he killed 
 his mother-iu-law by striking her on the temple with 
 the angle of a poker. After Twitchell's death it be- 
 came generally known that he had killed his victim 
 with a sluDg-shot. 
 
 In Bell's case, 164 Penna. 517, the defendant was 
 convicted of killing his victim by choking her. This 
 was inferred from well defined thumb and finger 
 marks on the neck of the deceased. 
 
 In The Commonwealth vs. Johnson, 162 Pa. 63, the 
 defendant was convicted of killing his own child by 
 drowning it. There were no marks of violence on the 
 body, which was not found until six days after the 
 last day the child was seen alive. 
 
 In Crossmire's case, 156 Penna. 305, the defendant 
 was convicted of strangling the deceased, which was 
 the opinion of a medical expert, and there was no di- 
 rect proof as to the manner of killing. 
 
 In Gray vs. The Commonwealth, ini Pa. 380, the de- 
 ceased was last seen alive on February 20th, 1877. On 
 
MOTION FOB NEW TRIAL. 483 
 
 April 4th, 1878, or nearly fifteen months thereafter, a 
 human skull and jawbone were found in the river near 
 by. The skull was identified as the skull of the de- 
 ceased. There were wounds on it which it was testi- 
 fied were sufficient to produce death. The defendajit 
 while in prison for another ofTence, admitted to a fel- 
 low prisoner that he had murdered the deceased with a 
 hatchet. The defendant was convicted and executed, 
 yet there were no eyewitnesses to the murder. 
 
 The present case is not singular by any means. 
 There is much similarity between it and Udderzook vs. 
 The Commonwealth, 76 Penna. 340, in which Chief 
 Justice Agnew commenced his opinion with this 
 phrase : " This is indeed a strange case, a combina- 
 tion of two to cheat insurance companies, and a mur- 
 der of one by the other to reap the fruit of the fraud." 
 
 In that case the murdered man was supposed to 
 have been burned in his shop on February 2d, 1872. 
 On July 1st, 1873, which was seventeen months after- 
 wards, the prisoner and the man who was supposed to 
 have been burned were seen together. On July 9th, 
 1873, a man travelling on the turnpike observed buz- 
 zards in the woods, and smelled a very unpleasant 
 odor. Obtaining aid, he uncovered the earth and 
 leaves around the place, and found the body of a man, 
 with the legs and arms cut off, and hidden sixty-five 
 feet away. This body was subsequently identified as 
 the man who was supposed to have been burned. The 
 defendant was indicted, convicted and executed upon 
 circumstantial evidence. There was no proof as to the 
 manner of killing. The deceased, like Pitezel, had an 
 alias name, was in the habit of drinking to excess, and 
 his clothing was found burned in the woods like Pite- 
 zel 's was in the house. 
 
 In the present case, as in the cases above referred to 
 as examples of kindred cases, there was no eyewitness 
 to the crime. The defendant was convicted on what is 
 called circumstantial evidence; that is to say, a sue- 
 
484 MOTION FOB NEW TRIAL. 
 
 cession of circumstances tending irresistibly to the 
 conclusion that the defendant killed and murdered the 
 deceased, as charged in the bill of indict uient. That 
 condition of his victim, that is, whether he was aslerp 
 or under the influence of liquor, is a matter not only 
 difficult of proof, but entirely unnecessary. The maiu 
 question was whether Pitezel had been killed, and, if 
 killed, whether by himself or the defendant. The jury 
 found that the defendant killed Pitezel, on evidence 
 which was as convincing as human evidence can be 
 made. 
 
 The thirteenth reason is that the Court erred in 
 charging the jury as follows: "You will notice by the 
 testimony which w-as read to you that the doctors who 
 examined him say his death was caused by chloroform 
 poisoning, and that it could not have been self-admin- 
 istered. Now if it was not self-administered who w;is 
 it administered the poison to him ? Who poisoned 
 him and who took his life ? " 
 
 Exactly what error appears in this reason I confess 
 myself unable to see. It was simply a submission to 
 the jury of the question they were sworn to try, which 
 was whether the defendant killed Pitezel, without in any 
 manner whatever indicating any opinion on the subject. 
 
 The fourteenth reason is that the court erred in 
 charging the jury as follows: "If you are not fairly 
 satisfied with the evidence of his guilt he is entitled 
 to the benefit of the doubt." 
 
 It has been so often said that it is not necessary to 
 cite authorities to prove it, that a charge is to be con- 
 sidered as a whole and not by selecting sentences and 
 criticising them by themselves. If it is not proper to 
 select sentences apart from the entire context, how 
 much more important is it that parts of sentences 
 should not be separated and alleged as error. 
 
 The sentence from which the above is taken is to be 
 found in that part of my charge in which I was treat- 
 ing of the question of doubt, wJiich was fully and era- 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 485 
 
 phatically laid before the jurj\ The entire sentence 
 as found iu the charge is as follows : 
 
 "If, after considering the testimony, you are unable 
 to come to the conclusion that he is guilty, there is 
 a doubt about it and you hesitate, or, iu other words, 
 if you are not fairly satisfied by the evidence, of his 
 guilt, he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and 
 should be acquitted for that reason." 
 
 The counsel for defendant omitted the first, as well 
 as the last and most important part of this sentence, 
 to wit: "That if the jury are not fairly satisfied by 
 the evidence of the guilt, he is entitled to the benefit of 
 the doubt and should be acquitted." The word 
 " fairly," when used in connection with the measure of 
 proof required as a defense has been held by the Su- 
 preme Court to be the proper word to use in such cases. 
 Commonwealth vs. Bezek, 168 Pa. 603, is the last case on 
 this subject. It is true that the word was used in con- 
 nection with the proof offered by the defendant as to 
 his insanity, and the Supreme Court said that the de- 
 fendant was bound to satisfy the jury by fairly pre- 
 ponderating evidence, while to hold him to proof by 
 clearly preponderating evidence was to hold him to too 
 strict a burden ; in other words, that the rule is that 
 the defendant's proof should, like the Commonwealth's 
 proof, be of a character that will fairly satisfy the jury 
 of the matters attempted to be proved. 
 
 The word "fairly" was not the only word used in 
 this connection. In the next sentence, the jtiry were 
 told that if upon a consideration of the entire evidence, 
 they were firmly convinced of the defendant's guilt, 
 then it is a case of murder as charged ; and in answer 
 to defendant's fifth point, the jury were told that un- 
 less they were thoroughly satisfied with the evidence 
 that the defendant is guilty, he cannot be convicted. 
 
 In Turney vs. The Commonwealth, 86 Pa. 54, it was 
 held that, "A conviction can be had only after the 
 jury have been convinced beyond a reasonable doubt 
 
486 3I0TI0N FOR NEW TRIAL. 
 
 of the defendant's guilt." There no qualifying adverb 
 WHS used. The jury must be convinced or satisfied 
 by the evidence. 
 
 Having in view the decisions of the Supreme Court 
 in which this subject has been considered of late years, 
 I used the word " fairly " because it is the jjroper 
 adverb to be used in that connection. 
 
 The fifteenth reason is that the court erred in not 
 affirming points No. 3 and No. 6 submitted by the de- 
 fendant. 
 
 These points were based upon the theory that Pitezel 
 committed suicide, and asked the Judge to decide as a 
 matter of law that the evidence does not establish beyond 
 a reasonable doubt the commission of the crime alleged. 
 
 These points were refused, and the question was sub- 
 mitted to the jury upon the evidence to find whether 
 Pitezel had been murdered by the defendant or com- 
 mitted suicide. 
 
 As to the question of doubt, that is a condition of the 
 minds of the jurors after they have heard the testimony. 
 It is not for the Judge to say that there cannot be a 
 conviction for murder, because it was possible that 
 Pitezel killed himself. In every case of murder such 
 possibilities may exist. A man who is shot may have 
 died from heart disease caused by the fright of being 
 chased by another with a pistol in his hand. A man 
 who is struck with a club may not receive his death in 
 consequence of that blow, but may strike his head 
 upon a stone and thereby come to his death. But in 
 all cases, and especially in a case like the present, 
 where the evidence tended unmistakably to prove the 
 willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing by the de- 
 fendant, the mere theory of his counsel that the de- 
 ceased committed suicide, without any evidence what- 
 ever to sustain the theory, does not create a legal 
 doubt, such as to require the Judge to decide the 
 question as one of law. The case is for the jury, and 
 to the jury it was submitted. 
 
MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. 487 
 
 If a mere theory without evidence is to prevail over 
 facts alleged by the commonwealth and proved by evi- 
 dence, tending irrisistibl}' to but one conclusion, then 
 it will be impossible to convict anyone of crime except 
 by the proof of eyewitnesses ; and not even then if cun- 
 ning devices such as were resorted to in this case shall 
 be set up as probable truths and accepted as positive 
 facts, to be declared and enforced by the Judge, to the 
 exclusion of every other possibility. 
 
 Upon the whole case, we are convinced that the com- 
 monwealth proved such a chain of circumstances as 
 lead irrislstibly to the conclusion that the defendant 
 did kill and murder Benjamin F. Pitezel on September 
 2d, 1894, as charged in the bill of indictment; that Pite- 
 zel was killed by chloroform poisoning administered by 
 the defendant ; and whether Pitezel was asleep or under 
 the influence of liquor at the time the chloroform was 
 administered is not important. The theory advanced 
 by the defendant, and argued by his counsel to the 
 jury, that Pitezel committed suicide, and that the 
 defendant arranged his body in such a manner as 
 to make the death appear to have been the con- 
 sequence of an explosion, has no substantial evi- 
 dence upon which it can be based. An act of that 
 kind would require coolness and deliberation, whereas 
 the testimony shows that the defendant, immedi- 
 ately after he had left Pitezel, was excited, nervous 
 and worried, and his underclothing was wet with per- 
 spiration. This was the condition of a man who had 
 committed a great crime, rather than one who was try- 
 ing to conceal the evidence of a suicide. The defend- 
 ant's flight must not be overlooked in this case. If 
 Pitezel had committed suicide, and the defendant 
 simply tried to conceal the suicide, it is not probable 
 that he would have fled from the city. Flight is the 
 act of a guilty man, and not the act of a cunning man. 
 Being firmly convinced of the guilt of the defendant, 
 we approve the verdict and refuse a new trial. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 This is a voluminous record. An examination of it 
 shows tliat the trial of the defendant furnished some 
 unloolied for situations and dramatic incidents, but no 
 one of them seems to have been the result of anything 
 irregular or sensational in the manner or rulings of the 
 learned trial Judge. On the other hand, it is apparent 
 that they were due to the extraordinary character of 
 the circumstances with which the defendant had sur- 
 rounded himself, and to his interference with the usual 
 methods of trial. Indeed, the assignments of error, 
 although thirteen in number, have been intended to 
 raise no questions except such as may be characterized 
 as general questions of law, and they have been pre- 
 sented in this Court and discussed in the oral argu- 
 ment in a thoroughly lawyer-like manner and with de- 
 cided ability. We proceed to consider them in their 
 order. 
 
 The first, second, third and fourth assignments re- 
 late to the admissibility of the testimony of Georgianna 
 Yoke who was called as a witness by the Common- 
 wealth and whom the defendant alleged to be his law- 
 ful wife. At the time this witness was called there was 
 evidence before the Court showing that the defendant 
 had an establishment of some sort at Willmette in the 
 State of Illinois which was known, at least to some of 
 his acquaintances, as his home, where as H. H. Holmes 
 he lived with a woman who was understood to be his 
 wife. The evidence further showed that a letter which 
 had been left at this establishment with this woman in 
 his absence by the witness Cass, had been promptly 
 
 (489) 
 
490 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 replied to by H. H. Holmes; and that in the answer he 
 referred to this woman as his wife saying, "I am in 
 receipt of a letter from mj' wife stating that you called 
 on her in regard to Mr. Pitezel. She also enclosed me 
 clipping from paper which I presume you gave her." 
 All this evidence tending to show that the prisoner 
 was a married man, and that his wife lived in Illinois 
 and was known as Mrs. Holmes, wtis before the Court 
 when Georgianua Yoke was called. There was noth- 
 ing in the name of the witness and there was nothing 
 in her testimony when she was first on the stand to 
 suggest that she was the wife of the prisoner, or to 
 throw any doubt upon his being, as he appeared to be 
 at that stage of the evidence, the husband of the 
 woman of whom he had written as his wife. 
 
 An objection to her competency taken when she was 
 first called and examined would have had nothing on 
 which to rest. At a later stage of the trial she was re- 
 called by the defendant and examined upon this sub- 
 ject. She then stated that she had been married to 
 the prisoner by a clergyman in the city of Denver in 
 January, 1894: ; that his name was then Howard, and 
 that she was married to him by that name. She stated 
 further that, during much of the time between January 
 and the following November, she had lived with him 
 as his wife supposing that she occupied that position 
 towards him, but that she had learned before his ar- 
 rest that he had been married some time previously to 
 a woman living in Gilmanton, N. H., whom she under- 
 stood to be still living. She had heard still earlier of 
 the woman at Willmette, but did not understand that 
 Howard had been lawfully married to her. She had 
 talked with him about the woman at Gilmanton while 
 they were at Boston, not long before his arrest. His 
 sister had told her that the prisoner had accounted for 
 having married her while his wife was living at Gil- 
 manton by telling his father's family that he had been 
 seriously injured in a railroad wreck; that she (Miss 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 491 
 
 Yoke) had nursed him and had been instrumental in 
 saving his mind, but had married him before he linew 
 where he was or what he was doing. This story she 
 told the prisoner. He did not deny or explain the 
 story, but said in his own defence that when he mar- 
 ried lier he had been told that the woman at Gil man- 
 ton was dead. The witness was apparently satisfied 
 that her marriage was not valid, and she had resumed 
 the use of her maiden name. 
 
 As she was competent, prime facie, when called and 
 examined, the burden of showing her incompetency 
 was on the prisoner who alleged it. The testimony of 
 Miss Yoke, to which we have just referred, was given 
 for that purpose, and it was all the evidence upon that 
 subject. The fair effect of it was to show that no legal 
 marriage had taken place, that Miss Yoke had been 
 cruelly deceived, and that the legal wife of the prisoner 
 lived at Gilmauton, N. H. Let us grant that if the de- 
 fendant had been on trial for bigamy the testimony of 
 Miss Yoke might not have been sufficiently definite as 
 to the fact of the first marriage to justify a conviction 
 of the <lefendant, yet we must remember that, so far as 
 the competency of the witness was concerned, the bur- 
 den of proof was not on the Commonwealth. She was 
 apparently competent. The burden of establishing 
 her incompetency by proof of a lawful marriage be- 
 tween himself and her was on him who alleged it. The 
 learned Judge would have been justified in doing 
 what the prisoner's counsel complain that he did not, 
 viz: treat this question of competency as a question 
 of law, and overrule the objection to her testimony at 
 once. What he did was more favorable to the prisoner 
 than he had a right to ask. He submitted the ques- 
 tion of the legality of the marriage to the jury, in- 
 structing them that, if they found it to be valid, they 
 should reject the testimony of the witness altogether. 
 We do not see how the prisoner can expect success- 
 fully to complain of a ruling that gave him one more 
 
492 THE DECISION OF THE SUPKE3IE COURT. 
 
 chance for a favorable decision upon tlie question of 
 the competency of tlie witness than he had a right to 
 aslf. 
 
 The fifth and sixth assignments are in effect but a 
 different mode of raising the question we have just con- 
 sidered. They complain of the submission of the testi- 
 mony of Miss Yoke to the jury. She had been exam- 
 ined very fully as to the movements of the prisoner on 
 that Sunday on which he had stated to Mr. Linden, 
 Superintendent of Police, that ho saw and arranged the 
 dead body of Pitezel in the Callowhill Street house. 
 This evidence the learned Judge referred to and sub- 
 mitted to the jury. It is not suggested that her evi- 
 dence is not fairly repeated, nor that any statement is 
 attributed by the Court to her that she did not make. 
 The burden of the assignment of error must therefore 
 be that the testimony was treated by the learned Judge 
 as competent and as properly before the jury. This 
 was not an error for the reasons given when treating 
 of the question of the competency of the witness, and 
 we do not see that it was inconsistent with the action 
 of the learned Judge in submitting that question to the 
 jury, since it was necessary, at least provisionally, to 
 call their attention to the effect of the testimony and 
 the questions to which it was related. These assign- 
 ments are therefore overruled. 
 
 The thirteenth assignment should be considered in 
 this connection, as it is directed against the action of 
 the Court in submitting to the jury the question of the 
 existence of a legal marriage between the prisoner and 
 Miss Yoke at the time she was called as a witness, and 
 the direction to them to consider, or to exclude from 
 consideration, her testimony as they might find upon 
 that question. We have already said that while the 
 submission 'of the question might not have been neces- 
 sary, we cannot see that it did the prisoner any harm. 
 The verdict undoubtedly shows that the jury decided 
 this question against the prisoner, but so we think the- 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPRE3IE COURT. 493 
 
 learned Judge should have done if he had undertuken 
 to pronounce upon the effect of Miss Yoke's testimony 
 iu regard to the legality of her marriage to the pris- 
 oner. The prisoner cannot complain that he should be 
 taken at his word upon this question ; and the story 
 told by him to his father's family, which Miss Yoke 
 afterwards called to his attention and his excuse made 
 to her for marrying her while he had a wife living at 
 Gilmanton, are enough to discredit the alleged mar- 
 riage. We do not see how the jury or the Court could 
 have done otherwise than say that the prisoner had not 
 successfully shown the witness to be incompetent; and 
 whether the Court had disposed of the question in the 
 first instance by an instruction, or allowed the jury to 
 dispose of it without any controlling direction upon the 
 subject, the prisoner had no ground for complaint. 
 
 The twelfth assignment is to the refusal by the learned 
 Judge to allow an exception to the opening address of 
 the District Attorney, As we understand the situation, 
 the objection to the opening address was not made at 
 the time of its delirery, but several days later, near the 
 close of the trial. The District Attorney had in his 
 opening stated the case of the Commonwealth. He had 
 detailed in their order the incidents connecting the 
 prisoner with Pitezel, with the procurement of the policy 
 of insurance on his life, with his subsequent death, the 
 identification of the body, the absorption of the insur- 
 ance money by the prisoner and his subsequent move- 
 ments. He called attention to the part taken by Alice 
 iu the identification of her father's body, and to the 
 fact that she was kept thereafter from a meeting with 
 her mother whom the prisoner had led to believe that 
 her husband was still alive. He then spoke of the re- 
 markable journeys upon which Alice and her brother 
 and sister were moved in one group, Mrs, Pitezel 
 and her other children in another, and Georgianna 
 Yoke by herself or in company with the^prisoner in a 
 third. He told how they went from place to place, near 
 
494 THE DECISION OF THE 8UFBE3IE COURT. 
 
 to each other, were housed at the same time in the same 
 city, but always without meeting, until one by one the 
 three members of one group disappeared. He then 
 spoke of the finding of their remains, and of the power- 
 ful array of circumstances connecting the prisoner with 
 their death, and the disposition of their bodies. 
 
 The theory of the Commonwealth was that the motive 
 for the killing of Pitezel was to secure the insurance 
 money; and the killing of Alice and the two children 
 who were with him grew out of his desire to prevent 
 Mrs. Pitezel from knowing of the death of her husband, 
 and of her consequent right to the insurance money. 
 The several homicides were thus alleged to be con- 
 nected, to have a common motive and to form parts of 
 one general plan. In opening his case it was natural 
 for the District Attorney to state, indeed it was his duty 
 towards the prisoner, to state fully what he intended 
 to offer for the consideration of the jury bearing upon 
 his guilt. This he did do, and, so far as we are advised, 
 without objection from the Court or the prisonei*. 
 
 The trial proceeded upon the lines indicated in the 
 opening, until the subject of the disappearance and 
 murder of the children was reached. An objection was 
 interposed by the prisoner's counsel on the ground that 
 the evidence offered was intended to show the commis- 
 sion of an independent crime not charged in the indict- 
 ment. After some consideration the objection was sus- 
 tained by the learned Judge and the evidence excluded. 
 
 Then, as we understand the course of the trial, and 
 not until then, the application was made for leave to 
 except to so much of the opening address of the Dis- 
 trict Attorney as related to the excluded evidence. 
 The learned Judge well said, in answer to this request, 
 that there was no method by which an exception could 
 be sealed by the Court to statements in the address of 
 an attorney, days after they had been made ; and that, 
 if any statement made by the District Attorney had 
 been deemed objectionable, the attention of the Court 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 495 
 
 should have been called to it at the time when it was 
 made, and when its correction was possible. To this 
 we are disposed to add another consideration — viz, 
 that such a practice would require the trial Judge to 
 anticipate the course of the trial and decide upon the 
 admissibility of evidence in advance of its being of- 
 fered. 
 
 We have no doubt of the power, nor in a proper case 
 of the duty, of the Court to supervise the addresses of 
 counsel so far as may be necessary to protect prisoners 
 or parties litigant from injurious misrepresentations 
 and unfair attack, and the jury from being misled. 
 When this power should be exercised must be left to 
 the sound discretion of tlie Judge, and he should not 
 hesitate to act where the fair administration of justice 
 requires him to do so. 
 
 But there was nothing in the addiess of the District 
 Attorney in the opening of the case of the Common- 
 wealth that either the defendant's counsel or the Court 
 seemed at the time to think required the exercise of 
 this discretionary power. The subsequent action of 
 the Court in rejecting a part of the case of the Com- 
 monwealth did not have a retroactive effect upon the 
 opening address. 
 
 It is probable that the learned Judge entertained 
 some doubt about the admissibility of this evidence 
 and gave, as he should always do, the benefit of his 
 doubt to the prisoner. But if he had admitted it, we 
 are not prepared to say it would have been error. As- 
 suming the correctness of the theory of the Common- 
 wealth, the evidence was admissible under the author- 
 ity of a line of cases, among which are Turner vs. the 
 Commonwealth, 8G Pa. 54; Kramer vs. the Common- 
 wealth, 87 Pa. 299; Commonwealth vs. Goerson, 99 Pa. 
 398, and the Commonwealth vs. Bell, 166 Pa. 405. But 
 the decision of this question is not necessarily involved. 
 It is enough for the purposes of this case to dispose of 
 the question raised by the assignment and hold that 
 
496 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 there was no error in refusing the request for an ex- 
 ception to the address of the District Attorney made 
 several days after the address liad been completed. 
 
 Tlie next question, following the natural order of the 
 assignments, is that raised by the eighth. It relates 
 to the admission of the story told by Mrs. Pitezel 
 about the manner in which she saw and recognized the 
 remains of three of her children within a few weeks 
 after the death of her husband. This was part of the 
 general story of her search after her husband, whom 
 she supposed to be still alive, and the three children, 
 who were kept just a little ways ahead of her until, one 
 by one, they had disappeared. The search was made 
 under the control and direction of the prisoner. She 
 followed on where he promised her husband would 
 come and her children would meet her. During all 
 this time he knew her husband was sleeping in the 
 Potter's Field. He knew that first the boy and then 
 Alice and her sister had gone out of sight while under 
 his general care and their bodies had been mutilated 
 or concealed. She saw them, or their remains, at last. 
 When and how she saw them she was allowed to state, 
 and to that extent, at least, it was competent for her to 
 speak of her children regardless of the question raised 
 by the assignment of error last considered. The whole 
 story of Mrs. Pitezel has a unity of character, and its 
 incidents are so affected by the prisoner's acts and dec- 
 larations in regard to her husband and his where- 
 abouts, that we do not see any reason for rejecting as 
 irrelevant any portion of it. We think also that it had 
 a direct bearing upon the question of motive. At 
 least it was for the jury to say from it whether the per- 
 sistent concealment of Pitezel's death from his wife 
 and his representations to her that the insurance 
 money had been obtained by fraud were not induced 
 by his desire to escape litigation over the money and 
 to avoid the suspicion of murder being started against 
 him in her mind. 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPBE3IE COURT. 497 
 
 The ninth assignment is directed towards a state- 
 ment made by the learned Judge in his charge to the 
 jury. Speaking of the death of Pitezel, he said : " You 
 will notice by the testimony which was read to you 
 that the doctors who examined him say his death was 
 caused by chloroform poisoning, and that it could not 
 have been self-administered." This, it is alleged, was 
 wholly unwarranted by the evidence. As to the first 
 part of this statement there could be no complaint, for 
 the fact that the deceased came to his death by chloro- 
 form poisoning was practically conceded by the pris- 
 oner. The contest was over the question whether the 
 poison from which he died was self-administered and 
 his death was due to suicide, or was feloniously ad- 
 ministered by the prisoner and his death due to mur- 
 der. 
 
 In the interview which was testified to by E. J. Lin- 
 den, Superintendent of Police, the prisoner gave his 
 own account of Pitezel's death. He found him, as he 
 alleged, on the floor of a third-story room in the Cal- 
 lowhill Street house, dead. He said he was led to the 
 third floor by a note left for him on the table in the 
 front room on the first floor, directing him to search 
 for a letter in a bottle in a closet opening off the same 
 room. In the bottle, he says, he found a long letter 
 telling of the purpose of the writer to commit suicide, 
 and that his body would be found on the third floor. 
 Going to that floor he alleges he found Pitezel, dead. 
 A large bottle with the chloroform stood near by, and 
 leading from it to the dead man's mouth was a tube 
 with a quill inserted in it so as to reduce the aperture 
 for the flow of the fluid. 
 
 He says he felt that the appearances of suicide should 
 be removed or a defence might be made to the policy 
 upon that ground. To do this he dragged the body 
 down to the second floor, broke the bottle, scattered 
 some inflammable liquid over the face and beard of the 
 dead man and set it on fire to give to the body and the 
 2^ 
 
498 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 room the appearance of an explosion and the happen- 
 ing of death by accident. 
 
 The theory of the defence included, therefore, the 
 idea that Pitezel's death was due to chloroform poison- 
 ing, and the objection must relate, therefore, only to 
 the statement that the doctors had testified that the 
 poison could not have been self-administered. The 
 post mortem examination had disclosed the presence 
 of an ounce and a half of chloroform in the stomach at 
 that time. How did it get there ? As the story of the 
 prisoner indicated, by a slow process of self-adminis- 
 tration by means of the tube, or in some other manner? 
 Upon this subject medical experts were called. They 
 explained the effects of the drug upon the nerves and 
 brain, and upon the lining of a living stomach. They 
 gave two reasons why the chloroform could not have 
 been self-administered in the manner alleged by the 
 prisoner. In the first the intoxicating quality of the 
 drug would cause such semi-conscious or purely invol- 
 untary motions of the muscles, and changes in the po- 
 sition of head and body, as would break the connec- 
 tion between the bottle and the mouth by means of the 
 alleged tube. In the next place the chloroform had 
 not affected the lining of the stomach, in other words, 
 it had been introduced into the stomach after death. 
 This testimony fully justified the statement of the 
 learned Judge now complained of, and the assignment 
 of error is overruled. 
 
 The eleventh assignment alleges error in the answer 
 to a point submitted on behalf of the prisoner. The 
 instruction asked by the point was somewhat involved. 
 It was in substance a request for an instruction that, 
 if the jury should believe the deceased died from 
 chloroform poisoning, and that it was possible for him 
 to have administered it to himself, and that this theory 
 was as consistent with the facts in the case, as that it 
 was administered with criminal intent by the prisoner, 
 then the verdict should be not guilty. This was an- 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT 499 
 
 other way of saying that if the theory of suicide was as 
 consistent with the facts as the theory of murder, then 
 tlie prisoner should be acquitted, and it might have 
 been affirmed without more. The answer, though not 
 categorical, was in effect an affirmance. It was, "If 
 you believe he (the deceased) did it himself, why of 
 course the prisoner is not guilty." When to this is 
 added the general instruction that the burden of prov- 
 ing the guilt of the prisoner beyond a reasonable 
 doubt remains upon the Commonwealth from the be- 
 ginning to the end of the trial. 
 
 If, therefore, the jury adopted the theory of suicide, 
 or if, being unable to adopt it, they were yet unable to 
 accept beyond a reasonable doubt the theory of mur- 
 der, in either event they were told the verdict should 
 be not guilty. This fully guarded the rights of the 
 prisoner, even if it be conceded that a categorical 
 affirmance of the point would have been in better form. 
 
 This brings us naturally to the tenth assignment of 
 error which denies tlie clearness and adequacy of the 
 exposition by the learned Judge of the doctrine of the 
 reasonable doubt. The passage from the charge em- 
 bodied in the assignment of error is the least important 
 part of the instruction given to the jury upon this sub- 
 ject, and does not fairly represent the learned Judge. 
 He said in immediate connection with the passage 
 complained of : " In all criminal cases, gentlemen, it is 
 essential that the defendant shall be convicted by evi- 
 dence which persuades the jury of the guilt of the 
 prisoner beyond a reasonable doubt. By a reasonable 
 doubt I do not mean an obstinacy or a resolution not 
 to consider the testimony of the witnesses carefully. 
 But it is that condition of the mind in which hesitancy 
 arises after having given the evidence a fair consider- 
 ation, and you find yourself unable to come to a con- 
 clusion as to the guilt of the prisoner." This was a 
 full and adequate presentation of the subject. Take 
 the passage embodied in the assignment in connection 
 
500 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 with that we have just given (and they stand in imme- 
 diate connection in the charge) and it is apparent that 
 the prisoner has no just ground of complaint because 
 the doctrine of the reasonable doubt was not fully 
 stated and brought into sufficient prominence. 
 
 The remaining assignment is to the whole charge, 
 which, it is insisted, was wanting in clearness, was not 
 impartial, but was calculated to prejudice the minds 
 of the jurors against the prisoner by giving undue 
 prominence to such circumstances and considerations 
 as were hurtful to him. It must be borne in mind that 
 the defendant called no witnesses. The evidence be- 
 fore the Court and jury was only that of the Common- 
 wealth, which had been gathered together for the pur- 
 pose of clearing up the mystery surrounding the death 
 of Pitezel and fixing responsibility for it upon the 
 prisoner. His real reliance was upon the reasonable 
 doubt. The web of circumstantial evidence that had 
 been woven about him consisted of many threads, but 
 the web taken as a whole was strong. 
 
 It was impossible for the learned trial Judge to pre- 
 sent the case to the jury in an intelligent manner with- 
 out the strength of the circumstantial evidence being 
 felt. This was not due to the rhetoric of the learned 
 Judge, for he indulged in none. It was due to the 
 convincing character of the facts and circumstances 
 themselves, and to the completeness with which an 
 adroitly arranged and badly executed scheme had 
 been unravelled by the Commonwealth, and its detail 
 laid before the Court and jury. 
 
 "We have examined this charge as a whole carefully, 
 and with a view to the question raised by this assign- 
 ment, and we cannot agree that it is inadequate or that 
 it is wanting in fairness of spirit. The evidence was 
 reviewed, for the benefit of the jury, with reference to 
 its bearing upon the great questions submitted to them 
 for final determination. These were stated in their 
 proper order : 
 
THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 501 
 
 First. Was the body that was found in the Callow- 
 hill Street house the body of B. F. Pitezel? This 
 seemed to be quite clear of any difficulty. 
 
 Second. If the body was that of Pitezel, did his death 
 result from chloroform poisoning ? This was asserted 
 as a fact by the medical witnesses, and was assumed 
 by the prisoner in his statement to Superintendent 
 Linden. 
 
 Third. If Pitezel died from chloroform poisoning, 
 was the poison self-administered, with suicidal intent, 
 or was it feloniously administered by the prisoner? 
 This was the only real point of controversy. 
 
 Finally, was there upon the whole case a reasonable 
 doubt of the prisoner's guilt of the murder charged in 
 the indictment ? 
 
 This review was not elaborate, but it was adequate. 
 It presented the questions of fact clearly, and laid down 
 the legal rules by which the jury should be guided in 
 investigating and determining them. "We are satisfied 
 that this assignment is without merit and that it should 
 be overruled. 
 
 The defendant had a fair trial, and that is all he has 
 a right to demand. At one stage of the trial he was 
 placed perhaps at a disadvantage for a short time by 
 his own conduct in dismissing his counsel and assum- 
 ing the responsibility of conducting his own defence; 
 but the Court was in no sense responsible for this. 
 The prisoner and his counsel were; and the learned 
 Judge did all that could reasonably be done to protect 
 him from himself, as well as to secure to him a fair 
 trial, upon evidence restricted to circumstances of the 
 admissibility of which there was no reasonable doubt. 
 In no respect has any just ground of complaint been 
 made to appear, and the judgment must be affirmed. 
 
 It may be well before concluding this case to say that 
 the object of a trial before a jury is to ascertain with 
 as much certainty as can be attained in a human tri- 
 bunal the guilt or innocence of one charged with crime. 
 
502 THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 When, as the result of such a trial, a verdict has been 
 reudered against the prisoner, it ought not to be set 
 aside by the trial Judge, or by proceedings in a Court 
 of Error, unless in some essential particular the trial 
 has been erroneous. No merely technical or formal 
 objection not affecting the result should be listened to. 
 It is neither for the credit of the Courts, for the inter- 
 ests of society, nor does it tend towards the repression 
 of mob violence or the preservation of good order, that 
 the course of justice should be blocked or turned aside 
 by technical objections which, however valuable they 
 may once have been, are now, and long have been, 
 empty shells; or by verbal distinctions that in this age 
 mark no real differences. The prisoner has been found 
 guilty of murder in the first degree by a jury after a 
 protracted and a fair trial. No substantial error in that 
 trial has been pointed out. The evidence fully sustains 
 the verdict and we are not disposed to disturb it. All 
 the assignments of error are overruled and the judg- 
 ment appealed from is affirmed. 
 
HV 
 
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