Confessions of the Serial Killer H.H. Holmes (Illustrated)

by Mudgett (aka H. H. Holmes), Herman Webster

  It is possible that District-Attorney Graham of Philadelphia realized his poor case against Holmes when he said he would oppose an extradition proceedings. If the Philadelphia authorities have a case against Holmes for the murder of Pitezel, the elder, they have kept it surprisingly quiet. So far as is known at present it cannot be proved that Holmes was in Philadelphia at the time of the murder, although he was undoubtedly there. His alleged motive for the crime can also be attacked by the defense, for he would have nearly as good a chance for the $10,000 insurance had Pitezel escaped and

  another body been placed in the Callowhill Street house. Substitution of the bodies had paid well before. Besides, the case is old and the remains of the murdered man will be far beyond identification by this time. The case that the Canadian authorities have against Holmes is much stronger. He is traced from the States to Toronto with the children. His identity is established at the Palmer House and that of the children at the Albion. Then both murderer and victims are recognized at the scene of the crime, not by one witness but several. His motive for the deed committed in the Nudgell cottage is clearly shown. His immediate motive lay in the fact that Mrs. Pitezel, his Nemesis, was in the city and might at any moment meet the children on the street. Holmes has been identified as borrowing a spade on the last day that the two girls were seen at the cottage or anywhere else, Holmes giving his excuse for borrowing the spade that he had purchased some potatoes on Church Street - a palpable lie. This and the going away of Holmes early the next day are all strong corroborative facts from which he will find it hard to escape. The finding of the toy belonging to the little girls in the house by a MacDonald boy, and of the partially burned clothing of the girls are double links in the

  chain.

  Some years ago Chicago was startled by the bold kidnapping of little Annie Redmond, daughter of a wealthy South Side blacksmith. Her abductors, while keeping their identity a secret admitted in a series of notes sent to the parents of the child their object was to hold her for a big ransom. The kidnapping, as afterward proved, was done by a Mrs. Gurley, who some time later was arrested for the crime and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. Mrs. Gurley refused to talk much about the case at the time, but threw out hints about having done the job at the instigation of other parties.

  This was considered by police to be merely for effect and no organized effort was made to look up the woman’s associates. Since the exposure of Holmes’ rascality it has been ascertained the Gurleys were not only neighbors of his Sixty-third and Wallace streets, but were on intimate terms socially with him. It is clear enough now to those who have investigated the matter that the mysterious abduction of the Redmond child was a job put up by Holmes, and that he used the Gurleys over whom he had some queer control, as his tools. Whether the obtaining of a ransom was his sole object or not is a matter for doubt.

  The peculiar manner of the kidnapping, the way in which the child was concealed, and the mysterious wording of the messages which were sent to harass the parents, tend to show some hidden motive. Mr. Redmond and his wife quarreled over the matter and the blacksmith went insane and was arranged in court, his wife appearing as the prosecuting witness. A big lot of money was spent in trying to locate the girl before the trail was finally struck which led to the arrest of Mrs. Gurley, and yet there was never a time when the child was more than a block from Holmes’ castle, her identity being effectually concealed by dressing her in boy’s clothes.

  The night of Dec. 19, 1893, Holmes invited Jeweler Davis to his home over the drug store in the building. While there Holmes showed him photographs of both Minnie and Nana Williams. They were taken in the pose and dress affected by actresses. Holmes said the elder of the two girls was his “best girl” and told several stories of his acquaintance with her. Davis is positive of the date and he is sure neither of the girls was ever seen about the place after that.

  Holmes left the city Jan. 2 He was seen by Davis several times in the meantime, and the day he left he sold some goods to Davis and received a check for $25 on the First National Bank of Englewood in payment. Mr. Davis’ books show the check was certified the day it was written. It turned up later in Fort Worth, Tex. Before Holmes started he told Mr. Davis he was going South, where he had some property. He said he had received some title deeds to a large piece of property in some deal he had made some time before. He said he had written to a lawyer in Fort Worth asking him to examine the records and ascertain how much the property was worth. The result of the investigation he declared was satisfactory, but the condition of the property necessitated his going to Fort Worth to look after it. He went to Fort Worth and, with Pitezel, worked the town until it got too hot for them and then left. Mr. Davis said Holmes was in Chicago three months later and told him at that time that Minnie Williams lived in a boarding house in Yale Avenue for some time, but had been asked by the landlady to leave.

  One young woman, who was employed by Holmes as a typewriter in one of his schemes said:

  “In the matter of Minnie Williams I don’t know much. I saw her, but at the time did not know who she was. When Holmes opened an office in Sixty-third street he wanted a lot of letters written, but I did not care to undertake the work, so he had me write to a young woman whose address was Dwight, Ill. I am certain the woman I wrote to was Minnie Williams, though that was not the name Holmes gave to me. He said the woman I was writing to had been a stenographer and would undertake the work.”

  Mr. M. G. Chappell, of Chicago, says he mounted skeletons for Holmes, and professes to know a good deal about Holmes. The Chappell family, however, assert that the old man is a hard drinker and not accountable for what he says.

  “That’s all right,” said Chief Badenoch one morning. “Chappell may be a little confused on his dates, but when he can take us, as he has, to Holmes’ house and say ‘dig there and you will find so and so,’ and we dig and find what he says, I take it to mean that Chappell knows what he is talking about.”

  In speaking of the theories which might be held from the results so far obtained, the chief said:

  “While it is true that we are not able to prove the corpus delicti in any of the cases which form a part of this Holmes investigation, nevertheless I feel it incumbent upon me to have this investigation continued. Take for instance the case of this Miss Cigrand. Here is a girl who worked for Holmes. She wrote regularly to her folks. All at once this correspondence ceases. Her folks can’t find her. Holmes gives it out that she has gone to Europe.

  This man Chappell comes along and tells us of skeletons he has mounted for Holmes. He produces the skeletons. The conclusion is that Holmes knows something of the disappearance of Emiline Cigrande and that Chappell is a reputable witness. This department would not be doing its duty if it did not take cognizance of his story and push a sharp investigation. I will candidly admit, however, that what we most want now is some one who can prove a corpus delecti in any of the cases.”

  Upon being asked what line he intended to pursue he replied:

  “That I don’t feel at liberty to state.”

  He was then asked if he noticed that in some cases his supposed victims were not insured?

  “Not insured under their own names, perhaps, but how does any one know that they were not insured under other names? You see, there are several things to be considered in this matter. Perhaps Holmes may have had a confederate in the insurance business. I don’t say that he had, but merely say he might have had.”

  Little is known of his affairs from 1884 to 1891. He worked under various aliases and was the instigator and principal in vast swindling operations in all parts of the United States. He was in California in 1888. A detailed account of the score of fraudulent deals in which he is known to have been implicated would not prove of great interest. He was almost always successful in these ventures and abandoned one city only to make another his victim. How many such transactions were conducted under names not yet known to the police is the merest conjecture, but it is certain that
only a small percentage of his swindles have yet been charged against him.

  Holmes does not look like a man who can do as he has done. He walks in a stoop shouldered meditative way and is very deliberate in speech. His voice is low and puny. He claims to possess hypnotic power, saying that he was taught how to acquire and use it while in college in Vermont. There is every reason to believe his claim is correct. His absolute ascendancy over those he selected as victims indicate that he posses mesmeric or hypnotic powers in a marked degree.

  This is not the first time Holmes has been before the public and in the press. Nine months ago Chicago papers devoted whole pages to his career. It was not until Wednesday, July 18, of the present year, and until after the whole world stood aghast at the multiplying horrors of the crimes committed in his slaughter pen that Chicago’s chief of police and his assistants officially recognized the event and went to work on the case.

  For nine months the bodies of at least three murdered persons have rested in the quicklime which slowly effaced the proofs of guilt against a man already under arrest, and who had practically admitted that he was guilty of murder.

  Just at what time Holmes commented making murder a part of his plans is not known. It seems evident that for two years he never hesitated to kill any living human being whose existence in the slightest degree menaced his safety or the successful consummation of his plans. He married at least four times and made alliances with an unknown number of mistresses. Holmes seemed to fascinate women. They listened to the honeyed words of this smooth-spoken gentleman and laid their lives and fortunes at his feet. And to-day, when the world marvels at the enormity of his crimes, the surviving

  wives of this monster refuse to believe the charges made against him and patiently await the hour of his vindication.

  A study of Holmes’ career shows that he seldom deviated from the policy of getting rid of people who threatened to become troublesome. He changed his associates as rapidly as possible, and his former companions did not come back to hamper and harass him. In the pursuance of this policy it was but natural that Benjamin F. Pitezel should go the way of the others. But, while it is easy to find a motive for the murder of Pitezel, and possibly for the slaughter of his three children, there are features of this last atrocity which defy all attempt to logically account for their happening. The public is familiar with the main details of the Pitezel murders, and only a digest is necessary.

  Pitezel was the trusted accomplice of H.H. Holmes. They had been together for years, and it is not impossible that Pitezel was Holmes’ fellow student when the pair successfully worked the $12,500 swindle against a Chicago insurance company. Pitezel was absolutely under the control of Holmes.

  In July, 1894, a policy of insurance for $10,000 on the life of Benjamin F. Pitezel was issued by the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Association of Philadelphia. In September the charred body of a man was found in a house at 1316 Callowhill Street. This house had been rented by a man who gave the name of B. F. Perry.

  The supposed body of Perry was found, but subsequently a claim was made that it was the corpse of B. F. Pitezel. H. H. Holmes and Alice, the 14year-old daughter of Pitezel went to Philadelphia and positively identified the body as that of B.F. Pitezel. The $10,000 was paid over to Jeptha B. Howe, a lawyer.

  The parties to the conspiracy had a row over the division of the money. Howe demanded $2,500 and finally obtained it. He was subsequently arrested but was released, it being impossible to prove anything against him. Holmes gave Mrs. Pitezel $500, kept $2,500 himself, said he had given Pitezel $2,000 and claimed the other $2,500 was retained by Howe until his claim was satisfied. Holmes told Mrs. Pitezel that her husband was hiding in South Africa and would return after a time. It is now regarded as certain that Holmes murdered Pitezel and made $7,500 by the operation.

  In the language of gamblers Holmes is supposed to have been given Pitezel “the double cross.” Holmes seems to have decided that it was time to kill Pitezel, and he lost no time in putting his plans in operation. The two of them went to Philadelphia and rented the room. Holmes says they searched a long time in New York and Philadelphia before finding a corpse which resembled Pitezel. Finally by the aid of his old Ann Arbor college chum, they found just the thing, a cadaver with a wart on the back of his neck, the same as Pitezel’s and one which conformed in every way to his accomplice. When the room was opened B. F. Perry was found lying flat on the floor. The right hand was

  on the chest and the left hand by the side. A corncob pipe filled with tobacco lay within easy reach. A bottle containing carbolic acid was on the floor close by. It had been broken in two at the middle. The face was burned and so were the clothes on the bed. It seemed as if Perry had fallen asleep and that the lighted pipe had ignited the clothes.

  Alice did not return to St. Louis. Holmes did and told Mrs. Pitezel that the child was in good hands and offered to take Nellie and Howard with him and see that they were well provided for. The mother consented. It is hard to explain what Holmes wanted with the children. Nellie was 11 years old and Howard 9. Then began a series of events which are absolutely inexplicable. Holmes took them to Chicago and from there to Indianapolis, and Detective Frank Geyer of Philadelphia, expects to find his dead body in some cellar where Holmes kept the children. With Alice and Nellie he went to Cincinnati, Detroit and several other places. In the meantime Mrs. Pitezel was worried about her children, and Holmes returned to St. Louis and assured her that they were all right, and said he would take her to them. He told her they must be careful, as detectives were watching him. Mrs. Pitezel took the name of Adams, and with Holmes visited a dozen cities. He kept promising that they would soon see the children and succeeded in keeping up her hopes in spite of repeated disappointments.

  They finally arrived in Toronto, and here Holmes disappeared. Mrs. Pitezel says she has reason to believe that Holmes had the children in Toronto at this time. Holmes went to Burlington, called on his first wife in Gilmanton, went on to Boston, and was there arrested by inspector Gidden of that city. Two days later Mrs. Pitezel was arrested in Boston.

  On July 15, 1895, the bodies of Alice and Nellie Pitezel were found buried in the cellar of a cottage at 16 St. Vincent Street, Toronto, Canada.

  It has been very conclusively shown that Holmes rented the cottage last fall from a Mrs. Neudall, clerk of the educational department. Neudall recognized Holmes’ photograph as that of the man who rented the cottage. The rent was paid for a month.

  A small amount of furniture was moved into the house and for two days the children played around the yard. Then they disappeared. The feet of the younger child had been cut off. Nellie had deformed feet, and the murderer took this method of preventing identification. Mrs. Pitezel had no difficulty in identifying both of the bodies.

  What motive had Holmes for killing the Pitezel children?

  If he desired to kill them, why did he not take them to the castle and finish the tragedy with as much promptness as he seems to have displayed on other occasions?

  What had he to gain by taking them from town to town and exposing himself to the observation of hundreds of witnesses?

  Were there witnesses to any of his crimes?

  It does not appear that Holmes made St. Louis the scene of any extensive operations.

  Up to this time Holmes had committed no crimes without a perfectly plain motive. He is unquestionably the greatest living expert in graveyard insurance. He began when a boy, and has confessed that in this field of swindling he has made over $250,000. He was forever urging upon his associates the necessity of their taking out a life insurance policy. In the case of Conner he was so insistent that Conner finally paid the agent the amount of a policy and then refused to sign the application. This was the only way he

  could escape Holmes’ importunities. If Holmes deliberately decided to kill Pitezel for the sake of collecting the amount of his policy, it is but logical to assume that in some way he managed to have policies made out for Annie, Nellie and Howa
rd Pitezel.

  Have any insurance policies been issued on the lives of the Pitezel children?

  If so, the motive of the murder is plain. This theory fits in with every detail of the case as now known. It is not necessary to assume that either B. F. Pitezel or Mrs. Pitezel had any knowledge that their children were insured. A man with the resources of H. H. Holmes would not be at a loss to find a way to obtain insurance and collect it after their death.

  When the facts in the case are known it may be found that Holmes had an accomplice in the insurance business. With the aid of such an accomplice he could have forged the applications and made them payable to any one of his many aliases. Observe how perfectly this supposition fits in with the facts. Holmes induces Pitezel to insure his life for $10,000. He kills Pitezel and collects the money Pitezel is out of the way. He cannot rise from the grave and interfere with the completion of the conspiracy. Holmes returns to St. Louis and secures possession of the children, on whose little lives an insurance has been placed. At this time no charge is made against Holmes. He is, so far as the law is concerned, a good citizen, and upright, honorable business man. He takes the children away from Mrs. Pitezel and brings them to Chicago. It will not do for him to kill them on his own premises. Their bodies must be found and identified.

  Whom shall he place them in charge of?

  Why not Minnie Williams?

  And so Holmes now claims he left the two little girls in charge of Minnie Williams, who was to take them to Europe. He had sewed $1,200 in their garments, and hints that it may be possible that Minnie Williams killed them for the purpose of obtaining possession of this fund. In view of the probable fact that Minnie Williams is now dead, she could not come forward and make any denial.