H. H. Holmes

Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett (May 16, 1861 – May 7, 1896), better known under the name of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was one of the first documented serial killers in the modern sense of the term. He was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. A graduate of the University of Michigan medical School Class of 1884; until his .execution in 1896 he would choose a career of crime including Insurance fraud, swindling; check forging; 3 to 4 bigamous illegal marriages; murder and horse theft.

Murders 
In Chicago at the time of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Holmes opened a hotel which he had designed and built for himself specifically with murder in mind, and which was the location of many of his murders. While he confessed to 27 murders, of which nine were confirmed, his actual body count could be as high as from 133 to perhaps 200. It will not be known how many murders Holmes committed as he did not always tell the entire truth of his crimes- for example: he claimed one of his first murder victims was a medical school classmate Dr Robert Leacock in 1886 for insurance money; in fact Dr Leacock died in Watford, Ontario Canada October 5, 1889. Contrary to several accounts Holmes did not kill Dr. E. S. Holton. Likewise Holmes did not kill an alleged "Castle" victim Miss Kate Durkee-who turned out to be very much alive. Ironically one historian noted that one of Holmes creditor's died in Holmes "Castle" drugstore of a stroke in 1891-it is unknown if Holmes was involved with his demise. Holmes also had a one-story factory which he claimed was to be used for glass bending. It is unknown if the factory furnace was ever actually used for glass bending-or to cremate incriminating evidence of Holmes crimes. Holmes usual murder method was by suffocation of his victims including: an overdose of chloroform; overexposure to lighting gas fumes; trapped in an airless vault to give some examples. Holmes also claimed to have used starvation and burning victiums alive in his "castle"

Contemporary newspaper accounts reported several known or suspected victims of Holmes:
 His mistress Mrs. Julia {Smyth} Conner and daughter Pearl Conner [Christmas 1891];
 an alleged unborn child of Julia Conner during an "criminal operation"{abortion}[Christmas 1891];
 a Dr. Russler who had an office in the "Castle" [missing 1892];
 Miss Kitty Kelly a stenographer for Holmes [missing 1892];
 Emily Van Tassel [missing 1892];
 Emily Cigrand [missing December 1892];
 allegedly during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair an unknown man and an unknown boy were killed in Holmes "hotel";
 Minnie Williams & her sister Nannie Williams; Missing June 1893.
 John G. Davis of Greenville Pa; went to visit the 1893 "World's Fair" and "vanished". In 1920 his daughter asked that he be declared "Legally Dead" after 27 Years.
 Henry Walker of Greensburg, Indiana. Alleged to have insured his life to Holmes for $20,000. Wrote to friends that he was working for Holmes in Chicago [missing in November 1893];
 Milford Cole of Baltimore Maryland-alleged to have "disappeared" after receiving a telegram from Holmes to come to Chicago [July 1894].
 An otherwise unknown victim was a Lucy Burbank-her bankbook was found in Holmes "castle" in 1895 [missing/killed unknown date].
 Allegedly in his confession Holmes claimed to have killed two persons in Lake County, Illinois [1890s]-which was confirmed years later when the remains of an unknown man and an unknown woman were found on a farm in 1919-twenty-three years after his execution.

Holmes "hotel" was partially burned by fire in August 1895; it was later used for storage until it was torn down in 1938. The site of the "hotel" is adjoining the Englewood Post Office building at 63rd and Wallace Streets, Chicago, Illinois.

Execution 
On May 7, 1896, Holmes was hanged at Moyamensing Prison, also known as the Philadelphia County Prison, for four murders and six attempted murders. The murder for which Holmes would be executed for was that of his accomplice Benjamin Petzel in Philadelphia Pennsylvania [Sep 20, 1894]; evidence was also uncovered in the search for Holmes of his involvement in the subsequent murders of three of Petzel's children: Howard Petzel in Irvington, Indiana [October 10, 1894] and Alice and Nellie Petzel in Toronto, Canada [October 25, 1894] . Ironically although Holmes "Murder Castle" was undoubtedly the scene of many of his murders, it was the murder of Petzel in Philadelphia which had the clearest case for murder-as there was only very circumstansial physical evidence of the "Castle" victiums- a piece of human bone possibly from Julia Conner; remains of a child-possibly Pearl Conner; a burned gold watch chain and burned dress buttons-apparently belonging to Minnie Williams; a tuft of human female hair found in a chimney flue.

Patrick Quinlan who admitted as a workman to building fireproof rooms, trapdoors and walls in Holmes "castle" and who was also the building janitor and caretaker, died March 4, 1914 in Portland Michigan - an apparent suicide. A note left behind said simply "I could not sleep".

References

H.H. Holmes Murder mode In Fiction
 The Adventure of the Retired Colourman from the 1927 "The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle; Holmes solves the mystery of a missing woman who was gassed in a vault by her husband.

1861 births
1896 deaths
American people convicted of attempted murder
Criminals from Chicago
American serial killers
Executed American serial killers
People executed by hanging
People from New Hampshire