The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-11-20
INGENIOUS CRIMINALS.
Developments in the Insurance
SWindling Case.
MRS. PITZEL Is ARRESTED AND
I'D SAYS HUSBAND is NOT DEAD.

tenS1ve work IN Chicago Defrauding
House Furnishers and Insurance Firms
They were Taken to Philadelphia
Last Night.
Boston. November 19.-Mrs. Carrie Pitzel,
wife of the man whose life was insured for
$4,000 in the Philadelphia insurance fraud
case, came here today from Burlington.
VT. in company with detective, sand is
held on the charge of conspiracy after fact.
She told the officer to the best of her
knowledge that her husband is alive. though
she has not seen him since July, when he
left her in st. Louis. She claims that she
received word from him in Philadelphia, he
stating that he had assumed the name of
Perry, owing to some sdifficulty he had in
the South. She says that Holmes told her
that her husband was not dead. and told
her that the bogus body had been used for
that of her husband to get the insurance
money. She at first refused to have any
thing to do with the matter. but Holmes
finally overcame her scruples. Holmes In
troduced her to q man who would act as her
representative and who would collect the
money, and that Mrs. Pitzers child would
go to Philadelphia to identify the body. She
remained at home until Holmes sent for her
to go to Chicago where Holmes told her she
would see her husband at Detroit. She
went there and to several other places
without finding her husband. At Burling-
ton she went under the name of Cook and
at other places she gave the name as
Adams. She says that she has not seen her
children Nellie and Howard since they went
to her parents house. Holmes told her
that they we've in Covington. KY. Today
Holmes stated that he did not see PitZel
after he gave him a check for the body In
Philadelphia until he saw him in Cincinnati
the latter part of September. He says
Pitzel got drunk and the children saw and
recognized him. He had PitZel go 10 Detroit.
In Detroit, Holmes says he heard the police
was looking for him. He supposed it was
for the Fort Worth affair. He claims he
hired carriage and put PitZel alive in the
trunk and put the trunk on tLe carriage
and drove out of the city about two miles.
where he took Pizel from the trunk.
Later in the day he says he drove the three
children to place where their father was.
and that was the last he saw of them. He
says he thinks they are in New York. OF
the S10.C0u he says he got S7l00 out of which
he paid Pitzel $500. Of the remainder Mrs.
Pitzel 8 representative got S250O and Mrs.
Pitzel received only about $500. He sticks
to the original story that he got the body
from a medical friend in New York.
Holmes and Pitzel are said to be wanted at
Fort Worth for the larceny of horses. In
Holmes possession were found letters from
Mrs. Peitzel to relatives and her children,
which she intrusted to Holmes, but he never
sent them. Holmes, Mrs. Pitzel ana the two
children left for Philadelphia tonight in
charge of officers.
Operated in Chicago.
Chicago, November 19.-The police, fire
insurance men, and those who deal In store,
hotel and house furnishings and material
for the construction of houses, would like
10 see again in this city, N. II. Holmes.
who is a prisoner in Boston. .Holmes and a
woman, named Lucy Belknap, who lived at
his house as his mother-in-law and another
woman who went by the name of Williams
and Pitzel. Embellishments supply firms
and furniture houses ont of several
thousand dollars by means of getting
house built in the name of Mrs. Belknap
who was represented a rich widow.
When the house was finished and fur
nished on credit it would burn. and the
victims would have nothing to show for
their confidence. OF course the house
would be well insured. The policies were
paid. Before the fair opened Holmes and
his confederates swindled number of meI-
chants and hotel furnishers out of Seyeral
tbousand dollars worth of goods.