The Helena independent., 1894-11-21
.SCOUNDREL'S STORY.
BOGUS DEAD MEN HIS SPECIALITY
Murder Fraud, and Other Kinds Of Crime
Were Employed When Necessary
or Convenient.

Philadelphia, Pa. Nov. 9O.-Arcb-
Conaplrator II. II. Holmes. accompan-
led by Mrs. Pitzel aud woman who
calls herself Mrs. Holmes. arrived I'm
the city to-day. IN custody OF Detective
Crawford, OF the Fidelity Mutual Life
association, Mrs. Holmes disappeared
soon after her arrival. aud no clue TO
her whereabouts could be obtained. IL
IL thought she ls stopping AT a hotel in
The neighborhood OF police headquar.
ters. After arrival the party WINS
eloseted with Superintendent of Police
Linden until late In the afternoon.
When the conference was over, Detec-
tive Crawford detailed the story OF the
trip. the most important feature of
which was the relation made 10 him bv
Holmes OF the story OF his whole life.
IL reads Ike a most sensational ro-
nance.
Holmes sat beside the detective with
handcums ON. The train had scsrcalv
emerged from the Boston depot before
the prisoner tried 10 bribe hIs captnr
re oHered the detective $500 II he would
allow him TO escape. He said he was
raised In Burlington. VI, ana wen, 90
conege IN Detroit. Here he formed the
acquaintance Of medical student who.
ne SAID furnished the body IN New YORK;
~ the present case. During yacationa
,ney worked on farms TO raise college
s1i''s put one summer found them
,is without means, and then the
uhi .1 man suggested the idea OF get
| IlIK DDnN
company. This was twelve years ago
The doctor got his life insured for so
wv. Ihey obtained a body In Chicago
LOOK IL east, arranged details OF identI.
noatiui. ana successfully got the money
with which they continued their atud-
| les. $500 S'uu-
They worked the scheme afterwards
with success, obtaining sums ranging
rom slOOOO 10 $4,000. Once Holmes
sot nus NE Insured for $4,000. He went
& hotel In Rhode Island. At that
the ne wore beard. He secured a
corpse In Chicago, cut OF the head ana
TOOK the body To a lonely spot not far
from the hotel. Then he shaved on his
beard, returned TO the hotel. asked for
holmes ana engaged room TO wait FOR
MN. He had brought the head with
MIN ana burned IL In the fireplace Of the
motel This scheme, however. fell
through, the mother OF his wife. when
she discovered IL. threatening 10 tell ths
police. and Holmes fed TO the west
hesuming his story. he said that whils
living In Chicago, about elRhtee =
months ago, he fell In with a typewriter
girl and furnished a house on the out.
skirts, where they lived together. AZ
younger sister came 20 visit them. and
the woman grew so jealous OF her thai
In quarrel one day she struck her
lover the head with a stool and killed
her. To save the woman with whom
he lived, Holmes put the body In a
trunk, loaded IL with stones, and sunk
II In the lake This girl had property
in Texas and he and Pitzel took il Off
her hands and sent her abroad IL was
worth, he said. $40. 900, and after getting
II in their hands. they went through
Texas buying carloads OF horses ON
notes on this property. but as they never
had legal title to the property, the
notes were worthless. To save this
property, Holmes said he and PitzeI
formed the scheme OF swindllng the
Fidelity company. Il
He told the detective that for the
crimes he committed he deserved TO be
hanged dozen times. He admitted
that he Is supporting nearly two dozen
persons. including the girl murderer,
her mother and an imbecile brother.
two orphans In Chicago. three separate
lalleged wives and their children, and
his own mother and father in Kanka-
kee. He maintained that Pitzel IL alive
In San Salvador