The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-30
HAS HOLMES AN ALIBI?
4 FRIENDLY LETTER WRITER
CONES TO THE SUINDLER's AID.
An Important Development Comes TO
Light-A Letter From Holmes to
Ouinian Found.

urday in the Holmes case. 1t was IN
the form of letter written from Chicago
by III. w. Mischom" to a Philadelphia
friend OF Holmes, and states that The
writer knows Of the whereabouts Of the
accused at the time the Pietzel girls are
alleged TO have been murdered at Toronto.
If this shall be substantiated, Il viii
prove an alibi for Holmes in what s
considered 10 be the strongest of tht
several murder charges against him
The recipient Of the letter declined t.
allow his name to be used. The ,y-stle
reads:
CHICAGO, July ls. IS95
Dear Sir,-l have just returned lrOn
Europe, and was surprised when / hear,
thdt my friend Holmes was charged Mil
killing the children OF BENJAMIN Piefzel
IN Toronto. l hardly think there can
be any truth in the charge. 1 knew
OF AIR Holmes whereabouts at the time
the little girls are said 10 have been
murdered. / can say, without fear OF
contradiction, that he was not in Toronto
or Vicinity at the time the murders arc
alleged TO have been committed. IL
the children were killed, Mr.. Holmes had
no hand In the crime. Let me know n
can be OF any service in the case
am writing Mr.. Holmes by this mail
Yours Gll lNta NltaalItthfully, II. v; MlscHoFF
ana her sister, whom ii. II. Holmes
the insurance swindler, is accused Of
having murdered, came to Denver early
IN 1877 with their brother. who was
III poor health. Minnie appeared about
twenty-five years old, and besides being
apparently well educated, was an aC-
complished clocutionist. She had studied
IN Boston. Holmes appeared IN Denver
some time after the Worlds Fair and
told various friends of the girl that she
had married and gone to India with her
husband
CHICAGO, July "a search Of the
apartments Of Patrick Qunlan. the ex-
Janitor, made by the police. resulted in
the finding of letter written by Holmes
TO Quinlan, dated June Is, 1896:
Among their other fool theories they
think YOU took the Hetzel boy TO Michi-
gan and either left him there or put MN
out of the way . . II they question
yOJ or threaten TO arrest you. tell them
anything there is TO tell about this or
any other matter. When Minnie
killed her sister j needed YOU the worst
way, but would not drag YOU into IL.
If the detectives 30 to New York. as 1
want them 10, they would find where
Minnie W. took them by boat. I have
done no killing. Pat one by one they are
finding them alive. Minnie will not come
here as long as there is any danger Of
her being arrested. A Boston man knows
where she is. and her guardian, Messie
H. Watt. will, at proper and safe umc
20 10 her. Let your wife write me any
ching you wish not oftener than twice a
month directing II. n. Holmes, county
prison. Tenth and Reed streets. Philadel-
phia. Shall be out OF il sooner tlan
YOU expect. They kept Mrs i. smut up
here six months when We would nave
let her cut on bail. Made a fool of her.
The following memorandum in pencil Is
III you see Tiedt tell him am much
obliged to him"
chief Badenoch carefully erased three
lines from the Letter before exhibiting
copy Of it, II is written IN ink on mania i, ...
wrapping paper. Quinlan dld not ten lN'
police he had the letter. ,.,..--
The identity of the missing Chicaso
girl believed 10 have been done 10 death
by Holmes still remains secret 10 every
body but the police
cHAPpELL THOUGHT TO BE INNOCENT.
CHICAGO, Ill. July IN. G. Chap
pel the mechanic who made such start
ling disclosures TO the police sunday, IN
regard to what are supposed TO be the
victims Of Holmes, was brought 10 M
spector Filzpatrck's Office early This
morning. the intention being TO put him
through a thorough examination, TO ma
out whether the accounts he has given
the detectives are true or not. lie was
so much agitated. however, that IL was
found to be impossible 90 go on with the
inquiry. Charles NJ. Chappon, son OF
the latest witness, said that his father
had I'm his life been very hard drinker,
and that this acted on his mind 10 snch
an extent that he did not always talk
nationally. IF my father knew Holmes.
l did not know anything about IT, he
said
Chief Badenoch would not say whether
he thought Chappell had any guilty
knowledge Of Holmes misdeeds or not.
Inspector Fitzpatrick Is inclined 20 be-
leve the mans story about putting to-
gcther skeletons for Holmes. but bee
lioves that he did it in a perfectly inno-
cent way.
Medical experts pronounce the skeletons
as having belonged TO two girls about
the age Of twenty, and a woman of mid
die age. As an insurance swindler MOTH
ing would have been more natural than
for him to have procured bodies with
the intention Of deceiving the companies,
and then have their skeletons articulated
as an extra source Of revenue.
Patrick Quinlan still maintains sturdy
front.
THE HIDDEN VAULT.
Most Of the day was devoted 10 trying
TO locate the hidden watts IA which Ma
chinist Chappell told the police Holmes
was accustomed TO boil bodies.
Tho secret tunnel described by Mrs.
Shriver. of Kansas City, was also looked
for. but has not been found.
People who knew Dr. tussler in Enele-
and some adhere TO the theory that he
met death I'm the charneL
Or. Robinson found to-day the signature
of Minnie Williams on several notes ne
has al his store. and they will be used
by the police IN the investigation or the
alleged transfer OF the Fort Worth CleN)
property by the Williams girl. By these
the police hope to settle the disputed
question as 10 whether the deed was
forged.
The huge brick vault underneath
Holmes charnel-house was unearthed
by the police to-day.
FOUND by cHATpELL.
When Chappell accompanied the officers
through the Holmes house yesterday he
indicated the location of the vault IA the
southeast corner of the cellar.
At 4:3O o'clock the officers In charge rl
the work telephoned police headquarters
that they had reached and uncovered
long strip OF tho roof of the vault Su-
perintendent BadenOch at once gave or
ders TO get IL In such shape that Tho
vault could be opened. The police theory
is that Holmes used this vault for quick
lining the bodies Of his victims and get
ting them I'm such condition that they
could not possibly be identified. and tha'
Chappell. the articulator. would not gus
meet that they were anything more than
cadavers secured at medical colleges oi
hospitals.
While the police are not hopeful ~
finding bodies Of murdered people n
the vault, they are at the same time
hopeful of securing evidence 10 fully as
tablish just what the vault was used
for. and what connection. If any. the
vault had with half a dozen human
charnel house TO the home OF the nrticu-
lafOr