The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-11-06
HOLMES MUST HANG.
Jury Brings in q Verdict Of Murder
in First Degree.
Only Ono Ballot Was Taken-Sccnes and
Incidents of the Closing Days
of the Great Trial.

Mudgctt. alias II. II. Holmes, was arN
9aigned at the bar of justice OF the
criminal court OF Philadelphia ycster-
aay to defend his life against the
charge of having murdered Benjamin
4. Pietzel in this city on the second day
of September, 1894 Directly after the
prisoner had been placed in the dock
and Judge Arnold had taken his
seat upon the bench, Holmes two at
tornevs asked for continuance OF the
ease This request was refused, and
Judre Arnold ordered the case pro-
eeedcd with. Then the defendants
LAWYERS announced they would with
draw from the case.
Holmes then arose to his feet and ad-
dressed the court. His voice was weak !
and quivering, like that of man who |
has been i'll. He announced that he !
would not accept the lawyers ap-
pointed BIZ the court and that he would |
conduct his own defense.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 3O.-ln spite OF
iudicial orders that only those person
aIlv interested in the Holmes case
should be admitted to the court room,
and in spite of large force Of officers
70 keep out the morbidly curious,
determined mass of humanity strug-
gIed in and filed the court room yes
lerdav. to see the man with the mar
yclous nerve.
Jeanette Pietzel, or as she was falnil-
iarly known in the family as bessie,
tbc daughter of the dead Pietzel, was
called as the first witness She is girl
Of about 10 or 1G years of age and
seemed perfectly composed as she took
the oath. Her only testimony was the
Identification of a large crayon portrait
of Pie.zel as that of her father. Holmes
asked her some irrelevant questions
about the picture, seemingly more for
appearance sake than anything else
and then the girl was excused.
Eugene Smith the man who discov-
cred Pietzel's body was called. He tes-
tilted to his acquaintance with Pietzel,
whom he knew under the name OF Per-
~. Smith is a carpenter and made
Pietzel's acquaintance through the lat
ter's pretense of being dealer in mod
els and patterns.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. Sl.-The third
day of the Holmes trial opened prompt
Iy at 10 o'clock yesterday morning.
Holmes came in with tie usual hall
S1,iie that he has worn every morning
aud salutcd the court officers cheer
fully. More people were in the court
room than any day yet, in anticipation
of more sensational evidence than has
yet been offered.
The first really important witness
called was c. LaForrest Perry assist
ant to the president of the Fidelit.
Mutual Life association, the compan,
which Holmes swindled out of $4,000
Perry was the man who first worke
ND the insurance swindling cas-
against Holmes and collected much
the evidence that has led to his trial
Mr.. Perry identified the insuranc
policy for $1O,O0O taken out Novembe
., 1898, by Pietzel, and the receipt G
Jeptha D. Howe. the St. Louis attol
ncy, acknowledging the payment
the money. The policy was paid tn
syindlers on September "a, 1894, twei
ty-.wo davs after Pietzel's death.
At this point Mrs, Pietzel wa
brought in and placed upon the stan
The woman showed the terrible sutfe
ings she has undergone in her face b'
she walked unassisted to the stan
1t was often necessary to repeat II
questions asked Mrs. Pietzel, for Il
woman seemed in stunned conditit
and it evidently required some ment
effort for her to understand and q
Bwer interrogatories. Mrs. Piet2el tC
tilted that she employed Howe to c.
Iect the insurance money by the
vice of Holmes. At the time Holm
told her that Pietzel was alive and "
going around by Puget Sound.
Homes would not allow her TO II;
Sny letters herself but took them trC
her and promised to post them 70: h'
A bunch os three letters 10 the ca
dren that Holmes had never mail
were shown to Mrs, Pietza. and S
readily identified them, Mrs. Piet
seemed about to break down wh
asked to identify the handwriting
bcr dead girls in letters TO herself, |
she bore up bravely and in the mi,
at death-liic silence in the court ro
named the writer Of each letter as
wDs shown to her. After she had id,
tilted the letters the recollection &
they were written by her murde
children overpowCSed her for 2 mona
and she sobbed quietly.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 1.-The fou
day Of the Holmes trial opened Thr
Nay morning witE the prisoner 10
fug as fresh and bright as when he v
first arraigned in court.
Sidney l.. Samuels, Fort Wol
Tex, lawyer, was the first witn
Mr.. Samuels testimony showed t
Holmes or Pietzel neither obtained
money on the $40, 900 note, but uset
10 extort the S5 900 from Mrs. Pet
William f. Gearey, the agent
the Fidelity Insurance Company,
recalled for the purpose of prov
that the prisoner has wife in W
mette, ILL.,, as we'll as the woman
IL in this city, and whom he mar
under the name Of Howard, so that
district attorney might be free to p
-NrS. Howard" on the stand. A vi
Sus objection was overruled, and g
s.y testified to the fact of seeing
taIking to a woman in Willamette,
who was known as Holmes wife al
acknowledged by him.
The next witness was Miss Georg
Yoke, whom Holmes married u
the name of II. M. Howard. For