The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-08-28
DETECTIVE GEYER's WORK.
no" lie Has unrnveIed the Mystery
Around III. nsx

deity Mutual Life Association. and Frank
Geyer, the detective who has had charge of
the case, were seen last night and asked
TO tell something about the work that
mas been done in tracing down the murder
OF the three Pietzel children. Mr.. Geyer
was very much averse to talking more
tnan 10 give a few general
This, Mr.. Gary said, was simply his ma
ture; he would not talk about work that
he had done. Most of the story as given
below was obtained from Mr.. Geyer, al
though occasionally Mr.. Geyer would make
a remark in the way of correction as to
detail. These two men have had nothing
to do with the cases that have developed in
Chicago and elsewhere, except where they
concerned the Pietzel children.
Mr.. Geyer has been for twenty years a
member of the Philadelphia detective
force, and is known as the leading man of
the department. He is a descendant of
General Geyer, of Revolutionary war fame,
and Mr.. Gary pays him the high compli-
ment to say that he would be fully the
equal, If not the superior. of his ancestor
in case he were called upon for the same
service. .
Just when suspicion began to gather in
the minds of the officers of the Fidelity
Mutual Life Association that Holmes was
the murderer of Pietzel is rather indefin-
tie. In September, 1884,, the charred re-
mains of a man were found in a house at
1916 Callowhill street, Philadelphia, which
had the appearance of having been burned
in a fire caused by an explosion of some
kind. This man was known as 3. F. Per-
~. Subsequent events showed that it was
the body of b. f. Pietzel. AS soon as the
news went out over the country Mrs. Pet
Eel put in a claim for the insurance. The
body was identified as that of ner husband
and the money was paid 10 a st. Louis at
torney for her. At this time Mr.. Gary had
a suspicion that all was not right. In the
meantime a man named Hedgepath, who
was confined in jail at st. Louis, had
made a confession to Mr.. Gary that he
had been asked by a Mr.. Howard, who
had been in Jail on a charge of defrauding
a wholesale drug company of that city, to
refer him to a good attorney whom he
could depend upon to collect some life in
surance. For this Hedgepath was to re-
ceive $500. Howard failed to pay this and
Hedgepath told what he knew. Mr.. Gary
Immediately connected Holmes with How
ard. He sent to the st. Louis agent of the
company and had a tracing made of the
SlSndtuTc il 1lOMdio ~ "a oo
compared it with a signature Holmes made
while In Philadelphia for the purpose or
Identifying the body of Pietzel. 1t proved
to be the same writing. and then began the
search for Holmes. The money had been
paid and Holmes had gone away.
The company's officers then became cor,
WINGED that they had been swinuied, anu
set to work to capture HOMES. ldoi an5
soon learned that he was suspected, ana
began to wander over the country. After
wandering from city to city he was nnalIy
traced to Ogdensburg, ~. l., iase n1oen5
till he was arrested Nov. II, in Boston.
He went from Ogdensburg to Burlington,
v VT w where e se of nitric nj lfcn a aeS' and ndes a
chloride, which, when uniteo, gave OIL d
deadly gas.
placed on trial for swindyng the insur-
auce company. He pleaded not guilty,
maintaining that the body that had been
found was that of PietZel, and that ne
had committed suicide or had accidentally
killed himself. After one day OF the trial
he saw that the meshes were getting too
close around him, and that further inves-
tieation would be made, which might re-
suit in his conviction for murder. To es-
cape this he withdrew his plea and entered
fenced to two years in the penitentiary,
the maximum penalty. At this time the
insurance company officials became con-
effect that he had procured a cadaver in
New York and substituted it for Pietzel
was a myth, and was manufactured to
cover up the real murder. Mrs. PietZei
became anxious for her husbands safety.
and also for her children, whom she had
not seen since she intrusted them TO TIE
care of Holmes. 1t was then asserted by
the company's officers that Holmes had
murdered all of them, and the fact that
he had tried to ksll Mrs. Pietzel In Yer
mont strengthened the BELIEF.
GEYER PUT ON THE CASE.
r. ro~ o< fhic noint that fha cOmnanv
decided to try to convict Holmes of MUIR
der. A consultation was held with the
district attorney and all the facts were
laid before him. 1t was agreed that
Holiness intentions evidently had been to
kill the entire Pietzel family,
thus securing all the insurance
money and putting out Of reach
all evidence that would defeat his title to
the property of the Williams sisters in
Fort Worth, Tex. With this condition
confronting the authorities 1t became nee
essary to put the case in the charge of
some man thoroughly competent TO deal
with 1t and act on his own judgment when
department was appealed to and Frank
Geyer was detailed for the work. The ex-
pense of all the work has been borne by
The case was placed in Mr.. Geyer's
hands and he left Philadelphia June IS.
with only a Slight Clew to work upon. Inc
theory was hat Holmes had murdered
the three children, but where or when no
one was able to say. 1t had been dis
covered that Holmes had been in Cincinnati
last fall and Mr.. Geyer went there upon
his first clew. There he stayed several
days and finally traced Holmes to this
city. He then learned that he had mar
ried Miss Yoke and went 10 Franklin and
saw Mrs. Yoke. Ii was from her that he
got the clew that led him to Toronto. 1t
was a letter from Mrs. Holmes I'm which
she spoke about having been in Toronto.
Mr.. Geyer got little on his
first trip here. He found that Holmes had
been here and traced his movement a part
of the time, but left here thinking that all
the children had been taken away. He
trail. and found that Holmes had gone al
most directly TO Detroit. Geyer went there
and stayed several days. There the trail
grew warmer. Evidence was discovered
that led Geyer to determine the method
Holmes used i'm making way with the chill
dren. 1t was found that he had rented a
house in the outskirts OF the city.
Before Holmes had a chance to put this
house TO use he learned that the detectives,
who finally located him at Ogdensburg, n.
Y. and later arrested him in Boston. were
hot on his trail. and he suddenly left and
went to Toronto. From there he went
direct to Toronto, where he had already sent
his wife and Mrs. Pietzel, who was travel
ing under the name of Adams. He stopped
at q hotel with the children and went 10
see his wife and Mrs. Pietzel, whom he
then sent TO Ogdensburg without allowing
Mrs. Pietzel to see her children. Mr..
Geyer went over all this territory and final
ly after being in Toronto several lays and