The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-11-04
CONVICTION or HOLMES
The Jury Unanimous for 4 First
Z Degree Verdict.
rHE ooEv1oTs woNpEaruI NERVE

| with Marvellous Br.vaAo the l6uafi-1Eus-
dsrsr listened % the words xhas
sounded rfis Death KnsiI with No Out
ward Esidencs OF Emotion.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. All. II. Holmes,
the most remarkable criminal America
has ever produced, must die ON the gal
lows for the murder Of his fellow swind-
Ter, Benjamin o.. Pitesel.
When the jury returned the verdict Of
guilty. Holmes was a. calm. az at any time
since the trial began. This does not show
bravado 80 much as It shows that lack Of
sensibility for which criminals are noted.
The jurors were unanimous In their be-
lief Of Holiness guilt from the first mo
ment Of their deliberations They said
after court adjourned thEt they remained
out three hours only for appearance sake,
seeing that Ave days had been spent in tho
trial. They took only one ballot.
Holmes counsel will appeal, and IL ia
probable that the supreme court will
finally decide his fate within two months.
WhiIe the jury WAS out Holmes was
locked in the cell room on the floor be-
meath the court room, guarded by two Of
hcers. He chatted pleasantly with them,
and with q bravado seldom encountered he
tossed up pennies and bet acquittal or
conviction on the fall Of the coin. Strange
to say, the luck was nearly always with
him on the drop, the betting being heads
for acquittal and tails for conviction, the
coin dropping heads up seven times out Of
ten.
The jury went out at B:45 o'clock Satur-
day evening and came back at B:45. Tho
twelve men were all very solemn. Their
gravity showed at once to those spectators
. who often SEQ criminal trials that they
had agreed upon verdict that would send
the plausible swindler and murderer to
death. He was not in the court room
when they entered.
The court crier called the roll deliber-
ately. Every juror answered In . low
voice. Clerk Henszey nodded to two court
officers at the back Of the room. They
unlocked the grilled door that ends
tho tunnel and Holmes stepped into the
court room. He advanced through mar
row lane between closely packed throngs
Of men and women. As If by an effort he
abandoned for once his jaunty, swinging
gait. So far as one could tell by Watching
him, he felt that the throng expected him
to be sedate, and he did all he could to sat-
isfy them.
But beneath that reserve the man was
shaken with fear. The cowardly heart that
did not falter at sending his near friend
and three innocent little children to hor-
rible deaths was now huttering wildly al
the prospect Of his doom. He had been
violently ill just before entering the court
room, yet he had SO thoroughly schooled
himself to self control that his demeanor
was perfect.
During the dialogue between the clerk
and the jurors that sounded his death
knell, Holmes was absolutely unmoved.
He contemplated the foreman as II he were
wondering how tall he was or what was
the exact color Of his eyes. He made him
self appear to have no personal interest in
the man or what he was saying.
Judge Arnold, in fatherly way, compli-
mented Messrs. Rotan and Shoemaker for
their conduct Of the defense, and they re-
piled. Then the Judge nodded, and the
two court officers took Holmes out of the
room, one walking before and the other
after him. He was still forcing himself
to be tranquil. His step was light and
springy.
From the time he came until he went
out less than ten minutes elapsed. The
strain had been SO severe that one would
have thought hours had passed. On his
way down to the prison van he remarked
TO the guards accompanying him;
"Well, the jury has more to regret than
have in this verdict. knew what 1t was
the moment saw little Hertel's face. He
could not look at me; his hand was trem-
bling as he stood up. Look at mine. Does
1t tremblefn
Holmes held out his right hand. II did
not wayer. 1t was firm.
The last day of the trial was, of course,
Holmes, counsel, was overcome with nery-
Gus prostration, and in his absence Dis
trict Attorney Graham agreed to forego
his privilege Of making two addresses to
the jury. Furthermore, the district at
torney summed up first, thereby giving
the prisoners counsel the last word
MIR. Rotan summed up for the defense.
His speech was earnest and could hardly
have been bettered under the circum-
stances. He made remarkable admissions,
however. He repeated Holmes assertion
that he found the body of Pitezei, who
had committed suicide, dragged 1t to an
other floor of the house and arranged 1t to
look as If tho man had died accidentally
from an explosion Of liquid.
How Holmes Relatives Received the News
NEW YORK, Nov. "A Boston special to
- paper uoscFiDtb
the news of the conviction of Holmes by
the parents of the convicted murderer,
The correspondent says: .tWhen told
them he was convicted Holmes wife be-
came faint. She closed her eyes and lay
down ON the lounge, seemingly In great
agony. She anticipated the bad news, and
when 1t WINS broken to her she became al
most historical. Old Mr. Mudgett simply
murmured to himself as IL absolutely over
whelmed by his great sorrow. Old Mrs.
Mudgett at length said: Tho newspapers
have done us great injustice in this awful
ordeal. want you to say that until Her
man left us some six years he was tho
cleanest youth In town. We are not re-
sponsible for his conduct since I think,
said his wife, he must be out of his mind
The elder Mudgett WAS now shedding
tears Holmes mother maintained, TO ali
appearances, q stoical Indifference, while
her daughter-in-law appeared childish.
Holmes H-year-o son Robert, said moth
ing, but hung his head and shed tears CO.
piously. oh, my poor papaf he cried.
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