Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-07-17
VICTIMS OF HOLMES
He Plotted to Destroy the En-
tire Pitzel Family.
HowARD's BODY NOT YET FOUND.

Belief That His Remains We're Cremated
in = Furnace in . Detroit House-Oues.
ton Row Is Whether Holmes VIII Be
Tried in Philadelphia for the Murder OF
Pitzri or in Canada for Killing the Two
Girls at Toronto.
PHILADELPHIA July 1.-THE finding
Of the bodies Of the two Pitzsl children
circles in this city. Tho authorities are
convinced that they were murdered by
the arch conspirator, H. H. Holmes, who
is now in prison in this city awaiting
trial on the charge of conspiracy to de-
fraud the Fidelity Mutual Life Insur-
ance association of $1,000. This amount
was obtained by Lawyer Jeptha .. Howe,
OF st. Louis, representing the family Of
3. +. pi,z,l, vino, it is alleged, was killed
in this city by the explosion Of a chemi-
cal, and who had shortly before been in
sured in the Fidelity company. 1t is prob
able that the charge against Holmes will
be changed from conspiracy to murder,
as 1t is generally believed that Pitzel IL
really dead and that Holmes inur-
dered him. just before Holmes was
brought to trial he made q confession In
which he said that he procured n corpse
in New York, brought it to this city and
disigured it by tho use of chemicals,
and palmed it off successfully as the re.
mains CO PiiZ.l. After the confession
Holmes trial was postponed until Octo.
Der.
Where Wi, lie I;c Triede
The question now is whether Holmes
will DO he'd for trial here on the charge
of numbering P:tz,l or be taken to Can
ada to answer for the death of the two
little girls. IL is believed that as the
Philadelphia murder ante-dates the
Canadian murders the man will have to
stand trial here.
President Forse, of the Fidelity com.
pnny, said: Everything points to the
fact that Holmes plotted to destroy the
entire Pi;zcl family, and as Howard also
disappeared ie is probable that he was
killed. We found house on Forest ave-
nue. in Detroit where Holmes and the
boy had been together, and there were
traces OF q huge fire built in the furnace,
from which we infer he burned tho boy
corpse.
Tried to Blow Up Mrs. PitxeI.
"The belief Is also that he attempted to
destroy Mrs. Piizel in Burlington, VT,
by having her handle can of nitro-gly-
ccrine that he had left in the house she
occupied. Should it be proved that
Holmes murdered the children it will be
strong circumstantiai evidence that he
killed their father. He will undoubtedly
be tried here for the latter crime"
Mrs. Pitzel, the mother of the muir.
dered children, is at present supposed to
! DO ut her old home ut Gaiva, Henry coun-
~, Ills, with two of her children, q
| daughter aged II and n baby. She went
direct to Galva after Holmes had pleaded
guilty.
Holmes Denies Killing tho Children.
Holmes denies having any knowledge
whatever of tho crime. He assrts that
the last time he saw the children was in
October OF last year. when he had left
them in charge OF Minnie Williams. the
girl he met in Chicago. He asserts that
he always believed that the Williams girl
| had taken them to Europe. He also IN
sisted that he knows nothing Of the boy
and that he had nothing to do with the
| death of SitZel