San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-07-18
THE PITzEL CASE.
ARE THE TORONTO CHILDREN HERS
OR NOT.
WHAT BECAME OF THE HUSBAND
IN THE CASE AND WAS HE AN
ACCOMPLISH OF HOLMES.
A Very Strange Combination of Cir
cumstances Stretching Over
Year of Time and Matters as
Much Mystery as Ever.


CHICAGO, ILL.,, July 1S.-Mrs. Pit
eel, who left late last night for
Toronto to identify the bodies of
two children found in the cellar Of
the house at 15 st. Vincent street,
talked about her past life and her
husbands dealings with Holmes
lust before leaving. Mrs. Pitzel is
broken in health and mind, the vic
tim, she believes, Of hypnotic in
fluence exerted by Holmes Her
story was straightforwardly told
and 1t is impossible to believe, az
ter being any length Of time in her
company, that she was either a
confederate or an accomplish OF
Holmes In the commission Of any
of his crimes. "Holmes, whom
had never met" said she, "but once
before the arrest Of my husband,
seemed from the time he asked me
for the care of the children until
his final arrest, to have a peculiar
influence over me. felt controlled
by him. He had sway over me
that l then thought natural, since
he had been an intimate friend Of
my husband. Besides, my husband
had repeatedly told me that l
could trust him that he was a good
man and that he would always be
true to US. The children idolized
him. There was nothing that he
could not do with them. Again
and again my husband told me
how much he thought Of Holmes
and how honorable he was, I'M
til / came to the same opinion
myself, although at first l
did not like the man and
told my husband 30 and begged
him to have nothing to do with
him. 1 saw my husband last on
August "a, 1894. He had gone to
st. Louis. He was then heavily
interested with Holmes In what
ever enterprises they had on to-
gether and 1 was lying sick with
my baby. / was very sick. l
could not 60 to Philadelphia to
Identity the body which they sus-
pected to be that Of my husband.
could not be moved. Holmes
came to me and Alice was taken
east and she identified the body.
1t was after that that Holmes told
me that the body was not that of
my husband, that it was a bogus
body made up to look like him,
and that il 1 or the children said
anything about it the insurance
people would get hold Of US and we
would be punished severely.
l was very sick, and believed
Holmes. He talked kindly and
offered to take Alice, Nellie and
Howard away from me and edu-
cate them. He said that he would
put them in school and pay all Of
their expenses. The children loved
him and 1 was alone in the world
and poor and 1 let him take them
and they went away. At this time
Holmes acted to me like a gentle
man.
He constantly kept me under the
impression though that and the
children were to be mixed mp in
the bogus body which he said was
found in Philadelphia. He said
Pitzel was still alive and that 1
would see him again when this
trouble was over. He wished to
save us from arrest, and after the
three children were gone, 1 moved
about the country. l began to
worry about the children. want.
ed to see them and wished to
know where they were. Holmes
always put me off with the story
that 1 must keep quiet until the
detectives stopped their work.
When he took me to Detroit, 1t
was he who registered me. there
as Mrs. Adams. He told me 80
when he came up to the room
where Bessie, my oldest daughter,
and 1 were. L told him that he did
wrong to put my name down
wrong but he explained that the
detectives must be kept of track
and was protecting my husband
by this. / finally heard the child
rem were at Toronto and Bessie,
1 and the baby went there alone to
search. After reaching the city L
went into a department store on
Young street to get some things
for the baby. just after we came
out of the dress patterns depart
ment on the street / met Holmes
face to face. He was cool and I'm.