Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-08-16
A HUMAN FIEND.
THE MOST REMARKABLE CRlMl-
INAL OF THE CENTURY.

Murder Was His Mania-He Ruth
IessIy Made Way With M Ell, W o.
men and children After lnsuring r
| Their Lives.
Weird and grewsome beyond hui
man conception almost are the de
velopments at Chicago in the case ol
Holmes, the alleged murderer, biga-
mist and swindler, now in Jail at Phil
adelphia, awaiting trial. From al
most every nook and corner of his
malodorious castle" are coming evil
dences OF murder in the form OF ghast-
ly relics OF bodies that were slaughtered.
Each hour adds to the discoveries.
In fiandish cunning they were laid
away and would have remained for
ever unknown but for the action OF
the authorities in ordering the place
torn down. From the great vault
from the ruins of the cellar, from the
vat in which chemicals were placed,
from every place, in fact, that could
hide body are evidences of wholesale
murder. Chicago is now vieing with
Detroit, Toronto and Philadelphia in
an endeavor to obtain possession Of
the accused that justice may be meted
out to him.
No series of crimes of the century,
in cold blooded atrocity or in the
number of unfortunate victims. in any
degree approaches this. The victims
ranged in age from nine to fifty years.
Many were believed to have been mur-
dered for the sake of the insurance
they carried. Others were sacrificed,
fearing they knew the secret. They
were made away with in divers man.
ners. The body of one was cut up
into small pieces aud fed into stove.
That of another was put into trunk
and sunk in the lake. Two others
were shut up in a vault and allowed
to die there, the bodies being subse.
quently articulated and the skeletons
sold to a medical student.
Not only is the cellar OF the castle"
a veritable graveyard, but the bones OF
other victims are scattered all over the
country. One is believed TO have been
murdered in Arkansas and two in
Canada. The trail OF the murderer is
all over the country, and in every
case it was either the getting of in.
surance money or the fear of discovery
that it was the motive. These capi-
tai offenses were necessarily accom-
panied by minor ones, such as arson
and perjury, but the graver crimes
may be summarized as follows:
The murder of B. F. Pietzel.
The murder of Alice Pietzel.
The murder OF Nellie Pietzel.
The murder of Howard Pietzel.
The murder OF Mrs. Julia Connor.
The murder OF Anna Williams.
The murder OF Minnie Williams.
The murder of Emma Cigrand.
The murder of Milford c. Cole.
The murder OF DIR. Russler.
The swindling of insurance COM
panies to the extent OF at least $780,
600.
Criminal history is without paral-
lei for Holmes. He seemed to have
mania for crime. There was no form
too revolving for him, no deed too dar-
ing. Murder and swindling was his
life business. He pursued it as a pro.
fession with boldness that was start
ling almost beyond credence. He
operated everywhere and anywhere,
with headquarters at Chicago. His
castle" there was ghastly mausol-
cum.
Like most other criminals of meth
cd, Holmes was not born in criminal
surroundings. He had an educated
shrewdness, quickened and made alert
by the risks he ran. 1t was not COM
mon, low cunning, but the develop
ment of a plan that was the life-work
OF daring criminal.
The story Of the life of Holmes is a
grewsome tale. If written in fiction
it would be denounced IS unnatural
and improbable. 1t would be deemed
utterly beyond belief that in every city
of consequence in the country, except
the city of New York, he had piled
successfully his criminal trade and
finally was only brought behind prison
bars through the accusation of train
robber, whose only grudge was that
Holmes had not recompensed him for
an introduction to a " usefup man.
This man Holmes. confessed biga-
mist. perjurer, swindler and alleged
murderer, was born a short distance
from London, in the New Hampshire
hills. His real name is Mudgett.
Besides Holmes he is known to have
used the alias Howard. His parents
were plain, homely country folks. but
with ambitions for their boy. He was
the prize boy in his classes always.
From his farm home he went 10 Gil
martin and there taught school. He
saved money enough to attend med
ical college at Burlington, Vt. Then
he went West and entered upon his
career of crime, which included mur.
der, arson, swindling insurance COM
panies, bigamy and burking.